Sad news, the last known Javan rhino in Vietnam has died, leaving only around 50 of the animals on the Indonesian island, Java. Despite conservation efforts when the small family of 8 were discovered in 2007, rhino poaching is still rife with their horn being used for traditional medicines.
Photo : WWF
Following on from yesterday, something to whet your appetite for Wednesday’s Frozen Planet! Spine-tingling footage from the Arctic and Antarctic…proving they’re not just barren, wintry landscapes!
On Wednesday the BBC’s new flagship series, Frozen Planet starts, taking us to the ends of the Earth; the Arctic and Antarctic, and the dramatic desolation of these harsh environments.
When I met Sir David Attenborough earlier this year, we talked about the making of the series and he professed admiration for the cameramen who risked their lives diving under the thick ice in subzero temperatures to capture some of these incredible shots.
The series also features an incredible chase as wolves hunt down bison in temperatures of -50 degrees and winds of up to 100mph. Whilst the wildlife might be used to it…here the crew describe how they had to adapt to their new environment to get this stunning footage.
London Zoo’s Lucifer and Abi have had another pair of cubs! The Asian lion cubs are important to their conservation with only around 350 animals left in the wild. Although they are yet to be sexed, they have been given the Halloween-inspired names Pumpkin and Spook.
If you’re lucky you might be able to see them with their mum in their den…before they’re let out into the rest of the enclosure in November.
This incredible photo of a young Qinling golden snub-nosed monkey is one of the winners in this year’s Environment Wildlife Photographer of the Year competition.
The species is endangered with an estimated less than 4,000 left. The huddled up pose is the best way for the monkey to keep warm in the extreme cold when not near its mother.
An exhibition with all the winning photos opens at the Natural History Museum from tomorrow before going on tour.
Photo : Cyril Ruoso
Good news, the lost penguin found wandering around New Zealand eating sand has been given a clean bill of health and could soon be on his way back home. During his stay he’s gained about 4kg and this week was well enough to go for his first swim. Despite being the first emperor penguin to grace New Zealand’s shores for at least 44 years, the keepers are doing their best to make him feet at home, including providing a bed of ice for him to sleep on.
Photo : AP
This cheeky little white-toothed shrew is one of four potentially new shrew species found on the Indonesian island of Sulawesi. Known for their long noses, these small mouse-sized mammals aren’t actually rodents but related to moles with sharp teeth, sharp eyesight and extremely good sense of smell to hunt out their invertebrate dinner.
Photo : Jake Esselstyn
Lion are more likely to attack you just after a full moon scientists have found. Using the data from 500 lion attacks, they found that most attacks occurred when the moon is waning, just after full moon. As lions use the cover of darkness to hunt, this lack of moonlight aids their chances of attack. Scientists also found attacks were more likely to occur in the rainy season when the clouds obscured the moonlight, also helping the lions.
Scientists have discovered that the arctic polar bear has a rather warmer (and definitely rainier!) history. Fossils found recently in Irish caves have DNA that show modern polar bears have all evolved from a female brown bear in the last ice age. She is thought to have interbred with a polar bear…creating the hybrid offspring which survives today. Interactions between the two species is not unusual and scientists have traced contact over the last 100,000 years when unusually hot or cold weather allowed their paths to cross.
Photo : AP
Photographer David Slater encountered a bit of monkey business in a national park in Indonesia…these photos aren’t his, but some crested black macaques’ masterpieces. Despite not having had much human contact before, the monkeys were very interested in all their equipment. One day after David left his tripod set up…he returned to find a curious monkey playing with it. David thinks the noise of the shutter kept the monkeys interested and in the end they took hundreds of pictures!
Photo : David J Slater/Caters News Agency
