BBC criticised for use of captive wild animals in new production

The BBC has come under fire from leading animal charities for its new six-part drama series Our Zoo, which is based on the real life story of the Mottershead family as they establish Chester Zoo in the 1930s.

The corporation hired performing wild animals for the production from entertainment company Amazing Animals, which was exposed by The Captive Animals’ Protection Society (CAPS) in 2012 for providing four UK-born white lion cubs from the West Midland Safari Park to a Japanese circus, where they remain to this day.

CAPS has the support of Born Free Foundation and Wild Futures, which join in the open criticism of the BBC and call for an immediate review of the corporation’s policy and practices relating to animal use. A spokesperson for the charities has stated that by using wild animals for the purposes of entertainment, and doing business with a company that supplies animals to the circus industry, the broadcast giant is betraying the public “who have so longer called for this cruel practice to be stopped.”

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End of an era as BBC plan to dumb down wildlife documentaries

For the last 30 years or so nature lovers across the world have been spoiled by the BBC and its high quality nature programming. All that is now to change as the BBC gets set to ‘dumb down’ its nature programming moving away from science and facts towards populist hyperbole and emotional anthropomorphism.

In a piece in todays Daily Telegraph the BBC has confirmed that the scientific and factual approach of wildlife programming that led to the BBC dominating nature documentary production with global admiration is to come to an end.

The head of the corporation’s Natural History unit, Wendy Darke, said in the piece that the BBC will not be seeking to replace Sir David Attenborough but will aim to present populist programmes with a range of presenters.

Ms Darke has said she is developing a range of presenters to work on BBC wildlife programmes, stressing the “need to continue to innovate and diversify”. She added: “That includes offering a more diverse range of presenters and programme styles and formats that have relevance to people’s lives.

“Often people who don’t come from a biological degree background ask questions that the audience would ask. I’m a real believer in having a mixture of ‘ologies’ in terms of expertise.” She added: “Raw passion is important, as is an ability to talk knowledgeably about the subject. For me, it’s almost about looking into somebody’s eyes and asking, ‘Am I engaged by what you’re telling me?’ ”

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Was it a Eureka moment?

14 November, 2010 - In the documentary Lost Land of the Tigers, BBC’s camera traps caught two Royal Bengal tigers at 4100 m in our mountains. This they claimed was not only an exciting new science but also proved that these majestic cats lived through out Bhutan. The documentary stunned experts and fascinated about 5 million viewers but it was not new to Bhutanese.


Bhutan is filled with local legends of tigers and it must be one of the few countries to name a mountain after this majestic cat. Bhutanese have known that the tiger habitat spreads throughout the country and in altitudes that is generally not regarded as tiger country.

An English man was the first to record the evidence in 1975. However, until 2000, tiger experts around the world continued to believe that these cats moved as high as 2600 meters and never beyond.

“There has been two authentic records in recent years of one tiger at over 10,000 feet [3,048 m], another at 14,000 feet [4,267 m] Malcolm Lyell, the former, Managing Director of the Holland and Holland Gun Company noted during his fifth visit to Bhutan in 1975.

Like Lyell, Bhutanese have also documented these majestic cats. From 1996 to 2008, there have been at least four documentary footages of tigers above 3000 m. In 1996, 20 Bhutanese foresters led by renowned tiger enthusiast Mr. Charles Mcdougal found signs of tigers living at about 10,000 to 11,000 ft and higher.

In 2000, Dr. Pralad Yonzon, a wildlife biologist who had been hired as a consultant, recorded the first evidence of tigers living above 3000 meters at the Thrumshingla National Park. With the help of Bhutanese he set up camera traps that took photographs of the tiger (See photo). The research team also found pugmarks on snow-covered ground at Puchela (4,100 m) in the same park. Armed with new evidence, WWF, Bhutan broke the news and hoped to put to rest the “doubts in the minds of skeptics.”

Six years ago, Bhutanese were shocked to learn that tigers had killed cattle north of the capital, Thimphu, at 3,400 m further confirming the WWF’s statement. In 2008, one of the camera traps in Jigme Dorji National Park filmed a Royal Bengal Tiger at 4,200 meters in the snow.

Bhutan is not the only country where tigers inhabit the high altitude. There are evidences that two other Himalayan Buddhist kingdoms of Tibet and Sikkim also offered sanctuary to these majestic animals. Unfortunately in Nepal they were hunted and according to Lyell, it was unlikely that they were found above 3000 meters [ 9842 ft] because of the rampant hunting.

Lyell credited Bhutan for being the greatest preserve of wildlife in Asia. He attributed this to various factors, “Buddhism (not killing), huge areas of forest protect the forest animals and birds, few firearms, in north no firearms and blue sheep - takin, very much regarded as Royal game (although they are in fact almost the most numerous)”.

Lyell was always fascinated with Bhutan’s rich biodiversity and awed by the country’s determination to conserve the environment. In 1975, he gave a lecture on, Wild Animals of Bhutan in London. He said that while a frequent visitor described Bhutan as the Enchanted Land, another regular guest illustrated it as, ‘A Land of Exquisite Politeness.’ But he could not think of two more perfect descriptions than, ‘A Sanctuary for many of Asia’s animal species. ”

Tiger Population
Lyell’s handwritten lecture notes talk about the tiger population in Bhutan probably making it the first documented evidence. He had three sources and all of them mentioned different numbers. According to his first source Dorji a foresters, it was estimated at 250. His second source was, “other Bhutanese who has also known the country well,” who said they were, “far more.” The third King was his third source. “On my first visit to Bhutan five years ago the Late King talked in terms of a thousand or more.”

Lyell was convinced that tigers had a safe sanctuary in Bhutan. He said, “it is probable that their population is not much different to what it was 15 years ago when the first roads were built or even 50 or 100 years ago-simply because the southern region is little inhabited, the forests have not been cut, and the basic food of tiger, namely pig & deer are there in abundance.” In his conclusion, Lyell stated that in any case there were definitely more tigers per square mile in Bhutan than in any of the near by countries where it is known to be common.


According to the last survey (McDougal & Tshering 1998), based on two different densities of tigers based on habitat type and elevation; there are more tigers in the south with a density of 1 tiger per 50 sq Km whereas in the central Himalayan region (temperate forest) the density is 1 tiger per 185 sq Km.

Today, the Wild Life Conservation Division is doing a more scientific nation wide census of the tiger. As of now, the population is estimated to be between 100-150 tigers. However, as the current tiger survey nears conclusion, Karma Jigme, of the WCD said that the actual number of tigers living above 4000 meters could be confirmed only after survey.

Contributed by Tshering Tashi

http://www.kuenselonline.com/2010/modules.php?name=News&file=article&sid=17346

Elusive Scottish wildcats filmed (via Chad Arment)

Two Scottish wildcat kittens have been filmed by a BBC crew.

The notoriously shy animals were filmed at night in the highlands of Scotland.

One of the kittens had an unusual black coat, suggesting that it could have been an incredibly rare dark or "melanistic" genetic form.

The crew, including wildlife presenter Liz Bonnin, had set out to catch a glimpse of the scarce Scottish wildcat. Their footage will be broadcast on the BBC series Autumnwatch.

They spent two chilly hours "lamping", shining a lamp to catch the reflection in animals' eyes, without success.

But as it approached midnight Frank Law, sporting manager for the Seafield and Strathspey Estates where the search took place, recognised the distinctive "eyeshine" of a cat.

The crew identified a black cat that did not move away as they approached, suggesting it was inexperienced and young.

"The kitten, because it was so young, wasn't looking fearful," said presenter and cat expert Liz Bonnin. Adult wildcats, she explained, are much more wary of humans.

The crew saw another kitten nearby, which had the distinctive striped coat and blunt tail of a Scottish wildcat.

Since the two young kittens were seen together, the team assumed they were from the same family and were waiting at the den for their mother to return from hunting.

Presenter Liz was able to get within 20m of the kittens while the team captured the rare sighting on film.

"It's one thing going out lamping and seeing an adult wildcat - it's quite another to come across a den," she said.

"We got a really good chance to observe this beautiful kitten basically posing for us on a pile of rocks."

Filming Scottish wildcats is a considerable challenge because they are nocturnal and their numbers are decreasing.

Mysterious black cat
Dr David Hetherington, manager of the Cairngorms Wildcat Project, was called in to confirm the kittens' identification.

The expert agreed that the "tabby-like" kitten was a wildcat but the black kitten presented more of a mystery.

"There is a remote possibility that it is a melanistic pure wildcat," said Dr Hetherington.

Melanistic wildcats are incredibly rare and cannot be identified without genetic testing.

An alternative, and probably more likely explanation for the black kitten found by the BBC crew is that it may be a hybrid of a Scottish wildcat and domestic cat.

Wildcats are known to mate with domesticated felines. In this instance the kitten's black coat could be inherited from a black domestic cat.

This interbreeding or hybridisation threatens the future existence of pure Scottish wildcats, Felis silvestris grampia.

Their population is estimated at fewer than 400 animals in the wild, making them critically endangered.

Habitat loss, transferral of diseases from domestic cats and traffic collisions also contribute to their rarity.

"They're dealing with a lot of cards against them," said Liz Bonnin.

"Very few people are even aware of the Scottish wildcat. It's hugely important that we conserve them."

Detailed footage of the kittens will be broadcast on Autumnwatch on Thursday 14 October at 2000BST on BBC Two.

Ella Davies

Earth News reporter

http://news.bbc.co.uk/earth/hi/earth_news/newsid_9085000/9085644.stm

Black Scottish wildcat kitten (via Chad Arment)

A black kitten has been spotted among a litter of Scottish wildcats filmed for BBC Autumnwatch.

The animals were caught on camera in the Cairngorms, one of the last strongholds for the rare species.

Autumnwatch producer Richard Taylor-Jones said it was possible the kitten was the result of breeding with a feral cat.

But he also suggested the kitten was melanistic, meaning it has increased amounts of darker colour.

It has been estimated that 150 breeding pairs of wildcats survive in parts of the Highlands.

Disease, loss of habitat and inter-breeding with domestic cats have been blamed for devastating wild populations.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-highlands-islands-11540846