Latest news with #conservation
CBC
2 hours ago
- CBC
B.C. jet skier fined $5K for approaching dolphins too closely
Social Sharing Fisheries and Oceans Canada (DFO) is reminding people that there are rules around approaching marine mammals after a man was fined $5,000 forgetting too close to a pod of dolphins. Stephen Michael White was fined last month after being found guilty in November 2024 of violating a section of the Marine Mammal Regulations. The incident took place in August 2022, in Broughton Strait near Port McNeill on Vancouver Island's northern coast, according to a media release from DFO. White was recorded speeding toward a pod of Pacific white-sided dolphins on his jet ski, coming within a few feet of the creatures while filming on his phone — much closer than the 100-metre legal approach distance. Witnesses immediately reported the incident. Evidence presented in court included images from White's own social media, as well as testimonies and images from witnesses. The court found his actions to be negligent and reckless, leading to a six-month ban from operating any motorized vessel on water. White is also prohibited from posting anything related to marine mammals to social media. DFO says the case's guilty verdict and court-ordered fine reinforces the rules' importance to prevent disturbances. Under the regulations, disturbances include approaching the animal to feed, swim, or interact with it; move it or cause it to move from the immediate area in which it is found; separate it from members of its group or go between it and its calf; trap it or its group between a vessel and the shore, or between a vessel and one or more other vessels; or approaching the animal to tag and mark it. Toothed-whale species, including dolphins and killer whales, use sound to navigate their environment, also called echolocation. The release says "close encounters with a vessel can disrupt their natural behaviours and interfere with essential sound signals used for communication, foraging, and socialization." DFO is reminding British Columbians and anyone taking to open waters this summer of legal approach distances: 400 metres from all killer whales in southern B.C. coastal waters. 200 metres from all killer whales in all other Canadian Pacific waters, and when a whale, dolphin or porpoise is in a resting position or with a calf. 100 metres away from other whales, porpoises, and dolphins. The restrictions apply to all motorized and self-propelled watercrafts, swimmers, and scuba divers — part of a host of protective measures designed to protect marine mammals in B.C. waters.
New York Times
3 hours ago
- General
- New York Times
Bear Whose Head Was Stuck for Two Years Is Freed
Once upon a time there was a black bear in the Michigan woods. He roamed, hibernated, searched for food and did whatever else a bear does in the woods. But the world of humans encroached on this bucolic setting. The bear got his head stuck in a plastic lid. And it would not come off. Thus began a two-year odyssey. The bear kept roaming with his new collar. He grew, only making the collar tighter, and while human beings wanted to help, he remained elusive. But fear not, dear reader, this story has a happy ending. The bear, then just a cub, was first spotted on trail cameras in 2023. His head was stuck in a 5-inch diameter hole in a blue plastic lid, the kind that might be found on a 50-gallon drum. Such drums are sometimes used by hunters: the containers are filled with food, luring the bears to where hunters await. But under Michigan law, baiting containers must have holes that are either less than one inch or greater than 22 inches in diameter. 'Container openings of a certain size can result in bears and other wildlife getting their heads or other body parts stuck in them, leading to injury or death,' said Cody Norton of the Michigan Department of Natural Resources, who carries the title of 'bear, furbearer and small game specialist.' 'It's important to remember that the opening diameter is more important than the size of the container,' he said. Plastic containers have been an ongoing problem for bears, with cases popping up in Florida, Wisconsin and Tennessee recently. All of these incidents involved bears with their heads stuck in cheese ball jars (and all of them were freed). And it's not just bears who become entangled in human detritus. An elk in Colorado carried a tire around his neck for two years (he, too, was eventually freed, though at the cost of his antlers). Over the past two years, the bear in Michigan was periodically seen on trail camera photos only to vanish again before help could arrive. Finally in May there was a sighting in Montmorency County in the northern lower peninsula of Michigan. Officials trapped the bear earlier this month. The bear — 2 years old, 110 pounds and still growing — was sedated, and rescuers cut off the lid. Upon awakening, he was then released back into the wild, where his ramblings will now thankfully be less encumbered. Susan C. Beachy contributed research.
Daily Mail
4 hours ago
- Entertainment
- Daily Mail
Nepo baby, 21, is spitting image of '90s TV star mother as she cuddles lion in Africa - but can you guess who her famous parent is?
A nepo baby looked the spitting image of her 90s TV star mother as she cuddled a lion in Africa. The conservationist and model, 21, recently took to her Instagram to share a video of herself cuddling two lions before releasing them into the wild with her father. Resting her head on one lion, she penned: 'My beautiful ZEMO on the day we released him in Africa. I can't wait to see him soon.' The 21-year-old has followed in both of her famous parents' footsteps as she dropped out of school to pursue her interests in both the entertainment and conservation industries. She now boasts 1.5 million followers on Instagram and regularly gives fans an insight into her daily life surrounded by animals. But can you guess who the nepo baby and her famous parents are? That's right! It's Freya Aspinall, the daughter of English actress Donna Air and businessman Damian Aspinall. Donna was just 21 when she met and fell in love with multimillionaire Damian, who was 40 at the time. They were introduced at a dinner party in 2000 by mutual friend, former It Girl Tara Palmer-Tomkinson, and went on to have a seven-year relationship, before they split in July 2007. Damian owns The Aspinall Foundation, which partners with Howletts Wild Animal Park, founded by his father John Aspinall. The Aspinall Foundation is a British charity founded in 1984 that strives to promote wildlife conservation and return captive animals back to the wild, while also running projects abroad to protect endangered species. It runs both Howletts and Port Lympne Park, which is set on 600 acres and houses many rare and endangered species, with the largest breeding herd of black rhinos in the UK. Freya has inherited her father's love of conservation and dedicates her time to caring for various animals in the sanctuary and is being lined up to one day inherit his position as chair of the Aspinall Foundation. She has also inherited her mother's good looks as she became the youngest model on the books of Storm, the agency discovered by Kate Moss, in 2018. But rather than spend most of her time on the runway, she spends her days in the park caring for orphaned lion cubs and gorillas. The influencer uses her Instagram to promote the importance of conversation work, sharing heartwarming videos of her cuddling with big cats and feeding gorillas by hand in their enclosures, raking in an impressive 1.5million followers. Freya has shown she's not a typical 'nepo baby', with it being reported that when she signed her modelling contract she insisted she would use her profile to promote conservation issues. Calling herself a 'mini version' of dad Damian, she has said if she ever books a magazine cover it will be as a conservationist rather than a model. Speaking to the Financial Times, she admitted: 'I grew up with animals and couldn't imagine my world without them. This is in my blood – I've always known what I wanted to do.' And it's no wonder she shares such a close bond with animals, after being placed in in a gorilla enclosure at Howletts as a baby to be carried off by the female of the group. It was a ritual Damian had carried out with his first two daughters, Tansy and Clary, from his 15-year marriage to Louise Sebag-Montefiore. Describing his plans for Freya at the time, he told London's Evening Standard: 'It's a ritual. I'll probably give her to the dominant female who will take her off, sex her, and introduce her to the others. I did this with my other daughters, now it's Freya's turn.' While Donna fully approved of the plan because she did not believe that Freya would be in any danger. Damian added: 'Why would I not trust them? I know them, I grew up with them. They are my friends.' And Freya is certainly not afraid of getting up and close to exotic animals at the family wildlife park. She has described Port Lympne Wild Animal Park in Kent where she loves to feed the giraffes as one of her 'favourite places to be'. She's often seen cuddling and feeding treats to a pair of gorillas, Silverback Kifu and Tambabi, that she has known since birth.
BBC News
4 hours ago
- General
- BBC News
Longleat Safari Park welcomes hippo sisters
Two young hippo sisters have arrived at a safari park after a 780-mile (1255 km) journey from the Czech Matylda and three-year-old Manon were delivered to Longleat Safari Park in Wiltshire on are the first hippos the park has acquired in more than 40 park's two previous hippos - Spot and Sonia - both died at the age of 49 in 2024 and 2023 respectively. Matylda, who weighs 990kg, and Manon, who weighs 750kg, were transported across Europe in specially-designed it will not just be the two sisters at Longleat, as they are to be joined in the next couple of weeks by mother and son Lola and Hodor. The park hopes to set up a breeding "pod" to boost conservation Beasley, Longleat's head of animal operations, said: "We are all over the moon to have hippos back at Longleat."We have all missed having this species on the estate after the deaths of Sonia and Spot, who had lived here for decades."Mr Beasley said Matylda and Manon would spend the next few weeks getting used to their "state-of-the-art" enclosure and new keepers. He said visitors to the park may spot them in their paddock during this time."The sisters have lived together all their lives, and we will slowly be introducing them to Lola and Hodor when they arrive with us shortly," Mr Beasley added.
The Guardian
4 hours ago
- Politics
- The Guardian
Ending sheep farming in the Lake District is not our aim
Phil Stocker's letter (12 June) defends sheep farming against an attack that doesn't exist. Nowhere in the Guardian article he is responding to (Conservationists call for Lake District to lose Unesco world heritage status, 7 June) does anyone call for 'sheep farming's demise'. Neither the letter I sent to Unesco nor the report that I co-authored, both referred to in the article, call for it either. Instead, we're raising concerns about the Lake District's world heritage site designation, which poses a major threat to exactly the sort of adaptation that Mr Stocker says he wants and that most farmers know is coming. None of the farmers I've spoken to could name a single benefit of being in a world heritage site. Most people won't be aware of the downsides, but for those of us working in conservation, they are obvious. The designation is influencing decisions by the national park authority, which views every element of the park's management through a world heritage lens and puts sheep farming first, often at the expense of rural livelihoods and nature. We are not attacking farming or anybody's culture, and it's a pity that this is how Stocker and many others, including the MP Tim Farron, have interpreted it. For farmers and conservationists to be at loggerheads is madness. Once the dust settles, I hope we will be able to sit down and have some sensible discussion about these issues and how to resolve them. As Mr Stocker attests, farming has played a key role in the history of the Lake District, and it will have a vital role to play in its future, but only if it is allowed to adapt. Removing the world heritage site designation, or amending it to reflect the urgency of the climate crisis, will help that transition to take SchofieldBampton, Cumbria Have an opinion on anything you've read in the Guardian today? Please email us your letter and it will be considered for publication in our letters section.
