Category Archives: Animals

Winner of Florida python hunting contest nabs 96 snakes: ‘I was on a mission’

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Burmese pythons are an invasive species in the Everglades, and the challenge is part of initiative to remove them

The winner of this year’s annual Florida Python Challenge hunted down and eliminated 96 invasive Burmese pythons from the Everglades national park, as part of an initiative to remove hundreds of the snakes from the area every year.

The challenge invites hunters to participate in 10 days of capturing and humanely euthanizing as many of the invasive snakes as possible across eight designated hunting locations, with the winner taking home a cash prize of $10,000. The event is hosted by Florida fish, wildlife and conservation (FWC), the south Florida water management district, the National Park Service and others.

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Toronto zoo announces birth of pygmy hippo calf, third for mother Kindia

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The 20-year-old’s third calf is being monitored by officials as survival rates for the species are challenging, the zoo said

The Toronto Zoo has announced the birth of a female pygmy hippo calf.

Kindia, the zoo’s 20-year-old pygmy hippo, started showing signs of labor at around 8.15am last Sunday, it said. Around four hours later, the calf’s feet emerged and after 1.5 hours of active labor, Kindia successfully gave birth to the baby pygmy hippo.

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Toronto zoo announces birth of pygmy hippo calf, third for mother Kindia

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The 20-year-old’s third calf is being monitored by officials as survival rates for the species are challenging, the zoo said

The Toronto Zoo has announced the birth of a female pygmy hippo calf.

Kindia, the zoo’s 20-year-old pygmy hippo, started showing signs of labor at around 8.15am last Sunday, it said. Around four hours later, the calf’s feet emerged and after 1.5 hours of active labor, Kindia successfully gave birth to the baby pygmy hippo.

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Campaign warns of perils UK waters can pose for dogs and owners

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Dogs Trust points to hundreds of incidents over recent years, some involving deaths of pets or people

With its gentle rippling water, tall purple flowers and rustling trees, Earlswood Lakes near Solihull in the West Midlands seems the perfect spot for dogs to paddle. But their owners have been warned that the otherwise idyllic open water could prove perilous to pets.

“We’ve had all this hot weather and millions of families are now spending time around open bodies of water, and it’s easy to not realise the dangers,” said Emma-Jane Thomas, rehoming manager at Dogs Trust Kenilworth during a walk around Earlswood.

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Nine Lives, the feral cat that terrorised New Zealand’s rare ducks, is caught after three years

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Large tabby cat that wiped out dozens of rare pāteke, or brown teal, has been killed after eluding trappers with its ‘very erratic’ behaviour

A notorious feral cat given the name “Nine Lives” because it eluded trappers for three years has been caught and killed in New Zealand, ending its devastating rampage against one of the country’s rare duck populations.

The cat, a large grey tabby, is estimated to have killed dozens of New Zealand’s rarest mainland duck – or 1% of its population – plus a host of kiwi chicks, native geckos and other native wildlife during the three years it was known to be roaming the Purerua peninsula, near the top of the North Island.

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Fifteen elephant deaths at Kenya park may be due to cyanide poisoning

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Analysis of samples collected from carcasses found traces of toxic chemical compound, says Kenya Wildlife Service

The recent deaths of 15 elephants near a park in southern Kenya in the past month were likely caused by the animals ingesting pesticides used on nearby tomato farms, the Kenya Wildlife Service (KWS) has said.

Erustus Kanga, the agency’s director general, told Citizen TV that analysis of samples collected from the carcasses had found traces of cyanide, a chemical compound used in farming as a predator control poison and a pest fumigant, which has also been used by poachers.

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Kenya investigating unexpected deaths of 15 elephants in national park

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Potential toxic substance detected in several of 15 elephants found dead in Kenya’s Amboseli national park

Officials are investigating the deaths of 15 elephants over the past month in Kenya’s Amboseli national park.

The Kenya Wildlife Service (KWS) said 10 of the elephants showed signs of partial paralysis before dying within two days.

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‘Scandalous, irrational and irresponsible’: French beekeepers’ fury at lifting of pesticides ban

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Allowing use of two neonicotinoids to combat crop-ruining disease will kill bees and reduce harvests, union says

Beekeepers and environmentalists in France have reacted furiously after parliament approved a bill reauthorising two banned pesticides scientists say can poison bees.

“There are no words to describe the frustration,” said Carolyn Bouguet, a beekeeper in Essonne, greater Paris. “Bee populations have already been badly compromised by climate change, new parasites and loss of habitat. And now this.”

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‘A great thrill’: baby puffin is first one seen on Dorset coast in three decades

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Puffling excites volunteers trying to save the last known regular nesting site on mainland of southern England

For years, volunteers have craned their necks and tested their patience to peer into the crevices of the cliffs hoping for a glimpse of fluffy joy.

Finally it all paid off as a puffling – baby puffin – poked its way into the sunshine, becoming the first to be spotted on the coast of Dorset in southern England for three decades.

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Fears for New Zealand’s native species as first bird flu case emerges

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Minister urges public to report cases of three or more sick or dead birds in a group after brown skua seabird tests positive for H5N1 on Wellington beach

The deadly H5N1 bird flu has been confirmed in New Zealand for the first time, sparking alarm that some of the country’s most beloved and vulnerable native birds could be wiped out if it spreads.

A single ocean-going seabird, a brown skua, returned a confirmed positive test on Wednesday, after it was found on Petone beach in Wellington on 10 July, said Andrew Hoggard, the biosecurity minister.

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Greater gliders not as great at gliding as thought – but still look like magic carpets, experts say

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While new study challenges assumptions about how far they travel, witnessing them in action still takes your breath away, scientists say

They may look like a fluffy flying carpet, but greater gliders are not as great at gliding as previously thought, Australian researchers have discovered.

The first study to measure the aerial ability of Australia’s largest gliding marsupial has found they soar across an average distance of 19 metres – far shorter than the 100 metres suggested in an 85-year-old study.

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Man tossed into the air by ‘agitated’ bull bison was grandfather visiting Yellowstone with grandson

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Carl McDaniel was ‘respectful distance’ from animal when it charged and has severe injuries, including broken bones

A tourist who was tossed 8ft in the air by a bison at Wyoming’s Yellowstone national park – an encounter viewed by more than a million social media users thanks to a viral video online – has been identified as a “community-minded” grandfather from Washington state.

Carl McDaniel had severe injuries including broken bones after Friday’s campsite encounter with the bison, which was posted to YouTube by the Wyoming news outlet Cowboy State Daily. A photographer named Mike MacLeod rushed to help the victim on the ground after making the recording.

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Experts warn of ways screwworm could spread in the US and new difficulties in keeping it at bay

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Scientists worry that current eradication efforts won’t be able to contain parasitic infestation pushing into US

When conservationists set up cameras in remote regions of Central American forests, they wanted to monitor illegal cattle movement, which can lead to deforestation. But in recent months, they discovered another alarming development: wildlife rapidly infected with the new world screwworm.

It’s a warning sign of how the fly could spread in the US – and it signals new difficulties in pushing it back south, a process that will probably take years, experts say.

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Drones are detecting more sharks at US beaches, but do they make the public safer?

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Increase in sightings may not reflect increase in sharks with little evidence that threat to swimmers has risen

Experts say that despite recent increased investment in drones to monitor for sharks in states like New York, the machines have limited usefulness as a public safety tool and there does not appear to be evidence that the threat to swimmers from sharks has increased.

There have, however, been more reports of sharks around local beaches.

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Species’ ingenious survival strategies no match for human destruction, red list reveals

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Newly endangered animals include desert frogs and snails in extreme ocean depths, both threatened by mining

Life has colonised every corner of the planet by evolving ingenious survival strategies but these are increasingly being overwhelmed by destructive human activities, this year’s red list of endangered species has revealed.

Many snails, limpets and clams have adapted to life at crushing depths in the oceans on hydrothermal vents where water temperatures can reach 450C (842F). But an assessment for the red list found that two-thirds of the hundreds of mollusc species found only on deep sea vents were at risk of extinction because of deep-sea mining.

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Pet prescriptions could be capped at £21 under proposed vet sector reforms

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Ministers also considering licence requirement and regulator to try to cut bills and increase choice

UK vets may have to have a licence and cap prescriptions for pet medicine at £21 under plans being considered by the government.

Ministers are also considering establishing a regulator for the veterinary sector, including inspections, a mandatory licensing system and published compliance reports to improve accountability and choice. Every vet practice could need an official operating licence – similar to GP surgeries and care homes – under proposals in a white paper.

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Catnip lotion as effective as Deet at repelling mosquitoes, study finds

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Researchers testing a cheap, homegrown oil in Uganda found what cats knew all along – it worked as well as the artificial chemical used globally

A homegrown catnip lotion has proven “just as effective as Deet” as a mosquito repellant in trials carried out in Uganda.

Catnip, or Nepeta cataria, is a common herb from the mint family. The chemical in the plant that causes feline euphoria – nepetalactone – also has insect-repelling properties but this has not previously been commercialised.

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Cuban zoo celebrates birth of Bengal tigers amid energy crisis

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Arrival of endangered cats, including rare white cub, revitalises team straining under fuel and medicine shortages

For the Cuban zookeeper Ángel Cordero, the sight of four Bengal ⁠tiger cubs playing in a cage at the Cuban national zoo is a small miracle on an island stifled by shortages ⁠of fuel, medicine and ⁠days-long power outages.

The ​birth of these endangered big cats – including an exceedingly rare white tiger – has revitalised a team of zoo workers, he said.

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Cow corner: cricket match abandoned after runaway bull stops play

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Match at Burnopfield near Newcastle called off after 800kg young bull escaped from farm and stormed playing field

A cricket match had to be abandoned after a runaway bull stormed the playing field and charged at players.

The North East Premier League fixture at Burnopfield Cricket Club near Newcastle was called off on Saturday evening despite efforts to remove the animal from the ground.

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Gracie the giraffe who wandered off in Texas found safe – for real this time

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Animal who went missing from private ranch for nearly two weeks had been falsely reported as found earlier in the week

The search for a giraffe who absconded from a private game ranch in rural Texas and effectively went missing for nearly two weeks was found safe on Friday just a few miles away from the homestead, according to authorities.

An aerial search ultimately pinpointed the whereabouts of Gracie “the w[a]ndering giraffe”, said Nathan Johnson, the Real county sheriff, in a Facebook post announcing the success of efforts to find the creature.

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