Donations grew dramatically after Australia’s black summer but animal carers say they didn’t receive enough
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Australia’s largest wildlife rescue organisation faces a landmark vote on Sunday, as members unhappy with the distribution of donations after the black summer bushfires attempt to change its constitution.
The income of the Wildlife Information, Rescue and Education Service (Wires), based in NSW, ballooned from $3m to more than $100m thanks to the success of its fundraising campaign after the catastrophic fires of 2019-20, which burned millions of hectares of land and reportedly killed or displaced 3 billion animals.
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Breaking Waves: Ocean News
07/12/2024 - 10:00
07/12/2024 - 09:14
Four animals released in Wallington estate in Northumberland last year have transformed the landscape
The first beavers in Northumberland for more than 400 years have been stupendously busy. There are new dam systems, as well as canals and burrows, new wildlife-rich wetlands and, thrillingly, a baby beaver.
Whether it is male or female remains to be seen. “Beavers don’t have external genitalia,” said Heather Devey, an expert. “They are really hard to sex. It’s really only through their anal glands that you can tell.”
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07/12/2024 - 07:49
Low yields combined with low prices for some crops also led to a 13% drop in farm output compared with 2022
Income from farming in England plummeted by 19% last year after floods meant harvesting many crops was impossible.
Farmers have called for more support from the government as the climate breaks down, meaning agricultural businesses are no longer able to count on mild UK weather and increasingly face drought and floods.
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07/12/2024 - 02:00
The best of this week’s wildlife photographs from around the world
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07/12/2024 - 01:00
Hundreds of Europeans touring the American west and adventurers from around the US are being drawn to Death Valley national park, even though the desolate region known as one of Earth’s hottest places is being punished by a dangerous heatwave, which was blamed for a motorcyclist’s recent death
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07/12/2024 - 00:00
With up to 80% of butterflies in decline, people are being asked to spend 15 minutes to record number and type witnessed
Scientists are calling on the public to help track how British butterflies are moving north as the climate heats up.
Examining 50 years of data, researchers from the wildlife charity Butterfly Conservation, which runs the annual Big Butterfly Count, have identified a clear northerly shift among many species, including the familiar garden favourites the comma, peacock and holly blue.
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07/12/2024 - 00:00
Researchers estimate 730,000 people a year in the US lose their ability to live independently due to traffic pollution
Reducing air pollution may help elderly people to live independent lives for longer, research has found.
Dr Boya Zhang, of the University of Michigan, who is one of the authors of the study, said: “Air pollution is linked to worse health – more lung disease, more heart disease, shorter life expectancies and more likelihood of dementia. Knowing that air pollution increases our risk of poor health as we age made us wonder if exposures might also impact how people can care for themselves in later life.”
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07/11/2024 - 14:00
Australian scientists create brick refuges in greenhouses to help green and golden bell frogs survive infection
A “sauna” treatment for frogs has been used by researchers in Australia to successfully fight a deadly fungal disease that has devastated amphibians around the world, according to a new study.
Scientists created refuges for the animals using painted masonry bricks inside greenhouses that they called “frog saunas”. They found that endangered Australian green and golden bell frogs were able to clear infections from the deadly Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis fungus, in the warmer conditions of the greenhouses, when they would otherwise have died. Many of the frogs that recovered in the refuges were then resistant to infection.
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07/11/2024 - 12:06
Snail mail replaced with slug mail as scientists need 1,000 grey field slugs to explore their impact on various crops
It may be known as snail mail, but researchers are hoping the public will use the postal service to send them a different kind of mollusc: slugs.
A team of scientists and farmers carrying out research into slug-resistant wheat say they need about 1,000 of the creatures to explore how palatable slugs find various crops.
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07/11/2024 - 11:30
Projected high of 10.3bn people is lower and will come earlier than expected, analysis suggests
The global population is likely to peak earlier than expected and at a lower level, according to new UN projections that officials have said offer hope of reduced pressure on the environment.
The analysis predicts there will be about 10.3 billion people by the mid-2080s, up from 8.2 billion this year.
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