Category: Wildlife

Kate’s experience in Turtle Island, Malaysia

When my friends suggested we should visit Selingaan Turtle Island of the coast of Borneo I hesitated. First of all the thought of boarding a flight from Kota Kinabalu to Sandakan only two days after arriving in Malaysia from London made me wary, as being a nervous flyer I try to avoid planes at any cost!

Secondly the attraction itself has mixed press. Some visitors loved it; others called it a “sad spectacle” and argue that the turtles should be left alone.

Somehow my friends managed to convince me that as we were already there, we could not miss such an opportunity for a close encounter with wildlife. We took an early morning Air Asia flight that thankfully lasted only 35 minutes. A very talkative and difficult to understand Chinese taxi driver took us from the airport to the jetty and from there we boarded a speedboat and our turtle adventure began.

The day was beautiful, we were speeding past colourful villages on stilts, the sea and the sky were equally blue and when after an hour boat ride we arrived to the little tropical island in the middle of Sulu Sea it looked to us like a private paradise. There were over 40 guests on the island that day, but I had no idea where they were hiding, as we only saw other people during mealtimes.

We left our bags in our simple but comfy chalets, hired snorkelling equipment and spent a large part of the day swimming in the warm, clear water.

After lunch, the island looked completely deserted. I went for a walk to take some photos. The world seemed to be so peaceful that I decided that even the jungle is not as scary as I thought it would be and I really enjoyed being in the tropical forest. At this precise moment I saw a dragon! A huge monitor lizard was taking advantage of the quiet afternoon sitting on the pavement and almost scared me to death!

The evening was all about the turtles. We had a guided tour of a small turtle museum, watched an informative film about turtle conservation and were getting more and more excited. Will the turtles come, we were wondering. Will they lay eggs? Are we going to see them? We were waiting in the darkness ready to go. At about 8:30pm the ranger called that a turtle had landed.

Meet Olivia the Turtle, Marine Researcher in the Maldives

Meet Olivia the turtle, Four Seasons Resort Landaa Giraavaru’s latest marine researcher in the Maldives. Olivia is a rare Olive Ridley turtle and a pioneer for her species. She spent some 12 months of her long life being nurtured and cared for at the island’s successful Landaa Turtle Rehabilitation Centre and as the longest-staying resident to date, she has been fitted with a satellite tracking device and released back into the wild.

Her adventures so far have already taken her into the middle of the Indian Ocean, a distance of 510 miles from the resort, and with the satellite tracking device anyone is able to follow her whereabouts via the regularly updated ‘Olivia-link’ run by the rehab centre here. This geo tagging technology has allowed marine biologists exclusive access to the life of Olivia. With such little information known about the world’s smallest sea turtles, this project is an excellent opportunity to find out more about these fascinating creatures.

Meanwhile, we have been watching Olivia’s emotional release into the wild and look forward to discovering Olivia’s whereabouts in the world. Other patients at the rehab centre include Sally and Clover, Olive Ridley turtles who were found with multiple lacerations caused by fishing boats in the local area. Landaa’s Turtle Rehabilitation Centre’s successful program means that their release back into the wild is imminent and with the necessary sponsorship of these turtles, the centre would be able to purchase more satellite tags to continue their important research.

See the world in under 5 minutes – with 6237 photographs

Fancy speeding around the world in under 5 minutes? Kien Lam, a keen photographer, has made this possible with his stunning time-lapse video taken whilst spending nearly a year adventuring around the world on a journey that took him through 17 different countries over 343 days. Whilst doing so, he took 6,237 photographs which he has pieced together as several beautiful fast-paced montages.

Kien wanted to capture the spirit of his journey and took time-lapse photos at every city that he travelled to. Each two-second scene comprises approximately 40-60 photographs.

The countries showcased within the video and on his 25,000 mile journey include Argentina, Bolivia, Chile, Egypt, England, France, Indonesia, Japan, Jordan, Morocco, Peru, Portugal, Spain, Thailand, Turkey, Uruguay and the United States. Kien also visited popular landmarks such as Stonehenge, the Louvre, Times Square, Mt. Sinai, Pier 39 and the Alhambra. He rode on 58 buses, 18 boats and 19 airplanes over the course of the entire trip.

Which of these cities will you be putting onto your list of places to visit? Watch the video here:

Elephant Hills in Thailand Announces Birth of Baby Ha Ha

After waiting 22 months for the birth, Elephant Hills is proud to announce the birth of Ha Ha the baby elephant, born to Tor Por late last Sunday night on the 12^th of February 2012. It is Tor Por’s first baby and both mother and baby are doing well in the confines of their herd. The matriarch Khun Di-Be-Le is especially pleased with the new arrival and was a witness to her smooth birth.  She measures in at 90cm high with a healthy weight of approximately 100kgs and will keep Tor Por busy for the next few years.

Asian elephants were classed as endangered in 1986 and according to the WWF, their numbers are still dwindling in Thailand where they are domesticated and in some cases mistreated. This birth is a huge success for Elephant Hills and they are hoping that Ha Ha will have a brother or sister in the next five years.

Elephant Hills is nestled deep in Thailand’s Khao Sok rainforest and gives its visitors a luxury camping experience amongst the wildlife. Visitors can either choose to stay at the luxury floating camp or the tented camp and are treated to campfires and canoe excursions among many other activities. With the addition of Ha Ha, Elephant Hills will further ensure that they create a lifetime of memories for visiting guests, and continue to work with the local community to improve conservation in the area.

We wish the excellent team at Elephant Hills good luck and look forward to hearing how Ha Ha is doing in the future. Watch baby Ha Ha playing and see her photos below.

Abu Camp introduces baby elephant at 3 days old

Abu Camp, situated on the eastern edge of Botswana’s Okavango Delta, provides the original elephant riding safari experience and was proud to announce that Shireni, one of the Abu Camp’s leading elephants, gave birth to her third surviving calf, a healthy female, at 10.05pm on Saturday 17th December.

Measuring approximately 90cm at the shoulder and weighing about 110kg, the new-born, named Worona, stood on her own four feet, wobbling, within 20 minutes. Warona is the SeTswana name meaning ‘for us.’

Reaching up to her mother, Warona suckled properly for the first time at 7am the next morning, 10 hours after the birth, and now takes short naps of 5-10 minutes. Closely watched over by her doting big brother, Abu Junior, Warona is already showing signs of playfulness as can be seen in the video of her at three days old.

Warning – this is very cute!

I fell madly in love on a Luxury Ranch Holiday

Leaving my (relatively new) boyfriend for a week while I went off ranching with the girls was never going to be easy.  Sure, I knew that once I got there that I’d be fine because I’d be doing what I love, in a place I love, but still, I struggled saying goodbye (and no I’m not 14!).  Little did I know that I’d fall in love with someone else while I was away, well, I say some ‘one’ else, it wasn’t quite what you might think.

Being animal mad, I’m a long time horse lover, but never had the time, or the accessibility to horses to ride or spend time around them.  I actually started riding a couple of years ago, pretty late really, but instantly loved it.  I had read about ranching holidays and always wanted to go, but thought that I should at least have a bit of experience on horseback before I took the plunge.  I finally did in 2010 and loved it so much that I returned to the same ranch this year and met the same group of people as last year.  The very knowledgeable owner of the White Stallion Ranch in Tucson, Arizona, takes great care to match you up with a horse that suits you in every way, almost like the Cilla Black of the equine/human relationship.

Meeting the horse that’s going to be your best friend and companion for the next week is an exciting moment.  One look at Packer and I was hooked.  His big kind eyes and the way he looked back to check on me every time I climbed on his back or finished a lope made me feel very special and cared for.  The way he nuzzled my pocket for horse cookies while I bathed him at the end of a long day on the trails never failed to make me smile and his unfailing willingness to run that little bit faster whenever I asked him were qualities that left me more than a little bit smitten.  The way he slowly wandered into the Corral at the end of the day for a well deserved, roll, rest and a play with his friends, I could watch for hours.

At the end of the week, I was as sad to say goodbye to him as I was to my other love at home the previous week.  We had a ‘moment’ while I gave him his last hosing down of the week and while I know he’ll be on to his next guest this week, taking just as good care of them as he did me, I’d like to think that he remembers me as fondly as I remember him.

After our long day he was in need of a bath

Elephant Numbers Grow in Sri Lanka

The first national survey of Sri Lanka’s wild elephants revealed that the elephant population is at 5,879, previously estimated at 5,350. Wildlife Minister S.M. Chandrasena told a press conference that out of these this number, 1,107 were accounted as calves and 122 tuskers.

Wild Elephants in Sri Lanka

The national survey was conducted by using a method known as the “water hole count”. There were approximately 4,000 wildlife workers, villagers and farmers who were deployed for three days at more than 1,500 locations across Sri Lanka to count the elephants as they came to water holes for a drink.

In the early 1900s, there were an estimated 10,000 to 15,000 elephants that roamed Sri Lanka, but since then, poaching and the loss of habitat due to deforestation for agriculture have taken their toll. Locals are often faced with the dangers of wild elephants entering villages and charging through houses in search of food and destroying crops on farms.

Wildlife Department Director General H.D. Ratnayake said, “This statistic shows that Sri Lanka’s elephants are in good health and that their population is growing.”

Elephants bathing in the Maha Oya River at the Pinnawela Elephant Orphanage in Sri Lanka

If you’re planning on visiting Sri Lanka to see some of these stunning mammals up close, a visit to the Pinnawela Elephant Orphanage is highly recommended. Established in 1975 with seven orphans, and now one of Sri Lanka’s most popular tourist sites, the Pinnawela Elephant Orphanage is also a conservation and educational centre, supported by local and international experts with a scientific captive breeding programme. The nearby Maha Oya River is an important setting and a must-see for the daily bathing and play session before the elephants return to the orphanage with the expert guides.

Source: The Guardian

Discovery of Endangered White-Cheeked Gibbons in Vietnam

This is a momentous moment for wildlife enthusiasts, as the only known viable population of white-cheeked crested gibbons have been discovered in the Vietnamese highlands. Conservation International have been working for three years in north-central Vietnam but had never uncovered a population larger than a dozen groups. A year ago, focus changed to Pu Mat National Park, located in northern Vietnam’s Nghe An province, where scientists working with Conservation International scoured the remote jungle landscape before the magical discovery.

The gibbons were tracked through their thundering, elaborate and amplified mating calls. These calls have a purpose – the gibbons are among only 6% of primates who form monogamous partnerships and personalise a song for them, each of which were tracked and identified by the scientists through auditory surveying. The scientists confirmed that there was a population of 130 groups, amounting to an impressive 455 gibbons.

The significance of uncovering these gibbons is decisive for the white-cheeked species, for it triples the species’ total population. As Dr. Russell A. Mittermeier, Chair of the IUCN/SSC Primate Specialist Group and President of Conservation International explains, “This is an extraordinarily significant find, and underscores the immense importance of protected areas in providing the last refuges for the region’s decimated wildlife.” The species was historically found in China and Laos as well as Vietnam, but is now functionally extinct in China and unfortunately largely unknown in Laos.

The white-cheeked crested gibbons join the range of exotic species currently in Vietnam. From pelicans, Indochinese tigers, Indian elephants, green sea turtles and red-shanked douk monkeys, Vietnam has a vibrant array of wildlife. This latest discovery gives great hope for the future of this beautiful primate, with hopes that the groups will thrive alongside the other wild animals unique to Vietnam. As Ben Rawson, regional primate expert for Conservation International, explains, “We are extremely excited about this discovery. Pu Mat was already important for its great diversity of species and for its benefits to the surrounding communities, and now it is a top priority for global gibbon conservation.”

See these beautiful creatures in the wild below – beautiful, aren’t they?