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Preserved ice age lion cubs found in ’near-perfect condition’ in Siberia

A pair of Ice Age lion cubs discovered in Siberia dating back tens of thousands of years to the Upper Paleolithic, are thought to be some of the best-preserved specimens ever found, researchers say.

The house cat-sized cubs, dubbed Boris and Sparta, were unearthed in 2017 and 2018 by mammoth tusk hunters in the Semyuelyakh River, Yakutia, in what is now eastern Russia.

Both are believed to have been about a month or two old when they died, according to a study by an international team of scientists, published in the journal Quaternary.

Boris, the older and less intact of the pair, is estimated to be around 43,448 years old with a greyish, yellowish fur coat.

The younger, Sparta, is thought to be around 27,962 years old and described as being in “near-perfect condition”, with a greyish to light brown fur.

Love Dalén, a member of the research team, told CNN: “Sparta is probably the best preserved Ice Age animal ever found, and is more or less undamaged apart from the fur being a bit ruffled. She even had the whiskers preserved.

Only four Ice Age lion cubs have been ever been discovered, the study says. All were unearthed from the melting permafrost in Russia’s extreme northern region, in the river basin of the Indigirka River.

The cause of their deaths is not known but the researchers believe they most likely died in their den, under the snow or earth, perhaps following a landslide.

“Given their preservation they must have been buried very quickly. So maybe they died in a mudslide, or fell into a crack in the permafrost,” Dalen continued. “Permafrost forms large cracks due to seasonal thawing and freezing.”

Similar major discoveries have been made in Russia’s vast Siberian region in recent years. The earth in Yakutia is typically frozen all year round, but climate change means previously frozen soils are increasingly easy to explore, giving rise to a large mammoth-tusk hunting industry, from which an increasing number of paleontological finds have been made, including mammoths, woolly rhinos and Ice Age foal. In September 2020, a well-preserved carcass of a bear was discovered in the Lyakhovsky Islands in north-eastern Russia.

A month earlier, the carcass of a woolly mammoth dating back some 20,000 to 50,000 years, was found with many of its internal organs still intact. 

What is a ‘black swan’ event and why are they key to the climate crisis?

An upcoming report by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) will look at physical changes, both underway and looming, that are a result of climate change - from harsher extreme weather to rising sea levels.

The report, compiled by leading scientists and signed off by governments, is expected to confirm that the world is unlikely to meet the goals of the Paris Agreement on climate change and that holding global warming to 1.5C above preindustrial times is now "very challenging".

At the request of governments, it will for the first time look at the growing possibility of ‘black swan’ events, such as irreversible melting of major ice sheets that could lead to huge increases in global sea levels.

A black swan event is one that was unprecedented and unexpected at the time it occurred.

"The fact we’re starting to see some of the impacts of climate change... really ought to be a wake-up call for global governments that this isn’t something they can ignore," said Emily Shuckburgh, a University of Cambridge climate scientist.

Where does the term ‘black swan’ come from?

The term black swan originates from the historical European belief that all swans are white because all swans observed and recorded up to a certain point had white feathers – and therefore a swan of any other colour was impossible.

However, in 1697 the Dutch explorer Willem de Vlamingh discovered black swans in Australia, upending the belief and transforming how we understand the natural world.

The term then became a metaphor for the idea that something that was previously thought of as impossible can arise.

And not only is it possible that this belief is proved wrong, it may also be inevitable after evaluating the surrounding context – in this case, the existence of other birds that have different coloured feathers but are the same species.

In other words, a black swan event cannot be predicted but may seem obvious in hindsight.

Black swan events were discussed by the writer and statistician Nassim Nicholas Taleb in his 2001 book about financial events called Fooled By Randomness.

The dotcom crash of 2001 is an example of an unforeseen and unpredictable event with catastrophic results.

In his 2007 book The Black Swan, Taleb goes further and states that almost all major scientific discoveries and historical events are black swans.

He says the rise of the personal computer, the First World War, the collapse of the Soviet Union, and the September 11 attacks are all examples of unforeseen black swans.

Taleb says three criteria make up a black swan: “First, it is an outlier, as it lies outside the realm of regular expectations because nothing in the past can convincingly point to its possibility.

“Second, it carries an extreme ‘impact’. Third, in spite of its outlier status, human nature makes us concoct explanations for its occurrence after the fact, making it explainable and predictable.

He adds: “A small number of black swans explains almost everything in our world, from the success of ideas and religions, to the dynamics of historical events, to elements of our own personal lives.”

What are ‘black swan’ events in the climate crisis?

Natural disasters, such as the recent wildfires and destructive flooding that have swept the globe, are classed by many climate experts as black swans.

For instance, scientists said this month that record-smashing heatwaves in the US Northwest and Canada in late June and early July would have been "virtually impossible without human-caused climate change.”

World Weather Attribution, an international group of leading climate scientists, added: “The observed temperatures were so extreme that they lie far outside the range of historically observed temperatures.

“This makes it hard to quantify with confidence how rare the event was. In the most realistic statistical analysis the event is estimated to be about a 1 in 1,000-year event in today’s climate.”

Scientists are concerned economic models that claim that the costs of preventing climate change do not outweigh the projected damage are ignoring the possibilities of climate ‘black swans’.

"We are now observing climate change with our own eyes in ways we did not broadly before," said Corinne Le Quere, a climate scientist at the University of East Anglia and an author of the IPCC report. 

Reference: Independent: Samuel Webb

Tiny bat makes record-breaking 1,254 mile flight from London to Russia - before being killed by cat

A tiny bat weighing just 8g managed to fly a record-breaking 1,254 miles (2,018km) from London to Russia, before being killed by a cat.

After her extensive journey, the female Nathusius' pipistrelle bat was attacked by a cat and found on the ground by Russian resident Svetlana Lapina in the small village of Molgino in the Pskov region.

She was rescued by a Russian bat rehabilitation group, but later died.

The Nathusius' pipistrelle was no bigger than a human thumb and her wing was marked with a London Zoo ring.

Bat recorder Brian Briggs, who had ringed the miniscule animal at Bedfont Lakes Country Park, near Heathrow in London, in 2016, said the fact she had travelled so far was "very exciting".

He added: "It's great to be able to contribute to the international conservation work to protect these extraordinary animals and learn more about their fascinating lives."

This journey is one of the longest made by a bat ever recorded globally and the furthest known recorded from Britain across Europe. It is also the only long-distance movement recorded like this from west to east.

This achievement is topped by only one other bat in Europe: a Nathusius' pipistrelle that migrated 1,381 miles all the way from Latvia to Spain in 2019.

Lisa Worledge, head of conservation services at the Bat Conservation Trust, said: "This is a remarkable journey and the longest one we know of any bat from Britain across Europe. What an Olympian!

"Her journey is an exciting scientific finding and another piece in the puzzle of bat migration. The movements of Nathusius' pipistrelles around the UK and between the UK and the continent remain largely mysterious."

Bat experts in both the UK and Russia are interested in the Nathusius' pipistrelle's range expansion, which is linked to climate change. More information is essential to fully understand these effects and the future impact of a warmer climate on the species.

There have been more than 2,600 Nathusius' pipistrelles recorded in the UK since the National Nathusius' Pipistrelle Project launched in 2014 to shed light on their breeding, distribution and migration behaviours. Colonies have been spotted in Kent, Northumberland, Surrey and Greater London. 

Reference: Sky News: 

Police dog 'Kaiser' stabbed while apprehending suspect returns to duty

A police dog has returned to duty just two months after being stabbed multiple times in the head while on duty.

Kaiser, a Metropolitan police dog was left badly injured after trying to subdue a man in Orpington, south London, in June.

He was on patrol with his handler, PC Mark Woolcott, when they were called to a report of an intruder in the back garden of a house on Luxted Road.

Kaiser was stabbed up to five times on the top of his head and once below his eye.

Despite the attack and being heavily injured he was able to keep control of the man for long enough to allow officers to take hold of him.

Kaiser was taken to the vets where it was found the blows to his head had struck bone, meaning he narrowly avoided lasting injury.

At the time, Superintendent Emma Richards, from the Met's Taskforce, which includes the Dog Support Unit, said Kaiser was "lucky to be alive".

Sharing news of his return to duty on Friday, the Sutton Police Facebook page said: "After being brutally stabbed in June, PD Kaiser and his handler PC Woolcott were welcomed back by our Borough Commander Dave Stringer and The Mayor & Mayoress of Bromley this morning.

"Kaiser was absolutely delighted upon receiving a new toy which was gifted to him by The Mayor for his bravery." 

Reference: Independent:  Press Association