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.
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 of
one remarkable person, Dr Aila Keto, founder and President of the Australian
Rainforest Conservation Society.
At the cost of making this a long posting, I can't resist telling this story
of Dr Keto. IUCN sent a team of three experts to investigate and report on
Australia's nomination of the NQ rainforests before making a recommendation
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 to
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 logger
was rather the worse for alcohol at that stage."
Cheers
Syd
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