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Cocker spaniels Hugo and Spencer - along with their owner Hollie Jenkins - have been "bagging" some of Scotland's highest mountains. Munro-bagging involves walking, and some cases climbing, to the tops of mountains more than 914.4m (3,000ft) high. There are 282 in total, and Hugo and Spencer have been up 89 of them so far. Ms Jenkins, who lives in Edinburgh and works in vet healthcare marketing, took up the pursuit last year. Her first Munro was the UK's highest mountain - Ben Nevis, near Fort William. "Hugo and Spencer have a great time," said Ms Jenkins. "As of Sunday, they have done 89 and been back up 12 of them." The dogs gradually moved up from progressively long walks in the Pentland Hills near Edinburgh in 2020 to Munros last year. Ms Jenkins is a member of a Facebook group of dog owners who regularly head into the mountains, and she has also seen her Instagram page recording Hugo and Spencer's adventures grow to 125,000 followers. The dogs wear protective clothing such as coats and boots for their paws on trips in cold conditions. Outdoors organisation Mountaineering Scotland has information on its website about taking dogs into the hills.

The whales, which were nearly hunted to extinction, have returned in huge numbers to their ancestral feeding grounds off the coast of Antarctica, according to research published Thursday. In the journal Scientific Reports, researchers for the first time shared details of massive feeding frenzies among fin whales near Elephant Island. More than once, they observed about 150 whales — lunging and diving with mouths wide open — gulping down krill. The scientists also completed abundance estimates, finding a higher concentration of fin whales there than in other regions known for sightings, including off the coast of California. Previous research suggests only 1% to 2% of fin whales survived commercial whaling, which took off in the Southern Hemisphere in the early 20th century and continued until restrictions in the 1970s. Documentation of feeding frenzies in densely-po[CENSORED]ted waters where whales gathered generations ago and before they were hunted at industrial scale suggests that the species has rediscovered an important habitat and that the po[CENSORED]tion is recovering. The species’ strong return to the feeding grounds rich with krill is “raising hope that fin whales are on their way to pre-exploitation numbers,” the researchers wrote in the Scientific Reports paper. Video footage of the fin whale “aggregation,” as the researchers call it, first caught public attention in a 2019 BBC documentary series called “Seven Worlds, One Planet” that was narrated by David Attenborough, the famous British naturalist and broadcaster. The researchers on the Scientific Reports paper, who collaborated with the documentarians, added new data and further analysis of the whales. “I’d never seen so many whales in one place before and was absolutely fascinated watching these massive groups feed,” Bettina Meyer, a co-author of the study who is a biologist and professor at the Alfred Wegener Institute, said in a news release. Fin whales feeding at the northern coast of Elephant Island, Antarctica, in April 2018, filmed from the RV Polarstern.Sacha Viquerat Fin whales, once considered endangered by the International Union for Conservation of Nature, were upgraded to "vulnerable" in 2018. The International Whaling Commission is in charge of setting global catch limits for commercial whaling. The quota for fin whales was dropped to zero in 1976, the study says. In 1982, the commission decided to pause all commercial whaling. Iceland, Norway and Japan are among the nations that have hunted whales commercially since. Scientists and other observers began to notice an increase in fin whale sightings in the waters between South America and Antarctica beginning in the early 2000s, and have long suspected that the area near Elephant Island was becoming a hot spot for fin whales. In the Scientific Reports study, the researchers quantified fin whales’ presence by using a helicopter aboard an icebreaker ship. Flying allowed researchers to survey and collect data about the whales from above and determine the creatures’ density. Fin whale researchers Helena Herr, left, and Sacha Viquerat pose on the RV Polarstern after returning from a helicopter survey flight.Bertie Gregory Many whale species pass habits or information about feeding sites through generations. Research suggests whales pass this information through mothers. The location of the Antarctic feeding sites might have been lost to generations of fin whales until now because their po[CENSORED]tions were so decimated and disconnected by whaling, the study suggests. “… This could be a good sign that, nearly 50 years after the ban on commercial whaling, the fin whale po[CENSORED]tion in the Antarctic is rebounding,” Meyer said. The study says the whales’ presence could have environmental benefits because they recycle nutrients in their waste that benefit the growth of phytoplankton, which forms the foundation of the food web in the waters off Antarctica.

Alaska wildlife officials have killed four black bears in a campground recently reserved for people in Anchorage who are homeless after the city’s largest shelter was closed. Employees from the Alaska Department of Fish and Game on Tuesday killed a sow and her two cubs and another adult bear that was acting separately, stealing food from tents inside Centennial Park, which is managed by the city, officials said. Anchorage is Alaska’s biggest city, with nearly 300,000 residents, but it is also bear country. The park is located in east Anchorage, nestled between Chugach State Park and Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson, which state wildlife officials describe as a vast bear habitat. The Department of Fish and Game said Anchorage residents share the municipality with up to 350 American black bears and up to 65 brown bears. “Certainly it’s a busy bear time for us all across Anchorage,” said department spokesperson Cynthia Wardlow. This part of Anchorage “does tend to be a pretty active bear area because of the high- density housing,” she said. The city closed its pandemic mass shelter at Sullivan Arena on June 30. The arena had housed hundreds of homeless people throughout the last two years, Alaska Public Media reported. When the shelter closed, some people who are homeless moved to Centennial Park, grabbing the 84 available spots after the campground stopped taking reservations from the public. Corey Allen Young, a spokesperson for Anchorage Mayor Dave Bronson, said there are 210 people living at Centennial Park, and the city has provided enhanced security for camp users. The city “has also brought in 60 bear proof food storage containers, 20 bear proof 32 gallon containers and is doing hourly clean up efforts to mitigate the trash and food. We also continue to inspect camps and educate campers about bear safe practices,” Young said in an email. The campground, just off the Glenn Highway, is “an ideal jumping-off point for Alaska travelers,” the city’s website says. But it also warns campers not to store food inside tents or outside in coolers so bears are not attracted to campsites. Wildlife officials said before the bears were killed, they were entering tents to get food, personal hygiene items and trash. When bears go inside tents or structures, they pose a risk to human life and are considered a public safety threat, and they may be killed. “Centennial Campground staff are doing the best they can to manage the campground and minimize attractants, but there are still a lot of tents with food in them,” Dave Battle, the Fish and Game department area biologist in Anchorage, said in a statement. “Until that changes, more bears are going to come into the campground and get into tents.” He said this is a safety issue for campers. “Killing any particular bear is a very temporary solution, “Battle said. “There are always going to be more bears in that vicinity because of its location, and we can’t teach bears not to eat what they can find.”

A father and son who were involved in an illegal puppy farm in Moray have been banned from keeping animals for 10 years Samuel Ronald Hessin, 49, and Samuel Arthur Hessin, 22, admitted charges including animal welfare offences. It came after dozens of dogs were rescued in an operation involving the Scottish SPCA, police and Moray Council in the Keith area in 2019. At Elgin Sheriff Court, both men were also given 300 hours of unpaid work. They will also be under supervision for 18 months. Hessin snr previously admitted running an unlicensed pet shop which put scores of dogs up for sale. He also failed to provide a suitable environment for the dogs and puppies. Hessin jnr admitted misleading commercial practices and causing unnecessary suffering by failing to provide adequate care and treatment and obtain veterinary advice. The court heard how witnesses went to the Hessin farmhouse to view a puppy which was advertised on Gumtree. The puppy was described as "filthy". Due to their concerns for the puppy and conditions at the property they left and phoned the Scottish SPCA. A search warrant was applied for, and inspectors from the Scottish SPCA and officers from Moray Council and Police Scotland went to the property on 19 September 2019. Dogs and puppies of various breed types were found in the house, outbuildings and roaming free across the property. 'Great result' Many of the dogs and puppies were suffering from diseases, including skin conditions and eye infections, and a number of the adult dogs were kept in small crates. The Scottish SPCA removed dozens of dogs to care for them. Speaking following Thursday's sentencing, Andy Shanks, procurator fiscal for Grampian, Highland and Islands, said: "This was a case of widespread and indiscriminate neglect where dogs and puppies were caused suffering and pain." Scottish SPCA chief superintendent Mike Flynn said: "Securing a conviction is a great result. "But we believe anyone convicted of running a puppy farm should get a life ban on owning animals. Individuals prepared to put profit before welfare to an extent that dogs get seriously ill should not be allowed to keep animals."

Zookeepers at the Memphis Zoo in Tennessee said they found the wallaby that went missing during a Wednesday move to an animal hospital, prompted by rising floodwaters around its outdoor enclosure. Honey Bunch, the 21-month-old wallaby, was found alive and well Friday morning hiding near his exhibit after a zookeeper noticed tracks leading toward a bush. Jessica Faulk, the zoo’s spokesperson, said that zookeepers suspect "he was there the whole time." “It was an area right behind the exhibit ... that had been searched multiple times in the past 36 hours, but he was camouflaged really well and hidden very well under a bush,” Faulk said. The forecast for severe storms across Tennessee on Wednesday had prompted zookeepers to closely monitor the wallabies and other Australian animals that were housed together in the new KangaZoo exhibit, Jessica Faulk, a spokesperson for the zoo, said Thursday in an email. A wallaby at the Memphis Zoo.Memphis Zoo Faulk said flooding had caused Lick Creek, which runs around the KangaZoo, to overflow its banks in the past, but "nothing that compares to the flooding we saw last night." "The team had been watching the creek for any signs of flooding. But, as with all flash flooding, it happens so fast," Faulk wrote. The zoo said in a news release, "We had staff at the zoo as it started to flood and began evacuation procedures." But when keepers tallied the animals at the hospital, they realized one was unaccounted for. "Immediately, zoo staff began searching for the missing animal during the massive storm. Zoo staff has continued actively searching for the animal this morning, however, the wallaby has still not been located," the release said. The Memphis Police Department assisted in the search. The Memphis Commercial Appeal reported that the wallabies "had been overseen by zookeepers in a separate section in preparation for a VIP section featuring wallabies meant to open in April" after the KangaZoo's debut in March. Faulk said there are four wallabies in total. Any member of the public who sees the wallaby is encouraged not to approach it and to contact the Memphis Zoo at 901-333-6500. The zoo said wallabies are gentle and fairly skittish animals that are shorter than kangaroos. While some zoo escapees are never found, others like Honey Bunch are located. In March a zoo flamingo that made a wing for it during a Kansas storm in 2005 was spotted, again, on the Texas coast.

A dolphin found dead off Florida's Gulf Coast was stabbed with a "spear-like object," said federal officials who appealed for the public's help to bring the mammal's killer to justice. The bottlenose dolphin was recovered on March 24 on Fort Myers Beach with an obvious wound near the right eye, according to a statement by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. "A necropsy, non-human autopsy, revealed the dolphin was impaled in the head with a spear-like object while alive," according to the statement. "Further examination indicated the wound, above the right eye, was inflicted before the animal died. The dolphin was an adult lactating female. The animal appeared to have died from the trauma, which occurred at or near the time of death." The nursing dolphin was likely being fed illegally by a human when it was fatally wounded, officials said. "Based on the shape, size and characteristics of the wound, it is suspected that the dolphin was impaled while in a begging position," the NOAA said. "Begging is not a natural behavior for dolphins and is frequently associated with illegal feeding." This dolphin, with its head above water and mouth open at the time it was stabbed, had likely become accustomed to illegal feedings from humans, an act that touches off multigenerational harm, officials said. "Those dolphins have learned to associate humans with food," NOAA Branch Chief Laura Engelby told NBC affiliate WBBH. "Once they learn that, they also teach it to other dolphins and they teach it to their babies." Human attacks on dolphins near the Gulf of Mexico are not new, with this slaying marking the 27th time since 2002 a dolphin has been found wounded by guns, arrows or the other sharp objects, according to the NOAA. The Marine Mammal Protection Act carries fines up to $100,000 for harassing, harming, killing or feeding wild dolphins.

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(The surprise attack happened too quickly for the man to use the bear spray he was carrying, the Wyoming Game and Fish Department said) A hiker has been hospitalized after being mauled by a bear, believed to have been a grizzly, in the mountains of northwestern Wyoming, the state’s Game and Fish agency said Tuesday. The man was hiking Monday at high elevation on Francs Peak, a 13,000-foot summit southeast of Yellowstone National Park, the Wyoming Game and Fish Department said Tuesday. The surprise attack happened too quickly for the man to use the bear spray he was carrying, officials said. The department didn’t release the identity of the man, who was being treated at a hospital in Billings, Montana. Game and Fish Regional Wildlife Supervisor Corey Class, reached by phone, declined to ask the hospital for the man’s medical condition. Department officials didn’t plan to pursue the bear, according to the statement.

(The husband and wife were injured before they were able to stab the bear with a kitchen knife. Eventually, the man was able to grab a firearm and kill the animal.) A Wisconsin couple say they killed a bear that attacked them inside their home after they spotted it eating from their bird feeder. The Taylor County Sheriff’s office said the attack happened around 11 p.m. Friday at a home near Medford in north-central Wisconsin. The couple told authorities that the bear charged through a window after they yelled at it to go away. Both the husband and wife were injured before they were able to stab the bear with a kitchen knife. Eventually, the man was able to grab a firearm and kill the animal. The man and woman were treated at a hospital for several bites and other injuries before being released. The couple’s children were asleep in their bedrooms at the time and were not injured. The sheriff’s office said the bear was an adult female, and one cub was seen running off as the bear ran toward the home. State wildlife officials took the bear for testing. Authorities have not specified what kind of bear it was.