Week in wildlife: a hippo with a hitchhiker, a wallaby jailbreak and a fly on the wall
Goats in Essaouira, Morocco climb an argan tree in search of its fruit, which has been described as 'sweet-smelling but unpleasantly flavoured' Photograph: Mosa'ab Elshamy/AP
The strongshank redemption … a wallaby in Wattrelos (near Lille), northern France, was captured on camera after escaping from its Belgian enclosure. It ran free for several days before French firefighters managed to catch it. Another fugitive wallaby that escaped along with it has yet to be found Photograph: SDIS 59/AFP/Getty Images
Three rescued bharals, a type of wild sheep, at a wildlife rescue centre in Qilian Mountain national park, China Photograph: Xinhua/Shutterstock
Volunteer divers in Dorset, UK, are reporting a surge in the number of seahorses. After efforts to make conditions better for the elusive creatures in Studland Bay, sightings are greatly increasing. Over the last two decades, conservationists have worked hard to make conditions better for the seagrass – and thus the seahorses – including introducing almost 100 'eco moorings' that do not harm the habitat Photograph: Neil Garrick-Maidment/The Seahorse Trust
A humpback whale breaches in Guanabara Bay, near Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. The whales are following their migratory route toward the Abrolhos archipelago, where they gather to mate Photograph: Andre Coelho/EPA
A hawksbill sea turtle swims among bioluminescence, defined as the biological light emission of marine life, in the Red Sea. The photo was taken using a 'fisheye' lens – not the ordinary kind, but special imaging technology that allows underwater photographers to record bioluminescence from the perspective of the fish Photograph: Anadolu/Getty Images
A gosling searches for food near the Main River in Frankfurt, Germany Photograph: Matías Basualdo/ZUMA Press Wire/Shutterstock
An ant on a flower at the Parc Floral in eastern Paris, France Photograph: AFP/Getty Images
An anhinga opens wide for dinner in Lake Eola park, Orlando, Florida, US. The water bird is a darter that dives and spears fish with its sharp beak Photograph: Ronen Tivony/NurPhoto/Shutterstock
A pair of Britain's rarest breeding birds have successfully reared chicks at a secret location protected by conservationists and the farmer whose land they nested on. The Montagu's harrier has not successfully bred in the UK since 2019, but this year a pair of the migratory birds of prey have managed to raise four healthy youngsters to fledging. Their nest is fenced off for protection Photograph: RSPB/PA
One of the world's rarest sharks has been filmed off the Welsh coast, offering a fleeting glimpse into the life of a species teetering on the brink of extinction. Dramatic footage shows a critically endangered angel shark swimming through the waters of Cardigan Bay – the first time it has been recorded on film in the area since 2021 Photograph: Cardigan Bay Marine Wildlife Centre
A spotted lanternfly, an invasive insect from China that is spreading across the north-eastern United States, watches a tennis match in Washington DC, US. The fly is no danger to humans, but it can devastate crops and trees Photograph: Jim Lo Scalzo/EPA
A meadow brown butterfly rests on a bramble leaf in Dunsden, Oxfordshire, UK. Some spotters have seen an increase in butterflies this year Photograph: Geoffrey Swaine/Shutterstock
A bull moose near Tupper Lake, upstate New York, has decided to spend its summer holiday on an Adirondack mountain trail. State wildlife officials have been forced to keep hikers away as they keep watch and wonder why the majestic animal is not moving on Photograph: AP
A vervet monkey carries its baby at the Bandia wildlife reserve near Dakar, Senegal Photograph: Anadolu/Getty Images
Buffaloes wade in the retreating water of the drought-stricken Chibayish marshes in Iraq, on the Euphrates. Iraq's 46 million people face rising temperatures, chronic water shortages and year-on-year droughts, in a country hard hit by the effects of climate change Photograph: Asaad Niazi/AFP/Getty Images
Steller sea lions swim during a tsunami approaching the shore of Antsiferov Island, a small, uninhabited island in the northern Kuril chain that runs between Russia and Japan Photograph: Nikita Sinchinov/AP
A hamerkop bird hitches a ride on a hippo before being shaken off by the grumpy beast in Kenya's Masai Mara. The bird, named after its hammer-shaped head, climbed on board as the hippo plodded through a pond full of green water hyacinth
Photograph: Ann Aveyard/Animal News Agency
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
The Independent
6 hours ago
- The Independent
Extremely rare and endangered lion cubs arrive at European zoo
Four Barbary lion cubs, a species extinct in the wild, have been born at Dvůr Králové Safari Park in the Czech Republic. The arrival of the three females and one male provides a vital boost to global conservation efforts for the rare big cat, with fewer than 200 estimated to live in captivity worldwide. The playful cubs are destined for other participating zoos as part of an international endangered species programme coordinating their survival in captivity. Preliminary steps are underway for a possible reintroduction of the Barbary lion into its natural habitat in the Atlas Mountains, Morocco, though this is considered a 'far distant future' prospect. Initial discussions with Moroccan authorities have taken place, and a conference of experts is planned for late this year or early 2026 in Morocco to assess the feasibility of such a reintroduction.
Sky News
a day ago
- Sky News
Mystery of what killed billions of starfish solved, say scientists
More than a decade after a mysterious killer devastated sea star populations along the Pacific coast of North America, scientists believe they have finally found the culprit. The mass die-off, which began in 2013, wiped out an estimated five billion sea stars from Mexico to Alaska, and continues to affect over 20 species. "It's really quite gruesome," said Alyssa Gehman, marine disease ecologist at the Hakai Institute in British Columbia, Canada, who helped identify the cause. She said healthy sea stars - also known as starfish - have "puffy arms sticking straight out". But the wasting disease that set in more than a decade ago caused them to grow lesions and "then their arms actually fall off". Worst hit was the sunflower sea star species, which lost around 90% of its population in the outbreak's first five years. After following numerous wrong turns and red herrings, scientists are now confident the killer was a bacterium that also infected shellfish. The breakthrough, published in the journal Nature Ecology and Evolution, solves "a long-standing question about a very serious disease in the ocean," said Rebecca Vega Thurber, a marine microbiologist at the University of California, Santa Barbara, who was not involved in the study. Previous efforts missed the real killer because they focused on the wrong type of virus or investigated samples of dead sea stars which no longer contained the bodily fluid that surrounds the organs. But the latest study involved careful analysis of this so-called coelomic fluid, and found the pathogenic bacteria Vibrio pectenicida. 1:57 The death of sea stars triggered a cascade of effects through coastal ecosystems. Without predators like sunflower sea stars, which eat almost everything on the seabed, sea urchin populations exploded. In Northern California, this has led to the destruction of roughly 95% of kelp forests over the past decade - important underwater habitats often described as the "rainforests of the ocean". Scientists hope their discovery could help with work to save sea stars. Researchers are investigating whether to relocate the animals, or breed them in captivity to later transport them to areas that have lost most of the population. They can also test whether treatments like probiotics could boost immunity to the disease.
The Independent
2 days ago
- The Independent
Scientists believe they have solved the mystery of what killed more than 5 billion sea stars
Scientists have finally unravelled the decade-long mystery behind the devastating epidemic that has killed more than five billion sea stars off the Pacific coast of North America. The breakthrough identifies a specific bacterium as the culprit, offering a crucial step towards saving the iconic marine creatures. Since 2013, a mysterious sea star wasting disease has caused a mass die-off from Mexico to Alaska, affecting over 20 species and continuing its destructive path today. The sunflower sea star was particularly hard hit, losing approximately 90 per cent of its population within the first five years of the outbreak. "It's really quite gruesome," said marine disease ecologist Alyssa Gehman at the Hakai Institute in British Columbia, Canada, who contributed to pinpointing the cause. She described how healthy sea stars typically have "puffy arms sticking straight out," but the disease causes them to develop lesions before "their arms actually fall off." The long-sought answer, published in the journal Nature Ecology and Evolution, points to a bacterium that has also been found to infect shellfish. The findings "solve a long-standing question about a very serious disease in the ocean," commented Rebecca Vega Thurber, a marine microbiologist at the University of California, Santa Barbara, who was not involved in the study. Identifying the cause proved to be a complex, decade-long endeavour, fraught with false leads. Early research mistakenly focused on a densovirus, which was later found to be a normal resident within healthy sea stars, not linked to the disease, according to Melanie Prentice of the Hakai Institute, a co-author of the new study. Previous attempts also failed because researchers studied tissue samples from dead sea stars that no longer contained the vital bodily fluid surrounding their organs. The latest study, however, meticulously analysed this fluid, known as coelomic fluid, where the bacterium Vibrio pectenicida was ultimately discovered. Microbiologist Blake Ushijima of the University of North Carolina, Wilmington, who was not involved in the research, praised the team's "really smart and significant" detective work, noting the immense difficulty in tracing environmental disease sources, especially underwater. Scientists say they have solved the mystery of what killed more than 5 billion sea stars Show all 5 With the cause now identified, scientists are better positioned to intervene. Ms Prentice suggested that researchers could now test the remaining sea stars for health, considering relocation or captive breeding programmes to reintroduce them to areas where sunflower sea stars have been decimated. They may also investigate if certain populations possess natural immunity or if treatments like probiotics could boost resistance to the disease. The recovery of sea star populations is not merely about saving a single species; it is vital for the entire Pacific ecosystem. Healthy sea stars play a crucial role in controlling sea urchin populations. "They're voracious eaters," Ms Gehman explained about the Sunflower sea stars, despite their seemingly innocent appearance, as they consume almost everything on the ocean floor. The dramatic decline in sea stars led to an explosion in sea urchin numbers, which in turn devoured approximately 95 per cent of Northern California 's kelp forests within a decade. These kelp forests are critical habitats, providing food and shelter for a diverse array of marine life, including fish, sea otters, and seals. Researchers are hopeful that these new findings will enable them to restore sea star populations and, consequently, regrow the kelp forests that Ms Thurber aptly compares to "the rainforests of the ocean." ___ The Associated Press Health and Science Department receives support from the Howard Hughes Medical Institute's Department of Science Education and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. The AP is solely responsible for all content.
