Rare whale successfully rescued after stranding on Welsh beach

A stranded young six-foot Pygmy Sperm Whale has been successfully been refloated off a beach at Anglesey, North Wales and last seen heading towards the Irish Sea.

Sea Watch volunteer and BDMLR marine medic Ben Murcott, was the first to arrive at the Newborough beach on Anglesey after the alarm was raised. He and other trained volunteers assessed its condition and kept it comfortable until they were satisfied it could cope with being refloated. It was then carried out to the sea on a stretcher and allowed to reacclimatise to the water before being released to swim away.

The Pygmy Sperm Whale is one of two species of theKogia Whale, the other of which is a Dwarf, and sightings of either is unusual in UK waters.

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Development plans on Wrexham industrial estate will protect rare wildlife in Wales

January 2014: A pioneering new way of working has helped developers of a prison in Wrexham, north Wales, and at the same time protect wildlife in the area.

The great-crested newt is one of the rare 

species that will benefit from the new 

development plans

Derelict industrial land at the former Firestone tyre factory on a Wrexham industrial estate was always earmarked for redevelopment but, in the meantime, it has also become a haven for certain types of rare wildlife since the land was cleared of contaminated material in the early 1990s.

As part of the plans to build the new prison, one third of the 108-acre site will be set aside as a haven for wildlife and for local people to enjoy. This 37 acres (15 hectares), is roughly the size of 20 football pitches.

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UK's rarest lizards return to sand dunes

Rare sand lizards have been released on sand dunes in North Wales in a bid to revive ailing populations.

Seventy juveniles have been released on the Flintshire coast and a total of 400 will be reintroduced through the week to sites in Merseyside, Surrey, Hampshire and Dorset.

The sand lizards were bred at 10 specialist breeding centres, including Chester Zoo, over the summer.

The animals have suffered dramatic declines due to habitat loss.

Native populations now only remain in Merseyside, Surrey, and Dorset but even in these areas populations have dropped by 90% or more.

The reintroductions are co-ordinated by the Amphibian and Reptile Conservation Trust (ARC Trust) as part of a recovery programme that has been running since 1994.

Sand lizards only live on coastal dunes and heathland habitats, both of which have become increasingly fragmented through agriculture, housing and leisure developments.

The adult lizards can reach 20cm in length, making them the UK's largest lizard species.

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Dolphin Leaps Out Of River In Rare Sighting - via Simon Reames

A dolphin has been photographed leaping out of the water 20 miles from the sea in the River Dee in North Wales.

The stunning picture was taken by a member of the Environment Agency's flood defence maintenance team and the mammal is now being monitored by the charityBritish Divers Marine Life Rescue and the coastguard.

The dolphin, nicknamed Dave, was originally spotted by members of the public at Connah's Quay docks but then swam up river to Saltney, near Chester.

The coastguard said the dolphin was happily swimming up and down and doesn't seem to be in a rush to go back out to sea.

But they have said they are worried about the size of crowds gathering on the banks of the river and are warning people that harassing a dolphin is a criminal offence.

They said they are aware of reports of someone trying to go into the water earlier to swim with the dolphin.

An Environment Agency spokesman told Sky News the sighting was extremely rare but that it was a good sign of the water quality in the area.

He said the mammal probably started swimming up the river at high tide to chase and feed on fish.

Video

Red squirrels given boost as greys are targeted

March 2013. An initiative to help red squirrels in North Wales is to be extended into Gwynedd. The project is a partnership between the UK's largest shooting organisation, the British Association for Shooting and Conservation (BASC) and the Red Squirrels Trust Wales. It has already had success in Anglesey which now contains the largest and most genetically diverse red squirrel population in Wales with over 500 animals recorded over a 720km2 landscape. 

Red squirrels have crossed the Menai Straits

The scheme, part of BASC's Green Shoots conservation programme, now aims to focus on Gwynedd. In 2008 the first red squirrel crossed the Menai Straits and colonized woodlands. In 2012 red squirrels were found breeding near Parc Menai in Bangor. 

Bangor

Dr Craig Shuttleworth of the Red Squirrels Trust Wales said: "Working with BASC, we have a unique opportunity to see red squirrels return to woodlands in Bangor and the Ogwen Valley. Anglesey has demonstrated the strong public support that exists for red squirrel conservation and we want to build upon that. The Gwynedd project will help protect Anglesey from the threat of grey squirrel reinvasion as well as creating an important mainland red squirrel population." 

Audrey Watson of BASC said: "Grey squirrel populations threaten to make red squirrels extinct. It is through management projects like this that the contribution to conservation by people who shoot is brought to the fore. Research shows that shooters put in almost three million work days on conservation each year." 

http://www.wildlifeextra.com/go/news/bangor-red-squirrel.html