WEBSITE - Zoo Quest For A Dragon

On Whirligig TV, they have a page all about David Attenborough's Zoo Quest For A Dragon.

In 1956 David travelled to Komodo to make a film about the Komodo Dragon. The site has a streaming video clip from the film. They have kindly given me permission to allow you to download the video here (364k).

Amazon.co.uk has Zoo Quest products available, and I STRONGLY recommend reading the book, or even better (because David Attenborough reads it), get the book on tape. It's a great adventure.

Zoo Quest books and tapes are also available in the US:
Zoo Quest stuff at Amazon.com

WEBSITE - BBC Online "Last Chance To See"

The page at the The BBC Cult Hitchhiker's - Last Chance To See has a short audio clip from the Komodo Dragon radio episode of "Last Chance To See". Douglas Adams and Mark Carwardine are talking about "the unbelievable stench" coming from the Komodo Dragons and their goat lunch. Great to hear this. I've heard Douglas Adams reading his book "Last Chance To See", but this is the first audio clip from the initial radio series I've heard in a long time. Anyone out there have any more?

The page also links to this one about zoology which features a short video clip of Douglas Adams reading from "The Restaurant At The End Of The Universe" at one of the 1992 Royal Institution Christmas Lectures.

NEWS - Ebola fear for Western Lowland Gorillas

For the cousins of the Mountain Gorilla, disturbing news indeed.
Scientists fear new Ebola outbreak may explain sudden disappearance of scores of Western Lowland Gorillas.

More than 20,000 Western lowland gorillas could die within months if outbreak confirmed

TRAVEL - Something to squawk about (Kakapos)

The Advertiser in Australia has this nice article about Kakapos and travel to Stewart Island.

'YOU couldn't have seen a kakapo,' accused a fellow backpacker. 'It's virtually extinct, nocturnal and can't fly to a tree. It must have been a forest pigeon.'

NEWS - Asian Dams, and their effects

Asia Times Online reports on dam projects in India and across
Asia, and their impact on people and wildlife, including the Baiji Dolphin.

The World Wide Fund (WWF) warned in June: 'China's Yangtze River faces a greater threat from dams than any other river in the world. China has 46 large dams planned or under construction on the Yangtze. The dams could destroy habitats of endangered species, including the Yangtze River dolphin, of which only a few dozen remain.'

EXHIBIT - Lindsay Wildlife Museum - Till August 29th

If you're in California, you still have until August 29 to visit the Lindsay Wildlife Museum and their "Gorillas in the Lens" exhibit.

Dian Fossey spent the majority of her adult life in the mountains of east central Africa studying the shy and elusive mountain gorilla, one of our closest relatives. Thirty-four photographs, taken by Fossey and the National Geographic Society, explore Dian’s adventures living with and studying these amazing animals. Be sure to see this exhibit in the museum’s lobby.

Museum is at 1931 First Avenue, Walnut Creek, CA 94597 - Tel: 925-935-1978

NEWS - Mountain gorilla region under threat

Protecting Virunga National Park is a dangerous business

"Mr Muir said 93 Congolese guards have been killed in eight years, an average of almost one a month. "