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Race against time to save Congo's apes
Given the genocidal record of Belgium's King Leopold II in the Congo towards the end of the 19th century, the choice of Emmanuel de Merode - a descendant of Belgian royalty - as director of Africa's oldest national park might raise some eyebrows. But as crisis threatens to overwhelm Virunga National Park, which lies at the epicentre of a war zone, it is Merode's credentials that count rather than past colonial misdeeds.
London-born Merode, a former head of the conservation group Wildlife Direct, is now responsible for the Democratic Republic of Congo's endangered mountain gorilla population, whose plight came to the world's attention last year when photographs of four bullet-ridden carcasses were published. The appointment follows a year which has seen rebel general Laurent Nkunda's army take over the park, swamping it with an estimated 16,000 armed militia.
Last week saw the heaviest fighting between the rebels and government forces for a year, and at the centre of the fighting was the Virunga. A growing demand for bushmeat and other illegal products has led to massive and sustained attacks on the park's wildlife. The hippo population of Lake Edward, once the greatest in the world, has been nearly wiped out. The greatest reserve in Africa, with more mammal, bird and reptile species than any other ecosystem, is in grave peril.*continues* Given the genocidal record of Belgium's King Leopold II in the Congo towards the end of the 19th century, the choice of Emmanuel ... more -
'the time machine'
'the time machine'
(720p version)
directed by Paul Stevenson
visual-hybrid.co.uk
music 'time to be taken' by Rory Nunn
myspace.com/rorynunn
www.straight8.net/straight8b.htm 2008 competition entry. Filmed using ONE reel of super8 film (approx 3 min 30), no editing. This video was filmed in ONE continuous 12 hour 'take', filmed timelapse/ stop motion from sunrise to sunset, 6am to 6pm, March 2008.
triggered by intervelometer and 360 pan controlled by computer magic of 'time machine' . .
idea by Paul Stevenson. realised by Paul & Rory.
cast:
Rory Nunn, Paul Stevenson, Harry Livingstone as the Gorilla, Mr & Mrs Bananarama Barnaby, Joel Burton, John Cowan-Hughes, Jo Isaac, Sarah Ovens, Alex Livingstone.
BIG thanks to Robbie @ lobsterpictutres.tv for tech support.
visual-hybrid.co.uk 'the time machine' (720p version) directed by Paul Stevenson visual-hybrid.co.uk ... more -
The Unalienable Rights of Chimps
Spain’s parliament recently passed a resolution granting legal rights to apes. Reaction has been mixed. Peter Singer, a Princeton University bioethics professor and animal liberation activist, declared the vote to be of “world historical significance.” The comedian Stephen Colbert — flashing a photo of a performing chimpanzee — insisted that the new law had better not give apes “the right to not wear a tuxedo and roller skates.”
In fact, it will likely do just that. A nonbinding resolution in Spain, which the Parliament now has to flesh out with more specific laws, allows apes to be kept in zoos but not used in circuses or other kinds of performances. It calls for banning research that harms apes.
With the resolution, Spain becomes the world leader in protecting the rights of apes, but perhaps not for long. Austrian animal rights activists are fighting to have a chimp named Matthew Hiasl Pan declared a person. They have lost so far, but are appealing to the European Court of Human Rights.
Granting legal rights to apes is, of course, easy to mock — and animal rights activists don’t do themselves any favors. In media accounts, they usually come off as loopy — whether it is Matthew’s supporters insisting that “everyone is entitled to a fair trial, even chimps,” or Pedro Pozas, the secretary-general of the Spanish Great Ape Project, declaring “I am an ape.”
The anti-animal rights camp, however, does not come off much better. Many base their opposition on the Bible — specifically, the verse in Genesis granting man “dominion” over “every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth.” It’s hard to see why that should be interpreted as divine endorsement for using chimps in crash tests, or why, even if it were, it should guide secular law.
Animal rights opponents often rely on tired “slippery slope” arguments — that if apes have the right not to be abused, soon goldfish will be able to sue their owners for not changing the water. Even Mr. Singer, who is often branded an animal-rights extremist, says species should be evaluated on a case-by-case basis. American laws — notably the Chimpanzee Health Improvement, Maintenance and Protection Act — already do this.
Much of the opposition to animal rights is really economic. The campaign against the anti-cruelty referendum that will be on the California ballot this November — to prohibit keeping calves, hens and pigs in inhumanely small cages — is being financed in large part by egg and meat producers.
Strip away the goofier rhetoric of the ape-rights activists, and their claim is straightforward. Great apes are biologically very close to humans; chimps and humans share about 98 percent of their DNA. Apes have complex communication skills and close emotional bonds. They experience loneliness and sorrow. They deserve some respect.
It sounds odd to say that apes have rights — or to call a chimpanzee a “person.” As a legal matter, though, it is not such a stretch. People in irreversible comas have rights. Even corporations are recognized as “persons,” with free speech and equal protection rights, and the ability to sue and be sued.
If apes are given rights, they are not going to get the same ones as humans — just rights that are deemed appropriate to their status. Matthew’s supporters are trying to have him declared a person because his animal sanctuary has had financial trouble, and they want him to be able to accept donations for his own support. It’s hard to see the harm in that.
American law is becoming increasingly cruel. The Supreme Court recently ruled that states are not obliged to administer lethal injections in ways that avoid unnecessary risk that inmates will suffer great pain. If apes are given the right to humane treatment, it just might become harder to deny that same right to their human cousins. Spain’s parliament recently passed a resolution granting legal rights to apes. Reaction has been mixed. Peter Singer, a Princeton Univ... more -
Tigers Who Cuddle with Apes
Bogor, West Java, in Indonesia
Tigers don't normally snuggle with orangutans. The big cats are meat-eaters, after all. But when Demis and Manis the tiger cubs were rejected by their mother, zookeepers at Taman Safari Zoo thought they might like the company of two other orphan siblings: Nia and Irma the orangutans.
"The first time I put them together, they just played," says zookeeper Sri Suwarni. The four shared toys, wrestled, and took naps together. Then one morning, Nia and Irma began hugging Demis the tiger, and he lick-kissed them back! "That's when I knew they were true friends," Suwarni says.
As the tigers grew, their natural instincts started showing, so Suwarni moved them into a separate exhibit. Now two other apes Suwarni is raising have also made a new friend—a leopard cub. Bogor, West Java, in Indonesia ... more -
Spanish parliament approves 'human rights' for apes
Great apes should have the right to life and freedom, according to a resolution passed in the Spanish parliament, in what could become landmark legislation to enshrine human rights for chimpanzees, gorillas, orang-utans and bonobos.
The environmental committee in the Spanish parliament has approved resolutions urging the country to comply with the Great Apes Project, founded in 1993, which argues that "non-human hominids" should enjoy the right to life, freedom and not to be tortured.
The project was started by the philosophers Peter Singer and Paola Cavalieri, who argued that the ape is the closest genetic relative to humans – that it displays emotions such as love, fear, anxiety and jealousy – and should be protected by similar laws.
The resolutions have cross-party support and it is thought they will become law, meaning that potential experiments on apes in Spain will be banned within a year, according to a Reuters report.
Using apes in circuses, television commercials or filming will also be banned and while housing apes in Spanish zoos, of which there are currently 315, will remain legal, supporters of the bill have said the conditions in which most of them live will need to improve substantially.
In 1999, scientists and lawyers petitioned New Zealand's parliament to pass a bill conferring "rights" on chimpanzees and other primates. The government gave the great apes something less than human rights, but also something more practical: legal protection from animal experimentation.
The first country to take such a decision was Britain: Home Office guidelines now forbid experiments on chimpanzees, orangutans and gorillas. Great apes should have the right to life and freedom, according to a resolution passed in the Spanish parliament, in what could become... more -
Spain set to give apes 'human rights'
Spain's parliament are reportedly all set to pass a new law that will see the right to life and freedom being granted to apes. If passed, the first-of-its kind legislation will make it illegal for apes to be kept for experiments, circuses, TV commercials and filming.
A great day for Ape rights, not so good for Bubbles' TV career... Spain's parliament are reportedly all set to pass a new law that will see the right to life and freedom being granted to apes. If... more -
Bonobo Conservation Initiative
Their mission is to promote conservation of the bonobo and its tropical forest habitat. Bonobos are found in only one country: the Democratic Republic of Congo (former Zaire), a resource-rich region ravaged by years of war.
Biologically speaking, bonobos are the closest you can get to being human without being human. Bonobos and people share 98.4% of the same genetic make-up (DNA).
In contrast to the competitive, male-dominated culture of their close relative the chimpanzee, bonobo society is peaceful, matriarchal and more egalitarian. Bonobos live in large groups where harmonious coexistence is the norm.
Female-female contact, or "GG-rubbing," is actually the most common. Unlike other apes, bonobos frequently copulate face-to-face, looking into each others eyes.
When bonobo groups meet in the forest, they greet each other, bond sexually, and share food instead of fighting. Likewise, almost any conflict between bonobos is eased by sexual activity, grooming, or sharing food. Their mission is to promote conservation of the bonobo and its tropical forest habitat. Bonobos are found in only one country: the De... more -
Orangutan's big escape, short lived.
Bruno, a 29 year old orangutan, was able to escape from his enclosure in the Los Angeles Zoo.
The ape roamed free for twenty minutes, before being captured by zookeepers.
Instead of trying to escape, he just in an area behind his pen. If I were him, I'd see what the sloths were up to. Bruno, a 29 year old orangutan, was able to escape from his enclosure in the Los Angeles Zoo. ... more -
Chimps beat humans in memory test
Chimpanzees have an extraordinary photographic memory that is far superior to ours, research suggests.
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If you're a chimp, you've got it easy
Not only do you get free stuff, you can get yourself on Fox News. Yeah!
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Orangutan prefers blondes... tatted blondes
AMSTERDAM (Reuters) - Sibu the Orangutan has miffed his Dutch keepers by refusing to mate with females and showing sexual interest only in tattooed human blondes.
Apenheul Primate Park hoped Sibu would become its breeding male when he arrived two years ago, but orangutans aren't his type.
"He chases them, or ignores them, but he doesn't do what he should do," said a spokeswoman for the park.
Instead, Sibu fancies his female keepers, especially blondes. That, the spokeswoman said, was common for orangutans but Sibu has a fetish for tattoos, harking back to a heavily tattooed keeper who reared him.
"Orangutans have special interests in special subjects. Sibu happens to like tattoos," she said.
The park hasn't given up on Sibu, 31. He showed an amorous interest in a female Orangutan while living in England and keepers hope he will find love when reunited with her in a new enclosure in Chester, England. AMSTERDAM (Reuters) - Sibu the Orangutan has miffed his Dutch keepers by refusing to mate with females and showing sexual interest onl... more -
News species of Great Ape discovered
Extinct for 10 Million Years or so
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