Wally's going north - heading home?: 'Marine experts hope the creature is on his way back to the Norwegian archipelago of Svalbard', while those of us for whom Wally has provided harmless entertainment (well, they weren't climbing into our boats or blocking our lifeboat ramps, do admit) would be sad to lose their frolicsome googoogajoo around these shores.
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Twenty forest strongholds in Scotland would save the red squirrel from extinction even if grey squirrels were to colonise the whole of Britain, according to research:
The red squirrel occurs across Europe and Asia and is not in danger of extinction globally, but in Scotland a plan has been drawn up to protect the species if the grey squirrel penetrates the entire country. The study calls into question the current policy to create 19 managed strongholds for the reds in Scotland by removing broadleaf trees from certain forests to make them better for reds and worse for greys.“This would reduce tree species diversity for other species,” said White. “Our model shows that over 20 existing forests in Scotland would act as natural strongholds for the reds. This means we don’t have to remove broadleaf species like oak. Natural strongholds could conserve red squirrel populations while simultaneously maintaining forest diversity.”
Saving red squirrels via so few strongholds remains a last resort, with grassroots conservation efforts currently directed at killing grey squirrels to protect populations of reds across a much wider area of northern Britain. The Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs is supporting work to assess the effectiveness of oral contraceptives to humanely control grey squirrel populations while there is also some discussion of “gene editing” as a long-term solution to reducing the grey squirrel population.
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Wildcats return to Netherlands after centuries’ absence: 'Rewilding of forests and ‘saturated’ habitats in Germany and Belgium behind growing population'. Pine-martens also returning - “The ecosystem is complete with the carnivores. They represent the wild forest and that is very important”. I had not previously thought of the Netherlands in terms of The Gothic...
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Post-menopausal giraffes play an important role: Giraffe grandmothers are high-value family members, say scientists: 'female giraffes live for about eight years after they can no longer reproduce – up to about 30% of their lives'.
But let's just ignore the value that The Female Of The Species might have beyond its reproduction, eh: A series of genetic signals that influences the age women begin menopause has been identified, potentially paving the way to fertility treatment that could extend the natural reproductive lifespan of women. (This has come up before, surely? Yup, here and here for previous iterations.)
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Norfolk’s rediscovered ‘ghost ponds’ offer up trove of long-lost plants: 'Rewilding projects reveal rare species preserved in buried ancient wetlands'.
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Campaigners have won a court battle to prevent the "scandalous" construction of a road tunnel near Stonehenge. This was Stonehenge that was under threat, because of this vandal-like proposal, of being removed from the list of UNESCO World Heritage Sites. It is really not the alleged forces of 'woke-ness' which are damaging heritage.
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And in curious corners of Ye Trad Brit Heritage: Not the way to do it: Punch and Judy professors decry aggressive audiences: 'Bad behaviour at shows no longer confined to characters as people refuse to pay for watching':
Ugly quarrels, outbreaks of unacceptable violence and a sense of anarchy have traditionally been a feature of one of the British seaside’s most curious theatrical events: the Punch and Judy show. But in this post-lockdown summer, some practitioners (or professors, to give them their traditional titles) are expressing concern that the bad behaviour seems to be spilling out from the puppet booth into the audience. It is not that they are protesting about the nature of Punch and Judy, which has long been criticised for glorifying violence, especially against women and children. It is just that some people appear reluctant to pay and a few even turn aggressive when asked to dip into their pockets.
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Historic England relists nine sites to mark 70th anniversary of Festival of Britain:
Not many people get wildly excited by a concrete bus shelter but Elain Harwood is, proudly and unapologetically, one of them. “It is grand, I love it … it is a simple curve and absolutely as minimal as could be.” Harwood, an architectural historian with Historic England, is enthusing about Newbury Park bus station in Ilford, one of nine sites being recognised by Historic England to mark the 70th anniversary of the Festival of Britain.... Harwood, senior architectural investigator at Historic England, said the curved concrete structure, with its copper panelled roof, was a truly beautiful thing.
Oh for those days - carrying on from an earlier pre-war tradition in e.g. London Underground - of producing lovely modernist design for The Masses. (I note the architect was Oliver Hill, who has come up hither and yon in my own researches.)
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