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Cecil the lion's killer joins long list of big game hunters skewered on social media
From the King of Spain to America’s most famous hockey mom, proud displays of animal trophies haven’t always been met with congratulations online
In the jungle, the mighty jungle, poor Cecil the lion no longer sleeps tonight. After news broke that the beloved big cat was killed by a dentist from Minnesota, the hunter, Walter Palmer, quickly became “the most hated man in America who never advertised Jell-O pudding on television”, according to Jimmy Kimmel.
Palmer is reportedly receiving death threats and a deluge of horrible Yelp reviews, and it probably goes without saying that his patients are likely hunting themselves – for a new dentist. But Palmer is by no means the first big game trophy hunter to get skewered online for their exploits.
Jimmy Kimmel has emotional response to death of Cecil the lion - video
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Richard Branson urges against shark hunting following Mick Fanning attack
Virgin founder calls for sharks to be protected, not killed in retribution, following top surfer’s amazing escape from an attack in South Africa
Sir Richard Branson has called for sharks to be protected rather than hunted down and killed in the wake of an attack on one of the world’s leading surfers.
The billionaire entrepreneur called for restraint following Mick Fanning’s encounter with a shark on the coast of South Africa, in which he fought it off by punching the predator on the back.
Continue reading...Killer of Cecil the lion was dentist from Minnesota, claim Zimbabwe officials
Zimbabwe Conservation Task Force alleges trophy hunter shot one of Africa’s most famous lions near Hwange national park
Conservationists in Zimbabwe have accused an American man of being the alleged killer of Cecil, one of Africa’s most famous lions and the star attraction at the Hwange national park.
On Tuesday, the Zimbabwe Conservation Task Force said the man thought to have paid $50,000 (£32,000) for the chance to kill Cecil was not a Spaniard as originally believed, but US citizen Walter Palmer, from a small town near Minneapolis. The man left the lion skinned and headless on the outskirts of the park, the ZCTF’s Johnny Rodrigues said in a statement.
Continue reading...Proposal to grant an export permit for a rainbow lorikeet (Trichoglossus haematodus) under exceptional circumstances
Wild beluga congregate in Canada's Hudson Bay – in pictures
Explore.org, Polar Bears International, Frontiers North Adventures and a group of wildlife experts have launched a wild beluga livestream, broadcasting footage from a boatcam that will follow the whales as they migrate to a small estuary on Hudson Bay. The livestream will run until 21 August, with a guide narrating footage from above and below the water
Continue reading...As if Australia didn't have enough spiders – 13 new species found in Queensland
A team of scientists, teachers and Indigenous rangers find new arachnids during survey of the Cape York peninsula in Queensland’s far north
Thirteen new species of spider have been discovered on Queensland’s Cape York peninsula – adding to the thousands of known species that give Australian wildlife its fearsome reputation.
The new species were found by scientists, teachers and Indigenous rangers during a 10-day journey to the largely unsurveyed area.
Continue reading...Chairs’ Update 24 July 2015 | Commonwealth Marine Reserves Review
The mystery of the poisoned seagull: is this the start of the fightback?
They’ve divebombed pensioners. They’ve eaten tortoises. Now a seagull has been found dead in Bridport. Tragic accident or mob-style warning? Our gumshoe found a tale of starling-swallowers, salmonella – and a second victim
“They sent you all this way to ask about a seagull?” The taxi driver looked at me in the mirror. In his eyes, I saw confusion, maybe a little fear. I smiled wearily. Not now, I thought. Not him, too. No more talk of seagulls. It had been a long couple of days. I was so nearly out of Saigon I could hear the rotor blades thumping above.
By Saigon, of course, I mean Bridport, west Dorset, a seaside market town of charity shops, estate agents and bad local art galleries. By rotor blades, I mean seagulls. For the past 36 hours I had thought about little else. If you gaze at the seagull long enough, I learned, it gazes back at you. You wonder whether it has a demonic quality. A seagull will do strange things to a man.
Continue reading...Wild boar numbers on the rise despite cull in the Forest of Dean
Survey reveals population has nearly doubled to over 1,000 despite significant increase in number of animals culled every year
Wild boar numbers in the Forest of Dean have nearly doubled since 2013 despite an increase in the number culled, according to the Forestry Commission.
Results of an annual thermal imaging survey estimate the population is now more than 1,000 animals.
Continue reading...Mick Fanning on shark encounter: 'Thanks for not eating me!'
Surfer says it may be months before he goes back in the ocean after the terror of escaping a shark while competing in South Africa
Surfer Mick Fanning says it could be months before he gets over the shark attack in South Africa, but says he will return to the water.
A shaken Fanning appeared at a media conference of about 150 journalists in Sydney on Tuesday afternoon to recount fighting off a shark while competing at the J-Bay Open in South Africa.
Continue reading...Review of Australia’s Biodiversity Conservation Strategy 2010-2030
Chemical pollution from M6 lorry fire thought to be behind mass fish deaths
Environment Agency found about 150 dead fish in the river Penk and more in the river Sow, near Stafford – identifying the tarmac-melting fire as the likely cause
A lorry fire that shut a motorway for 16 hours after it melted the road is believed to be responsible for killing more than 100 fish in nearby rivers, the Environment Agency has said.
Tests are being carried out by environmental officers, with the agency saying the fire caused chemicals to seep into the watercourses. Around 150 fish were found dead at the river Penk near Stafford, while there were further reports of dead fish at the river Sow.
Beware permitting fracking, says farmer who allowed coal methane borehole
Paul Hickson says when he signed access agreement he had no idea of physical or psychological impact that gas drilling could have on him and his family
A farmer who gave an energy company permission to dig a test borehole for coal bed methane gas out of a sense of national duty has warned other landowners not to allow fracking and other unconventional gas exploration companies on their land.
The potential of gas drilling to pollute water courses and the effect it could have on the value of farmland left Paul Hickson and his family stressed for years and no wealthier, he said.
Continue reading...Britain's first 'energy positive' house opens in Wales
Powered by the sun, this low cost three-bedroom house is the first in the country to produce and sell more energy than it uses
Britain’s first low cost ‘energy positive’ house, which can generate more electricity than its occupants will use, opens on Thursday despite George Osborne axing plans to make housebuilders meet tough low carbon housing targets from next year.
The modest three-bedroom house built in just 16 weeks on an industrial estate outside Bridgend in Wales cost just £125,000 to build and, said its Cardiff University designers, will let occupants use the sun to pay the rent.
Continue reading...Threatened species strategy
ExxonMobil gave millions to climate-denying lawmakers despite pledge
Under pressure from shareholders, company promised eight years ago to stop funding climate denial – but financial and tax records tell a different story
ExxonMobil gave more than $2.3m to members of Congress and a corporate lobbying group that deny climate change and block efforts to fight climate change – eight years after pledging to stop its funding of climate denial, the Guardian has learned.
Climate denial – from Republicans in Congress and lobby groups operating at the state level – is seen as a major obstacle to US and global efforts to fight climate change, closing off the possibility of federal and state regulations cutting greenhouse gas emissions and the ability to plan for a future of sea-level rise and extreme weather.
Continue reading...Nearly 9,500 people die each year in London because of air pollution – study
Counting impact of toxic gas NO2 for the first time suggests more than twice as many people as previously thought die prematurely from pollution in UK capital
Nearly 9,500 people die early each year in London due to long-term exposure to air pollution, more than twice as many as previously thought, according to new research.
The premature deaths are due to two key pollutants, fine particulates known as PM2.5s and the toxic gas nitrogen dioxide (NO2), according to a study carried out by researchers at King’s College London.
15 species that should be brought back to rewild Britain
From wolves to grey whales and lynxes, plans are afoot to introduce some iconic species back into the countryside and UK waters
A new national organisation called Rewilding Britain launches on Wednesday with the aim of reversing centuries of ecological damage by returning species and habitats to the British countryside that have been absent for decades and sometimes much longer. In the process it hopes to recharge the natural world with wonder and help people to reconnect with it. Here are some of the species that have been lost to our countryside but may yet return:
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