Latest news with #EEP
Irish Post
3 days ago
- General
- Irish Post
Endangered red panda cubs born at Irish wildlife park
TWO endangered red panda cubs have been born at a wildlife park in Ireland. Fota Wildlife Park in Co. Cork announced this week that the cubs had been born at its conservation centre on June 7. While not yet visible to the public, the park has called on people to help name the cubs and hopes their birth will help raise awareness of the decline of the species in the wild. "We're absolutely delighted to announce the births of the two red pandas," said Lead Ranger Julien Fonteneau. "It's been two years since we last welcomed red panda cubs at Fota Wildlife Park." Population decline The cubs are the offspring of three-year-old mother Suzi, who arrived at Fota from Berlin Zoo, and seven-year-old father Grga, who was transferred from Zagreb Zoo in Croatia in June 2019. The parents are part of the European Endangered Species Programme (EEP), a collaborative initiative to ensure the survival of threatened species through coordinated breeding efforts. For now, the cubs remain in the nesting box, sleeping and nursing with their mother. It is not yet known what gender the cubs are. In the next three weeks, they will start to explore the habitat outside their nesting box for brief periods in the early morning or late evening under the careful supervision of their mother. The species is listed as endangered, with its population declining in the wild primarily due to habitat loss and poaching in its native range in the eastern Himalayas and southwestern China. Protective Fonteneau said Suzi was being typically protective of her cubs, which are expected to make brief appearances over the coming months. "Their mother, Suzi, is a first-time mum and has taken to her new role with ease," he said. "She's currently being very protective, displaying typical red panda maternal behaviour by keeping the cubs secure, while diligently feeding and grooming them. "Being involved in the care of an endangered species is one of the most meaningful aspects of the animal care work at Fota Wildlife Park. "We hope that the red panda births will raise awareness around species and biodiversity loss and will inspire and educate the visiting public and future generations. "Although the cubs remain mostly hidden for now, visitors might be lucky enough to catch a glimpse of them when Suzi occasionally moves them between nesting boxes. "Over the next few months, and as they grow more confident, the cubs are expected to make brief appearances during quieter periods of the day, closely supervised by Suzi.' To submit a name suggestion for one of the cubs, please click here. See More: Cork, Fota Widlife Park
DW
5 days ago
- Entertainment
- DW
Bon voyage Toni — Berlin readies pygmy hippo for France – DW – 08/15/2025
Berlin's beloved pygmy hippo Toni is moving to Mulhouse Zoo in France. Fans are invited to say au revoir at daily "Toni Time" events from August 18-24. The Berlin Zoo has announced that Toni, its beloved young pygmy hippopotamus, is being prepared to move to France, where she will take up residence at Mulhouse Zoo. She is moving to the Alsatian institution as part of the European Endangered Species Program (EEP), a conservation breeding program focused on maintaining healthy populations of endangered species in captivity. Since her birth on June 3, 2024, tiny Toni has won the hearts of locals and attracted a huge online following. The Berlin Zoo's Instagram following, for instance, has swelled from 125,000 to 254,000 since she arrived on the scene. Her popularity was also helped by her high-visibility sponsor, for whom she was ultimately named in a contest that saw 20,000 suggestions submitted — Berlin-born soccer player Antonio Rüdiger, a defender for the German national squad and Real Madrid in Spain. The Berlin Zoo has now set up a week of events focused on the small hippopotamus before she departs. "Toni Time," say zoo organizers, will allow visitors to see Toni in action, bid farewell and get a last photo with her before she leaves for her new home. The sessions will take place at 1:30 p.m. (1130 GMT) every day, between August 18 and 24. Depending on Toni's preference, she will either be treated to a shower or an extra portion of peanuts — her favorite snack — at the zoo's Hippo Bay facility during the events. Toni has been undergoing a new daily regimen since it was decided she would be moving to France. That regimen includes daily "crate training" to get her used to spending time in her transport confines before departure. Toni has also been spending afternoons on her own rather than with her mother Debbie. Pygmy hippos are reclusive, solitary and nocturnal animals. Zoo officials say it is entirely normal for those living in the wild to seek out their own surroundings when they are Toni's age. Pygmy hippos, native to West Africa, are on the red list of endangered species with less than 2,500 remaining in the wild according to the International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN), a Switzerland-based nature conservancy. Native to Guinea, Ivory Coast, Liberia and Sierra Leone, and formerly Nigeria, the creature faces threat due to illegal poaching and the loss of natural habitat — mainly rainforest or marshy woods — to agricultural and real estate interests. Their reclusive and solitary nature also makes them highly sensitive to changes and disturbances around them. Berlin Zoo Director Andreas Knieriem says Toni's popularity has helped raise awareness for the plight of the creatures. "Toni is a wonderful ambassador for her species," he says. "She has the ability to touch people in a special way. That is the key to progress in protecting endangered animals and fostering the idea of species protection." It is hoped that in Mulhouse, Toni will further help the species and the EEP by having babies of her own.
Coin Geek
7 days ago
- Business
- Coin Geek
Ethiopia boots out BTC miners despite $200m revenue
Getting your Trinity Audio player ready... Ethiopia has become the latest country to purge BTC block reward miners as their strain on the national grid becomes unsustainable. The Ethiopian Electric Power (EEP) company recently announced that it intends to gradually phase out BTC miners from the East African nation as concerns mount over their astronomical power demands. Source: Addis Standard In its Ethiopian Energy Outlook 2025 report, EEP revealed that its short-lived romance with the block reward miners has come to its end, less than two years since it signed its first power purchase agreement with a mining firm. 'There will be no new contracts in the field of data mining, and we are not interested in continuing with existing ones either,' EEP CEO Asheber Balcha revealed during the grid operator's annual performance review, as reported by the local paper, Ethiopian Reporter. Ethiopia was hailed as the new destination for BTC miners who had been booted out of jurisdictions like China, Kosovo, Kazakhstan, and Norway. However, according to Balcha, EEP only sought a short-term dalliance with the sector to prop up its coffers and never intended to make Ethiopia a permanent home for the miners. 'We have only started it for a short time. After a few years, companies engaged in this sector will leave or shift to other sectors…Domestic consumers and strategic industries are always our priority,' he stated. Ethiopia's BTC mining honeymoon cut short Ethiopia started warming up to BTC miners in late 2023, culminating in the first major arrival of a miner—Hong Kong's West Data Group—in February 2024. The $250 million deal, signed with the Ethiopian Investment Holdings, was hailed as a new era for the country that prioritizes the next generation of digital industries. Within the first ten months, the country had generated $55 million in revenue from the sector and contributed 2.25% of the global BTC hash rate. The revenue has surged since, with EEP making $220 million over the past year. The miners have kept coming. EEP's most recent data shows that it has signed power purchase agreements with 21 BTC miners, with 19 being foreign-owned and mostly linked to Chinese investors fleeing Xi Jinping's anti-crypto regime. Earlier this year, Chinese miner BIT Mining signed a $14 million agreement with the Ethiopian grid operator to establish a 51 megawatt facility. It claimed that Ethiopia's power was so cheap that it could reuse mining rigs that had become obsolete in its U.S. facilities, where they couldn't mine fast enough to justify the power costs. 'The price of electricity is maybe 70% higher in Ohio than in Ethiopia, sometimes almost double, so it can only run very advanced ASICs…Now we can just move older generation machines into Ethiopia,' the company said at the time. It's not just BIT Mining (NASDAQ: BTCM) that was taking advantage of Ethiopia's low power rates. BitFufu (NASDAQ: FUFU), Bitdeer (NASDAQ: BTDR), Canaan (NASDAQ: CAN), and the Phoenix Group (NASDAQ: PNXGF) have all established mining facilities in the country. EEP projects that by the end of the year, BTC miners will consume a third of all Ethiopia's electricity, and it is concerned that this could be at the expense of other essential sectors. While the miners in the capital, Addis Ababa, enjoy the low power rates, a substantial portion of the country remains off-grid. Some sources say that nearly 60 million Ethiopians still lack electricity. Ethiopia joins a list of countries that have restricted BTC mining due to energy concerns. While a few, like China, have issued a blanket ban for the sector, most have scaled back the energy allocated to miners. Russia, for instance, banned mining during winter when power demand is high. The U.S. is one of a few countries bucking the trend. Since he took over, President Donald Trump has doubled down on making America the BTC mining capital, stating last year that he wants 'all the remaining Bitcoin to be MADE IN THE USA!' Trump's rally has been backed by some red states like Arizona and Kentucky that have passed right-to-mine laws, protecting miners from being targeted by local zoning authorities. The sector received a boost two months ago when the three largest Chinese ASIC manufacturers—Bitmain, MicroBT, and Canaan—announced they would set up production facilities in the U.S. as Trump's tariffs disrupt global supply chains. The three control 90% of the global BTC mining rigs production. Watch: Why Proof of Work is the most secure model of consensus title="YouTube video player" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share" referrerpolicy="strict-origin-when-cross-origin" allowfullscreen="">
Metro
13-08-2025
- Metro
The UK's £12 train journey where you can see polar bears from your seat
It's no secret that there are some pretty scenic train routes around the UK, showcasing everything from rugged Scottish countryside to the stunning Cornish coast. But did you know there's also a journey where you can see polar bears roaming about or taking a dip? No, we haven't lost our marbles. There really are polar bears in the UK and there are four that you can catch a glimpse of from behind train windows. To be in with a chance of seeing one, you'll want to head to London Liverpool Street and hop on a Greater Anglia train heading to Norwich. Or, if you're in Norfolk, you'll do the journey in reverse and take the train to London. There are several stops along the way, but it's specifically between Manningtree and Ipswich when you'll want to keep your eyes peeled. That's because the giant carnivores can be found at Jimmy's Farm and Wildlife Park, just a few miles outside of Ipswich. Fuel your wanderlust with our curated newsletter of travel deals, guides and inspiration. Sign up here. Their enclosure backs on to the main train line, giving passengers a prime viewing spot when the furry creatures are out and about. Owned and run by farmer and TV presenter, Jimmy Doherty, the park also doubles as Europe's largest polar bear reserve – although the 50-year-old claims he never planned to have these kinds of animals in his care. In 2022, Orsa Predator Park in Sweden closed and its unsold animals were at risk of being put to sleep, including a polar bear named Ewa. With alopecia and a broken claw, Ewa wasn't able to be released back into the wild, which is when Jimmy stepped in. He borrowed money from the bank to build an enclosure with a saltwater dipping pool plus two other lakes, two dens, a large natural woodland area and a state-of-the-art ventilated house and the bear was shipped from Sweden to Suffolk. Since then, she's been joined by Hope, who had also been at the Orsa Predator Park, as well as two other polar bears, Flocke and Tala who came from the Yorkshire Wildlife Park and are part of the European Endangered Species Programme (EEP). The London to Norwich train line is taken by numerous commuters each day, so for many the Polar Bears will be a familiar site, but for others, they'll be pretty unexpected. In a recent TikTok video @bradleyt_28 proclaimed the bears the 'best part' of the train journey and his clip of them quickly went viral, garnering over 819,000 views and more than 67,000 likes. In the comments people were baffled, with @saffarindia asking: 'What da hell is a polar bear doing in Ipswich, England?' Similarly, @alexlcfc02 posted: 'Why do we have polar bears in 17 degree England?' Others confessed they thought they'd been 'hallucinating' the first time they saw the bears, as @mythshroom7 wrote: 'Okay listen this is my Roman Empire. I told my friends I saw polar bears and nobody believed me for months. When they finally saw them I felt so good you don't understand.' For those curious as to how the Arctic bears manage without the snow and ice, Jimmy's Farm website states that summer temperatures in parts of the tundra reach highs of 26C and most bears 'do not reside on the ice throughout the year'. They add that the temperatures in Hudson Bay (polar bear country) can also get higher than those in Suffolk. More Trending The bears at the farm are able to regulate their temperature by going into the shaded woodland and swimming in the deep pool. In addition to polar bears, Jimmy's Farm is also home to arctic foxes, arctic wolves, brown bears, lemurs, zebra, raccoons, capybara and anteaters, among others. Those tempted to go polar bear spotting can take the London to Norwich train, with prices starting from £12 and the full journey along the line takes roughly an hour and 50 minutes, although their are fast 90 minute trains. This story was first published on July 29, 2025. Do you have a story to share? Get in touch by emailing MetroLifestyleTeam@ MORE: 'Charming' city in Spain is a lesser-known gem with £40 flights and 'hardly any tourists' MORE: I've been to 9 Italian cities, but there's only one I keep going back to MORE: Move over Maldives – this genuine hidden gem is cheaper and closer to UK
Irish Independent
13-08-2025
- General
- Irish Independent
Fota Wildlife Park celebrates birth of rare red panda cubs
The cubs were born at Fota Wildlife Park on June 7 - and are set to become some of the star attractions at the popular east Cork facility. Red Pandas or Ailurus Fulgens are endangered because of loss of habitat, hunting and poaching. The cubs are the offspring of three-year-old mother Suzi, who arrived at Fota Wildlife Park from Berlin Zoo, and seven-year-old father Grga, who was transferred from Zagreb Zoo in Croatia in June 2019. The cubs are not yet visible to the public as, for their own development, they are being kept in a nesting box with their mother where they sleep and nurse. The parents at Fota Wildlife Park are part of the European Endangered Species Programme (EEP), a collaborative initiative among European zoos and wildlife parks to ensure the survival of threatened species through coordinated breeding efforts. The pandas decline in the wild is primarily due to habitat loss and poaching across its native range in the eastern Himalayas and southwestern China. Lead Ranger Julien Fonteneau said the births are a major boost to the park and the global breeding programme. "We are absolutely delighted to announce the births of the two red pandas," he said. "It has been two years since we last welcomed red panda cubs at Fota Wildlife Park. Their mother, Suzi, is a first-time mum and has taken to her new role with ease. "She's currently being very protective, displaying typical red panda maternal behaviour by keeping the cubs secure, while diligently feeding and grooming them. ADVERTISEMENT "Being involved in the care of an endangered species is one of the most meaningful aspects of the animal care work at Fota Wildlife Park. "We hope that the red panda births will raise awareness around species and biodiversity loss and will inspire and educate the visiting public and future generations. "Although the cubs remain mostly hidden for now, visitors might be lucky enough to catch a glimpse of them when Suzi occasionally moves them between nesting boxes. Over the next few months, and as they grow more confident, the cubs are expected to make brief appearances during quieter periods of the day, closely supervised by Suzi." Fota Wildlife Park will name the cubs following a public campaign. To be in with a chance of winning one of two conservation annual passes, name suggestions can be entered via the wildlife park's blog at Red pandas are primarily herbivorous, with bamboo shoots making up the bulk of their diet. At Fota Wildlife Park, they are fed freshly harvested bamboo grown on-site. The sheltered and temperate climate of Fota Island provides ideal conditions for bamboo cultivation, ensuring a sustainable and nutritious food supply. Their diet is occasionally supplemented with fruits, insects, and small animals, especially during the warmer months. Fota has successfully expanded from 22 animal species in 1983 up to 113 species at the moment. From a focus on animals like bison and cheetahs, the park now has tigers, lions and rhino. In its opening year of 1983, the east Cork park had 106,000 visitors. It is now approaching 500,000 visitors per year - and ranks as the largest visitor attraction in the south. It is now renowned as one of the world's leading breeding sites for endangered species and has successfully helped bring back species like the European Bison from the brink of extinction. Fota has acclaimed breeding programmes for cheetahs, giraffes, lemurs and now both lions and tigers.
