Lion that once roamed northern Africa has been extinct in the wild since 1960s
Four Barbary lion cubs were born recently in a Czech zoo, a vital contribution for the small surviving population of a rare lion that is extinct in the wild.
The three females and one male were seen playing in their outdoor enclosure at Dvůr Králové safari park on Wednesday under the watchful eye of their parents, Khalila and Bart.
Continue reading...Asher Watkins, 52, of Texas died while tracking 1.3-ton Cape buffalo on a hunting trip in the country’s Limpopo province
An American game hunter was killed by a buffalo he was stalking during a hunting expedition in South Africa over the weekend, according to multiple reports.
Asher Watkins, 52, of Texas, died on 3 August while tracking a 1.3-ton Cape buffalo in South Africa’s Limpopo province, according to a statement from Coenraad Vermaak Safaris (CV Safaris), the company that organized the hunting trip.
Continue reading...Incidents across northern Europe on 26 and 27 July have left scientists trying to understand why so many of the deep-diving whales have appeared
A series of strandings of one of the world’s deepest dwelling and most rarely seen types of whale in the last few days has left experts baffled over why they might have appeared in such numbers.
Beaked whales are used to deep ocean waters and are so rarely seen that some species have only ever been identified through dead specimens. But on 26 and 27 July there were reports from western Ireland, Orkney in Scotland and the Netherlands of these whales being stranded, raising concerns that human actions could be implicated in the animals’ deaths.
Continue reading...Alga from south-east Asia is major threat to biodiversity, say experts as they warn of environmental catastrophe
Thousands of tonnes of an aggressive invasive seaweed from south-east Asia are piling up on the beaches of the strait of Gibraltar and Spain’s southern coast in what local environmentalists say is a major threat to the region’s biodiversity.
Since May, the local authority in Cádiz has removed 1,200 tonnes of the alga Rugulopteryx okamurae from La Caleta, the city’s most popular beach, including 78 tonnes in a single day.
Continue reading...Family was hiking when big cat attacked child, who was later airlifted to hospital and is in satisfactory condition
A mountain lion bit a four-year-old child on Sunday while the child hiked with family on Hurricane Ridge in Washington state’s Olympic national park, authorities said.
The child’s father reportedly saved the minor’s life by pulling the child from the creature’s jaws.
Continue reading...1.2tn yuan project has broken ground in Tibet, premier says, despite fears of downstream nations India and Bangladesh
Construction of the world’s biggest hydropower megadam has begun, China’s premier has said, calling it the “project of the century”.
The huge structure is being built on the Yarlung Tsangpo river, in Tibetan territory.
Continue reading...Initial £15.5m will go to schemes such as launch of large regional park to improving green spaces along canals
A coalition of environmental and heritage bodies has launched a billion-pound mission to bring nature into the heart of urban areas in the UK.
The first phase of the Nature Towns and Cities initiative will involve £15.5m being invested in 40 towns and cities across the four nations.
Continue reading...Diners jump at chance to snuggle with cubs but wildlife experts accuse firm of ‘exploiting wild animals for selfies’
A restaurant in northern China has been criticised by animal welfare groups for offering an unusual item on the menu: lion cub cuddles.
According to a screenshot of a menu circulating on social media, Wanhui – a restaurant in Taiyuan, the capital of Shanxi province – has a four-course set afternoon menu costing 1,192 yuan ($166/£124) that includes playtime with the in-house animals.
Continue reading...Search for female and her cubs on hold to campaigners’ relief after court had quashed injunction against cull
The hunt for a brown bear that bit a man on the elbow has been put on hold, the Norwegian environment agency has announced, in a case that angered animal rights campaigners after officials shot the wrong bear.
The agency said on Wednesday it did not now plan to act on a bear-culling order it issued in late June in Jarfjord, near the border with Russia, after a female bear bit a man’s arm, leaving him needing stitches.
Continue reading...Whale is having a ‘full harbour experience’, says an expert aboard a maritime boat shadowing the supersized mammal
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An “inquisitive” humpback whale that wandered from its usual migratory route and into the centre of Sydney Harbour is causing “navigational challenges” for ferries and vessels as its tour of the world-famous harbour continues.
The sub-adult whale was spotted by commuters on a harbour ferry service near Fort Denison about 8am on Wednesday. It swam to Circular Quay – Sydney’s central ferry terminal – before moving east towards the defence base of Garden Island then to Watsons Bay and north to Balmoral Bay.
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Continue reading...Exclusive: Translocation and deaths of seven out of 13 koalas in April, with some showing signs of septicaemia, not made public by state government
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An attempt by the New South Wales government to reintroduce koalas to a forest in the state’s far south has failed after more than half of the moved animals died, including two with signs of septicaemia, and the remaining marsupials were taken into care.
The translocation and deaths of seven out of 13 koalas in April were not made public by the government, prompting questions about whether something went wrong with the project and calls from the NSW Greens for a review.
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Continue reading...Farmers are seeking ways to fend off birds who are stirring up soil in flooded paddy fields in Ferrara province
An unusual bird is ravaging crops and infuriating farmers in north-eastern Italy: the flamingo.
Flamingos are relatively recent arrivals in the area, and have settled into the flooded fields that produce rice for risotto in Ferrara province, between Venice and Ravenna.
Continue reading...Three were in critical condition but have since improved after incident in Aurillac, south-central France
A unusual attack by bees in the French town of Aurillac has left 24 people injured, including three who were in critical condition but have since improved, according to local authorities.
Passersby were stung over a period of about 30 minutes on Sunday morning, according to the prefecture of Cantal, in south-central France. Firefighters and medical teams treated the victims, while police set up a security perimeter until the bees stopped their attack.
Continue reading...Program mirrors earlier successful mission to fight new world screwworm fly, whose larvae can infest living tissue
The US government is preparing to breed billions of flies and dump them out of airplanes over Mexico and southern Texas to fight a flesh-eating maggot.
That sounds like the plot of a horror movie, but it is part of the government’s plans for protecting the US from a bug that could devastate its beef industry, decimate wildlife and even kill household pets. This weird science has worked well before.
Continue reading...Ellie Wilson’s piece titled Moth x Human assigns different sounds to the species on Parsonage Down in Salisbury
They are vital pollinators who come out at night, but now moths have emerged into the bright light of day as co-creators of a new piece of music – composed using the insects’ own flight data.
Ellie Wilson composed Moth x Human in a protected habitat on Parsonage Down in Salisbury, Wiltshire. She assigned each of the 80 resident moth species a different sound, which was triggered when it landed on her monitor.
Continue reading...Woman’s injuries were not life-threatening, and officials were unable to find the likely young sand tiger shark
A 20-year-old woman was likely bitten by a juvenile shark while waist-deep in the surf at a suburban New York beach, according to state officials.
The unidentified woman suffered minor lacerations to her left leg and foot after being bitten Wednesday at Jones Beach state park on Long Island. She was treated for injuries that were not life-threatening, according to a release from state parks officials.
Continue reading...A dozen flights cancelled at Yamagata airport as attempts to chase furry trespasser away continue
Authorities at a Japanese airport are locked in a “stalemate” with a black bear which has been roaming the runway despite attempts to chase it off, forcing air traffic controllers to cancel a dozen flights.
The bear first appeared at northern Yamagata airport in the early hours of Thursday, and officials immediately shut operations down, causing delays.
Continue reading...Government issued permit to shoot young female who entered Vilnius, despite only small number left in Baltic country
A young female bear caused a stir after wandering out of the forest and into the leafy suburbs of the Lithuanian capital.
For two days, the brown bear ambled through the neighbourhoods of Vilnius, trotted across highways and explored backyards – all while being chased by onlookers with smartphones and, eventually, drones.
Continue reading...Apex predators are one of several large and unpredictable animals concerning officials in foothills of Rockies
Security preparations for G7 summits normally involve the elite close protection afforded to world leaders, and then a series of of concentric defences against street demonstrations and protests.
Not in the Rockies.
Continue reading...Experts say Asian needle ant ‘not especially dangerous’ but warn some people have gone into anaphylaxis
Last year, Dan Suiter, a professor of urban entomology at the University of Georgia, received at least three calls from people who had been stung by an Asian needle ant – or knew someone who had been – and went into anaphylaxis, an allergic reaction that can be life-threatening.
While there is no new evidence on the continued spread of the ants in the US – detected now in 20 US states – Suiter and his colleagues are determined to raise public awareness of the risks the species poses.
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