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Saturday, 28 December 2013
BARN OWL EXTINCTION
The BARN OWL -a british farmland favourite is in trouble,the BARN OWL TRUST cliams fewer are nesting in ENGLAND since farming began about 300bc.DEVON BARN OWL TRUST -out of 170 nests normally in DEVON by now only 44 found -most failed or just a single owlet.BARN OWLS need prey rich foraging habitat not suppplementary feeding as stated in article found in WESTERNMORNING NEWS -PAGE 14- FRIDAY 27/12/2013.Any one who owns a building or a nestbox containing a roosting BARN OWL is urged to keep a small stock of dead day old poutry chicks and start to put food out as weatther drops below sub -zero.TO HELP OR IF SEE A DEAD OR LIVE BARN OWL-WWW.BARNOWLSURVEY.ORG.UK -WWW.BARNOWLTRUST.ORG.UK
DENTAL WORK ON ZOO LIONESS
INDU -10 YEAR OLD ASIATIC LIONESS was treated for a 4 inch canine and permolar extraction performed by DR KERTESZ -one of the worlds leading veterinary dentists .The operation took around 40 minutes.AN adult ASIATIC LION weighs up to 20 stone and up to 30 teeth.ACTICLE I NTHIS BLOG ALSO ON MYSTERYCAT .BLOGSPOT.UK.
SECRET BADGER CULL REPORT
A WHITEHALL department is denying producing a secret report into badger cull to tackle TUBERCULOSIS.CARE FOR THE WILD-ANTI BADGER CULL CAMPAIGN GROUP cliams to have evidence of report that a expanding the culls was already been taken but should be made public,DEFRA said any report would be a narrowly focused on raw data-IF CULLS SAFE-HUMANE,EFFECTIVE.MY OPINON IS NO CAMPAIGN TO VACCINE BADGERS OR CATTLE IN NUMBERS DUE TO PRESSURE FROM FARMERS.
CRYPTOZOOLOGY ONLINE: Still on the Track: CONFUSION REIGNS WHERE THE GONZO BLOG DOO-DAH MAN ...
CRYPTOZOOLOGY ONLINE: Still on the Track: CONFUSION REIGNS WHERE THE GONZO BLOG DOO-DAH MAN ...: The Gonzo Daily - Saturday www.gonzomultimedia.co.uk/about.html The forthcoming year is the 100th Anniversary of the start of the F...
CURSE OF NUKE
The woman father in thie article spent a year cleaning up areas of CHRISMAS ISLAND after nuclear tests.He swept irradiated sand, ate poisoned fish,swam in toxic lagoons and died aged 66 of AGGRESSIVE BONE CANCER.The woman has RHEUMATOID ARTHRITIS,LIPOMUS,DERCUMS DISEASE and has been told she has the body of an 80 year old believed to be linked to her father being near nukes. A BLOG TO E MAIL IS FAILOUT@BNTVA OR FALLOUTGROUP.BLOGSPOT.UK
Met Office to offer daily space weather forecasts
The Met Office is to begin offering daily forecasts about the weather in space.
The 24 hour service will aim to help businesses and government departments by providing early warnings of solar storms that can disrupt satellites, radio communications and power grids.
The first forecast is expected to be available next spring.
The Department for Business will support the scheme with £4.6m of funding over the next three years.
The Met Office will aim to develop better ways of predicting space weather in collaboration with the US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-25517466
The 24 hour service will aim to help businesses and government departments by providing early warnings of solar storms that can disrupt satellites, radio communications and power grids.
The first forecast is expected to be available next spring.
The Department for Business will support the scheme with £4.6m of funding over the next three years.
The Met Office will aim to develop better ways of predicting space weather in collaboration with the US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-25517466
Diabetes risk gene 'from Neanderthals'
A gene variant that seems
to increase the risk of diabetes in Latin Americans appears to have
been inherited from Neanderthals, a study suggests.
We now know that modern humans interbred with a population of Neanderthals shortly after leaving Africa 60,000-70,000 years ago.This means that Neanderthal genes are now scattered across the genomes of all non-Africans living today.
Details of the study appear in the journal Nature.
The gene variant was detected in a large genome-wide association study (GWAS) of more than 8,000 Mexicans and other Latin Americans. The GWAS approach looks at many genes in different individuals, to see whether they are linked with a particular trait.READ MORE
Wildlife 'thrived' in 2013 after hot summer
TREAD MOREhehot summer in the UK
provided a much-needed boost for wildlife with butterflies, moths and
grasshoppers all thriving, the National Trust says.
The warm weather also led to an explosion of berries, nuts and seeds.
The trust's Matthew Oates said 2013 was "one of the most remarkable wildlife years in living memory".
But it said a cold, late spring meant badgers and hedgehogs did not have their usual quantity of worms, and some seabirds died from starvation.
'Real cracker' Bees and crickets were among other winners.
The distinctive tree bumblebee - which only began to colonise in the UK 12 years ago - was seen north of Hadrian's Wall for the first time.
Many insects had been scarce last year because of poor weather.
The cool spring also provided a long flowering season for snowdrops, primrose and bluebells.
And in some places, there was an explosion of orchids.
The warm weather also led to an explosion of berries, nuts and seeds.
The trust's Matthew Oates said 2013 was "one of the most remarkable wildlife years in living memory".
But it said a cold, late spring meant badgers and hedgehogs did not have their usual quantity of worms, and some seabirds died from starvation.
'Real cracker' Bees and crickets were among other winners.
The distinctive tree bumblebee - which only began to colonise in the UK 12 years ago - was seen north of Hadrian's Wall for the first time.
Many insects had been scarce last year because of poor weather.
The cool spring also provided a long flowering season for snowdrops, primrose and bluebells.
And in some places, there was an explosion of orchids.
New analysis of ocean currents may solve eel mystery
A new analysis of wind-driven Atlantic currents may help scientists solve a mysterious decline in eel numbers.
These secretive creatures are born in the Sargasso sea but migrate to Europe where they spend most of their lives.But unexplained fluctuations in the numbers of those traversing the ocean have thwarted efforts to save the species.
Now researchers believe they have built a computer model that will accurately predict the level of migration.READ MORE
Tuesday, 24 December 2013
Ups and downs for UK's nocturnal species
Barn owl
67% increase in their range since the late 1980s according to the British Trust for Ornithology's (BTO) recently published Bird Atlas 2007-11
Experts are still investigating why populations have been increasing but point to the provision of nest boxes and environmental schemes on farms as possible factors.
Paul Stancliffe from the BTO describes 2013 as a "lean year" for the birds due to a cold start but remains hopeful for next year's breeding season.
Nightjars
Populations have increased by 128% since 1981.
Restoration of heathland habitats has helped the birds to recover from dramatic declines in the late 20th Century.read more
Migrating birds lured into traps
UK sovereign base areas (SBAs) in Cyprus have become illegal bird-trapping "hot spots", according to research.
The RSPB and BirdLife Cyprus have been monitoring songbird-trapping operations on the island since 2002.
BirdLife Cyprus told BBC News that, in that time, the scale of bird-trapping had increased by 54%. read more
The RSPB and BirdLife Cyprus have been monitoring songbird-trapping operations on the island since 2002.
BirdLife Cyprus told BBC News that, in that time, the scale of bird-trapping had increased by 54%. read more
Royal pardon for codebreaker Alan Turing
read more
The conviction meant he lost his security clearance and had to stop the code-cracking work that had proved vital to the Allies in World War Two.
The pardon was granted under the Royal Prerogative of Mercy after a request by Justice Minister Chris Grayling.
'Appalling' treatment "Dr Alan Turing was an exceptional man with a brilliant mind," said Mr Grayling.
He said the research Turing carried out during the war at Bletchley Park undoubtedly shortened the conflict and saved thousands of lives.
Computer pioneer and codebreaker Alan Turing has been given a posthumous royal pardon.
It addresses his 1952 conviction for homosexuality for which he was punished by being chemically castrated.The conviction meant he lost his security clearance and had to stop the code-cracking work that had proved vital to the Allies in World War Two.
The pardon was granted under the Royal Prerogative of Mercy after a request by Justice Minister Chris Grayling.
'Appalling' treatment "Dr Alan Turing was an exceptional man with a brilliant mind," said Mr Grayling.
He said the research Turing carried out during the war at Bletchley Park undoubtedly shortened the conflict and saved thousands of lives.
Monday, 23 December 2013
PET SURVIVOR OF THE YEAR
Saturday, 21 December 2013
UK bases in Cyprus 'are bird-trapping hotspots'
UK sovereign base areas (SBAs) in Cyprus have become illegal bird-trapping "hotspots", according to research.
The RSPB and BirdLife Cyprus have been monitoring songbird-trapping operations on the island since 2002. BirdLife Cyprus told BBC News that, in that time, the scale of bird-trapping had increased by 54%.
Although it is widespread, the charity said that some of the largest trapping operations were on UK soil.
Continue reading the main story
“Start Quote
BirdLife CyprusA dozen birds can fetch up to 80 euros”
These take place on the two
British SBAs in Cyprus, at Akrotiri and Dhekelia, sites covering about
100 sq miles that are British sovereign territory and within which the
UK maintains a permanent military presence.
Martin Hellicar from BirdLife Cyprus explained that in
Dhekelia - in the south-east of the island - organised criminal gangs
created "labyrinths" of acacia trees, irrigating the plantations and
cutting corridors through them in order to set up long mist nets. These operations often also use loudspeakers with recordings of bird calls in order to lure migrating birds into the almost invisible nets.
The songbirds are killed and sold to restaurants for the illegal but widely available Cypriot delicacy ambelopoulia.
"A dozen birds can fetch up to 80 euros," a spokesperson from BirdLife Cyprus told BBC News. READ MORE
Neanderthals could speak like modern humans, study suggests
An analysis of a
Neanderthal's fossilised hyoid bone - a horseshoe-shaped structure in
the neck - suggests the species had the ability to speak.
This has been suspected since the 1989 discovery of a Neanderthal hyoid that looks just like a modern human's.But now computer modelling of how it works has shown this bone was also used in a very similar way.
Writing in journal Plos One, scientists say its study is "highly suggestive" of complex speech in Neanderthals.
Continue reading the main story
“Start Quote
Prof Stephen Wroe University of New England, Armidale, NSW, AustraliaIf Neanderthals also had language then they were truly human, too”
The hyoid bone is crucial for
speaking as it supports the root of the tongue. In non-human primates,
it is not placed in the right position to vocalise like humans.
An international team of researchers analysed a fossil Neanderthal throat bone using 3D x-ray imaging and mechanical modelling.This model allowed the group to see how the hyoid behaved in relation to the other surrounding bones.
Stephen Wroe, from the University of New England, Armidale, NSW, Australia, said: "We would argue that this is a very significant step forward. It shows that the Kebara 2 hyoid doesn't just look like those of modern humans - it was used in a very similar way."
He told BBC News that it not only changed our understanding of Neanderthals, but also of ourselves.
"Many would argue that our capacity for speech and language is among the most fundamental of characteristics that make us human. If Neanderthals also had language then they were truly human, too."read more
Former BBC sports broadcaster David Coleman has died aged 87 after a short illness.
He first appeared on air for the BBC in 1954, covering 11
Olympic Games from Rome in 1960 to Sydney 2000 and six football World
Cups.Coleman presented some of the BBC's leading sporting programmes, including Grandstand and Sportsnight, and was the host of Question of Sport for 18 years.
He was awarded an OBE in 1992 and retired from the BBC in 2000.
Later that year he became the first broadcaster to receive the Olympic Order award, in recognition of his contribution to the Olympic movementr.i.p please read more
OTTER HAS A FISH TAKEAWAY
A mystery raider was heard at PLYMOUTH FISHERIES ,the staff at first called the police untill an OTTER was spotted tuckinmg into thier seafood stock.The superviser said he had never seen an otter before at the fisherery.
TURTLE DOVES -12 DAYS OF CHRISTMAS NO MORE?
The TURTLE DOVE is one of our fastest declining species due to inhabit,half the area it once was.Its believed as few as 1,000 pairs by 2020.OPERATION TURTLE DOVE has been set up to boost numbers.
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