Comets as Arks

MYSTERIOUS TRAVELLERS OF THE SOLAR SYSTEM

every society there are those who do not play by the rules, and who dream of taking long journeys of pilgrimage. In our Solar System, these maverick renegades are also the most mysterious; they are the comets that bring magic and wonder to our night skies. Unexpectedly, and beyond our wildest imaginings, they are the source of all true magic – they hold the key to the origins of life on Earth.

All objects in our Solar System planets travel on predictable, elliptical paths around the Sun. Newton's physical mathematics have enabled us to chart out the movements of the planets, moons and asteroids, but the comets surprise us from afar. Swooping in to visible range from the outer limits of observational distance, they travel along the most extreme of orbital paths.

Zooming past the Sun and then back out into the edge of the Solar System, their "year", or orbital period, can last for millions of years. With high-precision observations, comets are indeed mathematically predictable. However, sometimes comets break up, collide with other objects or are gravitationally deflected out into the cold distances between the stars. Humans have so far observed and catalogued more than five thousand comets – a small number when compared to the trillions of them theorised to be orbiting the Sun.

Comets have been recorded by humans for thousands of years, and consistently recognised as omens of great significance. Written observations appear globally and are often linked to subsequent events: in the 4,000-year-old Mesopotamian epic Gilgamesh as the bringer of flood, as Chinese illustrations of “vile stars” in 240 BC, in connection with the assassination of Julius Caesar in 44 BC, in advance of the birth of Christ, in the European Bayeux Tapestry depicting battles of the year 1066, and in the Incan Empire in advance of Pizarro's 1533 conquest. Deriving their name from the Greek word for "longhaired", they were unexplainable until much more recent times.

In 1705, the British mathematician Edmund Halley detected a pattern in the historical records of comets. There had been sightings in 1531, 1607 and 1682. Observing the 76-year interval, he correctly predicted a comet would arrive in the year 1758. Unfortunately, Halley did not live long enough to see it, but he established that many of the world's historical comet sightings were in fact, one singular object. Curiously, the American author Mark Twain was born on the exact day of its arrival in 1835, and died on the exact day of its arrival in 1910. You may be old enough to remember its last visit, or young enough to look forward to its next arrival in 2061. dramatic tail is actually composed of two, often overlapping parts: a curved dust tail trailing behind, and an ion gas tail pushed by the solar wind pointing directly away from the Sun.

The observed comets are classified as either short or long period. The short period comets orbit in regions of space between 35 and 100 astronomical units (AU) from the Sun; each AU is the distance from Earth to the Sun, or about 150 million kilometres. Just beyond the orbit of Neptune, these regions known as the Kuiper Belt and the Scattered Disk are filled with objects similar to the asteroids that exist between Mars and Jupiter. These comets are flung onto their dramatic orbits by the gravity of Neptune, and every so often one is deflected towards the Earth and the Sun.

programme currently on air on Outdoor Channel Asia.

He is visiting the Asian region to talk about his work on animal conservation, and I’m here to talk to him about what he does in places like Kenya, Namibia and Congo.

Face to face with a wildlife detective

Ivan calls himself a wildlife detective, which means he investigates the root problems of animal poaching and hunting today. From saving elephants from ivory poachers in South Africa’s Kruger National Park to investigating a tragic crocodile attack along the Zambezi River, Ivan is at the forefront of his work.

“Calling myself a wildlife detective may sound like a good marketing catchphrase,” he admits. “But it’s really the essence of what I do. So much of my time is spent talking to guides and researchers, and I want to tell the stories that no one is telling, where the humans and wildlife collide.”

Having done back-to-back interviews all day, Ivan shows no signs of tiredness. His passion is infectious as he talks about the immense pressure that rhinos, elephants, zebras and lions are facing today.

“The human population is growing so fast, but on the other hand, the wildlife is shrinking,” he says. “My aim is to educate people about the issue and make them understand the solutions instead of just the problem.”

Today, Africa is the fastest growing continent and also the poorest, and the threat of poaching and hunting in the region is more real than ever.

“This show is more about how we, as members of the world community, can help educate people unfamiliar with the daily hardships of the African people,” explains Ivan.

“I remember a visit to the animal orphanages, where over 30 baby rhinos were rescued,” Ivan recalls. “Their first interaction with humans was watching their mothers being shot and having their faces cut off. Now, that’s a tough deal. It was emotionally-draining, but despite their tragic start, we have to look at the hope they have now with all the conservation efforts going on.”

According to reports by the World Wildlife Fund ( WWF), poaching is the greatest threat facing African rhinos, with gangs increasingly using sophisticated methods like helicopters and night vision equipment to track the mammals, with some even resorting to veterinary drugs to knock them out.

The number of rhinos poached in South Africa alone increased by 9,000% since 2007, from 13 to a record 1,215 in 2014, with the demand coming mostly from Asia. Powdered horn is used in traditional Chinese medicine believed to cure hangovers and other illnesses, while in recent years, the boom in demand has come from Vietnam, where rhino horn is bought as a symbol of wealth.

“Sometimes, we are just too far away from the problem,” says Ivan. “And that is why people like me have the responsibility to tell others what’s going on in the frontline. If an animal is worth more to the community dead than alive, then they’re all going to die. But if an animal is worth more alive than dead because people are prepared to pay money to look at it – or whatever way we can give that animal value – then there is hope and a future for it.”

For Ivan, filming for Season Two has already begun and promises to be another highly-compelling and provocative year. Topics covered will include the use of military tracker dogs to combat poaching, filming the rehabilitative move of elephants, lions and cheetahs, as well as getting a rare look into the work of antipoaching teams.

“The most moving thing for me is seeing how passionate these people are on the frontline and how underrecognised and under-funded they are,” says Ivan. “You won’t believe the impact it has on us working on the show, especially our camera crew.”

“They start on day one with me and it’s just a job to them. They see the stuff that goes on and think, ‘Oh, that’s pretty cool’. But by the third or fourth day, they have become so emotionally engaged that they truly want to make a difference. That’s probably one of the biggest rewards for me in my line of work.”

Ivan shows no signs of stopping. His next stop is Bangkok and by the time this story has gone to print, Ivan would’ve visited Taipei as well on his Asia tour, a region that is no stranger to wildlife poaching.

“I feel very fortunate to be a part of this programme,” he says. “People like me have the responsibility to tell others what’s going on in the frontline. We owe it to conservation to print these stories in a way that the most number of people will read it with the greatest effect possible.”

“I said to my publicity manager, let me talk to as many people as possible. The more people we can speak to, the bigger an impact we’ll make. I mean, the media is so powerful, so don’t we all have a responsibility to tell the truth in an emotionally compelling way?” he asks.

Alas, my time with the wildlife detective has come to an end. But his zeal and passion for conservation remains with me till this day. What does he want his viewers to go away with? I ask.

“I want my viewers to know that there is hope,” says Ivan. “Amidst the turmoil of human and wildlife conflict, there are enough passionate people on the conservation front. The humans are the hope just like the humans are the problem. And with support, amazing things can happen.” ag