Subscribe:
RSS feed
an urban primate with a conscience
Browsing All Posts published on »February, 2011«
First big steps for Tiny
Three months ago I told you about the first baby gorilla to be born at London Zoo in more than 20 years (Postcode Lottery). The infant who still hasn’t been given a proper name yet, is affectionately called Tiny by the zoo keepers. At just over a foot tall the little fella is quickly outgrowing […]
Size is everything, especially in bats
February 17, 2011
All primates have large brains and that includes us. Although I seriously wonder sometimes whether this is true of some people. Yesterday, I had to reprimand a young man (I’m slowly but surely turning into father) in Vauxhall while crossing a busy main road. The numpty in question, decided the quickest route to cross three […]
Nénette – Paris zoo’s oldest Madame
February 14, 2011
She’s an ageing red-head, who’s had three “husbands” and four kids, but Nénette’s life is far from fulfilled. Unlike most Parisian women her age, she is not a lady of leisure, she is in fact a prisoner in her own home. The 40-year orangutan is the subject of the latest documentary by Nicolas Philibert, famed for […]
Check Please!
February 12, 2011
My friends know only too well how much I adore quality food and wine. It’s a passion that has been a near obsession for the last 15 years and it’s one that the Northerner shares. He’s not a meat-and-potato-pie kinda man, well……not everyday of the week (and it depends who’s made it and if there’s gravy). […]
North-South divide found in gibbons
February 10, 2011
If music be the food of love, then gibbons will never go hungry. Renown for their duetting, researchers have discovered a rather human trait in the singing of these apes – they have different dialects according to where they live – and the divide between the northerners and southerners is the most pronounce. I can hear […]
Monkey think, monkey do.
February 9, 2011
Last month I interviewed an inspirational man, Niall Strawson, who despite being left with a spinal cord injury from a recent accident, is determined to continue working in the field and is planning his first trip back to Africa this summer. Scientists all over the world continue to research ways of overcoming human paralysis. At […]
Eight Virunga Park rangers die following ambush by rebel militia
February 7, 2011
Since 1996, one hundred and forty park rangers have been killed by rebel militia, for trying to protect Virunga National Park and the species within it. According to the charity, the Gorilla Organization, the park has suffered more ranger deaths than any other protected area in the world and in recent weeks the violence has escalated due […]
New appointments for Ape Action Africa
February 5, 2011
This year I’m hoping to fly back to Africa to film the work being done at Mefou Sanctuary in Cameroon. I’m keen to experience and see first hand how different West Africa is to East Africa, as well as looking at the differences in the various sub-species of chimpanzees from other geographical areas. Believe it or […]
Drawing on our inner ape
February 3, 2011
Three years ago an ex-colleague of mine told me he was packing in the daily grind of sports reporting in London, for a more laid back, adventurous lifestyle in sunny Buenos Aires, Argentina. The home of football, the Tango (the dance, not the revolting carbonated drink) and some of the best beef money can buy. […]
Criminal gangs cash in on primate smuggling through Egypt
February 1, 2011
Over the weekend a meeting held by conservationists from the UK and America took place at Chester Zoo. The event organised by Fauna and Flora International (FFI) North-West group, highlighted growing concerns that the number of endangered species being smuggled out of Africa, in particular primates, are being trafficked by international criminal gangs already involved […]
britaine.co.uk
whogivesamonkeys 
February 18, 2011
1