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simonhedges.bsky.social
Conservationist for 35+ years most of them spent working on human-wildlife coexistence and focussed on elephants (and Banteng, Dhole, et al.) with WCS, IUCN, & CITES/MIKE. Now at ZSL working to maximize impact, https://linktr.ee/simonhedges1. Views my own
123 posts 468 followers 475 following
Prolific Poster

"5. Remember professional ethics.

NEW: Trump’s USAID cuts hamper US response to the earthquake in Myanmar. Employees in DC who were set to move to Asia earlier were told Friday they’ll be fired. Few are left to plan transport and payments. China and Russia send teams. Our @nytimes.com story: www.nytimes.com/2025/03/30/w...

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Frightening!

There are better ways for Rachel Reeves to find the money she needs The Taxing Wealth Report 2024 shows that this austerity is not necessary eastangliabylines.co.uk/business/eco...

I hope that they will at least remove the Code of Conduct from their website. Its function appears to be purely decorative

Our paper on how landscape evolution impacts the trajectory of life is out in @science.org! Work by two great post-docs in @iuearth.bsky.social and collaboration with the brilliant Tara Smiley of Stony Brook resulted in this. www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...

We are hiring x3! As well as 2 seasonal fiekd technicians we are looking for a postdoc to join our Cornwall Badger Project team! Please share widely! careers.zsl.org/vacancies/41...

"West Papua’s Indigenous people have called for a boycott of #KitKat, #Smarties and #Aero chocolate, #Oreo biscuits and #Ritz crackers, and the cosmetics brands #Pantene and #HerbalEssences, over alleged ecocide in their territory." #deforestation #palmoil www.theguardian.com/world/2025/m...

When will politicians finally realise that mental health illness is as valid as physical conditions? #Mencap #MentalHealth #NHS

We are hiring!!! Please share widely careers.zsl.org/vacancies/42...

Brilliant news! At last, confirmation that the Govt *will* go ahead with the #NaturalHistoryGCSE 🎉 We have to get to know our fellow travellers on this planet again. Young people who know & love nature are far more likely to protect & restore it - as well as enjoying better physical & mental health

For International Forests Day I want to celebrate a poorly appreciated ecosystem. Dry Tropical Forests. In this case Deciduous Dipterocarp Forest in Cambodia.

Land use & climate change are expected to interact to shape biodiversity- but how do we translate the available knowledge into management recommendations? We applied a new framework to illustrate how these interactions may play out for gallery forests in W Africa, & identify what’s likely to help

A fantastic book. A perfect combination of knowledge from both lived experience and scientific studies to really get to grips with these two troubled species. And the story so well told by @richardkbroughton.bsky.social. Let’s hope we still have the birds as well as the book 20-30 years from now.

www.science.org/content/arti... 🧪🌎🦑

Do you want to be a leader of impactful conservation projects? Our MSc Conservation Leadership can be studied as a distance learning online course from Sept (subject to final UWE approval). Find out more at our open day on Sat 22 March: www.uwe.ac.uk/events/postg... #conservation #naturerecovery

A new study highlights the urgent need to integrate chimpanzee cultural preservation with conservation. It documents the loss of a socially-learned behavior — a mating signal — among a group of chimps following the poaching of all of the male members. Once lost, behaviors take years to reemerge.

Calling all conservationists and nature enthusiasts! We have a Bluesky starter pack of IUCN SSC accounts. Use the link to quickly follow members, Specialist Groups, Committees and Task Forces in the IUCN SSC network. And if you know of anyone we should add, please reply! go.bsky.app/4mGN37B 🌍🧪

Dystopian chaos. A frightening read #CDC DOGE is driving America’s public-health guardians mad econ.st/3XKtipZ

Cartoonists are not short of inspiration these days. With #MAGA #Musk and the #GOP it's easy easy. Below are a few masterpieces. #Cartoon #art - #Tariff #Terror #Bullying #vindictive - MAGA #Sucks #Hard

#PlasticWaste and #PlasticPollution We are choking this planet, and the costs are rising fast #FoodSecurity www.theguardian.com/environment/...

Kevin is a good friend and colleague. Please share widely and feel free to pass along any opportunities that might be a good fit!

From @vox.com, “Job cuts and frozen funding could inch one of the world’s rarest species even closer to extinction.” 🌍🧪🦤 www.vox.com/down-to-eart...

Great new paper from Alyona Kashkina from @acbk.bsky.social and colleagues, on the (relatively positive) view that people across Kazakhstan have of wolves, and their suggestions towards coexistence besjournals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/pdf/10.1... @peopleandnature.bsky.social

So there are now equal numbers of Reform and @greenparty.org.uk MPs. Will we now get equal media time? www.theguardian.com/politics/202...

Man I wish I had done something like this. It’s probably good that I didn’t. But boy howdy there are stories.

Appeal Court *very slightly* reduces sentences on some of the 16 peaceful climate protesters, jailed for total of 41 years. This isn’t justice. People desperate for climate action to save lives treated like organised criminals, while big oil & gas get away with ecocide @defendourjuries.bsky.social

Really should come as no suprise to anybody who works in #wildlife #conservation!

#quail poaching, illegal finch trapping, #poisoning, report on illegal trapping of birds in Cyprus in autumn 2024 and unfortunatly much more 👇 @birdlifeeurope.bsky.social @birdlifeglobal.bsky.social @arielbrunner.bsky.social

Groundbreaking study with worrying implications. Informative, wry thread below post too. Definitely worth a read #amphibians #climatechange

Right now, the UK Government is considering cuts to the nature-friendly farming budget – the biggest pot of funding for nature. Here’s why that would be a disaster for farmers, food security, and wildlife. A thread. 🧵👇

Have you seen a hedgehog, fox or badger lately? 🦔🦊🦡 Your sightings can provide crucial insights to help us protect and restore wildlife. 🌱 Nature can recover - take part in @londonhogwatch.bsky.social survey today and make a difference: bit.ly/3EMoE4t #ZSL #LondonHogWatch

Wild beavers have legally returned to English waterways for the first time in four centuries. Alex Thomson explains why the release of these remarkable engineers into the wetlands of Purbeck in Dorset is so important.

Just ordered my copy and looking forward to reading it! #Hope

Are you sure that's a Leopard Cat (Prionailurus bengalensis)? Looks like a Leopard (Panthera pardus) to me

“I’ve worked as an ecologist for 40 years, and this is the most optimistic time in my career without a doubt. We are visibly, measurably recovering #nature and that is so exciting, it is a real buzz. That hope is so precious.” #ConservationOptimism www.theguardian.com/environment/...

NEW PAPER: looking into the erosion of southern mountain caribou migrations. Over 35 years, migration distances shrank 15-25%, and elevational migrations are collapsing. Habitat loss, not weather, likely the main culprit. A major conservation challenge ahead. onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/...

Inspiring evening @zslofficial.bsky.social hearing about the Back from the Brink programmes @zslscience.bsky.social

Hello future Administration Assistant! 🐦 We are #hiring now and would love to hear from you. Keep our Brussels office running and help us save birds and nature! Application closes March 21st, 23:45CET Details below👇 #vacancy #brusselsjobs

Find out more about a “Pesticide-Free Devon”: looks like an interesting event for those in the Southwest of England: www.greenfutures-newtonabbot.co.uk/pesticide-fr...

Very cool!

In Zimbabwe, communities are finding ways to coexist with wildlife. With support from @fao.org & partners, conservancies are reducing human-wildlife conflict while creating new opportunities 🔗 bit.ly/4bokCv3 #WorldWildlifeDay @ec.europa.eu @cifor-icraf.bsky.social @wcs.org @cirad.bsky.social

Thrilled to announce the 2025 @indianapolisprize.bsky.social Emerging Conservationist Winner! Read and watch below to learn more about Mwezi "Badru" Mugerwa and his groundbreaking work to protect African golden cats.

Very excited to see my research featured in Nature Africa! 🐆📸🎙️ We used a combo of #cameratraps and #bioacoustics to demonstrate that leopards have individually identifiable roars! @wildcru.bsky.social @britishecologicalsociety.org @uniexecec.bsky.social www.nature.com/articles/d44...