How Squirrel Camp got its bear fence

Squirrel camp, like many wilderness camps, has an electrical fence surrounding it. Normally they are called bear fences, but they can in fact keep many kinds of animals out. There was a time in fact, where there was no fence at all. The bears knew all the food in camp was safely locked away in … Continue reading How Squirrel Camp got its bear fence →

Squirrel camp and the great storm

Squirrel camp today is not completely like the camp first built. The original lacked a place to store new vs old eggs, or a spot for each persons’ electrical wires, or a place for hare poo, or other essential things. The original did however have all the huts to sleep in arranged together in a … Continue reading Squirrel camp and the great storm →

Squirrel camp and the northern lights

In the beginning there were three ecologists (one tall, one medium height, one short). In the boreal forest. Before that there were squirrels and lynx and bears and other such creatures, but as they cannot hold pens to write their stories down we can hardly start with them, so we will start with the three … Continue reading Squirrel camp and the northern lights →

Woah, bear!

Online bear-awareness courses are a bit of a laugh. See a bear? Try to ascertain the species, whether it has seen you or not, and it if is behaving aggressively or defensively. Presumably while praying that you did leave your family pack of Snickers back home. And not in your ruck-sack. Oh dear… At least … Continue reading Woah, bear! →

This eagle could keep a village in meat for a week

I dwelt on that statistic as I held said eagle. Huge and majestic, it was a live weight sat on my outstretched be-gloved hand. We (myself and a group of assorted Flemish bird watchers) had just paid 700 SOM (about £7) each to watch the Kyrgyz eagle hunter Ruslan fly his bird. We also got … Continue reading This eagle could keep a village in meat for a week →

So, I went to a bullfight

Yes, as the title indicates, I have decided not to beat around the bush, and come out with it. I am travelling around seeing lots of different sports, and while in Spain I felt I had a duty to see “Los Toros”. Because it is controversial, because it straddles sport, art and something else, and … Continue reading So, I went to a bullfight →

Creepy-crawly personality, pain and emotion

I delve into the research to find out in invertebrates have personalities, feel pain, and can show emotion

Tracking the elusive Gryllus

Lots of people track animals. Some do it to catch them for food, to detect when they might be near livestock, or more common among other biologists, to study them. Where an animal moves informs us about its foraging behaviour, if it has a territory and whether it overlaps with others, how active it is … Continue reading Tracking the elusive Gryllus →