Blogs with a Bite

It started Saturday night. We were on the couch, lights dimmed halfway, the kids upstairs. Everything was normal.Until we saw him. Tall. Black. Still. A spider. But not just any spider.Big. Logically speaking, at least as big as a human hand (okay, in our minds).And...

“Some people prefer familiar problems over unfamiliar possibilities.”– Omdenken Humans are strange creatures. We complain about bears getting too close to our villages.About foxes stealing chickens.About badgers digging under roads like they’ve never read the urban...

Imagine if the animals could send us a message. What would that sound like with the upcoming breeding season just around the corner? I started in a creative mood:   Pssst… It’s Breeding Season! Will you help out with a Paw?   Hey there, nature lover! 🐾   We...

We need new stories!   If we really want to be transformative in our engagement with nature and therefore wildlife, it is important to revisit: “How people view and connect with the natural world”. That's an obvious truth, whether it will be connecting with wild...

One of the most asked questions about conflicts between humans and wildlife is the following:   "Why are human-wildlife conflicts growing?"   Human-wildlife conflicts are growing due to several interconnected factors. As human populations expand and...

This week - September 23, 2020 - the second European Pathways Conference would be held in the Netherlands. Today would have been the closing day of the Conference. But, unfortunately, due to Covid-19 it has been cancelled this year. Nevertheless, the conference is...

On 21 September 2018 I defended my dissertation “Rethinking Wildlife Management: Living With Wild Animals”. This was quite an experience: full of adrenaline, full of excitement if I would understand the questions and if I was able to provide a satisfying answer to my...

Monday I was in the famous ‘Greenroom’ of Wageningen University. No, the greenroom is not outside, relaxed, in the forest. Or, in a green park. No the ‘Greenroom’ is located in the basement of one of the WUR-buildings. And in that basement they make the clips for all...

Thursday 1 November 2018 I presented and attended at the symposium ‘Towards Convivial Conservation?: Governing human-wildlife relations in the ‘Anthropocene’’, organised by the Centre for Space, Place and Society of Wageningen University by Bram Büscher and Robert...