Royal Horticultural Society hopes punters will be inspired by Salford winner of pub garden competition Pub gardens often feature barren patios, characterless lawns and – worst of all – fake grass. Now, the Royal Horticultural Society is asking landlords across the country to plant up their patios, saying they are full of untapped potential for urban green space and wildlife ..read more

The best of this week’s wildlife photographs from around the world ..read more

More than 50% of the planet’s species live in the soil, but only a fraction have been identified – so far Read more: No birdsong, no water in the creek, no beating wings: how a haven for nature fell silent The sound of an earthworm is a distinctive rasping and scrunching. Ants sound like the soothing patter of rain. A passing, tunnelling vole makes a noise like a squeaky dog’s toy repeatedly being chewed. On a spring day at Rothamsted Research, an agricultural research institution in Herefordshire, singing skylarks and the M1 motorway are competing for the airways. But the attention here is on ..read more

Analysis of 60o gardens shows wilder lawns feed caterpillars and create breeding habitat Good news for lazy gardeners: one labour-saving tweak could almost double the number of butterflies in your garden, according to a new scientific study – let the grass grow long. In recent years nature lovers have been extolling the benefits of relaxed lawn maintenance with the growing popularity of the #NoMowMay campaign. Now an analysis of six years of butterfly sightings across 600 British gardens has provided the first scientific evidence that wilder lawns boost butterfly numbers ..read more

Body of 16-year-old boy discovered with injuries ‘consistent with a crocodile attack’ as wildlife officers search for animal Follow our Australia news live blog for latest updates Get our morning and afternoon news emails, free app or daily news podcast A teenager has died after a suspected crocodile attack off an island in the Torres Strait, police have confirmed. Thursday Island water police launched a search and rescue operation near Saibai Island after receiving reports at about 4am on Thursday that a 16-year-old boy was missing. Sign up for Guardian Australia’s free morning and afternoo ..read more

This super cute show about an animal hospital will have you crying happy tears from the off. And just wait till you meet the seal pups! The late great critic Roger Ebert once said that “movies are like a machine that generates empathy” – the idea being that when we sit down and watch dramas, comedies, documentaries or even horror films, they take us out of ourselves and force us to share in the pain and triumph of others. In short, they can make us better people. Watching Wildlife Rescue, no one would call it a cinematic masterpiece, but Ebert would definitely approve as it generates such empa ..read more

Noreen and Antonia, born last May, are among first cloned offspring of a native endangered species in the North America Two more black-footed ferrets have been successfully cloned in an attempt to save the endangered species, the US Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) announced. The national agency shared news about the births of ferrets Noreen and Antonia, who were both born last May ..read more

Scientists estimate Vasuki indicus was up to 15 metres long, weighing a tonne Fossil vertebrae unearthed in a mine in western India are the remains of one of the largest snakes that ever lived, a monster estimated at up to 15 metres in length – longer than a T rex. Scientists have recovered 27 vertebrae from the snake, including a few still in the same position as they would have been when the reptile was alive. They said the snake, which they named Vasuki indicus, would have looked like a large python and would not have been venomous ..read more

Two parrots have formed a unique relationship after arriving at a Tasmanian wildlife sanctuary Get our morning and afternoon news emails, free app or daily news podcast After struggling to bond with members of their own flock, a matte black cockatoo and bright green lorikeet have become unexpected friends. Greg Iron, director of Bonorong wildlife sanctuary in Tasmania, described their relationship as being “love at first sight” for Raphael, a musk lorikeet who was previously kept without a permit ..read more

As nature falls silent in most cities around the world, New Zealand’s capital has been transformed by the sound of native birds returning to the dawn chorus Read more: No birdsong, no water in the creek, no beating wings: how a haven for nature fell silent Some time in the pre-dawn darkness, the commotion starts. From her bed, Danae Mossman hears the noise building: loud romantic liaisons, vomiting, squeals, the sound of bodies hitting the pool at full tilt. Things get particularly loud between midnight and 4am, Mossman says, “when they are getting busy”. A kororā, or little penguin, colony li ..read more