The Red Deer in Autumn Rutting Season

FACING THE HEAT.
Autumn is their breeding season, when the Stags are said to be in rut, and 'Hinds'/females in oestrus/heat.
Rut is the recurring sexual excitement and reproductive activity in the breeding season of certain male ruminants such as the deer, goat, sheep.. that corresponds to the period of 'oestrus' in females ('a regularly occurring period of sexual receptivity in most female mammals, except humans, during which ovulation occurs and copulation can take place; heat')

When autumn colours set in, and the chill starts to build, it is also the time when some animals feel they are 'in heat'. For the deer, it is when they are in autumn 'rut', their breeding season. After an unusually warm start of October, I've been waiting for almost a month, to go and watch them at the ancient hunting ground- The Royals used it since the 12th century, but now reduced to around 10 sq.km of National Nature Reserve between Richmond and Wimbledon. But then also had to wait for a decent sunny weekend to capture their mood.

That means getting really lucky in this part of the world. Finally this Sunday, sun smiled; towards the fag end of the season when stags are most interesting to watch, as they are the most 'interested' too! ;).

But when I reached there early afternoon, trekked half an hour and spotted a herd of around 50 red deer lazing around, chewing the cud, there was nothing to suggest other than just another day in the Deer Calendar ;)

There was no sense of planning for the year ahead, the next generation ;). Two possibilities came to my mind- One, that they are done with the rutting season. Two, they might be very resigned to the fact that

with 7billion of those pesky 2-footed creatures taking over the entire planet, there wasn't much they can do to give it a try and compete!. They couldn't even feel proud that there were at least 1.4 million cattle or 1.1million sheep (or even 18 million chicken, if they want to surpass humans by numbers) —That could join for an “Occupy Streets” protests against unfair treatment meted out by humans, and their downright ugly industrial Animal Farming.

They couldn’t feel proud, because these sheer numbers, they know, are all down to the need or greed of that crazily brainy breed, who has the chutzpah- like a country calling itself ‘Great’- to call themselves wise, Homo ‘Sapiens’..

"Ha, Sapient!, my hoof. Who cares a hoot"- one deer seemed to mull as it chewed the cud.

I kept watching the animated thoughts of the deer folk, while I waited to find out the real truth about their state of mind- whether ‘in rut’ or not; the season over or not.

The lighter side of thoughts, of heavy-thinking deer think tank apart,

I wondered whether, like many mammals, there ever was a time in human history when humans had a breeding season!! ;) - when women would have ovulated/menstruated once, or couple of times and hormones spiked only during such season(s). Sounds funny to think about it, but to have a season to think about dating and mating, and to have no such matters in mind outside it would be unthinkable for many of us humanfolk! ;)

Would the world be happier, grumpier or more solemn in such a scenario ? 

Was very lucky to be there at that time.., the sun just right, mild slanting rays before setting.,
I loved this moment, looking through the lense, lost in that frame-
and I almost lost that right moment and pose to click!:)
Loved the frame.. for those rim-lit antlers with a gleam on it..nicely highlighting..,
its wispy beard almost visible with side-lighting..,
it has that 'steeped-in-its-natural-habitat' feel;
camouflaged, &emerging from the brown ferns.,
With the vestiges of autumn glory, shining back-lit yellow leaves decorating the background of the frame..,
Giving it a sense of time &space- of season &habitat;
of beauty &peace!,
To me, it is a dreamy moment.. I can touch and feel and smell and merge into!..,
To fall back into that frame and be lost in that time and space..,
in that moment when dream came true!

Finally, after 2 hours of waiting,when starting to feel rather unlucky,

I was getting distracted and attracted more to a flock of very raucous parakeets that I had been hearing in the background much of the time. Followed their noisy chatter for a few minutes.

Ring-necked Parakeet.
Most of the Parakeets in the wild in Britain originated in India, were kept as pets and later a wild population grew from the escaped &released birds, with latest estimate around 6000 birds- mostly in the South-East (Even though Greater London and surrounding areas is still its stronghold, the species has been recorded in almost every county in England, and has reached Wales and the Scottish borders.
Interestingly, though frugivorous and vegetarian in its natural habitat in South Asia, in Britain they are omnivorous- at times eating even meat! )
http://www.rspb.org.uk/wildlife/birdguide/name/r/ringneckedparakeet/history.aspx

Slowly I became aware of the changing dynamics of the herd, the tension in the air, the nervous females, the intimidated and side-lined stags, the bullying alpha-male.

Clearly, in that herd there was no challenger who could take on the alpha-male with the most formidable sized antlers that others fad in comparison. So there was not so much of a fight- of the horny males locking horns! ;)

There was more of chasing off other stags and harassing to keep the harem to itself .

Then chasing behind females going in rounds, giving up dodging female after a round of chase..

Sometimes bellowing at the end of it. It was for the first time that I was watching this 'rut' happening live.

When going behind the hinds, the alpha male was often sticking its tongue out as if sensing something in the air,

may be for secretions to see if the female was 'ready', and for some, it would try to touch the tongue as if 'marking' the checked-out females!

While being shutter-happy in the midst, could sense a bit tense ambience at times, especially when the stags were chased off - with rather distinguished expansive antlers, that Alpha-male seemed to hold a harem and keep away some 15+ adult stags from the herd of around 50 ;)

Though after couple of hours of hanging around the herd without intruding their space, they seemed to

take less notice of me than earlier, I remained alert of movements around me. Especially of the Alpha-male.

There was a moment I was stumped, as to which way to go, when a

tall stag with long sleek antlers appreared to come straight at me when being chased off by the

alpha male- 
That's when the warning signs I read elsewhere really struck home: "During the rutting season, it can be dangerous to approach deer".

The red deer(Cervus elaphus) inhabits most of Europe, parts of western Asia, and central Asia. It also inhabits the Atlas Mountains region between Morocco and Tunisia in northwestern Africa, being the only species of deer to inhabit Africa.[wiki]

The Kashmir stag (Cervus elaphus hanglu), also called hangul, is a subspecies [Endangered] of Red Deer native to northern Pakistan and India, especially in Jammu and Kashmir where it is the state animal, and Chamba in northern Himachal Pradesh. Only around 150 of them are left in the wild!!.

+++

 As an interesting coincidence,  3 days before this deer-outing, attended an event @London School of Economics [ @LSE's Department of Management, a  BBC Radio 4 public conversation ], where  economist Robert Frank, talked about his new book The Darwin Economy: Liberty, Competition, and the Common Good  (He is Cornell University professor of economics and management, Author of  'The Economic Naturalist', and a text book 'Principles of Economics' co-authored with Fed Reserve chairman Ben Bernanke. The other books include Winner-Take-All Society, Luxury Fever, What Price the Moral High Ground?. He is also New York Times economics columnist. His books have been translated into 22 languages). It was a BBC Radio4 interview & public conversation hosted by LSE Dept of Management, conducted by BBC economics editor Paul Mason.. There was an audience of around 800 @LSE.

In the opening stages of the conversation, Paul Mason asked an interesting question: "It is rare to read an economics book and come away with such a startling image, as one comes away with from the beginning of your book, of an elk (the large deer, called moose in the US) with giant antlers. Explain to us, what you mean by that metaphor/analogy", and Frank goes on to talk about antlers in elk  : About balancing evolutionary advantage and disadvantage of having bigger and bigger antlers as the species evolved. The advantage of bigger antlers, is the reproductive advantage of getting to mate with as many females as it can get, by fighting off those with smaller antlers; disadvantage of it being the bigger risk of getting easily hunted down by wolves. The antlers grew bigger and reached an equilibrium [This equilibrium may not be good for 'the elk males as a group': Having to carry antlers weighing upto 40pounds]. The point being, individual gains/interests does not coincide with group interest in this case.

I've added more about this event at this other blog post-

http://greenwich-times.blogspot.com/2011/11/darwin-economy-liberty-competition-and.html

It has some excerpted text of the talk, edited audio podcast to fit into 30min slot of BBC Radio4, and the full 1 hr video from LSE. It also has links to videos of his talks at other places, including that uploaded by Princeton University Press, in which he reveals what propelled him to write this book: Fed-up and frustrated by hearing all the rhetoric of the libertarian American right wing, he sat and started typing his response, whic over a period of time evolved into this book!

Here is sneak peak-  a 7min video highlight, of Rober Frank talking about the themes in the book at some other place.



x..x

The Darwin Economy: Liberty, Competition, and the Common Good

 It was an interesting coincidence, that 3 days before my deer-photo-outing, attended an event @LSE, (part of  'LSE IDEAS series- Ideas that can change the world!')  where economist Robert Frank, talked about his new book The Darwin Economy: Liberty, Competition, and the Common Good  (He is Cornell University professor of economics and management, Author of  'The Economic Naturalist', and a text book 'Principles of Economics' co-authored with Fed Reserve chairman Ben Bernanke. His text books are followed at LSE as well. The other books include Winner-Take-All Society, Luxury Fever, What Price the Moral High Ground?. He is also New York Times economics columnist. His books have been translated into 22 languages). It was a BBC Radio4 interview & public conversation hosted by LSE Dept of Management, conducted by BBC economics editor Paul Mason.. There was full audience of around 800 @LSE.

I attended the event as I quite liked his other book,  'The Economic Naturalist' (2008), a different approach to economics; His radical/refreshing approach to teaching economics to his students, starting from simple questions of the everyday things that can be linked to economic justification, as mentioned in that book. I was more drawn to his linking of 2 topics-- finding simple analogies in nature, for economic theories!. Also, felt he has a certain humbleness about him, and as The Guardian noted in its review of his book 'The Winner-Take-All Society', "he has lucid writing style and a willingness NOT TO TAKE HIMSELF TOO SERIOUSLY"
The media intro's to this new book The Darwin Economy said, it looks more extensively  into Economics and Natural History!- 2 subjects that fascinate me, as they surround us in our daily lives, with so many mysteries to unravel! ;), esp in Natural History.

The new book also tells about the parallels in economics and evolution- about competition and consequences of risk-taking behaviour, which are so central to econimics today. The book sets out to answer a strange-sounding question: ‘Who was the greater economist--Adam Smith or Charles Darwin?!’ Frank predicts that within the next century Darwin will unseat Smith as the intellectual founder of economics. The reason, Frank argues, is that Darwin's understanding of competition describes economic reality far more accurately than Smith's. 
It is said, 'To be an economist without having read The Wealth of Nations by Adam Smith, is like being a priest without having read the Bible.'

The talk starts by asking Frank, "We've built 200years of economic theories based on the achievements of Adam Smith. What did we do 'wrong' ?".
He replies: "I am not against Adam Smith--rather, a huge admirer of Smith myself, but against the Modern caricature of Adam Smith as put forward by the free market enthusiasts, esp in the US, and American Right wing, who are Smith's biggest disciples.. They have a wrong notion of what Adam Smith wrote (in The Wealth of Nations)".. Frank says about the de facto bible of economics and the libertarians who interpret it wrongly;  Their notion, for instance, like that of a typical invesment banker, is  that in pursuing self-interest, they are pursuing the good of all.. and in free markets, whatever survives and prospers is to be morally celebrated.. while also wanting competition without regulation. This, Frank argues, is NOT for the common good.

 Darwin has more general view of the competitive process-  he says, Darwin's GREAT INSIGHT was that sometimes individual gains/interests coincide with group interest, but OFTEN they DON'T-- Whenever there is such a conflict, it's often the individual interest that triumph, often to the great cost to the group.
Much of the competition in the business world, is against its own kind.

But according to Darwin, whatever survives in Nature is not always of the kind to be 'morally celebrated'.
 Competitive imperatives led animals to do things that were brutal in terms of the well-being of other members of the group- like killing the offsprings of other dominant males, as in lions.
Sometimes, what benefits the individual, puts so much more risks on the the group-- nowhere more than the Financial insdustry! (And that eventually led to economic catastrophy, global recession)

In the opening stages of the conversation, he is also asked an interesting question: "It is rare to read an economics book and come away with such a startling image, as one comes away with from the beginning of your book, of an elk (the large deer, called moose in the US) with giant antlers. Explain to us, what you mean by that metaphor/analogy", and Frank goes on to talk about antlers in elk  : About balancing evolutionary advantage and disadvantage of having bigger and bigger antlers as the species evolved. The advantage of bigger antlers, is the reproductive advantage of getting to mate with as many females as it can get, by fighting off those with smaller antlers; disadvantage of it being the bigger risk of getting easily hunted down by wolves. The antlers grew bigger and reached an equilibrium [This equilibrium may not be good for 'the elk males as a group': Having to carry antlers weighing upto 40pounds]. The point being, individual gains/interests does not coincide with group interest in this case.

Another interesting point he raises towards the end, is that Modern Economics so much ignores "context" in the models, and focuses too much on mathematics.

[The Audio podcast of the event is available here on BBC Radio 4: Edited version, fitted into 30min for the radio. http://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/b0174f06/Analysis_The_Darwin_Economy/  ]

The full event video @LSE, ~1hr:






More about the book here:  http://press.princeton.edu/titles/9509.html

Here is also a 7min video highlight, of Rober Frank talking about the themes in the book



Other full length video of talks available..
from Princeton University Press: [ At the start of this talk, he also tells what propelled him to write this book- Fed-up and frustrated by hearing all the rhetoric of the libertarian American right wing, he sat and started typing his response, whic over a period of time evolved into this book! ]
http://www.youtube.com/embed/HJUoHkGYsOA

and talk at New America Foundation:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o6dpdITsPOg
x..x

The Story of English -BBC series and The Book

Had bought this fascinating book The Story of English (from BBC Books, which you might have known/read) while I was working in Bangalore.. 10yrs ago.. It is a companion-book for the 1986 BBC series in 9-parts as per the chapters of the book..about the history of the language.

(I got the the revised 2nd edition of 1992, But still some statistics, like in the attached English in India section, might be a bit rusty..

It also says in that section further down, that "It's not pure English, but it's like the English of Shakespeare, Joyce and Kipling- gloriously impure.' ;)

Found the full series (almost 500min) online!

http://topdocumentaryfilms.com/story-of-english/

The Story of English is the title of an Emmy Award winning nine-part television series, and a companion book, both produced in 1986, detailing the development of the English language. A little bit old but very good.

The book and the television series were written by Robert MacNeil, Robert McCrum and William Cran. The book has been revised twice, once in 1993, and again in 2002.

The Story of English: English in India (Some stats slightly old- from 1986, still, quite interesting ones)

The Story of English: By Indians For Indians

ARGUMENTS WITH GANDHI: talk @LSE by Dr Ramachandra Guha

"ARGUMENTS WITH GANDHI": Audio podcast of eminent historian Dr Ramachandra Guha's talk @  The London School Of Economics
last week, 26/Oct. Laced with wit and interesting anecdotes.. 



More about the event:
http://www2.lse.ac.uk/newsAndMedia/videoAndAudio/channels/publicLecturesAndEvents/player.aspx?id=1212

"At once a freedom fighter, social reformer and environmental thinker, Mahatma Gandhi's ideas were original and controversial. Though much criticised, Gandhi's life and work continue to illuminate the major social and political debates of our time."

Guha's recent books include:
India after Gandhi: The history of the world's largest democracy (2007), 
Makers of Modern India (2010)

RamGuha is also an environmental historian.
I've bought one of his books 'Ecology and Equity' (co-written with the Ecologist Madhav Gadgil from IISc)  while in B'lore 10years ago.

ARYANS (They are NOT A "RACE") &The origins of Vedic Hindu Culture - From 'History of India' by Romila Thapar

From 'The History of Early India' -(From the Origins to AD1300) by minent Indian historian Romila Thapar.

(She is Emeritus Prof in History @JNU,NewDelhi.. A scholar Who is well respected in the West and in India.

 with honourary doctorates from Oxford,Chicago, Paris etc.. and was visiting prof @Cornell..)

She very skillfully weaves together pieces from historical/textual/linguistic/archeological

 "evidences" and articulates her analysis and interpretations- which are vibrantly explained with contexts!!,

and argues in a very reasonable way, and very readable for the non-academic..

She also makes it clear wherever applicable, what CANNOT be ascertained because of lack of any evidence.

The introduction to the book itself is Brilliant in general, giving a good perspective on history and interpretation: A para from it-

[The starting point in the history of a society, has to be familiar with its
historiography-- the history of historical interpretations itself.
 This provides the recognition of the intellectual context of history, instead of preference for just a narration of events. It is NOT "just a narration of events", but by familiarising the reader with the
context wherever applicable, "encourages a more sensitive understanding of the past".
The awareness of historiography has contributed substantially to the change in understanding Indian history over the last half-century.

]

 

In the introductions, it elaborates on the "inaccurate" usage of the term "The Aryans" to refer to "a race".. 

(If you'd like to read the relevant pages from the book, Please click on the images to enlarge )

"Indo-Aryans spread gradually over Northern India, incorporating some elements of Austro-Asiatic & Dravidian.Indo-Aryan is in fact a language lablel indicating a speech-group of Indo-European family, and is NOT a racial term. To refer to 'The Aryans' as a race is therefore inaccurate. The racial identities of the speakers of the Indo-Aryan languages are NOT KNOWN."

..

In the chapter detailing history from around 1200~600 BC, it talks about the migration of the people from areas around Iran to settle in Northern India.

.

.

The rise of the Indo-Aryan language group, after the decline of the Indus Civilization by the mid of the 2nd millennium BC..

Migration into Northern India from around Iran/Persia. This makes me think of one interesting aspect: That.. the first wave of "migrations" from west Asia in roughly around 1500 BC brought Indo-Aryan language/old form of Sanskrit to India.. which, mixed with indigenous influences gave rise to Hindu Culture..The second wave of "invasions"from west Asia around 1500AD by the Mughals spread the Muslim Culture widely..

Tour de France & Other Cycling Memoirs

[Some Cycling Memoirs]

Today's Tour de France Final stage ending in Paris.. Brings memories of attending the historic 2005 final, when Lance Armstrong won, a record 7th time, in consecutive years, ..and his last win there..

http://greenwich-times.blogspot.com/2005/07/viva-lance-viva-le-tour-de-france.html

Lance Armstrong and his Discovery Channel team doing the victory lap thru Avenue des Champs-Élysées . TdF, Paris, 2005.

s

Spectators waiting for the Champions to arrive, near Finishing point at Champs-Élysées Avenue.

 Paris might be the Capital of Cycle racing, so to speak, but one place that comes first to mind when thinking of ordinary people riding their cycles, is Amsterdam- yet to see any other place where whole families, and people of all ages, sizes and shapes were seen using cycles, with young people zipping past, talking on their mobile phones, criss crossing tramways.. (Have seen old photos of Chinese cities teeming with cycles, but I don't have experience of China) Though the French might really love their 'Velo 's, to me,Amsterdam is the  real "Velo-"city!. [http://greenwich-times.blogspot.com/2009/03/going-dutch-in-amsterdam-city-of-ring.html ]

 Cycling and India brings many memories.. Some of those come flooding to mind vividly.. 

A Childhood 'Companion' to Wander in Abandon:

As a 10-yr old, when I used to sneak away from home,nicking brother's bike- or hiring one if I couldn't get it, cycling secretly to the beach and a river estuary, 10km away...

the cycle that gave the sense of freedom and expanded my horizon.. like nothing else could!..  roving the countryside.. pedalling to the top of hills and freewheeling down..

That was until, (apparently) becoming a Grown-Up kid.. when you enter a rat-race, to chase a secure Future! ;)

..And in later years, when my horizon expanded beyond those hills and the sea,
was re-discovering the thrill of cycling with friends.. and wheeled through some unforgettable moments- 
Am riding through those moments again here:

Cycling from Bangalore to Nilambur/Kerala:  

Via Mysore, Bandipur National Park and the Nilgiri Mountains

[Karnataka, TamilNadu, Kerala]

Trip Journal:

http://sites.google.com/site/there4iroam/travel-adventure/cycling-blr2kerala

Cycling to Sriharikotta from Sullurpet:

In Search of Flamingos , Through Pulicat Lake Bird Sanctuary

[Andhra Pradesh]

One memorable biking done near to Chennai, was on the coast ~90km to the north side of Chennai.. after crossing the border from Tamil Nadu into Andhra.

  Cycled from Sullurpet (on the coastal NH5) to Sriharikota Space Station, about 20km one way. On a heavy Hercules bike hired from a village cycle shop. 

In the last 9km stretch, it's a very unique, desolate, meditative landscape of salt marshes extending to the horizon, with just the straight causeway road, cutting through the Pulicat Lake Bird Sanctuary. Esp during winter season,in small patches, you could see lots of Big Migratory birds including Painted Storks, Pelicans, Herons etc around..and there are Flamingos as well!- which come from Rann of Kutch in Gujarat. 

Trip Journal:

http://sites.google.com/site/there4iroam/nature-wildlife/birding-1/insearchofflamingos

Cycling to The Ruins of Hampi from Hospet /Bellari:

[Karnataka]

 Cycling to Hampi ruins and around from Hospet town 15km away, in Bellari.

Had to weather a storm during that, biding time with 4-5 guys crouching and squatting under the overhang of a rock jutting out by the River Thungabhadra, after hastily leaving the bikes to the elements in a pile on a rock when the clouds burst. Sitting there, watched the water slowly turn muddy brown in half an hour.. and this was the scene, seen while crouching under the rock:

River Thungabhadra, after a cloudburst. @Hampi, outside ruins of Vittala Temple.

 That was just outside the famous part-ruined Vittala Temple with its 'musical pillars'..We had just got outside the temple compound after exploring it when tapped.. The carved pillars, each with several slender columns, apparently produces Sapta Swara (The 7 Notes?) when tapped.. 

The Stone Chariot, Vittala Temple ruins, Hampi.

I never wrote the trip journal..Not Yet! ;) 

..but here is some Newspaper Travel article about the place

( Hampi: Grandeur amidst ruins - with description of the 'musical' stone pillars:

   http://www.hindu.com/fr/2006/07/14/stories/2006071402100600.htm ) 

+++

Cycling along the Tundra Landscape around a Glacier :
In Search of Moose, Musk Ox & Caribou/Reindeer

[Finse, Norway]

On Hardangervidda plateau, the highest and the largest plateau in Europe..

Was cycling along the tundra landscape, in biting freezing cold.. in search of wild Reindeer(Caribou)!, through the desolate and beautiful, stark landscapes of Hardangervidda National Park, the southernmost refuge of the Arctic Fox and Norway's largest herd of wild Reindeer..
But didn't get lucky ;).

Within Hardangervidda National Park, if you are lucky, you can see Reindeer, Musk Ox, and Moose (Eurasian Elk). But we were not in the right season to explore deeper/longer.

Tip of the Hardangerjøkulen glacier/ice-cap. From Finse

http://www.visitnorway.com​/en/Articles/Theme/The-Mou​ntains/Mountain-guide/Hard​angervidda/

The Hardangervidda is a mountain plateau ("vidde" in Norwegian) in the Hardanger region of western Norway. It is the largest such plateau in Europe, with a cold year-round alpine climate and is the site of one of Norway's largest glaciers. Much of the plateau is protected as part of Hardangervidda National Park.

+++

More: For Cycling Freaks:  :)

A Google Tech Talk video by a Google employee, Dylan Casey, an ex professional cyclist who was in the US Postal team with Lance Armstrong at grand Tours including Tour de France, talking about all that experience. Apparently this talk was at Google office as they are promoting Bike2Work ..:

Experience of Riding in the Tour de France.. and all things to do with cycling :

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zVcKzzB-eF0

+++

Amsterdam- Family Outing

Amsterdam- Custom-made Shopping Cart-cum pram?!

Amsterdam- Cyclists and Cycles that fit all descriptions you can think of ;)

Amsterdam- City of Canals, Dykes and Bikes! ;) They are there, Anywhich way you turn

Food Price Rise, Speculation in Commodities Market, African Land Grabs, Biofuels.. What a cocktail?!

It's amazing, how incredibly linked, different parts of the Earth's Ecosystems are!.. 
Equally amazing, how incredibly linked, different parts of the world's Economic systems are as well!
Interestingly, there are new studies going on, to try and evaluate the link between these two- by the impressive TEEB study..About The Economics of Ecosystems & Biodiversity.. ( http://greenwich-times.blogspot.com/2011/04/talklse-economics-of-ecosystems-and.html)


I've been fascinated by the Ecosystems for long.. and have tried to get my head 'round the Economic systems.. and its impact on the former as well as their interactions..[ From that respect, the TEEB does a wonderful job of coming out with meaningful,practical data that can be used by governments, policy makers, local authorities etc. ]
The following is a result of collating related articles I had read in recent times; mostly from Economics point of view..


To start with, here is a brief 2-min audio: UN official explains, how gambling in food commodities market by finance companies is affecting prices for consumers..

(http://www.guardian.co.uk/global-development/audio/2011/jun/01/food-speculation-olivier-de-schutter-audio
Nearly 1 billion people around the world are going hungry each day and dozens of countries are facing food shortages in the near future. What role does food speculation play in this? Olivier de Schutter, the UN's special rapporteur on the right to food, explains )
 
Here is some interesting statistics from a related report (from http://bit.ly/forests-farming-food-land ),

• UN's food price index has risen 37% since Mar/2010- Basic cereal prices are up 60%, Wheat is up 63%, &maize 83%.

• ~1million people slide into extreme poverty for each 1% rise in global food prices, according to World Bank's analysts..

Apparently this gambling in food market is a phenomenon started in recent years, for which the US brought in some regulations,after subprime crisis/market crash..But happens blatantly in other markets: http://bit.ly/speculators-food-price-rise , http://bit.ly/cocoa-market-abuse

After the Real Estate/Sub-prime tornado that left the US 'Financial Landscape' in tatters,
ruthless investment companies(the perpetrators of much of it?),r spreading their vicious influence onto new fields-
Shifting focus from American housing market to Global Food market- more basic&wider needs!
Apparently,the guile of the wily spiders,thru their wider nets,has started affecting huge populations more directly..

(See: Hedge Funds 'Grabbing Land' in Africa:

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-13688683  )

After their increased Speculation/Manipulation/Gambling on Commodities market, reportedly causing food price inflation, in recent years..,
now onto African Land Grabbing!
Time will tell, whether these will ultimately cause more devastation worldwide than the sub-prime crashes..- and whether it will be delivered in doses sporadically across the globe and hitting like slowly affecting poison than one huge blow!

There has been a spate of reports on manipulating food prices recently- from last year:
O'course, Hedge funds may not be the sole reason for price rise, but they are making it much worse..(UN's FAO confirming this)

( http://www.guardian.co.uk/business/2010/jul/19/speculators-commodities-food-price-rises
independent investigations revealed, in 2010 Goldman Sachs made a profit of $1bn through gambling on the price of everyday foods..
While there were food riots due to price rise, in Mozambique last year [..and in Mexico and Haiti in 2008, said another report]

Such price inflation affects not only the starving population in poorer countries, but also those in developed nations..
--> cocoa prices jumped to a 33-year high, as it emerged that a London hedge fund had snapped up a large part of the world's stock of cocoa beans.
--> A 150% rise in cocoa prices over 18 months forced many chocolate-makers to raise their prices and often to use less cocoa.
)

( Some insights into how investors can make the price change faster than that caused by the demand-supply market dynamics of traditional consumers and producers :

http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/2010/oct/25/impending-global-food-crisis

World Development Movement -WDM in London warned that food speculation by hedge funds, pension funds and investment banks was likely to prompt further inflation.

Mounting anger has greeted food price inflation of 21% in Egypt in the last year, along with 17% rises in India and similar amounts in many other countries. Prices in the UK have risen 22% in three years.

Longtime hedge fund manager Mike Masters, who has worked with WDM, said: "Because there is already much more capital available in the world than hard commodities, speculators can increase the price of consumable commodities, like foodstuffs or energy, much higher than traditional consumers and producers can react.
)

..and related article on shortage of land for farming..
http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/2011/may/18/forests-farming-food-land

Couple of years back,had seen documentaries/read of the Arabs doing a lot of Land Grabs of African farmlands, but that was more out of concern about their food security though!.

..and Finally:

Rush to Use Crops as Fuel Raises Food Prices and Hunger Fears..

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/04/07/science/earth/07cassava.html?_r=1 

Kentish Plover- Disappeared from Kent.. and Britain!

Ringed Plover.
@Dungeness Nature Reserve, Kent.

I was hoping to see a related species here, the Kentish Plover, but it was not around at the place which seemed like its kind of habitat, and came to know it has DISAPPEARED from Britain! - It no longer breeds in these islands. I had first seen Kentish Plover back in Kerala!.(2005), while volunteering for a bird survey of Kole Wetands, in Thrissur near Guruvayur. 

[ Dungeness, on the English Channel, 25km from the Channel Tunnel area, has a special geographic feature.. Ness= Headland or 'Cuspate Foreland' jutting out from shore.. It is found on coastlines and lakeshores that are created primarily by longshore drift. This area on the southcoast of England was also an island in Roman Maps!.. It got connected to the mainland around 1000years ago due to alluvial deposits..]

http://www.rspb.org.uk/wildlife/birdguide/name/r/ringedplover/index.aspx

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kentish_plover

Ironically, after this birding trip now, came to know that the 'Kentish' Plover is no longer seen in Kent or anywhere in Britain!. Though it "breeds in a wide range, from southern Europe to Japan and in Ecuador, Peru, Chile, the southern USA and the Caribbean", it's no longer seen in Britain!..

But, it was heartening to read the recent news from Kerala, that the Project to protect the Kole Wetlands is taking shape
(It has 30,000 acres of wetlands including farmlands and paddyfields). 
The data we were collecting during the bird survey
was used to provide supporting arguments as to why the area needed more protection for its wildlife and habitats,
and to help plan the Project.

Related news this year from Kerala:
http://www.hindu.com/2011/01/08/stories/2011010860470300.htm

Agriculture Minister in Kerala is handed over the project — Biodiversity Conservation Plan for Kole Wetlands High Value Biodiversity Area-- to the Forest Dept, which will submit it to the central govt .

Project was prepared after consultations with farmers, people's representatives, scientists and officials.

It proposes to pay an incentive of Rs.1,000 per acre to kole farmers every year as a recognition for protecting the kole lands for over the years.