#british-wildlife

#british-wildlife

NHS figures show that there were 100 hospital admissions in 2025 linked to spider bites - up from 47 in 2015. Experts are blaming the trend on a sharp increase in the noble false widow spider, which has been described as 'the most dangerous spider breeding in Britain.'

The drama has captivated the country, making politicians cry and drawing shamans from distant parts. Experts brought in first to help save the whale, and then to ease the animal's demise, have faced death threats.

The RSPB has warned that greenfinch numbers in Britain have plummeted, with a 67% decline since the annual survey began in 1979, equating to a loss of two million birds since the mid-1990s.

'Our results show that the next 20 years are critical,' lead author Dr Rob Cooke told the Daily Mail. 'By around 2050, we reach a point where the choices we make on emissions and land use will largely determine whether Britain moves towards a much more degraded or a much more nature‑positive future.'

The new rules would restrict the shooting of species including the distinctive woodcock, and the striking pintail, goldeneye and pochard ducks, all of which are classed as under threat and have seen their populations fall sharply in recent years.

Peat bogs provide huge value to humans and the environment. When healthy, they store twice as much carbon as all the world's forests, reducing global emissions.

The key driver for introducing a new banknote series is always to increase counterfeit resilience. But it also provides an opportunity to celebrate different aspects of the UK. Nature is a great choice from a banknote authentication perspective and means we can showcase the UK's rich and varied wildlife.

From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.

London is the only place in the UK where you can find scorpions, snakes, turtles, seals, peacocks, falcons all in one city and not London zoo. Step outside and you will encounter a patchwork of writhing, buzzing, bubbling urban microclimates. Sam Davenport, the director of nature recovery at the London Wildlife Trust, emphasises the sheer variation in habitats that you find in UK cities, which creates an amazing mosaic of wildlife.

"I feel very lucky to have them on the farm. It's an important thing to try and keep a healthy population of them. They are absolutely beautiful," he said.

The global attack on nature is threatening the UK's national security, government intelligence chiefs have warned, as the increasingly likely collapse of vitally important natural systems would bring mass migration, food shortages and price rises, and global disorder. Food supplies are particularly at risk, as without significant increases, the UK would be unable to compete with other nations for scarce resources, a report to ministers warns.

Conservationists have now persuaded landowners to cut hedges in a more gentle rotation, with sections left uncut for up to three years, to enable more eggs to survive over winter. The caterpillars emerge with the foliage in spring and hatch into adult butterflies in July. The brown hairstreak is difficult to spot as a butterfly but every winter volunteers assess its populations by counting its minuscule cream-coloured eggs, which with careful searching are visible on the bare branches of blackthorn.