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| Duckling twins! |
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A Cornish farmer was delighted when two ducklings hatched from one egg – bless! It was an unusual start for the two birds, who have been named Romulus and Remus. |
| Wild bird populations increase |
Statistics show encouraging increases in many wild bird populations. This good news follows a period of decline over the last two or three years, but Wildlife Minister, Huw Irranca-Davies has warned against complacency: “We must keep doing all the things that have contributed to these modest increases. Conservation organisations, land managers, farmers and individuals who care about birds all need to do their bit to ensure we encourage birds to flourish so that we see a repeat of these increases next year.” |
| Cool starfish |
Scientists have discovered that the ochre starfish has a remarkable way of keeping cool. During low tide starfish are exposed to the sun and air and cannot move until submerged again in water. So that they don’t suffer heat stress when in the hot sun, the ochre starfish suck up cold seawater to lower their body temperature. Apparently, the amount the starfish intakes is the equivalent to a person drinking seven litres (1.5 gallons) of cold water! |
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| The dog that ate a horse… | ||
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Vets recently came to the rescue of a tiny four-month-old Yorkshire terrier who swallowed a large plastic toy seahorse. Tina Brannan (29) from Chaddesden, was distraught when her mischievous pup, Tia, pounced on one of her children’s favourite toys and raced up the garden with it clenched in her teeth. When Tina tried to retrieve the stricken toy, Tia gobbled it up. Tina rushed Tia to Derby PDSA PetAid hospital for emergency surgery where vets removed the |
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toy from her stomach. Senior veterinary surgeon, Vicky Sims says: “When we measured the toy seahorse it was 12.5cms (five inches) long and 4cms (1.5 inches) wide. Considering Tia is still only a puppy and her dimensions are pretty small, it really is amazing that she managed to swallow it. It’s very lucky that Tina saw what happened otherwise the seahorse could have caused a fatal blockage or infection if left undetected.” |
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Oldest |
spider web |
Two brothers have found the oldest spider web on record preserved in amber on a beach in East Sussex. The amber is 140 million years old and dates back to the Cretaceous period, which is the period following the Jurassic period. Amber dating back to this period is very rare. From analysing the thread and details of the web, it is thought that the spiders who would have spun this |
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web are related to the modern day orb-web or garden spider. This discovery suggests that these types of spiders existed much earlier than first believed. |
Too close for comfort? |
Ever looked at a human animation and got the heebie-jeebies at how real it looked? New research has found that monkeys may experience a similar sensation when seeing generated images of themselves that look too real. In humans, the part of our brain that produces this negative psychological response is called the uncanny valley. Now scientists believe that monkeys may have a similar response inherent in their genetic make-up.
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Beautiful stranger |
Inspectors from the Food and Environment Research Agency (Fera) found a brightly coloured and unexpected passenger on a flight from India, which arrived into Stansted Airport. Fera’s Pest Identification Team identified the beautiful stowaway as a ‘Painted Grasshopper’ (Poekilocerus pictus) and confirmed that the uninvited guest is the first of its kind to reach British soils. |