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Cyclone Winston devastated vital coral colonies off Fiji, but four years on, the reefs are alive again, teeming with fish and colour
In the immediate aftermath of the strongest cyclone to ever make landfall in the southern hemisphere, reefs across the Namena reserve and Vatu-i-Ra conservation park off Fiji were reduced to rubble.
Tropical Cyclone Winston struck Fiji on 20 February 2016, causing devastation on land and underwater. Winds of up to 280km/h claimed 44 lives, leaving more than 40,000 homes damaged or destroyed, and storm surges smashed reefs in their path. Winston caused US$1.4bn in damage, the most destructive cyclone ever in the Pacific.
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Expanding dairy herds have seen surplus male calves shipped to the continent for veal, but there is unease over welfare conditions
Irish authorities have announced plans to fly unweaned dairy calves from Ireland to other EU destinations from May, in an effort to address growing unease about the length of the journeys made by thousands of animals shipped each year to mainland Europe.
The Irish government has been subject to sustained scrutiny over live calf exports and the decision to experiment with flights, which will significantly cut travel time, comes as a European parliament committee of inquiry examines alleged failures across Europe in enforcing rules on protecting transported animals.
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The best of the week’s wildlife pictures, including a peacock in flight, otters crossing the road and kittiwakes in Newcastle
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Knotbury, Staffordshire: A snatch of robin song, the cry of a raven a mile off, and the mating calls of red grouse punctuate an otherwise still, wintry day
After the long snow-lined and sunless days, the world seemed suddenly released. The airwaves were full of reports of record temperatures, friends’ first sightings of butterflies and pictures of daffodils. Here, however, over the hill from Flash – England’s highest village (461m) – there may have been sunshine but the landscape felt locked in winter.
The bowl in which Knotbury hamlet lies is a place comprised of three sepia tones. There is the plush suede of old molinia and mat grass, into which are stretched swatches of soft rush and wider patches of brown-black heather. The walled pasture in the bowl bottom adds a single note of primary colour, but even then it’s still the wan green of dried herbs.
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Move follows eight gorillas testing positive for coronavirus at the zoo at the start of 2021
Nine great apes have been given an experimental Covid-19 vaccine at San Diego zoo after an outbreak in a troop of gorillas there in January.
Five bonobos and four orangutans became the first great apes at an American zoo to receive jabs against the disease in January and February.
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The remarkable bird has outlived mating partners, and even the biologist who first placed a band on her in 1956
At 70 years of age, Wisdom the Laysan albatross has hatched another chick.
Regarded as “oldest known wild bird in history”, Wisdom has outlived previous mating partners as well as the biologist Chandler Robbins, who first banded her in 1956.
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Indian Ocean states say EU pushing weakest conservation efforts for yellowfin tuna while EU ‘distant fleet’ hoovers up the most fish
The EU has been accused of “hypocrisy and neocolonialism” for proposing insufficient measures to tackle overfishing of yellowfin tuna, while being the largest fisher of the prized species in the Indian Ocean.
Smaller than its Atlantic and Pacific bluefin cousins, the yellowfin tuna is one of the ocean’s fastest and strongest predators. Also called ahi tuna, this species is massively overfished in the Indian Ocean – so much so that supermarkets and brands including Tesco, Co-op and Princes recently took the surprising step of joining scientists and environmental groups to call for tough action to rebuild the $4bn population.
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Public accounts committee report says despite green rhetoric, government policy is falling short
Boris Johnson has failed to set out a plan for the UK to reach net zero greenhouse gas emissions despite the government’s green rhetoric, a committee of MPs has found.
Ministers are failing to instruct their departments to take the net zero goal into account when setting policy, there has been little coordination between central and local government on achieving emissions reductions, and the public has not been engaged, the public accounts committee said in a report published on Friday.
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Langstone, Hampshire:Many species of wader feed at night, and although we can’t see them, we know we are surrounded
Prior to the construction of a wooden bridge in 1825, the precursor to the present-day concrete structure, the only land link from Langstone to Hayling Island was via a causeway exposed at low tide. One evening, we decided to follow in the footsteps of our ancestors, and struck out along this route, which is three-quarters of a mile long and known locally as the Wadeway.
Archaeological investigations carried out in 2005-06 determined that the hard-surfaced track is medieval in date and was probably laid during the early to mid-14th century, most likely in response to sea-level rises and storm surges.
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Food discarded in homes is 74kg per person each year, with problem affecting rich and poor countries
People waste almost a billion tonnes of food a year, a UN report has revealed. It is the most comprehensive assessment to date and found waste was about double the previous best estimate.
The food discarded in homes alone was 74kg per person each year on average around the world, the UN found. In the UK, which has some of the best data, the edible waste represents about eight meals per household each week.
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