This blog may help people explore some of the 'hidden' issues involved in certain media treatments of environmental and scientific issues. Using personal digital images, it's also intended to emphasise seasonal (and other) changes in natural history of the Swansea (South Wales) area. The material should help participants in field-based modules and people generally interested in the natural world. The views are wholly those of the author.
Saturday, 13 March 2021
Polar Opposites?
With the Arctic ice disappearing, Polar bears are having a difficult time. These bears (unlike the Brown bear shown above) are adapted to roaming substantial ranges of pack ice in a search for seals and other food. They are distinctly non-social animals, meeting briefly for mating. Polar bears have been coopted, however, as features of the Harbin Polar Land in North-East China (https://www.theguardian.com/world/2021/mar/12/chinese-hotel-with-polar-bear-enclosure-opens-to-outrage). The establishment is a hotel, built around an enclosure for Polar bears. The heated enclosure is tiny and made entirely of concrete. It also has concrete icicles and painted snow. People are encouraged to stay at the hotel. If they do, they are promised that the bears will be their 'neighbours, 24 hours a day'. The bears don't get a choice. This is a highly inappropriate way to treat Polar bears. They are not pieces of living 'window dressing'. It seems that there is nothing in Chinese law, to stop people acting in this fashion. I would have thought the country might be more sensitive to its animal exploitation, after the Covid-19 origins scenario.
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Birder's Bonus 241
Noted a Curlew ( Numenius arquata ) on the Loughor estuary at Bynea.
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Greater spearwort ( Ranunculus lingua ) has been used in traditional medicine to treat rheumatism, skin conditions and digestive problems.
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Green buckwheat ( Fagopyrum tartaricum ) is also called 'Tartar buckwheat'. It's a domesticated food plant, producing kernels. ...
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Daily shots of my fully compostable Oyster mushroom pot, received for Christmas. Omelettes ahoy!
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