Decade of conservation efforts wiped out in Arran wildfire
About 27,000 trees — including whitebeams — were destroyed when a blaze ripped through Glen Rosa, a conservation area, before Easter. Scientists also believe hundreds of reptiles and amphibians — adders, slow worms and frogs — died.
Kate Sampson, the National Trust for Scotland's senior ranger on Arran, said a decade of work to restore the valley had been wiped out. Apart from the solitary whitebeam sapling, which sits on a charred slope near the Blue Pools, one of
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The Guardian
9 hours ago
- The Guardian
Michael Waldman obituary
My friend Michael Waldman, who has died aged 83, was a palaeontologist and an inspiring teacher of geology. He discovered one of the most productive and important fossil sites in Scotland, and named several new species of extinct animals. Mike discovered the fossil site in 1971, during a Duke of Edinburgh school trip that he was co-leading to Skye. There, near the village of Elgol, he found the first mammal fossil from the time of dinosaurs in Scotland, named Borealestes serendipitus, 'the northern rogue found by serendipity'. On subsequent trips, he and colleagues discovered fossil skeletons of fish, salamanders, lizards, turtles and mammals from the Middle Jurassic, some of the most complete examples of their kind in the world. With fellow palaeontologists he published several papers in the 1990s on the reptile and amphibian fossils. In 2009, one of the first vertebrate fossils to be named using Scottish Gaelic, Eileanchelys waldmani, meaning 'Waldman's island turtle', was given in his honour. Mike was born in south-west London, to Rose (nee Pushkin), a secretary, and Max Waldman, who was in banking. Max died when Mike was eight years old. After attending Haberdashers' Aske's school in north London, Mike studied geology and zoology at the University of Bristol, graduating in 1963. He married Hazel Mills, a primary school teacher, in 1965, the day before setting sail for Australia to do a PhD at Monash University, Melbourne. His dissertation was on Cretaceous fish fossils from Koonwarra, Victoria, and he named several new genera and species. The couple then moved to Canada, where Mike studied fossils from the Canadian Badlands as a fellow at a museum in Ottawa. In 1970 they returned to Britain, and Mike worked briefly as a research assistant at Bristol University before becoming a geology teacher at Stowe school in Buckinghamshire. He was very popular there, renowned for his enormous rock collection and known affectionately as 'Doc Pot'. His contagious enthusiasm led many to pursue careers in geology, and he continued to receive postcards of rock formations and volcanoes from former pupils for years. He retired from teaching in 2002, but continued to support young academics. I met him in 2016 during my PhD at National Museums Scotland, when I was working on his mammal fossils from Skye. His Scottish discoveries sparked decades of research that continues to this day. He is survived by Hazel, his children, Penny, Amanda and Ben, and grandchildren, Phoebe, Isaac, Henry and Gracie.
BBC News
11 hours ago
- BBC News
Three more giraffe species than previously thought, scientists say
Giraffes are one of the world's most distinct and well-loved creatures, always thought to be one now scientists at the International Union for Conservation of Nature say we can welcome three more species of the world's tallest not the first time researchers have suggested there are four species of these giants strolling on our planet, but the latest assessment puts an official stamp on did scientists work it out? And what does it mean for the future of the animal? Scientists compared the skull size and head shape of different giraffes and concluded there was enough genetic diversity for four groups to be considered as different researchers looked at natural features across Africa such as deserts, rivers and valleys that could have separated animals in the past, meaning they evolved separately from each hello to the Southern giraffe, one of the newly-recognised species. This giraffe lives in Angola, southern Botswana, Namibia, southern Zimbabwe, Zambia, and southwestern rivers (the Kunene and Zambezi) and rainforests in the Congo Basin probably separated the animals from overlapping with other second new species is the Reticulated giraffe. This giraffe lives in the open savannas and wooded grasslands of Kenya, Somalia, and think the Tana river, Ethiopia's mountains and towns separated this animal from other giraffes in the north of the is also a migrating animal, which means it may have passed by other giraffes when it could have third species we can officially recognise is the Northern giraffe. This animal lives in western Ethiopia, central and western Kenya, eastern South Sudan and say the Nile River and Lake Victoria, as well as its migration pattern, separated this giraffe from others. The fourth and final species is the beautiful Masai giraffe, with its distinctive leaf-pattern hide. It lives in Kenya, Tanzania and Uganda, separated from the Northern giraffe by Lake Victoria and the Nile its pattern makes it seem like it could be a marker of being a separate species, the scientists say that the hides vary even within one population of giraffes and as the animals International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) says that identifying genetic difference is "vital" for conservation and managing giraffe populations. "The more precisely we understand giraffe taxonomy, the better equipped we are to assess their status and implement effective conservation strategies," said co-author of the report Michael Brown of the IUCN. As a single species, the giraffe was classed as vulnerable to extinction, although some of the sub-species were increasing in IUCN will now re-assess the vulnerability of the four new species and their sub-species and says it hopes to better protect the majestic animals with the new information.
Daily Mail
11 hours ago
- Daily Mail
Scientists confirm there are FOUR distinct species of giraffe, not just one – so, can you spot the difference?
It is undoubtedly one of the most majestic creatures in the animal kingdom. But it turns out there's not just one species of giraffe. In fact, there are four. Scientists from the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) have confirmed that the Northern Giraffe, Reticulated Giraffe, Masai Giraffe, and Southern Giraffe are distinct from one another. Despite looking eerily similar, these species are actually as different as brown and polar bears! Michael Brown, a researchers in Windhoek, Namibia, who led the assessment, explained: 'Each species has different population sizes, threats and conservation needs. When you lump giraffes all together, it muddies the narrative. 'Recognising these four species is vital not only for accurate IUCN Red List assessments, targeted conservation action and coordinated management across national borders. 'The more precisely we understand giraffe taxonomy, the better equipped we are to assess their status and implement effective conservation strategies.' The 4 species of giraffe The Northern Giraffe is found in Chad, Central African Republic, Cameroon, Democratic Republic of Congo, and South Sudan The Reticulated Giraffe lives in Kenya, Somalia, and Ethiopia The Masai Giraffe is native to East Africa, with sightings in Kenya, Tanzania, and Zambia The Southern Giraffe lives in Angola, Namibia, Zimbabwe, South Africa, and Zambia Until now, the giraffe has been classified as a single species, with nine subspecies. However, the IUCN has now evaluated extensive genetic data – confirming that there are actually four distinct species. These species can be found across the African continent. The Northern Giraffe (Giraffa camelopardalis) is found in Chad, Central African Republic, Cameroon, Democratic Republic of Congo, and South Sudan, and is known for its long and thin ossicones – the bony structures found on giraffes' heads. The Reticulated Giraffe (Giraffa reticulata) lives in Kenya, Somalia, and Ethiopia, and is the largest of the four species – reaching impressive heights of up to six metres. The Masai Giraffe (Giraffa tippelskirchi) is native to East Africa, with sightings in Kenya, Tanzania, and Zambia. This species is known for the distinctive, leaf–like patterning on its fur. Finally, as the name suggests, the Southern Giraffe (Giraffa giraffa) lives in Angola, Namibia, Zimbabwe, South Africa, and Zambia. This species is the most populous of the four. Experts believe the four giraffe lineages began to evolve separately of each other between 230,000 and 370,000 years ago. In the wild, the four different species do not mate, although conservationists have found it is possible to get the different species to mate under certain circumstances. Sadly, the populations have declined sharply in the past century to around 117,000 wild giraffes throughout the African continent. With four distinct species, it makes the situation worse, as each individual species is under even greater threat from rapidly declining numbers and a lack of intermixing. 'We estimate that there are less than 6,000 northern giraffes remaining in the wild,' Dr Julian Fennessy, director of the Giraffe Conservation Foundation, previously explained. She added that 'as a species, they are one of the most threatened large mammals in the world.' ZEBRA STRIPES: A RANGE OF THEORIES HAVE TRIED TO ANSWER WHY THEY EXIST There are several possible explanations as to why zebras have black and white stripes, but a definitive answer remains to be found. There are a number of theories which include small variations on the same central idea, and have been divided into the main categories below. Apparent size increase Visibility in poor light Moving stripes may dazzle predators Camouflage Social benefits Fitness indication Protection from tsetse flies. The areas of research involving camouflage and social benefits have many nuanced theories. For example, social benefits covers many slight variations, including: Zebras recognise each other on the basis of their stripes This is especially important in the visual communication between mothers and their foals Stripes might also be visual markers for group bonding or to direct companions to particular parts of the body for grooming. Anti-predation is also a wide-ranging area, including camouflage and various aspects of visual confusion. These explanations have been thoroughly discussed and criticised by scientists, but they concluded that the majority of these hypotheses are experimentally unconfirmed. As a result, the exact cause of stripes in zebra remain unknown.
