Breaking Waves: Ocean News https://www.worldoceanobservatory.org/breaking-waves en Wild chimpanzees recorded waging ‘civil war’ with coordinated attacks between two groups https://www.worldoceanobservatory.org/breaking-wave/wild-chimpanzees-recorded-waging-civil-war-coordinated-attacks-between-two-groups <p>New study describes what may be the first case of a unified community of chimps, in Uganda, turning on itself</p> <p>On a June day in 2015, primatologist Aaron Sandel was quietly observing a small cluster of the Ngogo chimpanzee group in Uganda’s Kibale national park when he noticed something strange. As other members of the chimpanzees’ wider group moved closer through the forest, the chimpanzees in front of him began to display nervous behaviour. They grimaced and touched each other for reassurance, acting more like they were about to meet strangers than close companions.</p> <p><a href="https://www.worldoceanobservatory.org/breaking-wave/wild-chimpanzees-recorded-waging-civil-war-coordinated-attacks-between-two-groups" target="_blank">read more</a></p> Thu, 09 Apr 2026 18:00:02 +0000 admin 103023 at https://www.worldoceanobservatory.org US had hottest March on record as nation faced ‘unprecedented’ heat https://www.worldoceanobservatory.org/breaking-wave/us-had-hottest-march-record-nation-faced-unprecedented-heat <p>The continental US registered its most abnormally hot month in 132 years of records, according to Noaa data </p> <p><a href="https://www.worldoceanobservatory.org/breaking-wave/us-had-hottest-march-record-nation-faced-unprecedented-heat" target="_blank">read more</a></p> Thu, 09 Apr 2026 14:49:59 +0000 admin 103022 at https://www.worldoceanobservatory.org Argentina approves Milei’s glacier mining bill amid environmental protests https://www.worldoceanobservatory.org/breaking-wave/argentina-approves-milei-s-glacier-mining-bill-amid-environmental-protests <p>Legislative change backed by libertarian president makes it easier to extract metals in frozen parts of the Andes</p> <p>Argentina’s congress has approved a bill promoted by the libertarian president, Javier Milei, that authorises mining in ecologically sensitive areas of glaciers and permafrost, outraging environmentalists.</p> <p>The amendment to the “glacier law”, which was already approved by the senate in February, would make it easier to mine for metals such as copper, lithium and silver in frozen parts of the Andes mountains.</p> <p><a href="https://www.worldoceanobservatory.org/breaking-wave/argentina-approves-milei-s-glacier-mining-bill-amid-environmental-protests" target="_blank">read more</a></p> Thu, 09 Apr 2026 11:55:33 +0000 admin 103019 at https://www.worldoceanobservatory.org ‘A dream come true’: Brazil’s blue-and-yellow macaws return to Rio after 200 years https://www.worldoceanobservatory.org/breaking-wave/dream-come-true-brazil-s-blue-and-yellow-macaws-return-rio-after-200-years <p>An ambitious ‘refaunation’ project is bringing the much-loved birds and other lost species back to the city’s national park</p> <p>Images of the iconic blue-and-yellow macaw can be spotted all over Rio de Janeiro. Yet the real thing has been seen so rarely in the Brazilian city that some wondered if it ever really existed there at all.</p> <p><a href="https://www.worldoceanobservatory.org/breaking-wave/dream-come-true-brazil-s-blue-and-yellow-macaws-return-rio-after-200-years" target="_blank">read more</a></p> Thu, 09 Apr 2026 11:00:48 +0000 admin 103021 at https://www.worldoceanobservatory.org Doug Allan, cameraman on David Attenborough’s Planet series, dies trekking in Nepal https://www.worldoceanobservatory.org/breaking-wave/doug-allan-cameraman-david-attenborough-s-planet-series-dies-trekking-nepal <p>Wildlife film pioneer has died aged 74 ‘immersed in nature and surrounded by friends’, his representatives said</p> <p>An award-winning wildlife cameraman renowned for his work with David Attenborough has died aged 74 while trekking in Nepal.</p> <p>Doug Allan, described as a “true pioneer” of wildlife film-making, won several Bafta and Emmy awards and was principal camera operator on a number of BBC series including Planet Earth, Frozen Planet and The Blue Planet.</p> <p> <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/media/2026/apr/09/doug-allan-wildlife-cameraman-dies">Continue reading...</a></p> Thu, 09 Apr 2026 10:27:20 +0000 admin 103020 at https://www.worldoceanobservatory.org Bitten by snakes 200 times – on purpose: US man’s quest to help deliver new antivenom https://www.worldoceanobservatory.org/breaking-wave/bitten-snakes-200-times-purpose-us-man-s-quest-help-deliver-new-antivenom <p>Tim Friede put his ‘ass on the line’ to help stop snakebite deaths – whose numbers appear to be rising amid the climate crisis</p> <p>As we overheat and degrade our planet, more people are likely to come into contact, sometimes fatally, with venomous snakes. One man hopes to provide an unusual solution to this, after subjecting himself to 200 intentional snakebites to his body.</p> <p>For nearly 20 years, Tim Friede, 58, allowed some of the most lethal snakes in the world to bite him so he could build up an immunity that could one day be developed into a universal antivenom.</p> <p><a href="https://www.worldoceanobservatory.org/breaking-wave/bitten-snakes-200-times-purpose-us-man-s-quest-help-deliver-new-antivenom" target="_blank">read more</a></p> Thu, 09 Apr 2026 10:00:46 +0000 admin 103018 at https://www.worldoceanobservatory.org Mass drowning of chicks puts emperor penguins at risk of extinction https://www.worldoceanobservatory.org/breaking-wave/mass-drowning-chicks-puts-emperor-penguins-risk-extinction <p>Record low levels of Antarctic sea ice are having grim consequences for penguins yet to grow waterproof feathers</p> <p>The mass drowning of emperor penguin chicks as sea ice is melted by the climate crisis has led the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) to declare the species officially in danger of extinction.</p> <p><a href="https://www.worldoceanobservatory.org/breaking-wave/mass-drowning-chicks-puts-emperor-penguins-risk-extinction" target="_blank">read more</a></p> Thu, 09 Apr 2026 09:00:28 +0000 admin 103017 at https://www.worldoceanobservatory.org Campaigners demand action to break UK’s ‘addiction’ to controversial herbicide https://www.worldoceanobservatory.org/breaking-wave/campaigners-demand-action-break-uk-s-addiction-controversial-herbicide <p>Use of glyphosate has risen 10-fold in 30 years, raising fears for public health</p> <p>It was Scottish farmers in the 1980s who pioneered the practice of spraying glyphosate on their wheat just before harvest. Struggling in the damp glens to get their crop to dry evenly, they came up with the idea of accelerating the process by killing it a week or two before harvesting.</p> <p>Glyphosate, then a revolutionary herbicide that killed everything plant-based but spared animal life, seemed perfect for the job. Soon the practice spread to wetter, colder agricultural regions around the world.</p> <p><a href="https://www.worldoceanobservatory.org/breaking-wave/campaigners-demand-action-break-uk-s-addiction-controversial-herbicide" target="_blank">read more</a></p> Thu, 09 Apr 2026 08:00:27 +0000 admin 103016 at https://www.worldoceanobservatory.org Ed Miliband hold firm! North sea oil and gas drilling won’t help anyone other than Nigel Farage | Zoe Williams https://www.worldoceanobservatory.org/breaking-wave/ed-miliband-hold-firm-north-sea-oil-and-gas-drilling-won-t-help-anyone-other-nigel-far <p>It’s worrying to watch Labour entertain Reform’s fantasies about fossil fuels. Only renewables will bring lower bills and higher energy security</p> <p>Ed Miliband is facing a dilemma, apparently. Reform UK is suggesting new oil and gas licences in the North Sea as a way to cut fuel bills and they’re steadily gaining cheerleaders – not just in the media, but<strong> </strong>also in some <a href="https://www.telegraph.co.uk/politics/2026/04/06/unions-warn-miliband-his-north-sea-opposition-will-cost-lab/">trade unions</a>.</p> <p><a href="https://www.worldoceanobservatory.org/breaking-wave/ed-miliband-hold-firm-north-sea-oil-and-gas-drilling-won-t-help-anyone-other-nigel-far" target="_blank">read more</a></p> Thu, 09 Apr 2026 07:00:26 +0000 admin 103015 at https://www.worldoceanobservatory.org Abandoned Battle of Britain control tower to become a home for holidaymakers … and six species of bat https://www.worldoceanobservatory.org/breaking-wave/abandoned-battle-britain-control-tower-become-home-holidaymakers-and-six-species-bat <p>Council backs £700,000 plan to save historic landmark at former RAF base in the New Forest</p> <p>A unique RAF watch office that has been crumbling for decades is to be turned into a smart hideaway home to be shared by holidaymakers – and the bats that already use it.</p> <p><a href="https://www.landmarktrust.org.uk/">The Landmark Trust</a>, which rescues at-risk buildings, has been given permission to convert the ruined property in Hampshire into a holiday retreat with four bedrooms and a roof terrace.</p> <p><a href="https://www.worldoceanobservatory.org/breaking-wave/abandoned-battle-britain-control-tower-become-home-holidaymakers-and-six-species-bat" target="_blank">read more</a></p> Thu, 09 Apr 2026 05:00:23 +0000 admin 103014 at https://www.worldoceanobservatory.org