Public fury over gorilla killed at Cincinnati Zoo
The fatal shooting of a gorilla at Cincinnati Zoo last week, after a young boy fell into its enclosure, has triggered a storm of controversy. The zoo has been loudly condemned by vocal local and online communities, angered at what they see as an over reaction, and hundreds of thousands of people from all around … Continued
Australia uses Soviet–style tactics to rip climate-change damage out of UN report
All mentions of Australia have been ripped out of a major UN report on climate change because of pressure from the Australian government, terrified about the potential impact such news might have on tourism, The Guardian has today revealed. The report, entitled World Heritage and Tourism in a Changing Climate, came out on Friday and … Continued
UN's first World Wildlife Crime Report concludes many species 'hanging on by a thread'
The United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) has released its first ever study specifically addressing wildlife crime. The strongly worded report warns that wildlife crimes such as poaching and illegal trading constitute a massive global problem that not only threatens species diversity, but also presents real environmental dangers and undermines the rule of … Continued
Grizzlies and polar bears are crossbreeding because of climate change, creating a new hybrid species
Climate change is blamed for many things these days, but one of the weirder consequences of a warming Earth is an increased number of incidents when grizzlies get jiggy with polar bears. Yep. If you go down to the woods today you really won’t believe your eyes. Officially, the result of such mixed-species mating shenanigans … Continued
Meet the vampire of the world's waterways, found in a river or sea near you right now…
It has a mouth crammed full with concentric rings of hideous teeth, it latches onto prey animals and drinks their blood mercilessly (often draining them to death), and it’s living in a river, lake or sea near you. Meet the lamprey, one of Mother Nature’s nastier creations. The lamprey has been around, unpretty much unchanged, … Continued
How did this dog find its way home, across 240 miles of strange terrain?
Last month, an English sheepdog shocked its former owners by turning up on their doorstep in Ceredigion, Wales, after they had given him to another farm in Cockermouth, Cumbria, some 240 miles away. Amazingly, it seems as though, over a periods of two weeks, Pero (positively identified through his microchip) had negotiated the epic journey … Continued
Here's a novel use for that machine which usually cleans chewing gum off streets
WWT Martin Mere Wetland Centre in Lancashire is using the Cardley-Wave machine to eradicate aquatic non-native weeds from its wetlands, while protecting native wildlife. The machine sprays a targeted jet of hot water—a bit like a carpet cleaner—which can also be used to kill individual weeds. Unlike chemical-based weed killers, there is no danger of … Continued
Rhinos to be airlifted to Australia in a desperate bid to save the species
If one man’s mission is successful, Australia is set to see an influx of refugees whose lives are in grave peril in their African homeland. The group is escaping conditions that would be described as genocidal if they were human. But they’re not. They’re rhinos. And according to expat South African Ray Dearlove, they and … Continued
Dancing dung beetles memorise the sky and navigate using sun, moon and stars
Dung beetles take snapshots of the sky and use the mental images to navigate, a new scientific study has revealed. And, according to researchers in Sweden, not only do the little manure-munching insects have the capability of accurately scanning the position of the sun, the moon and patterns in the stars—they memorise the map while … Continued
Polar bear hunting, right or wrong? Conservation organisations in great white bear brawl
A furious debate has erupted between leading conservationists over the issue of polar bear hunting and the sale of the animals’ pelts. On the face of it, you would expect all conservation organisations to be opposed to trophy hunting of an animal listed as vulnerable on the IUCN’s Red List, which has a population in … Continued
Over 20 per cent of the planet's plants are in peril, and without our greens we're dead meat…
In the first ever study of its kind, a report compiled by an 80-strong gang of green-fingered scientists from the Royal Botanic Gardens at Kew in London has discovered that we share our planet with 391,000 species of plants, many of which humans are directly or indirectly dependent upon for survival. However, the researchers also … Continued
Leprosy outbreak hits Britain's endangered red squirrels
Britain’s native population of red squirrels, already under threat from the introduced American grey squirrel, are facing a new deadly danger in the form of leprosy. The disease was first identified in Scottish red squirrels two years ago, but it has since been identified on Brownsea Island in Dorset, and in animals on the Isle … Continued
Transit of Mercury: Today!
The planet Mercury will perform a transit across the Sun today, in an event that will be visible right across most of the northern hemisphere, creating great excitement among those who spend their time staring into space. Between 11.12am and 6.41pm (GMT) on Monday May 9th, a small speck will crawl across the face of … Continued
Great Barrier Reef now 93% damaged by coral bleaching, and scientists are spitting fury
‘I have cried. I have broken down in front of cameras. This is the most devastating, gut-wrenching fuck up.’ Professor Justin Marshall from the University of Queensland is talking to The Guardian in unconventionally candid terms. The scientist is deeply upset. And he has good reason to be. A marine biologist, Marshall is an expert … Continued
Alien-like ambush predator encountered on the flanks of an underwater mountain in the world's deepest ocean
Marine scientists using a remotely operated vehicle (ROV) to dive into and explore the deepest darkest reaches of the planet’s oceans have just had an encounter with a distinctly alien-esque species of jellyfish. The fantastic creature was spotted by researchers from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), as they combed the face of the … Continued
Jump in baby dolphin deaths due to Deepwater Horizon disaster, new study suggests
Over a thousand dead dolphins washed ashore along the coastline of the Gulf of Mexico in the four years following the 2010 Deepwater Horizon oil spill, which discharged 4.9 million barrels of oil into the Gulf, and a recently released report suggests pollution caused by the accident at the BP-operated plant is likely linked to … Continued
Sleepless super slugs about to explode in Britain
An army of sleepless super slugs is about to mount an assault on British gardens, according to experts who say that the freakishly warm and wet winter the country has just experienced was insufficiently cold to trigger the gastropods’ urge to hibernate. Slugs remain active when temperatures stay above 5°C, happily chomping and romping their … Continued
Solo human adventurer spreads her wings and prepares to follow the Flight of the Swans
In highly unique expedition, an audacious adventurer is attempting a world first journey of discovery to draw attention to the desperate plight of a threatened species of swan—by flying the full route of the birds’ perilous migration path using only a paramotor—and her efforts have attracted the support of an enthusiastic flock of famous naturalists, … Continued
Kenya set to burn massive ivory stockpile heavier than 17 bull elephants
The Government of Kenya is preparing to destroy a 106 tonne stockpile of ivory next week in a high-profile international event, which conservation charities hope will prove a significant stepping stone towards ending all ivory trade and the poaching epidemic that feeds it. The Kenyan Government’s ivory burn will follow the Giants Club’s two-day wildlife summit … Continued
This Earth Day, let’s save our planet
It’s now been 46 years since Earth Day was first celebrated and in that time we’ve seen our planet change dramatically. We’ve watched melting icecaps, mass deforestation, ever more acidic oceans, a wave of international poaching, dying whales, and rising global temperatures. At Love Nature we report on this big serious stuff, and sometimes it can prove upsetting, … Continued
Were dinosaurs dying out before the asteroid apocalypse?
A new study has revealed that dinosaurs were already in serious decline before an asteroid slammed into the side of the planet and finished them off once and for all. From a juncture estimated to be about 220 million years ago, the creatures we know as dinosaurs clawed their collective way to the top of the … Continued
Couple find fortune in whale vomit on British beach
A couple of British beachcombers have just struck gold, in the slightly unsightly shape of a chunk of valuable whale vomit. Otherwise known as ambergris, the strange and stinky stuff is thought to be produced in the bile ducts of sperm whales to help them deal with spiky objects in their gut and throat, such … Continued
World's oldest dog dies
An Australian farm hound, thought to be the oldest dog in the world, died peacefully in her sleep over the weekend, it’s been reported. Maggie, a kelpie, was aged 30, which is the equivalent of 133 in human years. Kelpies are Australian working dogs, bred from collies and dingos for the tough conditions faced on … Continued
London: The world’s first National Park City?
A couple of years ago, Daniel Raven Ellison, a geography teacher from Ealing, had an interesting thought: What if London became a National Park? In his vision, Daniel saw London as a place where people and nature were better connected, where the air was clean to breathe and the rivers safe to swim in, and … Continued
Animeyed
Flora Borsi is young Hungarian fine art photographer who uses photo manipulation techniques to craft surreal, dramatic bordering on theatrical images, primarily centered on expressing ideas about emotions, dreams, identity and relationships. She’s racked up awards on both sides of the Atlantic, exhibited in the Louvre, and had her work featured in a variety of … Continued
New species of dancing spider found in Orange. And it's orange
Citizen scientists have discovered a new species of peacock spider in the Australian outback, near the central west New South Wales town of Orange, and to the delight of the amateur arachnid-fans that found it, the creature is colour-coordinated to suit its surrounds. It’s bright orange. Although small, typically 3mm–5mm across, peacock spiders are the … Continued