Animals news

This tiny Australian bat is the size of a matchbox. But it flies up to 150km a night in search of food

22-05-2025 17:00 via theguardian.com

Until now, little was known about foraging flights of critically endangered southern bent-wing bats, which roost in cavesGet Guardian Australia environment editor Adam Morton’s Clear Air column as an emailGet our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcastA tiny, critically endangered bat – roughly the size of a matchbox – can fly about 150km in a single night, new research has found.Southern bent-wing bats roost in caves in south-west Victoria and south-east South Aust

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US army spends $1m on anti-snake venom drugs without independent testing

22-05-2025 15:35 via theguardian.com

Third-party tests found over 70 vials of the antivenom for soldiers would be needed to treat bites from some snakesThe US army spent nearly $1m (£750,000) last year on anti-snake venom drugs for troops, which evidence suggests may have weak efficacy.The two drugs do not appear to have undergone any independent testing for safety or effectiveness, an investigation has found, despite evidence that the civilian version of one of the drugs tested had weak efficacy. Continue reading...

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The hidden cost of your supermarket sea bass

22-05-2025 11:30 via theguardian.com

Revealed: an investigation shows how consumers buying fish in the UK are playing a role in food insecurity and unemployment in SenegalRead more: Chris Packham calls sea bass labelling in UK supermarkets a ‘dereliction of duty’At the entrance to the fish market in Joal-Fadiouth, a coastal town in central Senegal, a group of women have set up shop under the shade of a small pavilion. A few years ago, they say, the market would have been bustling with ice-cream sellers, salt vendors and

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Scientists solve the mystery of ginger cats – helped by hundreds of cat owners

22-05-2025 11:00 via theguardian.com

Discovery has implications for ‘all cells and tissues’ and research bridged gap between scientists and non-scientistsAfter decades of mystery, new research has shed light on a question that has long stumped scientists and cat lovers alike – what exactly makes orange cats, well … orange?Two studies published in Current Biology last week by separate teams at Stanford University and Japan’s Kyushu University at last provided some answers. Scientists have known for mor

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Country diary: Who’s to say there’s nothing supernatural about a storm? | Paul Evans

22-05-2025 06:30 via theguardian.com

The Marches, Shropshire: The thunder over the hill is spectacular, reverberating in everything below itThunder and cuckoos on Stapeley Hill. Half the sky is blue and bright over hill country of the west. For a moment, a fierce light reflects back from the quartzite tor of the Devil’s Chair on the Stiperstones ridge. The other half of the sky, below white peaks of cumulus bergs slashed with mineral colours thickening to black with a wet mane that licks the hill’s edge towards the

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