Ecomath- a new word?

I have come up with a new word. Why not? Shakespeare did it, a rapper did it (the word "dench"), new words appear all the time. This is a derivative of "Polymath"; nothing to do with maths, but defined as a person who is interested in and has knowledge of a large range of subjects. Obviously an Ecomath would be one who is interested in all things natural. 

Many birders are just birders, and remain so, but most, either through boredom or a natural interest, become interested in moths or butterflies. Mothing is an obvious "first step" as it does not entail leaving home, it takes a lot of learning (if you don't rely on AI) and has a far lower cost and carbon footprint than birding. I had a general interest in animals from an early age, I used to watch horse racing on the TV from about the age of four,  just to see the horses. I have only attended one horse race (the 200th Derby, as it happens) and never entered a betting shop, but I know quite a lot about horses generally and hope to see Prewalski's Horse in Mongolia next year. Some birders are ex-anglers or even ex-hunters, they become interested by observing what is around whilst they're out. I don't know of any egg-collectors that have switched interests (although I would be happy to hear of any). Many of my age did it briefly at school, but to continue when grown up is selfish and antisocial, as well as illegal. 

I think that too many people nowadays are introduced to one interest, and never take an interest in anything else. Especially travelling abroad, being too narrow in your approach means you miss an awful lot, and learning "live" will stay with you far more than something you read on the internet. "Each to their own" is my mantra, but I always admire one or two friends that go out for a day's birding and start pointing out flowers, bees, dragonflies, almost anything that is part of the vast natural world, and they can name them all. 

When I travel I usually photograph anything interesting, this can include scenery, insects, reptiles (snakes especially) mammals, plants and flowers, fish, spiders, anything living, but also sculptures, commemorative or amusing signs, so I suppose I'm an ecomath. However travelling, whether twitching in the UK or as far as Australia, will always teach you something you didn't know if you want it to. I have learnt more history in the last twenty years than I ever did at school (mainly because I had to drop the subject to do biology and geography). I knew nothing about Napoleon until I visited St. Helena to see the Plover, I had looked up the gull but found it to be named after his cousin.   

My biggest problem is identifying things I photograph. This is OK in Europe, especially with AI, and obviously nearly every country in the world has a field guide for birds (if not the relevant info is still available). But insects, in particular, can be a nightmare, I recently tried identifying some moths from Costa Rica. Of some 12,000 species photographs were only available for about 4,800. I'm sure there are books which show more, but my bookshelves at home are already over full. Butterflies can be easier, obviously because they are seen in daylight and in the main quite attractive, but a particular area for which there is little information is bats. I have a particular reason for wanting to identify this bat, any info, contacts etc. would be very welcome.

We were in Uganda in a lodge which had a shower room at the front. I was doing something at the sink whereas Ann was still in bed. I felt a slight "bump" on my shoulder but wasn't concerned, so I looked in the large mirror. I saw this bat clinging to my t-shirt. Being an "ecomath" my first concern was to wake Ann, which I did, having very carefully taken off the the t-shirt and placed it on the floor. I then took some photos, thinking the bat would fly off when we opened the door. However, it could get no grip on the polished floor (good quality lodge), so we encouraged it on to a towel, mindful of the fact that we never have rabies jabs because the risk is normally so small. It seemed to like the towel  and settled down, so I picked it up carefully and put it outside. Ten minutes later it had gone. When we got home I got absolutely nowhere in identifying it, there are some 840 species of bat in Uganda, and I didn't know where to start, but I'll find it one day.

I firmly believe that our attitude keeps us going, and can think of nothing better than an interest in the natural world to help prevent dementia. I just wish that the term "general knowledge" was no longer a euphemism for media studies. More and more people are taking an interest in the natural world, but there is so much more out there than just birds. I realise I have been very fortunate to see so much, but then I don't turn up at a twitch in a Porsche. As I become less able to get out and about I will put more species on my website, a "celebration" of biodiversity is below. (I've just been able to identify the Flyingfish, it's a Yellow Bandwing, and flyingfish is officially all one word)









 

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