ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Graeme Green is a British photographer, journalist and travel writer. He has travelled the world for the last 15 years and his work has appeared in The Guardian and National Geographic. Graeme is also the founder of the New Big 5 wildlife photography project. Find out more at newbig5.com.
THE WORLD WASN'T CRYING OUT for a turtle-cat hybrid. But the arrival of "Turtle-cat' in 2018 proved such a hit that someone forked out US$25,000 for it. What they paid for wasn't a new-to-science discovery, a genetic experiment, a toy, or even an astounding work of art, but what is rather catchily known as a 'non-fungible token' (NFT).
If you're lost at the words 'fungible' or 'token', you're not alone. NFTs are a bewildering subject. Essentially, they're a digital trading system. “Non-fungible tokens are similar to cryptocurrencies, like Bitcoin," explains Peter Howson, senior lecturer in international development at Northumbria University. “The big difference is that, whereas individual Bitcoins all have the same value and are interchangeable, NFTs are more like antique baseball cards: each has a different value. Fungible means ‘mutually interchangeable' and 'of identical value'.
Anything digital can be represented as an NFT. They're crypto-collectibles rather than cryptocurrency. You collect and trade them with other people who share your interest.”
Turtle-cat, also known as Honu, was created by online blockchain game CryptoKitties, and was auctioned to raise money for marine conservation. It was a sign of things to come - NFTs now sell for ludicrous sums of money, and are proving a significant source of revenue for charities.
This story is from the April 2022 edition of BBC Wildlife.
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This story is from the April 2022 edition of BBC Wildlife.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 9,000+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber? Sign In
Jump Around - Bagheera Kiplingi - The acrobatic spider with a predilection for veggie food
Spiders eat flies, right? everyone knows that the 45,000 or so spiders in the world are all obligate carnivores, more or less – eating other animals, mainly invertebrates. Nature, however, loves an exception, and one particular spider missed out on that ecological memo. It goes by the wonderful scientific name of Bagheera kiplingi, and its claim to fame is that its diet is – at least mostly – vegetarian.
Female of the Species - Zebras - A strong sisterhood is key to staying safe
Zebras are masters of confusion. Their collective noun is ‘a dazzle’, which is fitting since their bodies and behaviour have been surprising scientists for centuries.
See It, Save It? - Wildlife tourism can be a powerful ally in protecting nature - but it can also harm it. We weigh up the pros and cons.
The sums of wildlife travel aren’t as simple as more tourists equals happier nature. How much did my visit really contribute to the conservation of Lady Liuwa and her habitat – and was that outweighed by carbon emissions from my flights? Did my presence disturb the animals’ natural behaviour more than it reduced the threat of poaching or benefited local communities?The question of whether wildlife travel is, on balance, good for wildlife is a complex one – and there’s no simple answer.
Can Your Really Offset Emissions? - Planning an overseas wildlife-watching trip entails facing some inconvenient truths
Imagine (or maybe you don't need to) that you hanker after the safari trip of a lifetime in sub-Saharan Africa. A 17-day tour beginning at the iconic Victoria Falls, passing through Zimbabwe, Zambia, Malawi and Tanzania, taking in some of the continent’s most wildlife-rich national parks, and ending on the lush island of Zanzibar.
Metamorphosis: a life-changing event
WITH EVOLUTIONARY BIOLOGIST JV CHAMARY
New series for BBC One: Asia
Settle in this autumn for a new natural-history extravaganza on BBC One and iPlayer: the longawaited Asia, presented by Sir David Attenborough.
Loss of Antarctic sea ice could impact seabird food supply
Albatrosses and petrels may be forced to fly further to feed
Tarsiers in trouble
Urgent action is needed to ensure survival of the Yoda-like primate
SNAP-CHAT
Chien Lee on shrew loos, rogue drones and being rained out of bed
VISIONS OF NATURE
The winners of the Wildlife Artist of the Year competition 2024, from David Shepherd Wildlife Foundation
