Education minister says ‘cases are piling up’ and that ‘an immediate response is needed’
France has been forced to shut seven schools over growing concerns over an infestation of bedbugs, the education minister has said.
“Bedbugs were detected at various levels in … I believe 17 institutions, and currently as I speak to you, seven institutions are closed for this reason,” Gabriel Attal told France 5 television.
Continue reading...An Australian take on how the emu won the 1932 battle premieres this month, before shooting on the UK comedian’s film has begun
A troupe of Australian comedians appears to have gazumped John Cleese to bring the bizarre story of the great emu war to the big screen.
In 1932, soldiers armed with machine guns were deployed in Western Australia to battle huge flocks of the giant native birds. Their annual migration from the arid interior to the coast had increasingly met the rapidly expanding wheat belt, to the delight of the emus and the horror of the farmers.
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Continue reading...Official calls for use of hunting guns in towns to be made legal amid rise in number of marauding bears
Three bears that snuck into a tatami mat factory in northern Japan and were holed up inside for nearly a day have been captured and killed, according to town officials and media reports.
A patrolling official spotted the bears, believed to be a parent and two cubs, as they entered the factory on Wednesday morning in Misato, a town in Akita prefecture, where there have been a number of reported bear attacks in or near residential areas.
Continue reading...After French capital hosted fashion week and Rugby World Cup there are concerns the problem will spread
Paris is burning its luggage and bed linen as it battles a “scourge” of bedbugs, stoking fears of infestation around the world as pest controllers report an uptick in inquiries and transport operators and hoteliers seek to assuage concerns.
The city of light is reportedly under siege from the nocturnal bloodsuckers, leading the French transport minister, Clément Beaune, to meet transport operators. “It’s a real nightmare,” says Yacine, a schoolteacher in Paris who declined to give his surname. “I’m so afraid to take the Métro, I don’t go to the cinema – it’s very alarmant.”
Continue reading...Study proposes government commission more research into environmental benefits of cattle feed additives
Sweden is one step closer to making the use of methane-reducing cow feed additives such as seaweed government policy after experts recommended further investigation into the area.
A report by the Swedish Environmental Protection Agency into reduced methane emissions says development in the field has been “rapid in recent years” and is among “a number of new interesting additives with higher potential”.
Continue reading...Officials say can of bear spray was emptied before attack in Banff national park in which Doug Inglis and Jenny Gusse, both 62, died
The final text message contained just three words: “Bear attack bad.”
Sent from a satellite device to family and rescue teams, it signalled that an autumn camping trip in Banff national park had gone terribly wrong.
Continue reading...… to be announced at 12.30pm AEDT. Follow our live blog from 11.30am for the red carpet, emotional speeches and all the reaction
The campaigns are over. The votes are in. The scrutineers are in the tally room.
The winner of the 2023 Guardian/BirdLife Australian bird of the year will be announced at 12.30pm AEDT on this website, after voters culled a field of 50 down to 10 for the final day of voting on Thursday.
Find all our bird of the year content
Guardian Australia has produced a glorious A3 poster of Australian birds that can be downloaded here as a high-resolution jpeg or pdf to be printed out. (The pdf is a large file so may take a while to load.)
Continue reading...Couple have not yet been identified and bear demonstrating ‘aggressive behavior’ was killed by park rangers
Two people and their dog have been killed in a rare grizzly bear attack in Canada’s Banff national park, and the bear was later killed by park rangers.
The couple have not yet been identified but “loved the outdoors and were inseparable”, a family member said in a statement.
Continue reading...Joey the tortoise, from Cornwall, is recovering after surgery to remove 150g growth
Joey, an 82-year-old tortoise in Cornwall, is recovering from surgery after the removal of a bladder stone the size of a cricket ball.
Two veterinary surgeons had to cut through Joey’s shell to remove the growth, which at 150g was almost three times the weight of a tennis ball.
Continue reading...The dogs at Paris Puppies Paradise, who were underweight and living in their own feces, were housed with a rescue organization
Iowa authorities rescued nearly 100 dogs from a puppy mill over the weekend, many of whom were living in their own excrement.
On Friday, a deputy from the Boone county sheriff’s office was conducting a welfare check on a missing woman and came across what appeared to be a puppy mill, the sheriff’s office said in a press release.
Continue reading...Silvia Macías was celebrating 15th birthday of son Santiago when bear appeared and gulped down tacos
A woman in Mexico shielded her son after a bear leaped on to a picnic table, inches from his face, and devoured the tacos and enchiladas meant for his birthday dinner.
Silvia Macías of Mexico City had travelled to the Chipinque Park on the outskirts of the northern city of Monterrey to celebrate the 15th birthday of her son, Santiago, who has Down’s syndrome.
Continue reading...Experts blame rising sea temperatures caused by climate crisis for cub deaths at Unesco heritage site
As many as eight in 10 brown bear cubs born this year in a remote part of northern Japan have died amid a shortage of salmon, with experts blaming rising sea temperatures caused by the climate crisis.
Along with acorns, pink salmon are an important source of food for the estimated 500 brown bears living along Hokkaido’s Shiretoko peninsula, a Unesco world heritage site known for its dramatic coastline and wild animals.
Continue reading...Researchers explore whether the animals adapt their behaviour in response to people’s happiness, sadness or anger
They are known for living in packs and being sociable animals. Now meerkats are being investigated to see if they can also pick up on human emotions.
Researchers and psychologists from Nottingham Trent University are studying meerkats in zoos to see if they can detect emotions such as happiness, sadness or anger from people, and whether they then adapt their behaviour accordingly.
Continue reading...Some of Australia’s most recognised feathered denizens have been flying under the popularity radar for far too long
Is there anything more thrilling than seeing an underbird soar? Keep that in mind when casting your vote in this year’s Guardian/Birdlife Australia bird of the year poll.
Previous polls have revealed a shocking bias. Support for some of Australia’s most recognised birds has been consistently weak. Let’s ruffle some feathers and give these underbirds a chance.
Continue reading...Michael Alford, 59, of Harlan county was moving a bag of potting soil when bees attacked him from inside the package
A Kentucky man has died after a swarm of bees attacked him on his porch.
On Monday, the 59-year-old man whom local reports identified as Michael Alford was moving a bag of potting soil in Harlan county when he was stung by a swarm of bees from inside the package, authorities said in a statement.
Continue reading...County sheriff’s office euthanize animal after removing it from the water, but identity of the dead person yet to be established
Authorities euthanized a 13ft alligator with human remains in its mouth after the animal turned up on Friday afternoon in a canal in Largo, Florida.
The Pinellas county sheriff’s office said in a news release that the male alligator measured 13ft 8.5in and was “humanely” killed after being removed from the water. The sheriff’s dive team recovered the human remains from the waterway.
Continue reading...Tally rises to 27,000 but is still a far cry from former half a million, and Javan and Sumatran rhino remain critically endangered
Global rhinoceros numbers have increased to 27,000 despite populations being ravaged by poaching and habitat loss, new figures show, with some species rebounding for the first time in a decade.
Rhinos numbered about 500,000 across Africa and Asia in the 20th century but their populations have been devastated. Last year, they began showing signs of recovery in some areas, although two species – the Javan and Sumatran – remain close to disappearing.
Continue reading...One dog provided support and another kept watch as two-year-old girl was found three miles from Upper Peninsula home in slumber
A two-year-old girl who walked away from her home in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula alongside two family dogs was found in the woods hours later sleeping on the smaller dog like a furry pillow, state police said.
“She laid down and used one of the dogs as a pillow, and the other dog laid right next to her and kept her safe,” Lt Mark Giannunzio said on Thursday. “It’s a really remarkable story.”
Continue reading...Expert says Senate candidate Tim Sheehy’s estimate wildly off as there are 1.12 million people in state and ‘nowhere close to that number of bear’
In the compendium of false claims, an offering from Tim Sheehy, a Montana 2024 Republican Senate candidate, is readily disprovable.
In an interview with Breitbart, the former Navy Seal observed that the state, which he referred to as “flyover country”, did not typically have much in political power – a situation that could change with the balance of power in the US Senate races next year.
Continue reading...Driver was delivering package to Palm City home when she was bitten by an eastern diamondback rattlesnake near the front door
A Florida Amazon delivery driver is in serious condition after being bitten by an eastern diamondback rattlesnake.
The driver was delivering a package to a home in Palm City on Monday when she was bitten by the snake which was coiled up near the front door of the delivery location, according to the Martin county sheriff’s office (MCSO) in south-eastern Florida.
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