'Record-breaking flood of hedgehogs' reported to RSPCA
Hedgehogs have been hit hard this year, according to the RSPCA, which is reporting that the number of hedgehogs they've been called upon to help is up by 22%.
'It's impossible to know exactly why we are seeing so many more hedgehogs this year,' the RSPCA's Evie Button told ITV, adding that number are set to break records. Possible causes cited are trouble finding food and changes in weather affecting the breeding season.
Yet according to Ms Button, the reason for the rise might actually be something a little more positive — namely, that 'people are more aware and concerned about hedgehogs so are reporting them to us more often.'
The strange bedfellows at Donna Nook: Baby seals and 21st century bombers
For 10 months of the year, the beach at Donna Nook in Lincolnshire shakes to the sound of bombs detonating — it's a stretch of coastline owned by the Ministry of Defence, and used for target practice.
For a couple of months every autumn, however, a very different noise comes to the fore: that of baby seals and their mothers.
https://youtu.be/NEB1uVqWTXg?t=31
There is a nature reserve as well as an RAF bombing range in this corner of England, a few miles south of Grimsby, and it's . An RAF Facebook page showing what's going on at the bombing range even shared a post showing a helicopter crew taking the chance to have a closer look at the newborn pups.
https://www.facebook.com/sally.warrilow.1/videos/10221110019764207/UzpfSTgzMzc5OTc2NjYzOTk5MToyODE0NTgxMDQxODk1MTc3/
See more about Donna Nook (Lincolnshire Wildlife Trust)
All the best pictures from Nature Photographer of the Year
The overall winner was a pair of dancing rabbits, but for our money there are some even more spectacular shots — such as this of a swan in morning mist.
'Their world is disappearing — and we are the last generation who could save it': The WWF's Christmas advert
The impact of deforestation is at the centre of the WWF's Christmas advert, featuring an animated jaguar, some terrifying machinery and a message exhorting us to do our part.
The 'call to action' message at the end refers to adopting a jaguar — perhaps not the first thing you might think of when it comes to saving the planet, but surprisingly important. 'By adopting a jaguar, you aren’t just helping one animal - you’re protecting the rainforest and everything in it,' the video description explains.
On This Day: The birth of a great literary career
On this day in 1865 a failed riverboat pilot and miner-turned-journalist living in Nevada published a short story called Jim Smiley and His Jumping Frog, which appeared in the New York Saturday Press. The story was a smash hit, being reprinted countless times across the country, mostly under the tweaked title The Celebrated Jumping Frog of Calaveras County. Its success inspired its author to pursue a career in literature. Thus began the career of the great Mark Twain.
Read the full story (University of Virginia) and then take a look inside Mark Twain's writing shed (Country Life)
And finally... an amazing aerial display
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Nature and nurture in the gardens of Bramham ParkTim Richardson looks at the innovative and superbly maintained 18th-century landscape garden of Bramham Park in West Yorkshire, home of Nick and Rachel Lane Fox. Photographs by Paul Highnam.
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If the future of Ferrari is electric vehicles, then it is our future tooIt's widely believed that Ferrari will unveil its first electric car this year. It's the signal that the internal combustion era is coming to an end.
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The brilliant tractor tribute to the NHS from a group of Warwickshire farmersPeople around Britain have been paying tribute to the efforts of our NHS workers at the time of the coronavirus pandemic — but few have been as creative and clever as this one.
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London's iconic red bus at risk and 6,000 year old chewing gum gives clues into our DNA historyCuts to industry subsidies and an increase in fares has left bus use at its lowest point ever, while DNA extracted from ancient 'chewing gum' allows scientists to decipher the genetic code of a Stone Age woman.
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90-million-year-old 'swimming dinosaur' skeleton found by dogs out walking in Somerset, and the nonchalant moths who don't bother fleeing enemiesA superbly intact dinosaur skeleton — described as being 'museum quality' — has been discovered on a beach in Somerset.
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Battle to ban 4x4s from the idyllic Lake District spot bequeathed by Beatrix Potter, eagle fights octopus and the 'snail's pace' climate talksThis morning we look at Little Langdale's fight for peace, reflect on the climate change talks in Madrid and discover the soundtrack for Brexit.
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Country Life Today: How Greta Thunberg shifted the dial on climate change — and the backlash shows just how muchThis morning we ponder whether Greta Thunberg is the Joan of Arc for the environmental movement, look at a key election — one from 19 years ago — and ponder the marvel of 'dad tidying'.
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Country Life Today: Great news for those who love our great country pubs — the years of decline are overThere is a great sign of health in the pub industry, we look back at Edward VIII's abdication message and fret about Greenland's melting ice.
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Country Life Today: Spain accused of being 'a deplorable choice' for UN climate conferenceA no-holds-barred assault on the Spanish fishing industry, Banksy raising awareness of the homeless and the woes of the Christmas jumper are in today's news round-up.
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Country Life Today: 'This is perhaps the ultimate wake-up call from the uncontrolled experiment humanity is unleashing on the world’s oceans'In today's round up, we examine why oxygen loss is putting oceans at risk, discover that action to cut air pollution brings almost immediate benefits to human health and find out which bird's arrival marks the start of winter in Gloucestershire.
