Gardeners and pest controllers say wasps, important predators and pollinators, appear to be in sharp decline
The UK is not doing enough to track wasp populations as numbers appear to plummet, a leading expert has warned.
While there were national monitoring schemes for some invertebrates, including bees and butterflies, there was no such programme in place for wasps, said Dr Gavin Broad, principal curator of wasps at the Natural History Museum.
Continue reading...One dolphin was discovered near Chelsea Harbour Pier, the other on the riverbank at Greenwich
Two dolphins have reportedly been found dead on the banks of the Thames in London, after one was spotted in the river last week.
The common dolphin was seen multiple times from late morning on Thursday, and was described as appearing to be “struggling with the tide”.
Continue reading...Rangers euthanise large crocodile believed to have attacked man who went missing while fishing near Cooktown on Saturday
A large crocodile believed to be responsible for a fatal attack on a 40-year-old father in far north Queensland has been euthanised.
Rangers had targeted a crocodile with a distinctive scar near its snout as an extensive search for the NSW man near Cooktown entered a third day.
Continue reading...Rescue body says dolphin spotted on Thursday may be further disoriented by human interference
People have been urged to stay away from a dolphin spotted in the River Thames.
The common dolphin had been seen several times near Putney Bridge, south-west London, on Thursday, and had appeared to be “struggling with the tide”, but had not been seen since.
Continue reading...Japanese government confirms it will allow whalers to catch and kill up to 59 fin whales, a species conservationists consider vulnerable
The Australian government is “deeply disappointed” by Japan’s decision to add the world’s second-largest whale species to the list of species its commercial whale hunters will target.
Tanya Plibersek, the environment minister, attacked Japan’s decision to hunt fin whales – the world’s second-longest whale and considered vulnerable.
Continue reading...Farm north of London to be returned to something like pasture once enjoyed by Anglo-Saxon king
It was once woodland where Harold Godwinson, the last crowned Anglo-Saxon king, rode in pursuit of deer. Over recent decades, the hillside with a panoramic view of London has become arable fields, pony paddocks and a Christmas tree plantation.
But now Harold’s Park, a 200-hectare (500 acre) farm just north of the M25 on the edge of the capital, is to be rewilded and returned to something like the tangled wood pasture once enjoyed by King Harold.
Continue reading...Audit of Environmental Improvement Plan finds it inadequate as government announces overhaul of goals
Goals to stop the decline of nature and clean up the air and water in England are slipping out of reach, a new report has warned.
An audit of the Environmental Improvement Plan (EIP), which is the mechanism by which the government’s legally binding targets for improving nature should be met, has found that plans for thriving plants and wildlife and clean air are deteriorating. This plan was supposed to replace the EU-derived environmental regulations the UK used until the Environment Act was passed in 2021 after Brexit.
Continue reading...National Whale and Dolphin Watch organisers say data collected will help with research into marine mammals
Hundreds of wildlife enthusiasts are expected to gather along UK coastlines over the next 10 days to count and record whales and dolphins.
The National Whale and Dolphin Watch, taking place from 26 July to 4 August, is hosted by the Sea Watch Foundation and aims to get volunteers to observe and record sightings of the UK’s most impressive marine mammals.
Continue reading...The birds, protected as an endangered species, will remain under zoo care for year and a half before being sent into wild
Nearly 20 new California condors will fly across the western sky after a record-setting hatching of baby birds this summer at the Los Angeles Zoo.
The zoo marked a record of 17 California condor chicks hatched during this year’s breeding season, with staff members preparing to set the birds into the harsh wild as they are currently protected as an endangered species.
Continue reading...An American contestant on Race to Survive has apologised for eating a weka, a large, brown flightless bird known for its curiosity
Things got a little too real on the reality TV show Race to Survive when one of the contestants killed and ate a protected New Zealand bird species, prompting a warning from authorities.
The contestants had been warned that certain food groups – including protected ones – were off limits. Spencer Jones, who killed and ate the weka, has since apologised, saying, “I made a mistake. It was shortsighted, it was foolish,” according to the website RealityTea.com.
Continue reading...Latest research shows how illegal drug consumption by humans is harming marine life
Wild sharks off the coast of Brazil have tested positive for cocaine, according to new study by Brazilian scientists, in the latest research to demonstrate how illegal drug consumption by humans is harming marine life.
According to a study entitled Cocaine Shark and published in the journal Science of the Total Environment, scientists dissected the bodies of 13 sharpnose sharks (Rhizoprionodon lalandii) caught in fishermen’s nets off a beach in Rio de Janeiro.
Continue reading...Tourist hotspots including Ullapool and Fort William badly hit as biting insects enjoy damp, humid conditions
Scotland’s wet summer is providing perfect conditions for surges of midges, with experts saying worse is yet to come.
This week the Scottish Midge Forecast predicted high numbers of the biting insects, reaching peaks of four and five on a scale of one to five.
Continue reading...Snakebites, the ‘deadliest of neglected tropical diseases’ often impact rural communities the most, but a new study offers hope
A commonly used blood thinner can be used as an antidote to cobra venom, an international study has found, research that a Queensland expert has called “really exciting”.
In the study, published in the Journal of Science Translational Medicine on Thursday, Prof Nicholas Casewell described snakebites as the “deadliest of neglected tropical diseases, with its burden landing overwhelmingly on rural communities in low and middle income countries”.
Continue reading...Researchers say rattlesnakes have an undeservedly maligned reputation but are social creatures who make good mothers
A “mega den” with as many as 2,000 rattlesnakes isn’t top binge-watching for many people. But a round-the-clock webcam in Colorado is providing a viewing bonanza for scientists and other snake enthusiasts whose observations are helping to broaden understanding of these unusual – and undeservedly maligned – reptiles.
The remote site on private land in northern Colorado is on a hillside full of rock crevices where the snakes can keep warm and hide from predators.
Continue reading...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.
Continue reading...Donations grew dramatically after Australia’s black summer but animal carers say they didn’t receive enough
Australia’s largest wildlife rescue organisation faces a landmark vote on Sunday, as members unhappy with the distribution of donations after the black summer bushfires attempt to change its constitution.
The income of the Wildlife Information, Rescue and Education Service (Wires), based in NSW, ballooned from $3m to more than $100m thanks to the success of its fundraising campaign after the catastrophic fires of 2019-20, which burned millions of hectares of land and reportedly killed or displaced 3 billion animals.
Continue reading...Rescuers including vets rush to save 12 survivors from 77-strong group lying on Sanday shore
Dozens of long-finned pilot whales have died after a 77-strong pod came ashore on an Orkney beach in what could be the biggest mass stranding in decades.
Twelve of the animals at Tresness beach, on the island of Sanday, were still alive, but according to rescuers from the British Divers Marine Life Rescue (BDMLR), it was thought unlikely they could be saved.
Continue reading...A team led by an Australian researcher captured the pair swimming about 1.5km after two failed attempts
A record-breaking swim by two lion brothers across a predator-filled African river has been documented by a team led by a researcher from an Australian university.
The two-male lion coalition was filmed crossing the Kazinga Channel in Uganda at night using high-definition heat detection cameras on drones.
Continue reading...Traveller stopped by customs as he sought to slip out of Hong Kong into the border city of Shenzhen
A man has been caught trying to smuggle more than 100 live snakes into mainland China by cramming them into his trousers, according to the country’s customs authority.
The unnamed traveller was stopped by customs officers as he sought to slip out of semi-autonomous Hong Kong and into the border city of Shenzhen, China Customs said in a statement on Tuesday.
Continue reading...Conservationists say it’s a ‘slap in the face’ to those who are trying to save the threatened species
The Canadian province of Alberta has quietly reversed a two-decade ban on hunting grizzly bears, in what conservations described as a “slap in the face” amid continuing debate over the future of the threatened species.
Alberta first banned the hunting of grizzly bears in 2006 after the population of the species, which once reached as many as 9,0000 bears, collapsed due to generations of overhunting, agriculture development and urbanization.
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