Raf De Bont 🟥
@rafdebont.bsky.social
Historian of science and the environment // Late adopter & cautious adventurer // Interested in 19th, 20th and 21st century natures // Author of Stations in the Field and Nature's Diplomats // https://moving-animals.nl
You can probably blame the Dutch royals for lots of things, but not for their choice in Erasmus Prize winners. Hooray for Donna Haraway!
November 25, 2025 at 5:26 PM
You can probably blame the Dutch royals for lots of things, but not for their choice in Erasmus Prize winners. Hooray for Donna Haraway!
Seeking adventure! Trying to get to Amsterdam from Leuven. By train. During a national railway strike.
November 25, 2025 at 10:01 AM
Seeking adventure! Trying to get to Amsterdam from Leuven. By train. During a national railway strike.
*Globalizing Wildlife*, a book edited by @vbateman.bsky.social, Tom Quick, and myself, is now available for pre-order with @uncpress.bsky.social!
Using code 01SOCIAL30 at checkout, you can save 30%
www.uncpress.org/book/9781469...
Using code 01SOCIAL30 at checkout, you can save 30%
www.uncpress.org/book/9781469...
Globalizing Wildlife
Humans have always incorporated wildlife into processes of work, capture, and exchange. During the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, globalization became t...
www.uncpress.org
November 7, 2025 at 8:43 AM
*Globalizing Wildlife*, a book edited by @vbateman.bsky.social, Tom Quick, and myself, is now available for pre-order with @uncpress.bsky.social!
Using code 01SOCIAL30 at checkout, you can save 30%
www.uncpress.org/book/9781469...
Using code 01SOCIAL30 at checkout, you can save 30%
www.uncpress.org/book/9781469...
Pre-discussing the Dutch elections @fasosmaastricht.bsky.social
October 29, 2025 at 8:31 PM
Pre-discussing the Dutch elections @fasosmaastricht.bsky.social
Reposted by Raf De Bont 🟥
Today IUCN has officially declared the Slender-billed Curlew extinct, marking the first known global extinction of a formerly widespread migratory bird species whose range included mainland Europe, North Africa, and West Asia.
Read more here ⬇️
www.unep-aewa.org/fr/node/6632
Read more here ⬇️
www.unep-aewa.org/fr/node/6632
October 10, 2025 at 9:47 PM
Today IUCN has officially declared the Slender-billed Curlew extinct, marking the first known global extinction of a formerly widespread migratory bird species whose range included mainland Europe, North Africa, and West Asia.
Read more here ⬇️
www.unep-aewa.org/fr/node/6632
Read more here ⬇️
www.unep-aewa.org/fr/node/6632
Just read that the doctoral thesis of Nobel Prize-winning ethologist Niko Tinbergen was 32 pages long. Efficient.
October 9, 2025 at 1:25 PM
Just read that the doctoral thesis of Nobel Prize-winning ethologist Niko Tinbergen was 32 pages long. Efficient.
Not so long ago, I wrote about the history of human interactions with (wild) hamsters.
A coda in the news today: the Flemish populist right makes the (no longer existing) “hamster coaches” a culture-war target - seemingly to discredit wider biodiversity efforts.
www.standaard.be/politiek/de-...
A coda in the news today: the Flemish populist right makes the (no longer existing) “hamster coaches” a culture-war target - seemingly to discredit wider biodiversity efforts.
www.standaard.be/politiek/de-...
De Vlaamse hamstercoach, de favoriete pispaal van rechts, bestaat al lang niet meer: “Intussen is het beestje hier nagenoeg uitgestorven”
Onder meer Vlaams Belang-voorzitter Tom Van Grieken blijft uithalen naar de “hamstercoach”, als symbool van een Vlaamse regering die haar prioriteiten niet op orde heeft. In werkelijkheid is de functie allang geschrapt en werd Vlaanderen onlangs nog veroordeeld omdat ze de wilde hamster, een Europees bedreigde diersoort, niet genoeg heeft beschermd.
www.standaard.be
October 6, 2025 at 3:23 PM
Not so long ago, I wrote about the history of human interactions with (wild) hamsters.
A coda in the news today: the Flemish populist right makes the (no longer existing) “hamster coaches” a culture-war target - seemingly to discredit wider biodiversity efforts.
www.standaard.be/politiek/de-...
A coda in the news today: the Flemish populist right makes the (no longer existing) “hamster coaches” a culture-war target - seemingly to discredit wider biodiversity efforts.
www.standaard.be/politiek/de-...
@fasosmaastricht.bsky.social is mooi vertegenwoordigd op het Weekend van de Wetenschap!
October 4, 2025 at 12:01 PM
@fasosmaastricht.bsky.social is mooi vertegenwoordigd op het Weekend van de Wetenschap!
Reposted by Raf De Bont 🟥
I am thrilled to announce that I have been awarded a Wellcome Trust Career Development Grant. Over the next five years I'll be directing the research project "Conserving Global Health: Biodiversity Protection and the Prehistory of Planetary Health".
September 30, 2025 at 9:52 AM
I am thrilled to announce that I have been awarded a Wellcome Trust Career Development Grant. Over the next five years I'll be directing the research project "Conserving Global Health: Biodiversity Protection and the Prehistory of Planetary Health".
My neighbors' red maple. Although considered highly adaptable, this one individual has been suffering under increasingly hot and dry summers. Still, every October, it is my favorite non-native species.
October 2, 2025 at 10:52 AM
My neighbors' red maple. Although considered highly adaptable, this one individual has been suffering under increasingly hot and dry summers. Still, every October, it is my favorite non-native species.
RIP Jane Goodall — she forever transformed what it means to do fieldwork.
www.theguardian.com/science/2025...
www.theguardian.com/science/2025...
Jane Goodall, world-renowned primatologist, dies aged 91
Jane Goodall Institute says ‘tireless advocate’ for natural world died in California during US speaking tour
www.theguardian.com
October 1, 2025 at 6:42 PM
RIP Jane Goodall — she forever transformed what it means to do fieldwork.
www.theguardian.com/science/2025...
www.theguardian.com/science/2025...
"The report stresses that climate change and environmental degradation pose a direct threat to Europe’s competitiveness."
Framing environmental policy in this way may well be strategic, but still sad to see the value of nature primarily expressed in terms of geopolitical and economic competition.
Framing environmental policy in this way may well be strategic, but still sad to see the value of nature primarily expressed in terms of geopolitical and economic competition.
🌍🚨 Europe’s environment 2025 is out now, and the conclusions are sobering:
⚠️ Europe’s environment is in poor shape. Nature continues to degrade, biodiversity is declining, and Europe is warming faster than any other region.
www.eea.europa.eu/en/newsroom/...
#EuropesEnvironment2025
⚠️ Europe’s environment is in poor shape. Nature continues to degrade, biodiversity is declining, and Europe is warming faster than any other region.
www.eea.europa.eu/en/newsroom/...
#EuropesEnvironment2025
State of Europe’s environment not good: threats to nature and impacts of climate change top challenges
Significant progress has been made in reducing greenhouse gas emissions and air pollution, but the overall state of Europe’s environment is not good, especially its nature which continues to face degr...
www.eea.europa.eu
October 1, 2025 at 7:43 AM
"The report stresses that climate change and environmental degradation pose a direct threat to Europe’s competitiveness."
Framing environmental policy in this way may well be strategic, but still sad to see the value of nature primarily expressed in terms of geopolitical and economic competition.
Framing environmental policy in this way may well be strategic, but still sad to see the value of nature primarily expressed in terms of geopolitical and economic competition.
Reposted by Raf De Bont 🟥
“Ik vind het echt schokkend dat in principe rechtstatelijke partijen als de VVD en de SGP meegaan met de populisten in de Tweede Kamer, die op deze manier de democratische rechtsorde willen inperken.”
Beatrice de Graaf is ook vernietigend over hun gedrag: www.historischnieuwsblad.nl/antifa/
Beatrice de Graaf is ook vernietigend over hun gedrag: www.historischnieuwsblad.nl/antifa/
Beatrice de Graaf: Antifa-besluit Tweede Kamer is ‘een knuppel om tegenstanders monddood te maken’
‘Een schok’, zo noemt Beatrice de Graaf het besluit van de Tweede Kamer om de Antifa-beweging als terroristische organisatie aan te merken.
www.historischnieuwsblad.nl
September 20, 2025 at 11:03 AM
“Ik vind het echt schokkend dat in principe rechtstatelijke partijen als de VVD en de SGP meegaan met de populisten in de Tweede Kamer, die op deze manier de democratische rechtsorde willen inperken.”
Beatrice de Graaf is ook vernietigend over hun gedrag: www.historischnieuwsblad.nl/antifa/
Beatrice de Graaf is ook vernietigend over hun gedrag: www.historischnieuwsblad.nl/antifa/
On my way back from the "Planetary Futures" conference in Manchester, organized by @sadiahqureshi.bsky.social and @duncanwilson78.bsky.social
Two days of vibrant discussions on how the humanities can help us understand extinction.
Two days of vibrant discussions on how the humanities can help us understand extinction.
September 20, 2025 at 8:39 AM
On my way back from the "Planetary Futures" conference in Manchester, organized by @sadiahqureshi.bsky.social and @duncanwilson78.bsky.social
Two days of vibrant discussions on how the humanities can help us understand extinction.
Two days of vibrant discussions on how the humanities can help us understand extinction.
Reposted by Raf De Bont 🟥
We are seeking a PhD candidate with an interest in East–West European relations (1970s–1990s) to work with me and Aline Sierp. The deadline for submitting proposals is 28 September.
vacancies.maastrichtuniversity.nl/job/Maastric...
vacancies.maastrichtuniversity.nl/job/Maastric...
PhD in the long-term history of the European Union's Eastern enlargement
PhD in the long-term history of the European Union's Eastern enlargement
vacancies.maastrichtuniversity.nl
August 11, 2025 at 12:15 PM
We are seeking a PhD candidate with an interest in East–West European relations (1970s–1990s) to work with me and Aline Sierp. The deadline for submitting proposals is 28 September.
vacancies.maastrichtuniversity.nl/job/Maastric...
vacancies.maastrichtuniversity.nl/job/Maastric...
Impressions from #eseh2025: a speech by Linnaeus himself, grandiose academic architecture and a quaint natural history museum. But, above all, wonderfully engaging panels and workshops. And, abover all, catching up with old and new friends. Many thanks to the organizers!
August 22, 2025 at 4:36 PM
Impressions from #eseh2025: a speech by Linnaeus himself, grandiose academic architecture and a quaint natural history museum. But, above all, wonderfully engaging panels and workshops. And, abover all, catching up with old and new friends. Many thanks to the organizers!
Reposted by Raf De Bont 🟥
Raf De Bont (@rafdebont.bsky.social) discusses how computers changed zoos, touching upon databases, ‘infrastructural globalism’ and transcontinental flows of Siberian tigers!
Read it here: doi.org/10.1017/S174...
Read it here: doi.org/10.1017/S174...
A computerised ark: The International Species Information System (ISIS) and the laborious re-ordering of the zoo world | Journal of Global History | Cambridge Core
A computerised ark: The International Species Information System (ISIS) and the laborious re-ordering of the zoo world - Volume 20 Issue 2
doi.org
August 8, 2025 at 12:36 PM
Raf De Bont (@rafdebont.bsky.social) discusses how computers changed zoos, touching upon databases, ‘infrastructural globalism’ and transcontinental flows of Siberian tigers!
Read it here: doi.org/10.1017/S174...
Read it here: doi.org/10.1017/S174...
Reposted by Raf De Bont 🟥
1/ Happy to share that my article “Beyond Homecoming: The Reintroduction of Seven Przewalski’s Mares in the Gobi Desert” has been published in Environmental Humanities.
It is the story of seven mares flown from Australian zoos to Mongolia’s Gobi Desert in the 1990s
doi.org/10.1215/2201... #envhist
It is the story of seven mares flown from Australian zoos to Mongolia’s Gobi Desert in the 1990s
doi.org/10.1215/2201... #envhist
August 2, 2025 at 7:26 AM
1/ Happy to share that my article “Beyond Homecoming: The Reintroduction of Seven Przewalski’s Mares in the Gobi Desert” has been published in Environmental Humanities.
It is the story of seven mares flown from Australian zoos to Mongolia’s Gobi Desert in the 1990s
doi.org/10.1215/2201... #envhist
It is the story of seven mares flown from Australian zoos to Mongolia’s Gobi Desert in the 1990s
doi.org/10.1215/2201... #envhist
Make sure to read @monicavasile.bsky.social's wonderful new article in Environmental Humanities - arguing we should think of reintroduction projects not as a form of 'homecoming', but as 'homemaking'. #MovingAnimals read.dukeupress.edu/environmenta...
Beyond Homecoming | Environmental Humanities | Duke University Press
read.dukeupress.edu
August 1, 2025 at 9:59 AM
Make sure to read @monicavasile.bsky.social's wonderful new article in Environmental Humanities - arguing we should think of reintroduction projects not as a form of 'homecoming', but as 'homemaking'. #MovingAnimals read.dukeupress.edu/environmenta...
Reposted by Raf De Bont 🟥
New special issue of OSIRIS: "Animal Mobilities" 🐫🐠🐛
The volume was edited by MPIWG Research Scholars Tamar Novick, @lisaonaga.bsky.social, and Gabriel N. Rosenberg of the working groups "Out of Place, Out of Time" and "Proteins and Fibers."
🔗 bit.ly/amv4025
#HistSci #EnvHist #STS #Zoology
The volume was edited by MPIWG Research Scholars Tamar Novick, @lisaonaga.bsky.social, and Gabriel N. Rosenberg of the working groups "Out of Place, Out of Time" and "Proteins and Fibers."
🔗 bit.ly/amv4025
#HistSci #EnvHist #STS #Zoology
June 17, 2025 at 9:52 AM
New special issue of OSIRIS: "Animal Mobilities" 🐫🐠🐛
The volume was edited by MPIWG Research Scholars Tamar Novick, @lisaonaga.bsky.social, and Gabriel N. Rosenberg of the working groups "Out of Place, Out of Time" and "Proteins and Fibers."
🔗 bit.ly/amv4025
#HistSci #EnvHist #STS #Zoology
The volume was edited by MPIWG Research Scholars Tamar Novick, @lisaonaga.bsky.social, and Gabriel N. Rosenberg of the working groups "Out of Place, Out of Time" and "Proteins and Fibers."
🔗 bit.ly/amv4025
#HistSci #EnvHist #STS #Zoology
Reposted by Raf De Bont 🟥
📸🪶 Congrats to Pauw Vos on securing an #NWO PhDs in the Humanities grant! His project: "Narratives of the Nest: Early Dutch Bird #Photography and the Visual Construction of Conservation (1890-1940)”. Supervised by @rafdebont.bsky.social & Miriam Meissner.
July 10, 2025 at 11:55 AM
📸🪶 Congrats to Pauw Vos on securing an #NWO PhDs in the Humanities grant! His project: "Narratives of the Nest: Early Dutch Bird #Photography and the Visual Construction of Conservation (1890-1940)”. Supervised by @rafdebont.bsky.social & Miriam Meissner.
Warning: DB rant approaching.
July 5, 2025 at 3:30 PM
Warning: DB rant approaching.
The imagined student-professor relationship at Basel university looks rather, uh, Leninist.
July 5, 2025 at 8:30 AM
The imagined student-professor relationship at Basel university looks rather, uh, Leninist.
"It amounts to misleading your readers scientifically and – pardon me – it is rather questionable as human behaviour."
Ethologist Rudolf Schenkel, unhappy about a reference to his work in a book by Irenäus Eibl-Eibesfeldt, expresses his frustration in an angry letter in 1968.
Ethologist Rudolf Schenkel, unhappy about a reference to his work in a book by Irenäus Eibl-Eibesfeldt, expresses his frustration in an angry letter in 1968.
July 1, 2025 at 5:08 PM
"It amounts to misleading your readers scientifically and – pardon me – it is rather questionable as human behaviour."
Ethologist Rudolf Schenkel, unhappy about a reference to his work in a book by Irenäus Eibl-Eibesfeldt, expresses his frustration in an angry letter in 1968.
Ethologist Rudolf Schenkel, unhappy about a reference to his work in a book by Irenäus Eibl-Eibesfeldt, expresses his frustration in an angry letter in 1968.