London Wildlife Trust asks volunteers to seek out endangered beetles’ strongholds
They were celebrated as “ye country comets” by the poet Andrew Marvell but glowworms are defying light pollution to still shine their lights in the city of London.
Now volunteers and enthusiasts are being sought to count and save the much-celebrated but declining beetles, whose females emit a remarkable bright green bioluminescent beam to attract males.
Continue reading...Sightings of birds, which appear to have come from Yucatán in Mexico, reported in Pennsylvania, Kentucky and the Carolinas
Flamingos have been spotted as far north in the US as Ohio and Pennsylvania in recent days, after they were blown off course by the powerful Hurricane Idalia that hit Florida late last month, experts say.
The distinctive birds have been reported in Florida, Georgia, North and South Carolina, also in Texas and further north from their typical habitats, in Kentucky and even Ohio, Jerry Lorenz, the state director of Audubon Florida, told CNN. They were also seen in Franklin county in southern Pennsylvania on Thursday, NPR reported.
Continue reading...Tanya Plibersek announces crayfish, frogs, insects and plants among wildlife now under threat amid renewed calls for reform
More than 40 plants and animals have been added to Australia’s list of threatened wildlife, including crayfish, frogs, insects and several plants, in what environment groups say is another reminder of the urgent need for reform.
The environment minister, Tanya Plibersek, announced the bulloak jewel butterfly, Kate’s leaf-tail gecko, and 16 types of native spiny crayfish were among 48 species that had “been given greater protection under Australia’s national environmental law” by joining the threatened list.
Continue reading...Hollow bricks are ‘easy win’ to help several endangered species, say experts and Zac Goldsmith who is tabling amendment
An amendment to make swift bricks mandatory in new housing will be debated in the House of Lords this week in what campaigners call a “golden opportunity” for the government to halt wildlife decline.
The change to the controversial levelling up bill is being tabled by the Conservative peer Zac Goldsmith, who resigned from government over Rishi Sunak’s “apathy” towards environmental issues.
Continue reading...Search under way for two cubs after man shoots rare bear dead, reportedly telling police he fired out of fear
Italian politicians and wildlife experts have condemned the fatal shooting of an endangered brown bear, as a search was under way for her two cubs.
Amarena was one of the most popular of the Marsican brown bears in the Abruzzo national park in central Italy, often pictured in and around the area with her offspring.
Continue reading...Conservation officers believe animal was shot and dragged into Squamish River in British Columbia
Conservation officers in Canada are asking the public for help after the body of a grizzly bear was discovered floating in a British Columbia river.
This week, the province’s conservation service said it was investigating the illegal killing of the bear, after remains were discovered near the town of Squamish.
Continue reading...Researchers used genetic analysis to identify species that cannot be distinguished by appearance alone
Seven new leaf insect species, known as “walking leaves”, have been discovered.
The insects exhibit a sophisticated “twigs and leaf-like” camouflage allowing them to blend into their surroundings without detection, posing a challenge to both predators and researchers.
Continue reading...Discovery that most canids in Australia are not hybrids with wild dogs leads researchers to push to change policy and terminology
Scientists are calling on governments to end baiting programs targeting dingoes in national parks, to ditch the “inappropriate and misleading” term “wild dog”, and to proactively engage with Indigenous Australians regarding dingo management.
Dozens of scientists have written to the New South Wales, Victorian and South Australian environment and agriculture ministers to push for changes to dingo policies in light of new scientific research.
Continue reading...Canada and UK only donor countries to contribute so far, leaving scheme short of $40m to formally launch
Developed countries have been urged to contribute to a new nature fund after it was left undercapitalised by $40m (£32m), receiving money from just two donors.
At the Cop15 biodiversity summit in December, where countries agreed this decade’s biodiversity targets that included aims to protect 30% of Earth, governments agreed to the creation of a fund to help developing countries meet the deal’s aims, which included a target to provide $200bn for nature a year by 2030.
Continue reading...Humane alternatives to killing rampant creatures such as wild boar, deer and grey squirrels are being developed
Conflicts between humans and wildlife are triggering growing numbers of disease outbreaks, road accidents and crop damage. And the problem is likely to get worse unless new, humane measures to curtail animal numbers are developed in the near future, say scientists.
It is a critical environmental issue that will be debated this week at a major conference in Italy where experts will discuss how best to limit numbers of grey squirrels, wild boar, deer, feral goats, pigeons, parakeets and other creatures that are causing widespread ecological damage in many countries.
Continue reading...Large-scale study indicates population declines after collation of data from country’s conservation organisations and birdwatchers
A report on India’s bird population has painted a grim picture for many of the country’s species.
The State of India’s Birds (SoIB) report – published on Friday – showed worrisome declines, with 178 species of wild birds identified as needing immediate priority for conservation.
Continue reading...Father-of-two Toby Begg, 44, is in a serious but stable condition in hospital following serious injuries ‘from his hip to calf and lower legs’
A surfer bitten by a great white shark at a Port Macquarie beach on Friday faces “many surgeries and has years of rehabilitation ahead of him”, his family has said as he recovers in hospital.
Father-of-two Toby Begg, 44, was attacked by the great white, estimated at 4m long, as he surfed at Lighthouse beach on Friday morning.
Continue reading...Residents of Carmel, California, have named the bird Cupid, and are monitoring its health, which seems unaffected by the injury
For months, a wild turkey has been spotted roaming the rolling hills of Carmel, California, with a 30in arrow sticking through her chest. It hasn’t seemed to faze her.
Local residents first began spotting the bird, who they’re calling Cupid, last winter. Since then, she has been photographed and filmed roosting in trees, foraging for grubs and evading predators and generally going about her business as if she hadn’t been impaled.
Continue reading...Referendum result protecting Yasuní reserve will benefit huge range of species as well as ‘uncontacted’ Indigenous peoples
Ecuadorians have voted in a historic referendum to halt the development of all new oilwells in the Yasuní national park in the Amazon, one of the most biodiverse regions on the planet.
Voters opted to safeguard the unique biosphere by a margin of nearly 20% with more than 90% of the ballot counted – with more than 58% in favour and 41% against, according to Ecuador’s National Electoral Comission. Voting took place in the first round of presidential elections on Sunday.
Continue reading...Tensions are escalating in state forests near Bellingen, where a protesters’ camp is locked in a standoff with a heavy police presence
The New South Wales government has been accused of stalling on a promise to create a national park to protect koalas as tension mounts over logging in the state’s northern forests.
Protesters and police have been engaged in a standoff, with both groups setting up forest camps, as logging takes place in the Newry state forest near the town of Bellingen, on the mid-north coast.
Continue reading...Population has declined dramatically due to overfishing and environmental changes in the Indian Ocean
African penguins are on track for extinction by 2035 if measures are not taken to ensure their survival, campaigners have said.
The population of African penguins has declined dramatically over the past 100 years. In the early 20th century, it is thought that there were probably several million breeding pairs: today, fewer than 11,000 breeding pairs remain, and the population continues to fall sharply.
Continue reading...Research suggests behaviour may reflect evolutionary response to previous outbreaks of disease
Aerial surveys of the North Sea have revealed that seals practise social distancing – and the discovery may have profound implications for the spread of disease among the marine mammals.
In a paper published today by the Royal Society, researchers conducting censuses of grey and harbour seals detail new evidence that the two species not only maintain distances between their own kind (unlike walruses, for instance, who cluster close together) but also that this behaviour may “reflect an evolutionary response to viral susceptibility”.
Continue reading...Invasive Species Council releases material showing contrast between original $133m plan to fully eradicate the ants and $89m ‘revised work plan’
Lack of proper funding is hindering efforts to contain the spread of invasive fire ants by Australian authorities, according to documents obtained by the Invasive Species Council.
The documents show a stark contrast between the original $133m plan to fully eradicate the ants and an $89m “revised work plan” to continue for the next 12 months. This revised plan would only treat half the area needed, even as the ants continue their southward march towards New South Wales.
Continue reading...Naturalists decry extinction of species as loss of habitat, poaching and illegal hunting take toll
For centuries, wolves have roamed the mountain ranges of Andalucía in southern Spain, but after years of decline the creature has been officially declared extinct in the region.
Since 2003, the regional government has carried out a census of the wolf (Canis lupus signatus) population in an effort to monitor the species and reduce conflict with the local population, farmers in particular.
Continue reading...Animal, found lounging in a Burbank neighborhood, climbed over a wall and headed back after it was done relaxing
With temperatures soaring across the US, people and animals alike are looking for a place to find relief. In southern California, one bear sought to beat the heat by taking a dip in a hot tub.
On Friday, police in Burbank responded to a report of a bear sighting in a residential neighborhood. The bear was filmed calmly lounging in the hot tub. After a short dip, the bear climbed over a wall and headed to a tree behind the home, police said in a statement.
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