Stocktaking at the London Zoo
When I visited the London Zoo in the summer, we all watched entranced as a majestic sparrowhawk, who lives locally in the park, flew over the Zoo.
Will that bird be counted?
A Slow Motion Legal Car Crash
The goings-on at Dale Farm, were just described in that way on the BBC. In fact, everybody seems to have got involved from Tony Blair to the UN and perhaps half the lawyers in Essex.
I’m not going to argue for either side in this dispute, except to say that the only beneficiaries of this long-running farce have been the lawyers. Everybody else has lost. I suspect in the end, we’ll all pay something out of central taxes.
It will run and run. For instance what would happen, if they found bats in some of the dwellings on the site?
Camera Trap Study Reveals Wildlife
The world’s largest camera trap study has revealed lots of animals in remote locations. Read about it here.
I’m all for this type of work, but we must analyse the data correctly. It must not be hi-jacked and interpreted on a basis to prove questionable theories or promote dubious business models.
The Otters Are Back
According to this report, otters are now back in every county in England.
Many years ago, when supposedly otters were extinct in Suffolk, I used to know a real countryman, who in his time, had been the Master of the East Anglian Otter Hounds. They hadn’t hunted otters for many years and just followed the scent they left. If they wanted sport, they hunted the two pests of mink and coypu.
He believed that otters were there and said that the reason they were never seen, was that those who looked didn’t know how to find them, as they tended to look for the signs of otters, rather than the animals themselves. He also felt that if people believed otters to be extinct, this would mean more money and visitors for otter sanctuaries. Others like Bjorn Lomborg believe that some organisations make out that things are worse than they are for their own selfish reasons.
So I wouldn’t be surprised if my friend was right, that otters were about, but preferred to keep their own company.
That is not to say that their numbers were small because of pesticides, bad water quality and other problems. Another naturalist once told me, that the biggest threat to otters on places like the Norfolk Broads was powerboats, as the boats’ wakes drowned otters and their young in their holts.
There was also a story last year about koi carp being stolen from an ornamental pond in Birmingham. The usual suspects were put in the frame and CCTV was setup. Everybody was surprised when the culprits were identified as otters from a nearby canal.
It just goes to show that animals are much more common than you think.
How long before an otter gets spotted in the Olympic Park. They already have foxes and a dead otter was found in Wapping in 2006.
Kitler Finds a New Home
Enough said!
It’s a Zoo Jim, But Not As We Know It
I’m not really struck on zoos, as I much prefer to see animals in the wild. But last night I had a most unusual night out at London Zoo. It was one of their Zoo Lates.
Other than the usual attractions, there was a twisted cabaret, lots of good food, bands and you could talk to the keepers about the animals. There were no children, except for a few baby animals and it wasn’t crowded but for one totally acceptable exception. Even the queues for the toilets were within reason.
Here’s a few general pictures.
It was certainly a good night out. I shall go again.
Adding Up The Years
I was watching Springwatch on BBC 2 this evening and someone said that an adder was about thirty-two years old.
I had no idea that snakes could leave that long!
Homes for Bugs
When I go to Waitrose at the Barbican, I walk through Bunhill Fields from the bus stop, where I get off a 21, 76 or 141 bus.
Just inside the entrance I saw this strange object.
A Home for Bugs
It is actually a home for invetebrates and was the winning entry in a competition organised by the City of London.
Tony Hancock and Guy the Gorilla
I’ve just watched a documentary on BBC2 called The Unknown Hancock. Note that they used just Hancock, as he is one of the few people known by just his surname to most people.
One thing that he used to do was visit Guy the Gorilla in his cage in the London Zoo. At the time Guy was kept by himself in an iron cage, which today would be considered unsuitable for great apes. Despite this he was considered to be a gentle soul and not in the least bit dangerous.
I mention this because the documentary would have been watched intently by C, who was one of Tony Hancock‘s biggest fans.
By now she would be telling me this tale of one of her clients.
He was obviously not a nice man, as regularly he was sent to jail for a couple of years. On release, he would go straight round to the London Zoo and visit Guy in his cage and say something like.
Hello Guy! I’m back out now. But you’re still inside!
There probably has never been such an iconic animal in the London Zoo as Guy.
The Anonymous Widower 