Latest news with #predators
Telegraph
9 hours ago
- Telegraph
The risk of death is greater than safari goers would like to believe
There's a mistaken assumption that heavy rains halt play for most wildlife. But one thing I've learnt from my 50-plus safaris is that animals – particularly predators – are reliably unpredictable. My most recent uncomfortably close encounter occurred earlier this year during the height of Kenya's rainy season. Thick grey clouds had gathered over the luxury lodge where I was staying on the edge of the Maasai Mara, accelerating the onset of dusk. During daylight hours, it's generally considered safe to walk freely between rooms – even in unfenced areas – so with the sun still hovering above the horizon, I assumed a short dash to the communal dining area would be fine. As I left my fancy villa, furiously scrolling through emails on my phone, I heard a growl far louder than peals of thunder tearing across the plains. Looking up, I saw the back end of a lioness prowling through the undergrowth and I did exactly what I've always been told not to do – I turned around and ran. In reality, she was probably more terrified of the giant two-legged creature encroaching on her territory – but bumping into a big cat in Africa doesn't always end so well. On May 30, businessman Bernd Kebbel was mauled to death by a lioness as he stepped out of his tent to use the toilet. He was camping in Namibia's Hoanib Valley, a remote area where desert-adapted lions roam along seasonal riverbeds. I'd visited the region only two weeks previously and had been thrilled to spot a lion in a region historically ravaged by drought. According to a survey carried out by Namibia's Ministry of Environment, Forestry and Tourism (MEFT) in 2022/2023, there are less than 100 desert-adapted lions in the country, with numbers fluctuating due to human/wildlife conflict. That population declined further when Charlie, the lioness responsible for the attack, was shot dead by authorities. What happened to Mr Kebbel was tragic, but it's not the first time that foreigners have had fatal run-ins with animals. Last year, an American tourist was killed when an elephant charged their vehicle in Zambia's Kafue National Park. A month earlier, a Spanish traveller was trampled to death by a breeding herd when he stepped out of his car to take a photograph in a South African game reserve. As the safari industry continues to thrive and our appetite for wild encounters grows, our guards have dropped faster than the fences which once enclosed many camps. I've always been an advocate for opening up corridors, allowing elephant herds to follow traditional migratory routes and predator-prey dynamics to naturally evolve. But living alongside wildlife requires careful and cautious planning and as human populations continue to grow, that relationship hangs in a delicate balance. The real problem is not 'them' but 'us' and the safari industry is partly to blame. Cultivated by marketers eager to sell holidays, the romantic, Disneyfied notion of an idyllic wilderness is misguided. On countless game drives, I've watched vehicles edge uncomfortably close to potentially dangerous animals in the hope of getting a better iPhone photograph. There's also an assumption that booking a room in a five-star lodge gives us carte blanche to wander around freely as we would at home. Despite repeated warnings from staff, it's all too easy to switch off our senses – ironically detaching ourselves from an environment where we're encouraged to feel immersed. To their credit, many camps – like Angama Amboseli in Kenya and Dukes in Botswana – are attempting to educate travellers about the true struggles of human and wildlife co-existence. But due to a combination of complacency and over-confidence, too many have lost a healthy, respectful fear for the wild. Of course, not every creature in Africa's forests, plains and oceans is actively set on killing humans. Far from it. Most would prefer to be left to continue their lives undisturbed. But blurring the invisible boundaries which should exist between humans and wild animals can lead to fatal accidents. Every time I look into a lion's eyes, I shudder. Hearing their guttural roars outside my tent still sends me into shivers. That tingling fear is humbling – a reminder of the awesome wonders existing within our natural world. Several years ago, I joined a mobile safari through northern Namibia with the late conservationist Garth Owen Smith. One night, we camped on a dry riverbed, close to the Hoanib Valley. As we fell asleep, listening to lions roar, I asked Owen Smith why nobody had thought to pack a rifle for protection. 'Because we might be tempted to use it,' he replied matter-of-factly. Years later, his response makes total sense. Far more effective than bullets, fear, respect and caution are the greatest weapons we have to protect ourselves in a world which should always be alluringly but dangerously wild.
RNZ News
21 hours ago
- General
- RNZ News
Critter of the Week: The New Zealand Backswimmer
animals national 32 minutes ago This week's critter is a common inhabitant of ponds. You may have seen them before, swimming under the surface upside down! The New Zealand backswimmer is cute little bug shaped like a boat with oars for legs. They are voracious predators, eating anything they can get their straw like mouthpart in to suck up the juicy insides. Males will court females by singing to them, using a special part of the foreleg which they drag on a part of their mouth to create a chirping noise. How romantic!
CTV News
2 days ago
- Entertainment
- CTV News
Wild encounter caught on camera
Vancouver Watch A wild encounter between two of B.C.'s top predators was caught on camera on Vancouver Island.
The Sun
18-05-2025
- Entertainment
- The Sun
Inside Roblox settings EVERY parent must activate if it's on your kid's phone – don't risk £1,000 bills & sicko groomers
IT'S the hit game loved by 380MILLION players - and there's a good chance that your child is one of them. But parents beware. Roblox may seem like a wonderful fantasy game, but it has a dark side that could turn your child's world into a virtual nightmare with racists, sex pests, and online predators trying to groom them. If that wasn't bad enough, you might even be hit with a shock £1,000 bill. The hit online game first launched back in 2006, and is now a global sensation available on Xbox and PlayStation consoles, iPhone and Android phones, computers and even virtual reality headsets. It's a feature-packed free download that lets creative kids invent magical worlds and hang out with their pals online. But over the years, The Sun has revealed how Roblox has been plagued by sicko predators threatening children with sexual violence, twisted racist roleplay, and kids being allowed to spend £1,000 on the game's virtual Robux currency. Now The Sun, child safety experts and security professionals are urging parents to make sure the safest Roblox settings are active on their child's gadgets – to protect them online, and to keep your bank account safe. TO DELETE OR NOT TO DELETE? Firstly, it's important to note that experts aren't saying that you must delete the game. It might be the safest option, but it also means your kid being left out from socialising with pals and expressing their creativity. It could even be a lucrative side-hustle for them one day too. "Games and apps are an excellent space for children to have fun and communicate with friends, yet they can come with dangers," NSPCC's Rani Govender tells the The Sun. "Unknown players asking to connect might not have good intentions - and there's a risk your kids might see difficult content. 'Some parents decide that it's safer for their child not to play online, while others actively encourage the use of them. 'Whatever your position, it's important to have conversations with young people about your stance. If you are happy for them to play online games, then spend time together exploring the settings that will keep them safe. 'Children and young people should talk to a trusted adult if they have any questions or concerns when playing online, this could include a parent, carer or one of our trained counsellors at Childline.' Roblox rolls out huge update for parents to keep kids safe online If you do decide to let your kids keep the game, you'll want to make sure the game is set up for four things: content maturity, privacy, security, and protecting your own finances. FIRST STEP: LINK YOUR CHILD'S ROBLOX ACCOUNT Before you do anything else, you'll want to make your own Roblox account. That way, you can set it up as a parent to manage your child's profile. If you do nothing else, do this. It'll let you control their settings – and you can explore Roblox with them, if you want to. To create a parent account, you'll need to enter your birthday, verify your age with an ID or credit card, and then link your child's account. Here's what to do: Go to your child's Roblox account, click the gear icon, then choose Settings > Parental Controls > Add Parent Now type in your own email – the same one you yourself used to create a Roblox account Next, go to your email inbox and click the link in the email from Roblox Choose Use Existing Account and then log in Follow the steps to verify your age with a government-issued ID or credit card Wait for the page to automatically refresh, choose Agree to the account linking, and then you're good to go Once that's done, you can control your child's Roblox settings, see how much time they're spending on the game, and probe their online pals. SAFEST ROBLOX SETTINGS #1 – CONTENT SAFETY Why it's important: Roblox has a wide range of content – some totally safe, and some very disturbing. With the right settings, you can easily limit and even block dodgy experiences for your child. First, you'll want to limit the maturity of the content your child can access: Go to Settings > Parental Controls Choose Settings Your Manage > Content Maturiy Then choose Content Maturity > Concent Restrictions Slide the bar for where you're comfortable – and choose the lowest maturity level for the safest experience You can also invade your child's privacy by checking what they've been up to: Go to Settings Then choose Parental Controls Now go to Screen Time > Manage Finally, select Top Experiences This will show the top 20 Roblox experiences that they've played in the past week. If you see one you don't like, you can block your child from accessing it ever again – regardless of how "mature" it's listed as. To do that: Go to Settings > Parental Controls Select Settings You Manage > Content Restrictions Choose Blocked Experiences then tap the plus icon Search the name of the experience you're trying to block Now choose Block and then hit confirm A word of warning: this won't kick your child out of an experience they're playing right now. The block will only activate the next time they try to get into it. 12 SAFEST ROBLOX SETTINGS #2 – PRIVACY Why it's important: Privacy settings keep strangers and online weirdos from getting too close to your child – or finding out info about them. The more private you set Roblox to be, the less chance a predator can contact them. Next, make sure they're not talking to anyone dodgy by limiting who they can interact with. For Experience chat: For Party chat: Go to Settings > Parental Controls > Settings You Manage > Communication > Communication Then choose Party This will be set to Friends by default, but you can change it to No One for an even safer experience You can limit who can join their private experience server too: You can see and manage your child's Roblox friends list (and report people too) easily: Go to Settings > Parental Controls > Friends > Manage You'll see a list of your child's friends with all of their usernames and profile pictures – tap one to see their profile Then you can block or report them by choosing the three-dot menu next to that friend If you block someone, they won't be able to chat with your child or add them as a friend again without your permission. Report them if you're worried they might be sinister. SAFEST ROBLOX SETTINGS #3 – SECURITY Why it's important: Security settings are what keep your child's Roblox account safe from hackers. If someone breaks in, they could change their settings, steal private info, spend your money, and ruin their account. You'll want to make sure that you have two-step verification set up on your child's account. This means that even if your child gives away their password or someone guesses it, they still can't log in. Instead, they'll also need to enter a temporary code – which can come via email or an authenticator app (like the Google Authenticator). Here's what to do: Log into Roblox then go to Account Settings Choose Security Toggle on 2-Step Verification with a method of your choice Email is the easiest option Make sure you set it up for your own Roblox account too. Otherwise a hacker could break into your account to target your child. Expert's top safety tips Here's advice from cybersecurity expert Anne Cutler, of Keeper Security… 'The internet can present significant risks to children, particularly when they're using collaborative online gaming platforms,' Anna told The Sun. 'Sites like Roblox have the option to set up parental controls, which can limit chat features, block certain content and monitor usage. 'Children should be encouraged to report bullying, be sceptical about friends they meet online, limit exposure to content that is not age-appropriate and keep tabs on daily screen time. 'Educating children on cybersecurity may feel daunting for adults. 'Parents should familiarise themselves with their children's devices and online activities. 'Emphasising the use of strong and unique passwords, and the importance of never sharing them, as well as caution regarding online acquaintances are vital preventative measures.' SAFEST ROBLOX SETTINGS #4 – FINANCES Why it's important: Roblox is a free game, but it has ways of spending money. Chances are that your child doesn't have their own store of cash – so they'll be using your bank account instead. You need to make sure they can't accidentally (or secretly) empty the coffers. Once you're set up as a parent on Roblox, you can also manage your child's spending. You can set specific monthly spending restrictions. And you can even get spending notifications beamed straight to your phone. That way, you can limited how much cash they're splashing on Robux as well as on experience subscriptions. Here's what to do: Go to Settings Now go to Parental Controls Next choose Settings You Manage Scroll down and choose Spending Restrictions Set a monthly spending limit (this won't roll over!) Enable spending notifications and choose how often you want to be notified. The safest option is for every transaction The only catch is that these settings won't stop your child from using your card outside of the game to buy gift cards for Roblox. That's on you to watch out for. Also, it's possible for children with an Xbox to spend money on Roblox even if you've set up limits through the game's parental controls. So in that case, you'd need to go into your own Microsoft account, choose Settings > Account > Family Settings > Manage Family Members > Privacy & Online Safety > Xbox Live Privacy > View Details & Customise > Buy & Download and then choose Ask A Parent. This will force the child to ask your permission before they can make a Roblox purchase on Xbox. "We take our responsibility for safety seriously, and have spent nearly two decades building strong safety systems as our platform and our community has grown," a Roblox spokesperson told The Sun. "In the past year, we've introduced more than 40 safety updates. "Including new parental control features to give parents and caregivers greater control and visibility over their child's experience on Roblox, alongside enhanced default protections for our youngest users. "We're not stopping there, and we'll continue to innovate to make Roblox a safe and civil space for play, learning and creativity." 12
The Guardian
11-05-2025
- The Guardian
FBI opens inquiry into 764, online group that sexually exploits and encourages minors to self-harm
The name of the group sounds innocuous enough: 764. But the ordinary-seeming number hides one of the most disturbing trends in the US's criminal landscape, disguising a brutal and sinister online group that exploits its victims in cyberspace and is now a top target for US law enforcement. Last week, the FBI revealed it has opened investigations into 250 individuals affiliated with 764 and other online networks of predators who befriend minors and other vulnerable people and coerce them to create sexually explicit material and commit acts such as harming themselves or animals. The federal agency has investigated the phenomenon since at least 2023 and warned the public about 764, a loose network of people that engage in violent, predatory behavior. The FBI reported that all its 55 field offices were investigating 764 and similar networks. In 2024, the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children's CyberTipline received more than 1,300 reports connected to groups such as 764 that perpetrate sadistic online exploitation, a more than 200% increase from 2023, according to the organization. 'It is really important that law enforcement is looking into the individuals that are perpetrating this abuse and seeing if they can have any successful investigations,' said Kathryn Rifenbark, the CyberTipline director. The network started with Bradley Cadenhead, a teen in a zip code in Texas from which the 764 name is derived who played Minecraft and watched ultra-violent 'gore' content online, according to an investigation conducted by Wired, Der Spiegel, Recorder and the Washington Post. He created a Discord server called 764 to distribute child sexual abuse material and seek out vulnerable children. He and others on the server lured women into video chats and extorted them to cut themselves or perform live sexual acts, the news organizations reported. In 2021, Discord identified 764 and its hundreds of users and reported them to law enforcement, according to the report. Cadenhead was arrested and sentenced to 80 years in prison in 2023, but there are now predators in 764 and various splinter groups around the world. In April, Leonidas Varagiannis, a 21-year-old US citizen in Greece, and Prasan Nepal, a 20-year-old in North Carolina, were arrested and charged for allegedly leading a 'core subgroup' known as 764 Inferno in which they 'ordered their victims to commit acts of self-harm and engaged in psychological torment and extreme violence against minors', according to a press release from the justice department. 'The network is loosely coordinated based on individuals of like mind' who 'wish to cause harm to other humans, especially kids', said Ben Halpert, founder and president of Savvy Cyber Kids, a group that aims to educate young people about cyber safety and ethics. In November 2023, schools in Vernon, Connecticut, started receiving bomb threats and warnings of mass shootings, according to Thomas Van Tasel, a detective with the local police department. It turned out a member of a 764 group had befriended a local teenage girl online and encouraged her to send sexually explicit and self-mutilation material. He then extorted her for information, including about a local teacher, which he used to make the threats, Van Tasel said. The local teen was also suspected of making bomb threats. Eventually, the two broke up, and another person, who lived in Europe, started claiming he was the local teen during threats, which led police to her, Van Tasel said. The student had been on the honor roll most her life, according to her parents. The police did not disclose her name because she was a minor when she helped the 764 member and they also considered her, in some part, a victim, which is common, Van Tasel said. Sign up to Headlines US Get the most important US headlines and highlights emailed direct to you every morning after newsletter promotion 'We were able to charge her with conspiring with others in the group to make these bomb threats, but ultimately, the biggest goal with her was to get her some treatment so that she herself could recover,' Van Tasel said. Victims are often afraid to deny offenders' requests or to report the predatory behavior because they worry the offenders will share their sexually explicit or self-mutilation videos or because the offenders know where they live and could 'swat' them, Rifenbark said, referring to the practice of making fake calls to the police that provoke an armed response. She is unsure whether the increase in reports of online exploitation is primarily because there are more victims or just greater reporting due to increased awareness of the predatory behavior, at least in part due to media coverage of 764. Jessica S Tisch, commissioner of the New York police department, and Rebecca Weiner, the department's deputy commissioner for intelligence, also wrote this week in the New York Post that 764 and similar groups are 'the stuff of nightmares, and dismantling these virulent networks is now a top national security priority across the United States and Europe'. 'Parents, do you know what your kids are doing online?' they wrote. 'If not, the answer may terrify you.' Van Tassel said he provided information on the person who preyed on the Connecticut teen – and someone he worked in partnership with – to the FBI, and the investigation is pending. As to the local teen, Van Tassel said she is doing better and returning to the activities she was engaged in before getting caught up in 764. He added: 'Any victim that is part of this problem is looking at years of therapy.' If you or someone you know is a victim of such exploitation, you can report it and get help at or by calling 1-800-843-5678.
