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General Category => Off the Record => Topic started by: Viking on November 15, 2009, 12:23:58 PM

Title: From Puffin Boy to Yi.
Post by: Viking on November 15, 2009, 12:23:58 PM
This is just so cute. I did this when I was smaller.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/8358799.stm
Title: Re: From Puffin Boy to Yi.
Post by: The Brain on November 15, 2009, 12:49:02 PM
Unlike German politicians Icelandic kids know and understand English.
Title: Re: From Puffin Boy to Yi.
Post by: Josquius on November 15, 2009, 01:12:28 PM
QuoteAnd as Simon Hancock discovers, every night during the season hundreds of children gather during the evening to round up the lost puffins - then later,
What I expected to read next considering this is Iceland is 'Devour them'. Instead though we have

Quoteto release them back into the sea.

Eh?
Title: Re: From Puffin Boy to Yi.
Post by: Viking on November 15, 2009, 01:21:12 PM
You just let your prejudices get the better of you. We only eat non-nesting adult puffins.
Title: Re: From Puffin Boy to Yi.
Post by: Richard Hakluyt on November 15, 2009, 02:01:57 PM
Yes, so the baby puffins are rescued......giving a nice feelgood factor, and then scoffed as adult birds a few years later  :)
Title: Re: From Puffin Boy to Yi.
Post by: Viking on November 15, 2009, 03:49:26 PM
Quote from: Richard Hakluyt on November 15, 2009, 02:01:57 PM
Yes, so the baby puffins are rescued......giving a nice feelgood factor, and then scoffed as adult birds a few years later  :)

Yes and? The puffin traditions allow 6 million puffins to live on a 13 sq km large island with five thousand people without being wiped out.
Title: Re: From Puffin Boy to Yi.
Post by: Richard Hakluyt on November 15, 2009, 04:12:46 PM
I'm impressed that there are so many of them. The chief puffin colony in the UK used to be on Lundy, but the population has suffered a bad decline in recent years. This article I found seems to be placing the blame for that decline on rats :

http://www.bbc.co.uk/devon/content/articles/2005/06/08/lundy_rats_feature.shtml


Title: Re: From Puffin Boy to Yi.
Post by: Viking on November 15, 2009, 04:16:31 PM
Quote from: Richard Hakluyt on November 15, 2009, 04:12:46 PM
I'm impressed that there are so many of them. The chief puffin colony in the UK used to be on Lundy, but the population has suffered a bad decline in recent years. This article I found seems to be placing the blame for that decline on rats :

http://www.bbc.co.uk/devon/content/articles/2005/06/08/lundy_rats_feature.shtml

Thats great to hear. Rats can't take the climate back at home so we don't have problems with them.
Title: Re: From Puffin Boy to Yi.
Post by: Brazen on November 15, 2009, 04:28:28 PM
Quote from: Richard Hakluyt on November 15, 2009, 04:12:46 PM
I'm impressed that there are so many of them. The chief puffin colony in the UK used to be on Lundy, but the population has suffered a bad decline in recent years. This article I found seems to be placing the blame for that decline on rats :

http://www.bbc.co.uk/devon/content/articles/2005/06/08/lundy_rats_feature.shtml
I got my puffin exposure on May Island, one of my favourite trips as a kid :)
http://www.isleofmayferry.com/home.asp
Title: Re: From Puffin Boy to Yi.
Post by: Richard Hakluyt on November 15, 2009, 04:50:46 PM
So it looks like rats may be the problem for puffins, rather than humans. I'm surprised it took them so long to work that out. I've been hearing about the declining puffin population on Lundy since I was a kid, nobody even mentioned that the island was infested with rats  :huh:
Title: Re: From Puffin Boy to Yi.
Post by: Viking on November 15, 2009, 05:45:47 PM
Quote from: Richard Hakluyt on November 15, 2009, 04:50:46 PM
So it looks like rats may be the problem for puffins, rather than humans. I'm surprised it took them so long to work that out. I've been hearing about the declining puffin population on Lundy since I was a kid, nobody even mentioned that the island was infested with rats  :huh:

They nest in underground burrows. We could have wiped them out pretty quickly by just picking eggs.
Title: Re: From Puffin Boy to Yi.
Post by: barkdreg on November 16, 2009, 12:25:16 AM
I also watched the piece about the Japanese plastiv food. Those voice-overs are horrible.....
Title: Re: From Puffin Boy to Yi.
Post by: Barrister on November 16, 2009, 01:49:40 AM
Quote from: Viking on November 15, 2009, 04:16:31 PM
Quote from: Richard Hakluyt on November 15, 2009, 04:12:46 PM
I'm impressed that there are so many of them. The chief puffin colony in the UK used to be on Lundy, but the population has suffered a bad decline in recent years. This article I found seems to be placing the blame for that decline on rats :

http://www.bbc.co.uk/devon/content/articles/2005/06/08/lundy_rats_feature.shtml

Thats great to hear. Rats can't take the climate back at home so we don't have problems with them.

We have more... direct means of taking care of rats in Alberta... :menace:

http://www1.agric.gov.ab.ca/$department/deptdocs.nsf/all/agdex3441
Title: Re: From Puffin Boy to Yi.
Post by: merithyn on November 16, 2009, 07:39:40 AM
Quote from: Viking on November 15, 2009, 03:49:26 PM
Quote from: Richard Hakluyt on November 15, 2009, 02:01:57 PM
Yes, so the baby puffins are rescued......giving a nice feelgood factor, and then scoffed as adult birds a few years later  :)

Yes and? The puffin traditions allow 6 million puffins to live on a 13 sq km large island with five thousand people without being wiped out.

And the tradition is a wonderful way to teach kids to think about something other than themselves. It's a lovely tradition, Viking. Thank you for sharing this. :)