A mother Green Sea Turtle returns to the sea at daybreak after an exhaustive night of egg-laying

Photos: Thinking deep on World Oceans Day

June 8 is World Oceans Day. To those who live along the coastlines of the world, the effects of climate change are more noticeable than ever. Those who walk their dogs by the seafront every day, and those who enter the water to commune with the ocean, those who watch the skies above the water as it reflects the change of seasons… they know that it is not merely we who are changing, but the our actions that have caused what seem like changes too far-reaching to reverse. A Green Ogre photo-feature Continue reading Photos: Thinking deep on World Oceans Day

100 tigers, but where’s the forest?

The Chinese, in all their ecological ignorance, have reason to be proud. After systematically decimating all things living from their once-bountiful land, they now expect to be felicitated for their ‘conservation’ efforts. China announced on May 22 that it expects the birth of 100 Siberian Tigers at the Manchurian Tiger Park in the city of Harbin. The cats, bred entirely in captivity, are likely to have limited or no hunting or survival skills (a publicity shot shows a young tiger relishing a chicken). But even if some of them survive, where is the habitat available for their successful reintroduction? Wildlife … Continue reading 100 tigers, but where’s the forest?

Death to Diclofenac

The ban of the veterinary drug Diclofenac comes as a relief to conservationists. The drug, administered to domestic cattle and water buffalo, has been blamed for the Great Asian Vulture Crisis. Diclofenac enters the food chain when vultures feed on livestock carcasses, causing kidney failure. Ornithologists the world over have been concerned about the sharp dip in the population of vultures of the Gyps genus, particularly in southern Asia. In the 1990s, within an alarmingly brief span of three years, the numbers of three species of Gyps vultures fell by 95%. Over the last 15 years, their numbers are believed … Continue reading Death to Diclofenac