Ever since being a little boy, Emanuele has a fascination for the tiny creatures in our world. As soon as he started walking, he started exploring the kindergarden looking for insects. Shaking shrubs and collecting spiders and insects that fell out of it into little jars, gave him a chance to examine them for a few days before releasing them again. His parents noticed his passion and stimulated and supported him without any pressure. Through reading books together, they helped him develop his knowledge about arthropods, amphibians and reptiles.
Megalorremius leo, a very rare arthropod, Emanuele Biggi
You can't force people to love something they don't know! Liphistius malayanus, Emanuele Biggi
By getting us to know the tiny creatures Emanuele believes we won't fear them anymore…
Being presenter of a TV show offers him the opportunity to talk about topics like nature and environment, and to present some very nice documentaries from around the world. During this TV show, Emanuele and his partner also offer a platform to scientists and ngo’s like WWF and Sea Shepherd, giving them the opportunity to tell the audience about their work, about their goals and why these goals are important.
Emanuele realizes that scientists don’t always have time and sometimes lack skills to tell what they do in a way that is understandable to laymen. That is where Emanuele steps in, as he loves to bridge the gap between scientists and the non scientific world. He explains the work scientists do in the field and the hardship they have to endure to get their results. And so he contributes to untangle the fake news about what is going on with our planet. This contribution is extremely important nowadays as fake news seems to flood our daily news and climate skeptics are becoming louder by the day!
Living almost entirely under water, the diving bell spider (Argyroneta aquatica), Emanuele Biggi
When asked for examples of memorable achievements, Emanuele points out his mentions and his contribution to a daily TV show. But his eyes sparkle when he starts talking about his contribution to the conservation of an almost vanished arthropod. He proudly talks about his trip to a remote island called Deserta Grande, part of the Madeira archipelago (Portugal). Due to his enthusiasm and perseverance Emanuele was granted access to the Island, only to photograph the Deserta Grande wolf spider (Hogna ingens). This spider exclusively lives inside a small valley of the island. Due to the introduction of rabbits and goats, followed by the introduction of an exotic herb called Phalaris aquatica, the local ecosystem was severely disturbed. The spider’s habitat got ruined and the animal balanced on the brink of extinction.
Emanuele’s trip made clear that the spider population was suffering severely. As a result the authorities started talking about conservation of this particular wolf spider. The spider became listed on the IUCN red list. Next some of the spiders were brought to Bristol zoo gardens where they started breeding in captivity in order to release them in the wild again. And on the Madeira Island Deserta Grande they started to restore its natural habitat. Emanuele started this movement and is – in a very modest way – proud of the success so far, preventing the Deserta Grande wolf spider to become extinct.
Deserta Grande wolf spider (Hogna ingens), Emanuele Biggi
