Wildlife

Being able to tell a catkin from a curlew is the first line of defence in preserving our unique natural heritage This week Dippy the Diplodocus begins his grand tour of the UK. The beloved dinosaur skeleton cast, which stood in the entrance hall of the Natural History Museum for over a century, will be unveiled at Dorset County Museum on February 10. He carries heavy expectations on his immensely broad shoulders, for his mission as he travels is to inspire us to reconnect with the natural world, and help tackle the urgent crisis facing it. Historically, Britain has a proud tradition of wildlife-watching. But the chances of any child visiting a green space have halved in a generation. Now we... … [Read more...] about If our children can’t recognise British wildlife, how can we expect them to look after it?

A PHOTOGRAPHER captured the amazing moment two mice were fist fighting over scraps of food on the platform of the London Underground. Titled "Station Squabble," photographer Sam Rowley captured the battle between the two city-dwellers before they scurried off with the crumbs and went their separate ways - and the brilliant picture has been shortlisted for Wildlife Photography of the Year 2019. FIGHT-NIGHT MOTHER KNOWS BEST ALL LOVED-UP STRIKE A POSE BEAK TO BEAK PUMA POWER A PULSING SEA CHEERS BIG EARS This long-eared jerboa was spotted in the Mongolian part of the Gobi Desert CAPTIVE WINTER'S TALE TENDER PLAY We pay for your stories! Do you have a story for The Sun Online news team? Email us at [email protected] or call 0207 782 4368. You can WhatsApp us on 07810 791 502. We pay for videos too. Click here to upload yours. … [Read more...] about Amazing pic of mice appearing to FIST FIGHT on the London Underground features in Wildlife Photography of the Year 2019

A conservation project to turn 50 quarries into nature reserves by 2020 has been completed two years early and is already saving endangered species, like the turtle dove. In 2010, the RSPB joined forces with building materials supplier CEMEX to rejuvenate dozens of disused quarries. And within fewer than eight years, 1,000 hectares of grassland, woodland, heath and wetland has been created which is helping rare and unusual species to flourish including 50 ‘at risk’ species. Threatened birds which have moved into the conservation areas include turtle doves, choughs and twites, all of which have seen huge falls in numbers in the past decades. … [Read more...] about 50 disused quarries turned into wildlife habitats to help Britain’s endangered birds

A three-day drive from Melbourne to Sydney along the Victorian and New South Wales coasts isn’t exactly a tribute to slow travel, with enough attractions and gastronomic pleasures along the route to fill a week. But allowing for time to dwell in a few well-chosen locations, this road trip offers an enticing taste of regions like Victoria’s East Gippsland and the Sapphire coast in the far south of New South Wales. It will also draw you into wild national parks like Croajingalong in Victoria and Ben Boyd, over the border, near Eden. Coastal lakes in Gippsland that constitute Australia’s biggest inland waterway, and long, unspoilt beaches, like Ninety Mile form the journey’s dramatic backdrop. And the foreground isn’t bad either, particularly as the route twists and curls through the thick forests around the border. The route All the action of the drive is around the A1 Princes Highway, which begins in central Melbourne and continues all the way to Sydney, a … [Read more...] about Three days on the Melbourne to Sydney coastal drive – travel guide

When 200 captive-bred frogs were set free in an ancestral swampland in South Africa recently, their simple homecoming ceremony gave scientists several reasons to cheer loudly. The tiny Pickersgill’s reed frogs – each the size of an adult thumbnail – were making history of a kind, by hopping one step further away from the abyss of extinction. It was a small dose of encouraging news at a dismal time for conservationists. Study after study shows how human encroachment is annihilating wildlife and insect populations. The latest WWF estimate this week found that people have wiped out 60 percent of animal populations since 1970. The question is: can we become as good at saving species as we are at destroying them? In the case of the frogs, rapid expansion of farming and other development near the South African port city of Durban has reduced their remaining kingdom to a land area of only 144 sq km (56 sq miles). But thanks to captive breeding, the 20-strong population has … [Read more...] about Tiny frog takes giant leap for the world’s endangered species