Monitoring station detects predatory species using artificial intelligence and sends alert so nests can be traced
An early warning system designed to track and trace predatory Asian hornets using artificial intelligence has been unveiled by experts from a British university.
Researchers from the University of Exeter have invented a system that draws hornets to a monitoring station. They land on a sponge cloth impregnated with food and an overhead camera captures images.
Continue reading...Meteorologist says bears were not aggressive but they fired signal gun to scare them away
Katarzyna Kudłacz was preparing a breakfast of scrambled eggs at a research station on Svalbard when she looked up to see she had three unexpected guests.
Shocked and in awe, the meteorologist immediately alerted her colleagues to the female polar bear and her two cubs peering into the Polish research station in Hornsund, in the south of the Norwegian archipelago, their noses pressed up against the window.
Continue reading...CAP scheme, which pays more to farms that occupy more land, drives ‘perverse outcomes for a food transition’, says study
The EU has made polluting diets “artificially cheap” by pumping four times more money into farming animals than growing plants, research has found.
More than 80% of the public money given to farmers through the EU’s common agriculture policy (CAP) went to animal products in 2013 despite the damage they do to society, according to a study in Nature Food. Factoring in animal feed doubled the subsidies that were embodied in a kilogram of beef, the meat with the biggest environmental footprint, from €0.71 to €1.42 (61p to £1.22).
Continue reading...Other endangered animals rescued in 2023 included a burrowing parrot, an African spurred tortoise and a blood-eared parakeet
Specialist wildlife police in eastern Spain have rescued an exotic list of endangered animals over the past year, including a pair of Nile crocodiles, an African spurred tortoise weighing 25kg and a 2-metre Burmese python.
The Seprona division of the Guardia Civil said in a statement on Sunday that its officers recovered “numerous examples” of species protected by the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora during 2023.
Continue reading...Smalltooth sawfish are behaving oddly, eliciting a first-ever plan to rescue and rehabilitate species from wild
The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) is launching what the agency described as an emergency response effort in south Florida after emerging reports of smalltooth sawfish spinning, whirling and displaying other abnormal behaviors.
In a statement released last Wednesday, NOAA said that in addition to the abnormal behaviors, there have been reports of fish deaths in the lower Florida Keys, including more than 28 smalltooth sawfish as of 24 March.
Continue reading...Copenhagen fashion week is hailed for raising the bar on animal rights. But will the organisers of other fashion weeks follow?
Copenhagen fashion week has just announced that it will ban exotic skins and feathers from its catwalks next year, becoming the biggest industry event yet to do so.
“Skål to Copenhagen fashion week for raising the bar for other events,” says the vice-president of corporate projects at People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (Peta), Yvonne Taylor. “Now all eyes are on other fashion week organisers, who must follow suit.”
Continue reading...Activists say plan to remove 200 felines near Old San Juan fortress within six months is not enough time and worry cats will be killed
A non-profit organization said Thursday that it sued the US National Park Service over a plan to remove Puerto Rico’s famous stray cats from a historic district in the US territory.
The lawsuit filed by Maryland-based Alley Cat Allies comes four months after the federal agency announced it would contract an animal welfare organization to remove an estimated 200 cats that live in an area surrounding a historic seaside fortress in Old San Juan.
Continue reading...Steven Miles urges authorities to enable magpie to be reunited with ‘devastated’ Gold Coast carers and its ‘best friend’, their Staffy dog Peggy
Queensland’s premier has thrown his support for a campaign to return an Instagram-famous magpie to its former carers and its dog best friend, after it was seized by the environment department.
Gold Coast couple Juliette Wells and Reece Mortensen adopted Molly the magpie in 2020 after it fell from the nest.
Continue reading...Horse racing industry insiders said to be pushing for Sydney track to be relocated to former brickpit in Olympic Park – a sanctuary to an unlikely urban survivor
Conservations have expressed surprise at reported plans to move Sydney’s Rosehill racecourse to a historic brickpit at Olympic Park, which is home to a colony of endangered green and golden bell frogs.
The plan has reportedly been devised by racing bosses, alongside the deal between the Australian Turf Club and the New South Wales government to redevelop the famous track into new housing, as well as two additional metro stations.
Continue reading...Residents and marine officials in British Columbia hope a changing tide will save her orphaned calf
A killer whale stranded off Canada’s west coast has died despite efforts to rescue her, but residents and marine officials hope a changing tide will save her orphaned calf.
On Saturday, members of the Ehattisaht First Nation, a coastal community along the north-western reaches of Vancouver Island, spotted an orca trapped on a rocky outcropping.
Continue reading...National Hedgehog Monitoring Programme aims to understand why population has declined
Artificial intelligence will be used for the first time to track hedgehog populations as part of a pioneering project aimed at understanding how many of them are left in the UK and why they have suffered a decline.
Images of the prickly mammals snuffling around urban parks, private gardens, woodlands and farmland will be captured by cameras and filtered by AI trained to differentiate between wildlife and humans.
Continue reading...Man says he ended up in ‘a crazy situation’ after he began taking in cats abandoned during Covid pandemic
An animal welfare charity in western Canada is scrambling to secure the resources needed to care for about 300 cats – all of them seemingly in good condition – after a call came in from a man who described himself as being “overwhelmed” by the sheer number of cats and kittens in his home.
Bruce Robinson told the British Columbia SPCA that he had taken in cats that had been abandoned during the Covid-19 pandemic but that the cost of caring for them had become a herculean task after he lost his job.
Continue reading...Victim’s younger brother was badly wounded by animal before officials euthanized it in Georgetown area of El Dorado county
A mountain lion killed a 21-year-old man and badly wounded his younger brother before officials euthanized the animal Saturday afternoon in a remote wooded area of northern California, according to authorities.
It was the state’s first fatal mountain lion attack on a person in about 20 years, statistics from California wildlife officials show.
Continue reading...Kermitops gratus are thought to be among first true amphibians and a key step in transition of life from water to land
After achieving worldwide fame through numerous hit films and TV shows, leading to a star on Hollywood’s Walk of Fame, Kermit the Frog has another accolade: a 270m-year-old fossil named after him.
Scientists have discovered a species of an ancient amphibian ancestor, which they have named Kermitops gratus because of its resemblance to the bright green star of The Muppet Show.
Continue reading...John Feikema and Christopher Arnet, who prosecutors say used high-powered rifles to kill three wild burros, face prison sentences
Two men who used high-powered rifles to kill three wild burros in southern California’s Mojave desert more than two years ago pleaded guilty on Monday to federal charges related to the shootings, prosecutors said.
The men wore tactical gear including night vision goggles as they targeted the burros in a remote area north-east of Barstow on 6 November 2021, the US attorney’s office said in a statement.
Continue reading...Police investigate discovery of about 50 hares, an owl and a kestrel at door of Broughton community shop
A police investigation has been launched after dozens of dead animals were left outside a shop in Broughton.
The Broughton community shop in Hampshire said it was “shocked” to discover the bodies of about 50 dead hares, as well as a barn owl and a kestrel outside on Friday.
Continue reading...Arthur Schubarth, 80, pleads guilty to trafficking in ‘audacious’ and unlawful scheme to cross-breed sheep for lucrative sale
A Montana rancher illegally used tissue and testicles from wild sheep killed by hunters in central Asia and the US to breed “giant” hybrid sheep for sale to private hunting preserves in Texas, according to court documents and federal prosecutors.
Arthur “Jack” Schubarth, 80, of Vaughn, Montana, pleaded guilty to felony charges of wildlife trafficking and conspiracy to traffic wildlife during an appearance Tuesday before a federal judge in Great Falls.
Continue reading...An Australian shepherd named Viking won best in show at Crufts, and the ‘extremely smart’ breed is increasingly popular for its temperament and beauty
On a property out of Tamworth in country New South Wales, the uncle of the Australian shepherd Viking – winner of the most prestigious title at the 2024 Crufts dog competition in the UK – is a champion in his own right.
Bradley, who was born in Russia to the same litter as Viking’s mother, is nine years old and a semi-retired multi-champion of dog shows overseas and in Australia.
Continue reading...Animal-related hospitalisations have been increasing for years but have surged since the start of the pandemic, AIHW study finds
In the north-west New South Wales town of Gunnedah, there are much deadlier things than a puppy. They are used to deadly brown and red-bellied snakes.
So Sarah Carter was surprised when her corgi Maxi landed her in hospital.
Continue reading...Bangkok customs officers arrest six after finding 87 animals, including lizards, birds, a monkey and snakes
Thai customs officials have arrested six Indian nationals for attempting to smuggle dozens of wild animals, including a red panda and cotton-top tamarin monkey, out of the country.
Officers found 87 animals, including monitor lizards, birds and snakes, packaged inside the suspects’ checked luggage at Bangkok’s Suvarnabhumi airport. They were trying to fly to Mumbai.
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