The Guardian

Images taken by public reveal insights into threatened minke whales, including finding the most attention-seeking whale

Snowy is the oldest known minke whale in Europe, while Knobble appears to adore attention – or, at least, the whale has been spotted more than 60 times since 2002, mostly close to the Isle of Mull.

Photographic records of minke whales submitted by members of the public are being published in a digital catalogue, providing insights about the threatened species.

Researchers say surprising result points to level of self-awareness that has implications for animal rights and welfare

With their colourful plumage and prominent combs, roosters might be forgiven for sneaking the odd glance in the mirror – particular as research now suggests the birds may be able to recognise their own reflection.

The ability to recognise oneself in the mirror has so far been found in a handful of animals, including elephants, dolphins, great apes and certain fish and birds.

Conservationists optimistic turning point reached in effort to prevent red-listed bird from extinction in Britain

The number of corncrakes serenading Scotland with their strange summer calls has increased for the first time in five years, giving hope that this secretive bird can be saved from extinction in Britain.

Calling males rose to 870 this summer, up from a low of 828 in 2022 and the highest total since the summer of 2019.

National union members urge government to create water strategy to prevent such losses

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Potato and cereal crops are likely to have been heavily damaged by the recent devastating floods across the UK, farmers have warned.

Entire fields have been submerged in water after Storm Babet swept across the country, with crops ruined. Extreme weather events are becoming more likely and frequent due to climate breakdown, and have caused food shortages and price increases.

In 2020, 350 elephants mysteriously died in Botswana, with a further 35 dying in similar circumstances in Zimbabwe. Now scientists think they may have found the reason why

In May and June 2020, the death of 350 elephants in Botswana’s Okavango delta baffled conservationists and sparked global speculation about what had caused it. Elephants of all ages and both sexes were affected, with many walking in circles before dying suddenly, collapsing on their faces. Two months later, 35 more elephants died in north-western Zimbabwe.

At the time, the deaths in Botswana were attributed to an unspecified cyanobacterial toxin, government officials said, and no further details were published.

Analysis also warns of further tipping points on horizon such as drying up of groundwater vital for food supplies

Humanity is moving dangerously close to irreversible tipping points that would drastically damage our ability to cope with disasters, UN researchers have warned, including the withdrawal of home insurance from flood-hit areas and the drying up of the groundwater that is vital for ensuring food supplies.

These “risk tipping points” also include the loss of the mountain glaciers that are essential for water supplies in many parts of the world and accumulating space debris knocking out satellites that provide early warnings of extreme weather.

The recipients of this year’s Royal Photographic Society awards have been announced. Now in their 145th year, the awards are the world’s longest-running and most prestigious photography honours, recognising individuals working across still and moving image. Rather than rewarding a single image, the society celebrates the photographers, highlighting significant achievements, showcasing new and emerging talent and recognising notable contributions from RPS members

Winners and runners-up in the mangrove photography awards run by the Mangrove Action Project. This year, Soham Bhattacharyya was named mangrove photographer of the year for an image capturing the curious gaze of an endangered tigress in the Sundarbans

It seems if you experience climate disaster you are much more likely to believe in climate disaster

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Exclusive: Party says it will find other ways to create more access to countryside after opposition from landowners

Labour has U-turned on its pledge to create a Scottish-style right to roam in the English countryside if elected, the Guardian can reveal.

Instead of an assumed right of access, the party now says it will find other ways to create more access to land in England, after opposition from some landowners’ groups.

Climate commissioner says pace of reductions needs to speed up in buildings, transport and agriculture to meet 55% target by 2030

The EU must cut greenhouse gas pollution almost three times more quickly than it has over the past decade to meet its climate targets, a European Commission report has said.

In an attempt to stop weather growing more extreme, the EU has promised to pump 55% less planet-heating gas into the air in 2030 than it did in 1990. But over the past three decades it has cut emissions by just 32%, leaving behind “significant gaps” for the next seven years, the commission found in its latest State of the Energy Union report.

Average of 854g a week eaten at home in 2022, with the 14% decline since 2012 driven by cost of living crisis and lifestyle changes

People in the UK consumed less meat last year than at any point since records began in the 1970s, in a trend driven by the cost of living crisis, the continued impact of Covid and broader lifestyle changes.

Data released by the government showed that Britons ate less meat at home in the year to March 2022 than at any point since 1974, with the average person eating 854g (1.88lbs) a week. That was down from 976g the previous year and 949g in 2019-20, before the Covid-19 pandemic.

As the first known cases of H5N1 are detected in the region, scientists fear for the isolated penguin and seal populations that have never been exposed

Avian flu has reached the Antarctic, raising concerns for isolated populations of penguins and seals that have never been exposed to the deadly H5N1 virus before. The full impact of the virus’s arrival is not yet known, but scientists are raising concerns about possible “catastrophic breeding failure” of the region’s fragile wildlife populations.

The virus was found in populations of a scavenging bird called brown skua on Bird Island, which is part of the British overseas territory of South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands. These migratory birds probably brought it with them from South America where bird flu is widespread and has already killed an estimated 500,000 seabirds and 20,000 sea lions in Chile and Peru alone.

Colossal Biosciences, which is behind bid to bring back Tasmanian tiger, teams up with Melbourne Zoo to save tiny reptile

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A US biotechnology “de-extinction” company behind efforts to bring the Tasmanian tiger, woolly mammoth and dodo back from the dead is backing a project to save a tiny Australian dragon.

The support from Colossal Biosciences for a project to restore the Victorian grassland earless dragon – which was feared extinct before being rediscovered in the wild this year – was announced as the company’s representatives visited Tasmania to speak with officials about their plans and inspect a potential thylacine rewilding site.

Life on planet is in peril, say climate experts, as they call for a rapid and just transition to a sustainable future

Earth’s “vital signs” are worse than at any time in human history, an international team of scientists has warned, meaning life on the planet is in peril.

Their report found that 20 of the 35 planetary vital signs they use to track the climate crisis are at record extremes. As well as greenhouse gas emissions, global temperature and sea level rise, the indicators also include human and livestock population numbers.

Research suggests writing down your ‘feelings’ about winter can help with seasonal affective disorder. I’m willing to give it a go

Dear winter,

It seems that you intend to visit us again this year. I just want to make it clear – because researchers have found that expressing “feelings” about you in the form of a “dear winter” letter could make me less miserable at this time of year – that I did not invite you.

Research finds companies more likely to revisit corporate social responsibility results when tied to CEO pay

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Australian companies are reporting better social and environment performance but many gains are generated by revising past outcomes, particularly when a chief executive’s own remuneration is tied to the results, a new study has found.

The study, “CSR Restatements: Mischief or Mistake?”, examined 674 instances of corporate social responsibility (CSR) reporting from the Top 500 ASX-listed companies between 2004 and 2020.

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Rishi Sunak unveiled funding pot for expanding charging facilities at motorway services in 2020 but it is not yet accepting bids

Almost £1bn meant to help build Britain’s electric vehicle charging network remains unallocated more than three years after it was first announced by Rishi Sunak.

Promised in March 2020 before the first Covid lockdown in Sunak’s early weeks as Boris Johnson’s chancellor, the “rapid charging fund” was meant to support electrical capacity at motorway service stations. It was intended to help fund upgrades to the grid so that more electric cars can be rapidly charged at the same time.

The chick hatched on a high platform built by conservationists to keep nests safe from foxes which swim to Tumby Island from the mainland

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Birdwatchers from around the world have celebrated the arrival of a rare eastern osprey chick in South Australia.

Fran Solly, secretary of the Friends of Osprey conservation group, says everyone in Tumby Island and Port Lincoln knows about the chick that hatched last Thursday. But the livestream has captivated bird watchers from as far away as the UK, America, South Korea and Russia.

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South Australia has less than 50 breeding pairs of the endangered eastern osprey, and recent surveys point to a rapid decline in the population of the species. Conservation efforts have included setting up high nesting platforms on Tumby Island to keep eggs safe from foxes who swim across from the mainland. Video of the new chick hatching was broadcast across Facebook and YouTube to viewers around the world. Fran Solly, secretary of the Friends of Osprey conservation group, says the arrival of the chick is 'fantastic news, because it means the platform is working'

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• Rare eastern osprey chick hatches in South Australia, captivating birdwatchers around the world

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