1.5-metre jellyfish spotted off coast of Cornwall

Divers stayed close to giant animal for an hour before it swam away

Mattha Busby

Mon 15 Jul 2019 11.58 BSTLast modified on Mon 15 Jul 2019 13.45 BST

A giant barrel jellyfish has been spotted off the coast of Cornwall by divers.

“I’ve never seen one that big,” said Lizzie Daly, a biologist who saw the creature near Falmouth. “We had seen a few smaller jellyfish at a beautiful reef nearby, and then out of the murk came this huge, beautiful jelly fish. You just take a double look and ask yourself if it’s actually a metre and a half long.”

She said swimming alongside the “gentle giant” was “such a serene, grounding experience”.

Thousands of the creatures, the largest jellyfish found in British coastal waters, flock through the Atlantic Ocean towards warm coastal waters in the west of the UK each year and are often found washed up on beaches across May and June.

Owing to the late summer, the animals, which normally measure up to about a metre with their tentacles, were still being spotted in south-west England, south Wales and elsewhere. This was not unusual, Daly said, and the sightings were not part of a “freak jellyfish wash-up”.

Daly and an underwater camera operator, Dan Abbott, were diving in Falmouth as part of the online series Wild Ocean Week and stayed with the abnormally large, translucent bell-mushroom-shaped animal for about an hour before it swam away.

The pair said they were not surprised by the animal’s behaviour. “It has got a very mild sting and poses no threat to humans – some people don’t even feel it,” Daly said. “Many people would be immediately worried, but it is not dangerous. Its a majestic creature.”

However, she said her response may have differed if it was a Portuguese man o’ war, which carries a potentially deadly sting.

Dr Michele Kiernan from the Marine Biological Association in Plymouth said little was known about the lifestyles of barrel jellyfish, including where their young live, and that their movements were at the mercy of winds and currents.

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Cornish hedges under threat from developers, say conservationists

Structure of county’s hedges mean they do not get same protection as those elsewhere

Steven Morris

Sun 5 May 2019 13.31 BST First published on Sun 5 May 2019 13.29 BST

The Cornish hedge – teeming with flora and fauna and one of the most beloved features of the landscape in the far south-west of Britain – is under threat from developers, conservationists are warning.

Some Cornish hedges are believed to be more than 4,000 years old, making them among the oldest human-built structures in Britain.

Unfortunately, because the Cornish hedge has such a distinctive structure – consisting typically of earth and stone with trees or bushes growing out of the top – it does not necessarily receive the same protection in law afforded to conventional hedgerows across England and Wales.

The Cornwall Wildlife Trust has raised concern that precious hedges are being lost when housing estates or industrial sites are built and Cornwall council is asking the UK government to help it save the hedges.

Cheryl Marriott, head of conservation at the trust, said many miles of Cornish hedges had already vanished. “They are a vital element of our landscape,” she said. “They are being lost primarily to developments such as big housing or industrial estates.”

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Man-of-war spotted along coast in Cornwall and Wales

12 September 2017

Large numbers of potentially fatal Portuguese man-of-war have washed up on a Cornish beach, prompting its closure.

RNLI lifeguards erected do not swim red flags at Perranporth beach earlier because of the "unusually large number" of the creatures.

The jellyfish-like organisms, which have long purple tentacles, have also been seen in Wales this month, says the Marine Conservation Society (MCS).

With mild sea temperatures of 16C there were fears of swimmers being stung.

The RNLI said it placed red flags at Perranporth beach between 10:00 and 13:30 BST to signal that the water was out of bounds, while lifeguards took advice on the level of danger to beachgoers.

More on the man-of-war sightings and other stories from Cornwall

Man-of-war were spotted at Newgale, Pembrokeshire, on 8 September and the next day on beaches near the holiday destination of Newquay.

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Dolphin pictured killing porpoise by flipping it into air

 11 October 2016

A bottlenose dolphin has been pictured flipping a porpoise into the air in a deadly attack. The rarely seen event was witnessed by gig rowers in Newlyn Harbour in Cornwall.

Dolphin attacks on porpoises accounted for about one death a year on average, said Cornwall Wildlife Trust (CWT).

It is unclear why dolphins attack porpoises but it could be an aggressive response to feeding competition or even "misdirected sexual aggression".

Image copyright Lizzie Warner Image caption No-one is quite sure why dolphins attack porpoises but it could be an aggressive response to feeding competition 

The pictures were captured by the Pendeen Pilot Gig Club in a training session.

CWT said: "We are unsure of why this happens and it is certainly not predation.

"Many theories have been put forward, including misdirected infanticide (bottlenoses will kill calves), misdirected sexual aggression or play behaviour and an aggressive response to feed competition are just some."

Marine Strandings Network said it found the carcass of the porpoise, which had "multiple severe injuries as a result of the attack".

"We do have a number of dead porpoise, and more unusually common dolphin, reported to us with injuries resulting from bottlenose dolphin aggression."

Source  

Badger cull areas more than triple under new government licences

Ten areas now licensed for culling, with Herefordshire, Cornwall and Devon added to Gloucestershire, Somerset and Dorset

Adam Vaughanand Damian Carrington

Tuesday 30 August 201610.16 BSTLast modified on Wednesday 31 August 201601.05 BST

The number of areas where badgers will be culled to stop the spread of bovine tuberculosis is to more than triple under licences issued by the government on Tuesday.

Licensed shooters could begin killing badgers within days in Herefordshire, Cornwall and Devon, which have been added to the culling already taking place in recent years in Gloucestershire, Somerset and Dorset.

Ministers say the culling is essential to stop the spread of bovine TB to cattle, which cost the taxpayer £100m in 2015 to compensate farmers for slaughtered cattle. But experts have said the culls “fly in the face of scientific evidence” and could even make the problem worse.

George Eustice, the farming minister, said the cull’s expansion was vital to tackle the “reservoir” of the disease in badgers. “Our comprehensive strategy to eradicate bovine TB in England is delivering results, with more than half the country on track to be free of the disease by the end of this parliament.”

In total, 10 areas have now been licensed for culling, up from three areas previously. Ministers also announced the provision of more information and advice on cattle movements and biosecurity measures and a consultation on the use of more sensitive tests.

The National Farmers Union welcomed the move. Meurig Raymond, the NFU president, said: “Farmers facing a daily battle against bTB in those areas that have been granted licences for badger control operations this year will welcome the news that finally action is being taken to tackle the reservoir of disease in wildlife in these areas.

“Today’s announcement means that badger control will now be taking place in 10% of the area where cattle are at the highest risk of contracting bTB.”

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Sea potatoes wash up en masse on Cornish beach

Marine experts say mysterious orbs found at Long Rock, near Penzance, are species of urchin stirred up from sandy burrows

Damien Gayle

Friday 19 August 201615.05 BSTLast modified on Friday 19 August 201618.12 BST

With their biomechanical, other-worldly appearance, these orbs look like baseballs reprocessed through the imagination of HR Giger. So their appearance en masse on a beach near Penzance this week left locals uneasy.

“I took one home with me, then panicked and put it in the bin in case it attacked,” said one dog walker who found hundreds on the beach at Long Rock, between Penzance and Marazion. His spaniel refused to go near them, he said.

Others reported finding the objects from Coverack to Looe. Jess Arnieson, 27, who was holidaying in the area, said people were baffled by the orbs. “There were hundreds of them stretching away as far as you could see along the shoreline,” she said. “The ones I saw were a bit smaller than a football but it’s possible there were some that were bigger ... I didn’t want to go any further along the beach.”

But there is no need to napalm the beaches of the west coast just yet. According to a marine biologist, the unsettling spheroids are not the vanguard of an invasion of Xenomorphs. They are a common species of urchin, known as sea potatoes or Echinocardium cordatum.

“They are quite common at the lower end of the right type of sandy beach, living below the sand in burrows,” said Martin Attrill, director of the marine institute at Plymouth University. “You get lots of them on Torbay main beach, for example. “They are related to starfish and usually covered with little spines.”

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First basking shark arrives in Britain month earlier than usual after record warm winter

Danny Boyle 7 APRIL 2016 • 12:47PM

The first basking shark of the year has been spotted off Britain's coast a month earlier than usual after the warmest winter on record.

A group on a sailing trip off Penzance, in Cornwall, saw the 16ft-long animal (5m) on Wednesday evening.

The basking shark is a seasonal visitor to UK waters and is normally never seen until the end of April or early May, before arriving in significant numbers as warmed water arrives from the Atlantic until October each year.

Experts believe the unusually early sighting - believed to be one of the earliest ever - is because of Britain's mild, but wet winter that lead to warmer seas.

She said: "It is certainly our first of the year and I have not heard of any others in the UK so far in 2016.

"It is our earliest yet. In the last couple of years we have seen some towards the end of April and even then that was early compared to previous years.

"In 2006 when we spotted thousands we did not see the first until June.

"The shark was in Mounts Bay a couple of miles from the coast. It was during an evening sail when we spotted it,"

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Warts and all: critically endangered warty piglet on show in Cornwall

Visitors to Newquay zoo can now catch a glimpse of Visayan warty piglet born in February

Press Association

Saturday 26 March 2016 18.47 GMT

Last modified on Saturday 26 March 201619.13 GMT

Zookeepers are celebrating the birth of a critically endangered warty piglet.

The Visayan warty piglet was born in February at Newquay zoo in Cornwall, where it is now on show.

Warty pigs originate from the Visayan Islands in the Philippines, where they live in dense forested areas.

The species, which is in rapid decline, is listed as critically endangered on the International Union for Conservation of Nature red list.

John Meek, curator of animals at Newquay zoo, said: “I am really thrilled we have successfully bred a warty piglet, as the species is in dire straits and without intervention from us they are in danger of becoming extinct.

“We had to keep it inside for the first few weeks as it’s been so wet, but the piglet is thriving and visitors can now catch a glimpse of it out and about.”

Habitat destruction and over-hunting have been blamed for the warty pig population almost becoming extinct in the wild.

Little is known about the pigs, which were only recognised as a species in their own right in 1997.

Male warty pigs are much larger than females and develop long crests and manes – similar to a mohawk hairstyle – in the breeding season.

Source

Blue whale photographed in English seas 'for the first time' in waters off Cornwall

Scientists photographed the huge mammal 250 miles off the Cornish coast, in the first sighting in English waters since whalers nearly wiped them out

By Patrick Sawer, and David Barrett

4:30PM BST 02 Sep 2015

For years they had been hunted to near-extinction by the whalers of the north-east Atlantic greedy for their valuable blubber.

But in a measure of their recovery a blue whale has been spotted some 250 miles off the coast of Cornwall.

The rare sighting of the world's largest animal has stunned and delighted marine biologists in equal measure.

A scientific expedition caught the mammal on camera by chance, capturing what they describe as "conclusive" photographs of the majestic creature.

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Bottlenose Dolphins and seals are being harassed in Cornwall

Some water users around Cornwall’s north coast, particularly in the St Ives Bay area, have been repeatedly harassing Bottlenose Dolphins and other marine life, such as seals, in recent weeks.

This disturbance ranges from seals being flushed from their rocks into the sea by kayakers and rock climbers, and dolphins being chased by wildlife day trip boats.

Disturbing wildlife in this way is not only illegal, but also can result in distress to the animals, make them change their natural behaviour and, in the worst case, can lead to serious injuries, amputations and even death due to propeller strike. 

Abby Crosby, Marine Conservation Officer for Cornwall Wildlife Trust says: "We are lucky enough to get 17 species of whales, dolphins and porpoises as well as basking sharks and turtles visiting the South West.

"The last thing we want to do is to drive these beautiful animals away from our coast and their feeding grounds."

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Sunburnt dolphin put down by vet

A dolphin with a huge sunburn blister was put down by vets after being spotted in a Cornish river

By Sarah Knapton, Science Editor

6:02PM BST 19 Jul 2015

A dolphin which was found in a river in Cornwall has been put down after suffering suspected sunburn.

The 4ft mammal, which had a huge blister on its back, was found by a kayaker stuck in reeds in the Kennall River between Falmouth and Truro on Saturday morning.

It is thought the dolphin was part of a pod which beached at nearby Mylor Harbour on Friday. Several of the common dolphins could not be persuaded back into the sea and travelled up the river.

The blister on its dorsal fin, which was estimated to be the size of a rugby ball, would have left the dolphin open to infections if released back into the wild, resulting in a slow painful death.

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More seals saved from the threat of ghost fishing nets

Posted on May 7, 2015 by Sarah Dickinson

Many marine wildlife groups working in Cornwall often get calls about sighting of seals who are injured, or entangled in fishing gear, or marine litter. 

Over the last month, British Divers Marine Life Rescue (BDMLR) and the National Trust received several calls about a seal entangled in lost fishing gear but despite repeated search attempts by BDMLR, the seal in question could not be found. A concern to all as injuries from entanglement are known to end the life of a seal prematurely. 

On Saturday 25 April another trip was undertaken to find the stricken seal and when the groups arrived at the beach they found not one, but two entangled seals, one on the beach at the West Cornwall haul out and another out to sea. 

Despite facing rain and slippery rocks, the team from BDMLR, Cornwall Seal Group and a rope safety adviser abseiled down a 45m cliff to the beach in order to save the seals, whose injuries would have certainly lead to their premature death. 

Seals are spooked by humans very easily and can move incredibly fast over land, so the rescuers waited cautiously until both seals were on the beach, out of sight from the abseil point and in a position that they could be reached before the seals were aware of human presence. 

With years of experience in handling marine mammals, the team were able to free both the seals from the dangerous netting and rope and after assessing their condition they were able to release them safely back into the sea. 

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Bees prefer road-side snacks

Posted on March 14, 2015 by Kevin Heath

A new study from Plymouth University seems to show that bumble bees would rather dodge the traffic when foraging on hedges than pop over the other side for a peaceful snack in a field.

After study hedgerows at 30 locations in Devon and Cornwall the researchers concluded that road-facing hedges offered more resources to bees than the side that faced an agricultural field. The reason, they concluded, was that pesticides from agricultural spraying made the road-facing side of the hedge more beneficial to the bee.

Two things could be concluded from the study. The first is the importance of road-side verges to bees and other pollinators. These verges should be viewed as important habitats and taken into account when developing conservation studies.

The second was a need to change the management of crop-spraying to ensure enough margin was left between the crops and boundary hedgerows to prevent contamination.

Dr Mick Hanley, Lecturer in Terrestrial Ecology in the University’s School of Biological Sciences, conducted the study alongside undergraduate Josh Wilkins, and they examined bumblebee habits at 30 sites across Devon and Cornwall.

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Large number of Grey Seals found dead or stranded in Cornwall

Grey seals are mysteriously coming to grief around Cornwall's coasts

Unprecedented numbers of dead Grey Seals have been found stranded on Cornish beaches and wildlife experts are at a loss to explain what is happening.

Leading local wildlife charity Cornwall Wildlife Trust has attended almost twice as many strandings of seals as they would normally expect for this time of year.

Throughout October and November 35 dead seals have washed up along the coastline, and over the same period a further 37 seals have been rescued alive from Cornish beaches by British Divers Marine Life Rescue.

The Marine Strandings Network coordinates the investigation and recording of all dead stranded animals in Cornwall. 

Volunteers are sent to each animal in order to gather data about the individual, as well as the state of our marine environment, including incidents of pollution, entanglement in storm-damaged or discarded net, evidence of bycatch, and disease.

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Frogs breeding in November due to mild weather

Frogspawn spotted in Cornwall, months before the usual spring spawning time, is earliest sighting in almost a decade

Aisha Gani

Thursday 27 November 2014 05.30 GMT

Mild autumn weather has led to frogs breeding five months early, with frogspawn sighted in Cornwall this week. It is the earliest frogspawn recorded in nearly a decade.

The Woodland Trust was alerted to the frogspawn by a National Trust ranger, who had spotted the common frog’s spawn at the North Predannack Downs nature reserve on the Lizard Peninsula.

“This year I first saw frog spawn on 21 November, which is early, but not unheard of in a Cornish context,” said Rachel Holder, the ranger who first spotted the frogspawn. “The gamble of getting ahead in the breeding game must be worth taking, and the risk of a severe cold snap which could freeze the spawn is worth braving,” she said.

Frogspawn usually seen in March across the UK, with the earliest occurrence in recent history being on 26 October, in 2005.

Dr Kate Lewthwaite, project manager for Woodland Trust’s Nature’s Calendar , said: “Although spring is generally arriving earlier, to receive a frogspawn sighting before winter has properly begun is highly unusual.

“Given the reasonably mild weather we have been enjoying recently, it is possible for frogs to be fooled into spawning early, but sadly it is unlikely the spawn will now survive the frosts we are experiencing,” she said.

November has been mild and very wet so far, according to the Met Office, with average temperatures nearly 2C above the long-term average, and 93.1mm of rainfall.

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