Researchers also find zebra finches 20% less likely to hatch from eggs if exposed to noise pollution Noise pollution from traffic stunts growth in baby birds, even while inside the egg, research has found. Unhatched birds and hatchlings that are exposed to noise from city traffic experience long-term negative effects on their health, growth and reproduction, the study found ..read more

Animals ran through rush-hour streets, colliding with vehicles and leaving four people in hospital Two of the military horses that broke loose during a morning exercise and bolted through central London on Wednesday are in “serious condition” and have been operated on, according to officials. The runaway horses, including one white horse drenched in blood, ran through the rush-hour streets of the capital, colliding with vehicles and resulting in four people being taken to hospital ..read more

The 54-year-old had heart and kidney failure and didn’t qualify for a traditional transplant, so an alternative procedure was devised Doctors have transplanted a pig kidney into a New Jersey woman who was near death, part of a dramatic pair of surgeries that also stabilized her failing heart. Lisa Pisano’s combination of heart and kidney failure left her too sick to qualify for a traditional transplant, and out of options. Then doctors at NYU Langone Health devised a novel one-two punch: implant a mechanical pump to keep her heart beating and days later transplant a kidney from a genetically m ..read more

Staff at Topeka zoo are ‘devastated’ by death of Karen, who was known as the ‘dancing queen’ A popular ostrich at a zoo in Kansas known as the “dancing queen” has died after swallowing an employee’s keys. The Topeka zoo and conservation center announced the death of Karen on Friday after she “reached beyond her exhibit fence to grab the keys of a staff member” and then swallowed them ..read more

Newberry county sheriff’s office reassures people siren-like roar is male cicadas singing to attract mates after a decade dormant Emerging cicadas are so loud in one South Carolina county that residents are calling the sheriff’s office asking why they can hear sirens or a loud roar. The Newberry county sheriff’s office sent out a message on Facebook on Tuesday letting people know that the whining sound is just the male cicadas singing to attract mates after more than a decade dormant ..read more

Pictures and videos of riderless horses in centre of English capital shared on social media Military horses have bolted through central London after a number of the animals got loose. Army personnel and horses were hurt and vehicles damaged when chaos broke out on Wednesday morning. Reports indicated that up to five people had been injured ..read more

The Kimberley region of Western Australia is a harsh yet beautiful place. However, its natural beauty conceals a community in crisis – devastated by a pattern of suicides among its Aboriginal youth. A glimmer of hope emerges in the form of Prof Juli Coffin, a Nyangamurta woman and mental-health professional who enlists her herd of horses to create deeply felt connections between animal and human. Coffin’s programme uses a culturally appropriate setting to support long-term healing for some of Australia’s most vulnerable young people ..read more

I thought finding Karma – yes, that is the cat’s name – would make me beloved and cherished by my neighbourhood. Unfortunately, not so much A couple of weeks ago I went to go see a woman about a cat. The woman was my neighbour (we’ll call her L) and she had lost her tabby, Karma. (That’s the cat’s name – I’m not saying L had it coming.) Karma had been gone for weeks and her family was distraught. The entire neighbourhood had been trying, without luck, to look for her. And then, one day, when I was looking out of the window, I saw Karma peeking out from the dilapidated shed at the bottom of my ..read more

Researchers in Canada studying interventions to stem decline of mountain caribou have found wolf culls most effective Canada’s imperilled mountain caribou are staging an unlikely comeback, reversing years of decline that pushed populations to the brink. But researchers warn that any sustained recovery comes with a catch: in order to save these ungulates, thousands of wolves will need to be killed in the coming years, highlighting the unenviable task wildlife managers have attempting to manage complex ecosystems. For decades, mountain caribou – an ecotype of woodland caribou that once ranged fr ..read more

The biggest cities in the US are mourning animals who fostered a rare sense of connection. Art is preserving their legacies Working near Central Park, one New Yorker regularly witnessed one of its most beloved residents: Flaco the owl, who became a celebrity after escaping the nearby zoo. The woman took the bird’s message to heart, re-evaluated her life and decided to quit her job. Now, she’s one of dozens with a Flaco tattoo. “They’ll be walking around the rest of their lives, that name and owl on their arm,” says Duke Riley, an environmental artist who spearheaded a special sale at his tatto ..read more