Animals news

• Taurine torpor: bullfighting’s non-fatal French cousin fights for survival

  03-10-2024 10:11
  
  Picasso and Hemingway believed folk sports like the course camarguaise were the height of European culture. Facing financial struggles, rowdy spectators and animal rights concerns, can its practitioners keep the custom alive?In an arena in the southern French village of Raphèle-lès-Arles on a torpidly hot July afternoon, a young black bull paws the floor next to the exit door. Eight raseteurs – the white-clad runners whose job is to seize tokens fixed to the animal – ye
  
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• Experience: A horse-riding accident shattered my jaw

  04-10-2024 11:00
  As my horse galloped on to the main road, all I could do was hold on for dear lifeThe wind was rushing past my face. I clung on to the reins of the galloping horse. I could see a gatepost up ahead. But before I knew it, I felt my teeth smacking together.It was the summer of 2019, I was 15, in the Lake District for my friend’s dad’s 50th birthday. It was a beautiful sunny day. The party was at a country house. There was a bouncy castle in the garden, and the screams of children i
  
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• The mustelid enthusiasts of Devon are overjoyed at the return of the redoubtable pine marten! | First Dog on the Moon

  04-10-2024 09:23
  
  In Australia we have real endangered animalsSign up here to get an email whenever First Dog cartoons are publishedGet all your needs met at the First Dog shop if what you need is First Dog merchandise and prints Continue reading...
  
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• Sharks found to eat sea urchins as large as their heads in accidental discovery by Australian researchers

  04-10-2024 09:02
  
  Researchers tethered 50 long-spined and 50 short-spined urchins outside lobster den and sharks were observed ‘smashing the whole thing’Follow our Australia news live blog for latest updatesGet our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcastAn experiment designed to investigate lobster predation on sea urchins unexpectedly found that Port Jackson and crested horn sharks ate the spiky animals instead.The research, led by University of Newcastle marine ecologist Jeremy Day, invo
  
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• Week in wildlife in pictures: bears caught in the act, a glamorous seal and a fugitive emu

  04-10-2024 09:00
  
  The best of this week’s wildlife photographs from around the world Continue reading...
  
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• Collins Street falcons: two chicks have hatched on skyscraper and are taking meals – video

  04-10-2024 07:47
  
  The stars of 367 Collins Street have welcomed baby birds to the nest. Two hungry chicks are taking meals after entering the world on a Melbourne skyscraper. Last year’s eggs were unable to hatch after the mother stopped incubating – likely due to a territorial dispute – making the stakes all the higher this yearGood eggs: fans delighted as new peregrine falcon chicks hatch on Melbourne skyscraper Continue reading...
  
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• Country diary: The inspiration for a first world war flying ace? | Phil Gates

  04-10-2024 06:30
  
  Low Barns nature reserve, Witton-le-Wear, County Durham: Dragonflies perform an aerobatic stunt while pursuing prey that isn’t unlike a famous dog-fight manoeuvreAfter a steep fall in temperature overnight, I’m wishing I’d worn gloves this morning. Common darter dragonflies are feeling the cold too, lined up along the handrail of the boardwalk through the reedbed, catching the first hint of warmth as the sun creeps over the treetops.A female darter shares her sunbathing pe
  
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• ‘I won’t believe it until I see it happen’: Could a ban on sea farms save Canada’s salmon?

  03-10-2024 14:00
  
  A row over sea life, lice and livelihoods is dividing communities as the government plans to end open-net pen farming in British Columbian watersOn a clear August morning, Skookum John manoeuvres his fishing boat, Sweet Marie, out of the Tofino harbour and into the deep blue waters of Clayoquot Sound on Canada’s west coast.On shore, the late summer sun shines on visitors from all over the world who have flocked to the bustling fishing town on Vancouver Island, where they wander in and out
  
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• Europe’s exhausted oyster reefs ‘once covered area size of Northern Ireland’

  03-10-2024 11:00
  
  Study uncovers vivid and poignant accounts of reefs as high as houses off countries including UK, France and IrelandOnly a handful of natural oyster reefs measuring at most a few square metres cling on precariously along European coasts after being wiped out by overfishing, dredging and pollution.A study led by British scientists has discovered how extensive they once were, with reefs as high as a house covering at least 1.7m hectares (4.2m acres) from Norway to the Mediterranean, an area larger
  
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• Good eggs: fans delighted as new peregrine falcon chicks hatch on Melbourne skyscraper

  03-10-2024 09:43
  
  Social media stars of 367 Collins Street welcome baby birds to the nestFollow our Australia news live blog for latest updatesGet our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcastJoy can be hatched in the most unexpected places. On Thursday, it was nestled into the ledge of a skyscraper in Melbourne’s CBD, where two peregrine falcon chicks entered the world for the first time.The newest members of Melbourne’s favourite family hatched in the morning on top of 367 Collins Street,
  
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• Nature in England at risk as amount of protected land falls to 2.93%, data shows

  03-10-2024 06:00
  
  Experts are calling for ‘rapid rescue package’ for nature to improve condition of protected sitesThe amount of land that is protected for nature in England has fallen to just 2.93%, despite government promises to conserve 30% of it by 2030, new data reveals.Campaigners are calling for a “rapid rescue package for UK nature”, as government delegates head to Cop16, the international nature summit, which will take place from 21 October in Colombia. They intend to ask other co
  
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• Nature in England at risk as amount of land ‘effectively protected’ falls to 2.93%

  03-10-2024 06:00
  Experts are calling for ‘rapid rescue package’ for nature to improve condition of protected sitesThe amount of land that is “effectively protected” for nature in England has declined to just 2.93%, despite government promises to conserve 30% of it by 2030, new data reveals.Campaigners are calling for a “rapid rescue package for UK nature”, as government delegates head to Cop16, the international nature summit, which will take place from 21 October in Colombia.
  
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• The secret life of greater gliders: sneezes, squabbles and a brand-new baby – video

  03-10-2024 04:14
  
  A camera installed inside a tree hollow in a New South Wales is capturing the lives of a family of greater gliders, eastern Australia’s largest gliding possums. Australian National University ecologist Dr Ana Gracanin installed the camera – which is now streaming live – to raise awareness about the plight of the endangered animal. Habitat destruction, including land clearing, logging and climate-fuelled bushfires, have led to greater glider populations declining by 80% in some
  
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• Bird flu outbreak kills dozens of tigers in Vietnam zoos

  03-10-2024 03:50
  The H5N1 virus killed 47 tigers, three lions and a panther at the My Quynh safari park and the Vuon Xoai zoo, according to state mediaForty-seven tigers, three lions and a panther have died in zoos in south Vietnam due to the H5N1 bird flu virus, state media reported.The deaths occurred in August and September at the private My Quynh safari park in Long An province and the Vuon Xoai zoo in Dong Nai, near the capital Ho Chi Minh City, the official Vietnam News Agency (VNA) reported on Wednesday.
  
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• Nibi the beaver sees dam of unwavering support as rescuers try to stop her release into wild

  03-10-2024 03:13
  
  Massachusetts court to decide whether internet-famous ‘diva’ beaver will stay with rescuers or be released into wildWhether a two-year-old beaver named Nibi gets to stay with the rescuers she has known since she was a baby or must be released into the wild as winter approaches in Massachusetts has ended up in court – and caused such an uproar that even the governor has weighed in.“To literally see people from around the world come together to protect this beaver is one of
  
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• Cuddles and drama as live stream shows secret life of ‘ridiculously fluffy’ greater glider

  02-10-2024 17:00
  
  Camera installed inside a tree hollow in NSW forest to raise awareness of the plight of the endangered possumFollow our Australia news live blog for latest updatesGet our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcastConservationists call them “ridiculously cute” and “captivating” – and now a live stream offers a global audience the chance to view life inside the hollow for a family of eastern Australia’s largest gliding possums.The hollow-cam broadcastin
  
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• Alaska’s Fat Bear Week begins late after contestant killed by another bear

  02-10-2024 14:09
  
  Voting opens in 10th annual contest after Bear 402 was killed by a male bear on Monday in Katmai national parkLet the chunk-off begin.Voting starts on Wednesday in the annual Fat Bear Week contest at Alaska’s Katmai national park and preserve, with viewers picking their favorite among a dozen brown bears fattened up to survive the winter. Continue reading...
  
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• Days of the jackal: Canis aureus makes sudden tracks into western Europe

  02-10-2024 07:00
  
  The golden jackal has expanded its range as far as Norway and Spain, seemingly driven by climate breakdownThe golden jackal, Canis aureus, may seem an exotic creature from a far-off country but the species has suddenly expanded its range into western Europe. Much smaller than a wolf but larger than a fox, the jackal will compete with both species for food and territory. The animals have been found as far north as Finland and Norway and have also reached Spain.Genetic research shows the individua
  
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• Country diary: The last redstart till spring | Mya Bambrick

  02-10-2024 06:30
  
  Purbeck Heaths, Dorset: On a 22-mile fundraising walk, I spotted two rusty-red birds about to embark on their own epic journeyTwenty miles in, two to go. I had spent the previous 12 hours walking around Poole Harbour, Dorset, for a birthday fundraiser in aid of a local environmental charity, Birds of Poole Harbour. I was just passing through Hartland Moor as the sun hovered above the distant pine trees, casting an orange hue on the gorse and heather below.This last section of the walk took me th
  
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• Flamingo foster fathers hatch an egg together at the San Diego zoo

  01-10-2024 17:10
  
  After practicing with a fake egg, the fortysomething lesser flamingos join other same-sex animal co-parentsTwo male flamingos have joined their kind’s ranks of same-sex co-parents after hatching an egg together at the San Diego Zoo Safari Park.The two foster dads are both in their 40s and are lesser flamingos, a species found in sub-Saharan Africa and western India, according to the zoo. The chick is also a lesser flamingo. Continue reading...
  
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• Alpine dingoes at risk of extinction after Victorian government extends right to cull

  01-10-2024 17:00
  At least 468 shot by government controllers last year out of an estimated population of as few as 2,640 in the state’s east, advocates sayGet our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcastTraditional owners and dingo advocates say a Victorian government decision extending the right to kill dingoes on private and public land until 2028 could threaten local populations with extinction.A government order, which took effect on Tuesday, declared dingoes were “unprotected wildlife
  
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• Of course I look like a crazy dog lady! I am one | Arwa Mahdawi

  01-10-2024 16:12
  Every night, I make up little Rascal’s bed and leave a dog chew on his pillow. What’s so odd about that?In the popular imagination, writers often have rock’n’roll lifestyles. Me? Not so much. In fact, I have the world’s most mundane weekday routine. Every morning, about 8.25, I wipe congealed oatmeal off my kid’s face and put her in a stroller. Then I put a lead on my dog (a mutt called Rascal) and walk to daycare with them. Then I walk back home with an empty
  
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• US man, 81, sentenced to six months for creating giant hybrid sheep for hunting

  01-10-2024 14:41
  
  Arthur Schubarth of Montana used tissue and testicles from Marco Polo sheep to clone animal and create hybridAn 81-year-old Montana man was sentenced on Monday to six months in federal prison for illegally using tissue and testicles from large sheep hunted in central Asia and the US to create hybrid sheep for captive trophy hunting in Texas and Minnesota.The US district court judge Brian Morris said he struggled to come up with a sentence for Arthur “Jack” Schubarth of Vaughn, Montan
  
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• Search for missing emu Irwin amid fears bird fell into Wiltshire river

  01-10-2024 12:24
  People in Malmesbury asked to keep eye out for Irwin, who vanished from animal sanctuary on MondayA search is on for an emu called Irwin feared to have lost its footing and slipped into a swollen Wiltshire river.Malmesbury Animal Sanctuary said emus were strong swimmers. The sanctuary hopes the bird has clambered out of the water and is sheltering in a garden. Continue reading...
  
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• ‘We look to the past to move forward’: the ancient method boosting cuttlefish numbers in the Mediterranean

  01-10-2024 07:00
  
  A project on Spain’s Costa Brava is reviving dwindling populations of the prized seafood – and keeping small-scale fishers in businessClinging to almost vertical cliffs on the Costa Brava in north-east Spain, the resort of l’Estartit has a dramatic location but the real drama is unfolding under the waves, where an innovative approach to ancient techniques is helping to revive declining populations of prized cuttlefishCuttlefish (Sepia officinalis) are a valuable catch for Spani
  
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• Country diary: The air transformed into eloquence and beauty | Mark Cocker

  01-10-2024 06:30
  
  Gradbach, Staffordshire: Autumnal drifts of motes and dancing shoals of midges give a precise geography to the transparent fluidity of spaceThe heavens had been pure blue all day but, as dusk fell, they acquired a smoky quality at lower elevations. I sat to watch four red deer across the slopes opposite, until I happened to glanced westward.The heart of that woodland scene was burnt out by the brilliance of the low-angled sun, but to either side of the glare, I could operate with binoculars and
  
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• Firefly species may blink out as US seeks to list it as endangered for first time

  30-09-2024 23:14
  
  Bethany Beach firefly, found in Delaware, Maryland and Virginia, faces dangers to habitat because of climate changeThe US government is seeking to consider a firefly species as endangered for the first time, according to a proposal from the US Fish and Wildlife Service.The Bethany Beach firefly, found in coastal Delaware, Maryland and Virginia, is facing increasing dangers to its natural habitat because of climate change-related events. They include sea level rise, which is predicted to affect a
  
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• Parrots overwhelm Argentinian town with screeching, poo and power outages

  30-09-2024 19:53
  
  Birds outnumber residents in Hilario Ascasubi, after deforestation leads them to seek food, shelter and waterThe town of Hilario Ascasubi near Argentina’s eastern Atlantic coast has a parrot problem.Thousands of the green, yellow and red birds have invaded, driven by deforestation in the surrounding hills, according to biologists. They bite on the town’s electric cables, causing outages, and are driving residents around the bend with their incessant screeching and deposits everywhere
  
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• A butterfly: ‘elbowing each other with the joints on their legs, pushing and shoving to get at the liquid’

  30-09-2024 17:00
  
  We learn about butterflies when we are small because it is foreshadowing: you too will change. But they are an imperfect metaphor for what it feels like to liveThe very funny naturalist and writer Redmond O’Hanlon was on a sandbank on the edge of a river in Borneo when hundreds of butterflies started to fly towards him and his travel companion and landed on their boots, trousers, and shirts, and “sucked the sweat from our arms.”He watched them for a while – “there w
  
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• Stella McCartney preaches Peace and Dove in mission to save birds

  30-09-2024 16:53
  
  Designer launches campaign to banish real feathers from fashion industry as she shows latest collection in ParisThe battle to banish fur from fashion being mostly won, with almost all luxury brands fur-free, Stella McCartney is now on a mission to save the birds.“1.5 billion birds are killed for their feathers by the fashion industry every year,” the designer said backstage after a street catwalk show held in the shadow of the Eiffel Tower, launching a campaign to put bird cruelty in
  
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