Tag archives for Mike Fay
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Gabon’s Minkebe National Park, once home to Africa’s largest forest elephant population, has lost 11,100 elephants to the illegal ivory trade in recent years, the Wildlife Conservation Society says. If we can find hundreds of millions of dollars to fight terrorism in Mali, we should be able to find the resources to combat this last big push by poachers, which may well be the final blow to a species that has just about gone extinct in the majority of countries where it once ranged.
Mike Fay’s exploration of Gabon’s untouched wilderness led to 11% of the country being named national park land. This inspired Enric Sala to explore and help protect similarly pristine areas of the ocean around the world. Now the two explorers go back to the beginning to explore the murky waters off the coast of this African nation.
Zakaria Ibrahim, Brahim Khamis, Daoud Aldjouma, Djibrine Adoum Goudja, and Idriss Adoum—all dead, gunned down during dawn prayers. Where? North of Zakouma National Park in Chad, central Africa. When? September 3, 2012. Why? They were assassinated for protecting the last of the elephant herds found in the vast stretches between the Sahara Desert and the Congo forest.
Independence Day in South Sudan
Posted by Wildlife Conservation Society on July 18, 2012 As Americans celebrate the Fourth of July each year with cookouts, concerts, and fireworks, it is almost easy to forget the holiday’s connection with the nation’s independence and the struggles to achieve it. Surely that was not the case on July 4, 1777. On its first anniversary the United States was still a young republic, with a war yet to be won to solidify the unalienable rights deemed “self-evident” in Thomas Jefferson’s enduring declaration. Much uncertainty likewise surrounded the new nation of the Republic of South Sudan this July as it celebrated its own first year of independence….
Inspired by the words and actions of the many explorers who came to NG headquarters last week for the 2012 Explorers Symposium, we pass on these words of wisdom with a photo of mega-walker and NG Explorer-in-Residence Mike Fay.
Oh his last day on Pitcairn Island, Mike Fay tackles one more nerve-wracking muddy climb, and reflects on what living outside on this remote island has shown him.
As the expedition draws to a close, all of Pitcairn gathers for a celebratory day of fishing, frying, and hearing the initial results of Enric’s marine survey.
By Mike Fay, NG Explorer-in-Residence 9 April 2012 Rained all night and Highest Point was completely soaked again this morning. I just kind of hacked around in the morning; Bren had school today. Went over to Gannet’s Ridge just to see how cool it is to walk on a razor-backed ridge in the fog. Takes…
Brenda Christian finds an artifact from Pitcairn’s prehistoric inhabitants as she and Mike tackle the biggest landslide he’s ever seen.
Mike Fay’s Pitcairn Journal: Fishing in a Homemade Boat
Posted by Andrew Howley of NG Staff on May 13, 2012 
News arrives that the expedition is being cut short for bad weather, so Mike Fay and others head out in a homemade boat for a day of fishing.
Mike Fay’s Pitcairn Journal: Slopes, Goats, and Roads
Posted by Andrew Howley of NG Staff on May 7, 2012 
After several days of walking and climbing all around Pitcairn, Mike Fay’s familiarity with the island is growing, but he’s still constantly being surprised.
Mike Fay’s Pitcairn Journal: School Field Trip & Meeting the Bees
Posted by Andrew Howley of NG Staff on May 2, 2012 
NG Explorer-in-Residence leads the kids of Pitcairn Island on a crash-course in GPS navigation. “Of course what the kids were interested in was a romp in the woods,” he says, adding “if you are truthful about it, no different from me for the past 50 years.”
Mike Fay’s Pitcairn Journal: The Island’s Magic Gardens
Posted by Andrew Howley of NG Staff on April 29, 2012 
This is also where some have proposed to put in an airstrip for the island. Pitcairn would just feel like one more place you go to if that happened I think. It would take a lot of the magic away.
Mike Fay’s Pitcairn Journal: Disaster at St. Paul’s
Posted by Andrew Howley of NG Staff on April 29, 2012 
Trying to take video down at St. Paul’s, Bren shouted to me from above, “Watch out, that wave is going to take you.” There was urgency in her voice and that’s not usually the case.
Mike Fay’s Pitcairn Journal: Return to Pitcairn
Posted by Andrew Howley of NG Staff on April 29, 2012 
NG Explorer-in-Residence Mike Fay could hardly believe it: the ship headed back to Polynesia and he got left behind on Pitcairn for 10 days. And he couldn’t have been happier.
Mike Fay’s Pitcairn Journal: Why Are Birds So Beautiful?
Posted by Andrew Howley of NG Staff on April 28, 2012 
NG Explorer-in-Residence Mike Fay says we know Charles Darwin would say the colors are from sexual selection, or are for camouflage or distraction. But he still wonders why is the result so beautiful to the human eye?
Mike Fay’s Pitcairn Journal: “Down Rope”–With a Rope
Posted by Andrew Howley of NG Staff on April 28, 2012 
After days of obsessing over birds and rats, NG Explorer-in-Residence Mike Fay heads out to explore more of Henderson Island, including a cave in a cliff holding skeletons of ancient Polynesians.
Mike Fay’s Pitcairn Journal: Rat Patrol
Posted by Andrew Howley of NG Staff on April 28, 2012 
After unexpectedly sighting a rat on an island everyone hoped was free of them, NG Explorer-in-Residence Mike Fay goes on the hunt to get a better sense of how many rodents may be there.
Mike Fay’s Pitcairn Journal: Tragic Sighting
Posted by Andrew Howley of NG Staff on April 28, 2012 
In the early evening of March 27, NG Explorer-in-Residence Mike Fay made an unfortunate discovery on the remote Henderson Island. Read his account of the day.
With the thickness of the vegetation, the intact nature of the forest, its relative richness, the complexity of substrate, difficulty of travel, and lack of frequentation in this place you would be finding new and amazing species of plants for decades to come. I was ready to devour every detail I could of Henderson.
Today, after a rained-out attempt at filming the sunrise, we took to the beach to survey the trash that was strewn all about this uninhabited island. Then the mystery of the dead petrels thickened.
Another successful day kayaking and counting birds at Ducie atoll, with a UFO lost at sea, and visits from shipmates and sharks.
We had a big assignment today, to census all the petrels in the forest and try to figure out what species they are. It is kind of like Christmas when you do your first transect in a new place: you don’t know what you are going to find.
Last night the boat’s engines went silent around 3 am. I got up at 6:30 and could already see this most southern of all atolls on Earth low on the ocean. A few petrels and masked boobies showed to greet us. Today would be exploration day.
I started back. We needed to be on the boat by 17:00 and there would be hell to pay if I wasn’t there. While I was only here for a few days I feel like it got into my blood. Who knows where life will lead you.
