Animals news

• Canada: Trudeau government cools on asylum seekers as numbers from US rise

  08-05-2018 23:36
  Asylum seekers wait to be processed at Lacolle, Quebec, in August last year.Quebec has called for more resources to help with the increase in refugee claimants.The Canadian government has sharpened its tone towards asylum seekers, warning that simply making it across the border is not a “free ticket” to Canada as the number of migrants crossing from the US continues to rise.
  
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• Cloned black-footed ferret gives birth in ‘major milestone’ for conservationists

  08-11-2024 19:29
  
  Antonia the ferret becomes first cloned animal of an endangered species to successfully produce offspring in USA cloned black-footed ferret has given birth, becoming the first-ever cloned animal of an endangered species in the US to successfully produce offspring in what officials recently hailed as a “major milestone”.In an announcement at the beginning of November, the US Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) said that a cloned black-footed ferret named Antonia had given birth to three k
  
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• Elephants can wash with a hose – and sabotage shower time, scientists say

  08-11-2024 17:00
  
  An elephant at Berlin zoo used its trunk to interrupt flow of water from hose used by another elephantIf you get frustrated by the shower hog in your house you’re not alone: research suggests such behaviour might even irritate elephants.Scientists say they have not only discovered an elephant with an astonishing ability to shower with a hose, but spotted another cutting off the flow of water – possibly in a deliberate act of sabotage. Continue reading...
  
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• Week in wildlife in pictures: a strolling pelican, a venomous newt and a psychedelic swamphen

  08-11-2024 09:00
  
  The best of this week’s wildlife photographs from around the world Continue reading...
  
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• Country Diary: A quiet autumn for acorns so far – but this oak tree is being productive | Mary Montague

  08-11-2024 06:30
  
  Lagan Valley, County Antrim: In the low light of the woods, the fungi are faring better than the jays and grey squirrelsAs darkness narrows the days, I increasingly crave the sun. However, today’s irresolute weather is typical of this liminal season. I began my walk in sunshine and now the air plumes with drizzle. Meanwhile, further along the River Lagan, slanted rays are breaking through the cloud.At the bank of the river, faded umbellifers sieve the gauzy light, but it’s the s
  
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• Activists fear Florida enshrining right to fish and hunt will lead to trophy hunting

  07-11-2024 18:34
  
  Critics say amendment 2 is intentionally ‘open to applying chicanery’ and outdated hunting practicesBlack bears in Florida could soon again be in the crosshairs of trophy hunters after a controversial wildlife ballot measure was approved by voters, environmental advocates say.The fear stems from amendment 2, which enshrines into the state constitution legal protections for citizens’ right to hunt and fish. Continue reading...
  
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• Forty-three monkeys at large in South Carolina after escaping research facility

  07-11-2024 15:19
  
  Residents advised to keep doors and windows locked as police use thermal imaging cameras to search for animalsThese monkeys went bananas: 43 monkeys escaped from a research facility in South Carolina, and local authorities on Wednesday warned residents to stay away.“Residents are strongly advised to keep doors and windows secured to prevent these animals from entering homes,” the Yemassee police department said on Facebook this week. “If you spot any of the escaped animals, ple
  
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• Forty monkeys on the loose in South Carolina after escaping research facility

  07-11-2024 15:19
  
  Residents advised to keep doors and windows locked as police use thermal imaging cameras to search for animalsThese monkeys went bananas: 40 monkeys escaped from a research facility in South Carolina, and local authorities on Wednesday warned residents to stay away.“Residents are strongly advised to keep doors and windows secured to prevent these animals from entering homes,” the Yemassee police department said on Facebook this week. “If you spot any of the escaped animals, ple
  
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• Cost of ‘bat shed’ to protect colony near HS2 has topped £100m, chair says

  07-11-2024 15:13
  
  Jon Thompson tells industry conference there was ‘no evidence’ that bats were at risk from the trainsThe cost of a “bat shed” to protect a species in woodland along the new HS2 high-speed line has risen to more than £100m, HS2’s chair has revealed.The 1km-long mesh structure will be built where the London-Birmingham high-speed line emerges from a tunnel in Buckinghamshire, to protect a colony of Bechstein’s bats. Continue reading...
  
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• Death threats, bodyguards and a Farc commander called Smurf: living dangerously with Colombia’s nature defenders

  07-11-2024 12:00
  
  Leading Colombian conservationists share their experiences working in the most dangerous country to fight for wildlifePoliticians, conservationists and business people from around the world met last week to discuss how to save nature at the Cop16 biodiversity conference in Cali, Colombia.For those working on the ground, however, it is the most dangerous country in the world to fight for the environment. A third of the 196 environmental defenders killed last year were Colombian. Here, four conser
  
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• Beavers have made a comeback in Britain, but not everyone is happy

  06-11-2024 07:00
  
  Environmentalists says the mammals help protect against flooding, but landowners say they damage watercourses and treesReleases of European beavers, Castor fiber, both controlled and unofficial, mean that this aquatic mammal is now again a part of the British landscape, returning 400 years after being wiped out by human hunting. The public is generally enthusiastic and environmental campaigners say there are gains for many forms of river life as a result. The retention of water in the landscape
  
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• Solving the true age of Cassius, the world’s largest captive crocodile who died last week

  06-11-2024 05:54
  
  George Craig looked after the 5.5-metre croc for decades. But after the keeper retired from the park, Cassius stopped eating and went into ‘very quick decline’Follow our Australia news live blog for latest updatesGet our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcastResearchers are trying to determine the true age of the world’s largest saltwater crocodile in captivity, who died on the weekend.Cassius, a Guinness World Record holder thought to be at least 110 years old, di
  
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• Mayhem at New York airport after raccoon falls through ceiling: ‘The most LaGuardia thing’

  06-11-2024 00:19
  
  Unexpected appearance sparks rush to catch animal in a trash can as it hides at check-in and dangles from wiresPassengers awaiting an early morning flight at New York’s LaGuardia airport were surprised by the sudden arrival of an unexpected extra flyer: a raccoon who fell through a terminal ceiling and proceeded to cause mayhem at a departure gate.Video of the animal’s abrupt appearance at a Spirit Airlines gate inside the airport’s Marine air terminal, and almost comical effor
  
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• Squirrels, whales, bears: why is the road to the White House strewn with dead animals?

  05-11-2024 21:59
  
  Reports of casual cruelty to animals during the presidential race are more about gaining votes than concern for their welfareUS election 2024 – latest updatesUS election results 2024: live map and trackerSenate and House results 2024: live maps and tracker The death of Peanut, an Instagram-famous squirrel that was euthanized after being seized from its New York home last week, has become an unlikely election motivation for Republicans in just the latest of a string of bizarre animal-relate
  
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• XL bully dog put down after fatal attack on North Yorkshire girl, 10

  05-11-2024 20:40
  
  Savannah Bentham, from the Malton area, killed by family pet in attack police said was out of characterAn XL bully dog has been put down after fatally attacking a 10-year-old girl in North Yorkshire last week.Savannah Bentham, from the Malton area, was fatally attacked by her family’s pet dog at home on Friday. On Tuesday, the dog was identified as an XL bully and was euthanised by a vet, North Yorkshire police said. Continue reading...
  
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• Shetland man’s bond with otter becomes subject of award-winning film

  05-11-2024 20:15
  
  Documentary about Billy Mail’s connection with orphaned pup Molly airs on National Geographic next weekNational Geographic will be streaming a new documentary about an unlikely bond between a man and an otter in Shetland.Billy Mail met Molly, a starving pup, in 2021 when he saw her jumping off a pontoon into the sea near his Shetland home. Mail wanted to see how close he could get to her before she fled. But it turned out that Molly had no intention of running away.Billy and Molly: An Otte
  
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• US family reaches settlement after child’s goat was seized and slaughtered

  05-11-2024 17:39
  Family receives $300,000 after technicalities of a California county fair led to the death of their daughter’s goat, CedarThe family of a child whose pet goat was seized and then slaughtered due to the technicalities of a county fair has received a $300,000 settlement from a California county.Jessica Long sued Shasta county after sheriff’s deputies there seized her daughter’s goat, Cedar, for slaughter. The recent six-figure settlement to which Long’s family and the count
  
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• RIP Peanut the squirrel. At least he wasn’t flushed away like Pebbles the hamster | Arwa Mahdawi

  05-11-2024 16:04
  
  There was outrage when officials euthanised Peanut as a possible rabies risk. But he’s just the latest emotional support animal to meet a grisly endRIP Peanut the squirrel, an internet-famous critter who has become the latest entry into the niche but expanding quiz category I have termed Unconventional Emotional Support/Educational Animals Who Have Met Unfortunate Ends.Previous entrants to this hall of fame include Pebbles, an emotional support dwarf hamster, who got flushed down an airpor
  
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• Family of girl, 10, killed by dog in North Yorkshire ‘shocked and devastated’

  04-11-2024 16:44
  
  Tributes paid as girl named as Savannah Bentham, who suffered fatal injuries in attack near MaltonTributes have been paid to a “wonderful” 10-year-old girl who was mauled to death by her family’s dog on Friday.Savannah Bentham suffered serious injuries when she was attacked by a dog at her home near Malton in North Yorkshire at about 4.15pm on Friday, in what police said was “out of character” for the family pet. Continue reading...
  
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• We are all leeches now, trying to work out what is walking towards us | Helen Sullivan

  04-11-2024 15:00
  
  One sucker is precariously attached to some flimsy reality – a wet leaf, a slippery rock – the other one pointed at the futureImagine if your Wikipedia page described you as a “segmented or parasitic worm” with “two head segments” and “suckers at both ends”. You might turn to the Bible, instead – here is the Book of Proverbs on leeches: “The horseleech hath two daughters, crying, Give, give. There are three things that are never satisfi
  
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• Remains of beloved Grizzly No 399 killed by car returned to Wyoming park

  03-11-2024 17:54
  
  Ashes of 28-year-old female grizzly bear returned to Grand Teton national park where she spent much of her lifeThe remains of a beloved grizzly bear who died last month after being hit by a car in Wyoming have been returned to Grand Teton national park.In a statement released on Friday, the US Fish and Wildlife Service announced that it returned the ashes of Grizzly No 399, a 28-year old female grizzly bear, to the Pilgrim Creek area of the national park where she spent much of her life. Continu
  
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• My mother nursed a life-affirming 25-year grudge. Hard as I try, I don’t have the attention span | Zoe Williams

  03-11-2024 13:39
  
  It turns out long-held resentments exist even in the animal kingdom. Does that mean they hold an evolutionary advantage?The best thing that happened to me during the whole of the pandemic was a story on the internet. An Oregon resident, furloughed, saw on a daytime nature documentary that, if you fed crows, they would bring you small gifts. Curious, they tried it, and were delighted to find themselves in effective possession of a 15-strong crow family – but then things took a dark turn. Th
  
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• Grudges aren’t just great fun – they might have an evolutionary benfit. Ask a crow | Zoe Williams

  03-11-2024 13:39
  
  It turns out long-held resentments exist even in the animal kingdom. Does that mean they hold an evolutionary advantage?The best thing that happened to me during the whole of the pandemic was a story on the internet. An Oregon resident, furloughed, saw on a daytime nature documentary that, if you fed crows, they would bring you small gifts. Curious, they tried it, and were delighted to find themselves in effective possession of a 15-strong crow family – but then things took a dark turn. Th
  
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• Girl, 10, dies after being bitten by family dog in North Yorkshire

  02-11-2024 18:22
  
  Police called to home in Malton where girl suffered serious injuries and died at the sceneA 10-year-old girl has died after she was bitten by her family’s dog, police have said.North Yorkshire police were called at 4.15pm on Friday to the incident that happened inside the family’s home in the Malton area. Continue reading...
  
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• New York authorities euthanize social media star Peanut the squirrel

  02-11-2024 15:55
  
  Fred the raccoon was also killed by officials, who said the animals were a risk factor in the spread of rabiesAn orphaned squirrel that became a social media star called Peanut was euthanized after New York authorities seized the beloved pet during a raid on his caretaker’s home, authorities said.After anonymous complaints, officers from the state’s department of environmental conservation (DEC) took the squirrel and a raccoon named Fred from Mark Longo’s home near the Pennsylv
  
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• Scientists dismayed as UK ministers clear way for gene editing of crops - but not animals

  02-11-2024 14:49
  
  Advocates urge government to allow ‘precision breeding’ to combat disease, but RSPCA warns of ethical dangersMinisters are preparing to introduce legislation that will permit the growing of gene-edited crops in England and Wales. But the new legislation will not cover the use of this technology to create farm animals that have increased resistance to disease or lower carbon footprints.The decision has dismayed some senior scientists, who had expected both uses of gene editing would b
  
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• Shark bites off surfer’s leg in Hawaii

  02-11-2024 14:14
  
  A 61-year-old man was surfing on Friday morning when a shark bit him, completely severing his legA shark bit a Maui surfer on Friday and severed his leg, authorities said.The man, 61, was surfing off Waiehu Beach Park on Friday morning when a shark bit him. Police officers who arrived to the scene first tried to control the bleeding with tourniquets. His right leg was “completely severed just below the knee,” Maui county said in a news release. Continue reading...
  
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• ‘You have to disguise your human form’: how sea eagles are being returned to Severn estuary after 150 years

  02-11-2024 13:00
  
  Use of bird hand-puppets to rear young among innovative methods unveiled as part of project to restore speciesSea eagles were last seen soaring over the shimmering mud flats and brackish tidal waters of the Severn estuary more than 150 years ago. Now wildlife charities have unveiled innovative plans to bring the raptor back to the estuary, which flows into the Bristol Channel between south-west England and south Wales, by 2026.“Sea eagles used to be common in these regions. But they were w
  
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• Dogs and drones sent to find raccoons after Isle of Wight zoo escape

  01-11-2024 16:42
  
  Public asked to report sightings and not approach animals, which zoo says are not dangerous but ‘will be scared’An Isle of Wight zoo has deployed tracker dogs and drones in an effort to recapture four raccoons that have escaped.The four animals managed to get out of their compound at Amazon World Zoo Park on Friday morning. Continue reading...
  
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• ‘Very bad precedent’: China and Russia team up to undermine krill fishing restrictions in Antarctica

  01-11-2024 15:00
  
  Conservationists warn actions and ambitions of two super powers could lead to overexploitation of vital food source for whales, penguins and sealsFollow our Australia news live blog for latest updatesGet our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcastChina and Russia are working together to block new Antarctic marine parks and loosen krill fishing restrictions, undermining a major international convention designed to protect the region from overexploitation, according to analysts and con
  
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