Steve's Herpetological Blog

An insight into the life of Steve, his research and the many books he reads

Conservation

#SteveReviews: Extinction – The Facts

This is something that I haven’t rushed to review simply because given the title of this David Attenborough special, I assumed it would be like preaching to the choir. After sitting down to watch Extinction: The Facts it is clear…

#SteveReviews: My Octopus Teacher

If 2020 has taught us anything, it is to appreciate the positives in life. There has been a vast array of depressing news and I totally understand if it has overwhelmed some people. With this in mind, I was happy…

#SteveReviews: The Mystery of the Pink Dolphin

Anyone who has read Witness to Extinction by Samuel Turvey will be able to tell you how heartbreaking the extinction of the Yangtze river dolphin (or baiji) was despite the efforts put in place to prevent it. There are a…

#StevesLibrary: The Deep

As you can probably tell, I’m no marine biologist or oceanographer. However this doesn’t mean that I can’t appreciate the vast array of life that the oceans support. I was born and grew up on the South Essex coast so…

#StevesLibrary: Invasive Aliens

In the world of conservation, there are few groups of species that catch my attention and imagination more than invasive species. These are species that have been moved outside of their native range (usually by the agency of humankind) to…

#StevesLibrary: The Aye-aye and I

The late Gerald Durrell is somewhat of a personal hero of mine, not least because he helped to reshape the course of conservation in the 20th Century along with other figures such as Sir Peter Scott. Unfortunately like most things…

#SteveReviews: Into The Forest

First off, apologies for the patchy frequency of blog posts recently. I have only just returned to the field and I had a mad period of getting ready to get back out and chase snakes. I’ll tell you more about…

#SteveReviews: The Tigers of Scotland

One thing we’re very good at doing in the UK, is focussing on conservation of endangered species in foreign countries, particularly those that we perceive as under threat such as pandas and tigers. We neglect our native species, resulting in…

#SteveReviews: Virunga

If the title of this moving documentary film didn’t already give it away, it’s main focus is the Virunga National Park in the Democratic Republic of Congo. I wasn’t quite sure what to expect in the beginning, like most I…

#SteveReviews: Mission Blue

Mission Blue is a documentary film that is also a partial biopic (that reminded me slightly of Jane) which follows the renowned oceanographer Sylvia Earle. I’d only previously heard her name in passing but after watching Mission Blue, I wish…