Chthonic Wildlife Ramblings

Reflections of a heterodox conservationist

Introduction

Monday, June 11, 2007 9:48:26 AM

,

This site largely reflects my interest in wildlife, its conservation and photography. I tend to have a fairly pragmatic view towards conservation- and have often ended up playing* with the less iconic species- crocodiles, creepy-crawlies etc.

I've taken a serious interest in the photography of nature and wildlife. Most of my photos are now hosted on a dedicated photo website- just follow this album link. I also like to see visitors there.

For the last couple of years I've been blogging a lot less. This sadly, has been the result of a serious stalking-issue. The woman involved made heavy use of the internet. Yeah, it turns out that men can get stalked too and it's not any less serious. I'm now regaining my confidence and hope to post more regularly (and get feedback from visitors).

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*Technically not playing, but researching and studying, often in the more obscure and humid parts of the world.

White-eye againLarva Closeup

Comments

Dacotah Tuesday, July 10, 2007 1:29:07 AM

cool I went to that page. up
Is there only one photo in each cat.? A couple of your photo's block what's written above them.
cool site you have though. smile

Chthoniidchthoniid Tuesday, July 10, 2007 1:55:13 AM

Yes- at the moment I've only got one in each category. There's more I want to add, but I have been pressed for time. This is not helped by the scope of problems facing tigers and my increasing involvement on that front...

But I'm always an optimist, so always have plans to get some more uploaded smile


Dacotah Tuesday, July 10, 2007 2:31:52 AM

smile

MoontanMoontan01 Tuesday, July 24, 2007 1:14:46 PM

'playing with ... crocodiles' ? Am I reading that correctly?

Chthoniidchthoniid Tuesday, July 24, 2007 7:04:33 PM

Yes, I'm being flippant to some extent. But, yes, I'm officially a crocodilian expert also...

MoontanMoontan01 Tuesday, July 24, 2007 7:09:11 PM

I see. Excellent photographs, by the way.

Chthoniidchthoniid Tuesday, July 24, 2007 7:36:06 PM

Ah well, crocodiles have many desirable traits. Compared to people, they possess a greater honesty about their agenda, and unlike some of my colleagues, I'm allowed to shoot them if they attack me wink

Photography helps keep me sane...

Dacotah Tuesday, July 24, 2007 7:40:29 PM

lol Sorry, your comment made me laugh. I tell my friends I feel more safe with the so called "wild animals" than with the wild people. People sometimes scare me to death.

MoontanMoontan01 Tuesday, July 24, 2007 8:03:17 PM

I agree. It's just that 'play' conjures images of you in your swim trunks in the river, splashing and tossing a rubber duck to a crocodile. More a poor use of language on my part, I'm sure. Either way, be careful!

Chthoniidchthoniid Tuesday, July 24, 2007 11:51:56 PM

@Dacotah- a good laugh should be taken whenever the chance arises. While in general I like the company of wildlife, I should add that a mature salt-water crocodile is truly, a pretty scary experience.

Unlike a lot of mammalian carnivores, crocs lack the intelligence to learn to be wary of people. The only thing it is aware of is that it's 5m to 7m long, weights a tonne, and everything else on the planet is snack-food.

Which is why Moontan, I don't literally play with crocs smile.

OTOH, I've never been almost shot or almost bombed by wildlife... wink There are just some things they never tell you in grad school.

MoontanMoontan01 Wednesday, July 25, 2007 12:14:23 AM

Back to the pics: You have caught that tiger in poses that seem to relay his awareness of how majestic he looks, and it makes one wonder if he is truly aware that he's the biggest, best-looking kid on the block. I'm thinking he knows.

Or, at least, if one disagrees, he's ready to defend the proposition.

Chthoniidchthoniid Wednesday, July 25, 2007 3:16:20 AM

Back to the pics: You have caught that tiger in poses that seem to relay his awareness of how majestic he looks, ...

It's one of my favourite shots too- and I think you're right, the pose gives a different perspective and feel to many standard (say) science text-book or 'snap shot' views of tigers.

Dick R.Dick on Aruba Tuesday, August 14, 2007 11:55:40 PM

Some very nice captures you have there. I notice you having fun with your dslr.

Chthoniidchthoniid Wednesday, August 15, 2007 5:05:09 AM

Thanks- I like having a camera that lets me take the type of pictures I want. Nature shots seem easier to capture than people.

rezadotcom Sunday, April 20, 2008 4:58:52 AM

cool

Tran Thi Thanh Nhapleikudoctor Friday, October 10, 2008 1:59:45 AM

Your blog was very good .I like biology and chemistry very much yes

Mimis Mum (MM)mimi_s_mum Sunday, September 5, 2010 9:25:09 PM

Hi! I've just discovered your blog. What a treat! Beautiful pictures and tons of great posts. up I'm sure I'll come back again and again to look through those treasures. Thanks. smile

Change of subject. Have you had any impact from the earthquake? I figured from your photos you are based in/near Auckland, but do you have friends and relatives down in Canterbury? It was a miracle no one was killed, but the damages to the city and the area seem just incredibly enourmous. sad

Chthoniidchthoniid Monday, September 6, 2010 12:52:53 AM

Thanks- the site is also syndicated to the NZ sciblogs site as well.

We have been well outside the damage zone in Auckland. We do have friends and colleagues in Christchurch (I worked at Lincoln University for a year), so there's been some peripheral effect through that. The fortunate thing has been the lack of casualties. That's partly a consequence of the building codes here, and the time of the quake. If it had occurred during work hours, a lot more people would have been in the CBD and exposed to falling glass/debris.

There's been a lot of damage, but essential services like power seemed to get restored very quickly for most.

I've been wondering how it's been reported overseas?

Mimis Mum (MM)mimi_s_mum Monday, September 6, 2010 1:14:05 AM

I'm in Wellington and have been following TV One website updates. They've got a good detailed coverage. It was indeed so lucky that the quake didn't happen during the busy hours. I always thought it would be us that would be hit by the next big one. Never thought of anything like this happening to Chch. sad

Re overseas reports: my online friends in US, Canada and France said their local news mentioned it. I also saw it made headline on Japanese public broadcaster's website, nhk.or.jp. Were you still in China when the news went out? I wonder how it was reported.

Dave Cdcweather Wednesday, September 5, 2012 12:12:58 AM

Some fabulous images and it sounds like you do some really exciting things. You must be very brave - but wildlife can you lead you down that path. I was in Oz with my 14 year old daughter (15 years ago) and saw a sign near Mission Beach for crocodiles. I think it was a warning but we walked down this track by a creek then in the distance saw a lot of splashing and thrashing. Suddenly realised I'd been pretty stupid and made a hasty retreat!

Chthoniidchthoniid Wednesday, September 5, 2012 12:46:23 AM

Hi Dave

Thanks- most of my friends/family/colleagues use a different word than 'brave' smile - but mostly it's about managing the risks. Being familiar with the animals, the environment, and taking the right precautions all helps.

Estuarine crocodiles are though not the sort of animal you want to make a mistake around. They're the biggest crocodilian on the planet and kill people with ease. It's the sort of thing that makes photogarphing them exciting...

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