Animal Person

JUNE 8, 2009

It's one that's brought on, no doubt, by the acts of vandalism and intimidation of radical animal-rights groups, but I think it also serves to insulate the research community from any responsibility it might otherwise have to increase transparency and public engagement with the work. But the question is how can we properly address that?

Animal Welfare 100

Animal Welfare Monkeys Animal Welfare Act Vivisection 100

10,000 Birds

JULY 1, 2014

They cut down the trees the parrots used for nesting and brought black rats, who ate their eggs, and honeybees who swarmed into their nests, and by 1937 there were only about 2,000 Puerto Rican Parrots left. The targeted age group is 6 to 11 years. And, the parrots almost, but not quite, disappear from the face of the earth.

Puerto Rico 241

Puerto Rico Parrots New York City 2013 241

10,000 Birds

OCTOBER 7, 2021

Yes, field guides to other groups of organisms, as there’s hardly any room left in your baggage or the energy to carry it. No, Madagascar is the most famous for an endemic group of mammals: lemurs, sifakas, indri, aye-aye – in total, 112 endemic species and subspecies of lemurs alone!

Madagascar 253

Madagascar Mammals Lemurs Seychelles 253

10,000 Birds

JULY 11, 2012

Wildlife conservation is concerned with protecting wildlife at the level of species or perhaps population. This is quite a big deal for an island group that had no mammals save bats for millions of years. Take a project to remove rats from the Californian island of Anacapa (in the Channel Islands).

Animal Rights 267

Animal Rights Rights New Zealand Animal 267

10,000 Birds

APRIL 6, 2021

I was especially interested in “To Hide From God,” the chapter on songbird slaughter and protection in Cyprus. Has it really been 21 years (almost) from the publication of Jonathan Franzen’s New Yorker article, “ Emptying the Skies ,” six years since the documentary with the same name?

Cyprus 259

Cyprus Slaughter Slaughtered Research 259

10,000 Birds

AUGUST 22, 2012

I’ve written at length in the past about the circumstances of that extinction event, how the rich endemic fauna was utterly vulnerable to introduced mammals and how waves of invaders wiped out different groups of species. Hit the rats hard and quick in a single hit. New Zealand faces massive challenges in protecting its species.

New Zealand 174

New Zealand Rats Mammals Possums 174

10,000 Birds

MAY 3, 2011

The combined effects of hunting, habitat loss and predation by introduced animals like rats and mongoose have extirpated the species from some islands and reduced numbers significantly on others. With assistance from the Negril Area Environmental Protection Trust (NEPT) a boardwalk and nature centre have been established.

Antigua and Barbuda 232

Antigua and Barbuda Puerto Rico Dominican Republic Jamaica 232

10,000 Birds

APRIL 15, 2015

I was in contact with a group of birders for whom I arranged and guided an annual tour to Africa. Although this park was logged in the past, as a national park it is one of the few forests in Ghana that is really protected. . The rare Rufous Fishing Owl was one of the many species seen by the group here.

Ghana 199

Ghana Hunters Guinea Gambia 199

10,000 Birds

SEPTEMBER 7, 2014

Rats arrived on ships and cats, foxes and rabbits were all introduced and they were all detrimental to the bird population. Foxes have also been known to take their eggs and there are now numerous local groups who endeavour to help the populations of Hooded Plovers along their local coastlines. Handbook to The Birds of Australia, 1865.

Species 176

Species Australia Birds Parrots 176