Inside NGC

The Top Tens of 2009

2009-12-30T22:55:04Z

It's been quite a year here at Nat Geo, and to sum it all up, we've compiled our most popular games, interactives, and videos of 2009 -- all in one place! Read on to experience the best of the best from the great year that was.

TOP 10 GAMES AND INTERACTIVES
10. The Human Family Tree Interactive
9. Dino Death Trap's Fossil Hunt
8. Hitler's Stealth Fighter
7. The Headshrinker
6. Baby Mammoth Lab
5. Flying Aircraft Carrier
4. Explore Air Force One
3. Hooked Reel 'Em In Game
2. Expedition Week: The Game
1. Tag and Track a Blue Whale

TOP 10 VIDEOS
10. Istanbul Super Tunnel
9. The Genographic Project
8. Crop Circle Creation
7. Dog Surgery
6. Behemoth Black Marlin
5. The Orangutan and the Hound
4. Cruise Entertainment
3. Nazi Stealth Aircraft
2. Obama On Board
1. A Town Full of Twins

Lisa Ling Online Tonight!

2009-12-13T17:37:15Z

Join us tonight on the Explorer blog at 8P et. Lisa Ling will be online answering your questions during the premiere of Explorer: Narco State.

Join the Conversation >>

Presented By:

2009-12-13T17:37:15Z

Ask Simon Your Questions

2009-12-06T02:36:29Z

NOTE: The chat with Simon is now over. See what questions other viewers had and Simon's responses below!

Back in April 2009, Simon answered questions for us while he was still under house arrest in Peru. Read Q&A >>

Earlier this week I asked Simon a few questions about being home again:

Question: How did you feel when you got on the plane to go home?
Simon: I was very nervous beforehand and was worried that maybe something would happen at airport to delay me again. I even had someone from the Bristish embassy accompany me in case something happened. All went smoothly and when the plane took off I have to say there were a few tears.

Question: Did the plane ride go by quickly or slowly?
Simon: The flight was 12 hours and seemed to go very slowly and I could not sleep. But when I arrived at Amsterdam airport it all seemed to go very quickly.

Question: Who did you see first when you got off the plane?
Simon: My mum and dad.

Question: What was the first thing you did?
Simon: Hugged my mum followed by my dad and some friend who had turned up one of whom very kindly had a beer ready for me.

Question: What was it like seeing your friends and family after being away so long?
Simon: It was absolutely amazing and there was quite a few tears and it did not really sink in right away. I have had a few weekends meeting up with old friends which has been great.

Question: How long have you been home?
Simon: I arrived home on 11th of October so will be nearly two months by now.

Question: What does it feel like being home?
Simon: It has been great back with my family and now back at my old job getting back to a normal life again.

Question: Do you see your situation differently now that you are home? Or have your feelings about Sarah changed?
Simon: Now I do think of it as a life changing experience not something I ever could have believed would of happened to me but I think some good has come out of it valuing my family and friends even more than I did before. My feeling towards Sarah have not really changed from before.

Question: Do you have any trips planned?
Simon: Not at the moment but not ruling traveling out just will be more careful where and who with!!!

Question: What are your plans for the future?
Simon: I am back to work and getting used to a normal life. I am looking forward to Christmas with my family. A lot of people have asked if I will right a book which is something I would like to do just not sure how to go about it.

(10:10) Simon watching Locked Up Abroad Cuzco: Machu Picchu is just an amazing place so spiritual and a piece of history that I could not believe I was actually there.

(10:22) Simon watching Locked Up Abroad Cuzco: When I went back down and Sarah was not there I was little confused where she could be and then when police came up I got really concerned wondering what had happened.

Viewer question: What have you done since you arrived back home? What are your plans for the future?
Simon: I have got my old job back and been getting back to a normal life. Have also meet up with my friends and been out a few time. As for the future at moment I am just looking forward to a nice Christmas with my family. Other than that no plans really.

Viewer question: So you never had any gut instinct or indication that it was not right? Was it weird to be asked on this holiday with just the two of you?
Simon: Looking back yes there where somethings that where strange but at the time I really just did not notice them and no it was not really strange to go away. We were good friends.

(10:29) Simon watching Locked Up Abroad Cuzco: When I entered the police office in the airport and realised that was bad seeing the cases open and the fact Sarah would not look at me. The fact that the police where laughing and joking in such a serous situation for me and was really annoying because I wanted them to listen to me and not be joking about it.

(10:31) Simon watching Locked Up Abroad Cuzco: When they cut the suitcases apart was just stunned - could not believe it. How much was there and I did not believe this was happening.

(10:34) Simon watching Locked Up Abroad Cuzco: They obviously did not believe me and kept saying I would be in jail for 25 years and was just not able to get my head around the fact this might be happening and they seemed so sure about it. I wonder now if I had been able to get myself over more clearly and forcefully I might have had a chance of convincing them I was innocent but then again I do not think whatever I did would have changed anything.

Viewer question: Are you still angry at Sarah? Did you speak to her before you left Peru - or since you've been home?
Simon: I am not still angry with Sarah but cannot ever forgive her. I have not had any contact with her since the case was heard.

Viewer question: Do you have a hard time trusting people now that someone screwed you over or do you consider that a one time experience?
Simon: I think I am not as trusting as I once was and that also comes from having to stand up for myself in jail too so I think maybe I do have problems with people. I do not know being certain there motives for things.

Viewer question: Is there any evidence or do you think Sarah had anything to with your luggage being lost?
Simon: No I do not think she had anything to do with my luggage going missing.

(10:40) Simon watching Locked Up Abroad Cuzco: When Sarah apologises I really could not believe it and was just so angry that I could hardly control myself. But also realised I was going to have to rely on her to be found innocent.

(10:42) Simon watching Locked Up Abroad Cuzco: The phone call to my mum was easily the worst phone call I have ever had to make.

(10:43) Simon watching Locked Up Abroad Cuzco: 15 days is the Peruvian answer to everything as I learnt over time.

Viewer question: Would you say you've lost more or gained more from this experience?
Simon: I think I have gained a lot from this experience. I have learnt I am stronger than I thought possible. Learnt Spanish and met some amazing people.

Viewer question: If Sarah would have told you what was going on at the airport what would you have done?
Simon: If she had told me what was happening I would have made her stop and think and not let here go through with it because it was just such a stupid and bad thing to do and no good would come out of it is not worth it just for money.

(10:44) Simon watching Locked Up Abroad Cuzco: As I entered Sarita Colinia it seemed like 'Welcome to the Jungle' was playing with a crowd of shouting people and was just so scary and confusing.

NOTE: Thanks for your patience as Simon answers as many questions as he can. Continue to refresh your browser for the latest comments and answers.

Viewer question: Simon did you learn a grate deal about your self during all this?
Simon: I learnt that I was mentally stronger than I ever could have imagined and a lot more patient than I could have believed.

Viewer question: What do you want for Christmas?
Simon: I just want to enjoy Christmas with my family.

Viewer question: Was there one thing in particular while you were in jail that was the most disturbing? Or changed you as a person?
Simon: It was very disturbing the amount of people taking drugs and the general animal level of behavour. I just think the whole experience changed me... got tougher and maybe more selfish as well.

Viewer question: How did you get in touch with National Geographic to explain your story?
Simon: The tv people actually got in touch with me I think through fair trials abroad.

(10:53) Simon watching Locked Up Abroad Cuzco: I have to say that only problem with the program is that in my time in jail I never sat on a bed!!!!!

(10:54) Simon watching Locked Up Abroad Cuzco: Losing my faith in humanity the most commented part of this program and at the time I had been betrayed by someone I had trusted and in jail could not trust anyone and just felt as though may not be able to trust anyone again.

Viewer question: Do you think Sarah has experienced true remorse for altering the course of your life forever?
Simon: I hope so and I do think she has changed with this experience herself. The fact she never tried to implicate me shows she has some level of morals.

Viewer question: Has your criminal record been cleared?
Simon: Yes my criminal record has been completely cleared.

(10:57) Simon watching Locked Up Abroad Cuzco: From the time accepted responsibility it still took seven months before I was released from jail and when I got out I felt so happy and was sure would be heading home soon. Sadly this did not happen.

(10:58) Simon watching Locked Up Abroad Cuzco: Although I only had a small room when I got out it was paradise for me - so quiet and peaceful. For the first month I mostly slept all the time just because I could lie down rather than sleeping on the floor.

Viewer question: What steps did you take to protect your self while in prison?
Simon: To protect myself i just kept my head down . I was the quiet bloke who read and drank tea and just made sure it was clear never had an money.

Viewer question: What was the scariest thing about the prison?
Simon: The scariest thing was the fact that people could do just about anything they wanted. People had knives where taking drugs was often fighting and you just never really knew what was going to happen each day.

Viewer question: Simon, any plans to come to America?
Simon: I have no plans to visit America at the moment.

Viewer question: How did you feel filming this show and reliving the prison experience for the cameras?
Simon: I was just interviewed in a room for about 4 hours at times was quite difficult going back over what had happened and trying to get the story over. I did worry before the filming that it could go horribly wrong and would not come over very well but the people who made the progrm where great with me and very kind.

NOTE: In Simon's previous Q&A (April 2009, while he was still in Peru), he answered some questions that are being asked right now. Read Q&A >>

Viewer question: Simon-your friends Matt and James want to know if you ate Cuy. And, if so, what did you think of it? Was it gamey?
Simon: Yes i did eat cuy and it was ok but had a lot of bones in it.

Viewer question: Did Nat Geo help you get home?
Simon: Not directly but got my story a lot attention and I recieved a lot of help from people who had seen the program and wanted to help by writing to people raising money for me which was fantastic.

Viewer question: Were you able to contact the British Embassy or consulate and were they helpful?
Simon: The British embassy where not particularly helpful in my situation. They only really helped out near the end when I was able to head home but while in prison and once was out basically left to fend for myself.

Viewer question: How did you pay for your room and food?
Simon: My parents where paying for my room and food. Luckily Marylia, the woman I was living with, really did not want much money and paid her what we could.

Viewer question: Are you presumed innocent until proven guilty in Peru? Is Peru required to provide you with some sort of representative or legal counsel?
Simon: In Peru you actually have to prove your innocence which was why it was so long to get over with. They do supply you with a lawyer but it is just who ever is in the court on the day of the trial.

Viewer question: Did you work at all in Peru?
Simon: I was not allowed to work in Peru due to the fact I was under criminal investigation.

Viewer question: Did your government assist you in any way while you detained?
Simon: The embassy visited the jail every 3 months and gave us some money from a charity prisoners abroad. Some old newspapers and vitamins. Apart from that not really.

Viewer question: Do you know when Sarah is getting out of prison?
Simon: I have no idea when Sarah is out of prison.

Viewer question: How long did you have to stay in jail?
Simon: I was in jail for 10 months.

Viewer question: Do you have a facebook account? and could I add you?
Simon: Yes I do have facebook account. My profile photo is me in red tshirt with a beer.

Simon Is Freed!

2009-12-01T14:00:49Z

On October 11, 2009 Simon Burke was freed from house arrest in Peru.

Simon will be online to answer your questions at tonight at 10P et. While you're watching the episode on tv, Simon will be commenting about the show online while you watch!

In January 2007 Simon's friend Sarah invites him to take a vacation with her. Unknowingly to Simon, Sarah was actually traveling to Peru to smuggle cocaine back to England.

Watch more videos from Locked Up Abroad: Cuzco >>

While Simon was still in Peru, under house arrest, he updated us on what life was like for him. Read Q&A >>

Now Simon has finally been released after being trapped in Peru for nearly three years. What questions do you have for Simon? Post your comments and questions here on the blog and Simon will answer your questions during the Cuzco episode tonight December 5, starting at 10P et.

Heating a New Home

2009-11-19T15:58:47Z

The Earth's population keeps growing, but unfortunately for us, Earth itself is staying the same size. Seems like it might be a problem someday, doesn't it?

A possible future solution? Move to Mars!

There's no life on Mars today mainly because it's far too cold. To make it habitable, we'd have to warm it up.

But how?

Mars: Making the New Earth premieres tonight at 9P et/pt, part of Expedition Week.
Watch more videos from Mars: Making the New Earth >>

Trip: Update #5

2009-11-16T22:17:38Z

Getting Our Hands Dirty
by Trip Jennings
Expedition Granted Competitor

Wow, this contest has been lots of fun. I've gotten to tell lots of people about issues that I'm very passionate about, I've gotten to reconnect with old friends by asking them to vote for me on Facebook (woohoo!), and I've gotten to laugh at myself in some very silly videos. More than anything it has gotten me excited and inspired to go deep into the Congo jungle and into risky situations to protect elephants.

Now, however, the real work begins. Now that we know for sure we're going to collect elephant scat, it's time to get down to business. It's time to fundraise, get permits, and figure out the nitty-gritty of exporting elephant poop from a country like the DR Congo. It's time to get our hands dirty.

You can help! We'll be launching a preliminary project website on Thursday aimed to educate people about the devastating status of the ivory trade and about our project. You can get involved by going to our website and helping spread the word.

[Starting Thursday, Trip's website can be accessed here: www.StopIvoryPoaching.org]

Over the last month, I've gotten some interesting questions. One that I like lots is, "Are you more passionate about protecting elephants or the habitat they live in?" I'm not really sure of the answer to that question... certainly, you can't have forest elephants without forests, but can you have forests without elephants? Here's a great article that says, probably, but central African forests without elephants would be like Manhattan without any vehicles. Hard to imagine huh?
http://news.mongabay.com/2009/0409-hance_forestelephant.html

Catching a Great White

2009-11-16T18:02:16Z

Working at National Geographic, I get to see some really amazing photos.

But Expedition Great White really captured some unbelievable shots of a great white shark. It's astonishing to see these giants out of water.

Marine biologist Dr. Michael Domeier acquiring blood samples from a great white shark to test hormone levels and study their breeding patterns. The hydration hose keeps the shark's gills hydrated to keep it alive.

A shark being lifted onto the boat after it has taken a buoyed bait. The crew will take measurements and attach a tracking antenna to the dorsal fin before returning it to the water unharmed.

Expedition Great White premieres tonight at 9P et/pt, part of Expedition Week.
View more photos from Expedition Great White >>

Ben: Update #5

2009-11-16T17:35:11Z

Bringing Back the Ocean
by Ben Horton
Expedition Granted Competitor

For most of my life, the ocean has only been a few steps away, and for me it's always been a given that I could go exploring and see something beautiful on most days. Every day after school, my parents would pick me up and we'd head out in the boat to explore the reefs around my home in Bermuda.

What was once a given for me, has become rare. The fish are disappearing, the coral is bleaching, and the ocean is dying. I just spent two weeks on a remote island that should by all means have been swarming with sharks, grouper, snapper, and alive with coral. Instead, there were no sharks, the other predators were all but missing, and the coral was bleaching out, dying.

There is one thing I don't think people understand about the work that I'm doing. I'm not just trying to "save sharks," I'm trying to do my part to save the ocean that I remember from my childhood. Sharks are just the vehicle, the means to show what's happening to our planet.

At least in my opinion, they are the most important species we have in the ocean, and are one of the first species to be affected when we are doing something wrong. In a way, they represent the entire ocean. When sharks start disappearing, it won't be long until the ocean that I grew up in is no more.

Sadly, the sharks are disappearing, and the ocean that existed when I was a child is gone.

But it's not too late to bring things back to how they were. That's not to say it won't take time. Many of the species that we've all but obliterated reproduce very slowly, and continue to grow over many, many years. This is not something that we can just put money into and hope for the best. There is no debt to pay to nature that we can pay back in carbon offsets, or by signing petitions.

The changes we need to make start at home, and they grow to encompass our lives, and in the end, we hope that they will inspire others to take the same steps that we took.

Today, I started making plans to go back down to Costa Rica and meet with the scientists that I'll be working with when I do my Rio Sirena project, which has become a small part to a much larger project that I have in the works. There will be no grant for this one, most likely no credit either. But in the end, this is something that needs to happen, and I'm going to do my best to make it happen.

Ben: Update #4

2009-11-09T17:20:43Z

Letting Nature Run Wild
by Ben Horton
Expedition Granted Competitor

Last night I went to an ILCP award dinner to honor James Balog, a conservation photographer who has found a way to truly use imagery to its full potential. There were perhaps 30 of the worlds greatest conservation photographers and other scientists that we all know by name, like Jane Goodall and Sylvia Earle. When I'm surrounded by these people sitting at the same table two things happen. First, I feel a great sense of pride to be sitting with people who have accomplished so much. Second, I realize that I still have a long way to go before I'm REALLY sitting at the same table as these people. In times like this, I just sit back and shut up.

Somehow I ended up sitting next to Sylvia Earle this morning on my flight back from Mexico. For those of you who don't know who she is, she is a legendary marine biologist, and an explorer at National Geographic. She is probably one of the most powerful voices in marine conservation that we have right now. Talking with Dr. Earle, who is so passionate about her cause, made me consider my own goals, and why I'm a part of this competition.

This competition isn't about winning or losing. (That's what I'm supposed to say right? Cause I'm losing.)

For me, and I think for Trip, this is about getting our projects, and the fact that we do projects like these, out into the public eye. Don't get me wrong, I'm not throwing in the towel. I'm going to fight for every little percent of the vote that I can get, because to me, each percentage point on either side of the competition means that we have reached someone with our cause.

When I see my vote rise a few percent points, I see that as a new person coming to the website reading about our projects. This is the main reason we are doing the projects in the first place, right? To show humanity the things that need saving, or protection, because it is humanity itself that is doing the damage.

Somebody is out there buying elephant ivory still, and there are still millions of sharks killed just for their fins, because somebody is paying $400 a pound for the mythological properties the fins supposedly have.

The feeling I have felt slowly forming inside me, is that for some reason people have gotten the idea in their heads that we are the stewards of the planet, the caretakers, that the planet is ours. For some that means that we can take what we want from it, and for others it means that we must do our best to manage it. I wouldn't say it is a revelation, perhaps more of a way of looking at things, but I have come to the conclusion that we are mostly incorrect in thinking this. We need to let nature be nature. We need to have places where the human hand is removed from the equation.

We need to create places where the natural world can be what it is, wild, unrestricted, and unbridled. We also need to make sure it stays that way. That's why I am fighting so hard, not to win this competition, but to get as many people as possible to come to the website and vote. To use it as an excuse to promote the efforts that Trip and I are making to do some good for the natural world. To pick up the torch that people like Sylvia Earle have been carrying for so long.

I have a feeling that if I can reach enough people, this marine reserve I'm trying to help create will be actualized. When this protection is in place, it will be somewhere that we can let nature run wild, unrestricted, and unbridled.

Trip: Update #4

2009-11-09T14:56:18Z

Meet Team Elephant
by Trip Jennings
Expedition Granted Competitor

There is simply no way this type of project could be pulled off without a solid team containing a diverse array of skills both in collecting sound scientific data and in creating compelling media.

We have four people heading out into the field and one amazing biologist working with a team in Seattle to utilize our data. In order to succeed our field team has to be able to survive in the jungle, produce high quality media, do legitimate scientific work and - possibly most important - to leverage our media and data to create real change and protect elephants.

On nearly every project I'm involved with, I work with Kyle Dickman and Andy Maser and for this project, we're teaming up with Joe Riis for the field team.

JOE RIIS

Joe is a biologist by training but a wildlife photographer by profession. He specializes in remote imaging, setting out cameras for weeks or even months to get the perfect image. In his words: "I specialize in remote camera trap photography, which enables me to shoot close-up wide, angle photos of wild animals without human disturbance. It's like seeing through the eyes of a wild animal. I'll be setting up elephant video and photo camera traps, as well as photographing the expedition. And, of course, collecting all the elephant scat that I can fit into my backpack."

Joe's dedication to conservation is not in question. He spent the last three years living in his truck and documenting Pronghorn migration in Wyoming and Montana, using his images to advocate for conservation.

"This expedition is absolutely fascinating to me because it is two-fold. We are addressing both the demand and the supply of elephant ivory, leveraging sound science with compelling media. We collect scat that helps identify poaching hot spots and limits supply, then we photograph and film our experience with these incredible creatures, educating and inspiring our own culture to curb demand for ivory."

ANDY MASER

First off, Andy can carry a backpack a long way. That's going to be important when we've been trudging through the jungle for weeks with backpacks full of crap. That said, it's in the media realm that Andy's true skills shine.

We've worked together on video projects accepted to a long list of film festivals, which have even won a number of awards. He's a great camera-person and has lots of experience getting in - and out - of very difficult shooting situations, a must for this protect.

When we return from the field, the real work begins. One of our top goals for this project is to use social media, from blogs, to video on demand, to facebook and twitter, to reach an exponential audience in addition to major media outlets in order to educate and curb demand for ivory.

"The fact that these elephants are quickly on their way to extinction is not widely known, nor is their greater role in the critically important forest ecosystem in which they thrive. This expedition will allow us to show us that taking action at home will help ensure the survival of this iconic species."

KYLE DICKMAN

Kyle is also tough as nails and an amazing writer. He's written for Adventure Magazine, Outside Magazine, and the Smithsonian covering expeditions like this all over the world. He'll be using his writing skills to publish articles and news pieces far and wide raising awareness to the plight of elephants and the rapid rate at which they are being killed for ivory.

He was a hotshot firefighter on a crew with a strong reputation for years before becoming a full-time writer and I think that made him physically incapable of complaining. We could be sunburned, drenched, exhausted with our feet rotting from trench foot and he'd still be writing on his waterproof pad the details of the sunset and the name of that last village.

"Expeditions are a mixed bag. Sometimes, things suck. The easiest thing to do is just keep your head up and go to work," Kyle says. "Plus, for better or worse, the suffering seems to make them more memorable."

TRIP JENNINGS

Where do I fit in? Well first and foremost it's my job to design the project and put together a team that will succeed. That finished, I will be raising the funds, building a base of support in the US, and most importantly making sure that we collect usable DNA data for Dr. Wasser.

When we finally do make it into the field, I am in my element. I love traveling in the deep jungle, far away from industrialized civilization, and it's hard to get much farther away from modern civilization than the jungles of the Congo Basin. Shooting compelling video of important scientific and conservation work is my passion. Nothing makes me happier than documenting a pristine jungle and intact - albeit endangered - animals like elephants. I think it's also important, crucial even, to document the devastation, the deforested land that was once habitat and sadly, the elephants that we were not able to protect. For me it's a cathartic and healthy part of environmental journalism to document the carnage, the reason for us, and the audience of our media, to keep fighting to protect wild places and the amazing creatures that live in them.

I hope you'll help this project succeed by voting for team elephant every day!

Another Sneaker Found in Canada

2009-10-29T15:50:39Z

Just in time for Halloween, there's another twist to the disembodied feet mystery. But this is no ghosts and goblins mystery. Theories of serial killers, plane crashes and tsunami victims have been suggested.

Just this past Tuesday 10/27, another sneaker was discovered washed ashore in British Columbia. Not familiar with the case?

In late 2007, a 12-year-old girl found something unusual along the shores of an island in British Columbia: a male right foot inside a shoe that had washed up with the tide. Six days later, another foot in a sneaker had washed up, this time forty miles south. It was not the missing half of the pair however, but a different right foot. Over the next fifteen months, four more feet washed ashore in the region.

Now another sneaker has been found. Though it has not been confirmed it's related to the others, it does add another clue to this bizarre mystery.

Watch a video clip from Explorer: Mystery of the Disembodied Feet. This episode of Explorer airs again on the National Geographic Channel this Saturday October 31 at 7P et.

Learn more about this mystery and watch behind the scenes video clips on the Explorer: Mystery of the Disembodied Feet site >>

Pole-Shift Science With Adam Maloof

2009-10-28T20:05:50Z

by Adam Maloof, Geologist, Princeton University

Pole shifting is a fascinating and important process in geological history, but will have nothing to do with the Mayans or with 2012. Read on to understand why.

Earth is not a rigid sphere. In fact, the solid Earth deforms on a range of timescales, from the twice-a-day lunar-solar tide, to the rebound of the arctic regions over the past 10,000 years as the ice sheets melt and return their stored water weight to the oceans. Just under the influence of her own spin, Earth deforms into an oblate spheroid. In other words, Earth is fatter around the equator than it is at the pole by about 20 km (Fig. 1). It is this equatorial bulge that sticks out into the solar system, interacts with the moon, planets and sun, and leads to the orbital wobbles such as precession and obliquity. Precession is the wobble of Earth's spin axis that causes the zodiac to rotate through time (i.e., polaris has not always been the north star). Precession is the process that John Major Jenkins thinks the Mayans were able to observe and use to predict certain alignments on which to base their long count calendar. Obliquity is the changing tilt of Earth's spin axis with respect to the stars. Together, these wobbles (Fig. 2), known as Milankovitch cycles, modulate the amount of solar radiation that reaches Earth's surface and are thought to pace the comings and goings of ice ages over the past few million years.

Figure 1

Figure 2

Continue reading "Pole-Shift Science With Adam Maloof" >>

Ben: Update #3

2009-10-28T16:39:02Z

Saving the Predators
by Ben Horton
Expedition Granted Competitor

Editor's Note: This blog was written by Ben from the Alacranes reef in Mexico, where he is currently on a research assignment.

We really don't know exactly what a healthy marine ecosystem is supposed to look like. We do know, though, that it is supposed to be thriving with sharks and other predators that are there to manage the quantities of other fish. Somehow, over the last century, we've managed to consume such vast amounts of these animals that they are all but lost.

When you think about it, we only eat the predator fish. When we bait our hooks, it's with smaller fish, not algae or coral, both of which have fish that survive on them. This is what is in my mind right now as I explore the reaches of the Alacranes reef in Mexico. The grazer fish are everywhere, and in such vast numbers that the reef seems to be thriving, yet there is something missing: the predators. This reef system is an example of a region that has been drastically over fished. It is an example of what places like Rio Sirena in Costa Rica will become if we don't start monitoring the commercial fishing that, as I write, is going on unimpeded. Right now Rio Sirena is on the verge of becoming what the Alacranes reef is, and what most of our ocean is.

I know most people are quite glad not to see any sharks when they go to the beach, snorkeling in Hawaii or diving in Mexico. They are glad because of the horrible reputation that sharks have been given by scared humans. If people really knew what it meant to lose all of the sharks on the planet and, of course, if they knew the real nature of these animals, I think most of us would be glad to see them return.

With their return comes a balanced, thriving ocean. An ocean that we can rely on for sustenance in the future. It's not possible for me to "Save the Ocean" all at once, but by doing this expedition to Rio Sirena it is possible for us to start a pattern of changes that could save a critically endangered ecosystem.

Trip: Update #3

2009-10-21T17:50:32Z

Danger, Guns, and Drugs
by Trip Jennings
Expedition Granted Competitor

The fact that the lack of elephant DNA data is due to the uncertain political situation has not been lost on Team Elephant. During the summer of 2008 members of our team were asked to complete a similar data collecting mission. Our task was to paddle the Lower Congo Rapids and bring back data for a group of scientists, a feat which had never been accomplished without devastating loss of life to the attempting expeditions. The USGS and NOAA were interested in obtaining data not accessible to science due to the giant and dangerous rapids.

Midway through our 4 day journey downstream we were surrounded at a campsite by men carrying AK-47 rifles and yelling in Lingala, a local language. Finally, thanks to official documentation from the highest ministry in the country and lots of pantomiming, we were able to paddle downstream unscathed and "with our dignity." A full recount of our terrifying hold up is available from Canoe and Kayak Magazine here.

This experience underscored the potential for disaster and the difficulty of working in a country like the DR Congo. While meeting with Sam Wasser he described the way ivory poaching has changed over the years. According to Sam, early elephant poachers would hammer a lead pipe onto a 4x4 and use cut sections of re-bar and gunpowder for ammunition. This would of course end up blowing poachers faces off as often as it would end up killing an elephant.

Times - and guns - have changed.

The price of ivory has ballooned from $200 per kilo just over two decades ago up to $1800 per kilo in June of this year. This makes ivory more expensive than drugs in some cases and has lead to highly organized international ivory trafficking syndicates controlling the poaching industry. According to Sam Wasser, "we're not talking about poor people trying to feed their family, we're talking about very wealthy poachers here." And as in the drug industry, with wealth comes guns.

Ivory poachers in the DR Congo these days are well armed. With as violent a conflict as has raged there for years, guns are very available and cheap. Stories of elephant poachers hunting with automatic weapons or the "AK credit card" as the Kolishnacof is called in the country are common.

This risks are, however, very avoidable if we are conservative, responsible and not over confident. We'll travel with local guides into all areas that could be dangerous. The locals live there day in and day out. They know the dangerous areas and they know how to avoid them. In many cases, we'll travel with armed park guards since elephants are easiest to find in national parks, although sadly they are often not protected.

What we won't do under any circumstances, though, is carry guns ourselves. If our experience on the banks of the Congo taught us anything it was that we can talk ourselves out of a conflict much easier that we can shoot ourselves out of it, even if we don't share a common language.

Trip: Update #2

2009-10-21T17:41:07Z

The Importance of Elephant Scat
by Trip Jennings
Expedition Granted Competitor

This week I had the pleasure of meeting with Dr. Sammuel Wasser, the mastermind behind my expedition. I headed up to Seattle where his lab takes up the better part of a floor in a University of Washington science building.

Wasser, Conservation Biology department director at the university, is a pioneering biologist who has literally changed the face of his field. He's developed techniques for non-invasive research on animals from elephants to spotted owls and most surprisingly, killer whales. Non-invasive means that instead of shooting animals with tranquilizers and using radio collars or taking skin samples for DNA, he's able to study these animals just by sifting through their poop.

In 2004 Wasser fundamentally changed the way wildlife forensics works for the international policing agency INTERPOL. By analyzing DNA from the largest seizure of poached ivory since the 1989 ban and then comparing it to his DNA map of African elephant populations, he made quite a discovery. Instead of cherry picking many different African elephant herds, Wasser found that ivory poachers were actually consistently hammering the same populations time and time again, pushing them dangerously close to the brink.

Where does the poop come in? The data for his DNA map comes largely from collecting scat samples of elephants all over Africa. This discovery, enabled by poop, underscores the urgency of completing this DNA map of all elephant populations in Africa and thus the urgency of our project.

While touring Wasser's lab he repeated the importance of our expedition to his work and to preventing forest elephant herds in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) to be pushed any closer to the edge of extinction. Elephants there are not as lucky as other populations and sadly have fewer advocates. Because of the dense tree cover, aerial surveys are inaccurate and Wasser has little DNA data from the Congo. It would seem that the same threat to elephants in the area - easy access to big guns - has also intimidated many of the would-be poop scooping researchers.

Not to say that we're fearless, but my team's experience in the country during our Congo River Expedition in 2008 instilled a passion for the region's vast and, in many cases, intact wilderness and the people that inhabit it. To imagine one of the largest wilderness areas remaining in the world without their iconic species, the forest elephant, is difficult at best. The possibility that these amazing animals could disappear in our lifetime is ample motivation to put in the hours - and months - it will take to get in and out safely, with a backpack full of feces.