Diving Jack....

Wildlife footage is probably the best thing that came out of the existence of drones so far. Here are my favourite whale videos so far.

Blue whale nursing it's calf:

Bryde's whale, New Zealand
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Bowhead whale, Arctic Canada

A little bit off topic, but not massively so. We have started our Christmas shopping and I thought it would be fun to find underwater / scuba themed gifts for the kids in our family and friendship circle. Here are my ideas so far, posted in ascending order of age.

It's a bit pricey, but this Finding Nemo baby swing seat does deliver a full underwater themed experience. One for the grand kids when we get them!

Then there's this toy aquarium from Fischer Price:

Still for the younger ones, after the success of Disney's finding Dory there are lots of fish figurines swimming around out there. I especially like Destiny the whale shark, available as a "swimming" plastic toy or a soft toy. 

As the kids get older, you start to get a lot more options. The Lego City underwater explorer sets are pretty great. 

Robotic fish are a pretty good option. This YouTube video compares the two most easily available makes:

London's Natural History Museum sells reindeer poo, elephant poo or rhino poo in a box. You decide whether this is fun or a backhanded compliment.

, This week TripAdvisor have announced that they will no longer sell tickets to attractions that allow tourists to come into physical contact with wild animals. This must be good news, but I wonder if there's less to this than the fanfare would make you believe.

Firstly, let me clarify that this is a move in the right direction. Cracking down on anything that leads to the abuse and exploitation of wild animals is a good idea. Not only is this very bad for the animals, but it could also be potentially dangerous for the humans involved. 

Secondly, TripAdvisor are making a number of sensible exceptions: interaction with domestic animals (horseback riding, petting zoos), feeding programs, volontourism and educational touching in zoos (presumably including those don't be afraid of spiders programs many zoos run!)

But what does the change actually amount to? You won't be able to book anything that involves touching wildlife on TripAdvisor. Great, how many people book these things through TripAdvisor? I guess it isn't their core sales, otherwise they wouldn't be putting a stop to it! All they say is that's "it's not a huge revenue loss".

Will these attractions still be listed in TripAdvisor? We aren't told. How about attractions that involve abuse but no touching? Is it ok to watch a monkey riding a bike as long as I'm not touching it? TripAdvisor isn't telling us - yet. 

So yes, it's a good first step, but we aren't quite where we should be yet. That said a hundred years ago people were still exhibited in freakshows. All of which reminds me I should write a post about the dos and don'ts of whale shark excursions.