‘The toll is huge’: El Niño-driven wildfires overwhelm Indonesia’s orangutan population
The global climate phenomenon has triggered devastating infernos in the ape’s Indonesian heartlands, with long-term effects on the animals still unknownThe mother’s hands were peeling from walking on the torched ground. Her eight-month-old baby, which…
Tern turnaround: colonies in England show signs of recovery after decline
National Trust says latest figures encouraging – with numbers of birds on the rise – but work still to be doneEngland’s most important tern colonies are showing signs of recovery after being hit by years of bird flu, flooding and increasingly…
‘I just saw this furry brown bottom disappear!’ In search of Samba – the fearless fugitive capybara
Six months ago, Samba made a brave, unprecedented escape from Marwell zoo. Her life on the lam continues today. We join the team hunting desperately to find her in the Hampshire countrysideSamba the capybara is still at large. Along with her older…
Is tech the secret to a more analogue life? How gadgets, apps and tips could actually reduce your screen time
It’s often thought of as the problem, but what if the right technology could help us switch off and live more in the moment?• The best screen-free activitiesWith the continued backlash against AI and growing concern about our reliance on screens, an…
‘It’s hard to sell a house when it’s covered in baboon faeces’: Cape Town divided over plan to remove its monkeys
Two troops of chacma baboons are breaking into homes and shops but animal rights activists insist coexistence is the answerCape Town’s city council has said it will “imminently” round up two baboon troops coming into repeated conflict with residents. The…
Country diary: I’m virtually living in the woods now. Wildlife is everywhere | Kate Bradbury
Lewes, East Sussex: Owls, bats, badgers and countless birds are my new neighbours, but I’ve been particularly taken by a mystery tree – and its resident treecreeperI have made the woods my home, moving from Brighton to the outskirts of Lewes, where the…
‘Birdwatching is close to rapture’: Margaret Atwood on why she has given C$1m to avian research
Award-winning novelist celebrates late partner’s love of birds with gift to establish the Graeme Gibson chair in avian biologyIf she could be any bird, Margaret Atwood would transform into a raven. “They’re very smart. They’re social, playful and just a…
Big-eyed bugs and praying mantises: climate crisis drives new visitors to UK shores
Britain has seen an explosion of migrating insects – in some cases from as far as northern Africa It was a stifling evening in July and Matt Phelps was out for a stroll, when a piercing, whirring noise stopped him in his tracks. As an ecologist, Phelps…
‘Cash to trash’ levy on house developers too low to offset damage to Norfolk Broads, say critics
Exclusive: Levy that allows almost 16,000 houses to be built on Norfolk Broads will not cover cost of mitigating environmental damage, critics sayA new levy on developers to allow almost 16,000 homes to be built in the environmentally protected Norfolk…