I love to travel, mainly to Africa where I was born, I enjoy reading and playing bridge. I go for rambles in the countryside. I collect stamps and go to T'ai Chi classes. I love my two cats and my garden birds. I adore the African wildlife and try to help Conservation groups.
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US lists polar bear as threatened !
Polar bears live only in the Arctic and depend on sea ice to hunt seals. The United States has listed the polar bear as a threatened species, because its Arctic sea ice habitat is melting due to climate change. US government scientists predict that two-thirds of the polar bear population of 25,000 could disappear by 2050. However, the government stressed the listing would not lead to measures to prevent global warming.
Environmentalists have expressed disappointment that more will not be done to protect the bear's habitat. US Interior Secretary Dirk Kempthorne said the government had made the decision on the advice of scientists, but he suggested the impact of the move would be limited.
"While the legal standards under the Endangered Species Act compel me to list the polar bear as threatened," he said, "I want to make clear that this listing will not stop global climate change or prevent any sea ice from melting." He said that could only be achieved through action by all of the world's major economies.
Mr Kempthorne also said he was taking measures to make sure the listing was not "abused" to make policies on climate change which would cause "harm to the society and the economy of the United States".A federal judge had ordered the US government to make a decision on the issue by May 15.
Environmental campaigners described the listing as a limited victory. "Protecting the polar bear under the Endangered Species Act is a major step forward," said Andrew Wetzler of the Natural Resources Defense Council in a statement. "But the Bush administration has proposed using loopholes in the law to allow the greatest threat to the polar bear - global warming pollution - to continue unabated," he continued.
Mr Kempthorne said there would be greater steps to monitor polar bear populations in Alaska, and more cooperation with foreign governments to protect the species. But environmentalists said this would not be enough.
"By denying a direct link between the sources of global warming pollution and the loss of the polar bears' sea ice habitat, and by denying that the polar bear will be protected from oil and gas development, they're willing to sit by and let the polar bear go extinct," said John Kostyack of the National Wildlife Federation.
In February, the Bush administration sold drilling rights for oil and gas off the Alaskan coast, which includes an area of polar bear habitat.
Canada - home to around 15,000 polar bears - has not listed the animals as threatened.
BBC NEWS REPORT.
Wildlife populations 'plummeting' !
Over-fishing and demand for their fins as a delicacy have hit shark numbers
Between a quarter and a third of the world's wildlife has been lost since 1970, according to data compiled by the Zoological Society of London.
Populations of land-based species fell by 25%, marine by 28% and freshwater by 29%, it says. Humans are wiping out about 1% of all other species every year, and one of the "great extinction episodes" in the Earth's history is under way, it says. Pollution, farming and urban expansion, over-fishing and hunting are blamed.
The Living Planet Index, compiled by the society in partnership with the wildlife group WWF, tracks the fortunes of more than 1,400 species of fish, amphibians, reptiles, birds and mammals, using scientific publications and online databases. It said numbers had declined by 27% in the 35 years from 1970 to 2005.
Some of the worst hit are marine species which saw their numbers plummet by 28% in just 10 years, between 1995 and 2005.
Populations of ocean birds have fallen by 30% since the mid 1990s, while land-based populations have dropped by 25%. Reduced biodiversity means millions of people face a future where food supplies are more vulnerable to pests and disease and where water is in irregular or short supply -
James Leape
Director general, WWF UK
Among the creatures most seriously affected have been African antelopes, swordfish and hammerhead sharks. Another, the baiji - or Yangtze River Dolphin - may have been lost altogether. The findings were released ahead of a meeting of the Convention on Biodiversity in the German city of Bonn.
The convention was signed in 1992 with the aim of stabilising the loss of species. In 2002, member states pledged to achieve a "significant reduction" in the current rate of biodiversity loss by 2010.
But the Zoological Society said governments had since failed to put in place policies necessary to achieve that goal. It said that while species' decline does appear to have flattened off in recent years, it is "very unlikely" that the 2010 target will be reached.
The WWF said that over the next 30 years, climate change was also expected to become a significant threat to species. Land-based species, such as African antelopes, have fallen by 25% Colin Butfield, head of campaigns at WWF UK, said: "Biodiversity underpins the health of the planet and has a direct impact on all our lives, so it is alarming that despite an increased awareness of environmental issues we continue to see a downward trend."
The charity also warned that a failure to stop biodiversity loss would have a direct impact on humans. Director general James Leape said: "Reduced biodiversity means millions of people face a future where food supplies are more vulnerable to pests and disease and where water is in irregular or short supply. "No-one can escape the impact of biodiversity loss because reduced global diversity translates quite clearly into fewer new medicines, greater vulnerability to natural disasters and greater effects from global warming."
The WWF is calling on governments meeting in Bonn to honour their commitments to put in place effective protected areas for wildlife and to adopt a target to achieve net annual zero deforestation by 2020.
BBC NEWS REPORT.
Hope and despair for China tourist !
Three days after a devastating earthquake that killed at least 19,000 people in China, 19 British tourists have been flown out of the one of the worst affected areas. Tourist Liz Cullen, from The Wirral, tells what happened when the quake struck.
We had taken a quite a long and hair-raising coach journey along a mountain road to Wolong, the panda reserve, in Sichuan province of China. We had arrived and we'd had about an hour there and I had decided that one of the things I wanted to do was actually hold one of the baby pandas. An appointment was made to do that at 2 o'clock.
I did [it] and it was one of the happiest moments of my life and it was just a wonderful, wonderful experience. Shortly after that we were going round to look at the souvenir shop which is just round the corner, possibly about half an hour later, when there was a very, very distinct shudder underneath us, followed by more and more shudders.
Then we looked up to the mountains, which are very, very close on both sides, and there seemed to be an eruption from the top of one mountain and the biggest noise I have ever heard in my life, followed by trees cascading down towards us, followed by some boulders and rocks.
The pandas ran to the edge of the cage, the reservation place they were in, and we just stayed in the open. We were well guided by the people who were there, who said 'stay, stay until we see what's coming where'. When it was clear where the trees and rubble were coming to, they guided us to a small brick shelter where we stayed and the ground continued to shudder and the stuff continued to come down from the mountains.
We stayed there for, I don't know how long, possibly a few minutes, possibly longer until it seemed to settle slightly and then we went back into the open, obviously because we weren't sure how safe the buildings were going to be.
I had my phone in my hand and I was torn between texting my sister's phone, because my mother doesn't have a mobile phone, to say 'I love you', or to say we're OK, because saying I love you would possibly mean she would think I was dying or about to die.
And 'we're ok' might not have been the case. So I tried to do that, but events overtook that. There were those around who were calmer than I was, I don't know. The thought in my head was that I had just had one of the most lovely moments of my life and now I'm going to die here and perhaps never be found.
We stayed at the reservation for a couple of hours until they felt it was safe to take us in a coach. We were taken to the grounds of the hotel we were supposed to be staying at that night - which again was a very hair-raising journey and all praise to the coach driver who was fantastic driving round boulders and landslides.
Ms Cullen said the local people had been remarkable. Eventually we got there and we basically stayed in the coach until this morning (Thursday). We were allowed out of the coach but we were staying overnight in the coach because the buildings weren't safe. And then someone arrived who said grab your luggage quickly, you're being taken out and we were taken down a short road in a van where there was a helicopter waiting for us.
I went between hope and despair, and certainly for most of the time I was more concerned particularly about my mum not knowing whether I was alive or dead and probably thinking I was dead, and I'd have given anything to be able to contact her and say, 'look, this has happened, the situation here isn't ideal, but we're alive and well'.
The local Chinese people were remarkable. Despite losing their homes and being in devastating circumstances, they showed us nothing but kindness, help and support. I'll never forget them.
BBC NEWS REPORT.
Swan family halts city rush-hour !
Passers-by stopped traffic while the birds were led to safety. Tyneside's rush-hour traffic was briefly brought to a standstill when two swans and their cygnets wandered across a busy road.
Passers-by rushed to stop cars as the six birds tried to cross the busy Claremont Road roundabout in Newcastle city centre on Thursday.
Vehicles on the sliproad for the city's central motorway were stopped in both directions for several minutes.
The animals were ushered in the direction of nearby Exhibition Park. Once there, the family of swans headed for the park's lake.
BBC NEWS REPORT.
Bullock could be record breaker !
A Somerset animal sanctuary is hoping one of its bullocks will be officially named as Britain's tallest cow. The 6ft 6in Friesian, called Chilli, towers over other cattle at Ferne Animal Sanctuary in Chard. "We have checked farms and sanctuaries across the country and we have been unable to find a cow even near his height," said the sanctuary's Jo Fox.
Workers have applied to the Guinness Book of Records to have Chilli named as Britain's tallest cow. Chilli, aged nine, who now weighs more than a tonne (1,000kg), arrived at the sanctuary when he was six days old. "He is lucky to still be alive," said Ms Fox. "It is unusual for Friesians to live to this age as they are usually slaughtered for beef in their youth."
The closest in height to Chilli was one recorded in Dorset at 6ft 1in in 2007.
The sanctuary is currently going through the checking process with Guinness.
BBC NEWS ERPORT.
Hope of first owl chicks in years !
A male and female snowy owl seen on North Uist the Western Isles could become the UK's first breeding pair in 30 years, RSPB Scotland said.
Last year two birds were spotted, but they were both males.
In the past few days, a female bird has been spotted at the RSPB's Balranald Reserve and a male just a few miles away at Grenitote.
The previous pair to breed in the UK was on Shetland in 1975, the wild bird conservation charity said. The birds of prey may have arrived on Lewis from North America and could remain until summer if they breed.
Martin Scott, Western Isles officer with RSPB Scotland, said: "This is great news, these birds are an absolutely spectacular sight and an inspiration to anyone that's lucky enough to see them.
"Just to have snowy owls around is special enough, but to have the prospect of them breeding is even better."
BBC NEWS REPORT.
Giant panda hope for Scottish zoo !
Edinburgh Zoo is in negotiations to bring a pair of giant pandas from China to Scotland. Zoo representatives recently returned from China, where they signed a letter of intent signifying a commitment to bring giant pandas to Edinburgh. It has been proposed that a breeding pair would be on loan to the Royal Zoological Society of Scotland (RZSS) for 10 years. It is hoped they would give birth to cubs during that time.
However, one campaign group has criticised the move. Libby Anderson, a spokeswoman for Advocates for Animals, said: "We always have reservations about captive breeding programmes because they don't have a very high rate of success. If you're going to carry out breeding programmes, do it in the wild. "The pandas were described in the press as a great crowd-puller. You have to ask what is the priority here for the zoo - is it to pull in crowds, to use animals for entertainment or a realistic endeavour to save pandas?"
Edinburgh would be only the eighth zoo in the Western hemisphere to care for the species if the project goes ahead.
Why the zoo wants to bring the giant pandas to Edinburgh. Zoo chiefs said that looking after the endangered animals could benefit conservation. David Windmill, chief executive of RZSS, said: "Working with giant pandas means so much more to us than introducing a new species to our collection. "It is an opportunity to work on a global level with other conservationists to gain a better understanding of the giant panda, the threats they face, and what we can do to ensure their survival."
Edinburgh would be only the eighth Western zoo to care for the species There are currently only around 1,500 giant pandas in the wild. RZSS has been working on the project for almost a year, and hopes to have giant pandas at Edinburgh Zoo by 2009, the year of the society's centenary.
Mr Windmill said that the project had received strong support from the UK and Scottish Governments and that this must continue if the zoo is to reach an agreement with the Chinese. As part of the proposed agreement with the Chinese government, Edinburgh Zoo will collaborate on research projects benefiting conservation in the wild.
RZSS will also provide substantial funding to support giant panda conservation projects in the wild. Giant pandas live in a few mountain ranges in central China and feed almost exclusively on bamboo, which makes up 99% of their diet.
BBC NEWS REPORT.
Pelican 'bombs' bather in Florida !
A woman required 20 stitches to her face after a pelican crashed into her in the sea off Florida, apparently diving for fish.
The bird, which died in Thursday's collision, ripped a gash in Debbie Shoemaker's face as she bathed near the city of St Petersburg.
The city fire chief said he had never heard of a diving pelican hit a person.
Pelicans grow to up to 30lb (13kg) and can dive from heights of 60 to 70 feet (18 to 21 metres).
Ms Shoemaker, 50, returned home on Friday, the Associated Press reports.
BBC NEWS REPORT.
'Territorial' peacock attacks car !
The car owners said the repairs would cost more than £2,000.A peacock at a wildlife centre is thought to have damaged a car by attacking its reflection in the paint. The bird was seen pecking at a Renault Laguna parked at The Animal Ark park at Great Witchingham, Norfolk, on Monday, staff said.
Park owner Steve Bealey said the car was scratched and a visitor reported seeing a peacock pecking at it. Car owners David and Rachel Burton, who live near Dereham, Norfolk, said the repairs would cost more than £2,000.
Mrs Burton said: "It was like someone had got a screw driver and gone along the car. There are lots of scratches and blood all over the car. "It has got 24 dents on one side and 23 the other, so yes, it's a lot of damage it has done." Mr Bealey said: "It's breeding season so they are very territorial at the moment. Unfortunately this one took to attacking this person's car.
"It's very rare they get as far as the car park anyway, but this one has been a favourite with the public on the terrace for some time - which is next door to the car park - and he has obviously found his way out."
BBC NEWS REPORT.
Resistance hopes for sick finches !
Greenfinch are among the worst hit by the parasite.
A parasite affecting birds and recently recorded in the Highlands will continue to kill garden species until they build up an immunity to it, a charity claims. RSPB Scotland said people can play a part in fighting the spread of trichomoniasis by cleaning feeders and feeding areas.
Cases have been reported among greenfinch in Strathspey. Though not transmittable to humans, the organisation warned people against handling dead birds. Public agency Scottish Natural Heritage (SNH) confirmed the recent cases.
The parasite causes inflammation of the gullet and throat and can lead to a complete obstruction of an infected bird's upper digestive tract. RSPB Scotland said it first surfaced in the UK in 2005 and has emerged every summer since.
A spokesman said: "Greenfinches are the main species affected, but other finches, as well as house sparrows, are also susceptible. "There's no risk to humans, cats or dogs from the disease, and the best way to try and halt the spread is to keep all feeding areas clean and tidy.
If there is a bird affected in your garden, you can fill out a form and send it to us to help monitor the spread of the disease, and it's probably best to stop feeding for a couple of weeks so as not to infect other birds.
"Unfortunately it looks like something that will continue to affect greenfinches until they can hopefully develop a resistance."
SNH asked anyone who spots a dead finch in their garden to contact the Department for Environment Food and Rural Affairs.
BBC NEWS REPORT.
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