Wild mushroom foraging for commercial gain damaging local ecology, say RSPB, National Trust and Forestry Commission

The fashion for collecting wild mushrooms began with celebrity chefs such as Antonio Carluccio, and has been encouraged by those with a revived interest in local food, such as Jamie Oliver.

This year’s wet summer and mild autumn has produced bumper crops of colourful wax caps, common ceps and luscious chanterelles.

But this new generation of foodies and foragers are beginning to trample the forests and fields that feed them – as well as many animals and insects, warn those who look after the UK’s woodlands and nature reserves. [Read more...]

We refer to the letter “Cast net wider to stop animal traffickers” (The Star, Oct 14). We truly appreciate the concerns highlighted by the writer with regard to animal trafficking.

We would like to reiterate that the Natural Resources and Environment Ministry is very committed to protecting wildlife in this country, with the involvement of the public, NGOs, various government agencies and the private sector.

To curb wildlife smuggling, the ministry through the Department of Wildlife and National Parks (DWNP) works very closely with other enforcement agencies such as the Custom and Excise Department, the Police and Armed Forces, Anti-Smuggling Unit and the Malaysian Maritime Enforcement Agency. [Read more...]

For decades, rare exotic species such as the tiger, panda and snow leopard have become symbols of the world’s disappearing wildlife.

But according to a new report, common animals are vanishing at an even more alarming rate.

Over the last 30 years, the total number of mammals, reptiles, birds, fish and amphibians living in the world has plummeted by one third.

Thousands of species – from British honey bees and house sparrows, to Kenya zebra and giraffes – have seen their numbers fall  more quickly than at any time in recorded history.

Over the same period  the human population has doubled, conservationists say.

Experts last night warned that the world was going through the ‘sixth mass extinction’ in history  – and claimed that the scale of the natural losses may soon begin to hit the world’s economies.

The shocking finding comes in the third United Nations Global Biodiversity Outlook report – a snapshot of how the world’s wildlife is changing.

The report warned that natural systems that support economies, lives, food supplies and jobs are at risk of ‘rapid degradation and collapse’ unless political leaders take swift action.

Some ecosystems such as coral reefs and forests could soon reach ‘tipping points’ where they quickly become less useful to mankind.

Ahmed Djoghlaf, Convention on Biological Diversity executive secretary, said: ‘The news is not good.

‘We continue to lose biodiversity at a rate never before seen in history – extinction rates may be up to 1,000 times higher than the historical background rate.

‘Business as usual is no longer an option if we are to avoid irreversible damage to the life-support systems of our planet.’

The report found that up to 55 per cent of animal and plant species are threatened with extinction.

They include iconic species such as rhinos, whales and gorillas, along with blue fin tuna, the pacific walrus and monarch butterfly. Some 23 per cent of plant species are also threatened, along with 12 per cent of all bird species.

But the report – based on 500 peer-reviewed scientific papers and 110 national reports submitted by governments – warned that the amount of wildlife was also falling.

The global abundance of vertebrates – the group that includes mammals, reptiles, birds, amphibians and fish – fell by about one-third between 1970 and 2006, the UN said.

In the tropics, the number of vertebrates fell by 60 per cent.

In Africa, populations of giraffe, zebra, warthog and impala – animals once commonly seen by tourists on safari – have fallen by around 70 per cent since the 1970s.

In Britain, the number of farmland birds such as skylarks and lapwings  has halved since 1980, while sparrow and starling numbers have gone down two thirds.

Butterflies, honey bees, bumblebees and moths have all seen dramatic falls in numbers.

The UN warned that the main reasons behind the disappearance of species, including loss of habitats,  including climate change, pollution and over-exploitation of resources, were not going away – and in some cases were getting worse.

The report also confirmed that the world’s leaders had failed to meet their target for curbing the rate of wildlife loss, agreed eight years ago.

The UN estimates that the world is losing habitats and wildlife worth £43 billion a year in food, jobs and natural resources. By David Derbyshire, The Daily Mail

Simond Raymond of Switzerland braved snow-packed and icy roads, but he considered his winter visit to Yellowstone National Park a success. He saw wolves every day.

“Sometimes the weather is very bad — but we saw the wolves,” he smiled.

Raymond fits into a category of Yellowstone visitor that did not exist 15 years ago: the wolf watcher.

After being wiped out in the park early in the 20th century, 31 gray wolves were re-introduced in 1995 and 1996. They flourished. Today, more than 350 of their descendants roam the park and surrounding area, preying on the abundant elk, deer and bison.

Summer visitors to Yellowstone expect to see wildlife, but most don’t realize that the winter season — which officially begins Dec. 18 — can be prime time for wildlife viewing. Deep snow in the high country drives elk, deer and bison down into the open valleys, where the weather is milder and they can more easily paw or push snow aside to get to the dried grass beneath.

And where the grazing animals gather, predators follow.

My wife and I live only three hours away from Yellowstone and we visit more often in the winter than the summer. We like to tell others about being serenaded by wolf and coyote howls echoing off the mountains, of watching a coyote stalk and pounce on a mouse by listening to it scurrying under the snow, of inadvertently skiing so close to a bison that we could see his bloodshot eyes.

But there’s more than wildlife in Yellowstone in winter. The frigid air enhances the steam spouting from its famous geysers, making them even more spectacular. Its plateaus and broad valleys are made for cross-country skiing and snowshoeing; some scenic drives in summer are designated cross-country ski trails in winter.

Most of Yellowstone is closed to auto traffic in winter, but the part that is open to cars offers some of the richest wildlife viewing opportunities in the park. It runs from Roosevelt Arch, the century-old ceremonial north entrance to Yellowstone at Gardiner, Mont., to the snowbound community of Cooke City, Mont., at the northeast entrance (the road beyond Cooke City is usually closed in winter).

En route, it passes through the Lamar Valley, which some have called America’s Serengeti. This is where most of the park’s wolf watchers hang out.

But even areas closed to auto traffic remain open to visitors, via snowmobile or snowcoach. Visitors can travel by snowcoach to Old Faithful and ski the circuit around the Upper Geyser Basin, the largest geyser concentration in the world. After skiing, visit the Old Faithful Snow Lodge, a modern hotel that invites visitors to curl up in comfy lounging chairs in front of lobby fireplaces.

Those staying in gateway communities can also take snowcoaches into the park on day trips. Cross-country skiers can access scheduled ski drops and pickups for specific trails from in-park hotels.

And for those staying near the north entrance, winter is the best time to try that special Yellowstone experience called hot-potting.

As you drive the five miles from Gardiner to Mammoth Hot Springs, you will cross the Gardner River. You may notice a big parking lot to your left — seemingly serving nothing. It’s not marked, but this is the best opportunity in Yellowstone to take a dip in a wild hot springs without having to hike for 20 miles. By William Kronholm,The Miami Herald