HAPPY NEW YEAR

Kea ora

The kea (Nestor notabilis) is a large species of parrot found in forested and alpine regions of the South Island of New Zealand. Check out my facebook album and learn a little bit about this amazing bird. Feel free to leave a comment or add an info about the Kea or New Zealand.

Take a look: http://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.10150358271237836.371398.653687835&type=1&l=f53125b080

A WILD RIDE THROUGH PANTANAL - UNDERXMAG 7

The new Underxmag now available and with a article I wrote about the Brazilian Pantanal, the largest wetland on earth.
A WILD RIDE THROUGH PANTANAL
By Cristian Dimitrius

You can dowanload the English edition with this article for free at: http://underxmag.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/12/underx_eng07w.pdf

Enjoy!

Cristian Dimitrius

Do you know the Liger?

The liger is a hybridcross between a male lion (Panthera leo) and a tigress(Panthera tigris). It is the largest of all known cats. In the mix he gets characteristics from both parents, for instance, Ligers enjoy swimming which is a characteristic of tigers and are very sociable like lions. Ligers exist only in captivity because the habitat of the parental species do not overlap in the wild. Notably, ligers typically grow as large as both parents put together.
Hercules, the largest non-obese liger, who is recognized by the Guinness book of records as the largest living cat on Earth, weighing over 410 kg (904 lb). A really big cat!
I spent one day filming these huge animals in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina. They belong to "The Institute of Greatly Endangered and Rare Species (aka T.I.G.E.R.S), founded in 1982 by the conservationist Doc Antle to raise awareness about the serious risks of extinction big cats have to deal these days.
Acompanhamos um passeio onde turistas tem a oportunidade de ver e interagir com diversos animais sendo as maiores estrelas os felinos.

Doc Antle and Hercules, the biggest cat in the world

I confess that for me, who spend most of my time film animals in the wild, this experience wasn't too rewarding. However I realize after spend few hours with Doc's team that during these encounters their guests connect with wildlife in a very intimate way which personally involves them in the lives of these amazing animals. The message about conservation is very clear in the guides speech, which by the way make a very professional work.

They then walk away into the world with a desire to save these creatures and help preserve their environments. If they really switch this motivation into actions, maybe these magnificent species have a chance to survive the attack of their greatest predators, ourselves....

Meeting the Jaguar

This time I went deep in the jungle of the Brazilian Pantanal looking for the beautiful Jaguar. The Pantanal is one of the biggest floodable land with the biggest bio-diversity of South America also considered an important biosphere reserve. The total area is around 240,000 square kilometers and is situated in Brazil, Bolivia and Paraguay.


Is really a paradise for wildlife lovers. But our main reason to be there was to find Jaguars. And we did it.The jaguar is the third-largest feline after the tiger and the lion, and the largest and most powerful feline in the Western Hemisphere. Weights are normally in the range of 56–96 kilograms (124–211 lb), but larger males have been recorded at 159 kilograms (350 lb).
The Jaguar is a largely solitary, stalk-and-ambush predator, and is opportunistic in prey selection. It is also an apex and keystone predator, playing an important role in stabilizing ecosystems and regulating the populations of prey species. It has also the most powerful bite among the other big cats.


We spend 10 days looking for it and we had 2 brief encounters and 1 encounter that last for at least 2 hours. Definitely the Pantanal is the best place on earth to find these animals and film them!

Back to The Bahamas

Last year I was invited by American Airlines to go back to Nassau, Bahamas. For me, is always a pleasure to go to those islands because I lived there for 3 years...i feel just like in home while there....and I still keep some really good friends on the island.
I used to be a shark feeder over there, working for Stuart Cove Dive Bahamas, the most famous dive resort in the whole world. For more than 30 years them have been exploring the reefs, wrecks, and coral walls of Nassau. During this time them have discovered the best of what Nassau has to offer. They always have something new and unique to amaze and thrill anyone who dive with them.
This was the first time I was visiting the island after my departure and I was curious if I still had the guts to be a good feeder. I had to check out.




Pacific diving destinations may have more colorful soft corals and more diverse marine life, but nowhere has the total package offered by the Bahamas. It's the combination of extraordinarily clear water, abundant reef creatures, high-voltage predator encounters, unusual pelagic life, and proximity that makes the Bahamas' dive experience so cumulatively appealing. Having all this accessible, less than an hour away from either the Miami or Ft. Lauderdale airports, is really pretty amazing. Location, Value, and Quality of the Dive Experience three overwhelming reasons to put the Bahamas at the top of any traveling diver's "must do" list.
I filmed and edit some videos so you can enjoy the Bahamas with me; Please, check them out!

LEAVING THE DOCK


NASSAU MARINE LIFE


WRECK DIVING


SHARK FEEDING - staring Caribbean Reef Sharks & I

Images: Cristian Dimitrius
Extra images feeding: Marc Taggart
Camera: Sony EX1 with Gates Housing.

I really miss this place...


dive safe,

Cristian Dimitrius

FACE TO FACE WITH SHARKS

This is one of the most exciting experiences I had in Roatan. Specially because I used to be a shark feeder in the Bahamas (i will comment about this experience soon).
This dive site is located on a unique part of the reef surrounding the island, an arm that juts perpendicularly from the southern shore surrounded by walls that drop off to depths beyond the reach of divers using scuba. The dive site is named "Cara a Cara" which in Spanish means ‘face to face’. Cara a Cara is also quite different from sites found on similar shark encounters around the Caribbean. Firstly the sharks have not been ‘chummed’ away from their natural environment…according to local fishermen...sharks have been stealing fish from them here for years! The sharks are all Caribbean Reef Sharks, all female, displaying a daytime schooling behavior known only to a few species of sharks. Typically about 6 to 9 feet long and several hundred pounds each, these are handsome, powerful fish – healthy hunters of the reef in natures system of checks and balances. It is an unique experience!!! Unfortunately, like hundreds of other fish species, sharks are under increasing pressure from the global fishing industry. As stocks of edible fish decline all over the world, many fishing fleets are turning to sharks as an alternative food source, with potentially catastrophic effects, not just on shark populations, but on the marine ecosystem too. Shark populations take a long time to recover from overfishing. They grow very slowly and take a long time to reach sexual maturity – 20 years or more in some species. When they do reproduce, they produce very few offspring compared to other food fish species. These factors have already endangered several species of shark, particularly in coastal areas with large populations to feed, such as the North Atlantic coast of America. The decline in the number of sharks has serious consequences for the ecosystems in which they live. Sharks are a vital part of the food chain, and their predatory nature helps to keep populations of their prey species in check. Without sharks to help maintain a healthy balance, marine environments are at great risk of permanent damage.
Please check http://www.seashepherd.org/sharks/ and help us to "save the sharks".

The Beautiful Caribbean reef shark (Carcharhinus perezi)

Take a look at this video as well made during my first visit to Roatan (FEB/08):

Take care!!!