Animals news

• A dazzling fairy giving off supernova-like light: the amber comet firefly

  31-03-2025 20:00
  
  Perhaps the most awe-inspiring of over 2,000 species is the amber comet, thought to only remain in Texas and MexicoMore amazing nominations for invertebrate of the yearIf invertebrates are mostly unheralded workers that keep life on Earth ticking over, then fireflies are the rare flamboyant stars that help make that life worth living. They are Elton John in platform shoes and outlandish glasses at his piano, they are Sabrina Carpenter in a glamorous dress as she drops her towel on stage.Much lik
  
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• ‘They started nibbling at its head’: the bold plan to rid an island of albatross-eating mice

  31-03-2025 08:00
  
  South Africa’s Marion Island is a breeding ground for the birds, but their chicks are being eaten alive by rodents. Now, the world’s largest operation to eradicate the invasive species is about to get under wayBy 2015, scientists knew from camera trap evidence that mice were attacking albatross chicks on Marion Island, but no one had ever witnessed it first-hand on the small volcanic outcrop off the coast of South Africa. So, when researchers Stefan and Janine Schoombie came across a
  
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• Spain’s wild horses in peril – in pictures

  31-03-2025 08:00
  
  By grazing between trees and removing potential wildfire fuel, wild horses help protect Galicia’s delicate ecosystems, but Europe’s largest herd has declined to just 10,000 Continue reading...
  
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• Country diary: There’s wisdom in waiting for a cow to calve | Sarah Laughton

  31-03-2025 06:30
  
  Long Dean, Cotswolds: This is a world – and a worldview – away from the rush to get lab-grown meat on to the marketIt’s a test of patience waiting for a calf. But in our closed (ie we don’t buy in) small-scale herd, ensuring successful delivery of new life is vital. I’m now several days into regularly checking for signs of labour. By day, I stride through the greening wood, spring’s symphony of birdsong overlaid by woodpecker percussion, and by night, moonlit
  
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