Panel: Richard Collins, Éanna Ní Lamhna & Niall Hatch

Reporter: Terry Flanagan

In addition to listening to us on RTÉ Radio One at 22:00 every Monday night, don't forget that you can also listen back to each of our programmes any time you like at www.rte.ie/mooney. There, you will find an extensive archive of past broadcasts, conveniently split into different topics and segments.

Tonight’s programme features special report by our roving reporter Terry Flanaganabout Ireland’s only legally protected insect, the Marsh Fritillary butterfly, from Lullymore West bog in Co. Kildare.

This was not Terry’s first visit to this wonderful nature reserve, a paradise for butterfly enthusiasts, to learn about these amazing insects. Our suggestion this week from the extensive Mooney Goes Wildarchives is a report we first broadcast in May 2015. In it, Terry explores Lullymore West in the company of Irish Peatland Conservation Council ConservationOfficer Tadhg Ó Corcora to find out more about Marsh Fritillaries.

To listen to this programme from the Mooney Goes Wild archives, visit https://www.rte.ie/radio/radio1/clips/20774092/

Chilean Humpback Whale bites off more than it can chew

As you may have seen online or on the news, in a story that went viral worldwide, a Chilean kayaker called Adrián Simancasrecently had an encounter with a Humpback Whale which could certainly be described as up close and personal . . . and then some!

Adrián was kayaking in the Strait of Magellan, off Chilean Patagonia, when one of these massive marine mammals broke the surface and scooped both kayaker and kayak into its enormous mouth. Seconds later, apparently shocked by what had happened, the whale spat Adrián and his craft back out again. Thankfully, man, kayak and whale were all completely unharmed and, happily for us, Adrián's father captured the whole spectacle on video.

On tonight’s programme, Pádraig Whooley, Sightings Officer with the Irish Whale and Dolphin Group, tells us more about this incredible encounter, the diets of Humpback Whales and why the reports across the media of the whale "swallowing a man whole" were hyperbolic nonsense. As Pádraig tells us, this whale certainly had no intention actually of eating Adrián and/or his kayak; for one, despite their massive size, these whales are unable to swallow anything larger in size than a grapefruit.

For more information about the Irish Whale and Dolphin Group, visit https://iwdg.ie/

Hazel Dormouse in Co. Kildare

A listener from Co. Kildare, recently sent us a photo of a very small mammal that she discovered fast asleep in Co. Kildare. We showed it to Éanna, who immediately recognised it as a Hazel Dormouse, a tiny species of rodent perhaps most famous for its prominent appearance in Lewis Carroll's Alice in Wonderland.

The Hazel Dormouse is not native to Ireland, but recently became established in parts of Co. Kildare, presumably the result of a few individuals, or even a lone pregnant female, being transported in hay that was imported from Britain or continental Europe as animal fodder.

Unlike our native rodent species, dormice hibernate during the winter months, hence their name. The first syllable in the word "dormouse" apparently shares the same origin as the French verb "dormir", which means "to sleep": it is, literally, the "sleeping mouse".

For more information about the presence of Hazel Dormice in Co. Kildare, visit https://wildgaia.org/projects/new-species/irish-dormouse-monitoring-project

Marsh Fritillary butterfly

Just one species of insect has specifically been afforded protection under Irish law: the Marsh Fritillary butterfly. One of the strongholds of this rare creature is Lullymore West in Co. Kildare, a paradise for lepidopterists, where 26 of Ireland's 35 butterfly species can be found.

Every year, volunteers from the Irish Peatland Conservation Council conduct surveys of wet grassland areas to monitor Marsh Fritillaries, kicking off in early spring. The caterpillars have overwintered in groups, protected by a web, and at this time of year they begin to emerge to feed and disperse, so now is a very good time to monitor their numbers.

Last weekend, our roving reporter, Terry Flanagan, joined Nuala Madigan of the Irish Peatland Conservation Council as she and her fellow volunteers began their search for these small black caterpillars.

For more information about Marsh Fritillary butterflies and the Irish Peatland Conservation Council’s efforts to monitor them, visit https://www.ipcc.ie/a-to-z-peatlands/peatland-species/marsh-fritillary-butterfly/

Calling all farmers: the Breeding Waders EIP needs you!

Amongst Ireland's breeding birds, it is members of the wader family that are in the most severe trouble. Formerly common and widespread, today species such as Curlew, Redshank and Lapwing are at imminent risk of extinction, following massive and rapid declines in their breeding populations since the 1970’s.

The Breeding Waders European Innovation Partnership (EIP) has been established to try to save these struggling birds before it is too late. This €25 million nationwide project, co-funded by the National Parks and Wildlife Service and the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine, aims to secure and support the recovery of breeding wader populations through landscape management and policy development.

On tonight’s programme, Owen Murphy, Project Manager of the Breeding Waders EIP, joins us to tell us more about the reasons for the sad plight of these enigmatic birds, the threats they continue to face today and the methods being used to try to prevent their extinction and boost their numbers. As Owen tells us, the recruitment of farmers and landowners to undertake funded conservation measures is one of the most crucial parts of these efforts.

For more information about the Breeding Waders EIP, visit https://breedingwaders.ie/