Wednesday, June 8, 2011

600 new species found in Madagascar!

Madagascar's treasure trove of new species...

WWF report on the staggering 615 new species discovered by scientists in Madagascar in the last 10 years.
For the full report, please follow the following link:
http://www.wwf.org.uk/news_feed.cfm?4980/Madagascar-new-species-discovered-but-already-in-danger

Madagascar Holidays - Click here

Wednesday, June 1, 2011

Bear Watching in Slovakia - Trip Report by Mark Wright

"We've arrived at the ranger's cottage deep in the Tatras for two days.


Accommodation is ok, an old wood cottage straight out of Red Riding Hood. Although facilities are pretty simple it's a real privilege to be allowed up here in the midst of nature in the park - Projekt Medved (project Bear) works with the national park authorities to allow a select few tourists to stay and visit and see wildlife. There are NO other tourists up here and we have the entire park ourselves.

It's our first day and we have struck lucky. Observing the avalanche slopes between stands of fir trees we spot a solitary brown bear high on the upper slopes. Binoculars and telescope at the ready, we are delighted to see that three young cubs are in hot pursuit of their mother. We watch with fascination for a few minutes until the four figures lumber and toddle away into the dwarf pine and are then lost from view.

We walk through incredible mountain landscapes for the rest of the day, but see no more bears. Plenty of evidence on the trail of bear activity, but no more sightings today.

Tomorrow we'll be out at 5am to look for more."