Latest news with #tiger
Daily Mirror
20 hours ago
- Entertainment
- Daily Mirror
Celebrities in new series Shark! taught by diving instructor with missing limbs
The celebrities were said to be taking a big risk as they swam with ever-increasing sized sharks in the Bahamas in a new ITV series to mark the 50th anniversary of Jaws The seven celebrities who agreed to swim with sharks in an ITV series which marks the 50th anniversary of Jaws, were taught to dive by an instructor with missing limbs. The seven stars - who all admit to being scared of the sea - were Call the Midwife's Helen George, comedians Sir Lenny Henry and Ross Noble, Countdown's Rachel Riley, McFly's Dougie Poynter, Amandaland's Lucy Punch and TV presenter Ade Adepitan. All have now returned from filming Shark! Celebrity Infested Waters with their lives intact, but were constantly reminded of the dangers involved by their Australian instructor - who was missing an arm and a leg, courtesy of a tiger shark. For the five-part series, due to start next month, the celebs were challenged to confront their greatest fear and flown to the island on Bimini in the Bahamas, home to around 10 different species of shark. Once there, they took the plunge together alongside hammerhead, bull and tiger sharks. While there is no voting or elimination process in the show, the dives got progressively harder, with each involving a bigger and tougher breed of shark, and the celebrities were allowed to sit out if they felt overwhelmed. One insider said: 'The sharks they were free diving with were definitely dangerous and they were shocked when they realised what had happened to the expert, who'd had an arm and a leg bitten off.' Despite the series being shown as tribute to half a century since the Oscar-winning Jaws was released in 1975, the 'ocean-phobic' stars did not attempt to recreate the movie scenes. 'There were no Great Whites involved in the making of this show,' the source said. 'But it was not for the faint-hearted, that's for sure. Some were more scared than others.' Viewers will have to wait to see if any of the stars sustained injuries during the making of the programme, which was filmed last year. Yesterday presenter Rachel said that taking part was a 'dream come true' adding: 'It was the best trip, the best experience, the best everything, of my life.' Describing it as 'wet and wild' she added: 'Shark! Celebrity Infested Waters is a totally new type of entertainment show, with so much integrity and a love of sharks and conservation at its heart. And with the best bunch of people you could hope to work with.' The mum-of-two said she'd first been asked to take part a year ago. 'They said we're thinking of sending some celebrities out to the Bahamas for a few weeks to swim with some of the biggest, scariest wild sharks in the world.' Helen agreed that it had been brilliant, saying: 'One of the most insane experiences of my life, learning about this incredible creatures, with equally incredible humans.' Ross described it as a 'great adventure' and quipped: 'No, it's not a wind up, it's a real thing.' And pop star Dougie marvelled that it was the closest he'd ever get to a 'real Jurassic Park experience'. ITV entertainment boss Katie Rawcliffe said audiences should enjoy the combination of blue chip natural history programming with ITV's skill at entertainment, and called the famous faces taking part 'some of the bravest celebrities out there'. Karen Plumb, of Plimsoll Productions, said the aim was to give viewers a new perspective on sharks. 'We're constantly looking for innovative approaches to wildlife storytelling and are certain that our fish-out-of-water spin – delivering 50 years after Jaws – will transform the world's perception of these critical predators before it's too late.'
BBC News
7 days ago
- General
- BBC News
Yorkshire Wildlife Park tiger recovers after ingrown toenail procedure
A 17-stone (110kg) tiger is recovering after a successful operation to remove an ingrown toenail at Yorkshire Wildlife a 15-year-old Amur tiger, received the 15-minute procedure after staff at the park in Doncaster noticed she was limping and seemed sensitive on one veterinary team injected her with a short-lasting general anaesthetic to allow them to clip off the troublesome claw. Tschuna will briefly be kept away from visitors at the attraction while she fully recovered, with the procedure stopping discomfort and preventing infection. Dr Charlotte MacDonald, park director of animals, said: "Tschuna came back round relatively quickly and should have a speedy recovery, though she probably has a bit of a headache from the anaesthetic."She'll hopefully be back to her playful self again very quickly." Bex Brown, park head of carnivores, said they usually try to avoid having to use anaesthetic."Trying to trim it would have caused her pain, so she wouldn't have allowed us to do that - and leaving it would have been painful and uncomfortable for her," she said."Because we don't sedate them often at all, it was a good opportunity to give her a full MOT while she was asleep."Tschuna arrived at the park in 2013 as part of an international breeding Brown described Tschuna as "a princess", adding: "If we present her food she often puts the food on her other paw rather than off the ground." Listen to highlights from South Yorkshire on BBC Sounds or catch up with the latest episode of Look North.
Bloomberg
28-05-2025
- Business
- Bloomberg
Indonesia Is Pursuing the Worst Form of Solar Power
While the rest of the planet is catching on to the realities of energy, Indonesia is pursuing the most inefficient form of solar power — one that uses millions of hectares of land, is plagued by volatile supplies, and hides a dark legacy of environmental destruction behind its renewable image. We're talking about palm oil. The red grease is ultimately solar energy, soaked up by trees and converted into fatty fruit that can be crushed and refined into biodiesel. For all the angst about palm oil in cosmetics or confectionery, and its effect on endangered orangutan and tiger populations, by far the biggest use is Indonesian fuel.
Yahoo
28-05-2025
- Health
- Yahoo
The popular Australian seaside town plagued by deadly shark attacks
Esperance is regularly touted for possessing some of the world's best beaches, but now this popular Australian tourist town is facing a crisis after becoming plagued by shark attacks. Swimmers and surfers have long flocked this dreamy spot on the isolated south coast of Western Australia, about 400 miles from state capital Perth. But many locals and tourists have become wary of entering Esperance's crystalline seas due to a tragic spate of shark attacks. Esperance had gone more than 100 years without such a death before four people were killed by sharks in just the last eight years. This harrowing sequence of events has not only devastated the town's tiny community of about 10,000 people. It has also affected its reputation as a tourist destination, and sparked debate about just how aggressively authorities should implement anti-shark measures. Most recently, in March, a 37-year-old tourist from Melbourne, Steven Jeffrey Payne, was surfing at Wharton Beach near Esperance when he died from a shark bite. Another surfer, 52-year-old Esperance man Andrew Sharpe, passed away in similar circumstances in October 2020 at Esperance's Kelp Beds. Earlier that year, 57-year-old local Gary Johnson was killed by a shark while scuba diving at Cull Island near Esperance. And in April 2017, a 17-year-old tourist from Mandurah was fatally wounded by a shark while surfing at Kelp Beds. It means Esperance has had four of the last seven deadly shark attacks in Western Australia. Such a concentration of deaths is unprecedented in this colossal state, which has more than 8,000 miles of coastline. As a result, these shark attacks have received heavy news coverage. Ron Chambers, Esperance Shire President, said many locals and visitors were now cautious about entering the sea. 'Every life lost, be it a visitor or local, is deeply felt across the region,' Mr Chambers said. 'Locals and visitors are more alert, but not avoiding the water altogether. Some change where and when they enter the water, [but] the recent shark incidents have not stopped people coming to Esperance, our tourist numbers are still high.' Should visitors to Western Australia be concerned? The state's Tourism Minister Reece Whitby said it has one of Australia's most comprehensive programmes aimed at protecting the public from sharks. It uses shark tagging, shark lookout towers, helicopter shark patrols, beachside warning systems, and shark sighting apps. It also operates 'swimming enclosures' at seven of its most popular beaches, including Town Beach in Esperance, where a 300m net helps to block sharks. The Western Australian government has also committed AUD $45,000 to upgrade seaside shark warning towers at Esperance's Twilight Beach, West Beach, and Kelp Beds. Government employees also visit locations inundated with sharks, such as floating whale carcasses. There they attach digital tags to the most dangerous shark species: great white, tiger, and bull. Certain beaches across Western Australia have digital receivers which can detect these tagged sharks. A detection prompts the nearby shark warning tower to activate flashing lights and warning sirens for at least one hour. Further shark detection comes via WA's Shark Smart phone app, which members of the public can use to log a shark sighting. Swimmers and surfers can check this app for real time reports of shark sightings. All four of Esperance's recent attacks involved great white sharks, a giant species up to 6m long. A 2018 study by Australia's top scientific body, the CSIRO, found there were more than 1,000 great whites in Western Australian waters. Esperance's natural environment and tourist activity have combined to cause its spate of shark attacks, said Dr Gavin Naylor, director of the Florida Program for Shark Research. 'Esperance is a pristine part of the coastline with a rich marine life, including a healthy population of Australian sea lions, a favourite food of white sharks,' Dr Naylor said. 'The increased density of white sharks in the area has resulted in an increase in bites on surfers. The surfers are likely mistaken for seals flopping around at the surface.' Deadly shark attacks may make the news, but they're far less common than fatal car crashes, for example, says Dr Vincent Raoult, a marine ecologist from Australia's Griffith University. Over the past decade, Australia's had an average of 2.7 fatal shark attacks per year. Its annual road deaths are more than 40 times higher than that. Tourists to Australia can reduce their chances of encountering a shark by following simple advice. Avoid entering the sea at dawn or dusk, when sharks are more active. Choose beaches that have shark nets, shark lookout towers, or lifeguard patrols. Stay close to the shore, and avoid beaches with heavy fishing activity, which can attract sharks. Australian marine biologist Madeline Riley also recommends shark deterrent devices, which attach to a swimmers' limb and emit electrical pulses that can repel sharks. 'Some can reduce the risk of bites by around 60 per cent,' she said. Broaden your horizons with award-winning British journalism. Try The Telegraph free for 1 month with unlimited access to our award-winning website, exclusive app, money-saving offers and more.
BBC News
23-05-2025
- BBC News
Assam: Village mob kills Royal Bengal tiger in India's north east
A Royal Bengal tiger was killed and dismembered by a mob in India's north eastern state of Assam, a forest official has residents from a village in the Golaghat district reportedly took the step because the tiger had killed livestock in the area and posed a threat to their lives. The state's forest department has registered a of man-animal conflict are not new to Assam. This is the third tiger killing that has been reported this year. Top forest official Gunadeep Das told Times of India newspaper that the tiger had died from sharp wounds and not carcass was later recovered in the presence of a magistrate, reports say. Mr Das told a local newspaper that "around a thousand people had gathered to kill the tiger" and that some of them attacked the tiger with machetes. He added that the tiger's carcass had been sent for an Saikia, a lawmaker from Assam state condemned the killing on X. He shared a video that showed the purported dead body of the tiger with parts of its skin, face and legs missing. The BBC has not independently verified the video. "This is a very painful act. The Earth is not only for humans, it is for animals as well," he said in the post, adding that strict action will be taken against those involved in the forest official, Sonali Ghosh told local media that the origins of the tiger were unclear. According to reports, the animal was killed about 20km (12 miles) away from the Kaziranga National data by Assam's forest department shows the population of tigers in the state has steadily increased from just 70 in 2006 to 190 in 2019 due to various conservation instances of tigers being killed due to conflict with villagers have been often reported in the media, which could be because of shrinking habitat and lack of protection of tiger corridors between different national parks in the state. Tigers are a protected species under India's Wildlife Protection Act (1972), which prohibits poaching, hunting and trade of tiger parts.
