Tag Archives: Animals

Ecology, Ecosystems, Nature, Travel, Videos, Wildlife

Ecology: Benfits Of 50% Of Serengeti Grasslands Burning Each Year (Video)

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After receiving twelve hours of solar energy every day, the Serengeti grasslands become a tinderbox, just waiting to be lit.

The vast majority of the African fires currently burning seem to be in grasslands, in exactly the places we expect to see fires at this time of year. These fires are usually lit by cattle farmers as part of their traditional management of the savannahs where their animals graze. Some fires are started to stimulate new growth of nutritious grass for their animals, others are used to control the numbers of parasitic ticks or manage the growth of thorny scrub.

Without fires, many savannahs (and the animals they support) wouldn’t exist, and lighting them is a key management activity in many of the iconic protected areas of Africa. For instance the Serengeti in Tanzania is known worldwide for its safari animals and awe-inspiring wildebeest migration – and our work shows that around half of its grasslands burn each year.

Culture, Travel, Videos, Wildlife

Winter Travel: ‘Reindeer Moments’ From BBC Earth

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Reindeer live in some of the coldest parts of the world. Sit back and enjoy this selection of wonderful reindeer moments selected from the BBC Earth library.

The reindeer, also known as the caribou in North America, is a species of deer with circumpolar distribution, native to Arctic, sub-Arctic, tundra, boreal, and mountainous regions of northern Europe, Siberia, and North America. This includes both sedentary and migratory populations.

Arts & Literature, Books, Interviews, Pets, Podcasts

Podcast Interviews: 67-Year Old Actress And Author Isabella Rossellini On Her Love Of Animals

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LARB Los Angeles Review of BooksThis week the legendary actress, model and filmmaker Isabella Rossellini joins co-hosts Kate and Medaya to discuss her new theatrical production, Link Link Circus, her studies into animal behavior, and her long career in film and TV. 

Isabella also discusses her most recent book, My Chickens and I; as well as her previous one, Green Porno, a hugely successful multi-media project that helped revive interest in one of Isabella’s other loves, the short film form.

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Isabella Fiorella Elettra Giovanna Rossellini (born 18 June 1952) is an Italian actress, filmmaker, author, philanthropist, and model. The daughter of Swedish actress Ingrid Bergman and Italian neorealist film director Roberto Rossellini, she is noted for her successful tenure as a Lancôme model, and for her roles in films such as Blue Velvet (1986) and Death Becomes Her (1992). Rossellini also received a Golden Globe Award nomination for her performance in Crime of the Century (1996).

Rossellini is involved in conservation efforts. She is the president and director of the Howard Gilman Foundation—a leading institution focused on the preservation of wildlife, arts, photography and dance—and she has been a board member of the Wildlife Conservation Network. She received US$100,000 from Disney to help with her conservation efforts in those two organizations. She has also helped with the Central Park Conservancy, and is a major benefactor of the Bellport-Brookhaven Historical Society of Bellport, Long Island, where she is a part-time resident.[39]

Rossellini is involved in training guide dogs for the blind. She is a former trustee of the George Eastman House and a 1997 George Eastman Award honoree for her support of film preservation. She is also a National Ambassador for the U.S. Fund for UNICEF.

From Wikipedia