A USELESS THING OF NO VALUE (EXCEPT TO THE ORIGINAL OWNER)

I suppose all you can see in the picture is a darker dot with lighter stuff around it. I am told by an expert that the black bit in the middle is the growth point.  Well I suppose it is basically a giant finger nail consisting of keratin. You could make your own one if you saved all your fingernail and toenail clippings and found a way to compress them into a solid piece. If you chose to do this you can ask your family and friends to save their clippings as the end product, if made correctly, could be valuable.

It was interesting to sniff the thing. The dark outside bit smells strongly of animal with a bovine cow like aroma and the inner bit reminded me of oil or diesel, probably from the chainsaw that was used to amputate it.

So what is it good for? Not much really.

In the Middle East it is very fashionable among men to have it fashioned as a handle for a curved dagger – apparently it ages well and turns black.

Medicinally there is a lot of myth and mystique but fortunately there is no scientific foundation for any use. I suppose I most mention that some research found it was able to reduce fever in rats. It would be better to give your rats willow leaf to chew as that contains the ingredients of aspirin which does have scientific backing.

As a cure for cancer I am afraid I can find no proof. If you are given some the person treating you is a quack and the only thing that is being cured is his or her bank balance – it is amazing how false beliefs can drive up the value of a useless object.

Lots of people believe that it is regarded as an aphrodisiac in the East but this is not so – it is used to treat fevers and convulsions and, as I have said before, there is no scientific backing for this. If you suffer from impotence do look in your inbox as there is bound to be a mail that offers you Viagra at a discount rate. It is guaranteed to work better than shavings from this thing.

There is an interesting historical use from Africa – always something new and exciting from the Dark Continent! Yes, in the early days they were used as door-stops. The weight is about right and the shape quite suitable for picking up when closing the door. Of course this use has stopped as this useless thing has become too valuable. Because the trade is not legal there is a lot of stealing of them from many places and sadly many have died trying to steal them or while trying to protect them.

Interesting too that some people have accumulated hundreds of these things and they stand to become millionaires should trade in it become legalized. Luckily trade is illegal for the moment. Obviously those who have many want the trade legalized while those who worry about the original owner want the current status quo to remain.

This is such a useless thing except to the real owner. Sadly it had to be removed to protect him from poachers although ironically it is the only thing he has to protect himself. It is rather useless for self-defence against automatic rifle fire or a tranquilizing dart if you are large, lumbering and myopic White Rhino Cerototherium simum.  

This White Rhino was bought to the Kragga Kamma Game Park near Port Elizabeth in South Africa and his task will be to ensure that there is a next generation that comes from the three other female Rhinos who stay in the park.

(I would like to thank the Cantor family (especially Mike and Ayesha Cantor) for inviting me to see the new rhino arrive, the stay in the boma and being allowed to watch his release into the park. Let’s hope we hear the pitter-patter of baby feet rhino feet soon!)

World Oceans Day

World Oceans Day

Friday 8 June 2012, A celebration of the world's oceanic wildlife featuring the work of many of our photographers  including Reinhard Dirscherl, Phillip Colla, Luc Hosten, Steve Kazlowski,  and photographers from VWPics.

World Environment Day - 5 June

There is plenty going on today. For those of us in the UK, the Diamond Jubilee has dominated the media, but it's World Environment Day too.

WED was established 40 years ago and this year the theme is the Green Economy.So what is a Green Economy? According to UNEP it is one that results in improved human well-being and social equality, while signiticantly reducing environmental risks and ecological scarcities. The three keywords are: low carbon, resource efficient and socially inclusive. WED focuses on 10 main sectors for  greener planet and outlines some of things you can do.

1. Buildings - reduce your impact by looking to low-carbon construction and landscaping firms, make your home and office as resource-efficient as possible.

2. Fisheries - overfishing is depleting world fish stocks to look for fish caught using sustainable fishing practices

3. Forestry - deforestation accounts for more than one-fifth of the world's greenhouse gas emissions, so look for sustainably managed forests  (e.g. FSC) when buying timber products, reduce your use of paper products and recycle your paper waste.

4. Transport  - car sharing to reduce your personal carbon footprint, walk or ride a bike instead, use public transport.

5. Water - billions of people have no access to clean water or sanitation and as the world's population grows it is going to become in even shorter supply, so use it wisely. Don't waste clean water by running the tap, or having a long shower, make sure the washing machine and dishwasher have full loads, don't clean the car and save rainwater to water your garden.

6. Agriculture - there are more mouths to feed, so support sustainable farming systems, grow your own fruit and veg, buy local, don't buy more food than you need, compost all the waste.

 

7. Energy - our modern lifestyle is energy-hungry and we use fossil fuels to produce most of our energy needs which contributes to global warming, so save energy. Turn off lights, appliances, turn down the heating and air conditioning, install PV and other renewable energy system.

 

8. Tourism - tourists can have a large footprint so think carefully when choosing a holiday. Support local business and local people, try to limit your impact on fragile environments,  question resorts and hotels about the green policies (where does the waste go, what about clean water, recycling, source of food etc)

9. Waste - everything our buy, eventually becomes waste so where will it go? So recycle, re-use and recycle. Think before you buy - do you really need it, can you re-use something rather than throw away, and if you have to throw away make sure you recycle as much as possible.

10. Manufacturing and industry -  this part of the economy produces much of the world's pollution, so be a wise consumer - buy green wherever possible, support green industries, ask questions of those that pollute.

Coming soon  Earth Summit Rio+20 - the 20th anniversary of the very first Earth Summit.

Buzzards - to be persecuted again?

I could hardly believe what I heard on the radio this morning - DEFRA to  spend hundreds of thousands of pounds to research ways of controlling the number of buzzards to protect pheasants. Under consideration, making it legal to destroy buzzard nests and trapping birds to keep in captivity. All this despite the fact that the buzzard is protected native species while the pheasant is introduced and is farmed for shooting.

The population of buzzards in the UK has only just recovered from the lows of  50 years ago, when they were persecuted by gamekeepers and suffered the effects of DDT. Now it appears that the shooting lobby has convinced DEFRA that once again the buzzard has to be controlled so that fewer pheasants are taken.

Given that commercial shoots put down more than 40 million pheasant poults of birds each summer, a few thousand lost to the buzzard is hardly going to have that much of an impact.  And what about the other predators - foxes, badgers, kites, sparrowhawks - are they to be controlled too? No wonder the RSPB and other wildlife charities are up in arms.

Chris Packham Quote: "In these times do we want to be spending £400,000 battering buzzards? The money would be better spent helping the remnants of English hen harriers I'd say." Hear hear

 

 

Photos - top buzzard on post (Pete Cairns), buzzard on deer carcass (Pete Cairns), close up of head (Chinch Gryniewicz), buzzard nest (Frank Blackburn)

Dogfood bags and seaweed harvesting

For several years now I have found large empty dog food bags on a local beach and, until this weekend, I could never explain why or how they got there. On Friday there was a large truck parked near the start of the walking trail that leads to the Sardinia Bay Marine Reserve in the village of Schoenmakerskop near Port Elizabeth. I recognised the truck and knew that it belongs to the firm that has the concession to harvest seaweed along the east coast of South Africa. I also know that they can collect seaweed anywhere along the coast as long as it is not in a marine protected environment. Seaweed harvesting is a good thing as the seaweeds grow back quickly and it counts as an environmentally sustainable practice. Seeing as I had my cameras I thought I might photograph the illegal harvesting in the reserve and use it to stop the practice. Seaweed harvesting is not easy and the workers work at low tide getting wet and working on what is very rough terrain. Of course once you have harvested the seaweed you need to get it back to the truck and the workers have to carry the heavy wet bags back to the truck. It was while I was examining these images that I finally understood the large empty dog food bags on the beach. The locals are used to carrying heavy loads on their heads like firewood – it is a cultural practice and something that is often seen. Firewood might be heavy but at least it does not drip salt water so it makes sense to put the heavy wet bags of seaweed that have to be carried on the head in another bag that does not leak and continually shower you with water. Dog food bags are strong and watertight and are perfect for the job. Now I just need to find out why empty dog food bags are used (there are so many different bags out there) and how they obtain them. (The good news is that today the seaweed harvesting was not in the reserve – it helps to raise concerns and sometimes you get a good response!)

Cape Verde Islands

I  have just returned from the Cape Verde Islands which are about to become the next big thing. Life here has in places not changed in centuries and much of the traditional use of cane production still survives from small local farms.

The cane is used for rush mats, roofing materials, firewood and producing the traditionl rum based drink grogue in traditional family distilleries as above above.

Fortunately cruise ships can't get to the smaller islands as their draft is to large but expedition cruise ships with their zodiacs and small passenger numbers are discovering the islands and hopefully will add extra income without damaging their lives. These companies I am glad to say also have an ethical outlook on the local population, wildlife  and landscape.

Leap year specials

A few images to celebrate 29 February   'leap day'

Breaching humpback and mountain lion  Phillip Colla
Polar bear Steve Kazlowski
Tiger Satyendra Tiwari
Gliding Frog by Robert Pickett

The Hazards of Volunteering at a Bird Rescue Centre

The volunteers at the South African Marine Rehabilitation and Education Centre in Port Elizabeth on the east coast of South Africa are warned about the sharp beaks of the Cape Gannet (Morus capensis) and the beaks and claws of the African Penguin (Spheniscus demersus) but all the warnings cannot save you from an angry Egyptian Goose (Alopochen aegyptiaca) attacking your rear from the rear.

Tsunami debris arrives on the Canadian West Coast

Nine months after the deadly tsunami struck Japan the enormous debris field, washed out to sea when the water receded, has started to arrive on Canada's west coast. Much of the coastline is wilderness with absolutely no land access except for a few small fishing villages with connections to the interior. There are several National and Provincial Parks where access is possible and it is in these locales where the first signs of the disaster are being washed up. At the moment, the majority of the items are hundreds of plastic containers but much more solid debris is expected in the coming months. Various outdoor groups are cleaning the beaches and creating a database of collected items. The next few months will provide a snapshot of the devastation experienced by the people of Japan.