Environment

Three minke whales have died and another two are in distress off the coast of the UK. The first sighting of the dead whale, a calf, was spotted on a mudbank in the River Orre, Near Felixstowe, on Saturday afternoon. Another dead adult whale, thought to be the calf's mother, was seen in the water. Officials have sealed off an area of Felixstowe Pier in Suffolk after the 30ft mother whale washed up there. John Cresswell, from the Felixstowe Volunteer...

A flamingo stands on one leg because it takes less effort than using two, according to new research. It is possibly the animal kingdom's most iconic pose and the reason for it has remained one of the greatest mysteries in nature. Now, in the first study of its kind, scientists reckon they have come up with a simple solution. The famous long necked pink bird with stick like legs, which at five feet tall is among the biggest on Earth,...

Shocking pictures show more than 100 tonnes of rubbish - including dangerous asbestos - dumped by flytippers next to a beauty spot. The enormous mound of rubble, containing building materials and even human waste, will cost the taxpayer more than £20,000 to remove. Council workers are currently trawling through the mass of waste to find traces of those responsible before the clean-up can begin. It's been dumped close to the Wat Tyler Country Park near Basildon, Essex, known for its...

Plant life on Antarctica is growing rapidly due to climate change, scientists have found. Few plants live on the continent, but scientists studying moss have found a sharp increase in biological activity in the last 50 years. A team including scientists from the University of Exeter used moss bank cores – which are well preserved in Antarctica’s cold conditions – from an area spanning about 400 miles. They tested five cores from three sites and found major biological changes had...

The sight and sound of summer bees, butterflies and birds may become a thing of the past unless urgent action is taken to revive their habitat and stop intensive agriculture methods, leading experts are warning. In the last 70 years, two bumblebee species have been driven to extinction in the UK alone and out of the 22 remaining species, six are under threat and considered seriously endangered. Their decline is so severe that the British Beekeepers’ Association fears that British...

Fascinating photos have caught baby owls looking awestruck as they experience the world for the first time. The photos were taken at The Scottish Owl Centre in West Lothian. They show a four-week-old American Barn Owl, six-week Long Eared Owl, five-week Ural Owl, three-week Pharaoh Owl and five-week-old Tawny Owl. Within the next couple of weeks, all of these owls will leave their West Lothian home to take up a crucial role as owl ambassadors across Scotland. They will go...

By Courtney Greatrex  A disabled mum in a wheelchair has blasted bosses at under fire Southern Rail after staff allegedly refused to help her board a train because they were running late. Rebecca Bartholomew, 37, said a ticket inspector would not help because the service was three minutes behind schedule. The mum of one was left stranded on the platform as the train pulled away and she missed a hospital appointment. She claimed the inspector told her it was "Southern...

A beach that washed away over thirty years ago during large storms has reappeared due to a freak tide. The beach close to the Irish village of Dooagh on Achill Island vanished in 1984 after huge waves swept away all the sand, leaving just rock pools behind. Good for catching crabs, not so great for sunbathing. The rock pools left behind caused trade to plummet with almost all the village’s hotels, guesthouses and cafes shutting down. One freak tide ruined...

A restaurateur concerned by the plight of rough sleepers in his city converted a shipping container into a temporary home for people needing a bed for the night. Jasper Thompson, 58, was moved by the numbers of people he saw sleeping on the streets and put his mind to doing something to help. The result bears similarities to the pre-fab homes built in refugee camps by IKEA in conjunction with the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), which provided...