Information about animals
Rewilding giants: captive elephants rehomed in Europe’s first sanctuary
Julie, once a circus elephant, and Kariba, from a Belgian zoo, are to be moved to a former ranch in Portugal
Europe’s first large-scale elephant sanctuary, which is opening to offer a more natural environment for some of the 600 animals still held in captivity across the continent, is to receive its first arrivals.
Julie, Portugal’s last circus elephant, will be moved next month to the animal charity Pangea’s multimillion pound sanctuary in the Alentejo, 200km (124 miles) east of Lisbon, close to the border with Spain.
Continue reading...‘Somehow you become the chicken’: inside the film about people-smuggling told through the eyes of a hen
Eight birds play the lead in Hen – one for running scenes, one for pecking, one for staying still. And there’s even a cockerel love interest. Director György Pálfi explains why it’s his most normal movie yet
If oppressive regimes inadvertently give rise to striking artistic works of resistance, then Hen might just be a parting gift from Viktor Orbán’s far-right regime. This compelling, original film, told from the perspective of a hen, was only made because Hungarian film-maker György Pálfi could no longer create anything in his home country. Orbán’s 16 years of cronyism banished any chance of funding a film in Budapest, so Pálfi – who has directed eight wildly original films, from his near-wordless 2002 debut Hukkle to 2006’s visually striking and grotesque Taxidermia – was driven into exile. Searching for a universal story he could tell even when filming in a culture or country he didn’t fully understand, he and co-writer and partner Zsófia Ruttkay settled on a biopic of a factory-farmed chicken.
The hen escapes her gruesome, industrial birthplace in Greece and, through her naturally comic beady eyes, we witness the unfolding of a modern-day Greek tragedy, whereby a down-at-heel restaurateur is drawn into the brutal world of people-smuggling.
Continue reading...Influencer Clavicular faces charges in Florida tied to alligator shooting video
Video shows ‘looksmaxxing’ influencer shooting an apparently already dead alligator in the Everglades
A controversial social media influencer known as Clavicular is facing charges in connection with a live stream showing him shooting an apparently already dead alligator in the Everglades, local Florida media has reported.
Clavicular, whose real name is Braden Eric Peters and is known for the practice of “looksmaxxing”, faces charges of unlawfully discharging a firearm in a public place or residential property, according to legal files obtained by television station ABC6 in South Florida. The charges stem from his alleged actions in a 26 March live stream.
Continue reading...Coyote swam 2 miles to Alcatraz Island, going farther than scientists expected
Biologists had guessed coyote paddled a shorter distance to former prison in the San Francisco Bay earlier this year
A lone coyote stunned biologists and others when earlier this year it paddled its way to the remote Alcatraz Island, a former federal prison in the San Francisco Bay surrounded by swift, choppy waters notorious for thwarting prisoners’ escapes.
At the time, biologists guessed the coyote swam from San Francisco, which is a little over 1 mile (1.6km) from the fortress. But it turns out the male coyote actually made an even longer swim from nearby Angel Island, 2 miles away.
Continue reading...Country diary: A butterfly haven of orange tips and holly blues | Sara Hudston
Powerstock Common, Dorset: I’m hopeful that the mixed habitats here and bright weather will bring them out in their droves – and I’m not disappointed
The recent pulse of warm, sunny weather has encouraged butterflies to fly in large numbers in Dorset. They were everywhere when I visited Powerstock Common: the moment I opened the car door, a brimstone fluttered sulphur-yellow over the parking area, lifted on a stream of blackcap song.
Bright as butter in the sunshine, it’s possible that brimstones are the species that inspired the word “butterfly”. When this one settled on a hazel, its underwings merged green among the new leaves, the colours indicating it was a male. Females are much paler, sometimes almost white. Both sexes have a pair of browny-orange spots on their wings, which are foxed like the page edges of an old book.
Continue reading...Hundreds of animals rescued from ‘appalling’ conditions at California sanctuary
San Diego Humane Society finds more than 400 animals at Julian facility, with malnutrition and injuries amid bankruptcy dispute
Authorities in California have rescued more than 400 animals, including horses, cats, dogs and goats, from a now shuttered sanctuary in San Diego county.
The San Diego Humane Society conducted the massive operation last week at Villa Chardonnay, a sprawling facility in Julian that had operated since 2003.
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