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Miami Herald
2 days ago
- Science
- Miami Herald
Shepherds' advice leads to first-of-its-kind mammal sighting in India. See it
Near an agricultural area in western India, a scaly mammal went about its night, likely searching for food or water. Unbeknownst to it, a nearby trail camera documented its passing. The encounter turned out to be a first-of-its-kind sighting for the area. A team of scientists set out 'inventory the mammal community and its diversity patterns across the Rajkot District of Gujarat' using trail cameras, according to a study published May 26 in the peer-reviewed Journal of Threatened Taxa. As part of the project, researchers set up a pair of trail cameras near a specific hill chosen based on 'local knowledge provided by shepherds who routinely bring their livestock to a nearby water source,' the study said. Sure enough, one of the cameras photographed and 'successfully documented the presence of a pangolin' — the district's 'first observation of (an) Indian pangolin,' researchers said. The photo, taken in July 2024, shows the scaly back of the pangolin and a portion of its tail. Pangolins are considered the world's most trafficked mammal. Found in Asia and Africa, 'all pangolin species have experienced a drastic decline in populations, primarily because of hunting and illegal international trade,' the study said. Indian pangolins, an endangered species 'widely distributed throughout much of' India, are 'often killed due to the belief that they dig up graves and pull out the buried dead bodies' or because farmers believe the animals are 'damaging their crops,' researchers said. Generally, pangolins are shy and elusive animals, according to the World Wildlife Fund. The pangolin seen in Rajkot District, Gujarat, 'indicates the possibility of the persistence of the population in the region,' the study said. Researchers suggested further surveys of the animal, its distribution and its preferred habitats. Rajkot District is in central Gujarat, the westernmost state in India and along the border with Pakistan. The research team included Aum Agravat, Vikram Aditya, Shreya Pandey, Bhavin Patel, Rushi Pathak and Aurobindo Samal.
Local France
3 days ago
- Business
- Local France
French night trains break 1-million passenger barrier
'The lack of sleeping cars is preventing the creation of new national and international connections that could meet the high demand from passengers,' Réseau Action Climat said in a report published on Tuesday. But there's no denying the increasing popularity of overnight rail travel, just a decade after they all but disappeared from the timetables. Night trains in France carried one million passengers in 2024, the report found, a 26 percent jump on 2023, and more than double the number of passengers in 2019. This, the report says, is proof that night-trains can offer a viable travel solution, and one that is more environmentally friendly than flying or car use. Advertisement But the future of sleeper rail travel is hampered by the lack of trains, Réseau Action Climat – a federation of dozens of major environmental protection associations, including the World Wildlife Fund, Greenpeace and Friends of the Earth – warned. French rail operator SNCF currently has 129 sleeper cars, while international operators are also moving into the French market to offer overnight connections to cities including Vienna. However this is not enough to meet passenger demand, the report warned, with the Paris-Toulouse and Paris-Nice routes often overbooked. The government, which has authority over Intercités night services, launched a call for tenders in January 2025 for the purchase of 180 cars to be delivered before 2030. Réseau Action Climat recommends 'activating an optional clause in this call for tenders' to allow for the order of 340 cars in total. Réseau Action Climat goes further, and recommends a fleet of 600 sleeper cars by 2035 able to carry up to 5.7 million passengers annually. The 'network effect' would reduce the cost per passenger and improve the viability of overnight rail travel, which SNCF currently operates at a loss. According to the report, 'increasing the number of night trains in circulation allows for considerable economies of scale [with] shared maintenance, optimised connections, and better knowledge of the service by users...' Increasing the number of routes, as well as services will also improve take-up, the report said. Currently all night trains operating in France set off or arrive in Paris; there are no direct sleeper trains between Marseille-Nantes, Bordeaux-Lyon and Lille-Nice routes, the report notes, which encourages travellers 'to fly, or make costly connections'. It also recommends cross-border overnight services between Paris-Madrid, Paris-Barcelona, Paris-Milan, Paris-Rome, Nice-London, and Paris-Venice. Advertisement A Zurich-Barcelona route, via Lyon, which had been set to start in December 2024 by Austrian railways (ÖBB), has been postponed indefinitely. Private operator European Sleeper is reportedly considering a connection to Barcelona from Brussels, but no launch date has been set due to technical and administrative constraints. 'Over the past two years, one in six night trains [has been] cancelled due to night-time track work. On some routes, such as Paris-Briançon and Paris-Tarbes, this figure rises to one in three,' the report points out. This, it said, means passengers are opting for other modes of transport, taking replacement buses, or giving up their journey. To avoid undermining the appeal of night services, Réseau Action Climat suggests alternative routes, carrying out work on a single track, or even reducing the hours during which work is carried out to allow trains to pass.
The Irish Sun
5 days ago
- Sport
- The Irish Sun
Nathan Collins was Brentford everpresent in Premier League – but other Ireland stars' struggles proves he's an outlier
FINDING himself sharing a leaderboard with five goalkeepers is not the only reason Nathan Collins is an outlier. Because if the World Wildlife Fund was to cast its eyes over the figures, it would immediately classify Irish players lining out regularly at the top level as an endangered species. 6 Nathan Collins was the only outfield player to play every minute in the Premier League Credit: Shutterstock Editorial 6 His form is a welcome boost for Heimir Hallgrimsson but others struggled Credit: Sportsfile - Subscription 6 Chiedozie Ogbene is a long term absentee through injury Credit: � 2024 PA Media, All Rights Reserved After three successive years when he was second in the most minutes for Irish players in the English top flight behind, in turn, The trouble for Heimir Hallgrimsson is there are not nearly enough players anywhere near the centre-half's figures, making his job all the more difficult. And that should serve as a reminder that, however favourable the next year would be a triumph against the odds. Read More on Ireland MNT The finals may have doubled in size from 24 to 48 teams from Ireland's first appearance in 1990 but the number of places available to These days, after the suspended And while those figures are both up, to varying degrees, it is inarguable that the standard of Ireland's player resources has fallen, particularly when compared to that of others. Earlier this year, the FAI's Will Clarke provided a figure of what Ireland required to be able to be successful at international level. Most read in Football It was part of his presentation on the League of Ireland's academy system which is desperately trying to fill the void left by Clarke argued that, in order to be competitive, the manager of the senior men's team needed to be able to choose from 35 players clocking up an average of 1,400 minutes of league football in one of Europe's top five leagues. The figure was not plucked out of thin air. It came from an examination of the ten most successful countries outside that quintet of Heimir Hallgrimsson gives first call-up to four Ireland players in squad for friendlies vs Senegal and Luxembourg It is a target that Irish players could not see in the distance this season, let alone reach, as has been the case for a long time. And — based on divisional movement alone — the signs are that it is likely to get worse again before it gets better. In all, 19 Irish players clocked up 18,445 minutes of football in those five leagues, an average of 972 per player, equating to fewer than 11 full matches. Sixteen of those were in The minutes naturally increase when you include cup competitions but, obviously, many of those come against lower division opposition and, so, are not of much help in terms of equipping players for World Cup or campaigns . There is, however, a strong argument for European competitions to be factored in. But, of the players mentioned above, the only one for whom that was relevant was Caoimhín Kelleher at He lined out in four Madrid , And playing in a top five league is not the be-all and end-all if you are at a club which is capable of going far in Europe . EURO TRIP Aside from Shamrock Rovers' march to the last 16 of the Celtic's His AZ Alkmaar side bounced back from the disappointment of losing the Dutch Cup final — missing out on a return to the Europa League group phase — to negotiate the Eredivisie play-off system to book a place in the second qualifying round of the Conference League. With the Dutch league rated sixth in Europe, it would be hard to argue that Parrott is not better off where he is than, say, a struggling team in Ligue 1, ranked just above it. That is where 17-year-old Ike Orazi — who got one minute of league action — and Finn, 21, are, with Stade de Reims dropping to third from bottom thanks to late penalties in two matches on the final day of the season, one in theirs and one in Le Havre's with the port team leapfrogging them as a result. 6 Adam Idah scored three goals in the Champions League Credit: Alamy Live News They drew 1-1 with Metz in the first leg of their promotion-relegation play-off last week with the second leg to come on Thursday, with a chastening 3-0 defeat to PSG in the final of the Coupe de France in between. And Hallgrimsson could really do without someone he has just called into the squad for the first time dropping out of top-flight football because if there is one thing he has in abundance it is a player of that profile. There was a 13.26 per cent increase in game time for Irish players in the Premier League which sounds good except half of the 16 who featured were with teams that finished in the bottom three. O'Shea, Will Smallbone and Kasey McAteer will also be making an immediate return to the For O'Shea and Ogbene, it is their second successive relegation, and third in five years for the defender. FIGHTING THE DROP It does not make them bad players but it is a fact that the clubs that have sought to sign them are ones which are involved in a predictable fight to keep their heads above water . And it would require a large volume of transfer activity for the Irish contingent in next season's English top flight not to be drastically reduced. The only ones coming into the Premier League after winning promotion with their clubs are Burnley's Josh Cullen and It helps explain why Hallgrimsson must continue to look to the ancestry rule to strengthen his hand in the short term and why unprecedented investment in the academy system is a non-negotiable to avoid a bleak long term. 6 Liverpool's Caoimhin Kelleher celebrates at the final whistle during the Premier League match between Liverpool FC and Everton FC Credit: Getty Images - Getty 6 Troy Parrott of AZ Alkmaar in tears during the Final of the Dutch Toto KNVB Cup match between AZ and Go Ahead Eagles Credit: Getty Images - Getty
Yahoo
18-05-2025
- Yahoo
Trail camera captures playful tiger cubs after years of protection work finally pays off: 'Now is the time for action'
Trail camera footage of rare tiger cubs was captured in the forests of Thailand, as reported by the World Wildlife Fund. The video, captured in the Dawna Tenasserim Landscape, shows three playful tiger cubs with their mother. The cubs seem to be practicing their roars, as they can be heard making youthful sounds as they navigate the forest. According to the WWF, it is "the result of decades of conservation efforts." Habitat improvements, increased availability of prey, and a reduction in the threat of poaching have all helped to boost tiger numbers. Thailand has announced that its tiger population is increasing, and the trail cam footage is evidence of that trend. Trail cameras play a critical role in helping conservationists make positive changes to protect wild animal populations. They capture footage without human interference so that animals can be observed behaving naturally in their native environments. The cameras can also help researchers understand population trends and gather data on behaviors, all in a non-invasive way. These cameras can also help identify threats to wild animal populations, such as capturing habitat loss or poaching. Conservationists can then take action to prevent further threats and protect the animals. Many wild animals are elusive, so spotting them is difficult. Trail cameras help conservationists confirm that these species still exist, encouraging further protection efforts. The news of the cubs is hopeful for the future of the Thailand tigers, with this being a critical time for the species. Do you think America does a good job of protecting its natural beauty? Definitely Only in some areas No way I'm not sure Click your choice to see results and speak your mind. "Continued political support, strong community partnerships, funding and conservation efforts are needed to ensure these small cubs have the conditions they need to thrive," the WWF said. "Now is the time for action." Join our free newsletter for good news and useful tips, and don't miss this cool list of easy ways to help yourself while helping the planet.
Yahoo
17-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Lawmakers take dramatic step to shield high-profile landmark — but experts warn the threat isn't over
Lawmakers in Bangladesh recently approved a plan to prohibit new industrial ventures within 10 kilometers of the Sundarbans, a critical habitat for several important endangered species. The region is designated as an ecologically critical area and recognized internationally as a World Heritage Site by UNESCO. The measure enhances existing environmental protections agreed upon in 2021. According to reporting by The Business Standard, existing industries within the ECA will be overseen by a "neutral team of experts" to assess their environmental impact. The move will provide a welcome boost to conservation efforts in the area. The Sundarbans is the largest mangrove forest area in the world, at more than 10,000 square kilometers (6,213 miles), but it has been shrinking by roughly 16 square kilometers (10 miles) every year since 1991, per It's difficult to overstate how important mangrove forests are. They are essentially forest wetlands found in tropical and subtropical climates. Among other features, mangrove forests protect coastlines, filter water, sequester vast amounts of carbon, and provide a habitat for many species. The Sundarbans is home to 260 species of birds and the critically endangered Bengal tiger, Indian python, and estuarine crocodile. About 95% of the Bengal tiger's historic habitat has been lost, and the Sundarbans is one of the few remaining sites where the tigers can roam freely. As the World Wildlife Fund notes, one of the world's largest and most uniquely adapted tiger populations is found in the area. Like other nations in the Indian subcontinent, Bangladesh heavily relies on fossil fuels to meet its energy needs. Solar energy accounts for just 1.3% of its energy production, far below the global average of 15%, per Ember. Accordingly, Bangladesh had the second-worst air quality in the world in the 2024 AQI rankings. While there is clearly much to be done, the government's move to enhance environmental protections in such an important area is a step in the right direction. Do you think America does a good job of protecting its natural beauty? Definitely Only in some areas No way I'm not sure Click your choice to see results and speak your mind. Join our free newsletter for good news and useful tips, and don't miss this cool list of easy ways to help yourself while helping the planet.
