Tigers - Tragically almost gone

I took my two year old niece to the zoo the other day. She had been before and when I told her we were going to go see the animals she said, "Tiger. Tiger hug." She remembered seeing the tigers and clearly she liked them as she also wanted to hug them. Just to be clear, I am a good uncle and didn't let her hug the tiger. But, as with all apex animals, they have a special place in the hearts and minds of people.

This last week there has been a "tiger summit" held in St. Petersburg, Russia. There, members of the countries that have populations of tigers were discussing what should be done to protect these amazing cats.

But here are the unpleasant facts.

There are 9 subspecies of tiger (panthera tigris). Three are already extinct, the Bali Tiger, the Java Tiger and the Caspian Tiger (although the Caspian tiger may have been a seperate population of Siberian tiger)
Of the remaining six subspecies...
Bengal Tiger - according to the last audit done by the National Tiger Conservation Authority there are 1,411 left in the wild. That is a 60% decline in the last 10 years.
Indochinese Tiger - estimates of 1,200 - 1,800 left
Malayan Tiger - 600 - 800 left
Sumatran Tiger - 400 - 500 left
Siberian Tiger - the largest tiger - only 450 -500 left in the wild
South China Tiger - probably extinct in the wild and only 59 in captivity

So this means that there are a total of 4,000 - 5,000 tigers left in the wild. 100 years ago this number was 100,000 tigers.

Why the decline. It is not because of any natural disaster or change in climate. The drop in tiger populations is a direct result of human activity. Habitat destruction is one of the biggest threats. People destroy the tiger's natural habitat for agriculture, industry, homes etc. Poaching for the tigers pelt is another big problem. And the use of tiger parts in traditional Chinese medicine (which has now been banned in China) still takes place.

Lets put these numbers in perspective. If one tiger is killed, it represents approximately 0.0002% of the total population. With almost 7 billion people in the world, that would be like killing 1,400,000 people. With each death of a tiger there is also a reduction in the genetic diversity of their populations.

The World Wildlife Fund and other experts estimate that if nothing is done to protect tigers they will be extinct in 12 years. My niece would only be fourteen years old and there would be no tigers left living in the wild. There would be captive tigers, but even with breeding programs their fate wouldn't look good. By the way, on the Chinese calendar, the years that tigers could become extinct is also the year of the tiger.

It is clearly an uphill battle for the tiger. It is good to see that the countries at the "tiger summit" seem to be serious about protecting the tiger. And we should protect it. Tigers have played a huge role in human mythology, folklore and culture. It would be a shame and shameful to lose them.

Survivor Nicaragua - FINALLY some real game play!

I am a Survivor fan. No doubt about that. I love seeing the locations, the challenges, the hardships, the social interaction and above all good game play. This season however, has been the season of WTF are they doing? I have never seen a bigger group of morons trying to play the game of Survivor. Now, maybe this is not a fair judgement to make. It is true that we were spoiled last season by watching a group of professionals play the game. Who could compare to that? Who could compare to the moves made by, in my opinion, the two best players ever to play the game, Parvati and Russell. (I have to rank Parvati above Russell because she could easily play him).

So ten episodes into this season we finally see the group coming to their senses and making good moves. Brenda and Sash have been in charge of the game. We all saw it. I guess it took them a little longer to see it. They needed to be broken up. I personally would have targeted Sash because I think he is more dangerous than Brenda. Actually as I type this I have just convinced myself that Brenda is probably the more dangerous. This could be because I am a guy and, like Chase, could probably be blinded by a beautiful woman. I liked Brenda and was a little sad to see her go but it was the right move.

Now lets take a look at the other players. Players that have surprised me.

Holly. I didn't care much for Holly at the start. When she wanted to quit I was saying, "Let her quit." Why did she listen to Jimmy Johnson and stay. But she has started to play the game. People are starting to listen to her. She very astutely pointed out the power that Brenda and Sash had. I am liking her now.

Jane. I like her. I loved that she has now won two endurance challenges. Marty is right about her. She could be a real threat if she gets to the end.

Fabio. The dumb blonde is not so dumb. I have like Fabio since the beginning. He was just funny at first. But it is clear that his head is in the game. He is a lot smarter than he comes across. Good move to be on the side pushing to get Brenda out.

Naonka. Oh dear... I would hate to say that I am liking her. I don't like her for a lot of reasons which I'm sure are obvious. But I have to give her credit. Once she saw that Brenda was a threat she was whole heartedly for getting her out. She even turned to Fabio! A guy she has dissed at every possible chance. She even had the guts to tell Sash the way things were going to happen. Good for her. Will this mean that she is a new smart and nice person. I kind of doubt it but she made good moves that have really changed the game.

Benry. I half like him and half don't. I think that he is lucky to still be here and to have sided with the right side so far. But I don't really know where he is going.

Chase. Wishy washy is the corect term. And dangerous. You don't want to tell him your plans because he will go tell them to everyone. He should be worried.

Purple Kelly and Dan. Who are they?

Sash. Don't like him, don't trust him. My impression is that he is sneaky and will not hesitate to backstab you to get ahead. That is just what he did. Backstabbed his number one partner in crime, Brenda. Of course he was never going to give her the idol. What person would? (except of course in certain situations where it is of real strategic value as it was when people like Russell and Parvati did it). And then he also voted for her. She didn't have a chance.

Brenda. Again, so sorry to see you go. You were strong. Your alliance with Sash was strong. That I think is the reason you were voted out. I'll miss you. But now the game is so much more exciting.

So the game has begun.

I still don't have a favourite to win, but I wouldn't mind seeing it be Jane or Fabio or even Holly. Who knows?


On another note.

If you have not been watching the Camp Ponderosa videos you should. It gives you a lot more insight into the game when you see players that have been voted out talking about the game. Also you get to learn more about them as people. Alina, for example. I didn't know much about her or really care for her personality. Once I watched her at Ponderosa, I discovered that she is a very smart, very likable person.

And a final note.

Everyone knows that Survivor is on Wednesdays now, but I thought I would include a little video I made before the season started stating just that. Enjoy.

Death of the Doctor

I just watched the episode of "The Sarah Jane Adventures" titled "Death of the Doctor".

For those who don't know, "The Sarah Jane Adventures" is a spin-off show from "Doctor Who" that follows the adventures of the Doctor's former companion, Sarah Jane Smith. She was the companion to the Third Doctor, the Fourth Doctor and then again for a brief time with the Tenth Doctor. The show is really a children's show so the tone of it is much lighter and simple than it's parent show. It also clearly has a smaller budget. I don't normally watch "The Sarah Jane Adventures" as its childish tone gets to me after a while. That being said, I have been sure to watch both times when the Doctor has made an appearance on the show.

This time it was the Eleventh Doctor's turn. The story (warning spoilers) has UNIT coming to Sarah Jane to tell her the bad news that the Doctor is dead. A race called the Shansheeth, basically intergalactic undertakers, have found the Doctor's body on another planet and returned it to Earth due to the Doctor's fondness of the planet and the fact that his home planet, Gallifrey, no longer exists. It turns out of course that the Doctor is not dead, the Shansheeth have stolen the Tardis and are using Sarah Jane and company's memories to create a key to the Tardis so that they can get inside. Meanwhile the Doctor uses a rough space teleport device to get to Earth and ultimately stop the Shansheeth. A very simple and at times silly story.

What I really liked about this episode was seeing the Doctor and Sarah Jane back together and the pleasant surprise that they also brought back Jo Grant, companion to the Third Doctor. There were some great moments between Sarah Jane and Jo as they talked about the Doctor. Sarah Jane revealed that she had seen him again. Jo was sad that she had not. My favourite part was the conversation that the Doctor had with Jo. The Doctor had left and he had told her that she would see him again. He promised. But she never saw him again. She had waited and waited. The Doctor then tells her that she has lived an amazing life and that he is aware of the things she has done. While he doesn't look back, in fact he can't, the last time he was dying he, "looked back on all of you. Every single one. And I was so proud."

Russell T Davies wrote this episode. I guess this is the only time he has written for the Eleventh Doctor. It was nice to have some more RTD Doctor scenes. He is great at writing those little emotional moments.

Matt Smith also plays a very good Doctor and I am looking forward to more of him when the Christmas special airs and then with series 6. You can expect to see some reviews of that.

Also visit my youtube channel for video reviews.
http://www.youtube.com/user/TheBenStacey

Ben Stacey

The Ben Stacey

Welcome to my blog. I am The Ben Stacey.

Why, The Ben Stacey? Well, quite simply that is my name. The "The" was added when I set up my first youtube channel, which by the way is http://www.youtube.com/user/TheBenStacey . I always hate it when you go to set up an internet account of any kind and you discover that your name has been taken. I didn't want to be Ben Stacey 268 or any other number for that matter. So I typed in The Ben Stacey and it was available! Hurray! Of course in my mind I am and have always been the only Ben Stacey. For those of you that happen to be Ben Staceys, I'm sure you feel the same.

So what will The Ben Stacey blog about? (I promise that I will stop typing in the third person. I really am not a megalomaniac)
This will be a blog about anything that I find interesting. I am a video producer and filmaker so I will certainly be blogging about that. I will do the odd review of films and television when the mood strikes. I have a love for all of nature so that will also feature prominently. Science and reason are subjects of great importance to me. And from time to time I will post musings on any other topics that interest me.

I hope you read and enjoy.

Ben