Animals news

• Short films made from brain activity of mice aim to show how they see world

  10-03-2026 06:00
  Scientists hope results analysed after the mice watched video footage will help them understand their perceptionsScientists have reconstructed short movies from the brain activity of mice that watched videos for a project that aspires to lift the veil on how animals perceive the world.The brief movie clips are grainy and pixellated, but provide a glimpse of how mice processed footage that featured people taking part in various sports from gymnastics to horse riding and wrestling. Continue readin
  
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• The joys of dogs and anonymous owners | Brief letters

  09-03-2026 17:42
  Canine chums | Guardian stirs things up | Bravo, Pedro | Eurovision switch-offWhen Lowry, my 14-year-old black labrador, died last July, fellow dog walkers gave me flowers, plants and even portraits of him. I was particularly pleased when they also gave me sympathy cards, because at last I knew their names (Letters, 8 March). Since then, when I have been out for lone walks, or have been in my front garden, I have been delighted when Pepper, Wilfred, Pippin and Peggy have dragged their still 
  
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• The joys of dog and anonymous owners | Brief letters

  09-03-2026 17:42
  Canine chums | Guardian stirs things up | Bravo, Pedro | Eurovision switch-offWhen Lowry, my 14-year-old black labrador, died last July, fellow dog walkers gave me flowers, plants and even portraits of him. I was particularly pleased when they also gave me sympathy cards, because at last I knew their names (Letters, 8 March). Since then, when I have been out for lone walks, or have been in my front garden, I have been delighted when Pepper, Wilfred, Pippin and Peggy have dragged their still 
  
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• The pet I’ll never forget: Luke, the blind dog whose unconditional love made me live again

  09-03-2026 12:00
  He is an Australian shepherd dog who navigates the world with fearless joy. When I had two heart attacks, his unwavering devotion helped save me
  Luke, a blind Australian shepherd, came to us seven years ago, after we rescued him from a working horse farm. Even though he can’t see, Luke moves around with a fearlessness that is inspiring.He compensates with his other senses; Luke can smell and hear at an astonishing level, that’s how he notices things. But he also seems to understand t
  
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• Large tortoiseshell butterfly confirmed no longer extinct in UK

  09-03-2026 12:00
  Early spring sightings show colourful insect is a resident species for first time in decades, says conservation charityThe large tortoiseshell – an elusive and enigmatic butterfly that became extinct in Britain in the last century – is a UK resident species once again, with a flurry of early spring sightings.Britain’s list of native butterflies has increased to 60 with the return of the insect after individuals emerged from hibernation in woodlands in Kent, Sussex, Hampshire, D
  
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• How the ‘Galápagos of west Africa’ is plundered by floating fish factories

  09-03-2026 08:00
  A Guardian investigation with DeSmog reveals thousands of tonnes of fish are illegally turned into fishmeal and oil off the coast of Guinea-BissauThe only ice factory on Bubaque, an island in west Africa’s Guinea-Bissau, is out of service. Local fishers, such as Pedro Luis Pereira, are forced to source ice from factories on the mainland, about 70km away – a six-hour round trip by boat.“The machines have been broken for months,” Pereira says, as he pulls in his nets on the
  
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• Four-year-old clumber spaniel called Bruin wins best in show at Crufts

  08-03-2026 22:31
  Owner Lee Cox describes the winner as ‘dog of a lifetime’ as he claims the crown at prestigious dog contest Bruin, a clumber spaniel, has won the best in show prize at Crufts, which took place at the National Exhibition Centre (NEC) in Birmingham.Owner Lee Cox described four-year-old Bruin as “a dog of a lifetime” as he won the competition and was met with roaring cheers from the audience. Continue reading...
  
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• It’s a crowded field for worst Tory leader | Brief letters

  08-03-2026 17:59
  Kemi Badenoch | Fantasy homes | Dog owners’ names | Ferrero Rocher | Useful bed warmers | Tips for staying awakeJohn Crace asserts that Kemi Badenoch is “the worst leader of the Tory party in living memory” (Badenoch gives a borderline disgraceful performance at PMQs on Iran, 4 March). Really? Worse than Liz Truss?
  Roshi Saul
  Avening, Gloucestershire• A warm welcome to “Britain’s newest affordable towns” (Revealed: the new affordable commuter hotspots in
  
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• Week in wildlife: a watchful egret, a sun-seeking swan and a procession of caterpillars

  06-03-2026 09:00
  This week’s best wildlife photographs from around the world Continue reading...
  
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• Country diary: Wildcats are here and they’re on the march | Amanda Thomson

  06-03-2026 06:30
  Cairngorms: Conservation efforts to help them are working – numbers are still small, but I’ve seen signs in the late winter snowIt is always interesting to see how overnight snow reveals what goes on under the cover of night. Around the granny pines, I see the smaller fore and larger hind prints of a red squirrel. Across the fields and along pinewood paths, there is evidence of hares and badgers, pine martens and deer, before they veered off, back into the heather and blaeberry
  
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• Germany moves to legalise wolf hunting in response to livestock ‘bloodlust’

  05-03-2026 19:56
  Lower house votes in favour of polarising law after rapid increase in population and attack on grazing farm animalsWolf hunting will be allowed in Germany under legislation passed by the lower house of parliament in response to a rapidly growing population and a sharp rise in attacks on livestock.The return and growth of the wolf population in the last three decades has emerged as a wedge issue in Germany, the land of the Brothers Grimm who popularised the spectre of the Big Bad Wolf. Continue r
  
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• Social climber: Punch the monkey starts to outgrow his Ikea plushie

  05-03-2026 07:05
  Japanese baby macaque, who appeared to find comfort in the djungelskog toy after being rejected by his mother, seems to be mixing more with his peersPunch, a baby macaque that stole the hearts of animal lovers around the world, is outgrowing his Ikea djungelskog plushie that comforted him after he was initially rejected by his mother and other monkeys at a zoo in Japan.Images of the seven-month-old dragging around a toy bigger than him drew attention to the residents of Ichikawa city zoo near To
  
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• ‘A real dark situation to be in’: thousands of starving seabirds stranded in biggest ‘wreck’ in a decade

  04-03-2026 14:00
  Puffins, guillemots, razorbills and terns are washing up on shores across Europe, after a string of storms affected their ability to find foodThe two puffins washed up among seaweed and bits of plastic on a beach in Newquay, Cornwall, on a damp February morning. Normally, these much-loved seabirds pull in crowds of tourists eager to see their courtship rituals, but these were rolling in the surf, dead. Most people walking past probably missed them.Their breast bones were sticking out, they had n
  
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• Specieswatch: is the world’s wildlife entering its ‘samey’ era?

  04-03-2026 07:00
  Scientists are calling loss of biodiversity the ‘homogenocene’, where niche species are pushed out by generalists like pigeons and ratsPlants and animals are disappearing at an alarming rate across the planet, with some estimates suggesting a loss of up to 150 species every day. Meanwhile, the versatile species that thrive alongside humans, such as pigeons, rats and cockroaches, expand to fill the vacant gaps. Some scientists are calling this loss of biodiversity the “homogenoc
  
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• Polite men do still walk among us | Brief letters

  03-03-2026 18:57
  Making room on the street | Trump’s rash | Cognitive shuffling | Belling bed-warmers | Neighbours’ dogRegarding your letters on men pushing women in the street (20 February), I have just returned from an hour’s walk, and I’m pleased to say that, on two separate occasions, men walking towards me voluntarily changed their trajectory to let me past. I just kept walking in a straight line. Maybe they read the Guardian, or maybe men in Bradford are considerate.
  Jane Thewl
  
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• Wild-born birds recruited to teach critically endangered regent honeyeaters their lost songs

  03-03-2026 15:00
  Researchers hope restoring the original song will improve breeding prospects for birds released into the wildGet our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcastScientists have rescued the lost song of the critically endangered regent honeyeater – one of Australia’s rarest birds.Regent honeyeaters were once seen in vast flocks across south-eastern Australia, with a distribution that ranged from Queensland to Kangaroo Island in South Australia. Continue reading...
  
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• Australian wildlife in ‘harm’s way’ with volunteers left to ‘pick up the pieces’ amid climate crisis, fires and floods

  02-03-2026 15:00
  Ken Henry leads push for federal government to do more to protect animals as biodiversity declinesGet our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcastLabor is being pushed to introduce tough new national rules for protecting threatened species exposed to disasters including bushfires and floods, with the former Treasury boss Ken Henry among advocates warning that risks to wildlife could reach a point of no return.Months after a major rewrite of environment laws passed parliament, a consor
  
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• The pet I’ll never forget: Harvey, the most human of cats who helped me through grief and illness

  02-03-2026 11:00
  He could use door handles and steal catnip from the kitchen cupboards. And, when I became very unwell, he would pace around me like a doctor on call Harvey came into our lives during a year of loss. It was 2004, and my grandmother had just died, quickly followed by our beloved cat Skeet (Manx English for “nosy”). With the family thrown into mourning, the house became eerily quiet and still, and my mother was grieving.I was only 11, and did not know how to take care of her, but I did
  
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• ‘I love midges because I know what their hearts look like’: is the passion for taxonomy in danger of dying out?

  02-03-2026 09:00
  Insect taxonomist Art Borkent has described and named more than 300 species of midges but fears his field of science is dying out, despite millions of insects, fungi and other organisms waiting to be discoveredOnce Art Borkent starts speaking about biting midges, he rarely pauses for breath. Holding up a picture of a gnat trapped in amber from the time of the dinosaurs, the 72-year-old taxonomist explains that there are more than 6,000 ceratopogonidae species known to science. He has described a
  
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• Shark culls brought in after fatal attack causes division and anger in New Caledonia

  02-03-2026 05:20
  Authorities say capture of bull and tiger sharks necessary to protect lives as environmentalists launch urgent legal challengeSome beaches in areas of New Caledonia are closed to swimming and the authorities have begun shark culling off the capital, Nouméa, after a fatal attack in the popular tourist spot – prompting a legal challenge to stop the operation and reigniting debate over public safety and marine conservation.The culling operation began on 23 February, after a man from Ne
  
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• Shark culls brought in after fatal attack cause division and anger in New Caledonia

  02-03-2026 05:20
  Authorities say capture of bull and tiger sharks necessary to protect lives as environmentalists launch urgent legal challengeSome beaches in areas of New Caledonia are closed to swimming and the authorities have begun shark culling off the capital, Nouméa, after a fatal attack in the popular tourist spot – prompting a legal challenge to stop the operation and reigniting debate over public safety and marine conservation.The culling operation began on 23 February, after a man from Ne
  
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• Canine carer: how guide dog school dropout Marcus came to comfort cancer patients for a living

  01-03-2026 15:00
  Once assessed as ‘a sloth with a low drive to work’, the polite and affectionate black labrador enjoys a successful new career as a therapy dogMarcus is a very good boy.He’s a four-year-old, 32kg labrador with lustrous black hair, soulful brown eyes and a bodacious bottom. Continue reading...
  
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• The Sunday read: a day with Punch the monkey’s Djungelskog toy - podcast

  28-02-2026 20:00
  Punch, a baby monkey in a Japanese zoo, has gone viral after bonding with a plush orangutan. That toy, from Ikea’s Djungelskog range, is now in high demand around the world – including in the Guardian Australia newsroom.Education reporter Caitlin Cassidy waits in line to buy a toy and see what the all hype is aboutYou can subscribe for free to Guardian Australia’s daily news podcast Full Story on Apple Podcasts and Spotify Continue reading...
  
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• A scorching summer has left Australian wildlife on the brink, but it doesn’t have to be this way | Euan Ritchie and Jess Harwood

  28-02-2026 20:00
  Unsettling predictions are now our catastrophic reality,but a brighter future is still within reach if our political leaders change courseSoaring, scorching, record temperatures, yet again. Distressing, protracted droughts. Raging fires and devastating floods. Australia’s summer is drawing to a close, and a reprieve from climate whiplash can’t come soon enough.We’ve witnessed and suffered immense losses and deep heartache for wildlife, ecosystems, and our communities. There was
  
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• ‘If it’s cold, they stop mating’: New York City rat population may be on the decline

  28-02-2026 16:00
  As a result of New York’s most severe winter in years, the city may see a drop from it’s estimated 3 million ratsSince arriving from Europe in the 1600s, New York City’s rats have survived hurricanes, floods, terrorist attacks, riots, fires, a pandemic (they actually thrived during that), the Dutch and Crocodile Dundee II.But as a result of New York’s most severe winter in years, when the city saw snow, then a historic deep freeze, then even more snow, the rat population
  
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• Young country diary: A new find for my collection – a fox skull

  28-02-2026 12:00
  Bristol: It now lives in a cabinet of curiosities with lots of feathers and fossils that my sister and I have foundIt was a cold winter’s morning, and we wrapped up warm to go for a walk in the woods behind our house. The ground was frosty and crunched under our feet, and although it was chilly the sun was casting golden beams of light across our path. We always find a lot of amazing wildlife in the woods – I’ve seen deer and squirrels there and I’ve even spotted a kingfi
  
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• ‘Who’d guess they’re the same species?’ What Italy’s wall lizards reveal about genetic diversity and why it matters

  28-02-2026 08:00
  Understanding biodiversity within species is key to our understanding of why nature works the way it does, say researchersWords and photographs by Roberto García-RoaTwelve miles from the heart of Rome, Dr Javier Ábalos pauses his walk, lifts his sunglasses and points. To his right, perched on a rocky wall, sits a beautiful lizard. Its body is coated in charcoal-black tones speckled with striking yellow across a green dorsum, and its head, with a prominent jaw, is splashed with fluo
  
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• Lynx could return to Scotland – but can rewilders win over wary Highlanders?

  27-02-2026 14:32
  With most Scots supportive of reintroducing the wild cat, charities are focusing on those whose jobs could be affectedCould lynx, the elusive wild cat driven to extinction in Britain more than 1,000 years ago, become the new Loch Ness monster? “Whether Nessie’s there or not, she draws tourists,” said Margaret Luckwell, a resident of Moray, Scotland. “It would be the same with lynx. I’d love to see a lynx in the wild.”Luckwell’s view is a majority one amo
  
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• Week in wildlife: rescued dolphins, a white whale and a precious kākāpō chick

  27-02-2026 09:00
  This week’s best wildlife photographs from around the world Continue reading...
  
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• Lost species to be released as Labour seeks to stave off Greens’ election threat

  25-02-2026 16:00
  Push for good nature news before polls with reintroduction of white-tailed eagles, pine martens and beavers in England White-tailed eagles, pine martens and beavers will be released across England before the May elections as the Labour government attempts to staunch the flow of nature-loving voters to the Green party.Plans to reintroduce these lost species to the country have been mooted for years, but the previous Conservative government failed to get them over the line after opposition from la
  
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• ‘What’s up with all these monkeys’: Djungelskog the orangutan comforted Punch – but can the Ikea toy help me?

  24-02-2026 04:18
  Punch may look sweet with his plushie – but anthropomorphism can’t tell us what a wild animal is truly experiencingGet our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcastStanding in line at Ikea’s click and collect service to pick up a large plush orangutan, a wave of fatigue washes over me.Not only because I have been in transit for almost 24 hours after a series of flight delays, and this is my last stop before collapsing into a heap on my living room floor. But also for
  
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• Study reveals whistling secret of horses’ whinny

  23-02-2026 17:36
  Scientists have discovered source of neigh’s unique combination of high- and low-pitched sounds Horses whinny to find new friends, greet old ones and celebrate happy moments like feeding time.How exactly horses produce that distinctive sound – also called a neigh – has long eluded scientists. Continue reading...
  
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• The pet I’ll never forget: Stevie, the chicken who joined my dog pack

  23-02-2026 12:00
  Affectionate, ballsy, she thought she was a dog, and taught me how social and intelligent chickens can beStevie and her siblings were the first batch of chickens I ever owned. I fostered them from a nearby animal shelter in 2021. Stevie was the most vocal of the three so I named her after one of my favourite musicians, Stevie Nicks.I live on a huge plot of land in Malibu which I treat like an animal sanctuary – any animal that I can rescue and help, I will. I’ve been that way since I
  
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• The tragedy of Punch the monkey: why do mother animals abandon their offspring?

  23-02-2026 07:13
  Footage of Punch, a seven-month-old Japanese macaque, has gone viral around the world after he was rejected by his mother and formed a bond with a soft toyA baby monkey in Japan has captured hearts around the world after videos of him being bullied by other monkeys and rejected by his mother went viral last week.Punch, a Japanese macaque, was born last July at Ichikawa zoo. He has drawninternational attention after zookeepers gave him a stuffed orangutan toy after he was abandoned by his mother.
  
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• How an annual ‘wedding flight’ of 1,000 virgin queens is ensuring the revival of Europe’s dark bee

  23-02-2026 06:00
  The Belgian ceremony attracts beekeepers from the Netherlands, France and Germany keen to boost dark bee numbers and stop the spread of the hybrid honeybeeEvery summer, 1,000 virgin queens descend on the Belgian town of Chimay. During the “wedding flight”, a male attaches to the female. His endophallus (penis equivalent) is torn off and he falls to the ground and dies. Mission accomplished.Beekeepers come and pick up their fertilised queens in small colourful hives, driving them back
  
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• Officials race to contain virus outbreak after 72 captive tigers die in Thailand

  20-02-2026 18:05
  Dozens of the animals in Chiang Mai region first began to show signs of illness earlier this monthA highly contagious virus is believed to have caused the deaths of 72 captive tigers in northern Thailand this month, with officials racing to contain the outbreak.Teams are urgently disinfecting enclosures and preparing to vaccinate surviving animals. Continue reading...
  
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• Man in Sicily trained his dog to illegally dump rubbish, say police

  20-02-2026 11:30
  City of Catania calls ruse to avoid CCTV cameras installed to stop fly-tipping ‘as cunning as it is doubly wrong’A man in Catania, Sicily, trained his dog to dump bags of rubbish by the roadside in an attempt to evade cameras installed by local authorities to combat fly-tipping, municipal police have said.The episode was detailed in a Facebook post on the city of Catania’s official page. Accompanying a video of the dog was a remark from the police that “inventiveness can
  
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• Week in wildlife: a peek-a-boo fish, dunkin’ frogs and a white magpie

  20-02-2026 09:00
  This week’s best wildlife photographs from around the world Continue reading...
  
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• Week in wildlife: a peek-a-boo fish, dunkin’ frogs and a white crow

  20-02-2026 09:00
  This week’s best wildlife photographs from around the world Continue reading...
  
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• New Zealand bug of the year: moth named Avatar after mining threat crowned winner

  19-02-2026 21:00
  Arctesthes avatar moth, which won nearly half of the votes, was discovered in 2012 and is critically endangeredA tiny critically endangered moth, named after the Avatar films because of the proposed mining activity threatening its primary habitat, has been crowned New Zealand’s bug of the year.The Avatar moth won by a wide margin, earning 5,192 of the more than 11,000 total votes cast. It won 2,269 more votes than the runner-up, the mahoenui giant wētā, one of the world’s l
  
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• Horse meat set to be banned in Italy amid draft equine bill

  19-02-2026 15:08
  Law defines animals including horses, donkeys and mules as pets and is backed by opposition partiesItaly could soon ban horse meat as part of a law that would define equine animals including horses, donkeys and mules as pets, making it illegal to kill them.The bill has been drafted by Michela Vittoria Brambilla, a politician with Noi Moderati, a member of Giorgia Meloni’s ruling coalition, and is backed by opposition parties. Continue reading...
  
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• Kyiv zoo braves blackouts and bombardment to keep animals warm

  19-02-2026 12:32
  Staff are using stoves and generators to keep lions, camels and Ukraine’s lone gorilla safe from winter and warEurope live – latest updatesKyiv zoo’s most famous resident lays on his back watching television. On screen: a nature documentary.For a quarter of a century, Toni has been the zoo’s star attraction, drawing tens of thousands of visitors. He is Ukraine’s only gorilla. At 52 – old by western gorilla standards – he needs warm conditions similar to
  
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• TV tonight: Cecil the lion who was killed by a trophy hunter

  19-02-2026 07:10
  A powerful documentary about the death of Africa’s famous lion. Plus: on the trail of a 19th-century Australian gold prospector. Here’s what to watch this evening10pm, Channel 4
  There was worldwide outrage after the 2015 shooting of a Zimbabwean lion, Cecil, by an American trophy hunter, Walter Palmer. This documentary approaches the story from several angles. There’s the story of the pile-on – Palmer became a pariah in the aftermath of his grim holiday. But there’s
  
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• Volunteers spot first couple of beavers to settle in Norfolk for 500 years – video

  18-02-2026 15:16
  Until last week, experts believed there was only one wild beaver living in Pensthorpe nature reserve, about 20 miles outside Norwich. But just in time for Valentine’s Day, two were caught on camera going for a late-night swim together and grooming each other by the riverbankSecond wild beaver spotted living at Norfolk nature reserve Continue reading...
  
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• Unprovoked shark attacks up sharply in 2025, with 12 human deaths worldwide

  18-02-2026 15:00
  Report records 65 unprovoked attacks – but annual drowning deaths in US alone exceed 4,000The number of people killed or bitten by sharks in unprovoked attacks globally increased significantly in 2025, a report published on Wednesday has found, while a single Florida county maintained its crown as the so-called shark bite capital of the world.The International Shark Attack File, compiled by the Florida Program for Shark Research at the University of Florida, recorded 65 unprovoked attacks
  
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• Second wild beaver spotted living at Norfolk nature reserve

  18-02-2026 13:05
  Exclusive: Pensthorpe was believed to be home to just one individual but pair have been filmed grooming each otherNo one knows where they came from or how they ended up in Norfolk. But one thing is certain: now, there are two of them.Until last week, experts believed there was only one wild beaver living in Pensthorpe nature reserve, about 20 miles outside Norwich. But just in time for Valentine’s Day, two were caught on camera going for a late-night swim together and grooming each other b
  
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• Gentoo penguins the first birds on Australian territory to contract H5N1 as bird flu spreads

  17-02-2026 08:24
  Australian Antarctic Program scientists say virus on Heard Island has spread to new speciesFollow our Australia news live blog for latest updatesSign up for climate and environment editor Adam Morton’s free Clear Air newsletter hereThe gentoo penguin has become the first bird to test positive for the H5N1 bird flu on an Australian territory, with samples confirming the virus has spread on a sub-Antarctic island.The deadly and contagious strain of bird flu, which has already killed millions
  
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• The Norwich pigeon wars: how birds are dividing a UK city

  17-02-2026 06:00
  To the local people feeding the growing flock every day, they are ‘perfect’ creatures with beautiful plumage. To others, they are creating a Hitchcockian nightmare – defecating, stealing and spreading disease. But who is right?At nine o’clock on Saturday morning, Norwich market is only just stirring: shutters are still down and the aisles are quiet. In the nearby Memorial Gardens, however, a large crowd has already gathered: the market’s pigeons are waiting to be fe
  
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• Pooping menaces or ‘flying puppies’? How pigeons are dividing a UK city

  17-02-2026 06:00
  The growing number of birds in Norwich market has pushed the council to adopt extreme measures – including a hawk and oral contraceptives. But for the city’s pigeon-loving activists, they are just misunderstood creaturesAt nine o’clock on Saturday morning, Norwich market is only just stirring: shutters are still down and the aisles are quiet. In the nearby Memorial Gardens, however, a large crowd has already gathered: the market’s pigeons are waiting to be fed.Jenny Coupl
  
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• Agnes Winter obituary

  16-02-2026 21:26
  My friend Agnes Winter, who has died aged 83 after a short illness, was a leading veterinary surgeon and scientist, and like me a Wensleydale sheep breeder.She aspired to be a vet from an early age. Brought up on a North Yorkshire farm, with Guernsey cattle and Wensleydale sheep, she loved working with the animals, and gained a place at Liverpool University in 1960 to study veterinary science, one of only six women out of the 35 successful applicants for the course. Continue reading...
  
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