Category Archives: Mammals

Grisly recording reveals bat catching, killing and eating robin mid-flight

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Before the Spanish study, some scientists had been sceptical about the mammals attacking migratory birds

Bats are generally viewed as harmless, if spooky, creatures of the night. But scientists have revealed a more savage side, after witnessing a greater noctule bat – Europe’s largest bat species – hunting, killing and devouring a robin mid-flight.

The grisly recording reveals the bat as a formidable predator, climbing to 1.2km (4,000ft) before embarking on a breakneck-speed dive in pursuit of its prey. On capture, the bat delivered a lethal bite and subsequent chewing sounds, recorded between echolocation calls, indicated that the bat consumed the bird continuously during flight for 23 minutes without losing altitude.

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Grisly recording reveals bat catching, killing and eating robin mid-flight

Posted on by

Before the Spanish study, some scientists had been sceptical about the mammals attacking migratory birds

Bats are generally viewed as harmless, if spooky, creatures of the night. But scientists have revealed a more savage side, after witnessing a greater noctule bat – Europe’s largest bat species – hunting, killing and devouring a robin mid-flight.

The grisly recording reveals the bat as a formidable predator, climbing to 1.2km (4,000ft) before embarking on a breakneck-speed dive in pursuit of its prey. On capture, the bat delivered a lethal bite and subsequent chewing sounds, recorded between echolocation calls, indicated that the bat consumed the bird continuously during flight for 23 minutes without losing altitude.

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Fiery Senate exchange reveals investigation into coal firm allegedly clearing endangered greater glider habitat

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Greens senator Sarah Hanson-Young called environment department bureaucrats ‘weak’ - though later withdrew the remark

Australian government officials are investigating whether a coal mining company is putting threatened greater gliders and koalas at risk by illegally clearing bushland in central Queensland without approval under federal law.

The revelation came in a fiery Senate estimates hearing in which the Greens senator Sarah Hanson-Young criticised the Albanese government for not doing more to stop the clearing and described environment department bureaucrats as “weak” – an allegation she later withdrew.

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‘We’re winning a battle’: Mexico’s jaguar numbers up 30% in conservation drive

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Conservationists hope that in 15 years species will no longer be at risk of extinction in Mexico – but challenges remain

In 2010, Gerardo Ceballos and a group of other researchers set out to answer a burning question: how many jaguars were there in Mexico? They knew there weren’t many. Hunting, loss of habitat, conflict with cattle ranchers and other issues had pushed the population to the brink of extinction.

Ceballos and his team from the National Alliance for Jaguar Conservation (ANCJ) thought there were maybe 1,000 jaguars across the country. They decided to carry out the country’s first census of the animal to find out exactly how many there were. They found 4,100.

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Lynx could thrive in Northumberland with most in area supporting return, study finds

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Release of 20 lynx over several years into Kielder Forest area would create population of about 50 animals

Releasing just 20 lynx in Northumberland would be enough to create a healthy wild population, research has found, and most people in the area would support the practice.

Northumberland Wildlife Trust has been working to see if the wild cats, which became extinct in Britain about 1,300 years ago as a result of hunting and habitat loss, could be returned to the area.

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Otters posing for selfies in Japanese cafes may be linked to illegal trade, experts warn

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The DNA of rare small-clawed otters in captivity in Japan has been matched to wild populations in poaching hotspots in Thailand

Posing for selfies on the laps of excited visitors, the otters of Tokyo’s animal cafes have learned to play their part in their online stardom. In thousands of social media videos, the aquatic mammals wriggle through the outstretched hands of adoring customers who reward their attention with food.

But the booming demand has raised major concerns among conservationists, with a study published in the journal Conservation Science and Practice linking the small-clawed otters in animal cafes in Japanese cities with wild populations in poaching hotspots in Thailand.

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Elk could return to UK after 3,000 years in rewilding project

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First stage of initiative will introduce ‘keystone’ species to beaver enclosures in Derbyshire and Nottinghamshire

Elk could return to the UK after 3,000 years under plans by the Wildlife Trusts to reintroduce the “keystone” species into Britain’s landscapes.

The Derbyshire Wildlife Trust wants to introduce elk into two existing beaver enclosures in Derbyshire and Nottinghamshire, with the hope of demonstrating that the large semiaquatic deer should be released to roam free in the wild.

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Giant prehistoric kangaroos preferred to ‘chill at home’ and didn’t like to go out much, scientists say

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Fossil teeth show species of protemnodon that roamed Australia between 5m and 40,000 years ago lived and died near Queensland caves

Despite their immense size, species of prehistoric giant kangaroos from a site in Queensland were probably homebodies with a surprisingly small range compared to other kangaroos, according to new Australian research.

Protemnodon, which roamed the Australian continent between 5m and 40,000 years ago and is now extinct, was significantly larger than its modern relatives. Some species weighed up to 170kg, making them more than twice as heavy as the largest red kangaroo.

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The mystery of why kangaroos hop could be solved thanks to this musky mammal

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Kangaroos and wallabies are the only hopping species heavier than 5kg, and the small musky rat-kangaroo might help us learn why

Scientists stalking a small marsupial through a remote Australian rainforest say they may have found a clue to the mystery of why its bigger kangaroo cousins hop instead of walk.

Kangaroos and closely related wallabies are the only large animals to hop upright on two legs, researchers from Australia’s Flinders University said Thursday, but why remains a mystery.

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Four seals die on Norfolk coast after contracting bird flu

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Experts raise fears for England’s largest colony at Blakeney Point as they conduct tests to identify source of infection

Experts have raised fears for the seals at England’s largest colony after four were found to have died after having been infected with bird flu.

Government scientists are investigating to find out whether the seals died after scavenging from the corpses of infected birds.

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Australian scientists produce kangaroo embryos using IVF for first time

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Team has produced more than 20 embryos using method used in humans, though there are no plans for live joeys

Scientists have produced kangaroo embryos through in vitro fertilisation for the first time, in a development they say could help conservation of endangered animals.

Australian researchers at the University of Queensland made the eastern grey kangaroo embryos using intracytoplasmic sperm injection (ICSI), a technique widely used in human IVF, in which a sperm is injected into a mature egg.

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Hope for Britain’s loneliest bat after second species member discovered

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Greater mouse-eared bat was declared extinct in the UK but ecologists now believe population recovery is possible

For 21 long winters, Britain’s loneliest bat hibernated alone in a disused railway tunnel in Sussex.

The male greater mouse-eared bat (Myotis myotis) was the only known individual of his kind in the country after he was discovered in 2002 – a decade after the rare species was officially declared extinct.

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Cuddles and drama as live stream shows secret life of ‘ridiculously fluffy’ greater glider

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Camera installed inside a tree hollow in NSW forest to raise awareness of the plight of the endangered possum

Conservationists call them “ridiculously cute” and “captivating” – and now a live stream offers a global audience the chance to view life inside the hollow for a family of eastern Australia’s largest gliding possums.

The hollow-cam broadcasting live from a tree in south-east NSW offered unlimited greater glider viewing for animal lovers and reality TV tragics.

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‘Thrown like a rag doll’: British tourist narrowly survives hippo attack in Zambia

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Roland Cherry, from Warwickshire, sustained severe bite wounds after being mauled by animal during safari

A man narrowly survived after being dragged to the bottom of a river and “thrown through the air like a rag doll” when he was attacked by hippo while canoeing on holiday in Zambia.

Roland Cherry, who was on five-week holiday through southern Africa with his wife, Shirley, sustained severe bite wounds across his body, including a 10in wound to his abdomen, as well as a thigh injury and dislocated shoulder in the attack.

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Prehistoric humans may have stuck pikes in ground to kill mammoths, say experts

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People of ancient Clovis culture could have impaled huge animals on pikes rather than throwing spears, finds study

When it came to taking down giant animals, prehistoric hunters would quite literally have faced a mammoth task. Now researchers have shed fresh light on how they might have done it.

Experts studying sharp stone points made by the Clovis people, who lived in the Americas from about 13,000 years ago, say that rather than hurling spears at enormous animals such as giant bison, mammoths or ground sloths, the tribes could have planted their weapons point-up in the ground to impale charging creatures.

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Early mammal could help answer one of biology’s biggest question, say experts

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Krusatodon kirtlingtonensis, which lived 166m years ago, ‘a piece of the puzzle’ explaining mammals’ success

The remains of a diminutive mouse-like creature that lived 166m years ago could help answer one of biology’s biggest questions of why mammals have become so successful, fossil experts say.

Krusatodon kirtlingtonensis belongs to the immediate predecessors of mammals and lived alongside the dinosaurs during the middle Jurassic age. But while it was originally known only from individual teeth, researchers have now reported two partial skeletons.

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Romania to step up cull of brown bears after hiker killed

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MPs approve cull of 481 bears this year, up from 220 last year, to control ‘overpopulation’ of protected species

Romania’s parliament has approved the culling of almost 500 bears this year in an effort to control the “overpopulation” of the protected species after a deadly attack on a hiker sparked nationwide outcry.

The country is home to 8,000 brown bears, according to the environment ministry, Europe’s largest brown bear population outside Russia.

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Migration of 6m antelope in South Sudan dwarfs previous records for world’s biggest, aerial study reveals

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The movement is more than double that of east Africa’s renowned ‘great migration’ and has continued despite decades of war and instability

An extensive aerial survey in South Sudan has revealed an enormous migration of 6 million antelope – the largest migration of land mammals anywhere on Earth. It is more than double the size of the celebrated annual “great migration” between Tanzania and Kenya, which involves about 2 million wildebeest, zebra and gazelle.

“The migration in South Sudan blows any other migration we know of out the water,” said David Simpson, wildlife NGO African Parks’ park manager for Boma and Badingilo national parks, which the migration moves between and around. “The estimates indicate the vast herds of antelope species … are almost three times larger than east Africa’s great migration. The scale is truly awe-inspiring.”

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‘Enormously exciting’ fossils found in NSW opal field suggest Australia had ‘age of monotremes’

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Discovery of ‘echidnapus’ and two more species show the furry egg-layers predated marsupials

Some time about 100m years ago in what is now an Australian opal field, a weird, furry, egg-laying, rabbit-sized mammal was gliding through a waterhole across a massive polar floodplain.

This mammal – Opalius splendens but which scientists have thankfully blessed with the nickname “echidnapus” – was among the ancient descendants of one of the planet’s most unique orders of animals, the monotremes.

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Malaysia plans to give orangutans to countries that buy palm oil

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‘Orangutan diplomacy’ strategy aims to ease concern over environmental impact of palm oil production, says minister

Malaysia plans to give orangutans as gifts to countries that buy its palm oil as part of an “orangutan diplomacy” strategy to ease concerns over the environmental impact of the commodity.

The south-east Asian country is the world’s second biggest producer of palm oil, which is found in more than half of supermarket packaged goods – from pizza and biscuits, to lipstick and shampoos. Global demand for palm oil has been blamed for driving deforestation in Malaysia and neighbouring Indonesia.

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