Category Archives: Conservation Abaco

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AUDUBON CARIBBEAN FISHES APP £0.69 / $0.99 PROMOTION: GET IT NOW!

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AUDUBON FISHES OF THE CARIBBEAN & GULF OF MEXICO APP

iphone, ipad (172mb)    £0.69 / $0.99 offer until 31 Jan, then reverts to $9.99          rollingharbour rating *****

This is app is so good, and such an utter bargain until 31 Jan 2012, that I have awarded it the rh logo position at the top of the page. Praise indeed. Audubon guides are legendary, of course. The excellent Audubon bird app has already been reviewed and also given a rare 5*- see BIRD APP on the BOOKS ETC drop-down menu. Now here are the Caribbean Fishes, in all their glory. First, a clip shot of the download page – click on it to enlarge and avoid eye-strain

This is a very well designed app, a comprehensive search and identification tool with a myriad of features. It’s fine for an iPhone, but I guess it would really come into its own on an iPad. Whatever that is. Here’s a brief overview of the contents

SEARCH OPTIONS:  by shape (dividing size into 5 categories, from giant to tiny); family (alphabetical list of species); name (alphabetical list with useful thumbnails to assist – and cleverly, the ability to search by first name ‘Sergeant’ or last name ‘Major’), or advanced search (size / shape; habitat; regions; colour)

REFERENCE sections on biology; fish-watching tips; marine habitats; biogeography; conservation; fish taxonomy; dangerous fishes; large glossary

OTHER FEATURES include the facility for having a (free) account, enabling a ‘My Content’ facility; Journal; and GPS

Crits? Very few at first glance. The odd typo. My inital search for bonefish by size (over-optimistic, of course) led me to the larger ladyfish, but a search by name took me straight to it. The most significant confusions may arise from the present ‘single image’ ID format. For example, if you look for the uncomely  greeny-blue adult male stoplight parrotfish, you may be surprised to find the prettier black, white & red female pictured. Similarly, you won’t find juveniles, such as the small blue-with-yellow-spots yellowtail damselfish. But these are small points in an app with such a large scope. Anyway, who knows what upgrades will follow?

Overall for £0.69 / $0.99 a complete steal for New Year

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BAHAMA PARROTS: BAHAMAS NATIONAL TRUST DOCUMENTARY

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BNT ABACO / INAGUA PARROT DOCUMENTARY

In August 2011 the Bahamas National Trust published a documentary about the resident Abaco and Inagua populations of this Cuban Parrot subspecies. It features research scientist Caroline Stahala, and contains plenty of information about these birds, their nesting and breeding habits, and the problems they face from predation. In places, some of the devastation caused by the extensive forest fires in March 2011 is still evident (see images in earlier POST). If you want to know more about these attractive (but noisy) birds, the documentary video below covers a great deal in 8 minutes…

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BMMRO WHALE, DOLPHIN & MANATEE SIGHTINGS / WINTER REPORT

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BMMRO WHALE, DOLPHIN & MANATEE SIGHTINGS AND WINTER REPORT DECEMBER 2011

This was an interesting month. For a start, a humpback whale was reported off Elbow Cay, and a sperm whale further out to sea to the east. There were several cetacean reports between Sandy Point and Hole-in-the-Wall. Perhaps best of all, West Indian manatees – mother and calf – were reported in the area at the end of December, just off the Berry Islands – photo below, and further details in the BMMRO Winter Newsletter via the blue link.

THE WINTER NEWSLETTER contains much of cetacean interest, as always. It features articles on the effects of climate change of the declining Sea of Abaco bottlenose dolphin population; manatees in the Bahamas; ‘Life after Death’ – the importance of whale carcasses on the deep sea eco-system; sonic body-length measurement of sperm whales; the false killer whale stranding on Guana Cay (see POST); educational news update; and much more besides

BMMRO NEWSLETTER WINTER 2011/12

Courtesy of NAHRVALUR and her excellent wildlife blog, here is a cute view of a manatee in a Florida Reserve, where a webcam has been installed 

Manatees (family Trichechidae, genus Trichechus) are large, fully aquatic, mostly herbivorous marine mammals sometimes known as sea cows. There are three accepted living species of Trichechidae, representing three of the four living species in the order Sirenia: the Amazonian manatee (Trichechus inunguis), the West Indian manatee (Trichechus manatus), and the West African manatee (Trichechus senegalensis). They measure up to 13 feet (4.0 m) long, weigh as much as 1,300 pounds (590 kg), and have paddle-like flippers. The name manatí comes from the Taíno, a pre-Columbian people of the Caribbean, meaning “breast”
I’ll write a separate post about these creatures later, and cross-refer from here. rh
NOW CLICK LINK===>>>       MANATEES: THE FACTS
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SOUTHEAST COAST & GULF OF MEXICO MARINE / COASTAL FIELD GUIDE: 5* YALE BOOK REVIEW

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BOOK REVIEW

This is a superlative field guide: comprehensive, clear and approachable. The illustrations are excellent, and include helpful examples of birds in flight, different views of marine creatures (basking shark side view and head on), whale fluke comparisons and dolphin profiles. The 11 Chapters comprise marine and coastal plants and habitats; invertebrates; sharks; rays; fish; sea turtles; crocodiles and alligators; marine and coastal birds; baleen whales; toothed whales and dolphins; and finally seals and manatee

Yale University Press 386pp, £20 / $24  ISBN 978 0300 11328 0

rollingharbour rating: a rare and coveted 5*****

Obviously this isn’t the guide for land-based birds – you’ll still need Hallett  or Arlott to help with all those warblers, for example. But for all aspects of marine and coastal wildlife it is as thorough as you could ever wish for in a book that is readily portable. While slightly too large (8″ x 6″) and heavy for a pocket, it would be perfect for a day-bag. Convention dictates that the most enthusiastic reviews should include a couple of tiny niggles to prove a book has been read… so,  the shell section is very brief at 2 pages; and the coral section also, with some types (Mustard Hill, for example) omitted. But such an ambitious yet compact book couldn’t possibly be exhaustive. In practical terms, it has everything you could want from a Field Guide when exploring or researching this area.

Publisher’s Summary [added here to indicate the scope & depth of the book]

  • Entries on 619 coastal and ocean species including seabirds, cetaceans, fish, turtles, invertebrates, and plants
  • More than 1,100 color illustrations & 121 colour photographs
  • 452 up-to-date range maps
  • Overviews of key ecological communities, including mangroves, salt marshes, beaches, sand dunes, and coral reefs
  • Special attention to threatened and endangered species
  • Discussions of environmental issues, including such catastrophic events as Hurricane Katrina and the Deepwater Horizon blowout
  • Glossary
  • Excellent organizational aids for locating information quickly
To which I would add:
  • Clear text alerts for endangered / red list species
  • 12-page index (which works very well)
  • Handy front and back flaps place-markers
  • Colour-coded section divisions

To see the publisher’s UK or US webpages for the book CLICK LINK===>>>  YUP UK   or   YUP USA  – it can also be obtained from the other  conventional sources already mentioned in the book section of this site

Finally, a declaration of interest: Mrs rh works in the London office of YUP, so I have been consciously avoiding partiality. However this just happens to be an excellent book by any standards, so fortunately the frosty domestic fall-out from a bad crit has been easily avoided…
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THE INTRIGUING PARROTS OF GREAT ABACO ISLAND – PODCAST

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A 5 minute PODCAST from ABC Radio’s ‘The Science Show’ featuring Caroline Stahala, research scientist and Abaco Parrot expert, and David Knowles of the Bahamas National Trust, Chief Park Warden for Abaco

The online report is headed by this: “Holiday homes and resorts are replacing the forests in which the Bahamian parrot of Great Abaco Island breeds. When Christopher Columbus discovered the beautiful Bahamian islands in 1492, he wrote in his journal ‘the flocks of parrots obscure the sun’. Now the Bahamian parrot is confined to just two islands and they’re a protected species. On Great Abaco Island Bahamian parrots breed in the pine forests of the south and, as Pauline Newman discovered, their nesting behaviour is quite extraordinary”

CLICK HERE==>> ABACO PARROTS PODCAST – THE ABC SCIENCE SHOW

For the relevant web page and a transcript of the talk CLICK LOGO===>>> 

Thanks to the ABC Science Show for use approval – click name for more Podcasts

Abaco Parrot
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SUPPORT ABACO PARROTS – NEW YEAR WRITING CONTEST!

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ABACO PARROT SUPPORTER ‘DOU DOU BIRDS’ runs a monthly bird-centric writing contest. Not content with sculpting a cute miniature clay ABACO PARROT with all proceeds of sale going to the parrots, she has now showcased the AP for her New Year writing competition. To see her Post, & indeed if you want to take part                                                                                                                     CLICK LOGO==>> & to see the AP in her shop window             CLICK LOGO==>> 

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ESSENTIAL SOUTH ABACO BIRD CHECKLIST FROM AVIBASE

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The superb AVIBASE is a massive world-wide bird database – an essential reference point for birders, even the occasional enthusiast. Checklists, range maps, bird links, photos, bird sounds,  and even the facility to make your own contribution, all in one place. AVIBASE has been a work in progress for 20 years and now contains over 5 million records of about 10,000 species and 22,000 subspecies of birds, including distribution information, taxonomy, synonyms in several languages, and much more

Here is the CHECKLIST FOR SOUTH ABACO, the area that I am most familiar with. It probably holds good for the whole of Abaco and the Cays. If you are staying at the Delphi Club, Rolling Harbour, you need this – and especially if you are planning a birding adventure with Ricky Johnson… Be prepared! The plan is that you can download it or print it out from here

SOUTH ABACO BIRD CHECKLIST  click to open!

Here is an illustrative clip of one of the 6 pages 

If you have a problem printing it from here – or for access to photos of a great many of the birds listed, with clips of their calls and songs –  use this direct link  CLICK LOGO===>>>

CREDITS: The Avibase website is managed by Denis Lepage and hosted by Bird Studies Canada, Canadian copartner of Birdlife International
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HELP SAVE ABACO PARROTS – DOU DOU’S ART INITIATIVE

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WELCOME BACK! Normal service is resumed after the family festivities of Christmas, with only the precious gift of a fractured wrist for rh to spoil an otherwise lovely few days. Immediately, I can report excellent parrot news…               DOU DOU, an avid birder and sculptor of most engaging miniature birds, has taken up the cause of the Abaco Parrot. We have been corresponding for a while about this, and I now reproduce her latest post, with the link to her site below

BIRD SCULPTURE – ABACO PARROT

“Help, the cats are eating my babies!” said the parrot. And it’s true. These parrots are endangered – only 1000 of them left. A woman named Caroline is trying to save them from the feral cats that have invaded their island in the Bahamas. Let’s help her out! All proceeds from the sale of this parrot are going to Parrots International, which supports Caroline’s work. 

This little parrot measures 3.5 x 1.5 x 1.5 inches. You can buy it HERE from me and I will send the money to Parrots International or you can use “Other” to check out, send me proof you donated at least $30 to Parrot’s International, and I will send you a code that gives you $30 discount on this parrot so you will just pay for shipping – I will verify that a donation was made.

We can save these parrots! Let’s do it!!!!!

Read about Caroline’s work to save the parrots: ABACO PARROT RESCUE

dou♥dou      CLICK LOGO to visit website ===>>>      

More about this exciting development in due course – other ideas are afoot… Abaco Parrot conservation is strongly supported by the Delphi Club, Abaco; and the research scientist heading the project, Caroline Stahala, is delighted with dou dou’s initiative in helping to raise the profile of her conservation work and in contributing to the funding received through PARROTS INTERNATIONAL

This organisation allocates funding for the research into the Abaco Parrots and their conservation. You can now pay direct by Paypal or Credit Card (with gift tax benefits depending where you live). Please remember use the “Note to Seller” box to specify ‘ABACO PARROTS / CAROLINE STAHALA’

Membership and Donation page   CLICK LOGO===>>>       Parrots International

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SOUTH ABACO CHRISTMAS BIRD COUNT 2011

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Here is a clip taken from the excellent website THE ABACO SCIENTIST, with the kind permission of Dr Craig Layman of FIU. The brief summary of the South Abaco Bird Count 2011 by Elwood D. Bracey is of great interest, not least for the Delphi Club, from where guided Nature Tours take place and where there is a lot of enthusiasm for the birdlife of the island. 75 separate species were recorded this year, including all the known Abaconian endemics.

It is also a very fine photo of a male Bahama Woodstar courtesy of BIRD FORUM

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BLUE TANG: THE MOVIE (REEF SNORKELLING, FOWL CAY, ABACO)

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BLUE TANG: THE MOVIE

RECIPE: Take one incompetent swimmer who hasn’t snorkelled in, oh, nearly 40 years. Place him over a coral reef for his first time ever. Add a small underwater camera totally alien to him. Immerse for 30 minutes in warm briny water.

Lessons have been learnt for next time. Mainly, don’t keep waving the camera about; let the fish move round you rather than vice versa; and most important of all, remember to keep breathing or else…

Here for the first time on public release is BLUE TANG: THE MOVIE (music by Adrian Legg), 45 secs of advanced camera-shake with some beautiful fish more or less in shot for most of the time. If you are prone to sea-sickness, do not enlarge the video. If you are allergic to poor photography… well, thanks for visiting.

[vimeo https://vimeo.com/44794952]
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CORNELL LAB OF ORNITHOLOGY: ANNUAL REPORT 2011

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CORNELL LABORATORY OF ORNITHOLOGY                    ANNUAL REPORT 2011

The Annual Report 2011 contains a huge variety of reports, project news, images, and references. The direct link to the specific Bahamas Birding page can be found under BLOGROLL links on the SIDEBAR. The Report is far wider-ranging. I post it in pdf form because anyone with an interest in birdlife is bound to find something worth following up, and  you should be able to download it (if you try & it doesn’t work, can you let me know – comment box or email – and I’ll change the format)

CLICK CORNELL LABORATORY OF ORNITHOLOGY ANNUAL REPORT 2011

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ABACO NATURE TOURS WITH RICKY JOHNSON

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ABACO NATURE TOURS with Ricky Johnson

Reluctant as I am to give Ricky even more publicity that he gets already – including passim in this blog – his Nature Tours are seriously good, and his  knowledge and enthusiasm for the flora, fauna, geology and history of Abaco are unrivalled. If you want to see a parrot close-up, understand a blue hole or learn which trees and shrubs are poisonous  (and which are the antidotes) he is undoubtedly your man. He will even show you birds where you have completely failed to see any & believe there are none  

To reach Ricky’s A N T website CLICK LOGO===>>> 

Advert ends (that will be $50 please Ricky)

              

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“SIZE MATTERS” – ABACO CRAWFISH CONSERVATION CAMPAIGN

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Abaco Island, Bahamas

CAMPAIGN FOR SUSTAINABLE FISHERIES MANAGEMENT

Here’s a report I’ve turned up, which may well be of interest from a crawfish conservation viewpoint. And it’s also an excuse to post the excellent campaign song, which needs no added comment from me – see video below. The campaign slogan is… a delight. The Rare Planet website is well worth a rootle round – click the link below

Campaign manager: D’Shan Maycock
Partner:  Friends of the Environment

“When D’Shan Maycock launched a Pride campaign to rally her community around protecting marine life off of Abaco Island, she didn’t necessarily imagine her slogan becoming part of the daily lexicon for fishers, students, international conservation organizations, and even the Prime Minister. But thanks to a catchy phrase – Size Matters – and the idea of the locally-treasured crawfish shrinking due to overfishing, her campaign has caught on everywhere.

Crawfish are an important species for the biodiversity of Abaco Island, providing 60% of the total commercial fish catch and sustenance for other marine life in the region. However, due to unsustainable fishing practices and lack of local awareness, each year’s crawfish yield declines in numbers, total poundage, and average size. D’Shan discovered a heavy incidence of illegal fishing of juvenile crawfish, as well as a dearth of the formerly large crawfish that lay many times more eggs. There are 5 national land and sea parks around the island, yet it is a challenge for law enforcement to manage every landing dock. Community support is critical.  So D’Shan has gotten creative.
Progress on the campaign…
  • • Secured pledges from local fishers not to catch juvenile crawfish under 5.5 inches – their yield monitored through a new certification process
  • • Built awareness among key influencers and the general public about the importance of protecting juvenile crawfish
  • • Garnered the attention and support of high profile players in the region, including The Nature Conservancy, which is interested in taking the certification process to other islands in the Bahamas, and the Bahamian Prime Minister, who at a recent All-Abaco Expo on Food Security, called out the slogan of the campaign and pledged ongoing support for fisheries protection

To further explore this campaign, please visit our conservation community at RarePlanet.org.

(To whom thanks for this… but, hey guys, your ‘CONTACT’ page only gives long-distance phone numbers (wot no email?) Are you ok with me using this? If not please ring +44 763549390 between 19.00 and  21.00 and ask for ‘Tarquin’)

STOP PRESS: here is a news clip about the new campaign mural in M H, posted by campaign manager d”Shan on The Abaco Scientist 

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DELPHI CLUB ABACO & DELPHI THE RESCUE POTCAKE

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Harvey Dog 
Special ‘Harvey the Potcake’ Logo

RESCUING RESCUE DOGS ON ABACO

Jane Mantle has emailed me about the plight of dogs and puppies on Abaco, her involvement in their rescue, and the urgent need for funding for care and medicine:
“Since living here for the past couple of months I have  been helping to rescue the rescue dogs.  Abaco Animal Rescue recently rescued 9 pups (see attached picture of Delphi) from the roadside” 
DELPHI 
Found with 8 other puppies by the roadside next to the body of their mother
“They were sitting next to the body of their decomposing mother with traffic and people passing by. Unfortunately even when rescued some of the pups have died due to lack of medication for them. There is a shelter of sorts built on the old municipal dump outside Marsh Harbour. It is OK but alive with rats that are as big as the pups! Abaco Animal Rescue consists of one english lady who basically funds everything herself”
BORIS 
Found chained in a box, exposed to the hot sun without any water, and beaten daily to make him become an aggressive fighting dog
“Is there anything that can be put up on your site? (RH: yes indeed!) The enclosed is a flyer that I have put up in the Great Room next to an empty glass collection jar. There is no money at all for food or basic medication, I have asked both Millie and Lucy to do some fund raising at school etc but that won’t happen until next term. I will also see if I can get hold of medication from vet friends that I have but would be grateful for any publicity that you can give it” 
Certainly. By all means. Here goes:

CLICK mini-Harvey ===>>>  

STOP PRESS An up-to-date (as at spring 2014) list of contacts and links can now be found at “A DOG’S LIFE”. Scroll to the end of the post. If you have time, maybe read a bit on the way…
HARVEY found abandoned by the side of the road

APPEAL  by Jane Mantle, Boris & Delphi          

POTTY ABOUT POTCAKES? Please support Abaco Animal Rescue by donating your unwanted Bahamian currency – notes or coins. All contributions go directly to buy food and veterinary supplies for the many abandoned and mistreated potcake dogs of Abaco

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MARINE BROCHURE, ABACO, BAHAMAS: CONSERVATION

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MARINE BROCHURE, ABACO, BAHAMAS                             A basic blueprint for environmental protection on Abaco

The various interested organisations have produced a simple 2-page brochure designed to promote responsible preservation of the island’s natural resources. If you click on a page below it will enlarge. If you want to go to the webpage to download the pdf for yourself (or pass it on)  CLICK==> MARINE BROCHURE 

“Take only pictures, leave only bubbles…” 

PAGE 1

PAGE 2

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BAHAMA YELLOWTHROAT: ABACO’S ENDEMIC WARBLER

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BAHAMA YELLOWTHROAT: AN ENDEMIC WARBLER

The Bahama Yellowthroat (Geothlypis rostrata) is a resident breeder species of warbler endemic to the Bahamas, closely related to the migratory Common Yellowthroat. The other birds endemic to Abaco / Bahamas are the Bahama Swallow, BAHAMA WOODSTAR and ABACO PARROT

HABITAT Dense low scrub, usually in drier areas than used by wintering Common Yellowthroats. It builds a cup nest low in dense vegetation and lays two eggs. Like other yellowthroats it feeds on insects and other small invertebrates in low vegetation

THE 3 VARIETIES The adult Bahama Yellowthroat is 15 cm long with a large bill. There are 3 subspecies: G. r. rostrata on Andros and New Providence islands (uncommon to rare);  G. r. tanneri on Grand Bahama, Great Abaco and associated islands (common); and G. r. coryi on Eleuthera and Cat islands (common). The noticeable distinction between these 3 types seems to be in the forecrown colour (not one I myself would readily spot…)

DIFFERENCES FROM COMMON YELLOWTHROAT The Bahama Yellowthroat is slightly larger than wintering Common Yellowthroat and has a heavier bill and ‘slower, more deliberate movements’. Males have ‘more extensively yellow underparts, a larger facemask extending onto the nape, and in the case of coryi the distinctive yellow forecrown. Females have a grey wash to the head not shown by Common Yellowthroat’.

Bahama Yellowthroat (Adult female), Little Abaco                                    Photo credit ©Mike Danzenbaker  http://www.avesphoto.com

SONG Described as a loud wichety wichety wichety wich, similar to that of Common Yellowthroat, with the call a softer jip than that of Common Yellowthroat. This is meaningless to me – lots of warblery birds sound like that as far as I can make out. Here is a very short recording of a BY on Abaco courtesy of Xeno-Canto, but it’s not saying wichety to me – more like whee-hew 

Below is a short self-crediting video to illustrate the song of a Bahama Yellowthroat on Grand Cayman. There’s a hint of wichety there.

CONSERVATION The Bahama Yellowthroat population overall is quite small and is outnumbered in winter by migrant Common Yellowthroats. It appears not to be endangered. Its conservation is currently listed as ‘Least Concern’ (see Wiki-Box above). The population may be decreasing slightly due to habitat destruction, but not yet sufficiently to bring the species within the ‘vulnerable’ classification.

Here is an excellent clear image of an adult male by Craig Nash who has taken many wonderful photos around Delphi and further afield – see the 4 ‘Peregrine’s Blog’ links under the Blogroll in the SIDEBAR Highly recommended.                        [I am also clearing copyright permission to add a few other photos – I haven’t taken my own BY photo yet…]Photo credit: Craig Nash

Sources: various, including relevant books (see reviews in BOOKS ) BirdLife International and good old Wiki 

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ABACO PARROTS IN THE PINE FOREST

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This is one of a number of sequential images posted by cfinke3856 on the website Webshots. It seems to have been taken in 2004, and shows 4 Abaco parrots in a pine tree (location unspecified – the National Park, maybe?). They look pleasingly convivial, and they provide a chance to roll out the newly created  rh parrot logo

Normally I would have cleared permission for use (and slight cropping) and given a click-through link so you could see the rest of the (similar) images. However, the website is a nightmare. A pop-up offered me the chance – apparently a near-certainty – of winning $10,000, and froze my cursor when I tried to delete it. Twice. Other untempting offers were made in a rage-inducing way. So I’ll spare you all that, warn you briskly off the site, and apologise to Mr or Ms Finke for ‘borrowing’ the image, duly credited but in tiny writing…

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ABACO WHALES AND DOLPHINS – BMMRO NEWSLETTER OCT 2011

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BAHAMAS MARINE MAMMAL RESEARCH ORGANISATION NEWSLETTER OCTOBER 2011

The BMMRO’s fully illustrated Fall Newsletter has just been published. The newletter is as always an eclectic mix of cetacean-centric material, with a headline article about the summer whale poop project. I have lived my life and had a professional career of sorts without once giving the remotest thought to whale poop, yet here I am immersed in the stuff yet again… But there’s plenty more besides that. The newsletter gives you an overview of the current work of the BMMRO and articles including the following:

  • A stranded Fin whale on the Berry Islands
  • News of the Irene effect at Whale HQ in Sandy Point
  • An Orca sighted off Eleuthera
  • Education program update
  • A quarterly chart of the summer whale and dolphin sightings – 82 reports for 10 species. 

Thanks as ever to Charlotte Dunn for permission to link to BMMRO material.         To see the newsletter CLICK LINK===>>> BMMRO newsletter Oct 2011 

To visit the informative BMMRO website  CLICK LOGO===>>> Supplementary info: without going into details of the consistency of the output etc, I’ve just found the suggestion online that whales can excrete 3% of their body weight in a day. And a large whale weighs..? Mind where you swim

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STINGRAY AT FOWL CAY MARINE PRESERVE ABACO

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A while ago, I posted stills from a reef-snorkelling video – my first ever underwater video attempt, and indeed my first snorkel for about 40 years CLICK===>>> REEF FISH   I started with a stingray, producing some rather… ok, very… modest results, but it was at least identifiable if you looked carefully and felt benign.

I’ve learned a few tricks since then. Here is the whole clip, still hopeless in most respects but there’s something quite cute about the creature. Mercifully it is only 37 seconds long. I reserve the right to delete this post when I realise no one has actually watched it! [LATER: Oh! I find a few hardy souls have done so. It’s a democratic vote for the ray to stay, as I see it]

[Belated credit to the fairly litigious Joe Satriani (see JS v Coldplay 2009) for borrowing the intro to one of his  songs. It’s a non-commercial tribute, Joe]

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ABACO BARBS – THE LATEST NEWS OF THEIR PLIGHT Sept 2011

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Normal(-ish) service is resumed after a break… Before I went away I posted about the Abaco Barbs and the precariousness of their continued existence as a species. I have just heard from Milanne Rehor of ARKWILD with a completely up-to-date report on the current situation. From her account it is clear that these rare wild horses really are on the brink of extinction

“Currently, we have the three mares in a reduced area of the Preserve. We have had limited sightings of one stallion outside the Preserve.  The second outside stallion hasn’t been seen in over a year so we don’t know if he still is alive. 

The mares’ physical condition is “OK” but because of the smaller size of the Preserve  (due to financial cut backs) they are in need of a blacksmith’s attention, veterinary attention to their dental condition and veterinary investigation of their reproductive capabilities.

We are in immediate need of funding to provide grain for the horses, (to supplement the smaller forage area), wages for our men (currently reduced to part time) in their work of feeding the horses, providing security for them and maintaining the electric fence and other chores.

The Bahamian Government has been helpful to a point with an expressed interest and indirect support of the horses , for example the President of our Board of Directors is also the Chief Warden for the Northern Bahamas for the Bahamas National Trust. A number of other board members are equally well placed,  but the government has not yet directly contributed financially. 

I hope this information helps, I’ll be happy to answer any other questions you may have.  Your patience is deeply appreciated and thank you for following our story on your site. Best regards, Mim”

PHOTO CREDITS: ARKWILD             CLICK LINK====>>> ARKWILD