Best of our wild blogs: 27 Dec 10

Mei Lin, the explorer's last dives of 2010
from Psychedelic Nature

Rare mangroves at Kranji, with special find?
from wild shores of singapore

Search for Glowing Mushrooms
from Macro Photography in Singapore

Milky Stork乳白鹳@Japanese garden星和园
from PurpleMangrove

sentosa
from into the wild

Christmas Eve with Big Sister
from The Gal - Nicole and The annotated budak

Monday Morgue: 27th December 2010
from The Lazy Lizard's Tales

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For PR's sake, free the dolphins

Letter from Roger Chow Today Online 27 Dec 10;

I REFER to recent reports that two of the seven dolphins destined for Resorts World Sentosa's (RWS) Marine Life Park have died in captivity.

RWS has stated that its decision to exhibit the dolphins is a fulfilment of obligations in its winning bid to build one of Singapore's two integrated resorts. If it is therefore beholden to the Singapore Tourism Board (STB), then perhaps STB should instead take the initiative in changing course before a dreadful situation is made worse.

Ho Wai the killer whale died in Hong Kong's Ocean Park in 1997 after she lost too much blood in her intestine. She died aged about 22, compared to a natural lifespan of around 50 for those in the wild.

The nation mourned and many questioned the initial wisdom of placing such an elegant creature in captivity.

When more dolphins die prematurely or unnaturally in Singapore - and they surely will, as studies have shown that such marine creatures almost always fare poorly in captivity - a similar backlash will occur.

This will tarnish the image of STB, RWS and Singapore as an environmentally-enlightened nation. It makes commercial and ecological sense to avert the PR disaster before it happens.

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India: Olive Ridley nesting at peril

Satyasundar Barik The Hindu 27 Dec 10;

BHUBANESWAR: Will the spectacular sight of mass congregation of endangered Olive Ridley sea turtles for mating and nesting on the beaches of Gahirmatha become history?

The beaches coming under the Gahirmatha Marine Wildlife Sanctuary have shrunk considerably. A 32-km-long beach has shrunk to less than one kilometre in the past 35 years.

Gahirmatha is one of the first rookeries of turtles discovered along the Orissa coast.

A group of researchers from the Wildlife Institute of India and the Orissa Forest Department noticed the trend while studying the offshore distribution and migration pattern of Olive Ridleys along the country's east coast.

While presenting the outcome of the study spanning from 2007 to 2010 here recently, B. C. Choudhury, WII scientist and principal investigator of the study, said: “When as a researcher I worked in 1975, we used to walk a 32-km stretch beach where nesting used to take place. When the fragmentation occurred, at that point of time the nesting beach was six km long. And today it is about 950 metre.”

Fragmented space

In 2004, Islands of Nasi-I and Nasi II in Gahirmatha used to be continuous, but now the space was fragmented, Mr. Choudhury said. “Smaller patches of beach are often submerged. But when these are exposed, there is little space available for nesting by turtles.” The area available for nesting was 1,80,000 square metre in 2004.

Mr. Choudhury said that in 2009, all smaller patches went under water and a very small piece of extended sand bar got attached to the Wheeler Island, which was being used by the Defence Research Development Organisation for missile testing. The nesting took place on the sandbar which was about 78,300 square metre.

“In 2010, the total mass nesting area is about 1,000 metre long by 53 metre width. You can easily calculate what is the total area? And even by wildest stretch of imagination, can you believe that 4.5 lakh turtles will lay their eggs in that area,” the WII scientist asked.

“Nesting by four to five turtles in a square metre area is very high density. Imagine the scenario on one metre square area where the first turtle will lay eggs, the second turtle will probably dig out those eggs. When 1.5 lakh eggs are laid and covered, probably 50,000 eggs are taken out.”

Two other mass nesting beaches are on the mouth of rivers Rushikulya and Devi along the Orissa coast.

The study also said that nesting density (4 to5 turtles per square metre area) was high in Gahirmatha compared to Rushikulya (0.80 to one per square metre area) during the 2009-10 nesting season. Low erosion and sporadic nesting resulted in high hatching success at Devi.

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US shark fin restrictions carry little weight in HK

Joyce Woo Sun Yahoo News 26 Dec 10;

HONG KONG (AFP) – The US Senate's move to toughen laws on shark finning is unlikely to have much impact in Hong Kong, dubbed the "Grand Central Station" of the controversial trade, environmentalists say.

The new legislation passed last week is aimed at protecting the ancient fish which experts fear is on the brink of extinction due to growing demand in Chinese restaurants, which use the fins in a hugely popular soup.

Few places prize the gelatinous delicacy more than Hong Kong, where it is a staple at high-end restaurants and wedding banquets, a mark of affluence in a city that accounts for as much as 80 percent of the world trade in fins.

Hong Kong was the largest importer of shark fin globally in 2007, buying about 277 million US dollars worth of fins, or 10,209 tonnes, according to United Nations figures.

One kilogram (2.2 pounds) from certain species can sell for 120 US dollars or more in Hong Kong.

The appetite for shark fin seems unlikely to wane, despite growing criticism online and among some couples who refuse to serve the soup at their weddings.

Hong Kong-born action star Jackie Chan, NBA superstar Yao Ming and Taiwanese movie director Ang Lee have also campaigned for shark conservation.

But demand remains strong and tens of millions of sharks are killed each year, often by fishermen who slice off their fins before throwing them back in the water to die.

The US banned finning 10 years ago, but the new law closes a loophole that allowed it in the Pacific as long as sharks were not finned onboard a vessel and led to a booming clandestine industry.

The bill does not ban the sale of shark fin, which is readily available in many upscale Chinese restaurants in the US.

Silvy Pun, a spokeswoman for the conservation group WWF Hong Kong, told AFP the US move would have little impact on the trade in the southern Chinese city.

"More than 80 countries actively contribute to Hong Kong's shark fin imports and the US is only one of them," she said.

"A lot more could be done, especially in terms of banning shark-slaughtering or at least imposing a legal limit on how many sharks can be killed each year," she added.

Hong Kong's government said it abides by restrictions on the trade under the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species.

But even the Hong Kong fisheries and conservation department serves shark's fin soup at official events and has no plans to change the policy, a spokeswoman told AFP.

Pun described Hong Kong's position as "disappointing" and said she wanted other countries to follow the US example.

Shark's fin shops are common in Hong Kong and dealers reacted angrily to the tougher US laws, accusing campaigners of attacking Chinese culinary culture.

"It's because green groups always go around telling people not to eat shark fin... They are brainwashing the public," said Mak Ching-po, chairman of the Hong Kong Dried Seafood and Grocery Merchants' Association.

"Why don't they go after the foods of other cultures like caviar or foie gras? They simply want us and the whole industry to die. It is turning Chinese culture upside down."

The issue made headlines again earlier this month when culinary bible Michelin Guide awarded its highest three-star rating to Sun Tung Lok, a Hong Kong restaurant which -- like many in the city -- serves shark's fin soup.

A restaurant spokesman said they respected the US decision but defended selling the soup.

"We are just doing our own thing -- serving food to our customers. It's important to remember that out of more than 100 dishes that we serve, only four to five dishes are shark fin. There's no need to magnify the issue," he said.

More than 50 local restaurants have signed on to a WWF campaign urging shark-fin free menus.

The WWF's Pun said she believed attitudes were turning against eating shark's fin, but urged the authorities to do more.

"The government should be taking a lead role in this. There's only so much civil groups can do -- we need legislation," she said.

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Best of our wild blogs: 26 Dec 10

First Chek Jawa Boardwalk trip for 2011
from Adventures with the Naked Hermit Crabs

Top Memorable Events
from Psychedelic Nature

Life History of the King Crow
from Butterflies of Singapore

decorator-velcro crab @ Big Sister's Island 24Dec2010
from sgbeachbum

The same old line
from The annotated budak

Why DIDN'T the chicken cross the road?
from Celebrating Singapore's BioDiversity!

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Environment review of 2010

The year started badly after the failure of the Copenhagen climate summit and got worse with the ‘climategate’ scandal and the largest oil spill in US history. But it was a good year for tigers and wildlife.
Louise Gray, The Telegraph 21 Dec 10;

• The Copenhagen fall-out: The failure of world leaders to agree a deal on climate change during a fraught United Nations meeting in Copenhagen at the end of 2009 left the environmental movement in a state of confusion. Much of 2010 was spent reassessing better ways to limit carbon emissions if it is not going to be through a global agreement. Non-governmental agencies started targeting businesses and individuals to reduce emissions instead, irrespective of what government is doing.

• Climategate: Emails stolen from the University of East Anglia (UEA) led to accusations scientists had exaggerated the evidence for global warming. Professor Phil Jones, head of the Climatic Research Unit (CRU), claimed to have done nothing wrong. But it took three reviews for him to clear his name of any scientific wrong doing. However UEA was criticised for failing to share information correctly.

• Deepwater Horizon: The massive oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico was described as one of the worst environmental disasters in history. Eleven workers were killed after an explosion sank the rig in late April and for three months gallons of oil poured in the ocean. BP, the British company in charge of the rig and its chief executive Tony Hayward, became figures of hate in the US. The company has been forced to pay out billions in compensation and no one knows what the lasting damage will be on the ecology of the area.

• The Greenest Government ever? In May the Tory/Lib Dem Coalition was sworn in promising to be the ‘greenest government ever’. However one of the first moves was to cut the budget for the Department of Environment Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) by a massive 30 per cent. Various quangoes were lost and funding for flooding and wildlife was slashed.

• Year of the Tiger: The world's first tiger summit ended with a pledge for £200 million and the goal of doubling the number of wild tigers by 2022. A meeting of the UN on biodiversity in Nagoya, Japan managed to be more successful than climate change talks. Governments agreed to at least halve the loss of natural habitats for wildlife by 2020. The Convention on Biological Diversity also agreed to expand nature reserves to 17 per cent of the world's land area by 2020, up from less than 10 per cent today

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Why biodiversity loss and climate change are equal threats

Our biggest ally will be lost if we do not protect and enhance biodiversity in forests and other systems
Robert Bloomfield guardian.co.uk 26 Dec 10;

Since the Rio Earth Summit in 1992, the media and many organisations have pursued as separate narratives the issues of climate, biodiversity and sustainable development. One of the changes this year, at a UN level, has been recognition that this does not make sense.

Without protecting and enhancing biodiversity in forests and other systems we are losing our biggest ally. These living systems can lock away carbon at a fraction of the price that technical solutions for carbon storage could only do at huge cost and by expending even more energy.

Fortunately, over 2010 the International Year of Biodiversity involved 1,500 organisations across 90 governments, 388 NGOs and 21 UN agencies to help raise awarenessof the importance of biodiversity. The UN designated 2011-2020 the International Decade of Biodiversity. Among the agreements that came out of the UN's major biodiversity meeting in Nagoya in October were commitments from 191 nations to increase the amount of the planet set aside for biodiversity protection to 17% of the land surface and 10% of the oceans.

Perhaps more importantly came increasing recognition of the econimic and health cost to humanity of biodiversity loss; not the least being the $3-4bn losses per annum associated with deforestation alone. These are losses which are actually making the World Bank and government finance ministers pick up their ears, they are losses no government can sustain indefinitely.

For the most part, people have seen biodiversity as being about saving endangered species, or setting aside special natural habitats as national parks. However the truth is that biodiversity is an issue of mainstream economic importance, with consequences that are wide-ranging; from helping mitigate floods and droughts to providing a pharmacopeia of future medicines. It is as much about how we as consumers make informed choices about the products we purchase as it is about preserving exotic animals in far away places.

This fresh perspective is at the centre of the new international agreement. All governments are called to report on the condition of their country's "natural capital assets", alongside their reports to the UN and World Bank on their economic growth and GDP. The agreement calls on all private sector organisations to look at their activities and similarly report the biodiversity impact of their corporate activities.

Yet there is still a huge dislocation in the public discourse. While many scientists regard biodiversity loss as an even greater threat than climate change, when did you last hear it discussed on Channel 4 News, or see it featured on News Night or as the subject of a leader comment? (with the honourable exception of the Guardian)

The first target from Nagoya is the call for all people to understand the importance of biodiversity by 2020. Such an endeavour is no simple turning over of a new leaf, no easy New Year's resolution. The topic needs to be covered in our education curriculum at all levels. It will require the vision from responsible government and business to ensure this issue is placed at the heart of aspirations for a successful, emergent green economy. It will require a sea change of awareness among the majority of media editors and producers that this is not only of relevance to their audiences, but that it is a central news story that will run and run for the decade to come.

• Dr Robert Bloomfield is the UK co-ordinator for the International Year of Biodiversity And Head of Innovation The Natural History Museum, London

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Best of our wild blogs: 25 Dec 10

Christmas eve with the Big Sister
from wonderful creation and Singapore Nature and wild shores of singapore with joyous fishes

From UPR to USR
from Beauty of Fauna and Flora in Nature

Snakes in MacRitchie
from Urban Forest

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If you see this chicken, please don't cook it

Undergrad studies rare red junglefowl after spotting them in wild
Grace Chua Straits Times 25 Dec 10;


PHOTO: SUBARAJ RAJATHURAI

UNDERGRADUATE Amanda Tan spent half of this year counting chickens.

Miss Tan, 21, had spotted some odd- looking wild chickens in her Bukit Batok neighbourhood, and realised they were red junglefowl, listed as endangered in Singapore.

Red junglefowl (Gallus gallus) are considered the wild ancestors of domestic chickens, and are native to South-east Asia and much of East Asia.

In Singapore, there are no records of red junglefowl until the 1980s, when bird-watchers began spotting them on Pulau Ubin and speculated they had flown in from Malaysia.

Today, they are seen in far eastern and western Singapore, in Changi and Lim Chu Kang. But the Bukit Batok sightings were new.

So in May, Miss Tan decided to do a research project to track them down, as part of her biology studies at the National University of Singapore.

She counted six red junglefowl in her neighbourhood - but nowhere else in the area - and observed their behaviour. She set up a website asking the public to recount their sightings at tinyurl.com/habitatnews-records.

The work is a feather in Miss Tan's cap, and she is considering extending her red junglefowl research to an honours thesis next year.

But to a layman, the differences between the red junglefowl and a domestic rooster can be hard to spot.

For one thing, a farmyard chicken is meatier.

The red junglefowl's call is strangled at the end, whereas a rooster's is longer and trails off - as Miss Tan obligingly demonstrated.

A male junglefowl has white ear patches and a whitish rump above its tail, while a rooster has none; the former has grey legs while the latter's are buff or pink.

And unlike its domestic relatives, it can take to the air.

'These chickens don't have to cross the road,' said veteran nature guide Subaraj Rajathurai, who advised Miss Tan in her search. 'They can just fly across.'

In fact, just last month, he spotted one strolling calmly through Tanjong Pagar, and speculated it could be an escapee or a released bird.

The shy fowl have been spotted in central areas from Thomson to Commonwealth, according to unconfirmed reports.

While they are listed here as endangered, they are common in South-east Asia, and are likely to spread around Singapore, Mr Rajathurai said.

The wild birds are likely to be spreading around the island through green spaces and corridors, as they live at forest edges and adapt well to various environments.

That is a good thing, said Mr Rajathurai, as red junglefowl here would fill an important ecological niche.

'They feed on invertebrates and grain or seeds from grasses, and would be able to control the population of bugs that would have few ground-dwelling predators,' he explained.

The major threat to wild red junglefowl, in fact, is genetic pollution - they can breed with free-ranging domestic chickens and roosters.

But that is not a concern now - free-ranging chickens were culled some years ago to prevent bird-flu outbreaks.

Rare and endangered species in Singapore

THE red junglefowl is listed as 'endangered' in Singapore. There are fewer than 250 mature birds but there is no evidence of decline. In fact, their numbers could be on the rise.

Critically endangered species are those with fewer than 50 mature individuals islandwide.

Endangered and critically endangered species in the country include:

# The banded leaf monkey (Presbytis femoralis): Lives in the forests of the Central Catchment Nature Reserve. Earlier this year, National University of Singapore researchers found more here than previously thought.

# The saltwater crocodile (Crocodylus porosus): Occasionally seen basking in estuaries and reservoirs. It is listed as critically endangered.

# The berus mata buaya mangrove (Bruguiera hainesii): Named for the crocodile eye-like protrusions on its trunk. It is one of the world's rarest mangrove species, with only a handful in Singapore.

# The Singapore freshwater crab (Johora singaporensis): Found only in Singapore - in Bukit Timah and Bukit Batok. It is listed as critically endangered.

# The fluted giant clam (Tridacna squamosa): A reef dweller, among the largest of all bivalve molluscs. It is endangered because of habitat loss and its use as food.

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Gardens by the Sentosa bay

To open on Jan 29, the boardwalk linking VivoCity and Sentosa will have five themed plots
tay suan chiang Straits Times 25 Dec 10;

A leisurely stroll along the new 700m boardwalk linking VivoCity and Sentosa should take about 20 minutes but visitors can expect to linger a little longer. That is because the $70- million boardwalk is packed with green spaces, rest stops and great views.

Designed by architectural firm Aedas, the bridge will open on Jan 29.

Pedestrians can look out onto the waters separating Sentosa from the mainland, with Resorts World Sentosa on the right and VivoCity on the left.

There are also five themed gardens, which feature tropical landscapes that are indigenous to Singapore, for visitors to discover. They are the mangrove, rock garden, terrain and hill, coastal flora and rainforest gardens.

To create the landscapes, more than 130 plant species and 40,700 plants are being planted on the bridge, which has sitting areas for people to enjoy the surroundings.

In the middle of the walkway is a 6m-high lookout point at the Promontory area where visitors can get unblocked views of cruise ships docking in the area.

There will also be two retail and four F&B outlets along the way for those who want to shop or enjoy desserts. Before the bridge is open to the public, visitors can reach Sentosa only by car, bus, cable car or the Sentosa Express rail.

While the boardwalk offers visitors plenty of greenery, it also has green features that are less visible. It is made of 28,900 planks of timber board, each weighing 21kg and measuring 5m in length. The material is made from recycled hardwood and resin so it is more environment-friendly than real timber. It costs 20 per cent more than real timber but does not rot or warp like timber.

Also, under the boardwalk is a specially constructed water catchment tank where rainwater can be collected. The tank can store three days' worth of water for irrigating plants.

While the walk is likely to be a hit with families, the elderly and handicapped can also enjoy it. There are travellators on the boardwalk and a covered walkway lets visitors get to the island on foot even on rainy days. Mr Kwoh Kok Kiong, Sentosa Leisure Group's planning and development director, says the bridge is designed to take 8,000 visitors an hour each way.

To encourage more people to walk to Sentosa, the entrance fee to the island for those on foot will be lower than those taking the bus or monorail.

Currently, visitors pay $3 to enter Sentosa if they take the Sentosa Express and $2 if they are on the Sentosa Bus.

Visitors on foot can buy island entry tickets at a booth near the end of the bridge. The price will be announced on Jan 29. But on Jan 29 and 30, Sentosa is offering free island admission for visitors who choose to walk. 'The boardwalk will become a destination in itself,' says Mr Kwoh.

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275,000 rare plants under Sheares Bridge

Evelyn Lam Channel NewsAsia 24 Dec 10;

SINGAPORE : The first phase of Singapore's new "Gardens by the Bay" will include a specially-designed cool observatory, which will be completed by the end of next year.

In the meantime, more than 275,000 plants from at least 8,000 species have been brought in, including an olive tree from the Mediterranean area which is 1,000 years old!

The plants are now kept under the Benjamin Sheares Bridge in an area that covers about 25 hectares.

The trees are being cared for by about 80 people, 20 of whom are horticulturists.

Despite their efforts, they could not save some trees which did not survive the month-long journey by sea to Singapore when they were kept in containers.

But all is not lost. Some trees have unique shapes and the National Parks Board (NParks) selected such tree trunks to be used as decorations, particularly those from withered olive trees.

If there are signs of life in some trunks, NParks officers immediately try to save them.

More trees will be brought into Singapore and when they arrive, they will be kept in Marina South, Marina East and Lim Chu Kang.

As the trees are used to a dry climate rather than Singapore's humid climate, they will be given special attention.

Christopher Dalzell, assistant director, Gardens Operations, Gardens by the Bay, National Parks Board, said: "We ensure that we don't give them too much water, so the feeding programme has to be correct.

"And also to maintain (them) ... if we see a bit of dead growth on the plant, ... we will start doing a bit of pruning to ensure that we don't (have) any fungal problems."

- CNA/al

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Dolphinarium opening sparks protest in Armenia

Yahoo News 24 Dec 10;

YEREVAN (AFP) – Environmentalists on Friday staged a protest against alleged cruelty to animals as Armenia's first dolphinarium opened in the capital.

Protesters representing an alliance of 50 Armenian environmental groups and animal-welfare organisations gathered outside the new dolphinarium in Yerevan's Komitas Park holding placards that read: "Don't use dolphins for entertainment!"

The campaigners believe that keeping dolphins in confined spaces is cruel and could cause them to become psychologically disturbed.

They also argue that the climate in Yerevan -- where winter temperatures can plunge to minus 10 degrees Celsius (14 degrees Fahrenheit) -- is not suitable.

"Summer is too dry and winter is too severe, which is harmful for dolphins and other sea mammals," said Ruben Khachatrian, director of the Fund for Wildlife Protection.

But the Ukrainian company that built the new tourist attraction -- home to four dolphins and two fur seals -- has said that suitable conditions will be guaranteed and a glass dome will ensure protection from bad weather.

"I don't understand this protest -- we are giving children an opportunity to interact with these beautiful animals," said dolphin trainer Dmitry Uryvsky.

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