This will be done in note format!
Simon was in a cave on the border of Cumbria & Lancashire because he couldn’t get to the Farne Islands. He showed us some hibernating bats. More Whooper Swans have arrived and you can find out more here. The Thornby fox has an injured back leg. On Rum, Maximus has taken Percy’s territory but Percy is getting some hinds back. On the Farne Islands, 28,003 Little Auks have been spotted but none of the team is there. And they show some clips of the cold weather.
An oil spill has occurred off the south-west coast of Russia. This is bad news for wildlife in that area. It is especially bad news to hear that one of the ships was carrying sulphur! It could take years to clean up us some oil has sunk to the seabed.
I hope they clear up the thousands of gallons of it and I hope all life in that area survives.
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The Red panda munches its way through its own bodyweight in bamboo (for a female, up to 200,000 leaves) every day in the isolated mountain ranges in western China and the Himalayas.
Sumatran Rhino
The smallest of the five extant species of rhino, the 300 surviving hairy two-horned creatures chew vegetation in Indonesia and Malaysia.
Amur Leopard
One of only seven remaining female Amur leopards in the wild was shot in Russia at the end of April. Their natural habitat – the Sikhote-Alin mountains in north-east Russia – is rapidly deteriorating and disappearing as the forests the leopards prefer to live in are destroyed.
Bactrian camel
These rare two-humped camels survive in the wilds of the Mongolian Gobi Desert by eating snow in place of water – it’s estimated there are only 950 alive in the wild.
African wild ass
The ancestor of the domestic donkey, the African wild ass is down to its last few hundred surviving relations in the wilds of Ethiopia and Somalia. Despite being legally protected, the asses are still hunted for food and traditional medicine.
Aye-aye
Native to Madagascar, the aye-aye is under threat not only from its forest home being destroyed but also because the local population think that, with its bulging eyes and long, crooked fingers, it’s an evil omen.
Golden-rumped elephant-shrew
The bright yellow rumps of this Kenyan elephant-shrew – so named because of its extremely long trunk-like nose – have been fading as their habitat's destroyed. And their numbers aren’t helped by the fact that they’re notoriously monogamous.
Saiga antelope
Numbers of one of the world’s fastest animals have plummeted from over a million a decade ago to fewer than 50,000 today. These graceful beasts roam the wilds of China, Kazakhstan and southern Siberia, but are under threat from poachers as their horns are used in Chinese medicine.
Grevy's Zebra
The largest of the zebra family and native to Kenya and Ethopia, the Grevy’s are considered endangered because they’re hunted for their narrowly striped skin. They’re also threatened by habitat loss and have to compete with growing livestock herds for water supplies.
Hawksbill Turtle
Not only are hawksbills hunted for their shells, they also get caught up in fishing nets and suffer from their nesting beaches being destroyed to make way for new hotels and marinas. It’s estimated that there are only about 8,000 nesting females spread throughout the tropics.
Orangutan
The quest for supposedly environmentally friendly biofuels has had a serious impact on the survival of one of our closest mammalian relations. The production of palm oil for use as fuel is destroying orangutan habitats in Sumatra and Borneo at an alarming rate, with the population decreasing by 1,000 each year. It’s thought the species could become extinct in the wild within a decade if the destruction of their rainforest home continues.
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A bear that was being sold at a market needs a new home. Shaggy in an Andean Bear and can be seen above. He was being sold for what is £100 to Brits. He was in a poorly state but fortunately an animal charity saved him and he is doing very well. They are now looking for a new home for him.
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The bad weather had disturbed the wildfowl at Martin Mere. Simon had a very rare encounter indeed when he was only feet away from a whole family of Wild Boar: two adults & five piglets. He also filmed them all over-night. On Rum, Percy has easily defeated Pirim & Ivan, but is his energy going? From Glasgow, we hear that both of this year’s cubs of Jamie have survived. We found out that the Harlequin ladybirds are destroying our native ones. You can find more information here. We also see some footage of the Super Whoopers leaving Iceland and arriving at Martin Mere.
Simon moved to the Forest of Dean where he found tracks of squirrels & mice. He is actually looking for Wild Boar and he finds a family of two adults & 5 piglets. They also filmed wild foxes. Bill & Kate showed us Whooper Swans fighting and there was a Super Whooper preview showing the swans being tagged. There was squirrel action from Thornby and we found out that Caesar did better than Percy on Rum last year. We also found out how the floods affected wildlife. Blue Tits were down 40%, Great Tits were down 34%, Willow Warblers were down 19%. Reed Warblers lost their nests. But because of the dry April, Long-tailed Tits were up 48%. They also told us about the tre-planting parties.
We saw what happened when duck cam was released during daylight hours. Simon showed us the Starlings doing their display. We found out what happened to Caesar, one of last year’s Red Deer. He got tangled in a fishing line so is not taking part in the rut this year. We had a little update on the Glasgow foxes from Springwatch. Jamie is doing well but at least one of the Chip Shop cubs has unfortunately died. A lot more mucking about which we can be sure to expect for the rest of the series.
We were re-introduced to Martin Mere. We caught up with the migrant Whooper Swans and Pink-Footed Geese to name but a few birds. We discovered “Duck Cam” and were introduced to the Somerset Wildlife Trust base where Simon is. We saw some beavers called Woody & Twiggy. There was a teaser for what is to come in “Super Whooper”. We also had a little catch up with last year’s Red Deer. So mainly an introduction to series 2 of Autumnwatch.
The above poster was made by me (Gaz).Tomorrow is Bonfire Night. It is a dangerous time of year for many animals. Here are a few safety tips.
Follow the above and let you & your pet have a stress-free 5 November. But expect many sad story's to come.
On Wednesday, Prince Harry was questioned about the death of two hen harriers. The birds are very rare and if you kill one you will either be given a £5000 fine or get sent to jail for six months.
He was believed to be in the same area as the creatures when they were shot. The prince stated that he knows nothing about the deaths.
It is saddening to hear of the deaths. No-one knows who actually murdered them except from anyone who was with the person who committed it at that time or the person who committed it themself.
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Thank you.
As you know, I recently visited W.W.T. National Wetland Centre Wales in Llanelli. Here are the promised videos. Enjoy.
You can see the photos here.
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Seventy boar on the loose in Devon after vandals cut the wire to their enclosure. One hundred and forty animals were released but only half have been caught. A similar thing happened one year ago.
You should stay away from them as they can be very dangerous. It is predicted that they will go home overnight due to being hungry, but this might not happen. Their owner is really worried in case they die out in the wild. But there are a lot of other farms that are having the same problem.
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There are worries about the future of the world's biggest cat. There are as few as 1300 Indian Tigers left in the wild. This is due to poaching & habitat destruction.
Also, in countries like China & Nepal, the skins of the creatures are being sold illegally. I hope the animals' numbers go back up, but drastic action is happening. Please comment. Thank you.
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