10,000 Birds

OCTOBER 13, 2016

In the most of Europe, Brown Bear is a mythical creature that lives only in mediaeval tapestries and folk tales. Up to 100 kg – possibly a female, my guide and a bear researcher from the wildlife charity Callisto, Yannis Tsanakis, tells me. In the European Union there are only 10,000 mature bears (source: IUCN). Not at all.

Bears 267

Bears Greece Europe Slovenia 267

10,000 Birds

NOVEMBER 20, 2012

Some time after the Spanish encounter with the Turkey, birds were brought back to Europe where they were raised and became an important source of food and fancy feathers. Thus, the cattle we raise for meat and dairy are sometimes called Bos taurus while the extinct wild form is always called Bos primigenius. This is where they got their name.

Turkey 198

Turkey Columbus Spain Fowl 198

10,000 Birds

JULY 22, 2014

That was a wild cat, a wild Wildcat, the cat that lives in the wild because that is where it is from and where it belongs, at the southern end of its pan-African range that extended at one time well into Europe and Asia. I find it astonishing that people argue of whether feral cats are bad for birds in North America.

Feral Cats 252

Feral Cats North America Feral Cats 252

10,000 Birds

FEBRUARY 5, 2014

Snowy Owls are used in falconry, more so in Europe but they are legal for a few states here in the US. They know how to trap raptors and if something is interesting nearby, they will try to band it for research. They’re not known to be the easiest birds to work with , especially when the temperatures are high. Not always.

Wisconsin 235

Wisconsin Falcons Owls Hunting 235