Breaking Waves: Ocean News

‘It’s really, really unusual’: tender bond between male donkey and bull baffles scientists

admin — Mon, 02 Nov 2026 16:53:15 +0000

Patroclo and Achille’s interspecies affair sheds new light on social and sexual relations between animals, scientists say

In ancient myth, Achilles and Patroclus were two Greek heroes of the Trojan war whose intense bond was believed by some to have turned into a sexual relationship.

In modern science, they are a bull, Achille, and a donkey, Patroclo, whose tender interspecies affair has helped to shed new light on social and sexual interactions between animals.

Rare ant nest stolen from last place in England where species survives

admin — Mon, 02 Nov 2026 15:00:43 +0000

Devon nature reserve says ‘reckless’ theft of narrow-headed ant colony sets back years of conservation work

A nest containing up to 5,000 of England’s rarest ant species has been stolen from a nature reserve, a conservation charity has said.

Devon Wildlife Trust (DWT) said a nest of narrow-headed ants had been dug up and taken from Chudleigh Knighton Heath nature reserve in south Devon, which is the last place in England where the species still exists.

Greenpeace activists create ‘boulder barrier’ in North Sea to deter industrial fishing

admin — Mon, 02 Nov 2026 13:10:08 +0000

Action taken to prevent bottom trawling in the marine protected area and conserve porpoise populations

Greenpeace activists have dropped boulders in the North Sea to snag the dragnets of industrial trawlers fishing in a marine protected area.

Activists onboard the Greenpeace ship Arctic Sunrise dropped the giant stones to form an underwater barrier around the Southern North Sea marine protected area (MPA) – the UK’s most bottom-trawled MPA.

A lackluster response to North Carolina flooding disasters is eroding Republican support in one county

admin — Mon, 02 Nov 2026 12:00:41 +0000

At more than $52m, the race has become the most expensive in US history, but residents are fed up with flooding

Aida Havel mulled her fate over coffee after working the early voting polls all day in Kill Devil Hills, North Carolina. “We are trapped,” she concluded.

The Dare county commission candidate lives about 50 miles (80km) south, on Hatteras Island on the state’s Outer Banks.

Europe could face colder weather as polar vortex weakens

admin — Mon, 02 Nov 2026 11:00:54 +0000

Disruption to winds above Arctic threatens to alter weather patterns across parts of continent in coming weeks

The stratospheric polar vortex over the northern hemisphere is facing the prospect of an unusually early weakening. Forecast models suggest it could weaken significantly over the next 10 days, when it would typically be strengthening.

Google search has gone from being very handy to useless | First Dog on the Moon

admin — Mon, 02 Nov 2026 05:54:05 +0000

Google’s AI summary is punching a huge hole in their own profits – is this good?

Sign up here to get an email whenever First Dog cartoons are published
Get all your needs met at the First Dog shop if what you need is First Dog merchandise and prints

‘They have schedules to follow’: how fast ferries can threaten endangered whales in the Mediterranean

admin — Mon, 02 Nov 2026 05:00:32 +0000

A Guardian investigation has found that despite a recommendation to slow down, leading shipping companies continue to travel above advised speeds in a key habitat for cetaceans

Marine biologist Alice Barbarioli waits with her camera trained on the horizon. A few minutes earlier, the hydrophone beneath the Pelagos research vessel detected codas – the sequence of clicks sperm whales use to communicate.

Cryosphere faces permanent damage when world overshoots 1.5C, scientists warn

admin — Mon, 02 Nov 2026 00:01:25 +0000

UN-backed report finds even temporary rises above Paris agreement target could cause harm to glaciers and polar ice sheets

Earth’s icy regions face such dangerous melting that global heating should be brought back below 1C after an inevitable period of overshooting global temperature targets, a UN report has found.

Colorado community fights plan to use drones to spray weed killer

admin — Sun, 01 Nov 2026 14:00:18 +0000

Officials in Boulder County, Colorado, say they have a safe plan to wipe out invasive weeds, but some locals are concerned

Soon, weed-killing chemicals will start falling from the sky over the Red Hill area of Boulder county, Colorado.

Northern Territory water plan condemned as ‘blatant and shameless’ attack on nature

admin — Sun, 01 Nov 2026 14:00:13 +0000

Exclusive: Move to scrap legal requirement to set aside water for environment is ‘extreme even for the NT CLP government’, green group says

Get our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcast