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Predatory wild boars devouring lambs and growing to gargantuan sizes

Rampaging wild boars weighing more than 30 stone are attacking lambs and must be culled, Scottish farmers have said.

Steven MacKenzie, a Highland gamekeeper, said he had shot a boar double the normal size as it attacked one of his ewes. He believes extra protein from devouring farm animals explains why wild boars are increasing in size.

Concerns about the growth of Scotland’s wild boar herd have prompted farmers to call for action. They say the animals also rip up pasture and could spread disease.

The boars are descendants of animals kept on farms to provide restaurants with meat in the 1980s and 1990s. They were often crossed with domestic pigs to provide bigger litters.

Some escaped and bred and there are now two major centres of population in Scotland, one in the Great Glen area and another south of Dumfries.

“As we came into the field … we saw three pigs,” Mr MacKenzie, a gamekeeper on the Aberchalder Estate near Invergarry, said. “They had encircled a ewe. They had her on her back and they were quite literally pulling her apart and eating her.

“I was able to put a shot off and dispatch one of the pigs before the other two disappeared back into the forest.”

‘Preying on sheep on purpose’

Mr MacKenzie, who shoots boars to control numbers, said sheep and lambs were being regularly killed by the animals.

They’re definitely preying on the sheep on purpose,” he added. “The majority of them are coming in at 90 to 100 kilos [15.7 stone] and they are the ones that are just on vegetation only.

“But we are seeing more and more bigger pigs weighing as much as over 200 kilos [31 stone], and it’s my belief that they’re only getting to that size because of the extra protein in their diet, and that protein is coming from meat.”

Experts said smaller boar populations were now all over Scotland, with some close to the central belt and herds in Tayside and Speyside.

The Scottish government was warned seven years ago that the growing number of what it calls “feral pigs” could cause problems, but took no action. It has said numbers are small, although they “may be increasing”.

Andy Riches, a wildlife recorder for the Mammal Society charity, said numbers had increased around tenfold in the past 15 years, from 400 to somewhere between 3,000 and 5,000.

A Scottish government spokesman said: “We will continue to collate information on the distribution and impact of feral pigs in Scotland and consider whether any further action is required.” 

Reference: The Telegraph: Daniel Sanderson 

Cat scan: 180kg lion treated for persistent ear infection

A 180kg lion suffering from a recurring ear infection has undergone a CAT scan in London to find the cause of the problem. 

ZSL London Zoo's veterinary team put Bhanu, a 12-year-old Asiatic lion, under general anaesthetic after repeated attempts to solve the lion's troublesome left ear canal failed. 

After being anaesthetised in his den, Bhanu was transported to the mobile CAT scanner on the back of a truck, and it took six members of ZSL's team to lift the lion into the correct position on the scanner.

Taina Strike, ZSL London Zoo's senior veterinary officer, said: "We wanted to devise the best long-term treatment plan for Bhanu, but we first had to find out what was causing the problem and urgently rule out any worst-case scenarios, such as a tumour or a deep-seated infection, which would show up on a CAT scan immediately.

"Bhanu is an important member of the European-wide breeding programme for endangered Asiatic lions and deserves the very best care, so we arranged the full VIP treatment; bringing a CAT scanner to a big cat for the first time, so we could see deeper into his ear without him needing to travel.

"We were grateful to have diagnostic imaging specialist David Reese from VetCT on hand to analyse the scans in real time, who quickly informed us there was nothing serious to worry about - but that Bhanu had a very narrow left ear canal, which was more prone to blockages and infections.

"ZSL's zookeepers have worked closely with Bhanu to make sure he is completely at ease having the drops, but the naturally long length of a lion's ear canal, combined with Bhanu's being narrower than usual, meant that the treatment wasn't reaching far enough to be effective - now that we understand the issue, we can work to get Bhanu back to tip top health."

 Provided by The TelegraphLion - ZSL London Zoo/PA

Bhanu is just like any household pet cat which are also prone to ear infections, although ear drops are the solution to the problem.

The lion now receives regular oral medication to reduce inflammation in his ear canal, anti-fungals to manage any infection and a comprehensive ear clean during his annual health check.

Telegraph reporters 

Chester Zoo's latest addition is three-legged tortoise on wheels

An extremely rare tortoise with three legs has been given a new lease of life at Chester Zoo following a dramatic rescue from smugglers in Hong Kong. Named ‘Hope’, the tortoise is one of the world’s rarest animals, with less than 300 remaining in their native Madagascar.

Hope was rescued by customs officials from a would-be wildlife trader who was found with a suitcase stuffed with 57 live and endangered tortoises when travelling from the Comoro Islands off the coast of East Africa in 2019.

The illegal trafficker was subsequently jailed for two years, the heaviest penalty ever imposed under Hong Kong’s animal protection laws at the time. The plucky tortoise was found to be missing a leg, and was fitted with rollers on its underside at Kadoorie Farm Wild Animal Rescue Centre in Hong Kong in order for Hope to walk and balance.

The rollers were then modified and adapted at Chester Zoo, where Hope now resides. Conservationists say he’ll eventually join an important European conservation-breeding programme, which is playing a vital role in saving the critically endangered species from extinction.

“Hope is an incredibly special tortoise, for many reasons,” said Dr Gerardo Garcia, Curator of Lower Vertebrates and Invertebrates at Chester Zoo.

 Chester Zoo'Hope' the three-legged ploughshare tortoise was rescued from a smuggler in Hong Kong

“Firstly, ploughshare tortoises are exceptionally rare. It’s not just the world’s most threatened species of tortoise, it’s one of the most threatened animals on the planet, full stop. Fewer than 300 now remain in the wild, mostly due to their overexploitation by illegal wildlife traders – leaving them functionally extinct in their home of Madagascar.

“In addition Hope has a remarkable life story, having been rescued from smugglers, discovered to have a missing leg and then having a prosthetic mobility support specially fitted to help him get around. It works wonderfully well - he moves even quicker than his three neighbours. He’s settling in nicely to his new home and hopefully, in several years’ time once he’s more developed, he’ll go on to produce offspring and contribute to the survival of the species thanks to the vital insurance population in conservation zoos.”

Just 63 ploughshare tortoises exist legally outside of Madagascar, as part of vital conservation breeding programmes battling to save the species. Chester Zoo is now home to four of these.

With relatively little known about the species, scientists at the zoo are now using 24-hour CCTV cameras to monitor the tortoises and analyse their behaviour.

“Our special cameras are enabling us to get an around-the-clock insight into the behaviour of the tortoises for the very first time,” said Kat Finch, a Conservation Scientist at the zoo.

“We’re looking not just at the group as a whole but at the individuals within it too. Interestingly, we’re seeing there are significant differences in behaviour between them, and we believe this has never been documented before.

“Ploughshare tortoises are so, so rare and it’s vitally important that we learn as much detailed information about them as we possibly can. This data may help us to further improve their care and ensure we’re providing the best possible conditions to help them thrive. Ultimately, we hope that by closely studying them in this way, we’ll unlock information that will optimise chances of successful breeding. With so few ploughshare tortoises remaining on the planet, every single birth could be absolutely crucial to their survival.”

 Chester Zoo'Hope' the three-legged ploughshare tortoise was rescued from a smuggler in Hong Kong

Highly prized for their distinctive gold and black shells, they fetch exceptionally high prices on the illegal, international black market - a result of their ever increasing rarity. The illegal wildlife trade is worth £14 billion a year and is the fourth largest international crime after drugs, arms and human trafficking.

Mike Jordan, Director of Animals and Plants at Chester Zoo, added: “This is a species that’s sadly under huge pressure for its survival and there’s a very real possibility that this species could be lost forever.

“That’s why Hope is such an important addition to the zoo. We refuse to sit back and see this incredible species disappear and so our aim now is to maintain an ark population, by coming together with some of the world’s other leading conservation zoos to breed a genetically viable safety net population and prevent its extinction.” 

Reference: Chester Live: Jonathan Blackburn

Dogs can get cancer just by sniffing each other

Dogs can catch cancer simply by sniffing each other, with male animals at most risk, scientists have found.

A rare cancer called “Canine Transmissible Venereal Tumour” - or CTVT - can jump between creatures when they smell each other’s intimate areas.

The living cancer cells physically “transplant” themselves from one animal to the other.

Dogs often sniff each other because it tells them about the other animal’s identity, gender, health, mood, diet, and confirms whether they've met before, but it can transfer disease.

CTVT is usually transmitted during mating, but sometimes the cancer can affect other areas like the nose, mouth and skin.

Most facial cancers in male dogs

To find out what was causing the oddly-located tumours, researchers reviewed a database and found that 84 per cent of facial cancers were in male dogs.

In contrast, genital cases of CTVT occur in roughly equal numbers of male and female dogs.

“We found that a very significant proportion of the nose or mouth tumours of canine transmissible cancer were in male dogs,” said Dr Andrea Strakova in the University of Cambridge’s department of veterinary medicine, the first author of the paper.

“We think this is because male dogs may have a preference for sniffing or licking the female genitalia, compared to vice versa.

“The female genital tumours may also be more accessible for sniffing and licking, compared to the male genital tumours.”

Rise in cases linked to animal imports

CTVT is now found in dog populations worldwide, and is the oldest and most prolific cancer lineage known in nature. Although it is not common in Britain, cases have been rising in the past decade, linked to the importation of animals from abroad.

The disease occurs worldwide but is mostly linked to countries with free-roaming dog populations.

The most common symptoms of the oro-nasal form of the cancer are sneezing, snoring, difficulty breathing, nasal deformation or bloody and other discharge from the nose or mouth.

“Although canine transmissible cancer can be diagnosed and treated fairly easily, veterinarians in the UK may not be familiar with the signs of the disease because it is very rare here,” added Dr Strakova.

Transmissible cancers are also found in Tasmanian Devils, and in marine bivalves like mussels and clams.

The researchers say that studying this unusual long-lived cancer could also be helpful in understanding how human cancers work.

The findings were published in the journal Veterinary Record. 

Reference: Sarah Knapton -