Penguin chicks and baby monkey born at Twycross Zoo
Twycross Zoo has welcomed two new penguin chicks and a baby monkey, born as part of efforts to increase numbers of both species. The baby De Brazzer's monkey has been born to a first time mother, said to be "displaying exceptional maternal instincts" after learning parenting skills from older female primates in her group. While the two Humboldt penguin chicks have been born to monogamous parents which have raised chicks at the zoo before. Matthew Ford, curator of primates at Twycross Zoo, said the births "highlight the important role zoos play in safeguarding wildlife for the future".
The Humboldt chicks are being kept in nest boxes until they are 70 days old, but can be seen by visitors when they eventually emerge having grown distinctive grey fluffy feathers. They have been hatched as part of a European conservation scheme called the EAZA Ex-situ Programme (EEP), which aims to create a healthy population of endangered species in zoos to act as a support for their wild counterparts.The newborn De Brazza's monkey is also part of an EEP and born to a mother who Twycross said observed multiple births during her early years and left her "well-equipped to embrace motherhood".The baby is being kept close to its mother and zookeepers will be able to determine its sex in the coming months as it gains confidence and begins to explore independently.
Mr Ford said: "Every birth at Twycross Zoo is a testament to the dedication of our team and the collaborative efforts of the EAZA Ex-situ programmes. "They highlight the important role zoos play in safeguarding wildlife for the future, ensuring we maintain a genetically diverse population of species facing extinction, to act as a support system for their wild counterparts."It's particularly exciting to see animals thriving under our care, and helping to contribute to vital conservation efforts."
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The Guardian
16 minutes ago
- The Guardian
‘We've been left in this mess': residents of condemned Merseyside blocks face eviction
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The Independent
21 minutes ago
- The Independent
YouTube star Lilly Sabri reveals how she built a fitness empire with just a yoga mat and a camera
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'The only way was online. With that, I knew that all I needed was a camera, and then to upload it. ' In her own words, her first YouTube video was 'not great', but she hunkered down and dove headfirst into the strategy side of content creation – learning her craft, ironically, from a succession of YouTube videos. Through this, she came to specialise in follow-along home workouts, using her background as a Pilates instructor and physio to provide constant verbal cues and accessible movement options for all fitness levels. The great home workout boom This approach saw her steadily grow a following of 30,000 in her first three years on YouTube. 'A lot, but not enough to pay the bills,' she says. However, it was the Covid lockdowns that sent her channel stratospheric. When Italy was plunged into lockdown on 9 March 2020, she saw a sudden influx of subscribers from the country. A similar pattern followed as more nations were told to stay at home, and people sought a way to get sweaty sans-gym. 'During that point when everywhere around the world was starting to go into lockdown, it was very much a strategy on my part, looking at how we can effectively use these lockdowns to help as many people as possible, but also utilise the old catalogue of content I already had [from three years of posting],' says Sabri. 'If you crack it and then you keep going with that same approach, maybe tweaking it along the way to make sure it's aligned to your values and messaging, you can continue to ride that wave.' Pitch perfect As lockdowns continued around the world, people understandably grew more health-conscious, and many found they had more time on their hands than usual. As a result, home workout content was hoovered up like metaphorical hot cakes. 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'You obviously need to make sure you're giving people what they want,' says Sabri. 'As an example, at the beginning of my YouTube journey, I started off posting things like '10 physio tips to help with back pain'. 'It would get views, but it wouldn't get as many views [as her videos do now]. The reason is that, at that moment in time, there aren't as many people searching for back pain tips as there are searching for strengthening your core. '[Making fitness content is] about finding a balance between what the general population wants and what your skillset is. For me, it was combining the two and making sure I always had that physio background in there, while also producing content that people are looking for.' The next challenge is, if you want your audience to keep coming back for more, the video itself has to deliver on the headline brief. 'The bulk of the video is where you're going to make a difference,' Sabri says. 'That's when the person is with you for 10 to 15 minutes, or however long it is, so that's where you're making the change to their life, building a relationship with them, and you have the opportunity to get across whatever your core message is.' 'For me, it's making sure they feel good about the workout and making sure they're getting the form tips they need.' This message worked. Through a combination of unerring consistency, live-streamed workouts, community-building and more, Sabri gained three million subscribers between March 2020 and July 2021. 'I have uploaded twice a week without fail for the last five years – always on the same day, at the same time,' she explains. Making a career out of content creation With the explosion of her YouTube channel over lockdown, Sabri was able to launch her fitness app Lean With Lilly in 2021. Over the years, this has seen her focus shift from content creation to building a business. 'All of this started because of YouTube, and I wouldn't be where I am now without it,' she says. 'But now YouTube probably only takes up 25 per cent of my [working], time. A huge part of it now is looking at the business strategy; how we can scale this, how we can help more people and how we can turn this into more of a sustainable business with a growth strategy.' This change in her business reflects personal changes she has experienced over the years. Sabri has only recently returned to social media following a '1.5 year mental and physical health battle', which came after she found out about her then fiance's infidelity via a podcast. One of the changes she has made is splitting her work and personal life. In a 2021 interview, she spoke about turning her apartment into a 'YouTube studio' and being a 'walking, talking, eating and filming machine', but tells me: 'thankfully, that's now separate.' 'It's definitely for the work-life balance, but also for the business,' she says. 'It's been really helpful to step into my [identity as a] businesswoman and make sure I'm not just known for content creation. 'I've been doing this a long time, being a content creator, and naturally I've evolved through that time. I'm not the same person I was 10 years ago when I first started, and it's really important to me that I take my audience with me on that journey.'
BBC News
21 minutes ago
- BBC News
Bristol van-dweller attacks protester as tensions flare
A campaigner has been "attacked" as tensions continue to escalate with a van-dwelling community. During filming on Tuesday, a BBC camera was struck by a van-dweller as Tony Nelson, who founded a group calling for the vehicles to be removed, was interviewed. Mr Nelson had attempted to speak to a man living in a van at Durdham Down in Bristol, where around 107 vehicles are parked, believed to be one of the largest van-dwelling sites in the man accused Mr Nelson of spreading "hate and violence" against van-dwellers, and said the two groups were "well past talking to each other" before reportedly pushing him. Faced with soaring rental prices, another van-dweller told BBC News he had no choice but to live in his vehicle and said they were not harming some residents say they are now too scared to go out at night and have complained about increased has been living in a van on the Downs for nine a house share with friends ended, he said he did not have enough money to put down a deposit on a rental flat and was "lucky" to find the when residents in the area formed a group calling for van-dwellers to be removed from the area, Callum said it had "an emotional effect"."As much as I kind of see their side, it's a lot of weight on us. "People are tooting their horns, revving their engines. If this was your home, would you want someone to come and disturb your sleep and your life in that way?"It would be nice if they just left us alone, if we're not doing any direct harm to anyone up here, I don't see why we shouldn't be allowed to stay," he rent-free had allowed Callum to drop down his hours working in hospitality and retrain as a joiner, he now he has a new job, he said he and his partner were looking for a is one of 107 vehicle dwellers who Bristol City Council estimates live on the Downs. Mr Nelson, who founded the Facebook group Protect the Downs, believes living in a van had become a "lifestyle choice".His group, which has nearly 2,000 members, has called for the council to use its powers to remove vans and those living in them. Mr Nelson said: "People really feel very strongly about the council's inaction, their permissiveness, their saying 'it's OK to come and trash our parks'. "People are fed up with that. I don't know if it's council incompetence or whatever."He wants the council to help those who need it, and move others on. Bristol City Council (BCC) said it was choosing not to move people on as this would simply result in "moving people from one part of the city to the other"."Every inch of this city is important and special to somebody", said councillor Barry Parsons, who chairs the Homes and Housing Delivery council has previously shut down other encampments - once they were deemed to have had too great an impact on the News was told the current impact on the Downs was assessed to be at a "medium" level, which meant it did not meet the threshold for intervention. Nevertheless, Mr Parsons said it was "unfair" to claim the council had done nothing, as it had developed a new policy that will be in place "by the end of the year"."I can understand why people are feeling anxious and frustrated. "We're trying to do something really new, that hasn't been tried before, here or anywhere else in the country", he are proposals to provide kerbside "service sites", where people living in vans could dispose of waste and get access to water, as well as plans to open more "meanwhile sites", where people can live in their vans and be provided with basic council currently has around 60 such pitches, with a new site due to open soon. But there is already a waiting list for several councillors raised concerns about the pace at which change seemed to be happening, acknowledging people needed to see improvements up on the Downs, among people living in vans, and those living beside them, patience is wearing thin.
