The Guardian
The Guardian
Articles from The Guardian
theguardian.comOil slick from bombed Iranian ship threatens protected wetland
An oil slick from a stricken Iranian ship threatens to contaminate one of the Middle East’s most important wetlands, satellite image analysis suggests, making it one of a number of spills posing a risk to the livelihoods of coastal communities in the Gulf.
Peter Greste warns court finding about animal cruelty footage has grave consequences for press freedom
A court case attempting to thwart animal activists from sharing covertly recorded acts of alleged animal cruelty has profound and grave consequences for press freedom, the Alliance for Journalists’ Freedom’s Peter Greste has warned.
Hatchings of two California bald eagle chicks delight vast livestream audience
Over Easter weekend, thousands of people tuned in to celebrate something spectacular unfolding 145 feet up a pine tree in southern California ’s San Bernardino national forest – the hatchings of two bald eagle chicks.
California county records sixth person bitten by rattlesnake in under a month
A sixth person has been bitten by a rattlesnake in southern California’s Ventura county in just under a month, two-thirds of the number of people bitten in all of 2025.
Labour to back down on foie gras and fur bans to ease EU trade deal
The UK government is to break a manifesto commitment to ban foie gras imports, and has declined to stop fur imports, after the EU made these red lines in its discussions for a trade deal.
The swift parrot’s distinctive call was recorded dozens of times in a patch of Tasmanian forest. Then the forest was logged
Scientists estimate the endangered bird’s population has slumped to about 750. But the logging agency responsible for clearing its habitat said it acted lawfully.
Rice’s whales existed before humans. Now Trump could make them extinct
The US has invoked national security to remove protections for the endangered cetacean, of which only about 50 are left.
Three-week-old mountain lion cub rescued by California biologists
It was an unusual scene. A lion cub alone for days in southern California’s sprawling Santa Monica mountains, emitting a noise that sounded like a cross between a purr and a light squeal, perhaps calling out for his mother. Where was his mother?
Bilby boom: breeding trial to reintroduce species to Mallee Cliffs national park shows signs of success
Efforts to reintroduce bilbies in the far south-west of New South Wales are showing signs of success, with numbers climbing to almost 2,000, seven years after the first breeding trial at Mallee Cliffs national park.
Keir Starmer urged to ban ‘cruel’ greyhound racing in England
Keir Starmer is coming under pressure from backbench Labour MPs to ban the “cruel” practice of greyhound racing. The Welsh and Scottish governments voted last month to phase out the practice.
UK looks to relax planning rules for factory farms after industry lobbying
Ministers are rewriting planning rules to make it easier to build intensive livestock farms despite concerns about water pollution, air quality and local opposition.
Wily coyote? Urban canines take more risks compared with rural ones, study finds
Researchers believe behavioral gap, which may hold true across species, is probably product of less fear of harassment in cities.
Scientists film whale giving birth while other whales work together to help her
Scientists have managed to film a sperm whale giving birth while other female whales worked together to support the mother and her newborn.
Whale stranded off Germany swims to freedom after days of efforts to save it
A humpback whale stranded on Germany’s Baltic Sea coast since early this week has freed itself and swum into deeper waters, rescuers said on Friday.
Labour vows to ban trail hunting as it opens public consultation
The UK government has said it will ban trail hunting, the rural sport that police and animal rights activists have long accused of being a “smokescreen” for illegal foxhunting.
Long-promised animal cruelty prevention laws quietly shelved by Victorian government
Exclusive: Labor bill recognising all animals as sentient and raising care requirements won’t be introduced before state election.
Epic river migrations of fish rapidly collapsing, UN report finds
Vast journeys, among world’s great wonders, found to be under threat as freshwater fish populations crash by 81%.
Eight arrested for ‘brutal’ attack on capybara in Brazil
In incident filmed by security cameras in Rio de Janeiro, group of attackers beat animal with sticks and iron bars.
Shooting restricted for six British wild birds to halt population decline
Hunters will be banned from shooting a rare and beautiful duck under new proposals to halt the decline of six British wild birds.
‘Profit prioritised over welfare’: UK’s premier exotic animal hospital to close
Pet owners fear there is no viable alternative service after Great Western Exotics owner deems business unviable.
‘A toad is a perfect tenner’: experts recommend wild candidates for new banknotes
Native British wildlife will feature on the next set of £5, £10, £20 and £50 notes, the Bank of England has announced, but it has yet to be decided which creatures will make the cut.
Mexico’s monarch butterfly population jumps 64%, offering hope for at-risk species
The population of monarch butterflies in Mexico increased 64% this winter, compared with the same period in 2025, offering a glimmer of hope for an insect considered at risk of extinction.
Possum found nestled in with plush toys at airport gift shop in Tasmania
A passenger browsing in a gift shop in Hobart airport has stumbled across a remarkable discovery in the plush toy section. A real living and breathing brushtail possum had decided to join its fluffy friends in the shelves of Lagardère AWPL gift shop on Wednesday morning.
Molecule in python blood could pave way for new obesity drugs, scientists say
Pythons follow the ultimate crash diet, swallowing an antelope in a single sitting and then going for months without eating. Now scientists have identified a molecule that appears to be crucial for this metabolic feat, and which they say could pave the way for a new class of obesity drugs.
Stop mowing the lawn – and five more ways to save Britain’s ‘charming’ and ‘polite’ gatekeeper butterflies
You’ve almost certainly seen gatekeeper butterflies, even if you don’t know them by name. The gatekeeper is, says naturalist and butterfly enthusiast Matthew Oates , “a charming butterfly; a charming meditation of soft oranges and browns”.
Oil slick from bombed Iranian ship threatens protected wetland
An oil slick from a stricken Iranian ship threatens to contaminate one of the Middle East’s most important wetlands, satellite image analysis suggests, making it one of a number of spills posing a risk to the livelihoods of coastal communities in the Gulf.
Peter Greste warns court finding about animal cruelty footage has grave consequences for press freedom
A court case attempting to thwart animal activists from sharing covertly recorded acts of alleged animal cruelty has profound and grave consequences for press freedom, the Alliance for Journalists’ Freedom’s Peter Greste has warned.
Hatchings of two California bald eagle chicks delight vast livestream audience
Over Easter weekend, thousands of people tuned in to celebrate something spectacular unfolding 145 feet up a pine tree in southern California ’s San Bernardino national forest – the hatchings of two bald eagle chicks.
California county records sixth person bitten by rattlesnake in under a month
A sixth person has been bitten by a rattlesnake in southern California’s Ventura county in just under a month, two-thirds of the number of people bitten in all of 2025.
Labour to back down on foie gras and fur bans to ease EU trade deal
The UK government is to break a manifesto commitment to ban foie gras imports, and has declined to stop fur imports, after the EU made these red lines in its discussions for a trade deal.
The swift parrot’s distinctive call was recorded dozens of times in a patch of Tasmanian forest. Then the forest was logged
Scientists estimate the endangered bird’s population has slumped to about 750. But the logging agency responsible for clearing its habitat said it acted lawfully.
Rice’s whales existed before humans. Now Trump could make them extinct
The US has invoked national security to remove protections for the endangered cetacean, of which only about 50 are left.
Three-week-old mountain lion cub rescued by California biologists
It was an unusual scene. A lion cub alone for days in southern California’s sprawling Santa Monica mountains, emitting a noise that sounded like a cross between a purr and a light squeal, perhaps calling out for his mother. Where was his mother?
Bilby boom: breeding trial to reintroduce species to Mallee Cliffs national park shows signs of success
Efforts to reintroduce bilbies in the far south-west of New South Wales are showing signs of success, with numbers climbing to almost 2,000, seven years after the first breeding trial at Mallee Cliffs national park.
Keir Starmer urged to ban ‘cruel’ greyhound racing in England
Keir Starmer is coming under pressure from backbench Labour MPs to ban the “cruel” practice of greyhound racing. The Welsh and Scottish governments voted last month to phase out the practice.
UK looks to relax planning rules for factory farms after industry lobbying
Ministers are rewriting planning rules to make it easier to build intensive livestock farms despite concerns about water pollution, air quality and local opposition.
Wily coyote? Urban canines take more risks compared with rural ones, study finds
Researchers believe behavioral gap, which may hold true across species, is probably product of less fear of harassment in cities.
Scientists film whale giving birth while other whales work together to help her
Scientists have managed to film a sperm whale giving birth while other female whales worked together to support the mother and her newborn.
Whale stranded off Germany swims to freedom after days of efforts to save it
A humpback whale stranded on Germany’s Baltic Sea coast since early this week has freed itself and swum into deeper waters, rescuers said on Friday.
Labour vows to ban trail hunting as it opens public consultation
The UK government has said it will ban trail hunting, the rural sport that police and animal rights activists have long accused of being a “smokescreen” for illegal foxhunting.
Long-promised animal cruelty prevention laws quietly shelved by Victorian government
Exclusive: Labor bill recognising all animals as sentient and raising care requirements won’t be introduced before state election.
Epic river migrations of fish rapidly collapsing, UN report finds
Vast journeys, among world’s great wonders, found to be under threat as freshwater fish populations crash by 81%.
Eight arrested for ‘brutal’ attack on capybara in Brazil
In incident filmed by security cameras in Rio de Janeiro, group of attackers beat animal with sticks and iron bars.
Shooting restricted for six British wild birds to halt population decline
Hunters will be banned from shooting a rare and beautiful duck under new proposals to halt the decline of six British wild birds.
‘Profit prioritised over welfare’: UK’s premier exotic animal hospital to close
Pet owners fear there is no viable alternative service after Great Western Exotics owner deems business unviable.
‘A toad is a perfect tenner’: experts recommend wild candidates for new banknotes
Native British wildlife will feature on the next set of £5, £10, £20 and £50 notes, the Bank of England has announced, but it has yet to be decided which creatures will make the cut.
Mexico’s monarch butterfly population jumps 64%, offering hope for at-risk species
The population of monarch butterflies in Mexico increased 64% this winter, compared with the same period in 2025, offering a glimmer of hope for an insect considered at risk of extinction.
Possum found nestled in with plush toys at airport gift shop in Tasmania
A passenger browsing in a gift shop in Hobart airport has stumbled across a remarkable discovery in the plush toy section. A real living and breathing brushtail possum had decided to join its fluffy friends in the shelves of Lagardère AWPL gift shop on Wednesday morning.
Molecule in python blood could pave way for new obesity drugs, scientists say
Pythons follow the ultimate crash diet, swallowing an antelope in a single sitting and then going for months without eating. Now scientists have identified a molecule that appears to be crucial for this metabolic feat, and which they say could pave the way for a new class of obesity drugs.
Stop mowing the lawn – and five more ways to save Britain’s ‘charming’ and ‘polite’ gatekeeper butterflies
You’ve almost certainly seen gatekeeper butterflies, even if you don’t know them by name. The gatekeeper is, says naturalist and butterfly enthusiast Matthew Oates , “a charming butterfly; a charming meditation of soft oranges and browns”.
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