Life History of the Glistening Caerulean
from Butterflies of Singapore
Lineated Barbet – Laced Woodpecker confrontation
from Bird Ecology Study Group
Chek Jawa Boardwalk with Yishun Student Care Services
from Adventures with the Naked Hermit Crabs
Oriental whip snake at Chek Jawa
from wonderful creation
Sunny at Chek Jawa
from wild shores of singapore
Tampines Avenue 9 and Pasir Ris mangroves
from Singapore Nature
Ticked off!
from Half a Bunny and the Salmon of Doubt
Straits Times 22 Nov 09;
Every month, Mr Tan Chee Kiang spends $2,000 on electricity.
He depends on three generators to crank out the power to run his seafood store and a provision shop on Pulau Ubin.
The generators have to be topped up with diesel every few days, and run all day to keep the seafood fresh.
He also has a fourth generator on hand, just in case.
'It is rather inconvenient but that's the way things have always been on Pulau Ubin. If the Government could bring in electricity for us, it would be much better,' he said.
His wish will soon become a reality for the residents.
The Energy Market Authority is calling for clean energy companies to propose plans for an intelligent power grid to be set up on Ubin in a year or two.
This will be a test bed for harnessing electricity from a variety of renewable power sources. At present, all 100 residents and businesses on Ubin use diesel-powered generators.
Leadership development centre Outward Bound Singapore (OBS) has three generators - two for daily needs and the third as a back-up.
There are no street lamps on the island, residents said.
Ubin does not draw electricity from the country's main power grid because it is too expensive to lay transmission cables to meet such low demand.
However, the use of generators, which may cost more than $10,000 each, can be inconvenient.
Said student Jas Koh, 16, who helps out at her aunt's bicycle rental shop: 'If we want to use the bike-washing machine, we have to turn off the fridge or the system will be overloaded. We also have to keep buying big canisters of oil.'
This is why residents are cheering news of the power grid.
Madam Tan Cheng Soon, 85, who runs a small provision shop, pays a neighbour about $100 a month to use his generator for a few hours a day.
She said: 'It powers my lights and radio at night, but sometimes, it gets spoilt and it can be very dark.'
Cheong Lian Yuen restaurant owner Zhou Ying, who is in her 70s, said: 'The generators can also be very noisy. I would be very happy if we finally get some electricity.'
On the matter of renewable energy, at least one agency, the National Parks Board, has relied on it in Ubin since 2006.
Said a spokesman: 'The information kiosk and toilets at four activity areas are operating fully on sustainable energy systems which utilise solar panels and back-up batteries.
'Previously, they ran on diesel generator systems. The overall savings is estimated to be about $150,000 per year.'
Others are also keen to join in the effort.
Said a spokesman for OBS: 'If feasible, we can also explore being a part of this clean energy project.'
Shuli Sudderuddin
Related post
Powering up Pulau Ubin: what wild effects? on the wild shores of singapore blog.
Goh Chin Lian, Straits Times 22 Nov 09;
Clementi West resident Esther Ng is buying electricity in a new way that matches her preferences and lifestyle.
In a trial by the Energy Market Authority (EMA) that could pave the way for more competition ahead, she can choose from three simulated retailers.
They offer different rates for peak and off-peak periods.
Currently, sole provider SP Services charges a flat 21.69 cents per kilowatt hour.
Another change: she pays first, by buying 'electricity credits' online. She can also buy credits from a vending machine in a 7-Eleven store.
The Sunday Times understands a prepaid system could save on hiring staff to read meters in homes and maintaining a system of billing numerous small consumers.
In Ms Ng's three-room flat, a blue palm-sized gadget tallies the amount of electricity used in dollar terms, and the credits left.
When the credits run low, the gadget sounds an alarm. If the credits run out, the power supply will be cut.
Ms Ng, 28, a construction consultant, is one of more than 400 volunteers from West Coast and Marine Parade taking part in a six-month experiment.
EMA chief executive Lawrence Wong said on Thursday that these households used 2 per cent less power. They shifted 10 per cent of usage from peak to off-peak periods.
He also announced plans to expand the experiment as part of a new multi-million-dollar project to test technologies for a smart electricity network. The project is scheduled for the next two to three years.
In the trial, SP Services simulated three retailers.
Retailer A charged 25.23 cents per kilowatt hour for the peak period (7am to 7pm) and 21.03 cents for off-peak (7pm to 7am).
Retailer B charged a lower 21.17 cents in the day, and 25.40 cents at night.
Retailer C had a flat rate of 21.69 cents, plus a 7 per cent goods and services tax.
Ms Ng, who opted for B, managed to cut her monthly bill of $65 to below $60.
The need to pay first initially made residents like Mr Raymond Cheah, 36, watch his usage. But the IT consultant said he relaxed after a week.
He uses Giro to automatically top up his account with $100 worth of credits whenever it is depleted. He lives in an executive flat in Clementi West.
The impact of a prepaid system on the poor worried retiree Ho Ah Mui, 68, who suggested giving them a grace period if they cannot pay first.
'They shouldn't cut the supply straight away, but give them electricity at night,' said Mr Ho, who lives in a terrace house in Telok Kurau.
An obstacle to fully freeing up the electricity market for households is the high cost of servicing small accounts.
Smart meters that furnish retailers and consumers with detailed information on power usage - like the ones used for the trial - could solve the problem. But these meters cost more than 10 times that of existing ones.
Meanwhile, to inject competition, the EMA is inviting power firms to bid to supply 3 per cent of electricity demand from homes and small businesses. The figure will be carved out from the 55 per cent of demand that is price controlled.
The companies already vie to supply the remaining 45 per cent to large customers like factories.
The successful bidder will start supplying power from next April, for nine months. The price for homes and small firms will be a weighted average of the tender price and current flat rate.
Bisphenol A is found in plastic used for bottles, but the authorities say very low levels of the chemical are unlikely to harm one's health
Cheryl Tan, Straits Times 22 Nov 09;
IT regional manager Kenny Leow is not kidding when he says he does not like plastics.
When he buys takeaway food that is packed in plastic containers, he rushes home to pour it out onto porcelain plates.
As far as possible, he shuns the material commonly used to make water bottles, food storage containers and baby milk bottles.
The reason: He is avoiding exposure to a potentially toxic chemical called Bisphenol A (BPA), which studies have linked to cancer, heart disease and diabetes. It is also known to affect the body's hormones and reproductive systems.
Although BPA is found in only the type of plastic known as polycarbonate plastic, Mr Leow is taking no chances.
'We use so much plastics now and we don't know how much the chemical is absorbed into the body,' he says, explaining his cautious ways.
Besides being present in polycarbonate plastic, a material popular for its light weight, versatility and durability, BPA is found in the lining of canned food, compact discs, adhesives, paper coatings and dental sealants.
'The authorities say the chemical is safe now but we don't know what's going to happen 30 years down the road,' says the 36-year-old, who uses only glass or clay pots in his kitchen for cooking, just in case the coating on non-stick pots and pans has harmful substances that have not yet been reported.
A study released last week in the United States confirmed that exposure to high levels of BPA could cause erectile dysfunction and other sexual problems in men.
The study was conducted on 634 male workers at four factories in China who were exposed to high levels of BPA. It is the first of its kind to be done on humans.
All previous studies on BPA were conducted on laboratory animals.
According to Assistant Professor Barry Kelly from the division of environmental science and engineering at the National University of Singapore, BPA can leach into water and food under any temperature or environmental conditions.
He also advises against using polycarbonate bottles for hot liquids or heating them to boiling point as this 'increases the rate of BPA migration into hot water' by 50 times compared to the rate at room temperature.
Dr Robert Bernstein, CEO of Bernstein Consultants, says 'the primary source of exposure to BPA for most people is through the diet'.
Air, dust and water are other possible sources of exposure. His firm provides consultancy advice about public health to governments and the private industry.
Mr Goh Shih Yong, spokesman for the Agri-Food and Veterinary Authority of Singapore (AVA), says: 'Low migration levels of BPA would not cause harm if they are within the safe migration limit.
'But the AVA is closely monitoring new scientific developments as well as the latest recommendations made by international food safety authorities on the safety of BPA.'
The European Union (EU) has established a safe migration limit of 0.6mg of BPA per kg of food, which means that if the limit is observed, the migration of BPA into food does not present a health risk in humans, including babies, even after long-term exposure to it.
Canada, however, has a much stricter standard. Its safe limit is 600 parts per billion, which works out to be about 1,000 times lower than is accepted in the EU.
Like Canada, Mr Leow prefers to err on the side of caution.
Apart from keeping plastic out of the kitchen, he buys only food packaged in glass containers from supermarkets and uses BPA-free plastic milk bottles to feed his 10-month-old son, Matthias.
He also drinks out of only Nalgene bottles, a hard plastic water carrier brand that has a wide range of BPA-free models.
But just more than a year ago, Nalgene, too, had come under attack in the US and Canada for products which contained BPA.
In Singapore, BPA-free plastic products became more widely available only about 1 1/2 years ago, about the same time when awareness about the chemical started to grow.
Mr Leow, who insists on using only BPA-free products for his son, had to search online for BPA-free milk bottles. He says: 'BPA-free products are easily available in the market now, compared to more than 10 months ago.'
First Few Years supervisor Candy Ong says 95 per cent of the milk bottles sold at the store are BPA-free. The shop specialises in selling baby supplies at Paragon shopping centre and KK Women's & Children's Hospital.
The hospital also stocks BPA-free bottles at its own pharmacy.
Ms Ong adds that the store has seen nearly a 60 per cent jump in demand for BPA-free milk bottles since the negative effects of the chemical that was found in the older milk bottles were exposed about 11/2 years ago.
'There is a high level of awareness now. Parents are more educated and Internet-savvy,' she adds.
Mothercare, a baby supply chain store, has also updated its milk-bottle collection this year to include BPA-free ones.
Sports coach Tham Wai Yee, 35, has since switched from using glass bottles to BPA-free plastic milk bottles for her seven-month-old son.
She says: 'If I can reduce my son's exposure to BPA, I will try. But once he grows up, it's up to him to make his own choice.'
How to reduce exposure
# Avoid plastic containers with the plastic identification code 7, which represents polycarbonate plastics.
# Do not pour boiling water into polycarbonate containers. Hot water in contact with the plastic could cause BPA migration.
# Do not microwave polycarbonate plastic food containers. BPA might leach into food due to prolonged exposure at high temperatures.
# Use alternatives such as glass bottles, porcelain or stainless steel containers for hot foods and liquids.
# Opt for fresh or frozen foods instead of canned foods.
# Use infant formula bottles and look for toys that are labelled BPA-free.
Bali Discovery 21 Nov 09;
Serangan Island Officials Join WWF in Rejecting Proposal by Bali Government to Set Aside 1,000 Turtles for Sacrifice Each Year.
Beritabali.com reports that the traditional chief of Serangan island, Made Mudana Wiguna, has firmly stated his disagreement with the purported recommendation of Bali's governor Made Mangku Pastika to the Forestry Department that a yearly quota of 1,000 turtles be set aside for ceremonial sacrifice.
Mudana feels that the governor's recommendation is not in keeping with efforts to conserve the turtle population. Moreover, he sees the use of turtles for sacrifice as flying in the face of efforts to restore Serangan Island's branding as a "turtle island."
Mudana told the press his rejection of the governor's recommendation is in keeping with the commitment of the people of Serangan Island to protect turtles and repairs Bali's negative reputation as an island that destroys turtles. "This reflects our commitment to eliminate the trade in turtles and restore Serangan island's name as a ‘turtle island' like it enjoyed in 1974," he explained.
Mudana pointed to the inclusion of turtle conservation rules into local traditional laws in force on Serangan island as proof that the people of his village are genuinely concerned with protecting turtles.
Mudana underlined that any recommendation to set aside 1,000 turtles for ceremonial purposes is not a recommendation from the people of Serangan, what's more the recommendation is for the sacrifice of 1,000 green turtles and not olive ridley turtles.
According to Mudana, the endemic species of turtle on Serangan island is the green turtle (Chelonia mydas) and not the olive ridley (Lepidochelys olivacea).
WWF Joins the Debate
The World Wildlife Fund for Animals (WWF) is urging the Department of Forestry to reject the provincial government of Bali's request for 1,000 green turtles be set aside each year for ceremonial purposes.
WWF considers that if the Bali government's recommendation is accepted it will open up the door for the resumption of the green turtle trade in Bali which officially ended in 2003 when the use of turtles for ceremonial purposes was outlawed.
The coordinator of WWF programs for Indonesia, Creusa Hitipeuw, told the press gathered on Serangan island on November 20, 2009, that there are efforts by certain parties to re-open the turtle trade in Bali through using religious ceremonies to camouflage their true intentions. WWF warned that such tactics, if successful, will have a negative impact on Bali's tourism industry.
Said Hitipeuw: "the need for turtles is not for religious ceremonies, most will be sold for consumption (as food). If, in fact, the turtles were for religious purposes we could devise a mechanism."
Creusa Hitipeuw, the coordinator for WWF Indonesia estimates that 500 turtles are sold illegally each year n Bali. Most of these turtles come from Sulawesi, Maluku and Sumatra.
Indonesia rejects Bali plan for turtle sacrifices
Niniek Karmini, AP Google News 27 Nov 09;
JAKARTA, Indonesia — Indonesia has rejected a push by the resort island of Bali for rare turtles to be legally slain in Hindu ceremonies, siding with conservationists of the protected reptiles against religious advocates, an official said Friday.
Bali Governor I Made Mangku Pastika enraged environmentalists by advocating a quota of 1,000 green turtles to be killed each year, strictly for ceremonial purposes.
He said legally killed turtles should not end up in cooking pots, served to tourists in restaurants as soup or turtle skewers as they had in the past.
"It would be supervised tightly, and any violation would have to punished," Pastika told reporters in Denpasar, Bali, on Wednesday.
Turtle meat is a traditional delicacy in Bali, the only province with a Hindu majority in Indonesia's Muslim-dominated archipelago. But Indonesia banned the turtle trade and consumption a decade ago amid international concerns about the endangered species' dwindling numbers and threats by animal welfare groups of a tourist boycott of Bali.
Masyud, a spokesman for the Forestry Ministry which is also responsible for animal conservation, said Friday the governor's request for a Bali exemption from national protection laws was recently rejected on scientific advice.
"The law clearly mandates it was not possible, that the green turtles are included in the animals listed for protection," said Masyud, who like many Indonesians uses only one name.
Tens of thousands of green turtles nest on Indonesia's coasts, but sites have dwindled due to poaching and development.
Conservationist generally respect the Hindus' need for turtles in rituals, but railed against the number proposed.
Wayan Geria, coordinator of the Turtle Education and Conservation Center at Bali, described the quota plan as an embarrassment to protection efforts.
Creusa Hitipeuw, coordinator of the Indonesia turtle program of the World Wildlife Fund, said introducing such a high quota could trigger large-scale illegal trade and consumption.
"We recognize the need for the use of turtles in a ceremony, but it has to be managed well," she said. "What we are afraid of is the commercial trade. It's a death trap for this kind of population."
Bali Hindu Faith Council head Ngurah Sudiana called for Jakarta to approve a smaller quota.
"The central government should understand the need for green turtles as part of traditional ceremonies because it relates to our faith," Sudiana said. "Prohibiting it will hurt Balinese people."
Up to five turtles are needed for sacrifice at each of the 100 to 150 large ceremonies a year in Hindu temples around Bali, he said.
Turtles were traditionally decapitated. But since they became protected in 1999, ceremonies in many temples have changed with turtles being symbolically sacrificed through their release to the sea alive.
Associated Press writer Ali Kotarumalos contributed to this report.
The Jakarta Post 21 Nov 09;
Starting with a fleet of 400 fishermen, Governor Fauzi Bowo kicked off Saturday a Herculean effort to remove 14,000 cubic squares of garbage polluting Jakarta Bay every day.
Fauzi said the pollution across 2.8 square kilometers of the bay had reached critical levels, endangering mangrove forest and coral reefs that protected the city from natural disasters.
“Let’s save Jakarta Bay together,” Fauzi said as he sent fishermen off on the garbage-clearing mission at a ceremony at Festival Beach in Ancol, North Jakarta.
“The bay is home to potential maritime resources that support the lives of local fishermen and Jakarta residents.”
The governor added the pollution had slowed production in fishery and other maritime sectors by 38 percent.
The Bay is a sanctuary of 13 rivers dissecting Greater Jakarta, each carrying waste from domestic and industrial activities.
Despite the city bylaw that threatens litterbugs with jail sentences and fines, Fauzi said he opted not to punish people for violating it, which may partly be the reason for annual flooding in the capital.
Antara 22 Nov 09;
Kupang (ANTARA News) - Foreign Minister Marty Natalegawa has set up a national team to calculate the material losses Indonesia has suffered from pollution in the Timor Sea by an explosion at the Montara oil field, a source here said.
"The minister has already set up a national team to calculate the material losses incurred by Indonesia because of the pollution in the Timor Sea," Ferdi Tanoni, chairman of the Care West Timor Foundation (YPTB) said on the sidelines of a discussion on reform in the security sector here on Saturday.
Some 500,000 liters of crude oil spilled into the Timor Sea following an explosion at the Montara oil field on August 20, 2009.
Ferdi appreciated the establishment of the team after the East Nusa Tenggara legislative assembly (DPRD) and regional administration did not give serious attention to the problem.
"We welcome the establishment of the team from which we hope we will know howmuch Indonesia has lost because of the incident," he said.
Ferdi said "the East Nusa Tenggara provincial government and legislative assembly have not paid a serious attention to the problem by not conducting a profound study on it."
So far the central and regonal governments have ignored the rights of the East Nusa Tenggara population, the fishermen in particular while other countries in Europe had supported the YPTB to continue to fight in the case. "Our movement is supported by
countries in Europe," he said.
As a result of the explosion, a lot of coral reefs and fish in the area have been polluted, he said.
He said he hoped after calculation of the loss were made Indonesia would claim compensation from the Australian government.
Earlier he said that the pollution problem was not a bilateral problem between Indonesia and Australia but a trilateral problem because Timor Leste was included in the discussion of the problem. (*)
Adianto P. Simamora, The Jakarta Post 21 Nov 09;
An expert has warned that the REDD emissions reduction scheme designed to protect forests could be prone to conflicts between rich and rainforest nations, including Indonesia, which could in turn threaten bilateral relations because of complicated mechanisms involved in the monitoring of the scheme.
Nautilus Institute Australia director Richard Tanter said implementing the Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Forest Degradation (REDD) scheme without strong assurance of legal and commercial integrity would likely to generate deep conflicts.
"This could be a new version of a conflict between the West and the rest," he said.
The reduction of emissions of rich countries will be highly dependent on REDD projects in Brazil, the Congo, Indonesia and Papua New Guinea.
"What will happen is rich nations will be very angry if rainforest countries fail to stick to the pledged contracts," he said.
"On the other hand, selling countries such as Indonesia would retaliate by saying "it is not fair for rich nations to impose ecological debts on developing countries", Tanter said.
"This will make the REDD scheme prone to conflicts," he said.
Tanter, a professor at the Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology (RMIT), said politicians in richer nations would use the failure to implement REDD as a tool to pressure forested countries in the international arena.
Tanter made a presentation titled Climate change, security and the military at the Office of the State Minister for the Environment, on Friday.
State Minister for the Environment Gusti Muhamad Hatta and his senior officials attended the meeting.
"I think we are on the right track with discussions on the REDD scheme, including its monitoring mechanisms," Gusti told reporters after the meeting.
Emissions from deforestation and forest degradation in developing countries constitute around 20 percent of the total global emissions annually.
However, such emissions are not included under the existing agreement on the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions - the Kyoto Protocol.
Negotiators from 190 countries will meet in Copenhagen in December to discuss a new binding treaty to replace the Kyoto Protocol, which is due to expire in 2012.
The REDD scheme will be one of the most crucial areas to be resolved in Copenhagen, aiming to provide forested countries such as Indonesia with a mechanism to gain financial incentives for protecting forests.
In terms of the REDD scheme, the most crucial issues are the monitoring, reporting and verifying (MRV) of emissions once a project takes place, Tanter said.
Many observers anticipate that the Copenhagen climate talks will not produce a legally binding treaty because of strong resistance from developed nations to reduce emissions.
Forest specialists in Indonesia have repeatedly warned the government of new conflicts between local peoples caused by the administration's unclear forest regulations.
The government has said the REDD scheme could be effective in Indonesia if the main drivers of deforestation and forest degradation, such as illegal logging and forest conversion, can be addressed properly.
Many regional administrations, however, are also still unaware of the scheme, with most still focussed on making money from destructive projects.
Following the introduction of regional autonomy, many regional administrations have issued forestry licenses to gain revenue. Previously, only the central government had the authority to issue such licenses.
Ben Webster, Times Online 20 Nov 09;
Environmentalists across the world are to be enlisted as armchair detectives to monitor satellite images of rainforests and report any illegal logging.
The images will be frequently updated and anyone with internet access will be able to make instant comparisons with historical images and spot destruction of rainforest almost as soon as it happens.
Every four seconds an area of rainforest the size of a football pitch is cut or burnt down for timber and paper or to clear land for cattle and plantations.
Rainforest destruction accounts for 17 per cent of global greenhouse gas emissions, more than is produced by all the world’s cars, ships and aircraft. Tropical forests cover 15 per cent of the world’s land surface and have a double cooling effect, soaking up carbon dioxide from the atmosphere and maintaining high levels of evaporation from the canopy.
The armchair detectives will be able to report their findings to an international agency being created to monitor whether countries are meeting their commitments to reduce deforestation. Any state found to have broken its pledge will lose its share of a new global fund established by rich countries to pay nations for leaving their trees standing.
The fund, called Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Forest Degradation (Redd) and worth up to $30 billion (£18 billion) a year, is due to be approved at the UN climate change summit in Copenhagen next month.
Google is helping to create the new online detective tool, which is likely to be launched next year. Philipp Schindler, from Google UK, said: “Our engineers are exploring how we might contribute to this effort by developing a global forest platform that would enable anyone in the world, including tropical nations, to monitor deforestation and draw attention to it.”
Mr Schindler was speaking yesterday at a seminar on deforestation hosted at St James’s Palace by Prince Charles and attended by leaders and ministers from several of the largest rainforest countries.
President Jagdeo of Guyana told the seminar that the cheapest way for industrialised countries to reduce carbon emissions was to pay poor countries, such as Guyana, not to fell their trees.
Contributors to the Redd fund will pay about £4 for each tonne of CO2 saved by reducing the rate of deforestation. Fitting carbon capture and storage systems to coal-fired power stations costs more than £50 for each tonne saved.
Norway announced last week that it would demonstrate how Redd could work by paying Guyana up to £150 million over five years to preserve its trees.
Guyana’s forests have been far less logged than in many tropical nations, and under the terms of the new deal with Norway, Guyana could actually be paid for increasing deforestation. The memorandum states that Norway will compensate Guyana if it does not cut down more than 0.45 per cent of its forests per year, but Guyana is currently felling trees at a far slower rate. The countries contributing to Redd are concerned that their money could disappear into the pockets of corrupt officials in poorly governed countries. There are also fears that payments will result in logging companies switching to unprotected areas, resulting in no net reduction in deforestation.
Per Frederik Pharo, of the Norwegian Government’s forest protection fund, said payments would only be made when countries could prove that they had reduced their annual rate of deforestation by an agreed amount. He said the targets would be raised every five years.
Brazil has halved its rate of deforestation in the past year but Tasso Azevedo, of Brazil’s Forest Service, warned that it could increase again unless the country received substantial sums of Redd “People have to have some income and we need a lot of cash for the community to maintain the forest,”he said.
Yahoo News 21 Nov 09;
MORELIA, Mexico (AFP) – The mysterious Monarch butterfly, which migrates en masse annually between Canada and Mexico, is now facing a new peril: another insect thriving in Western Mexican forests.
Some 8,000 oyamel fir trees -- the butterflies' unique mountain habitat each winter -- were cut down in July in a bid to remove beetles that threaten the Monarch's ages-old migration.
But now another small beetle has since taken to devouring the savory tree trunks, further endangering the butterflies' winter colonies.
"We are working to determine how many trees have been affected," said Homero Gomez, president of El Rosario Sanctuary, a premier migrating spot for the Monarch in the western Mexican state of Michoacan.
Local residents, who help manage and maintain the sanctuary, have asked the authorities to fight the new intruder by using natural substances and without felling trees.
Millions of the orange and black butterflies migrate each year when the weather grows cold in Canada to make habitat in Michoacan's oyamel firs, in an annual ritual that has yet to be scientifically explained.
The Monarchs blaze a trail of some 4,500 kilometers (2,800 miles) -- to the tune of 80 kilometers (50 miles) per day -- arriving in early November in the high mountain massifs of Mexico's transvolcanic belt, where they hibernate until February in huge colonies, completely masking tree trunks.
Thousands of tourists come to observe their majestic aerial dances in the El Rosario Sanctuary, home to five million trees of various species.
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