Science | A day in the life of a WildCam Operator

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A day in the life of a WildCam Operator

October 14, 2008 – 5:53 pm

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Dear Friend of National Geographic,

These days I find myself spending more time on WildCam. It lets me escape the troubling state of the world and enjoy some tranquil moments with nature. I always feel refreshed and more hopeful.

Because I know you are a fan, I want to share a recent email from Afke, our WildCam operator at Pete’s Pond, as she describes a day on the job.

I also hope you will consider making a tax-deductible gift to keep WildCam live in the coming months. We depend on people like you to keep this vital program going.

I wake up at first daylight and listen to the morning sounds of birds, Jackals and what is that… a Lion’s roar! I smile, like I do every morning, because it is so wonderful to wake up in the bush. I quickly get dressed, brush my teeth and walk to the hide. I can’t wait to see what’s at the pond.

When I walk in, the pond is like a mirror. The trees reflect in it in such a beautiful way! There are a few impalas taking an early drink and the first guinea fowl start to arrive. I put the kettle on for rooibos tea, set the cam to daylight settings, sit down and start my working day by showing what the pond looks like this morning.

It’s busy with many beautiful birds, impalas, blue wildebeests, a jackal and elephants. Lots of elephants. With tiny babies too! They drink, take a shower, and bathe. One of the babies slips into the pond and mom carefully lifts it out while an older sister is trumpeting and kicking up dust. So much to see and show!

Around 11h30 it gets a bit quiet and I suddenly realize I haven’t had my rooibos tea with rusks, nor did I have breakfast yet. As usual. I quickly make some rooibos tea and a peanut butter sandwich, run to the donkey boiler to make fire for a hot shower and go back to the cam.

The crocodile is basking ashore and a few warthogs are getting closer and closer to him. One of them is even sniffing his head! The first time the crocodile doesn’t even move. The second time he slightly lifts his head and the third time he’s had enough and lashes out at the warthog. In a split second the warthogs scatter and while dust settles again, the crocodile finds a comfortable spot and returns to basking.

But what is that? The warthogs are coming back! They circle around the crocodile again and one of them (the same one??) is sniffing the crocodile’s tail. I am telling it to be careful, not to be so silly. But luckily nothing happens. The crocodile stays still and eventually the warthogs wander off. Phew!

The afternoon is hot and quiet. I put the cam on autopan and go to the bathroom for a shower and to do my laundry. While I’m busy there, I hear a sound… elephants! I run back to the hide and start camming.

There are more than a hundred elephants and family groups have to take turns because there is just not enough space for all of them at the pond’s shoreline. What a magnificent sight! I don’t know where to point the cam first and decide to show the bigger picture first, before I concentrate on the separate stories.

After they’ve left, I finish my laundry, have a late lunch and read for half an hour, sitting in front of my tent, listening to the birdsongs. Suddenly I see a group of banded mongoose walk in. They are chattering away and don’t seem to be worried about me being there.

I slowly sit down on the sand and start making their sounds. They all stop, look at me and then… they all walk up to me! They surround me, sniff my feet, stand on their hind legs to check me out and some even rest close to me. I can’t stop smiling!

After they’ve left, I go back to work. Animals come and go all afternoon and the sunset is stunning. Slowly the sounds change and when it’s dark, we are listening to many many crickets, other insects and frogs. And listen! The jackals are singing too! Such a lovely sound.

A herd of elands arrives and I start looking for the famous female. The one that broke her jaw a few years ago. And there she is! Lapping up water and looking good. Everyone on the forum is happy to see her. The rest of the evening is quiet.

When it gets close to 22h00, I post a message on the forum saying goodnight. As I press the send button, the elephants arrive. They do that often. The second I say goodnight, they walk in. I love it!

I stay and work with the cam of course, enjoying what I see and hear. Finally all the animals have gone, except the water dikkop. I say goodnight to the viewers again, have a hot chocolate with a rusk and go to my tent.

Sleep always comes easy here, but after an hour or so, I wake up again. What sound was that?? Oh wow… I hear hyenas and jackals! I realize that the jackals’ call is the one they use when they are following one of the big predators. I just can’t stay in bed. I have to check.

I walk into the hide and am just in time to see a lioness arrive. I quickly point the cam at her and we spend a few wonderful moments watching this great animal drink. Then she gets up, has a look around and calmly walks off. I am so happy to be able to be here! When I’m back in bed I still smile.

- Afke

Don’t you want to change jobs? Please help us to continue to bring you WildCam. Make your gift online today.

Yours truly,

Nancy E. Rehman
Vice President, Development

P.S. Your donation today will help keep Pete’s Pond, Kakadu, grizzlies, cranes , polar bears, and other WildCams up and filming. Please make as generous a contribution as you can.

One of the world’s largest nonprofit scientific and educational institutions, the National Geographic Society’s mission is to increase and diffuse geographic knowledge. Today National Geographic inspires people to care about the planet.

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By becky | Also posted in Animals, Education, Nature, Technology, Uncategorized | Comments (1) |

Moosey News – October 2008

October 5, 2008 – 9:08 am

It’s all change in the garden this month – I hope I can keep up with the pace. Gardeners like to change things, but sometimes nature changes things far too quickly. Hurry up – no, slow down!

- This month’s features -

1. Tulip Troubles

2. Percy the Ginger Cat

3. New 2009 Calendars

4. Super September

5. Blue Corydalis

- Regulars –

6. Plant of the Month : The Bride

7. Animal of the Month : Gingerpuss

8. Garden Quotes : Lawns and Edges

9. Garden Gallery : Rose Calendar Pictures

10. Forum Focus : Changes

11. Gardening Advice : Ponds

12. Searching for Moosey : garden gnome

13. Coming up this month : Joy and Happiness – and Weeding…

- This month’s features -

1. Tulip Troubles

I just don’t try hard enough with my tulips. Every year I wish I had a better attitude to these beautifully coloured bulbs, and this spring is no exception.

http://www.mooseyscountrygarden.com/n2388

2. Percy the Ginger Cat

Welcome to Percy the purry ginger gardening cat, who now has his own official page. Oops – he almost gets as many journal photographs as my beloved white cat B-Puss…

http://www.mooseyscountrygarden.com/n2379

3. New 2009 Calendars

You’re spoilt for choice for next year’s calendars. Choose from half-size, full-size, garden views, scenic New Zealand, flowers, roses, cats – and this new one, featuring garden plant partners. All are in friendly pdf formats and free to download.

http://www.mooseyscountrygarden.com/n2383

4. Super September

Some gardening months have their own special style, where every day seems packed with purpose and garden enjoyment. My September has been one of these months…

http://www.mooseyscountrygarden.com/n2389

5. Blue Corydalis

This unheralded little blue perennial pops up beautifully in springtime.

http://www.mooseyscountrygarden.com/n2391

- Regulars -

6. Plant of the Month : The Bride

I couldn’t travel to France for a family wedding, so I bought myself a standard Bride shrub instead. She has a ring of flashy purple pansies at her ankles, and I water her every day.

http://www.mooseyscountrygarden.com/n2386

7. Animal of the Month : Gingerpuss

The Moosey Most Valuable Pet Competition is finally back on track. All bonus points have been added in, and gallant Gingerpuss is doing battle with Rusty the red Border Collie for the lead. Quite a few readers want to vote for the three youngest cats, though, and at the time of writing they’re not represented.

http://www.mooseyscountrygarden.com/n111

8. Garden Quote : Lawns and Edges

With apologies to Shakespeare, this quote starts off with the night following the day…

http://www.mooseyscountrygarden.com/n2387

9. Garden Gallery : Rose Calendar Pictures

I’ve had fun putting together two rose calendars for 2009, both full of gorgeous rose pictures. The Image of the Month has to be one of these – but which one?

http://www.mooseyscountrygarden.com/n2382
http://www.mooseyscountrygarden.com/n2067

10. Forum Focus : All Change

Southern hemisphere readers are zooming through spring, while others up north are preparing for autumn changes. Pots full of plants are coming in, and going out.

http://forums.mooseyscountrygarden.com/

11. Gardening Advice : Ponds need to be Lovely Places

This is good advice to any gardener like me – lucky enough to have a pond, but lackadaisical (what a word!) in their pond presentation. Viewed from within or without, a pond should look good. A pond’s ambience should never be wasted.

http://www.mooseyscountrygarden.com/n2377

12. Searching for Moosey : garden gnome

I’ve found the Moosey bachelor garden gnome after some serious garden searching of my own. Oops…

http://www.mooseyscountrygarden.com/n2392

13. Coming Up This Month : Hopefully, even more garden joy and happiness than last month. And more weeding, and watering, and shifting plants around, and trimming the lawn edges…

Cheers,

Mary (Moosey)
Head Gardener
www.mooseyscountrygarden.com

……………………………………………………….

Did you enjoy this newsletter? We’d appreciate your feedback, either by email or by posting to the forum:
http://forums.mooseyscountrygarden.com/

Keep up to date with the developments in Moosey’s garden any time on the Recent Garden News page:
http://www.mooseyscountrygarden.com/n613

……………………………………………………….

Thank you for trusting us with your email address. You can read Moosey’s Country Garden privacy policy here:
http://www.mooseyscountrygarden.com/n1101

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By becky | Also posted in Art & Craft, Business, Gardening, Lifestyle, Nature, Uncategorized | Comments (1) |

Birth of an Ocean: The Evolution of Ethiopia’s Afar Depression

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By Mel | Also posted in Animals, Uncategorized | Comments (0) |

Is testosterone to blame for the financial crisis?

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The real McCain-Obama debate over bear DNA

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By Mel | Also posted in Personal, Politics, Uncategorized | Comments (0) |

Media Bias: Going beyond Fair and Balanced

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By Mel | Also posted in Education, Uncategorized | Comments (0) |

A full-time obsession

October 2, 2008 – 5:23 pm

03 October 2008 | Send to a friend
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POLL RESULTS Was primitive life first seeded on Earth from space? Eighty-one per cent of you are open to the possibility that the ancestors of all life on Earth were alien microbes born on another celestial body and transferred here on a comet or meteorite. View the full results and add your commentsThis week’s poll: NASA just turned 50 – but who will be the world’s premier space agency in another 50 years time? Have your say THE WEEK’S TOP NEWS STORIES Robot lander detects snow falling on Mars A laser instrument on NASA’s Phoenix lander has detected snow falling from Martian clouds. Found at the Red Planet’s north pole, falling light levels threaten to deprive the probe of power within months. ANSTO: Opal reactor leaking water, but safe Australia’s OPAL nuclear reactor is facing new criticism that a fault, allowing water to seep internally, renders it unsafe. This follows a fuel issue that already forced the reactor to close for ten months. ‘Eye flicker’ explains optical illusion Tiny eye movements may be responsible for the optical illusion of a famous artwork. The discovery hints at how we are fooled by other illusions too. Chinese complete successful spacewalk Three Chinese astronauts returned safely to Earth last night after making the country’s first spacewalk. Failure on climate will “haunt humanity” Failure to curb global warming would “haunt humanity” forever, Australia’s top climate adviser said Tuesday as he urged the country to cut greenhouse gas emissions by at least 60 per cent by 2050.	Proudly sponsored by - Advertisement -
IN FOCUS: A full-time obsession It’s been 12 long years, but Australia finally has a Chief Scientist who’ll be advising national policy on a full-time basis again. On Tuesday, the Labor government of Prime Minister Kevin Rudd appointed physicist and astronomer, Penny Sackett. The first woman to hold the position, she will start in November, replacing plant geneticist Jim Peacock whose term ended on August 31.The position was created by former Labor PM Bob Hawke in 1989. But it was downgraded to a part-time role in 1996 by the incoming government of Liberal PM John Howard. And there it stayed until Labor regained office in December last year. Australia’s Chief Scientist provides information and advice on policy and research, and leads the PM’s Science, Engineering and Innovation Council. It’s a vital link between senior levels of national government and the science communities in academia, industry and learned societies. To have such a crucial role performed “between jobs” decries the importance of science to solving modern problems. Britain’s former chief scientist, Sir David King, made the point that many serious challenges society faces today – climate change, food and water security, and deforestation to name a few – require scientists to be at the core of decision making. They’re not just people you call in when the plumbing’s not working. Sackett is a theoretical physicist who has worked on dark matter and helped pioneer a technique to hunt for extrasolar planets. The director of the Mount Stromlo Observatory in Canberra, she is a fellow of the Royal Astronomical Society and a director of the Giant Magellan Telescope, a project to build the world’s most powerful optical telescope. She is well connected internationally and has a reputation for being innovative and managing complex and groundbreaking scientific projects. She is therefore an excellent candidate to provide comprehensive and timely advice on the scientific and technological issues of importance to Australia – while also bolstering the standing of science in government. It’s worthy to note that, in his announcement, science minister Kim Carr said he hoped Sackett will also “encourage young Australians to see science as an exciting career option.” I agree. Science is a living, breathing segment of our society where interesting people do amazing things, and where young people can have rewarding, fulfilling lives. We’re doing our bit at COSMOS, telling the stories of science in a personal and engaging way. And you are too – by reading this newsletter and by continuing to be interested and fascinated by science. Wilson da Silva Editor-in-Chief
COSMOS ONLINE FEATURE Fifty years on, NASA looks to new frontiers Half a century after NASA was created at the height of the Cold War – when the U.S. sought to prove its superiority by winning the Moon race – the agency faces new challenges.
COSMOS ONLINE OPINION Lunar love affair There are good scientific reasons for returning people to the Moon, says Malcolm Walter, and for Australia to participate much more fully in international space programs.
BONUS MAGAZINE FEATURE Ocean wilderness As big as California, the world’s largest protected marine area recently opened for business, and it’s already doing a brisk trade in conservation. We went island-hopping in Micronesia to find out more.
NEW COSMOS – OUT THIS WEEK! The October/November edition is available in stores now! Discover what may be the world’s largest fossil: a reef perhaps as long as the Great Barrier Reef, which drowned long ago. Go hunting with astronomers for the supermassive black hole hiding in the Milky Way and learn about our options for sucking carbon dioxide out of the atmosphere. Plus we ask if insects are the next gourmet cuisine and probe the health benefits of nicotine. View the full contents.
COMMENTS AND SUGGESTIONS Got any comments or suggestions for the newsletter or the website? Let us know: online@cosmosmagazine.com
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By becky | Also posted in Business, Education, Nature, Travel, Uncategorized | Comments (1) |

Is Keeping Kosher Good for the Environment?

October 1, 2008 – 5:29 pm

FEATURES
Is Keeping Kosher Good for the Environment?
We run the numbers to see whether keeping kosher has any effect on your carbon footprint

FEATURES
To Drill or Not to Drill? Energy Policy Surfaces in Colorado’s Senate Race
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Lance Armstrong back in the race
Hires doc to prove there is no doping

BRAIN GAMES
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This exercise of the right temporoparietal cortex is about creating associations between two types of information, an image and its location

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By Mel | Also posted in Uncategorized | Comments (0) |

Where Do the Presidential Candidates Stand on Environment and Energy?

September 29, 2008 – 9:33 pm

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Why is melamine in baby formula, your food — and your pets’ meals?
Dairy products made in China and contaminated with a chemical called melamine have sickened at least 54,000 babies and killed four

SCIENTIFIC AMERICAN SPECIAL EDITIONS
Green Funds Remain Hot in Cooling Economy
Investors are still keen to buy stocks and funds that are ecologically friendly

NEWS
A Fertilizer Good for Only Growing Things, Not Destroying Them
New nonexplosive fertilizer could eliminate a deadly weapon from terrorists’ arsenals

EXTREME TECH
The Tide Is Turning: Turbine Rides Underwater Currents Like a Kite
New technology would enable turbine tethered to the seabed to harvest energy

SCIENTIFIC AMERICAN MAGAZINE
Drug traffickers and other outlaws endanger forest preservation efforts
Illegal ranching and illicit activities hamper forest conservation efforts

60-SECOND SCIENCE BLOG
House votes to let offshore drilling ban expire
A 26-year moratorium on offshore drilling expired on Wednesday

REUTERS
Gore urges civil disobedience to stop coal plants
The former U.S. vice president, whose climate change documentary An Inconvenient Truth won an Academy Award, told a philanthropic meeting in New York City that “the world has lost ground to the climate crisis“

60-SECOND SCIENCE BLOG
No indictment for alleged Palin e-mail hacker
University of Tennessee student will not face charges–for now

EARTHTALK
How Big Is Your Carbon Footprint?
Steps you can take at home to reduce your impact on global warming

BRAIN GAMES
Brain Games: Shapes and Colors
This exercise calls on your visual short-term memory, which enables the brain to store visual information such as shapes and locations of objects

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Eco-Cities: Urban Planning for the Future

September 28, 2008 – 10:24 pm

FEATURES
California’s Political Environment May Prove Too Toxic for Green Energy Propositions
Myriad special interests combined with state budget woes mire two environmentally friendly ballot initiatives
> In-Depth Report: Earth 3.0–Solutions for Sustainable Progress

SCIENTIFIC AMERICAN SPECIAL EDITIONS
Eco-Cities: Urban Planning for the Future
Massive developments proposed for the U.S., China and Abu Dhabi aim to reduce or even eliminate the environmental cost of city living Related:
> Related: Introducing Earth 3.0

60-SECOND SCIENCE BLOG
NIH director Zerhouni resigns
His announcement on the U.S. National Institutes of Health Web site follows yesterday’s resignation of Conrad Lautenbacher, chief of the National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA)

SCIENTIFIC AMERICAN MAGAZINE
Neural Light Show: Scientist Use Genetics to Map and Control Brain Functions
A clever combination of optics and genetics is allowing neuroscientists to identify and control brain circuits with unprecedented precision

SCIENCE TALK PODCAST
Earth 3.0
Scientific American editor Mark Fischetti talks about Earth 3.0, a new SciAm publication concerning energy, sustainability and the environment. And ScientificAmerican.com writer Larry Greenemeier discusses the interface between nanotech and biology

NEWS
Google and T-Mobile Launch G1 Smart Phone with Android Software
The G1 is expected to compete with the iPhone, but forget free access to the Web and G-mail

60-SECOND SCIENCE BLOG
Major U.S. recycler vows to stop shipping e-waste abroad
Waste Management, based in Houston, today announced that it would no longer send hazardous electronic garbage to developing countries for recycling

EARTHTALK
”Smart Cars”: Skimpy on Fuel, But Are They Safe?
Does the additional fuel economy come at the price of safety?

60-SECOND SCIENCE BLOG
NOAA chief Conrad Lautenbacher resigns
One of his projects was establishing an ocean hall in the Smithsonian

60-SECOND SCIENCE BLOG
Science blogs: What are they good for, anyway?
A new essay in PLoS Biology notes that the estimated 1,000 to 1,200 science blogs on the Web “have carved out a small but influential niche”

60-SECOND SCIENCE PODCAST
”Fort” Actually Ancient Aqueduct
What had been thought to be a Native American fort in what is now Ohio was actually a complex water management system

BRAIN GAMES
Brain Games: Hurray for Change
This game requires problem-solving skills that call on the brain’s executive functions. You must define a strategy to reach a desired outcome and calculate the right moves to reach the solution in the shortest possible time

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