Another Chance To See

Stephen Fry jokes about New Zealand bird names

2013-05-09T14:32:00.000-04:00

Meet The Lonely Dodo

2013-04-24T12:24:00.000-04:00

Here's a new animation short produced by Aardman Animation for the Durrell Wildlife Conservation Trust and their www.thelonelydodo.com site, with voices by Stephen Fry and Alister McGowan.

Video: Mark Carwardine Searches New Zealand for their Small Five

2013-04-12T10:39:00.002-04:00

Douglas Adams Audio Reading

2013-04-10T16:47:00.002-04:00

Courtesy of MarkCarwardineTumblr @MarkCarwardineT here's an audio account of Douglas preparing to go to Australia (to go check out the Komodo Dragon) by talking to an expert on poisonous animals there (who tells them they’re stupid for going).

Audio: xenophule: In honour of Douglas Adams’ birthday, I present to you my very favourite reading by him.... tmblr.co/ZKr6txiNji8L

I can't decide if I've heard this before or not.

Kakapo Breeding Inventions

2013-04-06T11:56:00.001-04:00

In this Stuff article "Novel nature's little helpers", Nicola Toki relishes the inventions that have been used to aid the recovery of the Kakapo population.

First off the blocks has to be the "ejaculation" helmet. This helmet was covered in condom-like rubber dimples with the idea that perhaps some valuable sperm might be able to be collected. It wasn't particularly successful, but if you don't quite believe me and you'd like to see it for yourself, by all means head to the "Blood, Earth and Fire" exhibition at Te Papa. Along the same line of thought, a remote-controlled kakapo truck was built to try to attract kakapo males, but this too now lives at Te Papa.

How to Count Komodo Dragons

2013-04-01T15:52:00.000-04:00

Head on over to NBCNews.com for an article entitled "How to Count Komodo Dragons". Answer?

With some cameras and the element of surprise. Camera traps are frequently used to take pictures and monitor populations of large mammals like tigers and leopards, but until now, they haven't been used often to count Komodo dragons ― the world's largest lizards ― or other reptiles and amphibians. Recent research suggests that they can and should be used to keep tabs on these animals, and that cameras may beat the physical traps currently used to monitor Komodo dragon populations.

Douglas Adams Google Doodle

2013-03-11T09:12:00.002-04:00

Google's Doodle for today celebrates what would have been Douglas Adams' 61st birthday. Click around on the doodle to find some hidden stuff.

REPOST Douglas Adams Memorial Lecture - March 12, 2013

2013-03-08T14:31:00.000-05:00

This year's Douglas Adams Memorial Lecture will be from Dr Adam Rutherford and will take place on March 12, 2013 at 6:30 p.m (for 7:30 p.m. start) at the Royal Geographical Society in London. For full details and booking information, please visit the Save The Rhino Events page.

Dr Adam Rutherford is a scientist, writer and broadcaster. He completed his doctorate in genetics at University College London in 2002. Since then he has worked at the science journal Nature, as an editor and filmmaker. Adam is also a presenter for the BBC. On Radio 4 his work has included programmes on MMR and autism, human evolution, the influence of astronomy on art and literature and most recently Extinct!, a three-part series on the current and great mass extinctions of the past.

Douglas Adams's daughter Polly spends a day in Brisbane

2013-03-07T14:29:00.001-05:00

In January, Polly was in Tasmania, but now she's paying a flying visit to Brisbane. Check out her interview with 612 ABC Brisbane.

In Living Memory: Jaws - Mark Carwardine interview

2013-03-03T12:09:00.003-05:00

This week's episode of BBC Radio 4's "Living Memory: Jaws" explored "how the Spielberg classic Jaws inspired a new generation of marine biologists and conservationists, and invented the concept of the summer blockbuster". Mark Carwardine was one of the interviewees, and the program is available to Listen Again worldwide.

The Meaning of Liff at 30 - Thursday February 28th

2013-02-25T16:46:00.002-05:00

On Radio 4 on Thursday, a special program celebrating the Meaning of Liff's 30th anniversary. The program should be available for world-wide Listen Again for at least 7 days after broadcast.

This year marks the 30th anniversary of the publication of The Meaning of Liff, by John Lloyd and Douglas Adams. This funny and well-loved dictionary uses placenames as new definitions for common experiences which we all know and recognize, but for which no words exist. John Lloyd talks to Matt Lucas about his love of Liff, and also gathers new entries from the Radio 4 audience. These are then chewed over and sifted down by John and fellow Liff-lovers Sanjeev Bhaskar, Helen Fielding and Terry Jones. And Professor Steven Pinker - Liff devotee - talks about the psychological relief and sense of bonding that comes from recognising that you're not alone in having these thoughts and feelings.

No Kakapo Chicks in 2013

2013-02-18T17:50:00.002-05:00

Stuff.co.nz reports that there will be no kakapo chicks this year.

It is the second year in a row the kakapo, which is on the brink of extinction, will have no new additions to its small population. Department of Conservation southern area manager Andy Roberts said the breeding season had begun with optimism but it was now highly unlikely any new kakapo chicks would be born this year.

Kakapo Roundup

2013-02-03T11:03:00.000-05:00

A few Kakapo articles lately...
From National Geographic: Kakapo Coprolite Yields Conservation Clues
From Auckland Now: Sick kakapo returns to the wild
From stuff.co.nz/national: Richard Henry: Our first conservation hero

Douglas Adams' Little Rocket

2013-01-24T16:12:00.001-05:00

Tasmanian radio station ABC Hobart has a lovely little audio interview with Douglas Adams' daughter Polly who is currently Down Under on a gap year. In it she talks fondly of her father, and how much she enjoyed reading "Last Chance To See". Enjoy.

Have a listen to Polly's memories of her father, her adventures in Aus and the one career her mother forbade her from entering!

Douglas Adams Memorial Lecture 2013

2013-01-16T16:41:00.000-05:00

Dr Adam Rutherford is a scientist, writer and broadcaster. He completed his doctorate in genetics at University College London in 2002. Since then he has worked at the science journal Nature, as an editor and filmmaker. Adam is also a presenter for the BBC. On Radio 4 his work has included programmes on MMR and autism, human evolution, the influence of astronomy on art and literature and most recently Extinct!, a three-part series on the current and great mass extinctions of the past.

First Kakapo Chick of the season

2012-12-09T09:42:00.000-05:00

Tweet from @Spokesbird.

Skraaarrk! First confirmed kaka chick of the season at Orokonui Sanctuary. Cute as!

Hope for the Northern White Rhinos as Suni and Najin Mate; Twice!

2012-06-20T13:38:00.001-04:00

Here's a quick update from the Ol Pejeta Conservancy.

On April 25th, four weeks after their interesting courtship ritual, Suni and Najin finally mated! 32 days later, on May 27th, they mated again. These recent mating activities provide a glimmer of hope for the critically endangered northern white rhino subspecies especially as they are Najin’s first mating in over a decade!

Excess Baggage: Mark Carwardine

2012-04-11T09:01:00.003-04:00

Mark Carwardine appeared on this week's BBC Radio 4 travel show "Excess Baggage" talking about "Wildlife Travel". The show is streamable at the previous link, or can be downloaded as an MP3 file from their podcast.

Sadly, I learn that this is one of the very last episodes of Excess Baggage as it is being axed by the BBC and the last show will go out on April 28th. Fortnightly travel "segments" by Sandi and John will be incorporated into the new extended "Saturday Live" show.

Wanderlust has started a petition to save Excess Baggage. Please show your support!

Kakapo Basil May Have Fathered His Last Chick

2012-03-05T17:21:00.001-05:00

Radio New Zealand reports that Basil may have to be cut from the breeding programme after another young chick "Rooster" died last week. Basil's genetic makeup may be partially to blame.

A three-year-old kakapo named Rooster died last week, the fifth fatality since September last year.
Of the six young kakapo to die recently, four were fathered by a bird named Basil on Anchor Island in Fiordland.

The death brings the total number of Kakapo down to 126.

Old age may have killed stud kakapo

2012-01-31T16:27:00.001-05:00

Southland Times, with an update on Waynebo, the kakapo found dead on Codfish Island earlier this month.

Kakapo Recovery Programme manager Deirdre Vercoe said tests on his body had found no specific cause of death on January 2.

Although Waynebo had a small wound on his chest, the lack of inflammation suggested it had been inflicted after he was dead.

Found on Stewart Island in 1989 – making him one of the last discovered wild kakapo – Waynebo fathered 11 chicks during his time with the recovery programme.

Kakapo death a hit for breeding chances

2012-01-23T21:04:00.003-05:00

Sad news from New Zealand. Kakapo numbers have dropped to 128 with the death of Waynebo. The Dominion Post has the story.

Male kakapo Waynebo was found dead by rangers on January 2 after his transmitter went into mortality mode.

Kakapo Recovery programme manager Deidre Vercoe Scott said the cause of Waynebo's death was unknown and tissue samples had been sent to Massey University.

"An autopsy has been carried out at Auckland Zoo and, at this stage, the only indication of the cause of death is that he had a wound on his chest."

Two Kakapo Found Dead

2011-09-10T20:20:00.001-04:00

Sad news from New Zealand. Scoop has the full details.

Two young female kakapo have been found dead – one on Whenua Hou/Codfish Island, off Stewart Island, the other on Anchor Island in Fiordland.

Kakapo Recovery programme manager Deidre Vercoe Scott said the two birds were discovered by rangers doing transmitter changes during the weekend. The first, Purity, hatched during the bumper 2009 breeding season. It was estimated she had been dead around ten days.

The other, Monoa, which hatched in 2002, was found Sunday on Anchor Island. She had been dead for quite some time, indicating the two deaths were not linked.

Kakapo overcrowding may force return to Resolution island

2011-09-10T08:23:00.000-04:00

In this article from July, Kakapo Recovery programme scientist Dr Ron Moorhouse has concerns over possible Kakapo overcrowding, particularly on Codfish Island. Otago Daily Times has the full article.

Overcrowding may force the endangered kakapo to be returned to Resolution Island, more than 100 years after a pioneer conservationist first attempted the move.

The population of the flightless parrot stands at 131, and they are largely housed on two southern offshore islands - Codfish Island, off Stewart Island, and Anchor Island, near Dusky Sound.

Northern white rhinos set for stem cell test-tube babies

2011-09-09T20:17:00.002-04:00

Article in the MailOnline on an interesting approach to saving the species that does not involve cloning.

The northern white rhino, one of the planet’s most endangered animals, could be saved by pioneering stem cell research.

Scientists at the Scripps Research Institute in La Jolla, California, also hope their work will save other animals teetering on the edge of extinction.

The team have managed to create stem cells from the majestic animals and hope they will eventually be able to produce ‘test tube babies’, too.

Kakapos: Isolation Proves Dangerous On 'Rat Island'

2011-07-15T11:10:00.003-04:00

In a new book "Rat Island: Predators in Paradise and the World's Greatest Wildlife Rescue", author William Stolzenburg talks about the damage done to island ecosystems by non-native species like cats, weasels and rats. The implications for the kakapo in New Zealand are well documented, and this North Country Public Radio article talks about that, and also includes an audio interview with the author.

Stolzenburg tells NPR's Renee Montagne that because its only predators were in the sky, the kakapo had no need to fly and, therefore, couldn't.

"It exuded this particular scent also that was supposed to attract other kakapos," he says. "Of course, when the invaders got to New Zealand — when the rats and the cats and the weasels came to New Zealand — this was a bird that was just set up for massacre, and that's exactly what happened."

Stolzenburg explains that in the 1800s, settlers arriving in New Zealand brought sheep and rabbits with them for game. Sheep ate much of the vegetation, and the rabbits, being rabbits, exploded in population. With their huge numbers and voracious appetites, they began eating the sheep's rangeland. So to deal with the rabbit problem, settlers introduced stoats — a member of the weasel clan and a terrific predator. But the stoats quickly found much easier prey than rabbits — kakapos.