Nikolaj Bichel
@nikolaj-bi.bsky.social
PhD and research on hunting, environmental ethics, conservation. Author of the 2023 British Ecological Society book of the year. Open to remote work.
Pinned
Nikolaj Bichel
@nikolaj-bi.bsky.social
· Jan 10
Paperback version of our book 'Trophy Hunting' has been made available for €38:
link.springer.com/book/10.1007...
link.springer.com/book/10.1007...
This is the most miserable and barren concrete and steel zoo I've ever seen anyone try to greenwash as a wholesome story.
Donation surge at ‘humble’ China zoo for protected animals after story goes viral
Kind-hearted sanctuary director keeps ticket prices low; says even if he cannot eat, he ‘will not let the animals starve’.
www.scmp.com
November 10, 2025 at 9:19 AM
This is the most miserable and barren concrete and steel zoo I've ever seen anyone try to greenwash as a wholesome story.
Reposted by Nikolaj Bichel
“The plain of Hurriana is like a vast sea; the hill of Tosham and, till lately, a peepul tree near Hansi, like ships in the offing . . . could be seen from a great distance towering over the stunted bushes and grass jungle.”
–Quondam, Lion-Shooting, 1833
–Quondam, Lion-Shooting, 1833
November 8, 2025 at 4:48 PM
“The plain of Hurriana is like a vast sea; the hill of Tosham and, till lately, a peepul tree near Hansi, like ships in the offing . . . could be seen from a great distance towering over the stunted bushes and grass jungle.”
–Quondam, Lion-Shooting, 1833
–Quondam, Lion-Shooting, 1833
Japan dispatches troops to help combat deadly bear attacks
“More than 100 attacks, record 12 deaths since April"
That's kind of wild.
“More than 100 attacks, record 12 deaths since April"
That's kind of wild.
www.reuters.com
November 5, 2025 at 8:52 AM
Japan dispatches troops to help combat deadly bear attacks
“More than 100 attacks, record 12 deaths since April"
That's kind of wild.
“More than 100 attacks, record 12 deaths since April"
That's kind of wild.
Reposted by Nikolaj Bichel
there is simply no world where tom brady thought or said the words "A few years ago, I worked with Colossal and leveraged their non-invasive cloning technology through a simple blood draw of our family's elderly dog before she passed."
November 4, 2025 at 10:16 PM
there is simply no world where tom brady thought or said the words "A few years ago, I worked with Colossal and leveraged their non-invasive cloning technology through a simple blood draw of our family's elderly dog before she passed."
Reposted by Nikolaj Bichel
1/2 Hounds in the garden just now, on the trail of some poor fox.
This is still the reality of "trail hunting" in North Dorset in 2025.
I put so much effort into making this place a sanctuary for wildlife.
@angelaeagle1.bsky.social @parliamentarygoose.bsky.social
This is still the reality of "trail hunting" in North Dorset in 2025.
I put so much effort into making this place a sanctuary for wildlife.
@angelaeagle1.bsky.social @parliamentarygoose.bsky.social
November 4, 2025 at 3:50 PM
1/2 Hounds in the garden just now, on the trail of some poor fox.
This is still the reality of "trail hunting" in North Dorset in 2025.
I put so much effort into making this place a sanctuary for wildlife.
@angelaeagle1.bsky.social @parliamentarygoose.bsky.social
This is still the reality of "trail hunting" in North Dorset in 2025.
I put so much effort into making this place a sanctuary for wildlife.
@angelaeagle1.bsky.social @parliamentarygoose.bsky.social
Reposted by Nikolaj Bichel
Ecotourism has transformed jaguars in the Pantanal from hunted predators into valuable attractions. But overcrowding, with up to 30 boats surrounding a single animal, risks stressing wildlife and eroding visitor experiences.
Read more in Mongabay: https://ow.ly/9LA650X92Km
Read more in Mongabay: https://ow.ly/9LA650X92Km
In Brazil’s Pantanal, too many tourists may be the jaguar’s new predator
PORTO JOFRE, Brazil — When Oscar de Morais isn’t out tracking jaguars, you’ll find him aboard his houseboat moored along the banks of the São Lourenço River. He sits beneath a mosquito net on two stacked blue plastic chairs, watching Brazilian soap operas while a fan blows warm air his way. That is, until someone […]
ow.ly
November 4, 2025 at 12:25 PM
Ecotourism has transformed jaguars in the Pantanal from hunted predators into valuable attractions. But overcrowding, with up to 30 boats surrounding a single animal, risks stressing wildlife and eroding visitor experiences.
Read more in Mongabay: https://ow.ly/9LA650X92Km
Read more in Mongabay: https://ow.ly/9LA650X92Km
Reposted by Nikolaj Bichel
South Korea has mandated solar canopies for large parking lots. It's a no-brainer. We could offer firms incentives to do it here, or they could just friggin' do it! (H/t @assaadrazzouk.bsky.social)
Here's a little sumptin' I put together a while back...
Here's a little sumptin' I put together a while back...
What if Walmart turned its parking lots into solar farms?
We asked experts to help crunch the numbers.
www.motherjones.com
November 2, 2025 at 6:55 PM
South Korea has mandated solar canopies for large parking lots. It's a no-brainer. We could offer firms incentives to do it here, or they could just friggin' do it! (H/t @assaadrazzouk.bsky.social)
Here's a little sumptin' I put together a while back...
Here's a little sumptin' I put together a while back...
I don't know what the right path is with regards to rhino horn trade. Not my area of expertise, though I see it discussed a lot. It's possible that opening up legal trade for horns sustainably and non-lethally harvested could fund rhino protection and reduce demand for illegal horns.
But...
But...
November 3, 2025 at 10:13 AM
I don't know what the right path is with regards to rhino horn trade. Not my area of expertise, though I see it discussed a lot. It's possible that opening up legal trade for horns sustainably and non-lethally harvested could fund rhino protection and reduce demand for illegal horns.
But...
But...
Some public toilets in Hong Kong have toilet paper only outside the stalls. You have to bring in with you how much you expect to use.
I'm curious to know how much paper is wasted on this practice. I suspect it's a lot.
I'm curious to know how much paper is wasted on this practice. I suspect it's a lot.
November 3, 2025 at 6:33 AM
Some public toilets in Hong Kong have toilet paper only outside the stalls. You have to bring in with you how much you expect to use.
I'm curious to know how much paper is wasted on this practice. I suspect it's a lot.
I'm curious to know how much paper is wasted on this practice. I suspect it's a lot.
Reposted by Nikolaj Bichel
🧪You may have heard that large-carnivore recovery in Yellowstone National Park triggered one of the world’s strongest trophic cascades. Our new open-access article explains why that story doesn’t hold up: www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...
October 14, 2025 at 6:26 PM
🧪You may have heard that large-carnivore recovery in Yellowstone National Park triggered one of the world’s strongest trophic cascades. Our new open-access article explains why that story doesn’t hold up: www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...
Reposted by Nikolaj Bichel
Tens of thousands of nationals from at least 77 countries have been trafficked into more than 100 scam compounds in Myanmar in recent years.Among them have been at least 75 South Africans.
ANALYSIS | Myanmar’s scam economy poses growing threats to African security | News24
Cyber scam operations in Southeast Asia are highly sophisticated, industrial-scale enterprises that pressgang unsuspecting job seekers into servitude in shockingly exploitative conditions where they f...
www.news24.com
November 3, 2025 at 5:37 AM
Tens of thousands of nationals from at least 77 countries have been trafficked into more than 100 scam compounds in Myanmar in recent years.Among them have been at least 75 South Africans.
Reposted by Nikolaj Bichel
🧪About that “152×” Yellowstone aspen claim (see WaPo headline). In a new preprint we show it’s a math error that inflated the effect by 768%. Corrected: 17.5×. Preprint: doi.org/10.32942/X2W...
November 2, 2025 at 6:03 AM
🧪About that “152×” Yellowstone aspen claim (see WaPo headline). In a new preprint we show it’s a math error that inflated the effect by 768%. Corrected: 17.5×. Preprint: doi.org/10.32942/X2W...
Reposted by Nikolaj Bichel
See also #climate and #envpol - imagined publics are much more convenient than actual ones!
"..rather than following ‘what the people want’, elite actors play an active part in shaping and constructing public opinion and legitimising reactionary politics."
"..rather than following ‘what the people want’, elite actors play an active part in shaping and constructing public opinion and legitimising reactionary politics."
We have had surveys that have shown us exactly this in the UK, France, the EU etc for many years
What we need to ask ourselves is why have journalists, politicians, academics etc chosen to focus on surveys that hype immigration
This is what I explore here:
journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/...
What we need to ask ourselves is why have journalists, politicians, academics etc chosen to focus on surveys that hype immigration
This is what I explore here:
journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/...
November 1, 2025 at 7:14 AM
Reposted by Nikolaj Bichel
The United States was the leading destination for top scientists from all over the world.
That is ending. Politicians ended it. It will cripple our future competitiveness.
And it’s such a bitter tragedy. Almost no Americans, Conservative or Liberal, grasp what is now being stolen from them.
That is ending. Politicians ended it. It will cripple our future competitiveness.
And it’s such a bitter tragedy. Almost no Americans, Conservative or Liberal, grasp what is now being stolen from them.
Top researchers consider leaving U.S. amid funding cuts: 'The science world is ending'
YouTube video by PBS NewsHour
youtu.be
November 1, 2025 at 3:44 AM
The United States was the leading destination for top scientists from all over the world.
That is ending. Politicians ended it. It will cripple our future competitiveness.
And it’s such a bitter tragedy. Almost no Americans, Conservative or Liberal, grasp what is now being stolen from them.
That is ending. Politicians ended it. It will cripple our future competitiveness.
And it’s such a bitter tragedy. Almost no Americans, Conservative or Liberal, grasp what is now being stolen from them.
Reposted by Nikolaj Bichel
Great op-ed response to Califorina lethally removing 4 wolves from a pack that killed 87 (!!) cows in just 6 months. We need to learn how to manage conservation success, including abundance of carnivores recovering.
www.nytimes.com/2025/10/30/o...
www.nytimes.com/2025/10/30/o...
Opinion | The Reality of Living With Wolves, Bears and Mountain Lions
www.nytimes.com
October 31, 2025 at 4:42 AM
Great op-ed response to Califorina lethally removing 4 wolves from a pack that killed 87 (!!) cows in just 6 months. We need to learn how to manage conservation success, including abundance of carnivores recovering.
www.nytimes.com/2025/10/30/o...
www.nytimes.com/2025/10/30/o...
Reposted by Nikolaj Bichel
My op-ed on Chronic Wasting Disease response in British Columbia cranbrooktownsman.com/2025/10/28/c...
COLUMN: CWD response can’t wait - Cranbrook Daily Townsman
Province needs to move faster to respond to emergence of Chronic Wasting Disease in the East Kootenay
cranbrooktownsman.com
October 29, 2025 at 1:13 PM
My op-ed on Chronic Wasting Disease response in British Columbia cranbrooktownsman.com/2025/10/28/c...
Facebook is flooded with animal AI slop accounts (text + images). This is probably common knowledge. What may not be is how often these are tied to Vietnam. I found out that if you visit the profile ➡️ "About" ➡️ "Page Transparency" ➡️ "See All" of them, they are usually managed from Vietnam.
October 28, 2025 at 7:39 PM
Facebook is flooded with animal AI slop accounts (text + images). This is probably common knowledge. What may not be is how often these are tied to Vietnam. I found out that if you visit the profile ➡️ "About" ➡️ "Page Transparency" ➡️ "See All" of them, they are usually managed from Vietnam.
"Killing of captive-bred lions is not hunting" by the Minister of Forestry, Fisheries and the Environment of South Africa, Dion George.
I don't find much to disagree with in that.
I don't find much to disagree with in that.
Killing of captive-bred lions is not hunting
‘Canned hunting’ of animals who are habituated to humans, hand-fed, or drugged, in a confined, controlled environment, is unethical and must stop
mg.co.za
October 28, 2025 at 11:25 AM
"Killing of captive-bred lions is not hunting" by the Minister of Forestry, Fisheries and the Environment of South Africa, Dion George.
I don't find much to disagree with in that.
I don't find much to disagree with in that.
Reposted by Nikolaj Bichel
Allowing domestic bees in a national park is akin to letting cattle graze in it. If beekeepers wanted healthy forests they would not introduce a competitor to wild pollinators.
October 28, 2025 at 2:50 AM
Allowing domestic bees in a national park is akin to letting cattle graze in it. If beekeepers wanted healthy forests they would not introduce a competitor to wild pollinators.
"“We have long known that poaching is a major problem in the United States, but we didn’t truly understand the magnitude of the problem until this Poach and Pay research,” noted Boone and Crockett Club chief executive officer Tony A. Schoonen"
95% of US poaching is unreported or undetected.
95% of US poaching is unreported or undetected.
Boone and Crockett Club Research Identifies Dark Figure and Conservation Cost of Poaching
At a press conference held in Washington, DC, the Boone and Crockett Club announced the findings of the most comprehensive research project on poaching in this country.
www.boone-crockett.org
October 25, 2025 at 12:48 PM
"“We have long known that poaching is a major problem in the United States, but we didn’t truly understand the magnitude of the problem until this Poach and Pay research,” noted Boone and Crockett Club chief executive officer Tony A. Schoonen"
95% of US poaching is unreported or undetected.
95% of US poaching is unreported or undetected.
I hope the next president renames it to the Ballroom of Mexico.
October 25, 2025 at 10:02 AM
I hope the next president renames it to the Ballroom of Mexico.
People who call themselves "entrepreneur" are invariably insufferable douchebags and whatever they've entrepreneured has added nothing of value to the world, regardless of how much money it's made them.
October 23, 2025 at 7:16 AM
People who call themselves "entrepreneur" are invariably insufferable douchebags and whatever they've entrepreneured has added nothing of value to the world, regardless of how much money it's made them.
Reposted by Nikolaj Bichel
GM Daniel Naroditsky passed away. He was a talented chess player, commentator, and educator. FIDE extends its deepest condolences to Daniel’s family and loved ones.
October 20, 2025 at 5:37 PM
GM Daniel Naroditsky passed away. He was a talented chess player, commentator, and educator. FIDE extends its deepest condolences to Daniel’s family and loved ones.
You're not allowed to do this.
October 20, 2025 at 5:51 AM
You're not allowed to do this.