Category Archives: Wildlife

Europe’s top 25 banks failing on green pledges, campaigners warn

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ShareAction says lack of plans to tackle climate crisis and biodiversity loss casts doubts on banking’s sustainability pledges

Europe’s 25 largest banks are still failing to present comprehensive plans that address both the climate crisis and biodiversity loss, putting their sustainability pledges in doubt, campaigners have warned.

While some lenders such as NatWest are demonstrating leadership on specific issues – such as net zero targets and policies restricting financing for new fossil fuel – research by investment campaign group ShareAction found none of the banks it reviewed were taking action across all key areas.

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Mayor of Rome sues local region over wild boar ‘invasion’

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Five Star Movement’s Virginia Raggi accuses Lazio regional government of failing to tackle problem

Rome’s mayor has opened a criminal lawsuit against the surrounding Lazio regional government over “the massive and uncontrolled presence of wild boar in Italy’s capital”.

In recent years, Rome’s citizens and farmers have protested about wild boar wreaking havoc on their land and causing fatal car crashes. The animal is believed to be responsible for an average of 10,000 road accidents a year in the country.

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Curious southern right whale nudges paddleboarder in Argentina – video

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A rare encounter was caught on video at Puerto Madryn, Argentina when a southern rIght whale seemingly plays with a woman on a paddleboard and pushes the board gently forward, observing its movement as it swims directly beneath it.

"They are rare moments, it is something that is prohibited," said Oscar Comes, a local water-sports tourism operator. "It isn't like you can go in a kayak, standup board, a boat, or whatever, to look for the animal."

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Wild cockatoos observed using tools as ‘cutlery’ to extract seeds from tropical fruit

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Goffin’s cockatoos on Indonesia’s Tanimbar Islands crafted three different types of tools from tree branches to obtain seeds from sea mangoes

Australian bird of the year 2021: nominate your favourite for the shortlist

Wild cockatoos have been observed using three types of tools as “cutlery” to extract seeds from tropical fruit.

Researchers made the discovery while studying Goffin’s cockatoos on the Tanimbar Islands, a remote archipelago in Indonesia.

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Cape Cod: eight great white sharks seen feeding on humpback whale carcass

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  • Expert marvels at ‘biggest smorgasbord a shark could dream of’
  • Researchers monitor unusual humpback mortality event

For those aboard a recent whale watching cruise off Cape Cod, the decomposing carcass of a year-old humpback calf floating in the waters of the Stellwagen Bank national marine sanctuary made for a heartbreaking sight.

Related: Experience: I was attacked by two sharks at once

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‘Everything is changing’: the struggle for food as Malawi’s Lake Chilwa shrinks

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The livelihoods of 1.5 million people are at risk as the lake’s occasional dry spells occur ever more frequently

• All photographs by Dennis Lupenga/WaterAid

There was a time when the vast Lake Chilwa almost disappeared. In 2012 it had been extremely hot in southern Malawi, with little rain to fill the rivers that ran into the lake.

“Many fishermen were forced to scramble for land near the lake banks, while others had to migrate to the city,” says Alfred Samuel. “We could barely feed our children because the lake could not provide enough fish, or water for rice growing.”

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California: mother fights off mountain lion with bare hands to save 5-year-old son

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The mountain lion, which dragged the boy across his front lawn, was later killed by wildlife officers

A mountain lion that attacked a 5-year-old boy in southern California has been shot and killed by a wildlife officer, authorities say.

The 65-pound (30kg) mountain lion attacked the boy while he was playing near his house on Thursday in Calabasas and “dragged him about 45 yards” across the front lawn, said Captain Patrick Foy, a spokesman with the California department of fish and wildlife, on Saturday.

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Female hummingbirds look like males to avoid attacks, study suggests

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Some females found to have evolved with bright plumage, which seems to protect against male aggression

They may zip around looking cute and sociable, but the world of hummingbirds is rife with aggression. Now it looks like some female hummingbirds have evolved to avoid this – by adopting the bright plumage of their male counterparts.

US researchers captured more than 400 white-necked Jacobin hummingbirds in Panama.

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LED streetlights decimating moth numbers in England

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‘Eco-friendly’ lights found to be worse than sodium ones – but both contribute to insect decline, says study

“Eco-friendly” LED streetlights produce even worse light pollution for insects than the traditional sodium bulbs they are replacing, a study has found.

The abundance of moth caterpillars in hedgerows by rural roads in England was 52% lower under LED lights and 41% lower under sodium lights when compared with nearby unlit areas.

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Giant tortoise filmed attacking and killing baby bird – video

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A Seychelles giant tortoise, a species previously thought to be a strict herbivore, has been filmed chasing and eating a baby bird. Researchers say it was the first documented example of deliberate hunting in the wild by the species.

The video, taken on Fregate Island in July 2020, shows a female giant tortoise slowly stalking a lesser noddy tern chick, snapping at it unsuccessfully before delivering a lethal blow by clamping its jaws directly around its head.

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‘Horrifying and amazing’: giant tortoise filmed attacking and eating baby bird

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Chase by creature in Seychelles thought to be herbivore is first known example of hunting in wild

A Seychelles giant tortoise, a species previously thought to be a strict herbivore, has been filmed chasing and eating a baby bird in a “horrifying and amazing” attack, with researchers stating it was the first documented example of deliberate hunting in the wild by the species.

The video, taken on Fregate Island in July 2020, shows a female giant tortoise slowly stalking a “lesser noddy” tern chick, snapping at it unsuccessfully before delivering a lethal bow by clamping its jaws directly around its head.

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One airport, 1,300 snakes: San Francisco helps to save endangered species

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A parcel of land owned by the international airport is home to the largest population of the San Francisco garter snake

Across from the San Francisco international airport, and past the bustling highway that hugs it, lies what appears to be an empty lot. But the 180-acre, airport-owned parcel of land, which sits beyond the tarmac, tucked against residential homes, isn’t quite empty. It’s home to roughly 1,300 snakes.

With brightly painted bands of blue, orange-red and black that line their slender bodies, the garter snakes, which can grow up to 3ft long, are considered among the most beautiful in the world. They are also among the most threatened.

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Born to be wild: India’s first captive-bred endangered vultures are set free

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Numbers of the country’s carrion-loving birds dropped by over 97% in the 1990s. Now, a successful breeding scheme is giving them a boost

In February, the doors of an aviary in West Bengal’s Buxa tiger reserve were flung open. Eight critically endangered captive-bred white-rumped vultures cautiously emerged and within minutes were mingling with wild vultures, devouring the meat of carcasses left out by a team of researchers from the Bombay Natural History Society (BNHS).

The birds were raised in a nearby breeding centre by BNHS, led by assistant director Sachin Ranade, as part of efforts to save India’s Gyps vultures. Gradually, some of the released vultures perched on trees with their wild cousins, while others returned to the wire-mesh aviary where they had spent the previous few months getting acclimatised to their surroundings.

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Australian bird of the year 2021: nominate your favourite for the shortlist

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This year there will be a special focus on the species many of us are likely to see in lockdown

Bird of the year is back! The Guardian/BirdLife Australia poll for 2021 will begin on 27 September with a list of 50 shortlisted species.

In 2017 the magpie fought off strong support for the white ibis to win. In 2019 the highly endangered black-throated finch, which is under threat from the expansion of the Adani Carmichael coalmine, triumphed after backing from a highly organised online campaign.

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Spain prosecutors launch inquiry into mystery fish deaths

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Hundreds of dead fish have appeared along shores of one of Europe’s largest saltwater lagoons

Prosecutors in the southern Spanish region of Murcia have launched an investigation after hundreds of dead fish began washing up along the shores of one of Europe’s largest saltwater lagoons.

Residents in the area sounded the alarm this week, posting footage on social media that showed scores of small fish and shrimp littering the beaches of the coastal lagoon known as Mar Menor in south-east Spain.

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Lake District in peril due to climate emergency and influx of pandemic walkers

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Paths have eroded and wildlife at risk as crowds jostle for space amid social distancing

It was in the Lake District where William Wordsworth “wander’d lonely as a cloud” and the only crowd he saw was “a host of golden daffodils”.

Two centuries later, the park’s natural beauty is being eroded faster than ever before, ecologists are warning, as a result of the climate emergency and a huge influx of pandemic walkers.

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Snake shocks Sydney shoppers by slithering along supermarket spice shelf

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Shopper Helaina Alati, who happens to be a former snake catcher, was luckily on hand to return the three-metre python to nearby bushland

A three-metre-long python has surprised shoppers in a Sydney supermarket by slithering along a shelf in the spice section with a Woolworths spokesperson saying it was a “slippery and rare customer”.

“Only in Australia!” Hilary Leigh wrote in a Facebook post when sharing a video of the large snake at the Glenorie supermarket in Sydney’s north-west.

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Mallorca marine reserve boosts wildlife as well as business, report finds

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Protected area delivered a tenfold return on investment, with benefits for fishing, biodiversity and tourism

A marine protection area established off the coast of Mallorca is proving beneficial not just for the environment but for business, too, according to a study that appears to confirm the long-term benefits of MPAs for both habitats and economies.

According to the study, carried out by the non-profit Marilles Foundation, the protected area has generated €10 in benefits for each euro of the €473,137 (£402,000) invested in the scheme.

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Wisconsin says hunters can kill 300 wolves this fall against biologists’ advice

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• Hunters killed double limit during February breeding season

• State wildlife officials recommended a 130-kill limit

Wisconsin wildlife officials have authorized the killing of 300 wolves for the 2021 fall hunting season, more than doubling biologists’ recommendation of a 130-wolf kill limit.

Scientists with the state department of natural resources (DNR) recommended the 130 limit after the four-day hunting season in February saw hunters kill almost twice as many wolves as allotted during the wolves’ breeding season, raising concerns over potential long-term ramifications for the population.

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Washington state confirms first live ‘murder hornet’ sighting of the year

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Asian giant hornet spotted about two miles from where first US nest was found last year

Washington state has confirmed its second “murder hornet” sighting of 2021 – the first glimpse of a live one, officials reported.

A statement released by the Washington state department of agriculture (WSDA) confirms the first report of a live Asian giant hornet in the state this year.

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