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Wildlife smuggling is serious organised crime that ‘fuels corruption and drives species to extinction’, Home Office says
More than 250 endangered species and illegal wildlife products were seized at the UK border in a single month, new figures have revealed, including spiders, snakes and birds.
The illicit cargo was uncovered as part of an annual crackdown on wildlife smuggling known as Operation Thunder, which is led by Interpol and the World Customs Organisation.
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Tyrella Beach, County Down: These fine ducks are tricky to spot from the shore, but I feel lucky to be seeing them at all
The common scoter has long haunted the edges of my mind. I think of this handsome duck migrating from its summer breeding grounds in the boreal lakelands of Scandinavia. I watch for the tattered ribbons of its flight formations arriving to winter along this coast. I scrutinise the sea for flocks far offshore.
Because even here in Dundrum Bay, where large winter flocks gather, any sighting is hit and miss. Scoters’ flocking behaviour is reinforced by the patchy distribution of their mollusc prey. The ducks congregate over shellfish beds, diving from the surface to seize an individual shellfish, which they then swallow whole, to digest – shell and all – in their powerful gizzards. But as a flock drifts and flies from bed to bed, from my perspective on the beach, the birds easily dissolve into a vast and moving sea.
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Kolahoi is one of many glaciers whose decline is disrupting whole ecosystems – water, wildlife and human life that it has supported for centuries
From the slopes above Pahalgam, the Kolahoi glacier is visible as a thinning, rumpled ribbon of ice stretching across the western Himalayas. Once a vast white artery feeding rivers, fields and forests, it is now retreating steadily, leaving bare rock, crevassed ice and newly exposed alpine meadows.
The glacier’s meltwater has sustained paddy fields, apple orchards, saffron fields and grazing pastures for centuries. Now, as its ice diminishes, the entire web of life it supported is shifting.
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Scientists issue urgent warning about chemicals, found to cause cancer and infertility as well as harming environment
Scientists have issued an urgent warning that some of the synthetic chemicals that help underpin the current food system are driving increased rates of cancer, neurodevelopmental conditions and infertility, while degrading the foundations of global agriculture.
The health burden from phthalates, bisphenols, pesticides and Pfas “forever chemicals” amounts to up to $2.2tn a year – roughly as much as the profits of the world’s 100 largest publicly listed companies, according to the report published on Wednesday.
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Tebay, Cumbria: We have 30 acres of Roman remains underground here, but thanks to recent storms and a redirected river, I fear they’re not safe
Today I am out in freezing temperatures photographing a riverbank. Mist, which we call “clag”, swirls over the higher ground and I cannot see any of our livestock that are overwintering on the hills.
The reason I’ve turned photographer may come as a surprise: on Low Borrowbridge farm we have a Roman fort and civilian settlement dating to the first and second century AD, including what is thought to be a Roman parade ground and cemetery. The remains are extensive, covering at least 12 hectares (30 acres) under the ground. Since Victorian times, there have been successive excavations, most recently in 2011-12 when a mansio(a guesthouse for people visiting the fort) was found. A geophysical survey has also located the headquarters building and the commander’s house.
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A fin whale washed ashore in Anchorage and was left there for months. Then a self-described ‘wacko’ museum director made a plan
When a whale dies, its body descends to the bottom of the deep sea in a transformative phenomenon called a whale fall. A whale’s death jump-starts an explosion of life, enough to feed and sustain a deep-ocean ecosystem for decades.
There are a lot of ways whales can die. Migrating whales lose their way and, unable to find their way back from unfamiliar waters, are stranded. They can starve when prey disappears or fall to predators such as orcas. They become bycatch, tangled in fishing lines and nets. Mass whale deaths have been linked to marine heatwaves and the toxic algae blooms that follow.
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Once fairly frequent winter visitors to southern England, they now stay close to their northern breeding grounds
An owl? Or just a gatepost? In my experience, it’s usually a gatepost. So as I drove home across the Somerset Levels, returning from my first starling murmuration of the year, I was convinced that the owl-shaped lump a few yards away was just that. It was also dark brown, unlike the barn owls I sometimes see, which glow like beacons long after sunset.
Stopping the car, I lifted my binoculars and found myself face to face with a real, live short-eared owl (Asio flammeus), a bird I hadn’t seen in Somerset for several years. Once fairly frequent winter visitors to southern England, like so many other species from farther north and east their numbers have fallen as they stay put on, or close to, their breeding grounds.
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Study on skull of Altamura Man could be blow to adaptation theories about Neanderthals and their extinction
One sign of a really cold day is the sharp sting of freezing air in your nose. It was believed that the noses of Neanderthals were better adapted to breathing the cold air of the Ice Age and that when the climate became warmer they were outcompeted by modern humans. This is now being questioned.
The opening in the Neanderthal skull is bigger than ours, with a larger nasal cavity behind it. This was thought to have bony convolutions to warm and moisten the incoming air, similar to those seen on some arctic mammals. These delicate structures would only survive in an exceptionally well-preserved skull though, so it was never clear whether they were actually present.
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Ghana’s capital is a party and entertainment hub but members of the diaspora would do well to experience its spectacular art scene
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After more than 50 editions surfing across the waves of the global Black diaspora with Nesrine, this will be my final dispatch for the Long Wave, as I move on to a new role on the Opinion desk at the Guardian. I am heartbroken to be leaving, but I am so thankful to all of our readers for being so encouraging and engaged throughout the past year.
Any who, time to cut the sad music (this is my farewell tune of choice), as I have one more edition for you. In late autumn, I took my first trip to Ghana for Accra Cultural Week. While there, I visited the historic area of Jamestown, which was reflected in an exhibition by artist Serge Attukwei Clottey.
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We found reusable wrapping clothes, garlands made from invasive species, and solar-powered lights that you’ll want to use season after season
The holiday season is a time for joy, togetherness and generosity, but it can also be a time for overflowing waste bins. According to Oklahoma State University, families tend to generate about 25% more trash during this season, and it’s easy to see how. From disposable gift wrap to novelty decor destined for the landfill by New Year’s Eve, short-lived festivities can unintentionally generate long-term trash.
But that doesn’t mean you need to endure a drab and joyless December in a cave: a few thoughtful swaps can make for magical holiday celebrations with less waste, and some of them even help communities in need. Here are nine sustainable purchases that can help fill the season with intention, and maybe even inspire those around you to do the same.
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