One of our friends and supporters; Barbara Crane Navarro, is the founder of the Rainforest Art Project, Gold Mining Is Destroying the Amazon and Its Indigenous People. Please Support the Rainforest Art Project. – World Animals Voice

It is dangerous out there; trying to speak up for and protect the natural people of the forest.

 

‘Heartbroken’: family pay tribute to Dom Phillips and Bruno Pereira

Colleagues call for journalist and Indigenous activist’s work to be inspiration to others

• Brazil police find two bodies in search for missing men
• The writer and the activist: how they bonded over the Amazon

Phillips, 57, and Pereira, 41 went missing on 5 June, at the end of a short trip down the Itaquaí River in western Brazil. Photograph: Ueslei Marcelino/Reuters

The family of Dom Phillips have spoken of their heartbreak over the murder of the British journalist and the Indigenous activist Bruno Pereira as colleagues said the men’s work would be an inspiration to others.

In a statement issued on behalf of Phillips’ sister Sian, his brother Gareth, and their partners and children, the family offered their thanks to those who had taken part in the 10-day search.

The Repórter Brasil news and investigations website, with whom Phillips collaborated, blacked out the top of its front page. “Mourning”, it said. “Repórter Brasil continues to investigate violence against traditional people in the countryside, as well as against all who defend you”, it said.

Phillips, 57, and Pereira, 41 went missing on 5 June, at the end of a short trip down the Itaquaí River in western Brazil.

Pereira was accompanying Phillips on a reporting trip for a book about sustainable development in the Amazon but their boat did not arrive as scheduled at Atalaia do Norte, not far from Brazil’s border with Peru.

At a press briefing late on Wednesday, the regional police chief, Eduardo Fontes, announced that one of the two men arrested in connection with the pair’s disappearance had confessed to killing them.

Philips’ siblings said in their statement that were particularly grateful for the leading efforts of the Indigenous people at a time when the local authorities were widely regarded as having taken a lethargic approach to the men’s disappearance.

With reference to the two men’s partners, Alessandra and Beatriz, the family wrote: “We are heartbroken at the confirmation that Dom and Bruno were murdered and extend our deepest sympathies to Alessandra, Beatriz and the other Brazilian family members of both men. We are grateful to all those who have taken part in the search, especially the Indigenous groups who worked tirelessly to find evidence of the attack.”

The statement went on: “In due course we will offer our perspective on the courageous lives and important work of these remarkable men but for the moment, we request that representatives of the media allow the family some peace to deal privately with what has happened to their beloved Dom.

“We thank the many people who have joined us in urging the authorities to intensify the search and those who have reached out with wards of comfort and sympathy.”

The suspect who confessed to taking part in the murder of Phillips and Pereira informed the police on Tuesday of the location of the bodies and he joined investigators to retrieve them on Wednesday.

The location, an area known as the Lago do Preguiça is 1hr 40min by boat from the river town of Atalaia do Norte and another 1.9 miles by foot into dense forest.

Phillips’ wife, Alessandra Sampaio, had issued a statement on Wednesday evening in which she spoke of her relief that the bodies had been recovered after an agonising week and a half.

“This tragic outcome puts an end to the anguish of not knowing Dom and Bruno’s whereabouts,” she wrote.

“Now we can bring them home and say goodbye with love. Today, we also begin our quest for justice. I hope that the investigations exhaust all possibilities and bring definitive answers on all relevant details as soon as possible.”

Pereira’s wife, Beatriz Matos, tweeted: “Now that Bruno’s spirits are wandering in the forest and spread among us, our strength is much greater.”

Guardian editor-in-chief Katharine Viner said she was “deeply saddened”.

“Dom was an outstanding reporter and long-term contributor to the Guardian”, she said. “His brave and humane journalism did so much to bring the stories of Brazil and Latin America to a global audience, through the pages of the Guardian and other news organisations.

“Bruno Pereira was a renowned defender of the rights of Brazil’s Indigenous peoples and totally committed to the traditional peoples of the Amazon. At the Guardian we are so very sorry to hear this heartbreaking news and all our thoughts are with Dom and Bruno’s families and friends.”

Jonathan Watts, the Guardian’s global environment editor, said he hoped that the two men’s lives would be an inspiration to those who cared about the Amazon.

“This is a horror story that will chill anyone who is a journalist, anyone who cares about the Amazon, about Indigenous people, about our planetary life support systems,” Watts said. “But I hope it will inspire rather than deter editors and reporters, so that there is even more attention on the stories that Dom cared about.

“I really hope that the work Dom started can be continued and amplified. And that for me would be the only way something decent could come out of something so utterly monstrous.”

Pat Venditti, executive director of Greenpeace UK, praised Phillips and Pereira as “brave, passionate and determined men”.

In a statement, he said the men “were murdered while doing their vital work of shining a light on the daily threats Indigenous peoples in Brazil face as they defend their land and their rights”.

Venditti accused Brazil’s far-right president, Jair Bolsonaro, of giving “political and moral licence for predatory activities in and around Indigenous lands”.

“The greatest tribute we can pay Bruno and Dom now is to continue their vital work until all of Brazil’s peoples and their forests are fully protected,” the Greenpeace official added. A crowdfunding campaign has been launched to support the families of Dom Phillips and Bruno Pereira. Donate here in English or here in Portuguese.

Regards Mark

Here are the latest bird photographs from Pauline which she took during her recent travels in Kent, England.

You can view all of her previous pictures by clicking and then further selecting from:

https://worldanimalsvoice.com/?s=pauline

Thanks Pauline as always for your great photos to share with us;

Regards Mark

There was a party this weekend (4/6/22) at ‘Buck House’; or Buckingham Palace as it is better known.

Why ? – because Her Majesty the Queen is celebrating her platinum jubilee – a celebration held to mark an anniversary. Among monarchies, it usually refers to a 70th anniversary.  So 70 years as the head of the British Commonwealth and all its people.  There have been big events all over the UK and many other commonwealth nations to celebrate this rather amazing event.

Her majesty joined in the fun by having Paddington Bear to tea, complete with marmalade sandwiches !!

Our great animal advocate Brian May of ‘Queen’ started the party as always; and it was especially great to see him in his Badger suit; having done so much in recent times to help stop the badger cull.

Setts, Drugs and Rock n Roll by Dr Brian May:

England: Setts, Drugs and Rock n Roll. Dr Brian May Speaks In Defence of Badgers at Oxford University.

Here is Brian in his badger jacket – right hand breast pocket area:  https://youtu.be/RvNYGDQiNWg

As the darkness arrived, the palace became a huge ‘screen’ showing an amazing record of the life of the queen, and a section given by Prince William on the environment and the importance of working to stop climate change and help protect the animal species of the world.

See the princes speech here – and you can see how the palace became an environmental screen for a few minutes on this issue – it was impressive !

Personally, for me, there was just one person who was missing; and that was Princess Diana, the people’s Princess.  If she were still here today then she would have played a major part in the protection of the environment and animals – that was the kind of person we had in her.

Regards Mark

Butterflies and moths have numerous behavioral and physical differences.

Say the word “butterfly” and a brilliant, orange-and-black-winged Monarch butterfly may fly through your mind. Say “moth,” meanwhile, and the brain may conjure up an image of a dull, brown-winged pest that nibbles holes through clothing.

But is appearance really the main difference between these two types of winged insects? What exactly is the difference between moths and butterflies?

It turns out the difference is more than wing deep.

Moths and butterflies both belong to the order Lepidoptera, but there are numerous physical and behavioral differences between the two insect types.

Related: How do mosquitoes sniff out humans to bite?

First of all, moths are much more diverse than butterflies. There are about 160,000 species of moths, according to the Smithsonian Institution(opens in new tab), versus about 11,000 of butterflies.

Both types of insects have scales on their wings. But moths tend to have drab, brown or beige wings, while butterflies are typically more brilliantly decorated, Smithsonian Institution notes. 

This coloration difference may in part be due to behavioral differences between the two types of insects. Moths are nocturnal and try to camouflage themselves during the day on dark objects like bark and leaves. 

Butterflies also camouflage themselves in this way, but they are diurnal, meaning they spend the daylight hours flitting from flower to flower sipping nectar. Their brightly colored wings are often an attempt to tell predators that they contain nasty-tasting chemicals, according to Reiman Gardens at Iowa State University(opens in new tab).

Another behavioral difference between the two is that butterflies usually fold their wings back to rest, while moths flatten their wings against their bodies, BBC’s Science Focus reported(opens in new tab).

Their pupal stage (between the larva and adult stages) is slightly different, too. Moths make cocoons wrapped in silk. Butterflies, on the other hand, form chrysalises, which are hard, smooth and silkless, according to the Lewis Ginter Botanical Garden(opens in new tab) in Henrico, Virginia.

Other physical differences abound. Butterfly antennae are thin with club-shaped tips, compared with the feathery or comb-like antennae of moths. 

In addition to the difference in wing coloration, with butterflies sporting more vibrant colors, moth wings, unlike butterfly wings, have a structure called a frenulum, which joins the forewing to the hind wing.

Though these various traits usually distinguish a butterfly from a moth, there are numerous exceptions to these rules. The comet moth or Madagascan moon moth (Argema mittrei) sports brilliant yellow wings dotted with bright red spots and is active during the day, according to the National History Museum(opens in new tab) in London. And the endangered Schaus swallowtail (Heraclides aristodemus ponceanus), which lives in Florida’s swamps, has rather boring brown coloration, speckled with some white spots, according to the University of Florida(opens in new tab).

Regards Mark

Today we’re taking a walk through the clouds to visit one of the most beautiful and biodiverse places on the planet. Costa Rica’s Monteverde Cloud Forest is in the Tilarán mountain range 5,000ft (1,524m) above sea level. Hundreds of different animal species and thousands of insect and plant species call the forest home. Diligent nature lovers could count nearly 700 types of butterflies and 500 species of orchids during a visit. Famous in the scientific community, the forest also attracts more than 70,000 tourists a year.

You may be wondering, what exactly is a ‘cloud forest?’ They’re forests high enough above sea level to be covered by persistent mist and fog generated by the forest’s own evaporating moisture. This makes for a damp and humid, yet cool environment. Generally tropical, they’re pretty rare. Only 1% of the current global woodland is considered true cloud forest. They are entirely dependent on an area’s local climate, so many of the 736 current ‘cloud forest’ locations are expected to change in the coming years. Monteverde, in fact, is where the first climate-related species extinction was recorded. In the 1980s, the golden toad fell victim to a parasitic fungus that spread into the area due to the changing climate.

Monteverde Cloud Forest Reserve – Bing images

monteverde costa rica – Search (bing.com)

Regards Mark