With all that is going on in the world, it is easy to miss the odd news story or two! Luckily, we are here to help and that is why we are going to bring you our top 5 animal related news stories that you may have missed throughout January! This month’s stories are very mixed, and we have everything from a new species of ancient bug right through to a battle of cuteness in zoos all around the world! Let’s take a look.
We Could Be On Track To Lose A Lot Of Animals To Extinction This Year
Heart-breaking news came from the Zoological Society of London and WWF as a report that they commissioned found that many animal could go extinct this year. The animals most at risk of disappearing from the face of the earth include the last three Northern White Rhinos, who even though they remain under 24 hour armed guard in Kenya, could still go extinct due to old age, and the 21 giant tusked bull elephants who are in danger of being killed by poachers.
You can read more about this worrying piece of news here http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2017/01/01/extinct-animals-could-lose-forever-2017/
There’s A Spy In Our Midst!
Time for some slightly more cheerful news now as the BBC have done it again and created another amazing nature documentary for us all to enjoy! This time though there is a slight twist to the traditional film and voiceover technique that is so often used when looking at animals. The camera in this programme is placed inside a “spy animal” which has been painstakingly created to blend in with the wild beasts it hopes to film. The use of these innovative cameras enables the viewer to see a side of wildlife that is often very secretive and hidden from humans. We may be slightly biased here in the office, but one of our favourite moments was with the orangutans so keep your eyes peeled for that!
You can read a little more about this amazing programme here https://www.theguardian.com/media/2016/dec/31/bbc-robot-creatures-spy-secret-lives-animals-wildlife-series
Animals May Be Smarter Than We Have Given Them Credit For
We all know how clever apes can be as they are our closest animal relatives, but did you know that the humble squirrel is actually a genius in its own right? Frans de Waal, a primatologist at Emory University has written a new book called “Are we smart enough to know how smart animals are?” and within it is listed a whole host of examples about how clever animals actually are!
If you are interested in finding out more about this book and some of the incredible things animals can do then take a look here http://www.sciencealert.com/animals-are-much-smarter-than-people-realize-scientist-says
Who Is The Cutest?
Zoos all around the world were locked in a fierce battle last week……to decide who had the cutest young animal resident! It all started with a tweet from the National Zoo in Washington DC in which was pictured a young seal pup, and from there zoos all around the world began to respond with images of their equally cute animals. It is an incredibly tough call when picking a winner, but in light of our new panda project being launched this month, we know who we would pick…..
See all of the tweets here http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2017/01/26/zoos-have-twitter-battle-find-cutest-newborn-animal/
An Ancient Animal Is Discovered In Myanmar!
An insect that lived 100 million years ago has been found preserved in amber, and this insect is so unique that it has been given its own scientific order. This insect looks similar to the ants we know today, but it was a lot more fearsome as it was able to secrete a chemical compound in its neck that was intended to scare away predators! Don’t worry too much though as the creature is long extinct so you won’t bump into it on a walk anytime soon.
Check out this alien looking creature here http://www.seeker.com/amber-bug-2217240908.html
If there are any stories you would like to share with us please let us know in the comments and we will take a look!
