3 Biggest Hamster Myths! The Truth of Owning a Pet Hamster.

While scrolling through Instagram, I often come across pages dedicated to their pet hamsters. I tend to only follow Instagram’s that have researched their pet’s needs and provide them with an adequate lifestyle. However it’s not uncommon to find people who keep their hamsters in tiny pet store cages, minimal amount of substrate and products that are harmful to their health. 10 years ago this was only to be expected, as there was little information about these exotic pets. Now the internet has flourished, and with a little bit of digging, it is possible to find the correct information on how to look after your hamster. As an avid hamster enthusiast, I think it’s extremely important to educate people on correct modern day hamster care. In this article, I will go through the biggest misconceptions of owning a hamster and what you can do to look after them properly.

1. Myth: Hamsters are cheap starter pets.

WRONG! Although they may be cheaper than owning a cat or a dog, Hamsters are far from cheap animals. Hamsters are advertised as cheap small pets, but the starting cost to set up their home can become costly very quickly. The majority of adequate sized cages that are sold in pet stores are ridiculously expensive, which deters people who haven’t researched properly and end up buying a small cage because it’s ‘cheaper’. However, online you can find proper sized cages/aquariums for £30+ (Workman, 2014). Expect to be spending at least £100 for a full setup once you include: toys, wheels, substrate, food and a cage which are only the essentials.

Many vets won’t know much about medical issues for hamsters as they are an exotic pet. So when your hamster requires a vet visit (which it will), you will have to see an exotic vet, which can charge an astounding amount of money just for a check-up. I’m quite lucky and only have to pay £20 for a vet visit, but others tried to charge me up to £80.  When it comes down to it, if you’re looking for a cheap animal, hamsters are not for you.

2. Myth: Hamsters can live in small cages.

Small cages cause serious behaviour and health issues in hamsters, such as: Cage aggression, bar biting, heightened stress levels (Mills and Marchant-Forde, 2010). It also causes repeated stereotypical behaviours like pacing, spinning in circles and star gazing (also known as back flipping).

There are no scientific studies that approve of small cages as being adequate for hamsters to permanently live in. A study conducted by the University Federation for Animal Welfare concluded that Syrian hamsters need a minimum of 10,000cm2 (100cm) combined with lots of enrichment to provide better welfare standards, which will reduce stereotypical behaviours such as bar biting (Fischer, Gebhardt-Henrich and Steiger, 2007).

What does the law state about animal welfare? On legislation.gov.uk under Animal Welfare Act 2006,s 9(1) (2) (a, c):

1) A person commits an offence if he does not take such steps as are reasonable in all the circumstances to ensure that the needs of an animal for which he is responsible are met to the extent required by good practice.

2) For the purposes of this Act, an animal’s needs shall be taken to include—

(a) Its need for a suitable environment,

(c) Its need to be able to exhibit normal behaviour patterns,

If you are going to own a hamster, by law you have to meet these requirements. Small pet store cages (Workman, 2014) do not allow hamsters to exhibit normal behaviour, which means research, research, research!

3. Myth: Hamsters have breeds.

Hamsters do not have breeds. There are 5 pet species of hamster.

• The Syrian hamster is a solitary animal which is also known as a ‘golden hamster’ in the wild and a ‘teddy bear hamster’, ‘Panda bear hamster’ and ‘black bear hamster’. These are nicknames given in pet stores or unethical breeders who don’t know the real genetics of the Syrian hamster (Foster and Smith, 2017).

• The Chinese hamster is a solitary animal which is constantly labelled as a dwarf hamster. It is not part of the dwarf family (Petwebsite.com, 2017). The Chinese hamsters classification is:

Genus: Crircetulus

Species: griseus.

The dwarf genus is Phodopus and only three species are in this group

Species: campbelli/sungorus/roborovskii

(Russian Campbell/ Winter White/ Roborovski)

• Campbell dwarf hamsters and Russian winter white dwarf hamsters (also known as: Siberian dwarf hamster and Djungarian hamster) are two separate species. They can both live in colonies, however due to the hamsters personality, usually have to be separated as they are very territorial. Pet shops sell them as the same species with made up names, such as: ‘Golden winter white’, ‘Black winter white’ or just ‘Russian hamster’. It’s in fact, nearly impossible to get a pure WW or Campbell species from pet shops due to decades of Campbell’s and winter whites being bred together and producing hybrid babies (Hamstercentral.com, 2008). Unless the store gets their hamsters from ethical breeders, those hamster will be provided by backyard breeders and mills, who breed for profit and not health and genetics. Hybrids come with an enormous amount of health issues and rarely live past 2 years old.

• The Roborovski dwarf hamster is the smallest of the pet species. They are also the most active and are extremely fast and incredibly shy. This means they are not a suitable pet for a first time owner or children. Roborovski’s can live in colonies as they are social creatures and tend to sort out squabbles among themselves. However, once serious fighting starts, they will need to be separated for life (Yee, 2014).

Researching about hamsters is vital to having a happy and healthy pet. Exposing these myths will help the truth become common knowledge and help owners care properly for their pets.

References

Fischer, K., Gebhardt-Henrich, S. and Steiger, A. (2007). Behaviour of golden hamsters (Mesocricetus auratus) kept in four. 1st ed. [ebook] Universities Federation for Animal Welfare, pp.91,92. Available at: http://www.tierschutz.vetsuisse.unibe.ch/unibe/portal/fak_vetmedizin/c_dept_dcr-vph/e_inst_tierschutz/content/e191756/e224004/e224515/e239776/Fischer2006_ger_eng.pdf [Accessed 17 May 2017].

Foster, D. and Smith, D. (2017). Golden Hamsters as Pets: Husbandry and Care of Syrian Hamsters. [online] Peteducation.com. Available at: http://www.peteducation.com/article.cfm?c=18+1799&aid=1617 [Accessed 17 May 2017].

Hamstercentral.com. (2008). Hybrid Dwarf Hamsters – Hamster Central WIKI. [online] Available at: http://www.hamstercentral.com/wiki/Hybrid_Dwarf_Hamsters [Accessed 17 May 2017].

Mills, D. and Marchant-Forde, J. (2010). The encyclopedia of applied animal behaviour and welfare. 1st ed. Wallingford, U.K.: CABI, p.327.

Petwebsite.com. (2017). Scientific Classification Of Chinese Hamster. [online] Available at: http://www.petwebsite.com/hamsters/chinese_hamsters_classification.asp [Accessed 17 May 2017].

Workman, A. (2014). Hamster Home Reviews – National Hamster Council. [online] Hamsters-uk.org. Available at: https://hamsters-uk.org/content/view/97/64/ [Accessed 17 May 2017].

Yee, S. (2014). Robo Dwarf Hamster – All About Roborovski Dwarf Hamsters. [online] Dwarf Hamster Blog. Available at: http://dwarfhamsterblog.com/robo-dwarf-hamster/ [Accessed 17 May 2017].

Firewatch Game Review

Looking out over the forest, bathed in a golden glow from the setting sun, you notice the pure scattering light illuminating the forest around your lookout tower. You lean back and take in a breath of fresh air as you admire Shoshone National Forest; an immense landscape filled with trees lakes and canyons. You hear the crackling of your radio as a transmission comes through. It’s Delilah, your supervisor, radioing in from her tower many miles away.

“People take this job to get away from something. So what’s wrong with you?”

 

Firewatch is a first-person, story driven adventure. I’m very picky when it comes to immersing myself into a good story, but Firewatch had me fixed from the very start. Although game-play has a mild role in the game, it captures the audience with immersion and atmosphere. It makes you feel as if you are Henry, the main character who has taken a job as a fire lookout at a national forest. The game opens with his backstory, which is presented as text dialogue that the player has some degree of control on the outcome. You learn that Henry’s wife has early onset dementia at the age of 41 and no longer recognizes him. She’s placed in a home and Henry ends up in the middle of a forest. This sets the tone for the entire games theme of escapism.

Throughout the game, Henry’s main contact is Delilah through his walkie-talkie, who gives him jobs to do such as, investigate columns of smoke and tracking down rebel teenagers with fireworks. This involves you hiking, climbing and abseiling across the forest, using only a map and compass to navigate around. These hiking adventures really allow you to experience the smooth mechanics of the game. While Henry is out hiking, this allows you to really experience the games graphics. Visually it’s a very pleasing game. Smooth landscapes, beautiful golden oranges and yellows from the sun that wash over the forests. God rays streaming through the trees. You can stop almost anywhere, take a deep breath and just say ‘wow’. The sound works in perfect harmony with the nature surrounding you; bird song, wind whistling through the trees and the sound of running water, creates a mesmerizing atmosphere.

You can stop almost anywhere, take a deep breath and just say ‘wow’.

Henry has the occasional dialogue with others, but the story follows the developing friendship between him and Delilah. Flirtatious and a lover of humour and alcohol, Delilah makes a great duo character with Henry, as they bounce off each other’s personalities with hilarious dialogue and the occasional pun. Delilah being the playful sarcastic boss who is passionate about her job and Henry; serious but can roll with a joke. Unlike other dialogue based games such as The Walking Dead and Mass effect that have many life and death decisions. Henry’s choices are more like, ‘Engage in Delilah’s jokes or tease her for them’ or ‘Respond to her romantic dialogue or evade them’. The game becomes about two strangers learning to trust and care for each other. They are deeply relatable humans, which is what makes Firewatch such an immersive game. The fact that I invested an emotional attachment to these characters shows how creatively and detailed they were written.

Firewatch is revealed as a story of loneliness and paranoia, which Delilah and Henry display perfectly as they begin to suspect they are being watched and listened to. The story takes a dark turn as they find transcripts of their conversations and realise their communication channel isn’t secure. People go missing, tragedies are discovered. All while they are being monitored. The plot soon turns into a big conspiracy that Henry and Delilah have to tackle together, showing you the depth of their friendship.

“Their paranoia had intensified so much at this point, that they’re looking for a fallacy.”

SPOILER ALERT. 

After the big reveal, I wasn’t sure how I felt about the story and the way everything linked together. So, I played it through again, and again. I realised through my last play through that the theme of escapism was very important to these characters. Everyone was running away from something, and to avoid their own personal problems; a wife who can’t remember henry and Delilah having to face she abandoned her boyfriend in his time of need, they created something much bigger between themselves. Even as the player, I was escaping reality by delving into Henry’s life. When henry first finds the transcript of his and Delilah’s conversation, it’s a very roughly jotted down on a notepad, extremely unprofessional and unlikely to be left lying around by an organised experiment. When henry finds the research folder ‘full’ of information of him and Delilah, he in fact, finds two pages of information, surround by technology left by a university that was in fact researching elk. It’s obvious the evidence was strategically planted at this research site. Their paranoia had intensified so much at this point, that they’re looking for a fallacy, when it turns out to be a guy trying to hide the death of his son.

There’s been a lot of controversy about the ending and how it failed the rest for the story. I have to disagree with the popular opinion. I believe the fact there was no big conspiracy makes it more realistic. Two paranoid workers were dealing with another paranoid recluse that wanted to keep his secrets hidden. That really drove home how we as humans tend to exaggerate our problems and distract ourselves from the real issues. This wasn’t about a big final ending with an amazing twist, it was about the raw human emotions attached to the events leading up to the final decisions of the characters.

We as humans tend to exaggerate our problems and distract ourselves from the real issues.

Entertaining original piece, with authentic and detailed characters.

Like any game, Firewatch has a few mishaps, but none-the-less, it’s an entertaining original piece, with authentic and detailed characters. The world is captivating and the relationship you build between Henry and Delilah is the main entertainment and truly quite inspiring. I believe they give the story an extra layer of emotional depth. If you are looking for a well written narrative, full of mystery and humour then Firewatch is definitely worth playing.

 

 

Rewilding cont.

As I was watching the birds feed on my patch it inspired me to write some word art. I haven’t written anything in years so it was refreshing to be surrounded by nature, opening up my creativity.

 

Echo of birdsong, whispering in the wind,

Freedom at a moments flutter.

Aroma of worms, to give life at the cost of life,

Is this a patch of earth a place to call home?

No destruction, pain , souls turned to bones.

But that is the sad beauty of the wild.

Can life thrive once again to balance a spiritual connection,

That was once dear to us all?

When i see wild, I see nature, a mystical force of truth,

The harmony of living without harming our sentient friends.

Why do we presume that we have the right,

To own the soil & trees that grant us the privilege to exist?

Once our bees are gone, will we feel the effect of our power and greed.

The delightful taste of honey will be a rich mans delicacy.

But why should we change, when others refuse?

Since we are the privileged that doesn’t hunt for food.

It will only be our children’s children that live in a horrific age,

where they can only dream of seeing such wonderful creatures chained and bound to a cage.

We owe it to them & every living being on earth,

To use our intelligence & wisdom to restore the planet,

Work in harmony with all the natural eco-systems,

But mostly, we need to use our love & compassion,

So we can collectively call earth our home.

 

Rewildling cont.

So i visited my Patch again today in Bitts Park. The sun was out creating a lovely warm and light atmosphere. The birds were clearly enjoying the sunshine as they were bathing in it, while sniffing around for worms. As I was watching the birds chirp away enjoying each others company, I zoned out on everything around me apart from what I could hear. For such a peaceful place, it was really noisy. Of course, birdsong is always a pleasant and welcoming sound, but cars and horns are not. It’s like a background humming that we all become unaware of, and a peaceful walk in the park becomes birds and cars. At one point a lorry drove past and the driver pressed his horn for a good 6 seconds. That bit of road rage really disturbed the birds morning routine and made them scatter. It’s sad that their favourite spot for finding fresh food is right next to a main road that is constantly busy at all times of the day. I also noticed trash thrown in the bushes. THERE WAS A BIN ABOUT 5 FEET AWAY, but the slob couldn’t be bothered to make a small effort to put it in the bin. I’m thinking of going back tomorrow and doing a clean up, as  I don’t want any birds or rodents cutting themselves on tin cans and plastic.

On a more positive note, A couple of days ago I noticed Crocus! I love it when I see Crocus flowering because I know spring is just round the corner. They hadn’t flowered when I last went, but today they were so beautiful! I couldn’t resist and had to get my camera out.

Wildlife Conservation: Rewilding

“The concept of rewilding Britain is becoming increasingly popular; the reintroduction of extirpated species, removal of anthropogenic land management and creation of opportunities for native wildlife to naturally flourish are key ways to rewild our land. However understanding the impact this can have on extant ecosystems prior to introducing such changes is important in order to predict the effects they can have upon existing habitats and species.”

This assignment I have been given on ‘rewilding’ at uni is something I’m quite passionate about. I’m required to find a ‘patch’ that I can monitor for ecology and identifying information such as: who owns it, its ecological history, it current habitat definition, species living/ visiting there, legislative protection placed upon wildlife there and other issues.

I went out exploring today to finally find a place I can call my patch that I can monitor and observe. I decided on a spot in Bitts Park. It’s a very vibrant place for all sorts of birds, especially with a river running right through it. Of course it’s a Park, so there are many people walking about, walking dogs or just playing with their children. This does add a disturbance tot he wildlife there. I chose a patch down a bank were people don’t tend to gather. It’s filled with bushes and trees and most importantly, wildlife. After setting out my notepad, drawing pad binoculars and cameras, I sat there for over 2 hours, listening, smelling and breathing in nature. I felt such a connection to the earth and the animals that were singing their songs. It felt pure and natural, like it should be. It’s not often I get out into nature (which as a nature lover I’m not proud of). I managed to document all the birds I saw. There were manly Black Birds, Tree Pipits, Crows and Wood Pigeons. I managed to spot a chaffinch, Robin and Nuthatch while lying in wait.

On Monday, I’m going to contact Tulley Museum and try find the history of Bitts Park and find out what the wildlife and ecosystem used to be like before, when it was wild.

I’m unsure of the sex of the Robin, but isn’t she beautiful!

This frisky Nuthatch was proving hard to photograph as every time I got close to it, she would hop around very quickly then fly away.

Sexy little Chaffinch ^-^

Gorgeous Tree Pipit that was pretty brave and came quite close to me 🙂

No Routes Found

Interview with No routes found

“We believe that creating a film is an adventure in itself.” (Noroutesfound.com, 2016)

Interviewing No Routes Found was a rewarding experience. Originating from the University of Cumbria, three students joined together in their second year and formed the company known as No Routes Found. Although picking the name for their company came about in college, they officially became a business in June 2015.

So who is No Routes Found? Richard Berry is an established photographer and film maker. It took him 14 years of travelling around the world with nothing more than a backpack before he found his way home again with a lot of story driven adventure films to share with the world. The second member we interviewed was Harrison Duff. Harrison has been travelling around the world from a young age which inspired him to pursue a career in photography and film making. His experiences have led him to an exciting life of skiing, mountaineering, and climbing, diving and world travel. The last member we interviewed was Jago Miller. Jago specialises in mountaineering, kayaking and climbing. He started making films from the age of 14! Which lead him to the life of being a filmmaker, “pushing the boundaries of adventure film making where no audience has been before.”

Planning their first expedition to Nepal is what brought these three together, which has now created their company and friendship.

“We ended up doing a month in Nepal, going trekking. This was our group for that. That’s how we met and how we formed our bond together.” – Richard Berry.

“I was looking at the route we were going to be trekking on google maps. It kept coming up with no routes found. I sent the picture to Richard and Richard was like, ‘well that would actually make quite a good company name.’ And that’s how we became No Routes Found.” – Harrison Duff.

Before the expedition to Nepal, Richard, Jago and Harrison went to Kendal Mountain Festival. Here they had so many opportunities to spread the word about their business and get companies to sponsor them.

“I went around and spoke to everyone there and told them we’re going to Nepal, what we were going to do and we want them to support us. You build up this credibility from nothing. If you’re confident about what you’re going to do and believe in the outcome you will be surprised how many people will want to support and sponsor you.” – Richard Berry.

As the spokesman of the company, Richard talks to the majority of the clients. Using his professional skills such as initiative and creativity, he has been able to get many companies to support them such as: Sigma, Joby, Smugmug and Format Hitech. For companies starting out, having support from such companies is an incredible kick starter. Richard told us that in his email he explained what they could do for the company and what the company could do for them. Giving them exposure on social media, wearing their t-shirts in their videos and video and written reviews of kit they had been given, gaining more publicity to their social media. Their most popular video has over 600,000 views on YouTube. You can view their video here “30 days in Nepal”.

 

“Your presences in the content you put out is really important for your image. It’s also good to show clients you’ve made something that many people have seen.” – Jago Miller.

A great aspect of the university of Cumbria is the support they gave No Routes Found after they left Uni. Using as much resources as we can while we are here is what will give us a head start in the business world, but the after support is what we will be counting on once we have left and are on our own.

“I think most of the modules are what you make of it. We went to Nepal, others went to Devon for the weekend. We wanted to fully go for it really and I think Nepal kick started our business. You need to do as much as you can, while you’re at university and have the support of the people here and learn while you’re still here.”- Jago Miller.

Being able to listen and learn from No Routes Found experiences was an extreme pleasure, especially as they went to the same university I am currently attending. Their journey from student to professional is completely inspiring. I would recommend everyone should visit their website and take a look at their astounding videos and photographs.

You can view their site here http://www.noroutesfound.com/

 

Q&A

What do you have to do to say ‘we are no routes found’?

“After university there’s still loads of support out there from Cumbria county counsel. They have people in place whose job is to help new businesses out. They will tell you how to start a new company, the whole process from registering with HMRC to putting a price on your worth. We settled for being a partnership which basically means we’re all self-employed and soul traders but working as a partnership.”

Do you have responsibilities to each other?

“We’re friends at the moment so we just have our word as our contract but as a company we should have terms and conditions more to protect each other which is something we will be looking to do soon.” – Richard Berry.

Is there anything you would have done differently after leaving University?

“We should have written out a business plan really and figured out what we were worth. Knowing who we were and what we wanted to be. Having an idea of where you want to be is really important otherwise your business doesn’t have an aim. You have to be proactive in seeking people out.” – Harrison Duff.

Are you still individuals in your work?

“On social media we were individuals but then it came to a point where we became one. I think you’ve got a lot more power that way, you look like one body but there’s three of our works going in together. You look bigger and I think it’s all about image.” – Jago Miller.

 

 

 

 

Secrets of a Journalist

Interview with Alan Wright.

A photo i snapped of Alan during the interview.

As senior communications and Campaign officer for the Wildlife Trust, Interviewing Alan Wright and his voyage into the Journalism industry was a great advancement for my own experience as a Wildlife Media student. Working as a journalist is something I have considered greatly but have always wanted to link it to animals and conservation. Alan began his journey in college by getting his CTK certificate and moved on to working with a paper for 10 years. Soon after Alan went to Bermuda for 2 years as a reporter (Alan Wright, 2015).

“In Bermuda there was a little shed at the end of the island. This island was about 20 miles long and a mile wide. The shed is the Bermuda biological station for research. And it’s one of the most important biological stations in the whole world. Some really high flying scientists there. The chief scientist, Tommy Napp, used to take us out whale watching and swimming with turtles. It really made me think about how we could make wildlife stories important. The stories that I was writing for the Bermuda paper were going into the new York press, so I was selling the stories about all the wildlife all over the world.”

After an exciting time in Bermuda, Alan moved back to England, wanting to stretch his feet, he found his way into editing.

“I got a job as a sub editor on northwest evening mail in barrow, then I ended up on the Manchester evening news as their business sub editor. At the same time I was working as lecturer and also at the daily star as a sub editor based in Preston. Two full time jobs. I look back at those days and think it was nice to have money. Now I’m working for the wildlife trust which is about 15k a year less than those days.”

At this point I was starting to think I either need a degree or 10+ years of experience. Luckily I’m still in University and can learn from Alan’s experiences and build from them. After moving around a lot Alan went straight to the source of where he wanted to work. The Wildlife Trust. He’s not sure how he got the job as he was up against people from the Guardian and the BBC, however they liked him and gave him the opportunity to work with them (Alan Wright, 2015).

“I had to make sure I had a number of different skills. I can write, I can sub edit, I can edit papers. I got involved in a lot of the production skills as well. Now with the wildlife trust there is a practical element as well. “

“I ended up working for the records centre. At this point, I was working for the wildlife trust and Lancashire county council. The Record Centre are people who go out and collect records of all the wildlife in the country  or in a particular county, so we know where all the wildlife is, know where we have to work to improve things. I was working there for a year on a project. For that year, I did about 3 months with Cumbria Wildlife Trust. The previous PR guy wasn’t too keen to speak on the radio and TV or talk to the press. So they took me on, basically the job I do is very similar to being a reporter, I go out onto the nature reserves and basically find stories and send them off to the press. I’m on different radios about 3 times a week at the moment.”

Alan has showed that entrepreneurialism is a tireless effort to get into the journalism industry. Through Alan I now know I need initiative and creativity, motivation and talent to be able to take on this role. He wasn’t scared to jump into the next job where ever it took him which I admire greatly. Taking every opportunity is what will lead the future generation of entrepreneur into success as Alan has demonstrated throughout his career.

As campaign officer, the first thing Alan has to do is persuade his colleges of good stories to show to reporters. This may consist of getting photographers to photograph those making new habitats, such as the Willow Tit. That consists of Alan spending the day cutting down a tree and sticking it to another and letting it rot over the winter. This then allows the Willow Tit to dig a hole in it. (Alan Wright. 2015)

“I know I can package that as a good story the next thing I need is really good pictures and footage on the wildlife or people depending on the story that you are doing. We know exactly where the willow tits are going to be pretty much every day.”

Apart from convincing reports to come over to the site, how else does Alan campaign for the Wildlife Trust?

“Coming down to universities and speaking to people about what they’re interested in. More so I attend volunteer membership events so I can speak to people and find out kind of stories they enjoy and what they would read. I’m going to an event on Saturday where a guy is making ice sculptures with a chain saw in a retail park in Liverpool.”

“You have to be able to pick your best officers as well. For things like TV, Rachel our red squirrel officer is amazing. The people come over and ask some really difficult questions, but it’s a case of listening and talking, and not sitting in an office all day.”

Alan told us that kick starting our career with a degree is a much better approach in the industry as it will prepare us for the hard work he has gone through. Alan also interviews people to work for the Trust, carefully choosing his team to make sure they have the right qualities. His experience is a great learning curve for all other students following in his footsteps, and having the privilege to interview him, has also given us an experienced and knowledgeable contact in the industry.

 

For more information on the Wildlife Trust visit:  Wildlifetrusts.org, (2016) The Wildlife Trusts. Available at: http://www.wildlifetrusts.org/ (Accessed: 21 February 2016).

“Elements” OMED4010 Assignment Two

“Air” – Shallow DoF

“Fire” – Slow Shutter Speed

“Earth” – Deep DoF

“Water” – Fast Shutter Speed

Her name is Marianna.

ELEPHANTS WALKING THROUGH GRASS, AMBOSELI 2008 – Taken on a medium format, black and white film camera.

The majestic matriarch Marianna leading her herd. She had been wondering the plains of East Africa for 44 years when this photo was taken by Nick Brandt. The following year, only 45 years young, her life was taken by poachers, for her tusks. I first saw this photo in a book by Nick Brandt called “The Shadow Falls”. The image really hit home because Elephants are known as intelligent, compassionate creatures, but of course the greed of mankind that only ever gets hungrier, is a brutal and evil force that continuously slaughters innocent creatures from this world.

By killing elephants they are also hindering the lives of other animals. Elephants are a keystone species, meaning they play a vital role in maintaining the structure of an ecological community, which effects other organisms in that ecosystem.

Elephants pull down trees and break up bushy thorns which helps to create grasslands for the other animals to thrive and live in. They dig waterholes in Dry River beds in which all animals in that area can use to survive. They create trails that act as fire stoppers and water run offs, and they’re manure is nutrient rich which replenishes depleted soil for humans to grow crops on. There are so many more factors that elephants contribute to the ecosystem. It is estimated that 100 Elephants are killed every day in Africa. So what will happen when there are no more Elephants left?

LINE OF RANGERS HOLDING TUSKS KILLED AT THE HANDS OF MAN, AMBOSELI 2011

The photo above is a deliberate visual echo of Elephants Walking Through Grass, to emphasize the drastic and fast changing environment Amboseli is becoming.

Instead of a herd of elephants striding across the grassy plains of Africa, here we see only their remains: the tusks of 22 elephants killed at the hands of man within the Amboseli/Tsavo Ecosystem.

Was the fall of Marianna the fall of the rest of the elephants? Is this what is left of Marianna’s herd? Or is it a completely different herd altogether?  This photo could be the only connection we have left of the Majestic creates seen above.

Over 30,000 – 38,000 elephants are poached every year. So we do know that if poaching carries on, African Bush Elephants will be extinct in less than 20 years.

Unfortunately Ivory has become more valuable than gold, it is known as ‘White Gold’. The tusks at the front of the image are worth half a million dollars in China today as the investors gamble on the elephants extinction, making the tusks more rare.

As Elephants need a huge amount of space to live in, deforestation has been a massive contribution to the endangerment of elephants. As Humans move into these areas to live in they are also taught to fear what they do not understand, and the closer humans live to wild elephants, the more they fear them. Elephants raid families’ crops sometimes destroying food that would last them for that year. During breeding season, aggressive Male Elephants (knowns as Bulls) rampage through villages, destroying homes and crops in the process. Locals view the Elephants as pests and shoot them to eliminate the problem.

Tusks can make the same amount on the black market that farming and herding can make in 12 years. Unfortunately the local communities see very little of this money. The Ivory trade is not only depleting elephants but also depleting the chances the local communities have in making a living through ecotourism. If the elephants go, so does the ecotourism.

Many organisations such as SOS elephants want to teach and educate local communities that they can coexist with elephants and other wildlife through other farming techniques and ecotourism so they can thrive alongside the elephants and coexist in peace.

The rangers in this photo now protect the elephants and other animals across a 2 million acre area, straddling Kenya and Tanzania. Nick Brandt started a non-profit organization: The  ‘Big Life Foundation’ to put a stop to the poaching of these majestic creatures.

More information for both organisations can be found at www.biglife.org and www.SOSelephants.org

 

Through my eyes.

I’m generally not the best writer. I have all these ideas and crazy thoughts in my mind that jumble up into a tornado of chaos. I can never separate these thoughts and put them into words. So I’m not sure what I expect from this blog. I’m not one to thoroughly think and plan these things through. I just do it. And once I get into it, well then everything starts to flow.

So my name is River and I hope to share my journey through this platform for those who are willing to listen. I’m currently studying Wildlife Media at the University of Cumbria and I absolutely  love it! Animals are my passion, and who doesn’t want to chase their passion to the ends of the earth? I feel on some level a connection with the earth and all living beings that I share this wonderful planet with. We all call this planet our home and I wish that one day I will be able to make a big difference in allowing species that are viewed ‘lesser’ than us to live freely and happily without mankind slowly and sorrowfully fading them into our history books. Compassion and love are so important to me, so shining a light when there is only darkness is something I strive to achieve. Of course that is something that everyone in the world struggles with daily. The eternal war with the mind, but there is a small glimmer of hope for all the beings on earth to co-exist with compassion and love for one another.

On that note, I feel like I should share a happy photo of my two lovely dogs Meeko and Harley as they bring so much joy to my life ^-^

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