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Short Walks. The Lionspruit fence is live and the tortoises dead. Lots of them. My Blog has one article on this problem so far..... will do more with horrible pics like this.

#bigfivewars #conservation #nature #biodiversity #photography

Barbed Wire. For use in my blog series about the effect the Big Five Industry has on wildlife.

#bigfivewars #wire #socialmedia #photography #bissetcollection

This month, been here two years, found ONE chameleon in Marloth, ONE. Many reasons for only a few found here. BUT. Bottom line? Illegal Wildlife Trading. Will put my head on a block for that one, logical... And. That funny part of my brain that just knows stuff? It tells me this too.

#socialmedia #bigfivewars #nature #biology #biodiversity #photography #chameleon #endangered #krugernationalpark #southafrica #retile

Bisset Collection – Glass CoastersCoasters – Square Glass Sets100mmx100mmHigh-quality photo coasters make great corporate gifts and talking pointsSet of 12 different Bisset Collection photos of your choiceObviously your logo will replace the Bisset one!R800.00   —INCLUDING Delivery anywhere in South Africa.

Big Five Wars is my main mission for now and they also get updated regularly.

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Persistent Organic PollutantsThis is a new phrase for me and think it will be worthwhile looking into. To see how many of these are freely available in South Africa. Will get there, learning names then looking them up is not my forte. But here is my list for future reference.The 12 initial persistent organic pollutants (POPs), often called the “dirty dozen,” are a group of toxic, man-made chemicals targeted for global elimination under the Stockholm Convention on Persistent Organic Pollutants. 

They are divided into three main categories:

Pesticides

Aldrin: Used on soils to kill termites, corn rootworms, and grasshoppers.

Chlordane: Used widely to control termites and agricultural pests.

DDT: Used extensively to fight insect-borne diseases like malaria and as an agricultural insecticide.

Dieldrin: Used primarily against termites and textile pests.

Endrin: Sprayed as an insecticide on crop leaves.

Heptachlor: Used to kill soil insects and termites.

Hexachlorobenzene (HCB): Used as both a pesticide and an industrial chemical.

Mirex: Used mainly to combat fire ants and termites.

Toxaphene: Used as an insecticide on cotton, cereal grains, and livestock. 

Core Characteristics

Persistence: They remain intact in the environment for years or decades because they resist chemical, biological, and photolytic breakdown.

Bioaccumulation: They build up in the fatty tissues of living organisms, meaning their concentration increases as they move up the food chain in a process called biomagnification.

Long-Range Transport: Wind and water currents carry them across global boundaries, contaminating remote regions like the Arctic and Antarctica where they were never used.

Toxicity: Exposure to even low levels is linked to serious health threats, including cancer, birth defects, and immune or endocrine system disruption.

Those lists take 5 seconds to find………..

That the chemicals are in stuff passed by our safety boards is still been used is much harder to prove. One can see the incidents, even deaths of some children a while back… ALL gets blamed on the Informal Markets and… of course the foreigners….

I don’t believe that for a nano second. I am sure as I learn to research in cyber I will be able to prove this in time.

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Yellow Bellied Sand SnakeThis is a very fast snake! One must have very quick hands to catch one of them, that is for sure. This one was coming along, in the opposite direction, on a game path I was following. Usually they are gone in a flash, this guy seemed more curious than scared.

I took a few close up photos, from those took these below, and cut out the background. NOT AI!!!! GIMP.

Here are a few facts about this little animal taken from The African Snakebite InstituteFull Name: Western Yellow-bellied Sand Snake (Psammophis subtaeniatus)

Other Names: Stripe-bellied Sand Snake, Westelike Geelpenssandslang, Westelike Streeppenssandslang

Classification: MILDLY VENOMOUS

Map indicating the distribution of the Western Yellow-bellied Sand Snake in Southern Africa.

A fast-moving, slender snake that averages 50-80 cm. This snake is active during the day and is without doubt one of our fastest snakes. It is fond of basking but will move off rapidly if disturbed. It is comfortable in trees and shrubs.

Big Five Wars is my main mission for now and they also get updated regularly.

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The “Quiet” Chemical Killers – ChlorineStarted with the Doom Fogger , just one of the 100s of chemicals used extensively in the Game Lodges.To write on every type of Doom like spray to prove it should not be allowed in ANY Reserves would be a mission on its own there are so many. Later I will just attack , ja attack, we not playing Painball here, every single shop in the Parks that sell any poisons.  The “Quiet” ones will have to point out. Although should NOT have to point it out to ANY Lodge owner. The ALL say they support Nature Conservation, claim huge knowledge of the subject for the most part….

Every 5 Star Lodge has at least one , crystal clear pool, and every one I have seen, the runoff just goes into the ground. This is what the Greenpeace site told me.

Pool chlorine runoff damages the environment by altering soil chemistry, killing local vegetation, and introducing toxic chemical residue into natural water sources. In Bushveld and game-lodge settings, this contaminated backwash or overflow endangers localized wildlife, amphibians, and sensitive aquatic ecosystems.

Climate Change? Have a theory just recently about this. We all know it is a money making thing, but too many people believe the Trust the Science “facts”, still!! After looking at poisons for one month only, the Climate Change is Mickey Mouse, even if all we read is true.  Recently the Bees got a bit of attention, they die , we die. This is biologically sound reasoning. BUT. Few things, first it is NOT only if the Bees go, we are at a point that the loss of even one tiny species of insect more and we take another big step towards …well, Armageddon. Then, I have just checked on all the insecticides/pesticides. I was sure they ALL kill bees, then I researched and found out this is 100% true. We have not even looked at herbicides yet!! That is another big issue I shall get to, as Agri Chems are just as bad. Time…. I will get there.

The reason that this chemical became the do all and end all of a clean pool is not a surprise……

The Post-WWII Backyard Boom & Mass Production

Chlorine production scaled up massively during World War I and II for industrial and chemical warfare purposes. When the war ended, chemical manufacturers had vast amounts of infrastructure to repurpose. [1]

A lot of things we EAT have a similar history!!!

I will make a quick post on that, but as you know, my concern for the general unwashed masses is not…. that great. It will be a just facts one.

Big Five Wars is my main mission for now and they also get updated regularly.

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The New Mexican Chronicles – One

Bilbo Baggins said something along the lines of: ‘One ought to be very careful when one steps out of one’s door, as one never knows where one may end up.’I stepped out of the proverbial door with the intention of getting horribly drunk at the local pub, which was conveniently within walking distance. I was doing just this when someone I’d had a nodding acquaintance with ten years back in the army, walked into the pub.

We were both not working me by choice because I had just sold my house and inherited a nice sum of money, Trevor because he couldn’t find work at that time. Anyway, Trevor had heard that, somewhere in Pretoria, a company was looking for men with operational experience to train troops in some African country, and they were paying very well – in Dollars! He had a contact name: Sergeant Pelsur, a company name: Executive Something, and a telephone number he was too bloody scared to act on. Well, I’m not known to be a man who sits on his hands, so after a good few drinks, off we went to my girlfriend’s house to make the call. All went well and an appointment was set up for the following day.

This, by the way, was Monday. I gave Trevor some money for petrol and booze and we both tried to find our old army records. My girlfriend Charmaine came home and I told her the news. She took it quite well but her 17-year-old daughter, Samantha, was none too happy. And that is another tale with a Devil’s Tail attached. The next morning, after my customary breakfast of a six-pack and a few shots of vodka……. to be continued

Big Five Wars is my main mission for now and they also get updated regularly.

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The Mexican Horse Thief

Section Eight Solutions

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Big Five Wars – Petitions.

Help Needed!

Working on the Pen is Mightier than the Sword surmise, I looked at this Petition story. As you know, never being one for signing them, never mind making one up myself. This is a place I am looking for help! Not your money but time and expertise . There is a big list of what is needed and has to be done

What  is what is needed to get one going from the Doom Fogger alone! Time and the fact that the wifi here is terrible…. I cannot make this type of thing right now. (War Chest needs donations please!!!)

Broader Pesticide and Chemical Petitions

While household aerosol brands like Doom are not singled out for bans, civil society groups and environmental organizations frequently run campaigns targeting highly hazardous pesticides, agricultural chemicals, and toxic street pesticides. You can look into broader active campaigns via platforms like Awethu or organizations like groundWork and the African Centre for Biodiversity which campaign against toxic agrotoxins and double standards on hazardous chemicals.

I shall write to the organization above, but hold little hope…. Awethu I shall not bother, more concerned about the colour of my skin than what I have to show them.

The only legal action I can find with Doom in it is that Preacher that sprayed “HOLY”  Doom on idiots..

The “Prophet of Doom” Case: Rather than a consumer ban, legal action has successfully addressed the misuse of Doom. The Limpopo High Court issued a permanent interdict and a criminal conviction for assault against a pastor who sprayed congregants in the face with Doom insecticide under the guise of religious healing.

Perhaps someone reading this will know how to get a Doom Fogger Petition running? If so I will post it all over !!

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Doom Fogger Based on the fact that just about every single place I have been in the wild country, to work or just to visit, has had DOOM FOGGERS! Either saw them used or saw them in the supply cupboards, waiting……Let us investigate the damage the Big Five, Five Star Lodges IN our reserves, both government and private do with just this ONE. The articles up to now have been about the general poisons we use in South Africa, and seems Kenya, how many are banned any where else in the world. Some are hidden in these awful everyday poisons available freely in EVERY shop in EVERY Park. WHY? Money. A LOT of money. Cannot have a guest that is paying these exorbitant prices for a faux  Out of Africa …. experience getting Gogga bites, can we?  

This is what I find about the stuff, very quickly, therefore the people that make it know …

The Doom Dual Action Fogger releases a broad-spectrum pesticide mist that poses notable health, safety, and effectiveness drawbacks. It contains active pyrethroid chemicals , like d-tetramethrin and cyphenothrin,  and liquefied petroleum gas propellants that carry severe risks if safety rules are ignored.Here the info goes on a bit about how this stuff will damage humans that mess up with the “safety rules” . Obviously this is a problem, not for Big Five Lodge’s owners but for the staff that must work with this shit. Like the spraying of the Winelands I posted on? Here it will not be as visible and one would have to be a damn clever scientist to follow the damage I Know has been done to the ecosystems. Nevermind. My concern is for the ecosystem in general. I will post the data on ecological safety of this product. Trust the Science at it’s best!!! How this breaks down data, again, High School Biology tells me,

“What a lot of kak!” You can decide for yourself, read on.

D-tetramethrin and cyphenothrin are synthetic pyrethroid insecticides that pose a high risk to aquatic life and beneficial insects via runoff, but they break down quickly in sunlight and air, minimizing long-term accumulation in soil.If you believe that, you must be one of the Pro- Jab people! Look at the details they give on two of the chemical poisons in Doom Fogger, just under this amazing statement! By now if you have been reading, you will know that water attracts poisons very nicely and spreads then everywhere. …..

Aquatic Ecosystems

High Toxicity: Extremely toxic to fish, water fleas, and aquatic arthropods.

Runoff Danger: Seepage or spray drift into ponds, streams, or rivers can cause high mortality or developmental abnormalities.

Sediment Binding: They stick strongly to soil and organic matter, accumulating in bottom sediment where they threaten bottom-dwelling organisms.

Contradictions!! They are so bold I will not bother to point them out. It is clear that these poisons WILL get to the ocean and still be active. This too some honest scientist WILL be able to prove. Then, the article, The Butterfly Effect   was written first with intent to show what the end result will be if we do not stop producing these chemicals, not ban them, control them with laws, f-ing ban the manufacture and put the CEOs on trial for ECO TERRORISM

Terrestrial Wildlife and Insects

Beneficial Insects: Moderately to highly toxic to honeybees and other vital pollinators on contact.

Birds and Mammals: Generally low toxicity for birds, though moderate oral toxicity can affect small mammals if ingested directly.

Environmental Persistence

Fast Breakdown: Sunlight (UV light) and microbes break down both chemicals rapidly on plant surfaces and topsoil.

Low Groundwater Risk: Because they bind tightly to soil and do not dissolve well in water, they rarely leach into deep groundwater systems.

Again, a two second look up and got the above..

I question the “breakdown”. Hell I do not “question” it… it is a lot of Trust the Science kak.

And, used Google AI and asked why we allow these two in the Doom products? Reply:

The use of d-tetramethrin and cyphenothrin is permitted in consumer products like the Doom Fogger because regulatory approval balances high efficacy against indoor pests with minimal human health risks, under the strict condition that it is confined to indoor spaces.Well, that is enough for one article I think. More about just the Doom and the Shops in the Parks will follow. Rate this: