7th Douglas Adams Memorial Lecture - Benedict Allen

In aid of Save The Rhino, the Seventh Douglas Adams Memorial Lecture will take place on March 11, 2009. The speaker this year will be explorer and broadcaster Benedict Allen.

I first became aware of Benedict when he presented his inspiring 1997 "video diary" style documentary series "The Skeleton Coast" in which he trekked through the Namib desert with three grouchy camels. He followed that trip with a 3000 mile trek across the Mongolian Gobi desert in "The Edge of Blue Heaven".

Benedict is a sometime guest, and sometime presenter on BBC Radio 4's "Excess Baggage". Here he is in an appearance from 2006: The Adventurer's Spirit in the Face of Adversity.

These days, Benedict is known for his Channel Five TV series Unbreakable...

in which eight athletes are pushed to their mental and physical limits, explorer Benedict Allen takes a look at what helps keep any of us going in the face of disaster.

As to the lecture itself...

It’s an exciting and often humorous talk which draws on his vast experience of survival in jungles and deserts and the Arctic, by himself and others who live at the extremes.

Tickets cost £15 and are on sale in January.

Please e-mail fiona@savetherhino.org to be notified when tickets go on sale.

Bird of the Year: Kakapo now in second place....

**REPOST**
New Zealand's Forest and Bird organization is currently having their 2008 "Bird of the Year" poll. Please make your vote count, and give the Kakapo Parrot the boost it needs to climb the current rankings. Polls close on the 7th of November.

**UPDATE**
The Kakapo is now in second place, about 20 votes shy of the Tui. If you haven't voted yet, now is the time. Thanks.

Final Chances To See Sirocco the Kakapo

New Zealand's Southland Times reports that this years Kakapo Encounter is now winding down, but has once again proved a great success.

Trust secretary-treasurer Ann Pullen said 11year-old Sirocco had been his usual star self and had really impressed visitors.

Mrs Pullen said people were usually blown away and say they had no idea it would be such an unique experience.

In other Kakapo news, the New Zealand Herald reports that Massey University biologists are researching the role of the Kakapo's sense of smell in breeding, and whether a synthetic version might improve the chances of some of the less attractive Kakapos.

An alluring aftershave for male kakapo could be developed from new research into why some of the critically endangered parrots attract females more than others.

American expertise is being called on to investigate the unique smell of male kakapo feathers, and how the sweet and vegetative odour may influence mating behaviour.

Last Chance To See TV Series: Official Blog

The BBC site has a place holder page for what appears to be the official Last Chance To See blog of Stephen Fry and Mark Carwardine's new trip. It's very broken right now, and full of lorem ipsum, but the RSS feed is available for subscribing at least...

Stephen Fry and Mark Carwardine travel to some of the most remote places on earth in search of animals on the edge of extinction. Follow the journey online through exclusive video and blogs.

Dian Fossey Gorilla Fund Remembers Pablo

October's Dian Fossey Gorilla Fund newsletter is remembering the fabulous life of Pablo, who's 1974 birth was recorded in her book "Gorillas In The Mist". Pablo went on to become one of four silverbacks in "Pablo's Group" and became a well loved individual for decades. He disappeared on July 13th 2008, and is presumed dead at the age of 34.

Evidence suggests that he did not survive wounds received during a confrontation with another silverback when their two groups encountered each other the previous day. Although second-in-command after a brief period of dominance, for many years Pablo had fearlessly helped Cantsbee lead and protect “Pablo’s group,” which became the largest gorilla group known to researchers. He is remembered fondly by many who worked at Karisoke over the past four decades.

And in related news, according to the Stephen Fry Twitter feed, he will be in the Bwindi area on Tuesday 20th October to see the Mountain Gorillas.

My clever driver Robert has taken me to a place where there is network reception. All well. Gorillas tomorrow x

Looks like Stephen's already been to see some rhinos...

Kakapo Parrots: Forest & Bird's "Bird of the Year"

New Zealand's Forest and Bird organization is currently having their 2008 "Bird of the Year" poll. Please make your vote count, and give the Kakapo Parrot the boost it needs to climb the current rankings. Polls close on the 7th of November.

Stephen Fry now filming in Africa!

Stephen Fry is now in Nairobi as he begins the balance of the expeditions with Mark Carwardine that will make up the TV series of Last Chance To See. His "blessay" is available on the spanky new StephenFry.com 2.0 and also as an M4A or MP3 "podgram". The Afrycam African Video - Episode 1 Packing sees him packing his V-Necks and other necessaries to keep him feeling human during the trips.

I have flown to Nairobi to start work on the five films I am making with Mark Carwardine for the BBC. Mark Carwardine, you may remember, wrote Last Chance To See with my late great friend, Douglas Adams. This was a pioneering, prophetic book which saw the pair travelling the world in search of eight critically endangered species. Twenty-five years later Mark and I are revisiting the same places and looking for the same animals to see how world wildlife has fared in a quarter of a century. We already made one film in Brazil earlier this year, searching for the shy and endearing Amazon river manatee. It was during this expedition that I broke my arm. Who knows what will happen in Africa?

Very best of luck Stephen. Enjoy the trips, and stay safe!
Here's Stephen with all his gear from his Twitter feed...