Category Archives: Wildlife

‘Places of the living’: bishop of Norwich calls for churchyards to be rewilded

Posted on by

Graham Usher urges Church of England to look into this ‘often very ancient land’, as it prepares to vote on increasing biodiversity

Churchyards should be rewilded to increase biodiversity and to make them “places of the living, not just the dead”, a Church of England bishop has said.

Local parishes are responsible for about 7,100 hectares (17,500 acres) of churchyards in England. The C of E also owns about 34,000 hectares of farmland, mostly let to tenant farmers, and 9,300 hectares of forestry.

Continue reading...

Fluffy the alligator snapping turtle with ‘nasty bite’ found in Cumbrian tarn

Posted on by

Dinosaur-like creature that can cut through bone rescued from Urswick Tarn, near Ulverston

It’s been named Fluffy, but its spiky appearance and “nasty bite” means only the brave – or the foolish – would attempt to offer this particular turtle a cuddle.

The dinosaur-like creature, an alligator snapping turtle that can cut bones and is native to swamps and rivers in southern parts of the US, was rescued from a tarn in Cumbria on Monday.

Continue reading...

Monarch butterfly numbers dip to second lowest level in Mexico wintering grounds

Posted on by

Experts say the endangered insect numbers fell by 59% this year, blaming pesticide use and climate change for the reduction

The number of endangered monarch butterflies at their wintering areas in Mexico has dropped by 59% this year to the second lowest level since record keeping began, experts said, blaming pesticide use and climate change.

The annual butterfly count doesn’t calculate the individual number of butterflies, but rather the number of hectares they cover when they clump together on tree branches in the mountain pine and fir forests west of Mexico City. Monarchs from east of the Rocky Mountains in the US and Canada overwinter there.

Continue reading...

Killer whales trapped in drift ice off Japan’s Hokkaido coast escape

Posted on by

Pod of orcas in north Japan freed themselves as gaps between the ice grew, officials say

A pod of killer whales trapped by drift ice off the coast of Hokkaido, Japan’s northernmost main island, have apparently safely escaped, officials have said.

The orcas were initially spotted by a fisher who reported them to officials in the town of Rausu, on the north-east coast of Hokkaido, on Tuesday morning.

Continue reading...

Concern for killer whales trapped in drift ice off the coast of Hokkaido in Japan

Posted on by

Japanese media report that pod of orcas became trapped in ice close to Rausu on Shiretoko peninsula

Concern is growing for the welfare of a pod of killer whales that appear to have become trapped in drift ice off the coast of Hokkaido in northern Japan.

Footage aired by the public broadcaster NHK on Tuesday showed at least 10 orcas poking out of a small gap in the surface of the water about 1 km off the coast of Rausu on the Shiretoko peninsula – a Unesco world heritage site famed for its abundant wildlife.

Continue reading...

Global shark bite deaths doubled in 2023, with Australia high on the list

Posted on by

Study finds ‘unprovoked’ attacks were more common for surfers than swimmers

Australia is home to a disproportionate number of deadly shark attacks, with isolated areas carrying a greater risk of fatalities, international research has found.

The 10 fatal attacks globally in 2023 doubled the five in the previous year, with four of last year’s deaths occurring in Australia.

Sign up for Guardian Australia’s free morning and afternoon email newsletters for your daily news roundup

Continue reading...

Boy in hospital after fourth dingo bite on Queensland’s K’gari in as many weeks

Posted on by

Boy was bitten at campsite of western side of K’gari, also known as Fraser Island, and taken to Hervey Bay hospital

A young boy has become the fourth victim of a dingo bite on the Queensland island of K’gari in as many weeks.

The boy was bitten at a campsite on the western side of K’gari, also known as Fraser Island, and was taken to the Hervey Bay hospital on Saturday.

Sign up for Guardian Australia’s free morning and afternoon email newsletters for your daily news roundup

Continue reading...

Warm weather forces moose and wolf count to pause in remote Michigan park

Posted on by

Researchers have conducted an annual survey of the animals’ population every year since 1958, except in 2021 due to Covid-19

A stretch of unusually warm weather has forced federal officials to temporarily halt researchers’ annual count of wolves and moose in remote Isle Royale national park for the first time in more than six decades.

Isle Royale is a 134,000-acre island situated in far western Lake Superior between Grand Marias, Minnesota, and Thunder Bay, Canada. The Michigan park is a wildlife biologist’s dream – it offers a rare opportunity to observe wolves and moose without human influence.

Continue reading...

Greater glider put on path to extinction by NSW environmental watchdog, experts say

Posted on by

Ecologists condemn watchdog decision, accusing it of making reckless changes to allow easier logging of state forests containing glider habitat

NSW’s environmental watchdog has put the endangered greater glider on a fast track to extinction by watering down logging protections, experts say.

Ecologists from WWF-Australia and Wilderness Australia have condemned the watchdog, accusing it of making reckless changes so Forestry Corporation can more easily log state forests.

Sign up for Guardian Australia’s free morning and afternoon email newsletters for your daily news roundup

Continue reading...

EU to delay new green rule in bid to appease protesting farmers

Posted on by

Delay to rules on setting aside land to encourage biodiversity offered as concession amid continuing protests

Farmers protesting across Europe have won their first concession from Brussels, with the EU announcing a delay in rules that would have forced them to set aside land to encourage biodiversity and soil health.

About 10,000 French farmers stepped up their protests on Wednesday, with at least 100 blockades on major roads across France, as 18 farmers were arrested for blocking traffic as they tried to reach the wholesale food market at Rungis, south-east of Paris and 79 others were detained after they managed to get inside.

Continue reading...

Court orders temporary halt to logging in Tasmanian forest ahead of swift parrot case

Posted on by

Bob Brown Foundation wants logging banned in area of forest south of Hobart, claiming it is breeding habitat for endangered bird

Conservationists have won a temporary injunction to stop logging in an area of forest south of Hobart they say is breeding habitat for the critically endangered swift parrot.

The Tasmanian supreme court granted the injunction on Wednesday afternoon pending a hearing of the legal challenge brought by the Bob Brown Foundation.

Sign up for Guardian Australia’s free morning and afternoon email newsletters for your daily news roundup

Continue reading...

Turtle deaths surge in Moreton Bay as advocates decry ‘loosey-goosey’ waterway policing

Posted on by

Exclusive: Locals say ‘huge penalities and fines’ needed after deaths increased almost 90% in one year

Turtle deaths in a key south-east Queensland habitat have increased 87% in a single year and there are concerns that uncontrolled boating, four-wheel driving and discarded crab pots could result in more fatalities.

The annual turtle death toll average in the Bribie Island area – which includes Beachmere to Caloundra, Pumicestone Passage and Bribie Island – had been at 36 for a decade.

Sign up for Guardian Australia’s free morning and afternoon email newsletters for your daily news roundup

Continue reading...

Baby shark! Researchers may have captured first image of newborn great white

Posted on by

California scientist and film-maker spot apparent pup – never before seen in the wild – in drone pictures

Researchers in California may have gotten the first ever look at a newborn great white shark, which they captured in drone images taken last summer.

The newborn animal has never before been spotted in the wild. But in July, the wildlife film-maker Carlos Gauna and Phillip Sternes, a biology doctoral student at the University of California, Riverside, glimpsed something unexpected in the waters near Santa Barbara on California’s central coast.

Continue reading...

‘Unacceptable greenwashing’: Scottish farmed salmon should not be labelled organic, say charities

Posted on by

Open letter calls for Soil Association certification to be removed from industry, amid concerns of negative environmental impact

The British body that certifies food in the UK as organic has been accused of misleading consumers over its labelling of Scottish farmed salmon.

Thirty charities, conservation and community organisations, including WildFish, the Pesticide Action Network and Blue Marine Foundation, say the negative environmental impacts of the industry in Scotland “run completely counter” to the principles of the Soil Association’s promotion of healthy, humane and sustainable food.

Continue reading...

Charity with Prince Harry as director investigating rape and torture claims

Posted on by

African Parks examines alleged atrocities against Indigenous people by its Congo Republic guards after ‘decade of alerts’ from Survival International

A wildlife charity that has the Duke of Sussex as a board member is investigating allegations of rape and torture by its guards in the Republic of the Congo.

African Parks, which manages 22 national parks and protected areas across 12 countries, said the investigation was its “highest priority” and encouraged anyone with knowledge of any abuse to contact it.

Continue reading...

Thai woman charged over lion cub filmed cruising resort in Bentley

Posted on by

Sawangjit Kosoognern charged with illegal possession after video showing animal being driven around Pattaya gains 2.6m views

A Thai woman has been charged with illegal possession of a lion cub, police said on Friday, after a video of the animal cruising in a Bentley went viral online.

The police ordered an investigation after a video showing a lion cub riding around the raucous Thai resort town of Pattaya in a Bentley gained more than 2.6m views online.

Continue reading...

Spot the punk rockers: hope for waxwing boost in annual UK bird count

Posted on by

People encouraged to record sightings of mohican-sporting birds in RSPB’s Big Garden Birdwatch this weekend

The scale of this waxwing winter will be revealed this weekend when people are encouraged to spend an hour recording the birds they see in their gardens, balconies, parks and school grounds.

The spectacular migratory, mohican-sporting birds have been spotted across Britain during the colder weather and will be recorded alongside more familiar sparrows, blackbirds and robins in the RSPB’s annual Big Garden Birdwatch.

Continue reading...

Lions making fewer zebra kills due to ‘chain reaction’ involving invasive ants

Posted on by

Hunting by Kenyan lions impeded in ‘ecological chain reaction’ as big-headed ants fail to stop elephants stripping acacia trees – the cats’ ambush cover

When a lion decides to chase down a zebra it seems as though nothing can stop it. But now researchers have discovered these enormous predators are being thwarted by a tiny foe: ants.

Scientists have found the spread of big-headed ants in east Africa sets off a situation leading to lions making fewer zebra kills.

Continue reading...

Australia not prepared for how Antarctic ice changes will hit economy, scientist warns

Posted on by

Exclusive: Prof Matt King says accelerated melting could transform country and affect viability of some agricultural industries

A leading Antarctic scientist has urged the Albanese government to pay closer attention to abrupt changes under way in the southern continent, warning they will affect Australians in ways that are little understood and research into them is drastically underfunded.

The head of the Australian Centre for Excellence in Antarctic Science, Prof Matt King, said he found it embarrassing how little was known about the local and global ramifications of changes including a historic drop in floating sea ice cover, the accelerating melting of giant ice sheets and the slowing of a deep ocean current known as the Southern Ocean overturning circulation.

Sign up for Guardian Australia’s free morning and afternoon email newsletters for your daily news roundup

Continue reading...

‘The pigs have disappeared’: swine fever threatens food source for millions as disease hits wild herds

Posted on by

Scientists call for urgent intervention, as bearded pig populations are devastated by the deadly virus on islands such as Borneo

Populations of wild pigs are crashing due to the spread of African swine fever (ASF), threatening the livelihoods of millions who depend on them for food, researchers warn.

With a fatality rate of almost 100%, ASF has swept across Asia, Europe and Africa, devastating domestic and wild pig populations over the past 10 to 20 years. The impacts are especially significant in Borneo, in south-east Asia, where bearded pig numbers have declined by between 90% and 100% since it arrived on the island in 2021, researchers said.

Continue reading...