Smallest Irish mammal 'may vanish'

GENEVIEVE CARBERY

Ireland’s smallest mammal, the protected pygmy shrew, has “completely vanished” in some areas due to the introduction of new species.

The serious threat and possible extinction which foreign species the black vole and the greater white toothed shrew cause to the native wood mouse and pygmy shrew, were the subject of a two year study by researchers at Queen’s University Belfast.

If the rate of invasion continues as at present throughout the island its native small mammals will die out in at least 80 per cent of their available habitat, researchers said

There was “local extinction” and “rapid and complete” replacement of the pygmy shrew in areas where both non-native species were present, according to the study Invasional Meltdown which is published today in journal Biological Invasions.

The researchers looked at the synergistic and combined effect of the two invasive species and showed that the one can compound the effects of another can be very strong even if no impact was expected.

The greater white toothed shrew helped to increase the abundance of the black vole but to decrease the population of wood mouse and pygmy shrew, the study found.

In areas where the black vole was longest established the wood mouse numbers have halved, the researchers found.

The black vole rodent was introduced from Germany some 80 years ago and now occupies about a third of the island to the south-west. The white toothed shrew was introduced about 15 years ago.

The pygmy shrew and the wood mouse arrived on the island some 8,000 years ago. The pygmy shrew is a protected species but the wood mouse is not, the study said.

The gradual replacement of the indigenous species with foreign species could have major consequences due to the central role of small mammals in the ecosystem for birds, mammal predators and seeds, researchers found.

The black vole feeds more on green plant material than the wood mouse while the white-toothed shrew is three times larger than the pygmy shrew.

Lead researcher Professor Ian Montgomery said the introduction of alien mammals over the past 100 years had “major detrimental effects”. He urged governments north and south to address the overall problem of invasive mammals.

“It is no longer tenable to treat each invasive species as an isolated case,” he said. !We should establish a realistic plan identifying the mammal species that are key to maintaining our unique biodiversity and ecology and those that we should eliminate or control."


Small mammals occupy central positions in food webs, so major changes in species composition which are already occurring, will have both top-down and bottom-up effects in the ecosystem affecting bird and mammal predators as well as the invertebrates, seeds and seedling that small rodents and insectivores feed on.

The study was the first of its kind to systematically analyse the cumulative effects of invasive mammal species on indigenous animals in a process known as “invasional meltdown”.

http://www.irishtimes.com/newspaper/breaking/2012/0220/breaking53.html

Salmon and trout stocks in rivers ‘almost gone’

By Claire O’Sullivan

Monday, February 13, 2012

Salmon and trout stocks in West Cork rivers "are almost gone" due to fish farming around Bantry Bay, according to a former National Parks and Wildlife Services manager.

Retired NPWS divisional manager Paddy O’Sullivan, a native of the area, was one of up to 100 people attending a meeting in Adrigole on Saturday night, aimed at halting plans by Marine Harvest to build a 12 to 14- cage organic salmon farm in the bay

Out of 30 contributions to the meeting, two were in favour of the €5.5m aquaculture project at Shot Head. Among those voicing concerns were fishermen, anglers, residents, scientists, and holiday home-owners who had travelled from New York and London.

A Bord Iascaigh Mhara representative was in attendance at the request of Marine Harvest.

A petition has been organised, calling for the Department of the Marine to hold a meeting in the area.

Mr O’Sullivan said the area’s once bountiful native salmon, sea trout and spring stocks are "almost gone completely" due to sea lice from the farms attacking salmon smolt (baby salmon) swimming out to sea.

Freshwater pearl mussels, a protected species, are "not breeding in West Cork rivers due to the lack of fish in the water," he claimed.

"Those rivers fed us when we were growing up. They are a vital part of our environment and heritage. We have to ask ourselves if this project is sustainable or will it damage the natural environment, the sea and rivers.

"Do we want to wipe out all the native fish stocks for a bit of foreign investment?"

Marine Harvest technical manager Catherine McManus has said the company "has the highest regard for the local environment and community" and is committed to developing the new farm in line with best environmental practice.

Read more: http://www.examiner.ie/ireland/salmon-and-trout-stocks-in-rivers-almost-gone-183702.html#ixzz1mN5gnPef

Mussels colony wiped out after Delphi Bridge Repairs

Ireland's largest colony of rare freshwater pearl mussels, in the Bundorragh River in County Mayo, may have been destroyed because of repair works on a bridge near Delphi Bridge, a well known fishing retreat.

While improvement works were being carried out on the bridge during heavy rainfall last November, the river flooded and the contents of 36 sandbags spilled into the water. This smothered the young mussels 'in a matter of hours', according to a report compiled by Friends of the Irish Environment (FIE), a lobby group.

An estimated 2m freshwater pearl mussels out of the national population of 13m were located within 2 kilometres of the Delphi Bridge. The Bundorragh is designated for protection under the EU Habitats Directive because the mussels, thought to be Ireland's oldest surviving species, are endangered. Approximately 90% have disappeared in the past century.

The Report by Tony Lowes, a director of FIE, accuses the National Parks and Wildlife Service (NPWS) and Mayo County Council of failing to act on advice provided by several scientists, who recommended that the proposed works be changed or postponed until the summer to minimise the risk to the mussels.

FIE has sent the Report to the European Commission, saying that this is an example of Ireland's failure to implement the European law and has led to an 'environmental disaster' at the site.

Correspondence between the NPWS and the council, obtained by FIE under the Freedom of Information Act, reveals that three scientists gave a negative assessment of the proposed repair works. Aine O'Connor, a freshwater ecologist at the NPWS and an expert on the species, said in October 2010 that plans to repair the bridge represented a 'significant and serious risk to the freshwater pearl mussel downstream'.

A revised proposal was drawn up in July 2011, but O'Connor concluded that the 'the risk to the mussels have significantly increased as a result'.

Evelyn Moorkens, an expert contacted by the Council, urged that the proposed repair be abandoned until risks to the mussel population were addressed. Paul Johnston, an engineer from Trinity College Dublin, said there 'real and significant risks from a storm event'.

Despite warnings, consent was given by the Department of Arts, Heritage, and the Gaeltachta, which overseas the NPWS, for work to proceed last October. Some 117 mm of rain fell on November 17, creating a wash out at the bridge.

John Condon, Mayo's county Secretary, said the Council 'categorically rejects the content, accusations, and conclusions contained in Mr. Lowes' Report'. He said the consequences of not maintaining the Bridge would have resulted in more serious damage to the river and its environs.

A spokeswoman for the Department of Arts Heritage and the Gaeltacht said the NPWS 'continues to be concerned about the possible impact the event may have had on the freshwater pearl mussel community, and the ongoing risk of a Bridge collapse'. A scientific survey of the mussel population 'will take place as soon as water levels permit staff to enter the river,' she said.

Ciara Kenny,

Sunday Times 12.02.12

http://www.friendsoftheirishenvironment.net/paperstoday/index.php?action=view&id=14710&utm_source=twitterfeed&utm_medium=twitter

Concern at poaching of Kerry red deer

ANNE LUCEY


UK DEMAND for venison and a steep rise in price for the meat has contributed to poaching in Co Kerry, according to a senior conservation ranger with the National Parks and Wildlife Service.

Dr Tim Burkitt, a member of the inter-agency deer policy group drawing up a framework for sustainable wild deer management, has also called for a more positive attitude towards the unique Killarney red deer, which he said were a wonderful resource for tourism and for the education of young people.

The comments follow concerns by public representatives in Co Kerry over poaching. However, landowners outside Killarney National Park say they are being “tormented” by the red deer.

Following the continuous poaching of red deer and the non-native sika deer in Co Kerry, Fianna Fáil councillor John Joe Cullotty has called for more National Parks and Wildlife Service staff to be redeployed.

Two county councillors, father and son Danny Healy-Rae and Johnny Healy-Rae, have called for a deer census in the county and for more culls.

“Deer stags are causing destruction and torment to landowners in many parts of the county,” the councillors have said.

According to a draft deer management study published recently by a policy group including the National Parks and Wildlife Service and forestry group Coillte, deer populations of all species in Ireland have expanded in recent times.

However, Dr Burkitt said there was no deer census in Co Kerry.

He claimed that strained resources as well as the multitude of landowners outside the national park were factors that made carrying out a census difficult at present.

http://www.irishtimes.com/newspaper/ireland/2011/1221/1224309340883.html

Leatherback turtle washed up on Cumbrian beach, Ireland (Via Herp Digest)

Leatherback turtle washed up on Cumbrian beach, Ireland
By Victoria Brenan, News & Star, 10/27/11

An amazing discovery was made on a Cumbrian beach earlier this month when a leatherback turtle washed ashore.

The reptile - which is critically endangered - is not often seen in the waters around Cumbria but the latest appearance has confirmed the breed's existence in the Irish sea.

They say the turtles have been spotted swimming in the Irish sea, a rich food source for them because of the high levels of plankton and algae but numbers of them have dwindled worldwide due to egg theft.

The male turtle was found by a member of the public who alerted Cumbria Wildlife Trust after making the grim discovery at St Bees around a week ago.

"It was in such a bad condition it's not easy to say [how it died]," said Alan Wright, of the trust.
"We are still investigating.

"[Other ones] have either been killed by boat propellers or eaten a plastic bag and died. There's good chance there would be some human involvement in its death."

Mr Wright said the discovery was 'good and bad news.'

"It's good in that we know they are in the sea but obviously bad in that it's dead. We do get the odd one washing up on shore in Cumbria."

He said they believed the turtle was between 10 and 15 years old and said they could live for hundreds of years.

The largest one ever found in the UK was reportedly washed up in Wales. It was nearly 10ft long and weighed 916 kilos, equivalent to a Mini.

The turtle's body was removed by trust officers working with marine bodies, Defra and Natural England.
Experts are now trying to establish how it died.

'Avoid like the plague' - killer jellyfish washed ashore in Kerry

A LETHAL jellyfish has been found washed ashore on a beach, sparking a public warning from fisheries experts to avoid it "like the plague".

The Portuguese Man of War was washed ashore on Wine Strand in Smerwick Harbour, west of Dingle, Co Kerry, on Friday night.

The beautifully coloured jellyfish may be attractive to look at but the poison in its tentacles is enough to kill its prey and can also kill humans.

Fisheries protection officer Kevin Flannery, based in Dingle, said they were normally found in tropical southerly seas but the prevailing southerly winds could sometimes carry them to northern Europe.

"They're a beautiful colour, all the colours of the rainbow, but the beauty comes with a price," Mr Flannery told the Irish Independent.

"I would advise members of the public, please, please do not touch them," he stressed. "They will sting, they will burn and they are lethal."

According to the fisheries expert, the Portuguese Man of War's tentacles can stretch out up to 30 metres to touch its prey. It then releases a venom that kills.

"They're fascinating creatures to watch. They can inflate themselves in the water so they move faster with the wind," he added.

"The southerly winds from Africa we've been experiencing lately brought this one ashore. It has happened before and you do get the odd one that makes its way on to Irish beaches."

Mr Flannery explained that the Portuguese Man of War is a living colony of minute organisms and can reproduce within itself. Its name is borrowed from the man-of-war, a 16th-Century English armed sailing ship, which was based on an earlier Portuguese vessel.

There may be others out in the ocean but so far only one has come ashore. However, local fishermen say they have spotted the tropical jellyfish in the water and that they're not an unusual sight at this time of year.

"Luckily, there aren't too many people swimming at this time of year, but to any member of the public, I would advise them to avoid it like the plague," he said.

The Man of War is now at the Oceanworld Aquarium in Dingle where it is being kept in isolation. Staff have learnt from past experience -- the last time one was kept at the facility it was put on display but killed all the other fish in the tank.

- Majella O'Sullivan

http://www.independent.ie/national-news/avoid-like-the-plague-killer-jellyfish-washed-ashore-in-kerry-2900944.html

New mink threat to Irish seabird islands

American invaders have now reached Puffin Island September 2011: American mink are beginning to colonise some of Ireland's most remote offshore islands – prompting calls for immediate action.

The islands, thanks to their inaccessibility and lack of mammalian predators, are home to some of the most important seabird colonies in Europe. But now the mink, voracious predators of nesting birds, eggs and chicks, are threatening these safe havens.

Bird Watch Ireland's senior seabird conservation officer, Dr Stephen Newton, explains the Heritage Council-funded efforts to solve the problem.

‘Ireland has a special international responsibility for seabirds: indeed several of our west coast islands in Kerry are truly globally special places for species such as the Manx shearwater and the European storm petrel.'

Stock for fur farms‘These birds are nocturnal and nest underground in burrows or rock crevices, and so are less well known than the charismatic puffin,' said Dr Newton, ‘which is easily seen from May through to July at spectacular sites such as Great Saltee in County Wexford, Skellig Michael, County Kerry and the Cliffs of Moher in County Clare.'

American mink are non-native, aquatic carnivores and capable of swimming out to islands located a moderate distance from the mainland. First brought to Ireland in the middle of the 20th Century as stock for fur farms, many escaped or were deliberately released and have now spread throughout much of the country.

‘Quite how far mink can swim is not really known, but they have certainly reached Puffin Island, which lies only 300-400 metres off a very inaccessible section of the Kerry coast,' said Dr Newton. ‘The island is a BirdWatch Ireland reserve, protected for its large breeding colonies of Manx shearwater, storm petrel and, not surprisingly, puffins.'

These carnivores can do irreparable damage‘The first mink was recorded on the island in 2007 and mink were certainly still present in April 2011, when several dead shearwaters and a recently killed petrel were found.'

It is now hoped the work of BirdWatch Ireland and the Heritage Council can now rescue the islands from the threat.

‘Grant aid from the Heritage Council has enabled us to make several expeditions to the island during spring and summer this year to attempt to trap and remove these alien carnivores before irreparable damage is done to the burrow-nesting seabirds,' said Dr Newton.

‘Unfortunately, even as this work was underway, another BirdWatch Ireland member of staff discovered what is almost certainly a mink scat (dropping) on Great Saltee. This island lies a little further, about 5km, off the Wexford coast near Kilmore Quay.

‘BirdWatch Ireland is following up this report and will, if necessary, take appropriate action.'

http://www.wildlifeextra.com/go/news/mink-puffin.html#cr

Poisoned pigeons used to kill wild buzzards

HAND-REARED live pigeons were coated in poison, tethered to the ground and used to kill two wild buzzards near the Tipperary-Offaly border, according to BirdWatch Ireland.

BirdWatch volunteers were horrified to discover the two dead buzzard chicks beside three poisonous tethered pigeons near Roscrea.

BirdWatch Ireland Development Officer Niall Hatch said the banned insecticide Carbofuran used to kill the buzzards is so toxic “a quarter of a teaspoonful is enough to kill a fully grown adult”.

“There is a really serious public safety issue here as well,” he said, “whoever is responsible for planting the poison took a real risk themselves”. Had the pigeons been found by children who attempted to rescue them, “you could be reporting on an even worse story today,” he added.

No motive has yet been established. Buzzards eat rabbits, crows, magpies, rats and mice. They will occasionally feed on a dead lamb, but are incapable of killing a lamb, said Mr Hatch.

An indigenous bird, the buzzard was absent in Ireland from the late 19th century until 1933, when a pair bred in Co Antrim. The species has spread slowly down from the north through the 20th century and is now established in almost every county in Ireland.

BirdWatch Ireland say this was a particularly abhorrent incident.

The live hand-reared pigeons were tethered to the ground s bait, their bodies coated with poison and their wings clipped to prevent any chance of escape.

A day after the dead buzzards were found last month, another live, poison-coated pigeon was discovered tethered in the same area.

The buzzards’ nest in Roscrea was being monitored by two young volunteers from BirdWatch Ireland’s Raptor Conservation Project since early spring. They had been charting the progress of the three young buzzard chicks.

One volunteer said: “we had been watching them all summer and it was sickening to see them killed like that for no reason”.

The farmer on whose land the birds were nesting said: “they have not caused me or any of the other farmers in the area any problems whatsoever. I gave nobody permission to come on my land and lay down poison, and whoever did so was trespassing,” he said.

In October 2010, laws were passed making it illegal to use poison to kill birds or animals, with the exception of rats and mice.

An investigation has been launched and anyone with information is urged to contact the National Parks and Wildlife Service on 057 91 37811 or Birr Garda station on 057 91 69710.

EOGHAN MacCONNELL
http://www.irishtimes.com/newspaper/ireland/2011/0827/1224303061360.html

Public urged to report alien species

THE PUBLIC is being asked to help the Irish Biodiversity Data Centre to help identify the number of alien species in the Republic by reporting sightings.

A programme called “Spot the Alien” was launched last evening and nature and garden lovers are being asked to report sightings of three invasive alien species which may have been seen in their area.
The centre has targeted the New Zealand flatworm, the harlequin ladybird and the distinctive red lily beetle in its programme.

Data centre schemes co-ordinator Colette O’Flynn said submissions can provide valuable data to help understand the level of invasion, distribution and spread of these species in Ireland.

“It is widely recognised that invasive species are one of the world’s greatest threats to biodiversity and have socio-economic impacts. Recent reports have shown the cost of alien invasive species in Europe is over € 12 billion per year and costs the British economy £1.7 billion per year.”

Ms O’Flynn added that the New Zealand flatworm kills our hard-working native earthworms in large quantities and the harlequin ladybird has been dubbed “the most invasive ladybird on Earth” and “the fastest spreading invasive insect in Europe”.

This ladybird is highly variable in looks but is larger than most of our native ladybirds, which it eats. It can winter in houses in the hundreds of thousands as it has done in England.

Ms O’Flynn said the distinctive red lily beetle attacks lilies and fritillary plants but is noticeable by its vibrant red with a black head, legs and antennae.

The New Zealand flatworm was fist recorded in Ireland in Belfast in the 1980s and has since spread rapidly southwards.

The Harlequin ladybird is found all over the country but to date, the red lily beetle has only been found in the Cork city area and in Belfast where it was first identified in 2002.

Ms O’Flynn said that having failed to prevent invasive species being introduced into Ireland, we must now detect their presence as a matter of urgency.

Heritage Council wildlife officer Cliona O’Brien said the data provided by public recording schemes was very valuable. “The importance of every record you submit should not be underestimated. I urge everyone to get involved in spotting these species and submitting their sighting to the invasive species database,” she said.

Sightings can be submitted to http://invasives.biodiversityireland.ie where more information on Spot the Alien is available. The public is also asked to submit photographs, if possible, to assist verification.

SEÁN Mac CONNELL, Agriculture Correspondent
http://www.irishtimes.com/newspaper/ireland/2011/0826/1224303005281.html

Albino lobster among catch of unusual species

A “ONE in 100 million” albino lobster, a snipe eel and a wreckfish are among a medley of unusual marine species caught by Irish fishermen over several weeks.

A separate lobster with two crusher claws instead of one has also been landed, along with a sea lamprey, according to Sea Fisheries Protection Authority officers Siubhán Ní Churraidhín and Declan MacGabhann.

The female white/albino lobster, named “Victoria” by her captors, was caught by Declan Clinton and crew on the Virtuous , while fishing for prawns some 34 miles east of Clogherhead, Co Louth, and landed into Howth, Co Dublin, on Thursday night.

Experts estimate there is a one in 100 million chance of making such a catch, according to Mr MacGabhann, who says “Victoria” is only the fifth albino lobster recorded in the last century in Irish waters.

Earlier this year an orange lobster – named “Billy” after the infamous Dutch king – was landed by Séamus Kirk of Clogherhead.

Local fisherman quipped at the time that the xanthochromic lobster was reacting to the election of Sinn Féin president Gerry Adams in the Louth constituency, and heading North.

It had a 30 in a million chance of being caught, Mr MacGabhann told The Irish Times .

“Victoria” is on display at the Sea Life centre in Bray, Co Wicklow, while “Billy” is attracting as much interest as the new resident penguins at the Mara Beo aquarium in Dingle, Co Kerry. A bright blue lobster (one in three million) was found earlier this month off the Clare coast by fisherman Gerry Sweeney.

Not to be outdone, the west coast has also created a few new records.

A male lobster with normal rusty red pigmentation but with two crusher claws instead of one has been found in a pot by currach skipper Mattie Conneely off Rossaveal. It has been donated to Galway Atlantaquaria in Salthill.

US marine scientists writing of this phenomenon in the Journal of Experimental Zoology said that only one of the paired crushers behaves as a normal crusher.

“The other claw has only the appearance of a crusher claw but behaves as a cutter claw,” marine expert at the Sea Fisheries Protection Authority, Declan Quigley, has said.

Ms Ní Churraidhín, officer with the authority at Rossaveal, has been inundated with other specimens in the past couple of weeks, including a snipe eel caught on the Porcupine Bank by Ray Healy and Paul Conneely of the Maria Magdalena III .

The snipe eel ( Nemichthys scolopaceus ) was first recorded in Irish waters in May 1935, according to Mr Quigley, and there are only 27 known records of it here to date. He notes that their size may allow them to slip through the mesh of trawls, and they could also be discarded as having no commercial value.

A wreckfish and an unusual crustacean with no eyes, which may be a polychelid lobster, were also caught by Seánín Ned Ó Flatharta of the Glór na dTonn fishing vessel.

The wreckfish ( Polyprion americanus ) was caught on the Porcupine. The deep-water species inhabits caves and shipwrecks – hence its name. The Galway vessel Maggie C recorded a similar specimen a year ago.

The wreckfish was bought by Stephane Griesbach of Gannet Fishmongers and sold on to Oscar’s restaurant in Galway city, according to Ms Ní Churraidhín.

The sea lamprey was found attached to trawl doors of the Sean Oisín fishing vessel while also working on the Porcupine, according to Ms Ní Churraidhín. The vessel has just completed a survey for prawns on the bank.

Lampreys, which are often found in rivers, are regarded as very rare so far offshore, she says.

http://www.irishtimes.com/newspaper/ireland/2011/0813/1224302379306.html

Polar bears traced back to Britain

All polar bears originate from a single ancestor which lived in Britain or Ireland about 50,000 years ago, according to DNA study by scientists. New evidence from fossils found in Irish caves shows that modern polar bars evolved from a single female brown bear at the peak of the last ice age.

Despite the significant differences between polar bears, which are expert swimmers, and brown bears, which are better climbers, the species have often come into contact over the past 100,000 years during periods of unusually hot or cold weather.

A genetic marker carried by every polar bear alive today proves that they all descend from the same female brown bear, who bred with a polar bear to create hybrid offspring.

It had been assumed that this took place in Alaska 14,000 years ago, but now analysis of 242 brown bear and polar bear DNA samples from the past 120,000 years show the hybridisation of the two species occurred much earlier.

Fossils found in Irish caves show that polar bears in fact began carrying the DNA of the female brown bear between 20,000 and 50,000 years ago, before brown bears disappeared from the British Isles.

The study, led by Dr Beth Shapiro of Penn State University in the USA and Prof Daniel Bradley of Trinity College Dublin, was published in the journal Current Biology.

Dr Shapiro said: “Previous research has indicated that the brown bear contributed genetic material to the polar bear's mitochondrial lineage – the DNA that is passed exclusively from mothers to offspring.

“But, until now, it was unclear just when modern polar bears acquired their mitochondrial genome in its present form."

By Nick Collins, Science Correspondent
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/earth/wildlife/8622987/Polar-bears-traced-back-to-Britain.html

Otter causes chaos in Tulla in County Clare

19 April 2011

An unlikely water-dweller has been making waves in a County Clare town.

A wayward otter turned on its would-be rescuers in Tulla on Monday as it was found wandering up the town's main street.

Farmer Joe Burke and shop owner Mike Hogan first noticed the animal as it passed by on the footpath outside Mr Hogan's window.

Concerned for its safety, they decided to come to its aid. However, the otter clearly had other ideas.

As a large crowd gathered, the otter became "very aggressive" and started trying to bite people.

Mr Burke was rewarded for his efforts with a nasty cut.

Tayto crisps

Eventually, the two men managed to corner the ungrateful creature in a courtyard. They planned to wait for professionals to come and take it to safety.

However, as Mr Burke explained: "He then put his head into a Tayto bag. It was wrapped tightly around his head.

"He couldn't see where he was going, he was bumping into walls and everything."

Fearing for the otter's life, Mr Burke decided to take on the rescue himself.

He took a thick bag used for holding animal feed, and after a minor struggle, managed to capture the animal.

The two men loaded their charge into the back of Mr Burke's jeep, and made their way to a local lake with the intention of releasing the otter back into its natural habitat.

But again the otter was refusing to go quietly.

"He chewed his way out of the bag," said Mr Hogan. "The back window was missing on the jeep so he jumped out when we stopped."

Traffic cone

The resourceful animal then made a dash for freedom half a mile back towards Tulla, before Mr Burke was able to catch it under a traffic cone.

The men slid a piece of plywood under the cone and carried it back to the lake, where they let the otter back into the water.

However, again the drama continued. The animal was so exhausted from its efforts that it began to sink.

"We pulled him towards the reeds and sort of propped him up," said Mr Hogan.

"After 10 or 15 minutes he got his breath back again and swam off."

A dramatic day indeed. The residents of Tulla may never see an otter one like it.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-northern-ireland-13126139

Deforestation may have killed off rare bat in Ireland

By John Platt | Feb 9, 2011 04:35 AM

The Emerald Isle used to be home to 10 bat species. Now there appear to only be nine. Brandt's bat, a species not identified by science until 1970 and not seen in Ireland since 2003, has been declared probably extinct in that country by researchers at the Center for Irish Bat Research (CIBR), a research partnership between University College Dublin (U.C.D.) and Queen's University Belfast, which spent the past two years looking for the animal.

Brandt's bat still exists in nearby England, Europe and throughout Asia, but its disappearance from the Irish countryside presents a cautionary tale about that country's bats and the fate of these animals around the world.

Brandt's bat escaped scientific classification for a long time because they look almost identical to another species, the whiskered bat (M. mystacinus). But the two are completely different genetically, U.C.D. researcher Daniel Buckley said in a prepared release.

Because of this morphological similarity, 2003 was both the first and last time that Brandt's bats were officially identified in Ireland. To determine the true population of both the Brandt's and whiskered bats, CIBR researchers set out to examine all known whiskered bat roosts and identify new ones. DNA analysis was then used to see if the whiskered population had been overestimated and the Brandt's population had been underestimated.

But instead of finding more Brandt's bats, the research team only found whiskered bats. Not a single M. brandtii was found. The research will be published this month in the journal Acta Chiropterologica.
"Our conclusions on updating the status of this species in Ireland were that either this specimen was vagrant to the island [of Ireland] or that this species is very rare and possibly endangered," says the CIBR's Emma Boston, a postdoctoral research assistant at U.C.D.

So if the Brandt's bat had been present all along, what killed it off? Boston points to the historic deforestation of Ireland (pdf), which eliminated more than 99 percent of the country's woodland cover by the end of the 19th century. "In Ireland, we are suggesting, not a recent extinction but an historical population decline," Boston says. "We suggest it is likely that a woodland bat species, such as the Brandt's bat, may have once been more abundant in Ireland, but as a result of woodland clearance, and thus loss of foraging habitat and roosting opportunities, are now extremely rare." In fact, she theorizes that Ireland may have lost other bat species in the past century before they were even classified andcounted.

Boston says that one way to continue research into Ireland's historic bat biodiversity is to examine ancient bat bones found deep in the country's caves.

The CIBR team now plans further surveys to try to prove once and for all if the Brandt's bat still exists in Ireland, if it ever did at all.

Photo via Wikipedia

http://www.scientificamerican.com/blog/post.cfm?id=deforestation-may-have-killed-off-r-2011-02-09

Mad cow drags police officer along country road

Stand-off as animal now penned inside field ...
Wednesday, 26 January 2011

A cow ran down four people, including a police officer, after it escaped from a market and ran wild along a busy road in the Republic of Ireland

The animal had escaped from the market on the Quin Road, Ennis, Co Clare, and was so dangerously out of control that efforts by a vet to put it down were abandoned for safety reasons.

The cow was eventually herded back to the mart but it failed to calm down. Several farmers later forced the animal in to a nearby field.

Earlier, a garda who had been trying to corral the cow was knocked over and dragged along the road by the animal.

Several members of the public who had also tried to bring the animal under control were also knocked over.

The garda and three others sustained only minor injuries and did not require hospital treatment. Last night the cow remained penned inside the field but concerns that it could escape and cause further chaos remained.

ISPCA animal welfare officer Frankie Coote refused to rule out the possibility that the cow would have to be put down.

Mr Coote, who was also called to the scene, said: "This cow was rogue and was out of control. This was a serious situation and rogue animals like this can be extremely dangerous. Members of the public should never try to approach an agitated animal like this. I was shocked to see the people ignore warnings from the guards to get out of the way.

"People should consider their own safety first, take cover and raise the alarm."

One local woman said: "I have never seen anything like that in my life. I thought it was a bull but it goes to show that a cow can be just as dangerous. I can't believe no one was killed."

Source Irish Independent

http://www.belfasttelegraph.co.uk/news/local-national/republic-of-ireland/mad-cow-drags-police-officer-along-country-road-15064542.html

Mad cow drags police officer along country road

Stand-off as animal now penned inside field ...
Wednesday, 26 January 2011

A cow ran down four people, including a police officer, after it escaped from a market and ran wild along a busy road in the Republic of Ireland

The animal had escaped from the market on the Quin Road, Ennis, Co Clare, and was so dangerously out of control that efforts by a vet to put it down were abandoned for safety reasons.

The cow was eventually herded back to the mart but it failed to calm down. Several farmers later forced the animal in to a nearby field.

Earlier, a garda who had been trying to corral the cow was knocked over and dragged along the road by the animal.

Several members of the public who had also tried to bring the animal under control were also knocked over.

The garda and three others sustained only minor injuries and did not require hospital treatment. Last night the cow remained penned inside the field but concerns that it could escape and cause further chaos remained.

ISPCA animal welfare officer Frankie Coote refused to rule out the possibility that the cow would have to be put down.

Mr Coote, who was also called to the scene, said: "This cow was rogue and was out of control. This was a serious situation and rogue animals like this can be extremely dangerous. Members of the public should never try to approach an agitated animal like this. I was shocked to see the people ignore warnings from the guards to get out of the way.

"People should consider their own safety first, take cover and raise the alarm."

One local woman said: "I have never seen anything like that in my life. I thought it was a bull but it goes to show that a cow can be just as dangerous. I can't believe no one was killed."

Source Irish Independent

http://www.belfasttelegraph.co.uk/news/local-national/republic-of-ireland/mad-cow-drags-police-officer-along-country-road-15064542.html

New humpback whale sighting off SE coast

Updated: 20:52, Monday, 17 January 2011

Fishermen have reported seeing a humpback whale breaching in waters a kilometre off Curracloe on the Wexford coast.

The Irish Whale and Dolphin Group believe this animal is almost certainly different to the humpback which was sighted several times last week off Hook Head, 50 km away.

Local reports are that it has been feeding on herring in the area since 11 January.

Fishermen this morning observed it breach on 10-12 consecutive occasions and on-shore observers say it was being accompanied by as many as 10,000 seagulls.

The IWDG says this is 'potentially another very important humpback record, as it shows that [humpbacks] may be pushing ever closer up and into the Irish Sea area. This would be the first validated winter record of a humpback whale in the Irish Sea'.

http://www.rte.ie/news/2011/0117/humpback.html

New humpback whale sighting off SE coast

Updated: 20:52, Monday, 17 January 2011

Fishermen have reported seeing a humpback whale breaching in waters a kilometre off Curracloe on the Wexford coast.

The Irish Whale and Dolphin Group believe this animal is almost certainly different to the humpback which was sighted several times last week off Hook Head, 50 km away.

Local reports are that it has been feeding on herring in the area since 11 January.

Fishermen this morning observed it breach on 10-12 consecutive occasions and on-shore observers say it was being accompanied by as many as 10,000 seagulls.

The IWDG says this is 'potentially another very important humpback record, as it shows that [humpbacks] may be pushing ever closer up and into the Irish Sea area. This would be the first validated winter record of a humpback whale in the Irish Sea'.

http://www.rte.ie/news/2011/0117/humpback.html

First humpback sighting of 2011

Wednesday, 12 January 2011

The first confirmed sighting of a humpback whale in Irish waters in 2011 has taken place.

The humpback, which is one of the largest creatures on the planet, has been sighted on two occasions this week off the southeast coast.

The Irish Whale and Dolphin Group has confirmed that the whale had not been recorded in Irish waters before, and it is different to the animal which was spotted several times last year off the Co Wexford coast.

This latest sighting brings the number of humpbacks documented here to 13, with many of these re-sighted on an annual basis.

Humpbacks were close to global extinction because of commercial whaling, but the IWDG says there is now a 'slow but steady' recovery in numbers.

http://www.rte.ie/news/2011/0112/humpback.html

First humpback sighting of 2011

Wednesday, 12 January 2011

The first confirmed sighting of a humpback whale in Irish waters in 2011 has taken place.

The humpback, which is one of the largest creatures on the planet, has been sighted on two occasions this week off the southeast coast.

The Irish Whale and Dolphin Group has confirmed that the whale had not been recorded in Irish waters before, and it is different to the animal which was spotted several times last year off the Co Wexford coast.

This latest sighting brings the number of humpbacks documented here to 13, with many of these re-sighted on an annual basis.

Humpbacks were close to global extinction because of commercial whaling, but the IWDG says there is now a 'slow but steady' recovery in numbers.

http://www.rte.ie/news/2011/0112/humpback.html

Shy bittern returns after 150 years

An elusive bird that has not been seen on Irish shores in more than 150 years has returned.


The bittern was believed to have become extinct in Ireland but it has been spotted in the Republic, possibly seeking refuge from icy weather in Europe.

In the last week of December, three of the birds were seen at Lake Tacumshane in County Wexford.

But experts believe there could be many more as the bittern is hard to track.

Niall Hatch, development officer with Birdwatch Ireland, told the Irish Times newspaper: "This is tremendously exciting news because bitterns became extinct here in the mid-19th century.

"At least three have been spotted in reed beds at Lake Tacumshane, but there could be many more because it's very difficult to spot them as they are so secretive.

"When they are frightened or startled they point their beak up to the sky, which camouflages them perfectly because their beak resembles a reed bed."

Mr Hatch said the most likely scenario was that the bittern took refuge from freezing temperatures in France and Ireland is the last westerly land mass for them to escape to.

Earlier in December, a bittern was seen in Worcestershire.

Danny Arnold, from the Teme Valley Wildlife Trust said: "I'm sure I won't see this again in my lifetime." The lone bittern has been living and feeding on the River Teme, at Tenbury Wells, since 7 December.

Bitterns are shy, secretive and more likely to be heard than seen.
With their subtle brown plumage, this plump heron-like bird blends almost perfectly into its reed bed habitat. Even when frightened, the bittern stands perfectly still pointing its neck and bill skywards, to look just like a reed stalk.

It is the male's remarkably loud and booming mating call, which can be heard over 2kms away, that announces their presence.

Though found in Europe, North Africa and central Asia, there is only a handful of breeding pairs in Britain that have re-colonised after becoming extinct late in the 19th century.