Wildlife & Gardens

Patrolling this corner of SW Hertfordshire on a regular basis the decline in the Lesser Spotted has been precipitous. Green and Greater Spotted are still relatively abundant and easy to locate with their drumming and calls especially the laugh of the Green. Wrynecks remain an extremely rare passage migrant.

What caught my eye last week were the news articles of the Chinese once again wiping out as much of the ocean biomass they can once again in international waters while leaving their waste behind. The case this time being the Galapagos Islands which was visited by them last year as well.

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The islands which are unfortunately as has been pointed out by Clive with other islands being overdeveloped and ruined by increasing populations and tourists have a marine park designation. This has allowed marine life to flourish although there are worries about the Humboldt current and the various cyclical changes in ocean SST affecting them. Ecuador of course has it's territorial waters. The Chinese fleet lies in wait between the two for many migrating species killing indiscriminately at one of the few places in the marine environment that are thriving while many ocean areas are dying. What is particularly abhorrent is the slaughter of sharks of many species for this disgusting practice of producing shark fin soup. The marine park is one of the few areas in the seas where shark populations have not been decimated as yet.

The Chinese are a law unto themselves invading other nations territorial waters to pillage as with Argentina the other year before being driven off building facilities in Africa to hoover up fish stocks leaving the local fisherman and people who depend on the sea to provide food struggling to catch anything. The UN needs to act decisively and extend Ecuadors EEZ out to the Galapagos and for other nations to help provide naval vessels to nations who are being bullied by China to defend their marine environment.

It's not just on sea but on land that the Chinese apparatchiks are at work. Building facilities in countries with big cat populations to manufacture lion and tiger cake. Trying to wrest control of places like Bhutan and Sikkim with their still healthy wildlife populations and getting their grubby claws into Myanmar to harvest all sorts of creatures for their so called barbaric medicine.

 

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One small success story. The Large Blue. Huge declines in Europe and many local extinctions due to the loss of multi niche grasslands and the ant species it uses in it's life cycle. With some of the acidic grasslands in the Chilterns there is hope it can be introduced there too.