Blood samples later recovered undamaged after fears incident could have helped spread virus
Monkeys mobbed an Indian health worker and made off with blood samples from coronavirus tests, prompting fears they could have spread the virus in the local area.
After making off with the three samples this week in Meerut, near Delhi, the monkeys scampered up nearby trees and one then tried to chew its plunder.
Continue reading...Swaths of coastline covered with squat lobster, which cling to the sand at high tide and then perish
The sandy beaches of Otago in the deep south of New Zealand have turned blood red after millions of squat lobster died in a series of mass strandings.
Locals in the small coastal communities of Broad Bay and Edwards Bay, who have seen whole swaths of coastline saturated in colour, reported the phenomenon to the national broadcaster this week.
Continue reading...Latest discovery suggests the species has reached far deeper into British Columbia than previously thought
When officials in western Canada received the squashed remains of a hornet in late May, they immediately knew trouble was in their hands.
With its hulking orange and black body, the insect sent in by a concerned resident was unmistakably an Asian giant hornet – an aggressive predator increasingly known as the “murder” hornet.
Continue reading...Vision for commercial fishing to reduce deaths to zero is right, but implementation will fall short
From our hotly contested Bird of the Year competition, to the constant updates from backyard bird watchers during lockdown, it’s safe to say New Zealand is a nation of avian obsessives.
It’s hardly surprising given our history. This small island nation has been shaped by bird life like no other, with endemic species part of our national identity. From the Kākāpō to the Kiwi, we share our home with some of the most unique feathered creatures on the planet.
Continue reading...Uneven heating could have major impact on marine wildlife, as species that rely on each other for survival are forced to move
Rates of climate change in the world’s ocean depths could be seven times higher than current levels by the second half of this century even if emissions of greenhouse gases were cut dramatically, according to new research.
Different global heating at different depths could have major impacts on ocean wildlife, causing disconnects as species that rely on each other for survival are forced to move.
Continue reading...Rescuer hailed a hero on social media but risks penalty for interfering with shark controls
A man who rescued a whale calf trapped in nets off the Gold Coast from a small boat may face a fine of almost $27,000.
The man rescued the stricken animal on Tuesday morning as officials took more than two hours to respond.
Continue reading...Birds born in one of three nests at Knepp estate in West Sussex as part of breeding project
White stork chicks have hatched in the wild in the UK for the first time in centuries.
Eggs in one of three nests at the Knepp estate in West Sussex have hatched, the White Stork Project announced.
Continue reading...Voiceover narrates fairy penguin’s high-stakes waddle from shoreline to burrows in parade that used to attract thousands of visitors nightly
With live sport now a scarce resource, BBC commentator Andrew Cotter has lent his distinctive voice to the fairy penguins of Phillip Island.
He has narrated the birds’ nightly waddle back to their burrows, turning Victoria’s famous penguin parade into a high-stakes, long-distance race.
Continue reading...Images captured on cameras being used for film shoot in thinly populated area of Galicia
A brown bear has been spotted traversing a rugged and sparsely populated area of north-west Spain for the first time in 150 years thanks to a set of camera traps and a bit of luck.
Images of the animal were captured on cameras set up by a crew shooting the film Montaña ou Morte (Mountain or Death) in the Invernadeiro national park in Galicia’s Ourense province.
Continue reading...Asian giant hornet, which became more active in the state in April, is the world’s largest and can kill humans with multiple stings
Researchers and citizens in Washington state are on a careful hunt for invasive “murder hornets”, after the insect made its first appearance in the US.
The Asian giant hornet is the world’s largest and can kill humans. But it is most dangerous for the European honeybee, which is defenseless in the face of the hornet’s spiky mandibles, long stinger and potent venom.
Continue reading...Currents act as conveyor belts that concentrate microplastics in hotspots, study suggests
Scientists have discovered microplastics in greater quantities than ever before on the seabed, and gathered clues as to how ocean currents and deep-sea circulation have carried them there.
Microplastics – tiny pieces of plastic less than 5mm in size – are likely to accumulate most densely on the ocean floor in areas that are also biodiversity hotspots, intensifying the damage they may do to marine ecosystems, according to the research.
Continue reading...The German Society for Nature Photography (GDT) has selected its Nature Photographer of the Year 2020.
The winning image is part of a series of photographs taken in Dortmund’s north by Peter Lindel. Compared with many international nature photography hot spots, this region has little to offer. Lindel spent a lot of time and blood, sweat and tears working on this project on his doorstep. It is a beautiful statement about the long-term exploration of a single species and region.
Continue reading...Fears pollution affecting cognition as crabs exposed to polyethylene struggle to select good homes
When it comes to moving home, hermit crabs are experts, often swapping shells for the optimal abode.
But now researchers have found that exposure to microplastics disrupts this key behaviour. The finds are the latest to suggest such pollution could be having an impact on the world’s marine creatures.
Continue reading...Wharfedale, Yorkshire: There are moments of beauty, but the silence can also be eerie and strange, or mask an underlying hostility
In Lower Wharfedale, there are new kinds of silences everywhere. Around Beacon Hill, on the Chevin, the seismic roar of aircraft booming off to Edinburgh or Alicante from the airport nearby has given way to the white noise of a sunny heath in April; a silence textured with the bee-charged buzz of a goat willow, the delicate song of a dunnock, or the soft gloops of mating frogs in a pond. Along the verdant stretch of the Wharfe near Otley Mills, where peace is usually eclipsed by the rush of traffic on the A660, birdsong glitters in the fresh green trees like sun in a stream, and a dipper alerts me to its presence with the tiniest of chirps.
Related: Name that song - it's the perfect time to learn to identify birds
Continue reading...She-wolf in country’s north is pregnant, and newcomers from France or Italy spotted in south
Belgium is becoming “the wolf crossroads of Europe”, a conservation charity has said as it reported new sightings from France and Germany, while Flemish authorities separately announced the imminent arrival of wolf puppies.
Flanders’ environment minister, Zuhal Demir, announced that a pair of wolves in the north of the country were expecting cubs, four months after arrival in the area of a female wolf, Noëlla, who was billed as “a potential new love” for a previously lone wolf, August.
Continue reading...Exclusive: only one species is responsible for coronavirus – humans – say world’s leading wildlife experts
The coronavirus pandemic is likely to be followed by even more deadly and destructive disease outbreaks unless their root cause – the rampant destruction of the natural world – is rapidly halted, the world’s leading biodiversity experts have warned.
“There is a single species responsible for the Covid-19 pandemic – us,” they said. “Recent pandemics are a direct consequence of human activity, particularly our global financial and economic systems that prize economic growth at any cost. We have a small window of opportunity, in overcoming the challenges of the current crisis, to avoid sowing the seeds of future ones.”
Continue reading...More than 100 birds have been living wild in England as part of conservation scheme
The first wild stork chicks to hatch in Britain for centuries are expected to emerge next month after three pairs of the huge white birds built nests in West Sussex.
Disdaining platforms constructed especially for them, the storks have created their stick nests in the heights of oak trees on the Knepp estate, the centre for a reintroduction project.
Continue reading...Leading US biologist Thomas Lovejoy says to stop future outbreaks we need more respect for natural world
The vast illegal wildlife trade and humanity’s excessive intrusion into nature is to blame for the coronavirus pandemic, according to a leading US scientist who says “this is not nature’s revenge, we did it to ourselves”.
Scientists are discovering two to four new viruses are created every year as a result of human infringement on the natural world, and any one of those could turn into a pandemic, according to Thomas Lovejoy, who coined the term “biological diversity” in 1980 and is often referred to as the godfather of biodiversity.
Continue reading...Sixty Hutu rebel fighters suspected of attack on civilians in Virunga national park
Suspected Hutu militiamen have killed 16 people, including 12 rangers, in the Virunga national park, a Democratic Republic of the Congo government official has said, in the deadliest attack in the park’s recent history.
The park in eastern DRC, home to critically endangered mountain gorillas as well as hundreds of other rare species, has faced repeated incursions and attacks by local armed groups.
Continue reading...Scientists say insects are vital and the losses worrying, with accelerating declines in Europe called ‘shocking’
The biggest assessment of global insect abundances to date shows a worrying drop of almost 25% in the last 30 years, with accelerating declines in Europe that shocked scientists.
The analysis combined 166 long-term surveys from almost 1,700 sites and found that some species were bucking the overall downward trend. In particular, freshwater insects have been increasing by 11% each decade following action to clean up polluted rivers and lakes. However, this group represent only about 10% of insect species and do not pollinate crops.
Continue reading...