What's your favourite wild animal?
What's happened?
The survey found that more than six in ten people in Great Britain had a favourite wild animal and many of them could be found in the UK.Of those, one in ten people (10%) chose a fox as their favourite, with hedgehogs a close runner-up on 9%.Deer came in third place followed by elephants in fourth and other popular entries included tigers and otters.There were also some more unusual choices picked out too!These included the komodo dragon, the largest lizard on Earth, the duck-billed platypus - only one of two egg laying mammals in the world - and the leaf sheep, a type of sea slug known by some divers as 'Shaun the Sheep'.
The survey was carried out by nature conservation charity Fauna & Flora, who launched their new campaign, Extraordinary Everything, aiming to draw attention to role of all species in the planet's survival and the importance of protecting them.Kristian Teleki, the head of Fauna & Flora, whose favourite animal is the cleaner shrimp, explained: "I love my job because every day I learn more about just how extraordinary nature is." "Like how a hawksbill turtle provides a living hotel to many other creatures such as barnacles and algae. Or how vultures help protect humans from disease by clearing up dead animals from the side of the road."He added: "Every single species plays its own unique role in its habitat, just like every single one of us can help protect nature in our own way too."
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The Guardian
4 days ago
- The Guardian
From destruction to restoration: how farmers in Madagascar are being helped to safeguard its rare plant life
Madagascar is famous for its fauna, more than its flora, which is one reason why many conservation efforts there tend to be focused on animals facing extinction. But the Missouri Botanical Garden's Madagascar Programme (MBG-Madagascar) has been trying to redress that imbalance by focusing its efforts on the forests – selecting 11 areas of the island to protect for the remarkable flora within. 'The forests are rich in terms of diversity and endemicity, with some 14,000 species,' says conservation unit coordinator Jeannie Raharimampionona. 'Ninety percent are found nowhere else in the world – and they are very, very threatened.' One of the biggest threats comes from a farming technique used by many Malagasy farmers who live in the forests of Ankarabolava-Agnakatrika, in south-eastern Madagascar. 'Slash-and-burn, a traditional agricultural practice,' says Raharimampionona. 'The first year, they cut. They leave it to dry for a year, then burn it, and plant seeds and rice on the ash,' she continues, not an inch of judgment in her voice. 'This is the way of the Malagasy. We eat a lot of rice – this is how we grow that rice.' The rural population also relies on other natural capital, such as trees for timber or fuel, and hunting wild animals for food. And when an area is no longer fertile or productive, farmers move on, and 'the forest is eaten, slowly, slowly'. But MBG-Madagascar, together with the conservation charity World Land Trust, may have found a solution – and it is one that hinges upon working with, rather than on behalf of, the people who live there, avoiding land grabs at all cost. 'Small forests feed large communities. Their food, their clothes, their houses, their medicine – everything is from the forest,' says Raharimampionona. 'And if communities feel you're restricting, or stealing their resources … They may go against your project.' Instead, MBG-Madagascar offers a win-win compromise. Any farming that takes place in protected areas is technically illegal, and often on unproductive land. 'There, the farmers are just occupants,' says Raharimampionona. So, for the past 10 years, MBG-Madagascar has worked to offer farmers ownership of an unprotected piece of land, compensating them for the crops in the protected lands if they choose to move. While helping to legalise farmers' ownership of the land, MBG-Madagascar also gives farmers seedlings for cloves and fruit trees that are lucrative in the national and international market to boost their revenue. And it offers other types of 'green employment' for residents, such as restoration, creating nurseries and growing plants. 'We invite them and encourage them to work with us, and that gives them revenue to start again.' Initially there were 85 farmers that the organisation needed to negotiate with. And now? Raharimampionona holds up a single hand. 'Five left. It has taken 10 years, but people are really seeing the benefits.' The success of the project likely lies within MBG-Madagascar's approach. 'No pressure is placed on the farmers to accept our offer,' she says. The foundation works by installing someone from the region to become a trusted site manager, who, in turn, employs a committee that includes people from local traditional hierarchies to make decisions about and protect the land. Any issues, such as lemur hunting or illegal agricultural work, are first dealt with by the codina (the local committee), who only escalate to MBG-Madagascar if necessary. 'We avoid top-down decision making. They have the freedom to decide, and we support them.' That sensitivity and community enmeshment reaches into all aspects of MBG-Madagascar's work; site spaces are built from local materials, rather than 'shiny, big buildings', and site managers live as part of the nearby population, rather than commuting from the city. Raharimampionona herself has begun to rethink what the word 'community' really means, moving away from the idea that conservation implies a division between locals and outsiders. 'I began to think more about the immigrants who join these communities, and then about me as part of the community, our team as part of the community, the plantation company as part of the community,' she says. 'Communities are larger than the village alone.' And what happened to those five farmers left in the protected area? 'They were really hard to negotiate with,' Raharimampionona says. 'So we left them to it …' But next, she beams: 'And then they came to us. They said: 'We are now ready to go out. Please pay us. Look for land for us – we are ready.'' You can support projects like Ankarabolava-Agnakatrika by donating to the World Land Trust Action Fund – conservation where it's needed most
South Wales Argus
12-06-2025
- South Wales Argus
Blind Caerphilly woman raised over £5k for Guide Dogs Cymru
Sue Sims, from Caerphilly, jumped 10,000 feet from a plane to fundraise for Guide Dogs Cymru. The money she raised helped name a puppy Flora in honour of her former guide dog, who passed away in 2021. In June 2024, Sue and her husband Steve were visited by nine-month-old Flora, a yellow Labrador being raised by Guide Dogs volunteer Linda Hole in Bristol. Sue was happy to find out that Linda had also raised Wenna, her second guide dog. Sue, who has had seven guide dogs in total, said: "Meeting puppy Flora made the skydive worthwhile. "She was gorgeous and so well-behaved, giving puppy raiser Linda her full attention. "I hope she goes on to be a successful guide dog." She added that her seven guide dogs have had a huge impact on her life, saying: "Having a guide dog gives you so much confidence to get out independently and meet people. "They talk to you when you have a dog, but when you are using a cane they don't like to approach you, or don't know how." Sue Sims completed a skydive last summer to fundraise for Guide Dogs Cymru (Image: Guide Dogs Cymru) Sue and her current guide dog, Saxon, are active members of the Caerphilly fundraising group for Guide Dogs, participating in supermarket collections and talks. "We meet so many people, and we just love it," Sue said. She invites anyone interested in the cause to meet her and Saxon at upcoming collections at Tesco in Talbot Green on Friday and Saturday, June 13 and 14, or Asda in Caerphilly on Saturday, June 21. To find out more about volunteering for Guide Dogs, visit
The Guardian
29-05-2025
- The Guardian
Country diary: Common milkwort looks light enough to take flight
I glimpse a lilac in the green. A hushed colour that suits the early hour. This common milkwort amid the grass is delicate and slight. The flower has an unusual structure, with an outer set of green sepals and an inner set of wing-like purple ones enclosing the tubular fused petals. The effect is intricate and poised, as if the bloom has landed for a moment in the grass but is equally capable of taking flight. Still holding the morning's dew, it is ephemeral, light. The blooms can also be found in blue, pink or white – leading to another of the plant's names, 'four sisters', for the four possible colours – but here it is a pale purple accent in the green. A number of its other common names reveal a past use in Christian processions – 'rogation flower,' 'cross flower', 'Christ's herb'. Then it was picked for garlands, but today it is better left where it is. While locally frequent and widespread in grasslands, particularly those with chalky soils, and in terrains including cliffs and rock outcrops, verges and alkaline-to-neutral fens, this 'common' milkwort has become rarer as agricultural intensification has reduced and degraded its habitats. As the sun strengthens, the complexion of the grass changes and a spill of yellow dominates. The flowers of the silverweed beam gold up through frosted leaves. Scattered buttercups glow in all directions, while the sunlight coaxes the grass itself into a more fiery palette. There is a temptation to look away, drawn by the brighter shades, yet the milkwort maintains its own attraction. The wing-like inner sepals act as flags, advertising the flower to pollinators, while the front petal serves as a landing platform. It takes a degree of strength to open this flower to reach the pollen and nectar within, giving bees an advantage over other pollinators. While such detail may be missed from human height, the flower still draws, and rewards, the human eye. All too easy to walk past, this quiet treasure in the grass is a feat of daedal elegance. Under the Changing Skies: The Best of the Guardian's Country Diary, 2018-2024 is published by Guardian Faber; order at and get a 15% discount
