Perched away from the world on the rocky southern tip of Africa, the town of Hermanus rose to global whale-watching renown almost by chance.
Tag: Wildlife
Hong Kong bans shark fin at official banquets
Hong Kong’s government said Friday it would stop serving shark fin at official functions as “a good example”, following years of lobbying by conservation groups.
Can we learn to love vultures?
Vultures have suffered something of an image problem over the years. Eating the bodies of dead animals has never attracted us to them. But now a project – supported by the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge – is trying to…
Must-see: Amazonian butterflies drink turtle tears
The sight of butterflies flocking onto the heads of yellow-spotted river turtles in the western Amazon rain forest is not uncommon, at least if one is able to sneak up on the skittish reptiles. But the reason why butterflies congregate…
DNA study suggests climate change did kill off mammoth
Researchers have found evidence to suggest that climate change, rather than humans, was the main factor that drove the woolly mammoth to extinction.
Nature’s biggest treasure hunt
Shaney Hudson
Ghana’s dead whales: Oil linked denied
Ghana has dismissed accusations that oil operations could have caused the deaths of several whales washed up on beaches over the past week.
Zimbabwe elephants poisoned by poachers in Hwange
Poachers have used poison to kill 41 elephants in Zimbabwe’s Hwange National Park, an official has told the BBC.
The great Cold War potato beetle battle
By Lucy Burns
Second whale stranded in Firth of Forth is put down
A minke whale has been put down by vets after it became stranded in the Firth of Forth just days after the death of a pilot whale in the area.
Weird! tiny frog uses its mouth to hear
by Denise Chow, LiveScience
Seized shark fins dumped in Pacific ceremony
The Marshall Islands symbolically disposed of confiscated shark fins at sea Tuesday in a ceremony witnessed by regional leaders attending the Pacific Islands Forum (PIF).
Seabirds are indicator species for climate change
From: Allison Winter, ENN
Happy reunion in Amazon Forests
David Good’s parents come from different countries – hardly unusual in the US where he was raised. But the 25-year-old’s family is far from ordinary – while his father is American, his mother is a tribeswoman living in a remote…
Older cranes help keep younger birds on the right track
By Rosemary Peters
Desert tortoise faces threat from its own refuge
By Hannah Dreier
Reintroduced white-tailed eagle pair raise chick
Scotland’s largest bird of prey, the white-tailed eagle, has bred in the east of the country for the first time in almost 200 years.
Uncertainty looms over terrestrial ecosystems
By Jutta Wolf
Isolated Mashco-Piro Indians appear in Peru
LIMA — Members of an Indian tribe that has long lived in voluntary isolation in Peru’s southeastern Amazon attempted to make contact with outsiders for a second time since 2011, leading to a tense standoff at a river hamlet.
Scots red deer ‘breeding earlier due to climate change’
By David Miller
Beetles eat greedy offspring research finds
Burying beetles occasionally punish young who nag for food by eating those who pester them most, according to Edinburgh University research.
Scottish ospreys released in Spain to help population
By David Miller
Bird charity objects to Cuadrilla fracking plans for two sites
The RSPB has lodged objections to proposals to drill for shale gas and oil in Lancashire and West Sussex.
Olinguito: ‘Overlooked’ mammal carnivore is major discovery
By Jane O’Brien
Ostrich necks give clues to dinosaur flexibility
By Melissa Hogenboom
Invasive ants: ‘Stowaway’ insects spreading around world
The problem of invasive ants may be far worse than previously thought.
Kenya rhino killed in Nairobi National Park
A white rhino has been shot dead by poachers in one of Kenya’s most secure parks, near the capital Nairobi.
Bhola without power for two days
Bhola has been without power since Saturday night after the 34.5MW gas-fired power plant there closed down following technical glitches.
Eels to be helped back into Lake Windermere
Critically endangered eels are to be helped back into Lake Windermere, Cumbria, where they have not been seen in significant numbers for 30 years.