Availability and access to freshwater is a major issue in Italy. What is supposed to a basic right of mankind is becoming nowadays something to put a price and a barcode on. Few people have an idea of where the water we drink everyday is coming from and, more, even less realize the importance of mountain wilderness areas for the preservation of water resources.
In November two wolves and a red fox have been found dead in the southern part of the Majella National Park – presumably poisoned –, but nobody can say it with certainty.
It has been an outrageously long time since my last post. Autumn has been a very busy period for me and several duties took me to work away from my beloved "Montagna Madre", to places as far as the Indian Himalaya. But now I am finally back home and plan to get back to you with more stories and news very soon. Stay tuned!
Just wanted to share some of the nice press coverage of our project from the past weeks. Stories of Wilderness has been featured in Wanderlust magazine (UK) – see image above, National Geographic NewsWatch – click here to see the article, and the Huffington Post – click here to see the article.
Hope more and more such great articles are coming!
In our recent poll you have chosen your favourite amphibian photo, which shows fire salamander giving birth to its offspring in a forest creek. This was also our favourite! Thanks for voting!
Wilderness nurtures the biodiversity of life. For me biodiversity is the marvellous kaleidoscope of forms, adaptation and behaviour of species around me in Majella. Listen to my introduction of the concept of biodiversity as I experience it in Majella.
After deciding on exploring Majella’s plateau at night I started walking on the trail at noon and met the last people at 5 in the afternoon: after that the mountain was all for me. I walked on and on; explored ridges and crossed saddles; looked down to the deepest valleys of the massif and up to the fast-moving clouds. When I took a break on a stone, a flock of loud white-winged snowfinches oblivious to my presence was combing the ground in front of me, searching for seeds among the dried out alpine plants.
August is vacation time for many. The usually-quiet mountain village where I live gets crowded. Woods and meadows serve as dining rooms for hundreds of people (and the garbage left behind often echoes their lively voices for a long time...). Even the highest mountain peaks become a common destination for the adventurous on vacation. But this doesn't necessarily mean that I dislike this time or crowds. It can be fun, just that it spoils a bit the atmosphere of many places I love and makes really hard to find that special intimacy with nature I am so often looking for. Besides, the heat in the central hours makes unbereable walking around in daylight.
I can’t hide I am really fond of Apennine chamois and they have been one of my favourite photographic subjects for the past 11 years. While developing together with PAN Parks the idea for a photo project focusing on the unique features of the Majella National Park, one of the very last wilderness areas in Europe, I picked the Apennine chamois as one of the protagonists. Nevertheless, showing the animal itself is not enough to get a picture that would convey a feeling of wilderness; it was mandatory to portray the essence of the species AND the context it lives in, showing both the adaptation of it and the rugged environmental conditions. Therefore, I was always on the look for a good opportunity to take the picture I had envisioned.
I posted a brand new gallery of Majella’s hidden creatures, amphibians including: salamander with striking colors warning predators of its toxicity, newts exclusive to the southern part of Italy and toads hugging during mating. Enjoy!
Posted on January 10, 2012 at 11:01 am | Leave a comment » 1 comment