Could this humble sea sponge clean up the world’s ports?

1 September 2026 at 11:00

The chicken liver sponge has sailed through a test of its ability to filter pollutants in a harbour in Spain’s Costa Brava

In the polluted waters of Marina Palamós on Spain’s Costa Brava, Manuel Maldonado, a sponge biologist, noticed something unusual last month: red starfish had started settling in the area.

Nearly two years earlier, the Spanish National Research Council scientist and his colleagues had begun transplanting sea sponges into the port to study whether they could survive in its polluted waters.

Scaring monkeys? Detecting bedbugs? Meet the elite working dogs – in pictures

The Guardian

By: Mee-Lai Stone

1 September 2026 at 09:00

John Fabiano has travelled the globe photographing dogs with jobs – from Italian truffle sniffers and Greenlandic sled dogs to Perla the hotel receptionist in Cologne

Kākāpō rising: 90 chicks swell population of the world’s heaviest parrot

The Guardian

By: Eva Corlett in Wellington

1 September 2026 at 05:57

Critically endangered New Zealand bird enjoys record breeding season triggered by mass fruiting of native tree, pushing its numbers to 325

The population of the world’s heaviest parrot, the kākāpō, has surpassed 300 birds for the first time in 75 years, after a record breeding season triggered by the mass fruiting of a native New Zealand tree.

Ninety chicks were officially added to the population of the critically endangered birds on 1 September, pushing the total to 325 – a record high since recovery efforts began.

Kākāpō rising: 90 chicks swell population of the world’s heaviest parrot

World news | The Guardian

By: Eva Corlett in Wellington

1 September 2026 at 05:57

Critically endangered New Zealand bird enjoys record breeding season triggered by mass fruiting of native tree, pushing its numbers to 325

The population of the world’s heaviest parrot, the kākāpō, has surpassed 300 birds for the first time in 75 years, after a record breeding season triggered by the mass fruiting of a native New Zealand tree.

Ninety chicks were officially added to the population of the critically endangered birds on 1 September, pushing the total to 325 – a record high since recovery efforts began.

Georgia police officer put on leave after family’s pet donkey killed during search

World news | The Guardian

By: Richard Luscombe

31 August 2026 at 16:09

Donkey named HeeHaw was shot and killed as authorities reportedly looked on property in search of a missing person

A police officer in the US state of Georgia was placed on leave after a family’s pet baby donkey was shot and killed during an early-morning search on their property.

The animal’s owner, Hannah Israel, said officers were at her pasture without notification or permission at about 12.45am on Sunday, reportedly looking for a missing person when they encountered the small male donkey named HeeHaw.

Gene-Editing Technology Offers New Ways to Create the Dogs of Our Dreams

NYT > Top Stories

By: Emily Anthes

31 August 2026 at 12:02

Technologies like CRISPR are giving us new ways to create the dogs of our dreams — and a reason to reckon with our past mistakes.

Life with Bailey has been “amazing,” Dr. Walker said. “I didn’t really appreciate, when people say pets are part of your family, what that really means. But she really is a part of our family.”

‘It was like fighting a dinosaur’: Sydney shark attack survivor recalls left hook that helped save her life

The Guardian

By: Achol Arok

31 August 2026 at 08:01

Leah Stewart, who was bitten while swimming at Coogee beach, says she asked herself ‘which limb am I willing to lose’ as she fought back

An Australian woman who lost an arm after a shark attack at a Sydney beach has described delivering a “left hook” punch to the four-metre great white as its open mouth came within centimetres of her face.

Leah Stewart, 34, a teacher and mother of a one-year-old, was attacked by the shark while on a morning swim at Coogee beach in Sydney’s eastern suburbs on 13 June.

Pet owners at risk of being ripped off by private equity firms as vet ownership rules change

World news | The Guardian

By: Helena Horton

30 August 2026 at 11:00

Critics say changes by CMA will allow multinationals to obscure their ownership of vet practices

Pet owners have been warned that they could be unknowingly ripped off by private equity firms who have bought local vet clinics, after the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) removed requirements for multinational companies to disclose which practices they own.

The CMA recently ran an investigation into the monopolisation of vet practices, and found that the lack of competition and transparency of ownership had led to high prices and a lack of information for customers. Pet owners were often unaware their local vet practice could be owned by an international private equity company.

Week in wildlife: a Cornish wallaby, a frazzled opossum and rare Montagu’s harrier chicks

The Guardian

By: Pejman Faratin

28 August 2026 at 09:00

This week’s best wildlife photographs from around the world

South African police arrest two Thai men for allegedly smuggling parrot eggs

World news | The Guardian

By: Rachel Savage in Johannesburg

26 August 2026 at 18:09

Bird eggs intercepted in homemade incubators at Johannesburg airport as officials try to halt wildlife trafficking

South African police have arrested two Thai nationals in separate incidents for allegedly attempting to smuggle endangered parrot eggs out of the country as authorities try to stem the tide of wildlife trafficking.

A 50-year-old Thai national was arrested at OR Tambo international airport in Johannesburg on 20 August, carrying 50 bird eggs in a homemade incubator in a hand-luggage bag, South Africa’s environment ministry said in a statement.

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