Volume 10
Knowledge and Practices concerning Nature and the Universe
Ghost of the Forest: the Tangible and Intangible in Natural and Cultural Heritage
Ghost of the Forest: the Tangible and Intangible in Natural and Cultural Heritage
The Solitaire (Pezophaps solitaria) was said to ...make a great noise withtheir wings when angry, and the noise is something like thunder in thedistance. (1891)
Whales entering rivers intentionally, possibly to rest or to get rid of marine parasites in fresh water, may have been a more common phenomenon in the past. This humpback whale calf and its mother entered the Sacramento River, California in 2007.
The Imperial woodpecker (Campephilus imperialis) which threw himself over on his tail, with outspread wings, presenting a warlike front of threatening beak and talons. This pair are displayed in the Naturhistorische Landessammlung Wiesbaden, Germany.
Rock paintings of domestic and wild animals at the World Heritage Site of Tadrart Acacus in Libya. The tangible and intangible properties of the natural species inspired human artists.
The Kagu (Rhynochetos jubatus) is also known as the ‘Ghost of the Forest’. Its calls are echoed in the traditional songs and dances of New Caledonia.
The ‘peculiar manners’ of Erythromachus leguati included the phenomenon that If you offer them anything that is red, they are so angry that they will fly at you to catch it out of your hand. Only its bones survive. (1879)
The Passenger pigeon migrated in immense flocks in search of food. This may still affect the species composition of some forests.
Whale skeletons found in Wadi al-Hitan, Egypt, give us an insight into these creatures’ anatomy but their behaviour remains unknown to us.