Seashells
These shells were no longer wanted in my son’s room and so I have relocated them to the summerhouse which is getting rather cluttered with wildlife books, objects and art. I had forgotten we had them and cannot remember where they came from. They made me think of my good fortune in being involved in the sale by auction of the contents of the recluse Stephen Tennant’s house, Wilsford Manor, during my time at Sotheby’s, which is very well described here.
Graham Ward: Romantic Relic: Stephen Tennant and Wilsford Manor
Tennant was pretty obsessed with shells. They were everywhere. His relationship with Siegfried Sassoon was still an open secret at that time but I believe there was plenty of evidence in the room we were not allowed to enter when I later catalogued the books and correspondence at Heytesbury. I am sure I have told the story elsewhere but … Christie’s had sold Sassoon’s primary manuscripts and said that the library was not worth bothering with. My boss Roy Davids and I went down to check it out. The first book I plucked from the shelves fell open and half a dozen letters from E.M. Forster fell to the floor. They were addressed “Dear Saucy”. Sassoon had used the library as his filing system and we uncovered a horde of treasures. Many of the books were heavily and often very amusingly annotated too.
Seashells grow according to precise mathematical formulae, the conch or nautilus, at the head of the post, in a logarithmic spiral. They are in that sense fractal and they follow the Golden Ratio.
Hippos
The Moment The Bull Hippo Spotted Steve Backshall 🦛 | S1, E1 | Hippo Watch With Steve Backshall
I have said that I find Steve Backshall a personable presenter although he sometimes seems to take unnecessary risks. My only objection to this otherwise excellent programme is to the use of playback. I am not at all sure we ever should. We know that Hippos and their pods are highly territorial. What then was the purpose of playing the sounds of one pod to another? It was inevitably and obviously going to be a fight or flight reaction, in this case flight. A fruitless intervention, pointlessly alarming the animals and causing them to waste energy.
The trouble with birdwatching
Watching and photographing birds is one of my very favourite things to do but I take my golden rule from a friend who is a professional wildlife photographer – no picture is worth disturbing an animal in any way. Not everyone follows this and playback is one of the techniques used by some over zealous ornithologists. The article below lists some of the other intrusions, especially by twitchers and life-listers. Large numbers of people too close to nests create stress and can impact hatching rates. This can affect breeding too, health and the ability to rear young, even if habitats are not directly disturbed. Flash should never be used at night and baiting is unconscionable in my opinion. Technology has given us long lenses.
The article from Manikin Expeditions points out: “For example, research conducted in the Amazon rainforest observed that repeated playback use led to increased stress levels in antbirds, as evidenced by their elevated metabolic rates and aggressive territorial responses that could divert energy from other essential activities like foraging and mating. Another study focused on the North American wood-warbler documented that excessive playback during the breeding season caused males to engage more frequently in territory defense, reducing the time they spent on nest-building and feeding their young. These behaviors, intensified by playback, can potentially lead to decreased reproductive success.”
Ecotourism needs to be carefully managed with education and sustainability to the fore as well as consideration of the impact on local communities which may not always be entirely positive. Keeping to trails and limiting visitor numbers are vital. I remember the vehicles surrounding four cheetahs who were trying to hunt, described in Animal Trust:
The government and bureaucracy in Kenya are notoriously corrupt, although I am not suggesting they are necessarily worse than anywhere else. One oblique consequence I witnessed was watching four cheetahs trying to hunt on a reserve. They were completely surrounded by no fewer than thirty-three tourist vehicles. I understand it can get worse than this. Whenever they moved, there was a roar of engines as the assortment of vehicles inched forward. It was impossible for them to hunt, it was impossible for them to be. This is not supposed to happen but there is no-one controlling it and the Reserve rangers, I am told, seem more interested in penalising petty so-called misdemeanours (going a fraction off the track for example) and thereby filling their pockets. It’s always all about the money in the end. I found it deeply upsetting but was fortunate to be staying and touring for the most part in a much more tightly regulated conservancy, where the animals are given their space. I gave myself one morning ‘off’, having decided that I couldn’t really take the animal harassment of the reserve again and not being quite as keen as some to see the spotted zebra which made international news while we were there.
Corrupt politicians
I had entirely forgotten David Blunkett but the disgrace and downfall of Peter Mandelson brought him back to mind. He was another politician who had to resign more than once. The first scandal, in 2004, became known as “Nannygate”. As Home Secretary he fast-tracked a visa application for his lover’s nanny. He shuffled off to the backbenches to be reappointed to the Cabinet by Tony Bliar [sic] as Secretary of State for Work and Pensions. The trouble was that as a back-bencher he had been unable to resist violating the ministerial code, failing to consult the advisory committee for such matters regarding business appointments he took on. These were far less serious charges than those against Mandelson. As far as Nannygate is concerned, why risk so much for so little? Likewise Karen Findlay, police commander honoured by the king, has been accused of covering up driving offences. She of all people should surely be a pillar of rectitude.
Talking of the Blessed Tony, he has popped up yet again, commenting on Trump’s war on Iran, saying that the UK should have backed him from the start. Will he never learn that people are absolutely sick to death of hearing from him?
Panorama
This is worth a look – the world’s largest high resolution panoramic image. Official World Record Holder – Holmenkollen360.com
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