It's been a busy spring... time for a quick catch up!
- The saddest news of the spring comes from the Galapagos, where the world's most famous curmudgeonly tortoise was found dead in his enclosure on 24th June. RIP Jorge Solitario...
- In the DR Congo, a shocking attack on the Okapi Wildlife Reserve by 'mai mai rebels', apparently as 'retribution' for the Okapi Conservation Project's work to prevent illegal gold mining and elephant poaching within the reserve... 6 people were killed during the attack, all the project's buildings and infrastructure destroyed and 13 captive Okapis were also killed.
- Nearby, the Virunga National Park headquarters have been evacuated, as rebel militia approach
- More depressing news: sharks being 'hoovered up' from the world's oceans too feed the shark fin trade: an amazing 10 million kilos (!!!!) of shark fin passed through Hong Kong in 2011.
- The Wildlife Trusts have a new Chair, Ren� Olivieri: meanwhile, previous Chair (and former Wildlife Travel leader) Michael Allen received an OBE in the Queen's birthday honours.
- In Somerset, two pairs of Great White Egret have bred successfully at Shapwick Heath NNR this year. How long before Glossy Ibis joins the ever growing list of traditionally-Mediterranean species to nest succesfully in England?
- On the theme of 'hatching', the first UK cohort of Spoon-billed Sandpipers have hatched at Slimbridge, making for some oh-so-cute photos/video.
- And in Cambodia, 18 new Siamese Crocodiles have hatched: as few as 250 individuals are thought to survive in the wild.
- And finally, just because it's a great read, with lots of pretty pictures, check out the Natural History Museum's Beetle Blog. Coleopterists have the best fun...
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