BIOMAGIssue 1August 2012

- Legalizing theRhinohorn trade- MRW and his time at Radley- Ketamine, Just say neigh

IN THIS ISSUE

Features

Issue 1

LavestockAttracting Attention atLaverstoke Park EducationCentre.

1

ExamsHow to deal with the stress ofexams and do the best revision.

3

Rhino horn tradeWhy is the Rhino anendangered specie and what isbeing done about it?

5

Obscure andPeculiarThe Star-Nosed Mole and Top 5funky fish (The shell pages).

7

The InterviewMr Wright is put on the spot byhis 6.1 set.

9

KetamineWhat are the risks and how willit affect the user and peoplearound them?

11

Biology this yearSee what the Radley biologistshave been up to this academicyear.

12

BBC WildlifeJonathan Scott is coming tospeak at Radley on Tuesday25th September 2012

13BiofunThe best of biology jokes,cartoons and exam howlers.

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1STEDITION

RADLEY BIOLOGY

MAGAZINE

Dear Reader,

The Biology Magazine (BioMag) was set up in 2012 with the ambition of giving Radley biologiststhe chance to exhibit articles which they have written.With the magazine we aim to allow boys fromshells through to the 6.2 to do some independent learning and create a magazine which the wholeschool will be able to read. Please have a look at our website Radleybiology.co.uk where you canaccess digital verions of all published magazines. Hope you enjoying reading the first issue!

Letter from the Editor

James BlockChief Editor

By Andrew Wallis, Department o f Biology

Attracting Attention atLaverstoke Park

Little did we know, as my son and Iwaited in the conference room atLaverstoke Park Farm Offices in lateMarch, 2009, that we were about to bepresented with a problem by ClareScheckter, the founder of Laverstoke ParkEducationCentre (LPEC).Thechallenge: todevelop a method of embedding animalfaeces in resin, and this culminated withwhat became affectionately known as the‘PooProject’. Academicshadfailedsosolvetheproblemhitherto, as theirattemptshadshown that rising temperatures andwaterin the ‘specimens’ had caused the sittingresin to ‘boil’ creating a bizarre form ofalchemy -­‐ not a pleasant experience. As itturned out, the exercise provokedpolarised behaviour from people, most

notably adults, who encountered theproject’s progress over the comingmonths.

Of greater significance was thatmany children (and adults, in particular Iunderstand, men!) are fascinated by poo.‘Every good lesson should start with abang’, I had been frequently told as atrainee teacher, and children spending aday at LPEC are fair game for thistreatment. Matching the faeces to theanimals thatproducedthemwastobetheirfirst experience on entering the Centre.Photographs had been had been usedbefore but the hope was that the genuinearticle could provoke real surprise andexcitement. The question now was, howcouldpoobepreservedinwaythatallowed

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it to be handed and in a socially acceptablefashion? Older children also have to matchthe probable diet for each of the animals andconnect that with the poo sample as well.Once you know what goes in, it makes whatcomes out more relevant!

Although I had no experience ofembedding objects in resin, the challengewas accepted because it seemed as thoughthe experiences of doping the wings of balsawood aeroplanes as a child, conservingfragile fossils as a palaeontologist andpreparing microscope slides as a biologistwere somehow relevant. The first specimenfrom a sheep was collected from the fieldbehind our house in Cumbria. In my wife’sabsence, it was briefly placed in our cooker’soven, before thewisdomof using the oven inthe Biology Department seemed the moreacceptable option… This oven, yachtvarnish, a vacuum pump, a bell jar, leadpelletsandaglassbeakerwerethetoolsusedtodemonstratethattheinsolublewasindeedsoluble and we were in business.

Next came the problem ofaccumulating specimens and these camefromdiverse sources. Specimens frommice(a Dons’s loft), rats (Radley CountrysideCentre), rabbits (taken during a 2nd XIcricket match on the main ground atPangbourne College, no less), chicken (atechnician’s egg supplier), geese (CollegePond), alpaca (farmed in Cumbria), a fox,sheep (Cumbria), pigs (Radley CountrysideCentre), barn owl pellets (Lakeland Bird ofPrey Centre), a horse (from a field oppositethe main entrance to the College) and waterbuffalo (Laverstoke Park Farm) wereprocured. Experiencing the stately, butclandestine, delivery to Radley, of theegested product of a buffalo, wrapped inclingfilm on a wad of paper plates, muststandasoneof themorepeculiarmoments inmy life. A fewweeks later, opening theporchof our Cumbrian home, I found amongst ourpost a largebrownenvelopeaddressed ‘Fox’,and it was some minutes before I realisedwhat the contents were. Context is

everything.The toleranceof colleaguesandpupils

in theBiologyDepartmentwas stretchedbutmuch appreciated as production got underway. Our technician in the PhysicsDepartment, Brian Denton, calmly placedeach resin-­‐filled mould under vacuum toextract air until the day the ancient bell jarcracked. Atinychipontherimwasenoughtocause the failure. An unannounced visit tothe Biology Department by two young OldRadleians, who shall remain nameless, andwho had studied Biology at A level,demonstrated the extremes of tolerance.The recently qualified doctor handled theembedded specimens entranced whilst theother, who was about to study for an MBA,fled the lab in disgust.

Several months later, four examplesfrom each of the smaller animals had beenembedded and awaited visitors to theCentre. The specimens from the horse andthe buffalo proved too large so they weredried, sterilised and consolidated withdiluted modelling dope. As the lab wascleared, there was palpable relief in Queen’sCourt that the projectwas drawing to a closeor did it…?

Laverstoke Park Education Centre wasopened by the Princess Royal on 7th February2012. A number of specimens weredemonstrated to children from a localprimary school before and after I wasintroduced to Her Royal Highness. Manyexamples of the embedded poos were also ondisplay and replicaswere available for sale aspaperweights!

STRESS OF EXAMSAvoid comparing your abilities with your matesThe boys who say they have "only read Macbeth 17 times" arewinding you up, you don't need to read a book that many times toget familiarwith it. Do the amount ofwork that you knowyou haveto do.Everyone approaches revision in different ways, so just make sureyou've chosen the method that works best for you.Make a realistictimetable. Stick to it.

Brain foodTreat yourself like a well honed machine. You must try to eat lotsof fresh fruit and veg. Make sure you start the day by having aproper breakfasts. No one can think straight on Coffee andCornflakes.

Relax and stay calmEveryone gets stressed during exams but it's important not to let itget out of control. Panic is often triggered by hyperventilating (iequick, shallow breaths). So if you feel yourself losing it during theexam, sit back for a moment and control your breathing. Deepbreath in and out through the nose. Counting to five each way.

Nothing de-stresses the mind faster than physical activity. Try andbuild sport into your revision timetable. Studying for hours andhours without a break will only make you tired and ruin yourconcentration, which may make you even more anxious.

On the dayTry and get to the exam hall in good time to allow yourself to carmdown. Remember to take everything you need. Once the exam hasstarted, take a few minutes to read the instructions and questions.Ask an exam supervisor if anything is unclear; they're there to helpyou!

Don't panic if you get stuck on a question, try to leave yourselfenough time at the end to come back to it. An educated guess ismuch better than leaving the anawer blank.

When the exam is over, don't spend too much time going over it inyour head or worrying about it.

By Lucy Mullins

3

After you

r exams!

As the slaughter of Rhinos hit a record high this year,environmentalists and scientists believe that poachingcould lead to the extinction of the Rhino by 2025. Thequestion iswhyare theRhinosbeingpoachedandwhatis being done to stop it?

There are currently only two types of Rhino that arefound in African wilderness; the Black and WhiteRhino. Their population is thought to be wavering ataround 18,000;with theWesternRhino, a sub species,already extinct. Three types are on the IUCN red listfor endangered species and are classified as criticallyendangered. This is the third most seriousclassification after extinct, and extinct in thewild. TheWhite Rhino also has two sub species these are theNorthern White and the Southern White Rhino. TheSouthern White Rhino is an excellent example of acritically endangered species recovering in populationsize. In 1995 there were believed to be fewer than 100of these Rhino remaining. After 17 years ofconservation and breeding programmes thepopulationhas now risen to over 14,500.TheNorthernWhite Rhino, however, is only believed to have apopulation of 4 individuals.Prior to 2008 a total of around 15 Rhinos were beingkilled annually in South Africa, however, this numberincreased rapidly over the past few years, with over333Rhinos killed in 2010. It is estimated that every 20hours a Rhino is killed for their horns in Africa. In theKruger National Park alone 26 have been massacredsince the start of 2012. Each animal costs a parkbetween $9,000 and $30,000, therefore, it isfinancially beneficial for the parks to try and protectthem. The cost of Rhinos horn sold illegally is farhigher and can fetch up to $80,000 per kilo; the highprices of the horns gives poachers a great incentive.

The horns are mainly sold in Asia as a groundedpowder which is used in medicines. The punishmentfor poaching in SouthAfrica is 25 years andTheSouthAfrican National Defence Force (SANDF) whoworkin the national parks have permission to shootpoachers on site. The majority of attacks leave theRhino’s dead. Poachers use chainsaws to cut away theRhino's horns, after darting it with a tranquilizer; thehelpless animal then bleeds to death.

So here is where the irony lies. 1 kilo of Rhino horn,which costs around £22,000 on the black market, hasno medical benefits what so ever. Dr KeesRookmaaker form the Rhino Resources Center wrotein the RRC newsletter that “Rhino horn is not anaphrodisiac. There is no evidence that Rhino hornwasever regularly used for this purpose”. He continued bysaying that “Rhino horn is not a medicinal. Consensusnow appears to be that even if Rhino horn is mildlyanti-pyretic to lower fever symptoms, the benefits donot outweigh those of cheap over-the-countermedicines readily available in any pharmacy.”

Legalizing the Rhinohorn trade in Africa

5

by James Block

Many people believethat is would bebeneficial to legalize thehorn trade in order tostop these massacresfrom happening. Bytheory is that by takingthe power out of thehands of the poachersand placing it in thehands of the authority,

we would be able to reduce the number of Rhinodeaths and hopefully increase the number ofRhinos in the wild. The Department ofEnvironmental Affairs says that Rhino horn stockpiles could also be sold to fund further Rhinoconservation efforts. Many Africans believe thatthe high demand could be used to Africa’sadvantage; and could financially benefit the areaswhere the Rhinos live. Rhino horn trade could farexceed $234 million annually if the animals werefarmed for the purpose of horn harvesting. TheRhinos horns grow back after being cut off, socould be harvested on a regular basis.

By banning trade the government have in effectpushed the trade underground and are allowingcriminals rather than the parks to make money.Moreover, the majority of the trade would bedirectly to Chinese pharmaceutical companieswhich would be able to make huge profits whichwould ensure that the government clamped downon the illegal Rhino horn markets. It is estimatedthat around 600 horns could be provided each yearfrom natural deaths of Rhinos and a further 1000horns form private Rhino owners by ‘hornharvesting’. The price of Rhino horns wouldalmost certainly drop and this would eliminate theincentives poachers. This could result in increasednumbers of Rhinos in the wild.

There are also thosewhodisagreewith free tradeofRhino horns. The WWF are one of these groups.Mr du Plessis, CEO of WWF South Africa said

"How can we control legal Rhino horn trade whenwe can't even control illegal trade". Many believethat by keeping theRhino, which is one ofAfrica’siconic big 5, in captivity it will reduce it to a meredomestic animal such as a chicken or pig. Evenunder a sustainable dehorning programme theremay not be enough Rhinos to meet the demand forbusiness. In this case poachers would continue tokill Rhinos from areas not practicing legal “Rhinofarming”. The Convention on International Tradein Endangered Species demands proof of legalacquisition of Rhino horn. Current stockpilesinclude horns of unknown origin, including thoseseized by the government agencies duringenforcement activities, which can never be soldtherefore are worthless. Even with carefulregulation, the establishment of legal trade routescould provide a front for the trade of illegallyacquired horns, as it may be difficult to establishthe origins of the horn.Many governments in areaswhere the Rhino are native do not have suitableresources to protect the Rhino’s from illegalpoaching, therefore they won’t be able to police alegal trade. The biggest risk to the Rhino owners isbeing in possession of the horns which poachersare after. Keeping of horns, especially in largenumbers, puts the owner in a vulnerable positionwhere they could easily be exploited by criminals.Anumber of armed robberies involving the theft ofentire stockpiles have already occurred in SouthAfrica. The targets included museums, nationalparks, taxidermist studios as well as privateindividuals.

I believe that the current situation in South Africa doesnoprovide a stablebase for the legalizationof theRhinohorn trade. If the government had the ability to protectthe Rhinos at this time then it may have been a viablesolution to the problem, however, as it stands theRhinonumbers are still decreasing. Furthermore, there wouldstill inevitably be an illegal trade of Rhino horns as thedemand is constantly rising and the ‘horn farming’schemes would not be able to cope with demand.Whatdo you think?

Thecost ofRhinoshornsold illegally can fetchup to$80,000perkilo, It is usually sold to Eastern Asia for medicinal perposes.

Fact :

Obscure

and

Peculiar Star-Nosed Mole

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This part of the magazine is run by Felix Barbour and Nick Bennett , and will be writen byshells. Every edition there will be an article on an 'Obscure and Peculiar' animal. To getinvolved in writing an article in this section please contact MGN Noone and we would bevery happy for you to write us an article.

By Felix Barbour

Found in wet areas of eastern Canada andnorth-eastern America, the star-nosed mole(Condyluracristata) is oneofnature’s rarelyseen oddities.

The mole is about the size of a hamster andhas twenty-two tentacles surrounding theirnose. These contain over 25,000 sensoryreceptors (Eimer’s organs) in the space ofunder a centimetre which helps the creatureto feel itsway around as it is almost blind andto recognise food by touch. But these fleshyappendages alsohaveanotherusewhich is tokeep soil and food from entering their snout.

On top of that, the Star-nosedmole has othercunningadaptations.For example, theyhavewater-repellent fur, big, scaly feet and a loftytail with which they use to store fat. TheCondylura cristata survives on a diet ofworms, aquatic insects, invertebrates andcrustaceans and is the fastest-eating

mammal; recognising and consuming anitem of food in an average of 227milliseconds.

Star-nosedmoles can also smell underwater.This feat is achieved by breathing outbubbles onto possible prey before breathingback in to obtain the scent from the bubbles.They are also good swimmers.

Females are known to produce a litter of fiveoffspring in early summer aftermating in theearly springtime. The young star-nosedmoles’ eyes, ears and stars open after aroundtwo weeks. When they are born theytypicallyweigh aroundone and ahalf grams,have no hair and measure about fivecentimetres in length before reachingbetween fifteen to twenty centimetres andfifty-five grams in adulthood.

The star-nosed mole is a truly fascinatingand peculiar animal.

Top 5 Funky FishThe Blobfish: this fish lives in depths of600-1200m on the coast of Australia. They havelittle muscle but this does not matter as they justswallow whatever floats in front of them.

The Box Fish: These box shaped fish live in thePacific, Indian and Atlantic Oceans around themiddle latitudes. These fish are scientificallycalled Ostraciidae. The adults grow very hardscales which while making them very slow alsomeans very few other fish can eat them.

The Bulldog Stargazer: These fish burythemselves in the sea bed and lead up when preypasses overhead. Some of these fish have a wormlike lure growing out of the floor of the mouth toattract prey. These fish have a venomous bite andcan produce a nasty electric shock so they can killtheir prey quickly.

The Red Lion Fish: This fish is found in coral reefareas such as off the coast of Indonesia and thePacific but also in the Caribbean. These fish are alarge hazard to smaller fish in these areas as theyhave large venomous spines that protrude from itsbody like amane.These spines are lethal if touchedand so deter most potential predators. But do notworry as the venom is not strong enough to kill agrown human being.

The Puffer Fish: Puffer fish are believed to be thesecond most poisonous vertebrate after the goldenpoison frog. The internal organs are highly toxic sothese fish are still lethal after they have been killed.Some parts are edible though and these are servedas a delicacy in Japan by chefs who know the bitswhichare safe.These fishare foundonly in tropicalwaters. Some species of the puffer fish live in freshwater but most live in inland coastal areas. Thepuffer fish is very slow moving, however, supersharp poisonous spines which petrude out of itsbodydeterpredators.Thepredatorsoften suffocatedue to the venom, moreover, when they consumethe pufferfish they are killed by neurotoxins thefish posses for defence.

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images in order 1 - 5

By Nick Bennett

BioDonBiodon isastrangespecieswhichevolved in the lateHoloceneandstarted tocolonise theRadleyarea in the post-Darwin era. Only males of the species have been seen at Radley althoughfemales are rumoured to exist in other locations. They are mainly terrestrial and slow moving(although symorphosis of the muslces allows some to run long distances) but they have beenseen in aquatic environments too. Biodons are know for their varied communication strategiesand symbiotic relationships with other organisms. In this series of articles we will explore thebehavioural ecology of each member of the Biodon species in more detail.

Has anyoneevery made you

mad?

I don't need anybody to make me mad! Theonly time I have genuinely lost it was with a

boy in Orchard who was being rather impolite tohis parents down the phone and also trying to get

out of a punishment. It was a long story but in theend I shouted with both barrels in the kitchen ... I wasreally angry. He actually took a step back, his pupils

changed size and I didn't have any morehassles....apart from the fact that MKTH wasshowing some prospective parents aroundat the time and they were outside the

kitchen window.....

MrsWrightat Radley?

24 years teaching French and Spanish (and a bit ofItalian)! Coached J14 Rowing for many of them andran the DofE for most! We ran Orchard Housetogether and loved it. DofE has meant visits to theLondon Palaces on a number of occasions and JAWhas had the honour of meeting and talking to theQueen and Prince Philip. Walking out thefront of Buckingham Palace is alwaysfun as the tourists on the other side

think you are famous!

How longhave you been

working ar Radley?

I arrived at Radley in 1987from Kenya afterworking in Mombasa

as a teacher.

Worst biologyaccident?

They employed me! Back in the day when the biologydepartment was in prefabs beside where Queens Court

stands today they flooded periodically the same time everyyear. One day, as I stood at the front teaching, a flash floodoccurred. The boys were sitting in a room with frogs and

sticklebacks hopping around. I tried to carry on with the lesson butafter 15 minutes I could no longer keep a straight face; and let the

boys paddle out.

Another Lesson I was showing a class of removes a kidneydissection video. I explained that I you felt uneasy you shouldleave the room and sit outside in the fresh air. One boy left theroom and sat on the step outside. Five minutes before the endof the lesson I sent him to the infirmary to get checked outbefore he went to his next lesson. In the common roomat short break a physics teacher came up to me andasked what i had been teaching in my lessontoday. The revealed he had found thestudent passed out face first on

college drive.

Intervwith M

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BiggestDepartmental Grudge?

There arent so many at the moment but there havebeen a few in the past. Common Room are an amazingbunch. I suppose our best clashes (not recently) werewith Physics. They used to like stealing to best students!The best way to get around these things was to attendCommon Room go-karting. If Carlsberg did irritating it

would be ISY on the track....I learned the best way to get pasthim was waiting until he crashed into somebody else andthen saunter through. I have also NEVER met anybody ascompetitive as Mark Hubbard!! Seeing PWG leave thetrack and crash through an advertising hoarding was

also quite a moment.

Best Cocoa?

Orchard House Saturdays. We wouldhave all sorts of cocoas but enjoyed our endof year fancy dress parties. We would also turnthe wall outside orchard house into a cinema onsaturday nights and the social would congregateoutside and watch films while having a BBQ.

One of my favorite things about OrchardHouse was that you knew what wasgoing on as the boys would letyou know. They alwaysseem to know first.

Worst socialprayers?

D social several years ago. JAW and I hada Social Prayers based on trvel and Bill

Bryson. I used to narrate the stories and Madmedid the accents. We had attended 2 or 3 socials

and had good responses and by now knew where togo for the laughs and puns. On the night we werein 'D' we died on stage. Not a chuckle, snigger ormurmer. Afterwards the Tutor apologised andtold us that the previous week they hadlaughed so much and inappropriately thathe had shouted at them and said 'Don't

laugh in Social Prayers ... sothey didn't!

What afterRadley?

A rest initially! We will be spendiing muchof our time in Gozo and I suppose I will dosome diving, fishing and eating! I will start

painting again, will learn Maltese (and brush upon my Italian!) and I have also wanted to playthe guitar so it seems a great opportunity. No

doubt however I will end up teachingrevision courses.. A Mariners flag willbe flying from our house in Munxarso if you are ever in the area!

BestBiologicalExperiment?

Well I could berude....Its all good

Best common roomstories?

As I have said before one of the strengths of Radley isCommon Room - they work hard, play hard and are an

amazing bunch ... and have been over 25 years! There haveaways been the odd characters. One great memory is beingraced in a pouffe (me in one and Madame Wright in the other)along covered passage. One of my early flying experiences wasgoing over the steps towards chapel. fortunately I managed a

good landing. I have no idea who won!

You might not believe it but lots of Common Room used toattend CCF Camp in the Lake District or Snowdonia. Mr Harriswas the main chef and one of my proudest moments was when Iofficially became his No2. It took years! We used to cook,burgers, risottos, curries, pastas, steaks etc for as many as

18 Dons. I have to give credit to CMB too forinventing flambed ration pack puddings with

custard in a melting plastic plate ......an amazing experience.

viewMRW

11

Ketamine is typically used as a horse tranquiliserhowever, it is increasingly becoming a party drugin the UK due to its affordability, effective highand ease of acquisition. To take Ketamine, likemost drugs, you cannot use the excuse “theyforced me into doing it, I’m innocent” because itrequires your complete cooperation and a certainamount of ability .

The effects of Ketamine are very quick. Ketamineworks in steps, first is the numbness or drunkendizzy feeling that occurs between 1 to 10 minuteslater. Next, depending on howmuch you take, thevisual effects hit in. These include blurred vision,seeing “trails”, “astral travel” and intense andterrifying hallucinations. Other side-effects are afeeling of weightlessness and “out of the body” or“near-death” experiences. Be warned though, inhigh doses, users of it may babble, not rememberwho or where they are and stumble if they try towalk. This could be dangerous thus someone whohas takenKetamine shouldnot be left alone.Whenyou take Ketamine your heart races and breathingbecomes much more difficult (because of itsanaesthetic properties), in some cases users havelost consciousness. Ketamine separates ordissociates the mind from the body, the brain isfreed from the usual business of reacting tosensations from the body (it disrupts pathways inthe brain). Perception increases to fill the gapvacated by the senses and gives rise to ketaminsmore mind-expanding effects. So what are thedangers?You feel no pain –You could break yourleg and feel little to no pain due to the properties of

the drug. You may get the ‘K Cramps’ – Alsoknown as abdominal pain – symptom of long termuse. Ketamine use can prove be fatal when takenwith alcohol, benzodiazepines or opiate. It canlead to unconsciousness as it inhibits yourbreathing and the way your heart works. The fataldanger of an unconscious state is inhaling, andthus drowning in, your own vomit: another reasonwhy you should never leave someone alone onKetamine. Regular use can evoke feelings ofconfusion, panic attacks and depression. As wellas this, many longer term users suffer fromirreversible bladder, kidney, liver and possiblybrain damage. The Common long term effectshave been ulcers and fibrosis of the bladder.

Facts;A Lethal dose of Ketamine is considered 4.5 gramsand above.

If you are caught with Ketamine you can receive witha 2 year prison sentence and an unlimited fine.

If you are caught with Ketamine you can receive witha 2 year prison sentence and an unlimited fine.

“In the long run, we shape our lives, and we shapeourselves. The process never ends until we die. Andthe choices we make are ultimately our ownresponsibility. (Eleanor Roosevelt)

Ketamine

Just sayNeighBy James Allen

The Biology ChallengeDuring this termremovesetsoneand two tookpartin the biology challenge aswell as selected boys inthe upper end of lower sets. The biology challengeis a yearly test and is open to years nine and ten. Itconsisted of two papers of roughly thirty minutes.The test included questions on a wide range ofsubjects in the Radley IGCSE syllabus andsubjects that are not. The tests varied questionsmeant that even some of the cleverest boys in setone were competing with boys at in set two orselected boys in lower sets. The was not hard tounderstand as it is mostly a multiple choice or oneword answers but the individual questions were alot harder to get understand . Answers in eachpaper could be changed until you ended the paper

once the first paper had been completed you couldimmediately start the next one or continueimmediately with the next one. Set two took thepapers together during a double period althoughthere was a confusion over the passwords for thepaper everyone finished by the end of the doubleperiod. The results were good with four peoplewinning gold awards of which two are regularanimal society members. Although this has beenan excellent achievement I am sureMrNoonewillbe looking to double the numbers of gold winnersnext year just as he has with biology A levelcandidates.

By Michael de Winton

Biology this academicyear

13

Weare delighted to announce that BBCpresenter,zoologist, author, and wildlife photographer,Jonathan Scott is coming to speak at Radley onTuesday25thSeptember 2012. JonathanScott hasa real passion for African Wildlife as a zoologistand a photographer. Years of experience hastaught him just where to look for wildlife,particularly the big cats, which have alwaysfascinated him.

Jonathan is perhaps best known among audiencesfor presenting the BBC ‘wildlife soap operas’,especially BBC’s famous ‘Big Cat Diary/Week’which he has presented since 1996, along with hisco-hosts SimonKing andSabaDouglas-Hamiltonand most recently, Kate Silverton. Jonathan’swork as a presenter and wildlife photographer hasbrought him all over the world, such as the ArcticandAlaska forBBC’sBigBearWeek, or to placessuch as India, for his notable work on Tigers.

Brought up on a farm in Berkshire, Jonathancompleted an Honors Degree in Zoology atQueens University in Belfast and then wentoverland to Kenya to pursue his dream in wildlifeand has lived there since 1977. He spendsmuch of

BBC Wildlife Personalitycomes to Radley College

www.jonathanangelascott.com

BBCNature collections ‘Jonathan Scott Awildlife inAfrica’

‘The Secret Leopards’ narrated by Jonathan Scott BBCiplayer

Links :

By Matt Clarke

his time working in or near theMasai Mara GameReserve in Northern Kenya.

Of course, you cannot talk about Jonathanwithout mentioning his wife Angela, who is adistinguished photographer herself and, who alsoshares his passion for wildlife. Jonathan andAngela together are the only couple ever to haveindividually won the prestigious WildlifePhotographer of the Year Award, Jonathan in1987 and Angela, in 2002. Jonathan also won theRoyal Geographical Society Cherry KeartonMedal in1994.Theyhave also recentlybeenmadeCanon Ambassadors for their photography.

As well as his acclaimed wildlife photographyand presenting for the BBC, Jonathan is also adistinguished artist and a prolific writer with anumber of publications on Africa’s wildlife andthe polar regions along with his photography.

We are verymuch looking forward towelcominghim to Radley to speak, as Jonathan is also verywell known for his incredible talkswhich he givesto camera clubs and theatre’s.

"Take another memo......I wan'tto see Mr Noone and those

biologists in my office first thingtomorrow Morning!"

The real reason the dinosaursbecame extinct

"Just jump, fool! You don't haveto go, 'boing,boing,boing'!"

"Again? oh right....One warm, summer eveningmany years ago, I was basking on a stretch of

Interstate 95 not to far from here....'

BIOFUN

Biology SocietyThe Radley

TheRadleyBiologicalSociety is aNEWsocietydedicated tobringing the finestbiology speakers to Radley and giving you the chance to participate inbiological activities such as badger surveying!

ProfessorGeoffreySmithofCambridgeUniversity (where he isHeadof theDepartmentof Pathology) on "Viruses: plagues, eradication and bioterrorism". This will be aninvigorating talk as, currently, he is President of the International Union ofMicrobiological Societies, Chairman of the WHO Advisory Committee for VariolaVirus (smallpox) Research, Chairman of the Royal Society Committee for ScientificAspects of International security.

Our first speaker was Dr. Martin Speight zwho is a key figure in marine biology/ entomologyand is the Director of Undergraduate teaching of Biological Sciences at the University of Oxford.His riveting talk was on “Tropical marine Ecology” and we learnt about his dedicated study onall aspects of community ecology, which stem from various projects on corals in Africa, Asia,

NEWS

2ND

JULY

DATES

To find out how you can get involved, about upcoming events, and to ask any questions emailAlexander.Orr@radley.org.uk (founder and president)

What is it?