I struggle to fathom how in this day and age, three so called 'developed' countries still hunt whales. It's easy to feel helpless but here's a simple way to make your feelings clear. The following is a list of the UK phone numbers of the embassies for Japan, Norway and Iceland. Pick up the phone and tell them how you feel ... write them a quick email or follow the link under Icelandic embassy to send them a direct message.

Japanese embassy: 020 7465 6500

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Norwegian embassy: 020 7591 5500

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Icelandic embassy: 020 7259 3999

http://www.iceland.is/iceland-abroad/uk/embassy-information/enquiries

Last week a magazine asked me to pick 10 of my orangutan photos for a feature. Hard really, but these are the ones I chose (in no particular order!)

This photo is soon to become a limited edition print and needs a title. The best suggestion gets a free print !

Competition closed ... the winner was Emma Goodman Milne with the title 'Synchronicity'.

I'm delighted to announce that wildlife artist,  Chris Wright, has used one of my images for his work entitled 'Hanging On'. A percentage of all sales are donated by Chris to the Born Free Foundation. Congratulation to Chris for being shortlisted for the David Shepherd Wildlife Artist of the Year 2011. Click here to see more of his wonderful art.

Thanks so much to Alison, Anthony, Heidi, Jo, Russ, Sandra & Robert for making this trip such an absolute joy. Spending time with a lovely group of people, gently gliding along the rivers of Borneo in search of wildlife ... is there a better way to spend a week ? Between us, we raised another $4000 to help the Orangutan Foundation in their work to ensure that orangutans have a long term future in the wild and were rewarded with some spectacular close encounters with a diverse range of wildlife. Here's a few random photos !

My new wildlife book 'Swimming with Dolphins, Tracking Gorillas' is finished ... hooray ! It now goes for final proof and printing and will be published by Bradt in July 2012. The format is a coffee table style paperback, with half text and half photos, showing how and where to see the world's iconic wildlife.

"How lucky that we found Ian on the internet! Our trip to Tanjung Puting was brilliant; we have always wanted to visit this incredible place and Ian's knowledge and experience made our trip truly unforgettable." Lee and Derek

My April trip to Tanjung Puting blew all records of wild orangutan sightings away. By the end of our time in Borneo we'd seen an incredible 32 good sightings along with scores of close up encounters with the semi wild orangutans that visit the various feeding platforms in the park. Thanks so much to Marta, Janelle, Rajeev, Kylea, Derek and Lee for being a such a lucky group! With two books currently underway at the same time, life is a little hectic, so instead of writing any more about this trip here's a selection of photos ... after all a picture paints a thousand words ? To read a previous trip report click here.

I'm delighted to confirm that I've recently signed contracts on a new travel book. I'm currently in Sumatra for 8 weeks researching and photographing the area destroyed by the tsunami in 2004 for this book ... more info will follow !

" Our trip to Tanjung Puting was a marvellous experience. To get so close to the wildlife and particularly the orangutans made for a unique opportunity to see the rainforest as it should be. " Michael Helliwell ... (To see some of Michael's photos visit his website here.)

I'd had a week off in Sulawesi after my previous trip to Tanjung Puting and to be perfectly honest I was slightly nervous about this trip. Only because the last one had been so exceptional (click here for trip report) and we'd beaten all previous records for wild orangutan sightings. But Tanjung Puting is a special place and never ceases to amaze me. We had some awesome sightings of both wild and semi orangutans throughout the week and very nearly matched the record from the previous trip.

Thanks so much to Michelle, Sara, Mervyn, Sarah, Valerie, Michael and Ella for being so lovely and making this trip such a pleasure. Once again the holiday got off to the perfect start with our first wild

"It was incredibly special to witness first-hand wild orangutans and many other species living happy and free in the rainforest. Ian's knowledge of the region and his relationships with local people made the experience easy, enjoyable and unforgettable." Liz Vagg