>Hello oryoki,
>
> You wrote, of Bernie's Jaguar:
>
>> The recording of the cat's sniffing around your mic are very clear
>> (and deeply chilling), yet I can hear no sound of the cat's approach
>> on the trail, or any movement around the mic. Did you edit out these
>> sounds, or can a 200 lb Jaguar move so silently through the forest
>> that your sensitive mic didn't record its passing?
>
>No doubt Bernie will reassure you on the matter, but if the floor of the
>Amazonian rainforest was wet at the time, then even a human in heavy boots
>could walk without making a sound. (Assuming rainforests there are like
>rainforests here.)
>
>But having recently read Charles Darwin's account of Jaguars taking people=
,
>(in his book, "The Voyage of the Beagle"), I'm sure glad I wasn't in
>Bernie's shoes. Darwin did say that a well-fed Jaguar wouldn't attack a
>person. But how could you be sure it was well fed? I can work up a
>feeling of fear just thinking about the sound on Bernie's CD.
Actually, it was probably me that wasn't too well fed - a likely
reason the jag probably just wanted 15 minutes of fame "on mic" and
passed on a more questionable meal.
>
>BTW, Bernie expresses concern (p. 129) over the danger of the Australian
>rainforest he visited being altered and depleted within a short period of
>time. I can offer some reassurance on that point. There is not much of
>the rainforest in private ownership and the bulk of it (this is in north
>Queensland) is now World Heritage listed - thanks largely to the efforts o=
f
>one remarkable person, Dr Aila Keto, founder and President of the Australi=
an
>Rainforest Conservation Society.
>
>At the cost of making this a long posting, I can't resist telling this sto=
ry
>of Dr Keto. IUCN sent a team of three experts to investigate and report o=
n
>Australia's nomination of the NQ rainforests before making a recommendatio=
n
>to the United Nations. One of the experts was Mr PHC "Bing" Lucas of New
>Zealand, a friend of mine, who told me the story.
>
>It was appreciated that World Heritage listing would entail cessation of
>logging in the listed rainforests. Dr Keto was widely recognised as the
>chief advocate for the listing, and she was part of the official party.
>Bing said that they were to visit and stay overnight in a small logging
>township, and it was seriously suggested to Dr Keto that for her personal
>safety she should give it a miss. However she insisted on going, saying
>that the loggers were entitled to their views and she was quite prepared t=
o
>meet them and discuss the proposal.
>
>So she went. And Bing reported that late that night, Dr Keto finished up
>playing Pool for the rainforest with one of the loggers. AND SHE WON,
>despite not having played before. "Mind you," said Bing, "I think the logg=
er
>was rather the worse for alcohol at that stage."
I wasn't commenting so much on the disappearance of the forest,
itself, Syd, as much as I was concerned about the constant
anthrophony that we were picking up no matter where we went. The
forest seemed pretty much intact from a visual point of view and I am
grateful for your recounting the efforts of Keto. Very encouraging,
indeed.
Bernie
--
Wild Sanctuary, Inc.
P. O. Box 536
Glen Ellen, California 95442-0536
Tel: (707) 996-6677
Fax: (707) 996-0280
http://www.wildsanctuary.com
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