Category Archives: Animals

LED lights on underside of surfboards may deter great white shark attacks

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An Australian-led study using seal-shaped decoys found underside lighting disrupted ability of great whites to see silhouettes against sunlight above

Using LED lighting on the underside of surfboards or kayaks could deter great white shark attacks, new research suggests.

In an Australian-led study using seal-shaped decoys, underside lighting disrupted the ability of great whites to see silhouettes against the sunlight above, reducing the rates at which the sharks followed and attacked the artificial prey. The brighter the lights, the more effective the deterrent was.

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Cloned black-footed ferret gives birth in ‘major milestone’ for conservationists

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Antonia the ferret becomes first cloned animal of an endangered species to successfully produce offspring in US

A cloned black-footed ferret has given birth, becoming the first-ever cloned animal of an endangered species in the US to successfully produce offspring in what officials recently hailed as a “major milestone”.

In an announcement at the beginning of November, the US Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) said that a cloned black-footed ferret named Antonia had given birth to three kits in June after mating with a three-year-old male black-footed ferret at the Smithsonian’s National Zoo and Conservation Biology Institute (NZCBI) in Front Royal, Virginia.

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Elephants can wash with a hose – and sabotage shower time, scientists say

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An elephant at Berlin zoo used its trunk to interrupt flow of water from hose used by another elephant

If you get frustrated by the shower hog in your house you’re not alone: research suggests such behaviour might even irritate elephants.

Scientists say they have not only discovered an elephant with an astonishing ability to shower with a hose, but spotted another cutting off the flow of water – possibly in a deliberate act of sabotage.

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XL bully dog put down after fatal attack on North Yorkshire girl, 10

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Savannah Bentham, from the Malton area, killed by family pet in attack police said was out of character

An XL bully dog has been put down after fatally attacking a 10-year-old girl in North Yorkshire last week.

Savannah Bentham, from the Malton area, was fatally attacked by her family’s pet dog at home on Friday. On Tuesday, the dog was identified as an XL bully and was euthanised by a vet, North Yorkshire police said.

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Shetland man’s bond with otter becomes subject of award-winning film

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Documentary about Billy Mail’s connection with orphaned pup Molly airs on National Geographic next week

National Geographic will be streaming a new documentary about an unlikely bond between a man and an otter in Shetland.

Billy Mail met Molly, a starving pup, in 2021 when he saw her jumping off a pontoon into the sea near his Shetland home. Mail wanted to see how close he could get to her before she fled. But it turned out that Molly had no intention of running away.

Billy and Molly: An Otter Love Story will be available from 14 November on Disney+, and will air on 15 November on National Geographic

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Remains of beloved Grizzly No 399 killed by car returned to Wyoming park

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Ashes of 28-year-old female grizzly bear returned to Grand Teton national park where she spent much of her life

The remains of a beloved grizzly bear who died last month after being hit by a car in Wyoming have been returned to Grand Teton national park.

In a statement released on Friday, the US Fish and Wildlife Service announced that it returned the ashes of Grizzly No 399, a 28-year old female grizzly bear, to the Pilgrim Creek area of the national park where she spent much of her life.

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Shark bites off surfer’s leg in Hawaii

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A 61-year-old man was surfing on Friday morning when a shark bit him, completely severing his leg

A shark bit a Maui surfer on Friday and severed his leg, authorities said.

The man, 61, was surfing off Waiehu Beach Park on Friday morning when a shark bit him. Police officers who arrived to the scene first tried to control the bleeding with tourniquets. His right leg was “completely severed just below the knee,” Maui county said in a news release.

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‘You have to disguise your human form’: how sea eagles are being returned to Severn estuary after 150 years

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Use of bird hand-puppets to rear young among innovative methods unveiled as part of project to restore species

Sea eagles were last seen soaring over the shimmering mud flats and brackish tidal waters of the Severn estuary more than 150 years ago. Now wildlife charities have unveiled innovative plans to bring the raptor back to the estuary, which flows into the Bristol Channel between south-west England and south Wales, by 2026.

“Sea eagles used to be common in these regions. But they were wiped out through human persecution,” says Sophie-lee Williams, the founder of Eagle Reintroduction Wales, which is leading the project. “We strongly believe we have a moral duty to restore this lost native species to these landscapes.”

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Peanut the Instagram-famous squirrel is seized by New York officials

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Wild squirrel that was taken in by Mark Longo seven years ago was confiscated after conservation officials received reports of ‘potentially unsafe housing of wildlife’

A New York man who turned a rescued squirrel into a social media star called Peanut is pleading with state authorities to return his beloved pet after they seized it during a raid that also yielded a raccoon named Fred.

Multiple anonymous complaints about Peanut – also spelled P’Nut or PNUT – brought at least six officers from the state Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) to Mark Longo’s home on Wednesday, Longo said.

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Hedgehogs ‘near threatened’ on red list after 30% decline over past decade

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The mammals were once common across Europe but urban development has pushed them towards extinction

Hedgehogs are now listed as “near threatened” on the International Union for Conservation of Nature’s red list after a decline in numbers of at least 30% over the past decade across much of their range.

While hedgehogs were once common across Europe, and were until now listed as of “least concern” on the red list, they are being pushed towards extinction by urban development, intensive farming and roads, which have fragmented their habitat.

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High-flying life of Australia’s birds revealed in new detail – thanks to weather radars

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Researchers gain deeper understanding of bird migration in study that could have ‘profound’ implications for windfarms

The yearly travel plans of birds up and down Australia’s east coast have been revealed for the first time, using the same tool that tracks the weather – a development experts say could have “profound” implications for conservation as more windfarms are built.

Scientists have used weather radars to show that bird migration across eastern Australia occurs in structured patterns. While many Australian bird species are known to be seasonally migratory, scientists previously did not know to what extent a distinct system existed.

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Dog owners warned about boom in ticks on Australia’s east coast after last year’s hot, wet summer

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Expert reminds owners ‘freeze it, don’t squeeze it’ when it comes to a tick, ideally with a tick-freezing spray from a chemist

Dog owners have been warned about a tick boom unfolding along Australia’s east coast, with some experts predicting an unusually bad season for furry friends.

Veterinary scientist and parasitologist Peter Irwin, an emeritus professor at Murdoch University, said the severity of a tick season was largely determined by the preceding weather, and last summer had been very hot and wet along the east coast”.

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Biodiversity declining even faster in ‘protected’ areas, scientists warn Cop16

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Just designating key areas will not meet 30x30 target on nature loss, study says, pointing to oil drilling in parks

Biodiversity is declining more quickly within key protected areas than outside them, according to research that scientists say is a “wake-up call” to global leaders discussing how to stop nature loss at the UN’s Cop16 talks in Colombia.

Protecting 30% of land and water for nature by 2030 was one of the key targets settled on by world leaders in a landmark 2022 agreement to save nature – and this month leaders are gathering again at a summit in the Colombian city of Cali to measure progress and negotiate new agreements to stop biodiversity loss.

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‘Ambassador’ grizzly bear dies after being hit by car in Wyoming

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Grizzly No 399 was at least 28 years old and beloved by many in Grand Teton national park

A famous grizzly bear beloved for decades by countless tourists, biologists and professional wildlife photographers in Grand Teton national park is dead after being struck by a vehicle in western Wyoming.

Grizzly No 399 died on Tuesday night on a highway in Snake River Canyon south of Jackson, park officials said in a statement on Wednesday.

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Dog likely saved Maine woman from freezing to death in woods, officials say

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Labrador Lucy laid down on owner Pamela Helmstadter, 72, to protect her from cold after husband John, 82, fell and died

A dog may have saved a woman from dying alongside her husband after the couple – the animal’s owners – became lost for four frigid nights while on a walk in the woods in Maine, according to authorities.

John Helmstadter, 82, and Pamela Helmstadter, 72, of Alexander, Maine, left their home on Sunday 13 October, to go for a walk with their one-year-old black labrador, Lucy, officials said.

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Monty Don’s first Chelsea garden will be dog-friendly

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Gardeners’ World presenter is bucking the trend to make the event more inclusive

Some gardeners at the Chelsea Flower Show may balk at the idea of a dog scrabbling around near their prize roses.

But Monty Don is designing his first Chelsea garden for next year’s event – and making it dog-friendly.

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Cotswold wildlife park successfully breeds endangered Madagascan lemur

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Greater bamboo lemur births in captivity are extremely rare and park is only UK collection to have bred it this year

Cotswold wildlife park has successfully bred one of Madagascar’s most endangered lemurs.

The as yet unnamed youngster was born to a breeding male, Raphael, and female, Bijou, at the wildlife park.

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Snakes and batters: reptile slithers into LA Dodgers’ dugout during MLB game

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Snake appears in top of fifth inning of Dodger v New York Mets game before being wrapped in towel and removed

A snake slithered through the Los Angeles Dodgers’ dugout during game two of the National League Championship Series on Monday.

The reptile appeared in the top of the fifth inning of the Dodgers’ 7-3 loss to the New York Mets. It wasn’t big enough to put a scare into anyone.

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Woman pleads guilty over attempt to smuggle turtles by kayak into Canada

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Wan Yee Ng was arrested in June with a bag of 29 turtles as she prepared to paddle across Lake Wallace, affidavit says

A woman who wanted to smuggle turtles across a lake and into Canada by hiding the creatures using socks in a duffle bag has pleaded guilty to a smuggling charge.

Wan Yee Ng was arrested in June in Vermont as she was about to enter an inflatable kayak with the bag of 29 eastern box turtles and paddle across Lake Wallace to the border with Canada, according to an affidavit filed in federal court.

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‘I felt like a bird god’: why comedian Geraldine Hickey is excited for this year’s Aussie Bird Count

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The keen birdwatcher encourages others to take 20 minutes out of their day, describing the experience as ‘meditative’

In early October the comedian Geraldine Hickey went looking for tawny frogmouths, a charismatic bird with a frog-like beak and mottled feathers.

“They’re a good-looking bird,” Hickey says, though it hasn’t yet appeared in her annual bird calendar, a project she started as a “lockdown thing” that has gained its own dedicated audience.

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