The Gray Ghost of the Himalayas Rises Again

Snow leopards occupy a range that spans the high mountains of 12 countries across Asia, where the hostile weather and rugged terrain conspire to snuff out any sign of life. Few animals and fewer humans can survive in this liminal space. Yet, for millennia, this big cat species has managed to eke out a living in some of the harshest conditions on Earth.

The snow leopard’s long tail enables the balance and agility to scale steep slopes, its powerful hind legs allow the snow leopard to leap six times the length of its body and its thick silver coat, marbled by black rosettes, provides the ideal camouflage to disappear into the mist.

These adaptations make the snow leopard a formidable predator but also make this species a challenge to collect data on. Snow leopards reign over a territory that is inhospitable and often inaccessible to researchers. As a result, more than 70% of their habitat remains unexplored.

© Surya Ramachandran

A Haunted History

The snow leopard’s elusive nature has given rise to an air of mystique, which only grows thicker as the altitude climbs. Communities in these outer regions have come to know the snow leopard by its moniker, the “gray ghost” and the “ghost of the mountains.”

In Ladakh, a sparsely populated region in the Indian Himalayas where Tibetan Buddhist culture predominates, locals tell of a popular legend about a man and a god. It goes like this: “Once a yogi was meditating in a cave for several years. At the end of his meditation, the deity he was praying to manifested itself in the form of a snow leopard. He fed the animal as an act of kindness, not knowing that he was, in fact, offering food to the deity. The next day, the snow leopard rewarded his kindness by leaving a freshly killed ungulate at the entrance of his cave.”

While this mythic beast inspires awe in some cultures, it conjures fear in others. A recent paper by Dr. Saloni Bhatia and her colleagues at the Snow Leopard Trust examines animal folklore in the Himalayas to better understand the dynamics of human-carnivore interactions.

Her findings revealed that, much like wolves, positive associations with snow leopards are overshadowed by negative sentiments because of their tendency to prey on livestock. Dr. Bhatia found that the predominant values ascribed to the snow leopard were utilitarian. Most stories were about the use or trade of its body parts, followed by stories about trophy hunting and their use in traditional medicine and rituals.

Buddhist monks performing the “Cham Mystery” dance in Lamayuru, India.

Sentinels of Snow

In 2021, World Wildlife Fund released 100 Years of Snow Leopard Research, a report covering the current conservation efforts across the cat’s 12 home countries. Samundra Subba, a research officer with WWF-Nepal, shared his experiences in a story for our travel blog, Good Nature Travel. “I looked around myself, staring into the familiar dry, arid, and treeless Trans-Himalayan terrain, wondering how fast the treelines were shifting and wondered about the future. The climate crisis will inevitably shrink snow leopard habitats,” wrote Subba about one of his satellite telemetry expeditions.

“Would the species be able to adapt to the warmer temperatures? Would it be chased out of its own habitat, unable to compete with other big cats, such as the common leopard, which would also move higher into the mountains as temperatures warm? Would there be a future where this enigmatic species survived?” Subba agonized.

WWF scientists estimate that the effects of climate change could result in a loss of up to 30% of the snow leopard habitat in the Himalayas alone. Snow leopards not only play a key role in managing prey species populations, but they are also sentinels of snow — melting snow. They are important indicators of the impacts climate change and anthropogenic encroachment have on the overall health of high-altitude environs. If snow leopards thrive, so will countless other species, including the largest freshwater reservoirs on the planet.

“For most of my team, the telemetry expedition means never-ending logistics, but for a biologist, it also means hope,” Subba declared. “It means that humans acknowledge the role this predator plays in safeguarding the mountain ecosystem and that studies and research are being conducted to help it survive, perhaps even thrive.”

WWF reduces human-wildlife conflict in the Eastern Himalayas by empowering communities to coexist with snow leopards. Initiatives include installing predator-proof corrals for livestock, creating livelihood enterprises and developing local insurance plans to compensate for any losses incurred. WWF also pilots various community awareness and education programs to reduce the retaliatory killing of snow leopards. Together with TRAFFIC, the wildlife trade monitoring network, WWF works to eliminate the illegal trade of snow leopard fur, bones and other body parts.

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Snow Leopard Numbers on the Rise!

In a recent press release, WWF celebrated a “milestone achievement.” Bhutan announced a 39.5% increase in snow leopard numbers! After analyzing over 10,000 camera trap images, the National Snow Leopard Survey 2022-2023, supported by the Bhutan For Life project and WWF-Bhutan, confirmed the presence of 134 snow leopards.

This represents an impressive leap from the country’s first survey in 2016 when only 96 individuals were recorded. The finding serves as “continued inspiration for protection of this elusive species,” says Dechen Dorji, Senior Director, Asia Wildlife, WWF-US.

See It To Believe It

The Land of the Snow Leopard trip unfolds in Ladakh, where we’ll follow the Indus River through remote high valleys to reach our private Snow Leopard Lodge. From this cozy base, we set out each day in search of the “gray ghost.”

We partner with the best snow leopard trackers in the region, and our spotters’ ability to detect these masterfully camouflaged cats is second to none. The surrounding cliffs and alpine meadows provide habitat for the snow leopard’s prey — ibex, bharial and urial — as well as fox, hare, pika and Tibetan wolves.

Conan Dumenil, Naturalist Guide and Spotter © Ralph Lee Hopkins

The Ladakh community recognizes that protecting snow leopards from illegal hunting and poaching is beneficial as the cats are integral to maintaining ecological balance. As a traveler, your presence becomes a powerful incentive for locals to protect their natural resources, making wildlife worth more alive than dead and wild lands worth more intact than degraded. And you’ll return home not just moved by your experiences but as an informed and enlightened ambassador for conservation.

Catch a glimpse of your next adventure via this footage and watch our Daily Dose of Nature webinars “Journey to the Land of the Snow Leopard: Part 1” and “Part 2,” presented by Nat Hab Expedition Leader Conan Dumenil, to learn more!

Snow Leopard walking along the Indus bank grasses of the Ramganga river © Surya Ramachandran

The post The Gray Ghost of the Himalayas Rises Again first appeared on Good Nature Travel Blog.

Moss, Pine Bark, and Roots Camouflage Tiny Refuges Among the Wild Swedish Forests and Farmland

“Moss Hut.” All images © Ulf Mejergren, shared with permission

Artist and architect Ulf Mejergren (previously) continues his interest in cozy, outdoor constructions with a new series titled Farm Art. Collaborating with farmer Robert Pettersson, Mejergren built several site-specific structures from materials found around Pettersson’s property in Grödinge, Sweden.

For “Pine Bark Hut,” the pair layered thick, gnarly wood into a slender cabin camouflaged between two trees, a space first used for hunting and then storing tools. Similarly, “Root Hut” entwines gathered branches with the existing roots to create a small, sand pit enclosure nestled beneath the forest, while the circular “Moss Hut” stands 4.5 meters tall among the trees. The latter work “stems from the farmers’ hunting interest,” Mejergren writes. “For many years, he has put food at certain points in the forests so wild boars come to feed there. The problem is they are like bulldozers in the forests, looking for insects and roots in the soil, so they have dug up moss from the forest floor and left them scattered in big droves.” Cloaked in the remaining lichen, the structure is a disguised refuge among the wild landscape.

Other works in Farm Art are more aesthetically driven, like the vivid “Sunset.” Made of dandelion heads at full bloom, the spherical form appears to glow in a field of weeds and wildflowers. Find the full series on Mejergren’s site and Instagram.

“Pine Bark Hut”

“Sunset”

Detail of “Moss Hut”

“Sunset”

“Root Hut”

“Hay House”

Do stories and artists like this matter to you? Become a Colossal Member today and support independent arts publishing for as little as $5 per month. The article Moss, Pine Bark, and Roots Camouflage Tiny Refuges Among the Wild Swedish Forests and Farmland appeared first on Colossal.

Species-Rich Places and the “Robin Hood” Conservation Strategy

Charles Darwin’s first trip to the Galapagos Islands caused ecologists to start wondering why some places have so many species and others have so few. ©Longjourneys/Shutterstock.com

Ever since the HMS Beagle arrived in the Galapagos Islands with a young Charles Darwin aboard—who was soon to meet a fateful family of finches—ecologists have struggled to understand a particularly perplexing question: Why is there such a ridiculous abundance of species in some places on Earth and a scarcity in others? In other words, what are the exact factors that drive animal diversity?

Scientists think that they have now found an answer to that fundamental ecological question. They’ve discovered that what an animal eats—and how that interacts with the climate—shapes the planet’s biodiversity.

And when it comes to biodiversity, we’re now losing it so rapidly that we’re no longer able to ask what’s going on with every species individually. So, researchers have developed a framework that can help scientists understand trends in biodiversity by using data from well-characterized species to provide insights on data-deficient species. It’s called the “Robin Hood approach.”

Africa has an abundance of meat-eating predators. Rain patterns and plant growth are responsible. ©Mogens Trolle/Shutterstock.com

Rain drives animal diversity

Have you ever noticed that certain locations—such as Africa or places in the far North like Greenland—have a plentitude of meat-eating predators? And that herbivores are more common in cooler areas, and omnivores tend to be more dominant in warm places?

It turns out that two key factors were crucial in shaping these patterns: precipitation and plant growth.

This conclusion comes from a Department of Watershed Sciences research team at Utah State University’s Quinney College of Natural Resources that had access to a mammoth set of global-scale climate data and a novel strategy.

Madagascar, where precipitation patterns have an equal, six-month split between a wet season and a dry season, had the ideal ecological mix for herbivores, such as lemurs. ©OHudecek/Shutterstock.com

Historically, say the researchers, studies looking at the distribution of species across the Earth’s latitudes have overlooked the role of trophic ecology, which means how what animals eat impacts where they are found. This new work, published in the science journal Ecology Letters in September 2023, shows that herbivores, omnivores and predators are not randomly scattered across the globe. There are patterns to where these groups of animals are found. And precipitation across time plays a huge role in determining where different groups of mammals thrive. Geographical areas where precipitation varies by season, without being too extreme, had the highest levels of mammal diversity.

However, the total amount of rain was not the determining factor. If you imagine ecosystems around the world on a scale of precipitation and season, certain places in Utah and the Amazon rain forest fall on one end with low variability; they have steady levels of precipitation throughout the year. Other regions, such as southern California, have high variability, getting about 75% of their annual precipitation between December and March. But the sweet spot for herbivores and predators fell in a middle zone between the two extremes.

For example, places such as Madagascar, where precipitation patterns had an equal split between a wet season and a dry season (six months each), had the ideal ecological cocktail for promoting conditions for herbivores and predators. Omnivore diversity tends to thrive in places with very stable climates.

It was surprising to find that plant growth was more important for predators than herbivores and omnivores. Why remains a mystery. ©Ondrej Prosicky/Shutterstock.com

The second important factor that was discovered to relate to mammal diversity was the amount of plant growth in an area, measured as “gross primary productivity.” While it makes intuitive sense for plant-eating animals (herbivores and omnivores) to benefit from plant growth, surprisingly this measure impacted carnivores the most, according to the research. Why remains a mystery. But the strong relationship between predators and plant growth highlights the importance of an abundance of plants on an entire food chain’s structural integrity.

Although evolutionary processes are ultimately responsible for spurring differences in species, climate conditions can affect related factors—such as animal dispersal, extinctions and rates of evolutionary change—influencing species and trait-based richness. Identifying the ecological mechanisms that help drive richness patterns, as this research has done, provides insight for better managing and predicting how diversity could change under future climate changes.

Robin Hood inspires biodiversity tracking

As the above research demonstrates, animal diversity can act as an alarm system for the stability of ecosystems. And now, to better understand and protect the world’s biodiversity, a research team at Michigan State University has developed a “Robin Hood” approach.

The IUCN lists orcas (killer whales) as “data deficient.” That means that they lack the data needed to inform their conservation status. ©Jeroen Mikkers/Shutterstock.com

That is to say that they’re using information from well-quantified animals to reveal insights about less common, harder-to-observe species. So, they’re taking insights from the data-rich and giving to the data-poor.

Currently, about one in seven species are classified as “data deficient” by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN). That means that these species lack the data needed to establish their conservation status, which, in turn, helps determine conservation strategies. We need more rapid and efficient assessments of those species if we want to figure out how to conserve and protect them.

To that end, the Michigan State University team has introduced a framework based on what are known as “integrated community models.” In their paper, published in the Journal of Animal Ecology in October 2023, the researchers show how they design and implement these models to utilize data from the best-characterized species in a community to assess other members of the group.

Unfortunately, the most popular animals to study aren’t necessarily the ones most in need of attention. After analyzing almost 16,500 papers published between 1900 and 2010, the big winner was bears (family “Ursidae”), averaging more than 250 papers per species. The closest runner-up was the walrus family (“Odobenidae”), with only 145 papers. By borrowing strength from the species that have the most information available, scientists can get species-level estimates for all members of a community. ©Ludmila Ruzickova/Shutterstock.com

By borrowing strength from the species that have the most information or are most common, scientists can get species-level estimates for all members of a community and a comprehensive understanding of what’s going on with the community as a whole.

This new report acts as a how-to guide for anyone who wants to draw insights from a variety of different data sources describing multiple species. In this guide, the scientists provided three case studies: forest birds in the northeastern United States, butterflies in the Midwest and a simulation scenario for 10 hypothetical species. The results show how integrated community models can be used to estimate species’ trends and demographic rates over space and time, even for rarer species.

The immediate goal for the report was to get these methods into the hands of more researchers. The next step will be working with partners in government and nongovernmental organizations who can use information from the models to develop conservation strategies that move from a species-by-species approach to one that’s more holistic.

According to World Wildlife Fund’s “Living Planet Report 2022,” freshwater animals, such as this Amazon pink river dolphin, have been hit the hardest: they have declined by an average of 83% since 1970. Habitat loss and barriers to migration routes account for about half of the threats to these populations. ©COULANGES/Shutterstock.com

The Living Planet Report provides context—and caution

World Wildlife Fund’s Living Planet Report 2022 held some alarming news: the world has seen an average 69% drop in amphibian, bird, fish, mammal and reptile populations since 1970. The dual crises of biodiversity loss and climate change are driven by the unsustainable use of our planet’s resources. Scientists are clear: unless we stop treating these emergencies as two separate issues, neither problem will be addressed effectively.

Both crises have negative consequences for all the world’s ecosystems. Forecasting how climate change will disrupt animal systems going forward is extremely important. The Utah State University research and the new “Robin Hood” framework could be the first steps in our better managing future conditions for wildlife—and, thus, for ourselves—around the globe.

Here’s to finding your true places and natural habitats,

Candy

The post Species-Rich Places and the “Robin Hood” Conservation Strategy first appeared on Good Nature Travel Blog.

Introspective Figures Navigate Surreal Worlds in Simón Prades’ Illustrations

All images © Simón Prades, shared with permission

Stories come to life on the page and introspective figures explore inner worlds in the dreamlike illustrations of Simón Prades (previously). His surreal scenes often feature silhouettes of people peering into the unknown, whether toward a distant memory, the wilderness, or the future. Rendered in deep hues with an emphasis on the effects of light and contrast, he draws attention to human nature and universal, emotional experiences of hope, nostalgia, and wonder.

Prades has worked as a freelance illustrator for more than ten years, finding visual language to express ideas in editorial and book publishing, film, music, and advertising. His clients have included The New York Times, Penguin Random House, Scientific American, and many more. “While I still love solving problems for clients, I must say that the urge to work on more personal projects has been growing and might manifest in a book or something like that soon,” he tells Colossal.

Prades is looking forward to a project next year that merges illustration with his other passion, cycling. During a 10-day tour through the Pyrenees, he plans to capture the experience in his sketchbook. Explore more of his work on his website and Behance, and follow updates on Instagram.

Do stories and artists like this matter to you? Become a Colossal Member today and support independent arts publishing for as little as $5 per month. The article Introspective Figures Navigate Surreal Worlds in Simón Prades’ Illustrations appeared first on Colossal.

Karma is a Cat

By Christina Armstrong, WWF’s Development Officer, Regional Philanthropy, East

Taylor Swift’s chart-topping song Karma off her Midnights album was on repeat in my head in Brazil’s Pantanal while on Natural Habitat’s Jaguars & Wildlife expedition in July 2023. Yes, the song is a current, popular release, and I love Taylor Swift, and music in general, but the reason the song was in my head was because our amazing Expedition Leader, Zapa, kept repeating to our group, “Karma!” Then, I would sing to myself, “Karma is a cat,” from Taylor’s song, as we searched for jaguars along the riverbeds in the heart of the Pantanal, Brazil.  

© Christina Armstrong / WWF-US

“Why would Zapa say that?” you might be wondering. As one of the first Natural Habitat Pantanal groups in 2023, we estimated that we saw 146 species of birds and 177 species of animals in just six days. I couldn’t even name that many species in one sitting, let alone comprehend how inspiring it would be to experience one of the world’s most biodiverse areas. Did you know that the Pantanal is mostly privately owned? About 95%! 

We saw numerous threatened and near threatened species living their best lives, such as jaguars mating, giant anteaters carrying their young on their backs, giant otters chomping on fresh fish over a log alongside a riverbed of mangroves, marsh deer sniffing native, vibrant-colored flowers, and hyacinth macaws building a home in an innovative box with their lifelong mate.

© Aaron Clausen / WWF

WWF has done great work with hyacinth macaws in this region, and it was interesting to learn about the importance of certain trees that macaws need to build their nest. They prefer soft trees called manduvi palm trees that have been cut down through the years – destroyed by deforestation, fires, clearing for cattle pastures, or logged for furniture and other products. The challenge is that even if these trees are replanted, the macaws will only make their nests in the ones that are 60-80 years old, so it takes an entire generation to regrow one manduvi tree.

As an alternate solution, WWF and other local programs created nesting boxes to encourage the macaws to build their nests. They also wrapped the trees in a metal strip so that predators could not make their way up the trees and destroy the nests. This has been a huge success in the return of hyacinth macaws, and it was rewarding to learn that WWF played a part in the return of the macaws.

WWF also has worked to protect jabiru storks, which we saw several times, and jaguars are a growing priority within WWF’s current wildlife strategy. It was fascinating to see jaguars up close (yet at a safe distance), swimming across the river, hopping from branch to branch, and snoozing in the sunshine, like my puppies do. “Karma!” 

In addition to fauna, we saw the flora of the Pantanal. The brilliant pink ipê tree bloomed across the region as we flew from the North Pantanal to the Southern region. This vibrant tree is only in bloom for about 7-10 days a year usually in August or September. It was the end of June and serendipitously, we were there to see it.

© Christina Armstrong / WWF-US

The good fortune continued as we saw the tail of a jaguarundi as it ran across our trail and capuchins played above our heads. That evening, a tapir ran by our tour vehicle as foxes danced in the spotlight. While the jaguars were readily seen, I didn’t expect to see the elusive puma during the day, but we did.

The researchers had jaguar traps set up through various areas in the Pantanal, and one morning, we quickly drank our coffee, scurried into the tour vehicle, and drove around the other side of the lake of where we were staying to see that one of the traps had safely captured a puma, and it’s currently the only puma in the world to be collared.  

Karma is a cat… 

© Kelvin Brown

About the Author

Christina Armstrong joined WWF in 2022 on the philanthropy team, working with supporters up and down the East Coast of the United States. She’s led fundraising teams on causes ranging from families experiencing homelessness to helping youth in Latin America through enrichment and nutrition programming. Christina has a passion for music, traveling, and hiking with her husband and two Frenchies.  

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2024 Climate-Focused Departures in Greenland, the Amazon and Canada

Did you catch this stunning statistic in the news last week? A major new report announced that the last 12 months were the hottest period Earth has experienced in the last 125,000 years. The numbers are sobering. And it’s imperative that we understand the impact on natural habitats and how we must respond.

Nat Hab travelers explore Greenland’s icebergs by Zodiac © Expedition Leader Colby Brokvist

We have created a special trip series—Climate Change & the Wild World— to deepen your awareness of how a warming climate is affecting the natural world, and to inspire hope and action. Our experience has shown us that educating travelers about climate change through personal experience has a wide-reaching positive impact.

We have three 2024 departures planned:

Greenland: The Fate of the Arctic in a Warming World
Aug 2-11, 2024 

Amazon: Climate Change & the World’s Greatest Rain Forest
Oct 5-13, 2024 

Churchill: Polar Bears in a Changing Arctic
Nov 9-15, 2024 

The hyacinth macaw is a parrot native to the eastern Amazon Basin. It’s listed as vulnerable due to habitat loss caused by climate change, deforestation and the wildlife trade. © Expedition Leader Cassiano “Zapa” Zaparoli

Each trip features a special WWF climate expert who will discuss what is at stake in that destination. There’s no more powerful way to spark an incentive toward climate action than to personally experience places that are undergoing potent impacts. And when you book one of these trips, we will offset the entire CO2 output of your life for a full year.

But we know offsets aren’t enough. Nat Hab, which became the world’s first carbon-neutral travel company in 2007, is upping the bar on climate action—increasing our efforts to decarbonize, launching our first electric safari vehicle, supporting the development of sustainable aviation fuel…and there’s much more we must do. 

We believe travel can be a net benefit for conservation when we visit wild places responsibly, providing economic support for local communities and creating incentives to protect natural resources and wildlife. Our travelers go home as advocates for the planet, influencing others.

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Contemplative Women Emerge Through Subtle Grids in Stelios Pupet’s Paintings

“Les murmures du jardin,” oil on canvas, 200 x 200 centimeters. Photo by Auryn F. All images © Stelios Pupet, shared with permission

Whether working on a wall or canvas, artist Stelios Pupet begins with a grid. What starts as uniform blocks slowly morph into varied, angular shapes as he works, adding depth and structure to his largely figurative compositions. Viewed through the subtle distortion of the grid, his subjects are often crouching amid cacti and potted plants or curled into themselves in moments of contemplation. He describes his process:

I am focusing on creating a nice image, different or contemporary and easy on the eye. Sometimes, there is a personal story behind a canvas or a painting on a wall that makes the artwork more powerful or important (to me at least)…I believe that if you give everything in the creation of an artwork, somehow a part of you is captured and in this way, feelings are being created (for) the viewer.

Following a busy few months of working on murals across Europe, Pupet is currently creating a small piece in a park near his home in Athens. Follow his progress on Instagram.

“Amongst Greenery,” oil on canvas, 120 x 120 centimeters

Detail of “Les murmures du jardin,” oil on canvas, 200 x 200 centimeters

“MR Tlaloc,” Athens. Photo by Dimitris Maniatis

“Amidst the Cacti,” Zaragoza, Spain. Photo by Marcos Cebrián

Remake of the Jean Auguste Dominique Ingres painting, “Portrait of Madamme Gaudry” (1864), acrylic and crayons on canvas , 40 x 40 centimeters

“Solitude of Contemplation,” Antonis Tritsis Metropolitan Park, Athens

Study for the canvas “They keep coming,” gouache on paper, 25 x 18 centimeters

Do stories and artists like this matter to you? Become a Colossal Member today and support independent arts publishing for as little as $5 per month. The article Contemplative Women Emerge Through Subtle Grids in Stelios Pupet’s Paintings appeared first on Colossal.

Nat Hab’s 2023 Sustainability Report Shows We Really Do Have the Power to Change the World

In July 2019, Natural Habitat Adventures pulled off the ultimate travel experience: the World’s First Zero Waste Adventure, a week-long excursion through Yellowstone National Park that diverted 99% of all on-trip waste from the landfill through recycling, composting, reusing, reducing and refusing. Basically, all the waste that they produced fit snugly inside a quart-sized mason jar. 

From the park’s scenic Lamar Valley to its gurgling and bubbling Upper Geyser Basin, the group’s 12 participants worked together to produce as minimal waste as possible while enjoying Yellowstone’s vast offerings. They shared meals at restaurants to reduce food waste, opted for bulk snacks rather than individual bags of chips and pretzels to cut down on packaging, and utilized reusable cutlery and containers for their to-go meals. It was a groundbreaking journey, and a successful one, too. It’s also just more than one of a dozen conservation travel milestones highlighted in Nat Hab’s 2023 Sustainability Report, an inaugural publication bringing together nearly 40 years of Nat Hab conservation work into one cohesive study.

“Frankly, we’re probably a little overdue,” says Court Whelan, Nat Hab’s Chief Sustainability Officer, “but it kind of had to be the right time for the company in terms of our collection of stories, the momentum of information, and the impact.” 

Nat Hab’s Zero Waste Adventure in Yellowstone National Park © Court Whelan

Nat Hab’s 2023 Sustainability Report Findings 

Founded in 1985, Nat Hab has always been a conservation company first in many ways, as well as a travel company. “Both this report and our tours prove that you can be both,” says Whelan. 

Partnership with World Wildlife Fund 

In fact, the 40-page compilation showcases a multitude of positive and life-changing projects, milestones, and partnerships that are a direct result of Nat Hab’s “Conservation through Exploration” ethos. These include the company’s 20-year partnership with World Wildlife Fund (WWF), which initially began in 2003 as an affinity group, or a coming together around common interests. “Like how an alumni group or museum may book out a trip and then sell it to their members,” says Whelan. As the two organizations continued working with one another, however, they realized they shared many of the same values and viewpoints. So in 2013, Nat Hab and WWF formed a strategic partnership in which the former would run 100% of the latter’s member trips. “In this way, we each get to do what we’re best at and support each other along the way.” 

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For instance, Nat Hab’s many adventures help showcase areas around the globe that WWF has deemed “priority places” and are in need of added support. One example is leading expeditions to the Arctic, where WWF supports renewable energy options for local communities. Or bringing travelers to Baja, California, home to the highly endangered vaquita—to see firsthand the extraordinary diversity of marine life that requires protection. This, in addition to the 45 million dollars that Nat Hab travelers have donated to WWF over the years, and the 1% of gross sales from all Nat Hat trips (as well as $174,000 annually) that goes toward supporting WWF’s conservation efforts worldwide. 

Nat Hab & WWF in Peru © JJ Huckin

Nat Hab’s In-House Philanthropy

Then there’s Nat Hab’s own in-house philanthropy, which is currently providing funds for 14 different projects across four continents. “These are small-scale projects that may not even be on the radar of many conservation groups,” says Whelan, “but where a little bit of money goes a long way.” Local enterprises like Uganda’s Ride4aWoman, an NGO empowering women in Buhoma, Uganda, who are struggling with things like poverty and domestic violence.

Ride4AWoman

“We provided two commercial sewing machines to the co-op there, and they’re crushing it,” says Whelan. “They’re making amazing things for their village, as well as to sell to tourists. It’s just fantastic seeing them generate income for the local economy.” Another is the Oncafari jaguar program in Brazil’s Pantanal, which promotes ecotourism while increasing the tolerance of jaguars to the presence of safari vehicles. “Say, one of their camera traps might have been ripped down by a jaguar in the middle of the night and they need a new one,” says Whelan. “We’re there to deliver.”

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Conservation Milestones 

Along with successfully pulling off the World’s First Zero Waste Adventure, Nab Hab has garnered a bevy of conservation travel milestones. In 2007, it became the world’s first 100% carbon-neutral travel company, offsetting our carbon footprint by investing in a variety of programs that align with United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (UN SDGs). These include supplying energy-efficient cookstoves in rural Ethiopia, which helps reduce the greenhouse gas emissions (not to mention pressure on surrounding forests) that come with cooking over open fires, and contributing to Tomorrow’s Air – Direct Air Capture, a process that extracts CO2 directly from the atmosphere and stores it away permanently. The following year, Nat Hab built the world’s first hybrid safari vehicle, SafariOne, for use on U.S. national park trips. 

Nat Hab’s Electric Safari Vehicle © Justin Sullivan

Setting the Bar High 

Not only are these types of industry-firsts like the above a great way to turn heads, says Whelan, but they also get people to pay attention to next-level sustainability ways of thinking. “They’re a fantastic podium,” he says, “the idea that if you do something really difficult—you know, aim for the stars and land on the mountain sort of thing—you can still have a really meaningful impact.”

For example, going zero waste may not be in the cards for everyone (“It’s actually pretty difficult to do,” says Whelan), but knowing that it can be done might help other organizations go into their next projects or adventures with a more discerning eye. “You start thinking, maybe we can’t be zero waste, but what about 80 or 90% waste-free?” he says. “Before asking, ‘What are some of the biggest waste offenders out there? What steps can we take that will be most effective?’”

Nat Hab Expedition Leader teaching travelers about the Canyons of the American Southwest © Courtney Kent

Nat Hab 2023 Sustainability Report Takeaways 

In addition to an opportunity to highlight just how far Nat Hab has come since the company’s inception, the report is also a way to inspire travelers—both armchair and on-the-ground—to continue perpetrating conservation culture wherever they happen to be. “Not every single person has to be 100% behind every conservation or sustainability cause,” says Whelan, “but just thinking about it, paying attention to it, and learning what’s possible.” Maybe it begins with composting and recycling regularly or using package-free shampoo and conditioner rather than single-use bottles when you travel. Once we incorporate manageable things like these into our daily lives, he says, then it’s about taking the next right step or learning the next right thing “to move forward.”

Nat Hab traveler enjoys morning coffee using our eco-friendly thermos mugs. Sustainability is our priority, even on safari in Tanzania! © Andrew Morgan

While Whelan believes that sustainability reports should be industry standard, he also realizes that Nat Hab has a superpower in its ability to provide larger-scale success stories that inspire, which in turn can help create or further propagate a larger conservation culture. In fact, that’s Nat Hab’s modus operandi: finding ways to propel both the travel industry and society further when it comes to conservation. “It only takes one more Jane Goodall or revolutionary idea to really change the paradigm on things,” he says. 

And travel is one of the best ways to stir these kinds of ideas. Whether it’s tracking Namibia’s endangered black rhinos in the company of experts from Save the Rhino Trust or witnessing millions of monarch butterflies in Mexico’s forested highlands, “Our trips are having crazy impacts on peoples’ lives,” says Whelan, “changing their viewpoints and their worldviews, often forever.” 

The post Nat Hab’s 2023 Sustainability Report Shows We Really Do Have the Power to Change the World first appeared on Good Nature Travel Blog.

The Peculiar Story of How the Puffin Returned to Maine

A Feather in Your Cap

The year is 1886, and you’ve just moved from the verdant countryside to the urban sprawl of the big city. Billowing smokestacks have replaced your morning view of the misty mountains, steel monoliths stand in for ancient deciduous trees and the screeching sound of trains on tracks silence bird song.

Though you’ve knowingly traded a life spent in the wilderness for the grandeur of the Gilded Age, you long for the sublimity only nature can provide. And, because you are a woman, you can only experience the wonders of the world through the stories and treasures brought back by male explorers, colonizers and trophy hunters.

In an attempt to satisfy society’s standards, you don a hat embellished with exotic feathers and strut down the streets of Manhattan.

The words of naturalist Alfred Russel Wallace echo in your mind: “All the beauty is in the feathers…I almost think a feather is the masterpiece of nature.”

How can you argue with Darwin’s contemporary—the co-founder of evolutionary theory? You flaunt your beauty and your fitness in the hope that a courting suitor will recognize your value.

Easter Parade, New York City, 1911. Courtesy Library of Congress.

Unbeknownst to you, Frank Chapman, an ornithologist with the American Museum of Natural History, is conducting a feathered hat census in New York City. You are among the 700 women he counts during a two-day observation period. Roughly 40 native bird species, including herons, owls and woodpeckers, were poached, plucked, disassembled and stuffed in the name of fashion.

Though eye-opening, Chapman’s study represented a mere fraction of the staggering death toll associated with the feather trade. In 1886, over 50 North American species were slaughtered for their feathers.

Entire populations of terns, herons, egrets and other shorebirds were decimated all along the Atlantic Coast. In its winter issue, Good Housekeeping reported: “At Cape Cod, 40,000 terns have been killed in one season by a single agent of the hat trade.”

By the end of the 19^th century, more than five million birds were killed annually to supply the booming American millinery industry.

In response to the plumage plundering, socialite Harriet Lawrence Hemenway and her cousin Minna B. Hall founded the Massachusetts Audubon Society in 1896. The organization’s lobbying resulted in the passage of the 1900 Lacey Act, which prohibited the importation of wildlife that had been harvested against local laws in its country of origin.

Unfortunately, nations that supported the trade continued trafficking exotic species into the United States. On its fateful maiden voyage, the Titanic was carrying more than 40 cases of feathers destined for New York milliners. The crates were insured for over $2.3 million in today’s dollars. In 1912, only diamonds were worth more pound for pound.

Puck magazine illustration, 1911. “The woman behind the gun.” Courtesy Library of Congress.

In 1918, Mass Audubon’s advocacy laid the groundwork for the passage of the Migratory Bird Treaty Act, which made it unlawful to “pursue, hunt, take, capture, kill, possess, sell, barter, purchase, or transport any migratory bird, [body] part, nest, or egg” in the U.S. and Britain.

The federal ruling was lifesaving for a plethora of species, but it could not undo the loss suffered by birds in the decades prior. For some species, like the Atlantic puffin, it was too late.

Hope Is The Thing With Feathers

Atlantic puffins once flourished on many nesting islands along the Gulf of Maine, but heavy exploitation of eggs, meat and feathers caused their populations to dwindle.

The hunting of terns further impacted puffin survival. Puffins often nest under the protective wing of terns, as they are notorious for fiercely fending off eagles, gulls and other predators from their young.

By the turn of the 20^th century, Atlantic puffins had disappeared entirely from the U.S.

For decades, it seemed as if puffins had been effaced from North America’s collective consciousness. That is, all except for one person named Stephen Kress.

In 1971, Kress was an ornithology graduate student at Cornell University and spent his summers as a wildlife instructor at Hog Island, a coastal field station in Bremen, Maine.

Kress was at the local library when he discovered Maine Birds, written by Smithsonian ornithologist Ralph Palmer. He was shocked to read that Atlantic puffins once bred on a windswept island known as Eastern Egg Rock a mere six miles south, but they had not returned to their natal site since their extirpation nearly a hundred years earlier.

Enraged and inspired, Kress set to work on Project Puffin—his ambitious goal to reestablish a breeding colony. He planned to translocate puffin chicks (called pufflings) from neighboring Canada to Maine, where they would be hand-reared until they were ready to paddle out to sea. A couple of years later, the Canadian Wildlife Service agreed to provide six pufflings from Newfoundland as a pilot project.

Stephen Kress holding a puffin on Eastern Egg Rock. © Wikimedia Commons

Because puffins float on the open ocean for most of the year and only return to land to breed, Kress had between April and August to make Egg Rock feel like home.

Armed with a crew of Audubon biologists, Kress constructed a series of artificial burrows out of sod and visited the 10-day-old fosters multiple times a day to hand-feed them forage fish. As the pufflings approached fledging age, they received a leg band so the scientists could follow their journey.

From 1973 to 1981, 954 Newfoundland puffin chicks were transplanted to Egg Rock; however, after fledging, none returned to raise offspring of their own.

Kress and his field team observed a few familiar puffins fly by the island. Still, they chose to nest at existing colonies on Matinicus Rock or on Machias Seal Island in Canadian waters instead.

Determined to make Egg Rock more inviting for puffins, Kress added mirrors and hand-painted wooden decoys to his arsenal, unwittingly inventing “social attraction” as a new wildlife management strategy. He rigged four-sided mirror boxes and set them amid the decoys to stimulate scuttlebutt.

The charade was working! Puffins flocked to the mirrors, preening their feathers, pecking at their reflection and cozying up to the glass to rest. But, just as quickly as they appeared, they vanished with the ebbing tides.

Gulls in pursuit of an Atlantic puffin carrying sand lance in its beak.

Kress and his team knew they would have to outsmart the island’s predators for the puffins to stay.

Gulls feed opportunistically on seabirds and their chicks, and without the nuisance of territorial terns to keep the gulls at bay, puffins are left defenseless. Using a combination of recorded tern calls and decoys, the team broadcasted that Egg Rock was suitable for colonization.

In 1980, terns began nesting on Egg Rock for the first time since 1936. Then, in 1981, the first puffling was reared by puffin parents on Egg Rock.

Birds of a Feather Flock Together

The restoration experiment was so successful Project Puffin spread its wings to the Galapagos to make a refuge for the islands’ resident petrels. The team cordoned off rat-free areas and constructed artificial burrows. Within the first year, petrels began to nest and establish new colonies.

Today, 50 years after Project Puffin’s founding, scientists around the world are implementing Kress’ pioneering methods at more than 500 sites, targeting one-third of seabird species. Conservation efforts are supported by Audubon’s Seabird Institute, the proud purveyor of social attraction products, including 45 species of decoys.

Decoys of the endangered short-tailed albatross helping to establish healthy seabird colonies in Hawaii.

Eastern Egg Rock is now home to a stable colony of puffins and a healthy population of other seabirds, including roseate terns, black guillemots and razorbills. Recent records indicate there are 1,300 breeding pairs of puffins across five Maine islands.

“I hope that Project Puffin inspires people of all ages to learn that individuals can make a real difference for wildlife,” declared the now-retired Dr. Kress in an interview with Yale University Press.

The Seabird Institute continues research efforts on a network of seven islands in the Gulf of Maine. These colonies provide nesting habitat to 100% of Maine’s roseate terns, about 80% of its common terns, 65% of its Arctic terns and nearly half of its least terns.

“It’s not just a conservation story for us here in Maine, even though it’s a great one for locally,” says Don Lyons, director of conservation science at the Seabird Institute. “It’s really a worldwide conservation success story.”

Least tern parents feeding their chick.

A Bird in the Hand is Worth Two in the Bush

Globally, Atlantic puffins number in the millions, but their population is decreasing due to prey scarcity from climate change and overfishing. The species is also vulnerable to oil spills and other forms of marine pollution.

Iceland is home to more than half the planet’s Atlantic puffins, and the country’s Westman Islands harbor the largest colony in the world. In the southern half of the country, warming ocean waters have changed the availability of sand lance (commonly known as “sand eels”), causing almost complete breeding failure each year for more than a decade. Puffin territory has also shrunk due to the invasive American mink, which decimated nearly all the mainland colonies in the 1930s.

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For centuries, puffins have been harvested sustainably for human consumption in Iceland and the Faroe Islands, but trophy hunting operations are causing a sharp decline in numbers. Although the Atlantic puffin is listed as vulnerable on the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species, they receive no protection in Iceland.

Photographed on Vigur Island in Iceland by Nat Hab Expedition Leader © Eddy Savage. Check out Eddy’s tips for getting the shot in his Good Nature Travel story.

“This is a time for bold stewardship and commitment by government and individuals in the precious commodities of species…We live in the age of human-caused extinction, and inaction will leave a progressively depleted planet for future generations.” —Dr. Stephen W. Kress

You can positively impact puffin populations by booking a trip with Natural Habitat Adventures and our travel partner World Wildlife Fund. Search for Atlantic puffins amid the glaciers of East Greenland and photograph Iceland’s colonies on a Photo Pro Expedition, or watch for the tufted and horned puffin species on an Alaska wildlife safari!

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You can also support WWF’s global efforts to protect wild animals and their habitats by making a symbolic species adoption.

Thanks for reading, my fine feathered friends!

The post The Peculiar Story of How the Puffin Returned to Maine first appeared on Good Nature Travel Blog.

Six Pygmy Wildlife Species and Where to Find Them

When it comes to wildlife, the term ‘pygmy’ refers to animals that are smaller in size than their more typical counterparts. In many cases, these reduced measurements also result in them being unbelievably cute. However, we’ve rounded up six pygmy species from around the globe that are here to tell you, they’re not all about good looks. For instance, when it comes to threats such as habitat loss, hunting, and poaching, they’re just as susceptible as the rest. Here’s an opportunity to learn more about these relatively ‘pint-sized’ creatures, where to find them, and why they need our help. 

And if some adorable wildlife images also happen to accompany the text? Well, that’s just icing on the cake…

Borneo Pygmy Elephant

The pygmy elephant is the smallest subspecies of Asian elephant, as well as one of the least-studied elephants in the world. These eye-catching animals are endemic to the Pacific island of Borneo, with only about 1,500 of them left in the wild. Most pygmy elephants live within the forests of Sabah, a Malaysian state occupying the island’s northern portion. 

In the early 2000s, WWF used DNA evidence to determine that the elephants inhabiting northeast Borneo are their own genetically distinct subspecies, naturally isolated from other elephants hundreds of thousands of years ago. 

Endowed with large ears, long tails, and round bellies, these pygmy elephants can grow up to 9.8 feet tall, and weigh 11,000 pounds—a size that’s about 20 to 30 percent less than their mainland cousins. Still, they remain Boreno’s largest land mammal and are known to be relatively tame and mild-tempered in comparison to other Asian elephants. 

© Kaisa Siren / WWF

Today, threats to their remaining numbers include habitat loss—with at least a third of Borneo’s forest lost to deforestation due to increasing palm oil plantations, pulp plantations, and illegal logging—human-elephant conflicts, poaching, and reduced genetic diversity. 

To help with the former, WWF launched Forests Forward, a corporate program that engages companies around the world, acting as a ‘one-stop-shop’ to help them reduce their forest footprint, and protect wildlife like Borneo pygmy elephants in the process. 

Pygmy Mouse Lemurs

Like all other lemur primates, the tiny pygmy mouse lemur is only found in Madagascar, an African island country off the continent’s southeastern coast. They live mostly within western Madagascar’s dry forests and are protected by two national parks: Tsingy de Bemaraha and Tsingy de Namoroka. 

With a head-and-body length of approximately 2.4 inches and a weight of less than two ounces, pygmy mouse lemurs are one of the smallest primates on the planet. These large-eyed solitary creatures forage the forest for fruit and insects at night and spend their days snoozing in tree holes or plain view. 

They’re listed as a ‘vulnerable’ species, and at one point were even thought to be extinct entirely, until someone spotted one in the country’s Kirindy Forest in 1993. 

Along with habitat loss, threats to this minuscule animal include their keeping as household pets. 

By joining WWF’s own Adopt a Mouse Lemur program, you not only support global conservation efforts, but you get an adorable plush primate to boot! 

Pygmy Hippos 

A creature that can weigh up to 600 pounds and be anywhere from three-to-six feet long doesn’t sound small, but in the world of hippopotamuses, pygmy hippos are actually quite minuscule. 

© Martin Harvey / WWF

This reclusive and nocturnal mammal resides in the forests and swamplands of West Africa, in places like the Cestos-Senkwehn rivershed forests of southeastern Liberia, and Sierra Leone’s Gola Rainforest National Park. They’re difficult to spot in the wild—spending much of their days cooling off in the waters of rivers and swamps, and feeding on fruits, ferns, and grasses on land under darkness—a fact that also makes them hard to study in their natural habitat. 

Shiny-skinned and pudgy-faced, they’re classified as endangered, with only about 2,000-2,500 pygmy hippos remaining in the wild. Their main threats include habitat loss and hunting. 

Pygmy Marmoset  

Residing in the rainforests of South America’s western Amazon Basin, including those in Peru and Brazil, pygmy marmosets are the tiniest monkeys on the planet. They weigh less than four ounces and measure approximately six inches (head-to-body length) max, and tend to live together in troops of 2 to 9 members, way up in the jungle canopy. 

Despite their pocket size, they have one enormous skill: the ability to leap over 30 times their body length while navigating the treetops. Their tales are longer than their bodies, and they’re extremely chatty, communicating with one another through a series of high-pitched sounds. 

Pygmy marmosets get much of their nutrients from tree gum and have furry features resembling those of a squirrel. Unlike most primates, they don’t have opposable thumbs. 

The IUCN lists pygmy marmosets’ conservation status as vulnerable, with their largest threats being habitat loss and people keeping them as pets. 

© J.J. Huckin / WWF-US

Pygmy Three-Toed Sloth

Just when you thought there couldn’t be anything cuter than a three-toed sloth, it turns out a pygmy version exists. The pygmy sloth makes its home in the red mangrove forests of Escudo de Veraguas, a small and isolated island off of Panama’s eastern coast. 

Both slow-moving and tree-dwelling like their larger brethren, pygmy sloths are also excellent swimmers, utilizing the local waters as a way to get around. They’re also about 40 percent smaller than the brown-throated three-fingered sloths living on the country’s mainland. 

With numbers estimated to be less than 100 (some calculations are as low as 48) just over a decade ago, the IUCN Red List has them listed as critically endangered, with threats including habitat loss and the presence of feral cats on the island. 

Pygmy Seahorse 

While so very little and hard to spot in the ocean because they’re so well camouflaged, pygmy seahorses are also exceedingly captivating. Google a ‘pygmy seahorse’ and chances are you’ll be pouring over pics of this miniature sea creature all day. 

Made up of several small-scale species that all measure less than an inch in length, pygmy seahorses make their home in the Coral Triangle, an area in the western Pacific Ocean that’s home to an incredibly rich diversity of marine life and coral. Here, they disguise themselves among seagrasses and gorgonians (sea fans), gliding along with their short snouts, long tails, and colorful tubercles (round nodules) looking for tiny crustaceans to eat. 

© Jürgen Freund / WWF

Out of a handful of pygmy seahorses listed on The International Union for Conservation of Nature Red List of Threatened Species, four are classified as ‘data deficient,’ meaning there’s not enough known about their population sizes to assess a true conservation status. 

However, seahorses in general face threats from invasive species, climate change, and pollution, as well as their collection as curios and for aquariums and use in traditional medicines. To help fight some of these issues, WWF has partnered with communities, businesses, and governments worldwide to find ways to restore the health of our oceans, including the revival of critical coastal environments such as mangroves and coral reefs.

The post Six Pygmy Wildlife Species and Where to Find Them first appeared on Good Nature Travel Blog.