Baraza

Category: Amazing facts | Date: Mar 26 2008 | By: admin

I just read this on BBC online and just had to share it.

“Bruno was the first bear to be spotted in the wild in Germany for 170 years but was finally shot dead in June 2006″.

So… the first bear to be spotted in 3 human generations is FINALLY shot dead. What the hell? I thought I was reading rubbish, it’s not April Fools yet is it?….It gets better…

“Museum director Michael Apel said it was “unfortunate Bruno was shot” but it was a chance to attract people who otherwise would not come.”

UNFORTUNATE? THIS IS THE FIRST BEAR IN 170 YEARS SHOT DEAD TO ATTRACT PEOPLE???

It gets even better

The bear is displayed being disturbed by people while stealing honey from bee hives to show his potential danger.

“I think he looks very lively,” Mr Apel told the BBC News website as the finishing touches were put to the display at the Museum of Man and Nature.

The first bear in 170 years is shot dead STUFFED and put on display to attract people, … and NOW HE LOOKS ……LIVELY!!!???

Taxidermist Dieter Schoen, who spent 1,400 hours stuffing the bear, said the display was “supposed to show Bruno neither as beast nor teddy bear”.

1400 hours to stuff a bear… what an important piece of information!

“Bruno had been part of an Italian programme to bring bears back to the Alps but he ventured into Austria and Germany.

The two-year-old bear captured the imagination, inspiring a hunting game on the internet’.

It sounds to me like this bear was doomed from the start. He obviously didn’t read the signs, was an illegal immigrant and he rubbed the Germans up the wrong way creating political friction in this volatile region (this story reads like the Congo)… and damn it this guy was a thief too….read this ….

“But he began roaming close to villages and once appeared outside a police station at a lakeside resort. He upset farmers, breaking into bee hives and eating 30 sheep, four rabbits and a guinea pig.”

So he had to die according to the authorities, but at least we learned a few things ….Apels words of wisdom are “….we should inform the general public about the management problems. If you want bears to return, you have to consider how to remove him from areas where people live” hmm…. I wonder why we didn’t consider this earlier, before we spent 1 Million Euros. Yes folks, Bruno was part of an EU-funded €1 million conservation project in Italy. How many mountain gorillas could you save with that money in Africa?

For more about Bruno go here

Is it just me or does this story really stink? Makes me so mad. Has anyone out there heard anything more idiotic recently? I’m ashamed to be a conservationist with people like these running around and throwing 1 million Euros down the potty.

“Meanwhile, Bruno’s brother JJ2 is at large in the Italian Alps. Bruno’s mother - who is blamed for his savage behaviour - has another three cubs.” Who the heck writes this stuff for BBC?

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Category: WildlifeDirect news | Date: Mar 19 2008 | By: admin

The last few days have really had us all on our feet at WildlifeDirect. There have been a lot of atrocities committed against Kenya’s wildlife who unfortunately are being used as a scapegoat for a much deeper rooted problem in Kenya: land.

Last week we found out through one of our partner organisations, the Lion Guardians that three lions were tragically killed. Such inhumane acts are becoming more and more common and whilst they are often the result of retaliation due to Pastoralists losing their livestock to an opportunistic carnivore, there is really no justification for taking revenge on an animal that is only following its basic nature. Reuters were quick to pick up the story and once a media house like them picks it, it often travels far and wide across the globe.

When this came out, we quickly got word that up to 14 elephants had been speared since february this year and 4 had died all within the same Amboseli region. We spoke with world renowned elephant specialist, Dr. Cynthia Moss who post a guest blog on Dr. Richard Leakey’s WildlifeDirect blog. It was only a matter of time before the media turned their panoptical gaze to this blog as well and in less than 48 hours the story had appeared on several leading papers and National Geographic had put a story on these unfortunate incidences.

With all the debate about the reintroduction of culling of elephants in South Africa, Dr. Leakey, renowned for bringing an end to elephant poaching in Kenya over twenty years ago most certainly had a thing or two to say about the highly controversial issue. I think much to everyone’s suprise, he stated that whilst he felt culling to be a repugnant practice, he also felt South Africa had little choice given the current circumstances. Once again, yet anothermajor media house, BBC picked up on his blog and ran it in their Green Room and it also made front page of the BBC Africa news section. And before I had time to read the article, several comments were flying into my inbox from all sorts of different angles. People have strong opinions about lots of things and the beauty of the internet is that you can voice them and it doesn’t necessarily have to lead to a physical fight!

Day 3: I get a phone call from the German Press Agency asking if we have any more information on the arrest of the Provincial Director of South Kivu and Chief of World Heritage of Kahuzi Biega National Parc who has been charged with the murder of ten gorillas mid last year. I had in fact not heard about this but information was at my fingertips through skype, gtalk and emailing. Yes, it was true and this was a huge breakthrough against corruption in the ICCN which work to protect thewildlife and environment in one of the most complicated areas in the world, DR Congo. Soon the blogs were up and more journalists calling and asking for statements. What was critical was to get accurate information for the journalists to report. I love the internet! I spoke to my colleague whom I can barely reach on phone using skype and was able to provide the BBC with reliable information right from the ground. Not even an hour later, the news was out on their front page!

It’s 7pm in Nairobi where the rains are just beginning. I am fortunate enough to have a roof under my head and so much more, and blessed to have the ability to reach the world through an online social network that continuously helps to bring about change…so let’s hope we can bring justice and equality to all living creatures once and for all…

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