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Inbreeding impairs the meerkat

Sun, 27 May 2012 23:00:01 GMT

Inbreeding affects 44 per cent of meerkats in the wild, causing them to be smaller and less likely to survive, a 20-year study has found.

Gorilla areas bombed by Congo rebels

Sat, 26 May 2012 23:00:01 GMT

One-quarter of the world's entire mountain gorilla population is under threat from sustained fighting in the Democratic Republic of Congo.

Falcon chicks nabbed from nest

Fri, 25 May 2012 23:00:01 GMT

Three newly hatched peregrine falcon chicks have been stolen from their nest on top of a building in Kingston.

RSPB voices shock at buzzard plans

Thu, 24 May 2012 07:27:28 GMT

Conservationists have condemned plans that would allow buzzard nests to be destroyed and the birds of prey taken into captivity to protect pheasant shoots.

Snake bite warning issued to walkers

Wed, 23 May 2012 23:00:01 GMT

Walkers have been warned to leave snakes in the countryside alone after dozens of incidents of bites caused by people picking up venomous adders. People sought advice over adder bites 196 times between 2009 and 2011, figures from the Health Protection Agency's National Poisons Information Service showed.

Summertime, and the living is easy... at least until next week

Wed, 23 May 2012 23:00:01 GMT

After being spoilt by the Indian summer of last October, and the brief arrival of unseasonal sunshine in February, it had begun to seem as if the real thing would never arrive this year following the wettest April in years. But now those comparisons of Britain to stereotypically hot places around the world where temperatures are, for once, marginally cooler than here – the Bahamas! Hawaii! Ibiza! – can finally be brought out in force.

Forest guards told to shoot poachers on sight after rash of tiger killings

Wed, 23 May 2012 23:00:01 GMT

Authorities in India have told forest guards to shoot tiger poachers "on sight" in the latest effort to save the country's most famous animal.

Nature Studies by Michael McCarthy: The love that dare not speak its name – butterflies

Wed, 23 May 2012 23:00:01 GMT

Butterflies are back. For me the greatest blessing of the return of the warm weather this week, after that sodden April and that glacial most-of-May, has been that butterflies are once more on the wing and visible. I walked out of the house on Tuesday morning and bumped into a holly blue almost immediately. What a boost to the spirits that was.

Street lighting is changing insect ecosystems, study claims

Wed, 23 May 2012 07:32:14 GMT

Street lighting is changing insect ecosystems in towns and cities, a study has found.

Animals left for dead in Indonesian zoos

Mon, 21 May 2012 23:00:01 GMT

In a remote corner of Jakarta's Ragunan Zoo, a Malayan sun bear is pacing back and forth, shaking its head in an agitated manner. There is no shade or shelter in the tiny, dilapidated enclosure – just a stagnant pond full of rubbish. The bear, which is riddled with mange, rears up against a concrete wall and howls.

European egrets move to Somerset – for the weather

Mon, 21 May 2012 23:00:01 GMT

One of the world's loveliest herons, the great white egret, has nested in Britain for the first time, as new bird species continue to move here from the south, perhaps because of the warming climate.

Trending: There's an Ape for that

Sun, 20 May 2012 23:00:01 GMT

Humans are not the only primates going ape over iPads, so are, um, apes. Several zoos in the US have started to introduce their orang-utans to computers as part of their mental stimulus programmes, and it turns out the animals are big fans of the hi-tech tablet. Staff at Miami's Jungle Island turned to the iPad on the suggestion of dolphin researcher Jack Kassewitz. The main app used is Tap To Talk, which displays pictures of various objects such as a mango or a bucket, one of which the trainer then names, and the orang-utan then presses the corresponding button.

Antelope first seen 20 years ago is on brink of extinction

Sun, 20 May 2012 23:00:01 GMT

Vietnam's rare mammals may be sliding towards extinction, but Britain's rarest butterfly is going from strength to strength, a series of contrasting announcements makes clear today.

London rated the most infested place in the UK

Fri, 18 May 2012 08:00:01 GMT

The most infested place in the UK is London, new research shows.

The capital for rats and cockroaches

Thu, 17 May 2012 23:00:01 GMT

The most infested place in the UK is London, new research shows.

Rare Javan langur monkey born at Howletts Wild Animal Park

Thu, 17 May 2012 17:00:28 GMT

A vulnerable species of monkey has added a new member to its brood at a zoo.

Animal welfare: The project saving the planet one tattoo at a time

Wed, 16 May 2012 23:00:01 GMT

When US-based conservationist Molly Tsongas decided to raise awareness of endangered animals, she knew a great medium: tattoos. "Maybe I should tattoo my whole body with endangered species and become a media sensation to get the word out," is what she says she thought.

Nature Studies by Michael McCarthy: If the blackthorn is sugar, then the hawthorn is cream

Wed, 16 May 2012 23:00:01 GMT

Here's a minor but welcome piece of news from the natural world: in the past week, in southern England anyway, the hawthorn has come into flower. The alternative name for its blooms, of course, is the May blossom – the Mayflower, the ship that took the pilgrim fathers to the New World in 1620, was named after it.

Anti-whaling activist Paul Watson arrested for ramming boat 10 years ago

Tue, 15 May 2012 08:00:01 GMT

An anti-whaling activist, famed for televised confrontations with fishermen, has been arrested for allegedly attempting to use his boat to sink an illegal shark fishing vessel off the coast of Guatemala.

Anti-whaling activist arrested for ramming boat 10 years ago

Mon, 14 May 2012 23:00:01 GMT

Death on Earth: how the world's wildlife vanished

Mon, 14 May 2012 23:00:01 GMT

The world's wildlife has declined by nearly a third over the past 40 years, a new estimate of the health of the planet suggests.

The banker who saved Britain

Sat, 12 May 2012 23:00:01 GMT

A hundred years ago, in May 1912, a movement dedicated to preserving habitats for wildlife was started. It seemed to many a quite bizarre idea. After all, it was a largely pre-motor age: arterial roads and agribusiness were unknown, hedgerows remained ungrubbed, and housing estates unbuilt – and pinafored girls in search of wild flowers, boys looking for birds' nests, and rural deans out with their butterfly nets all readily found their respective quarry.

Charles Rothschild: The banker who changed the world for good

Fri, 11 May 2012 23:00:01 GMT

When you think about it, it makes perfect sense; but the understanding took a long time coming. You can't preserve wild things unless you preserve their homes. If you take a butterfly like the sparklingly brilliant Adonis blue, for example, you have to have chalk or limestone grassland for it to survive, for that is where you will find its food plant, horseshoe vetch; if you take a bird like the Dartford warbler, you need a big patch of lowland heath, for it has learnt to specialise in catching the insects of heathland.

Planning system 'failing' wildlife

Fri, 11 May 2012 06:46:11 GMT

The planning system is failing to protect England's wildlife and natural areas, many of which are facing major declines, a report has warned.

Pygmy prince Harry passes away

Thu, 10 May 2012 23:00:01 GMT

A pygmy hippo named in honour of Prince Harry has died after surgery to repair an umbilical hernia.