Wildlife Journal
Welcome to my wildlife journal. From many years of learning and observation of wildlife, it is my intention to share insights and interesting short write ups about the animal kingdom. Conservation of species is now of urgent importance since all the animals of the world need our help to survive. The best we can do is to be kind to our animals so we can preserve them for many generations to come. To do that we need to do a much better job of caring for our environment and our ecosystems.
An environmentally responsible civilization would not be allowing millions of tons of plastic and other pollutants to be discarded into the environment and oceans every year. So now we need to reverse engineer the damage done to the environment over the last 75 years since the end of WW2. Making biodegradable plastic would be a big step in the right direction. Recycling domestic and industrial waste and burning it for energy or making it into something else useful is the new thinking.
The old thinking of conspicuous consumption without regard for recycling waste left overs after use is no longer acceptable. The old way of thinking that created the world’s pollution problems is not the thinking that will solve the problem.
It is hoped that the young scientists from the new millennium will surely bring new thinking to the table and new ways of cleaning up and restoring our planet.
White Rhinoceros
Ceratotherium simum
The White Rhinoceros is the largest species of all the Rhinoceros’ in Africa.
There are just under 16,000 White Rhinos left in the world and around 98% of them are living Kenya, Namibia, South Africa and Zimbabwe.
These Rhinos are said to be the only ones not currently endangered although a world population of 16,000 is nowhere near the approximate 500,000 Rhinos that once roamed Africa and Asia at the beginning of the 20th century.
In just over 100 years the Rhino population has decreased 97%. This puts the position of Rhino survival in perspective.
A male White Rhino can reach a weight of around 2.300kg and the females up to 1,700kg. It is their huge bulk and muscular build together with an intimidating horn that makes them a very powerful animal.
They also appear as one of the last surviving reminders of the great beasts that used to roam the earth during the great ice age. The white rhino is subdivided into two subspecies, the southern white rhino Ceratotherium simum simum and the northern white rhino Ceratotherium simum cotton. Sadly the northern white rhino is now extinct in the wild due to poaching as only two females of the species are left alive and they are safely in a sanctuary somewhere in East Africa. The last surviving male called Sudan died in a conservation park in Kenya in 2018.
The southern white rhino population is viable at just under 16,000 apparently. Many civil wars and armed conflicts raged across much of central Africa during the 1970’s and 1980’s which pretty much decimated the northern white rhino population.
Rhinos have a pregnancy period of around 16 to 18 months. The young rhino will stay with it’s mother for around two and a half years until it is weaned and sometimes up to three years to learn all of it’s survival skills. Rhinos are herbivores so will graze and eat huge quantities of grass. Their wide mouths easily reach the floor as their head moves from side to side chewing up lots of grass, herbs, bushes, leaves and shrubs, a true vegetarian. To feed their huge bodies with enough energy, rhinos must consume around 120 pounds, or 50 to 60 kg of grass and shrubs per day.
Most rhinos can live from 35 to 50 years in the wild. Their skin is thick and tough at around 2 inches thick but is also quite sensitive in places, therefore rhinos feel compelled bathe in mud or roll in dust to protect their skin from sunburn. There are great efforts going on right now to save and protect the world’s remaining rhino’s and so further reading and study of these amazing animals will always be important and fascinating.
The rewilding of Costa Rica
A great success that can be replicated
Back in the 1940’s Costa Rica was covered with around 75% rainforest. With the arrival of loggers much forest was cleared to make way for growing crops and grazing livestock.
By 1987 the country had lost around 50% of it’s rainforest. This environmental devastation caused the Costa Rican Government to step in to restore and preserve the forests.
In 1996 the Government made it illegal to chop down any forest without strict approval from the authorities. The following year the government set up a ‘Payments for environmental services’ scheme which payed farmers to reforest and grow trees in areas stripped bare by logging/farming, to renew them again.
Costa Rica is the first Latin American country to reverse it’s deforestation and lead by example to show the world that mass conservation is indeed possible. It is remarkable to think that back in the 1970’s and 1980’s Costa Rica had one of the highest deforestation rates in Latin America’ but now that has been completely reversed as the rewilding of Costa Rica has been a great success. This great environmental effort recently won Prince William’s Earthshot Prize, awarded to great innovation or efforts to save the planet.
In the space of 25 years much of the destroyed rainforest and environment has been regrown and restored, and is now home to one of the greatest gatherings of plant and animal species in all of Latin America. It is reckoned the forest is home to more than half a million plant and animal species. Eco tourism is booming in this country because people want to see and feel what it’s like to be in the rainforest.
If the Costa Ricans can achieve such a remarkable rewilding of their beautiful rainforests, then it is surely possible elsewhere. I believe most environmentally devastated areas of the world can be restored, it just needs the will and enthusiasm and the love of the people, then many other repairs to the planet can be put into action in many other countries around the world.