Animals news

• Live colossal squid captured on video in wild for first time ever – video

  16-04-2025 19:13 via theguardian.com
  
  The colossal squid, the heaviest invertebrate in the world, has been filmed alive in the wild for the first time since it was identified a century ago. The individual – captured on film near the South Sandwich Islands in the south Atlantic Ocean – is a baby, at just 11.8in (30cm) in lengthLive colossal squid captured on video in wild for first time ever Continue reading...
  
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• Garden birds need a hedge against decline | Letters

  16-04-2025 18:32 via theguardian.com
  
  Geoff Bunce thinks replacing garden fences with hedges could help revive dwindling bird populations. Plus a letter from Lesley BarnesRe the declining numbers of birds that we are seeing (or not seeing) in our gardens, I believe that a significant contributing factor is the lack of garden hedges (Starlings fall to record low in UK’s 2025 Big Garden Birdwatch, 11 April). Your report states that starlings like short grass so that they can watch out for predators, but smaller birds need hedgin
  
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• Live colossal squid captured on video in wild for first time ever

  16-04-2025 18:07 via theguardian.com
  
  A young Mesonychoteuthis hamiltoni, the heaviest invertebrate on earth, was filmed in the Atlantic OceanThe colossal squid, the heaviest invertebrate in the world, has been filmed alive in the wild for the first time since it was identified a century ago.Growing up to 23ft (seven metres) long and weighing up to half a tonne, the squid, Mesonychoteuthis hamiltoni, is the heaviest invertebrate on the planet. The individual captured on film near the South Sandwich Islands, in the south Atlantic Oce
  
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• Lab coats, red boards and oiled bodies: inside the world of junior pig showing

  16-04-2025 17:00 via theguardian.com
  
  Competitors from across Australia converged on the Sydney Royal Easter Show on Monday to show off their pig-handling skills and see who would win best pig in showSign up for the Rural Network email newsletterGet our afternoon election email, free app or daily news podcastTwo young competitors enter the ring wearing matching white coats and serious expressions. They’re holding red plastic boards. Braced between the boards is a black-and-white Hampshire pig named Ann. The handlers, wearing o
  
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• Romania says it may have twice as many bears as was thought

  16-04-2025 13:32 via theguardian.com
  DNA study estimates brown bear population at 13,000 as minister promises law to make it easier to put them downRomania may be home to as many as 13,000 brown bears, almost twice as many as previously thought, the country’s forestry research institute has said, as officials promised new laws to allow communities to deal with “crisis bear situations”.The institute’s study of 25 counties in the Carpathian mountains was the first to use DNA samples from material such as faece
  
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• Romania promises laws to deal with brown bears as population estimate doubles

  16-04-2025 13:32 via theguardian.com
  
  Country may be home to as many as 13,000 bears, the highest total by far in Europe outside RussiaRomania may be home to as many as 13,000 brown bears, almost twice as many as previously thought, the country’s forestry research institute has said, as officials promised new laws to allow communities to deal with “crisis bear situations”.The institute’s study of 25 counties in the Carpathian mountains was the first to use DNA samples from material such as faeces and hair. Pr
  
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• Sauntering on streets and grazing on lawns: what happens when rhinos move into town?

  16-04-2025 08:00 via theguardian.com
  
  In one Nepali village, the resident rhinos are a conservation success story and attract thousands of visitors, but attacks on humans are on the rise“I can’t talk now, I’m in hospital,” Ram Kumar Aryal says when he picks up the phone. “Someone has been attacked by one of the rhinos.” Every few months, Aryal – who is one of the architects of Nepal’s celebrated rhino conservation programme – ends up in one of the hospitals around Chitwan nationa
  
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