Category: World News

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Extra Ears For Listening to the Autumn

~ McPusspusses ~ Leave a comment

by Angel Alma

Summer sounds in nature fade once birds have migrated or plan to migrate. Nests are empty; chicks have grown and hang out in their own flocks without parents.

Still, if you listen carefully (not wearing headphones whilst walking) you can hear a lot. Tiny tweets and chirps, as tits who are staying, keep checking their old places for seeds. Jackdaws are noisy as always, gathering and flying around.

When traffic is light, you can hear a lot more.

Mum likes to wander around the old cemetery, which is quiet, except for the garden workers with their machines and rakes. Anyway, it’s one of the best places to listen to nature in the town. Woodpeckers shout their warnings, and so do squirrels if you walk too close.

Mum jumped high as she didn’t notice a busy squirrel on a nearby twig. Chatting was almost as loud as when I, Alma, tried to make friends with them in our backyard. They are so fussy! I was just watching!

Our home street is mostly calm, so that you can hear ripe apples bumping down to the lawn. Trees are changing colour, leaves falling one by one, making a nice scratching sound.

Wind helps, sometimes yelling as a gale.

Raindrops are essential in autumn, and listening to their drumming can be very soothing.

When I had to wear a cone after my vet visits, oh my cat, how much more I could hear. That’s why Mum and other birdwatchers spread their hands behind their ears to make the ears bigger.

It helps a lot, really.

With her extra ears, Mum spotted a rather rare pair of Eurasian hobbies at the cemetery. They had been nesting in a high spruce, sounding very much like woodpeckers.

Soon there’s no need for extra ears when migratory honkers are returning from the north. Instead, you can use your hands to cover the ears! 

World News Alert from My Big Bed: Animal Testing

~ Sassy ~ 1 Comment

I am a dog. I contribute to the fabulous Anipal Times.

Bloop. Bloop. News Alert. News Alert.

May, 2025. Several protest organizations protested, demanded, investigated, and pleaded until they were arrested for freeing corralled beagles and test animals. Yet these brave arrests led to historic, federal first-ever charges against the breeding and lab testing facilities mandated by the federal government’s National Institute of Health (NIH). This pressure caused a grand jury to indict many animal testing labs, and the authorities finally charged the breeders and labs with federal crimes.

News alert: lawsuits, transparency, public protests, subpoenas, and grand juries work.

The NIH’s last in-house Beagle testing lab has been permanently closed. The so-called government doctors face charges, jail time, and fines exceeding $35 million. Rescuers have saved thousands of animals and provided them with new homes. The end of government, taxpayer-funded animal testing has come.
*Sassy Appaws! Appaws!

People worldwide have shamefully bred and purchased animals, especially Beagles, for experiments involving drugs, flea meds, and other items. Governments worldwide require these tests before allowing an item on the market.

Using AI and other predictive methods makes the use of animals and animal testing unnecessary, obsolete, and cruel. The biggest offender was Envigo, which bred, held, corralled, and sold over 5000 beagles per the White Coat Waste Project for the world’s cruel use in experiments.
*Sassy sobs

Finally, in 2025, a change in government allowed our federal courts to subpoena those involved for four decades, 43 years, in testing animals in labs.

Dr. Dawn Marie Gau was indicted on seventeen felony charges in 2025.

Dr. Gau and others pleaded guilty to supplying dogs and animals worldwide for experimentation. Dr. Gau pleaded guilty to seven of the seventeen charges.

Dr. Dawn Marie Gau’s convictions in July 2026 include animal cruelty, conspiracy to violate the Federal Animal Welfare Act, and conspiring to violate the Clean Water Act.

The judge handed down sentences of 12 months in prison (suspended) and 7 years of supervised probation. These were the first ever federal convictions for animal exploitation and supplying worldwide. These convictions also freed 5000 dogs, and the $35 million in fines closed the Envigo breeding facilities.

Officials have permanently closed these NIH labs and breeding facilities, with more convictions expected.
*Sassy Appaws!

The only remaining NIH Federal Government run lab and Envigo breeding are both closed due to the convictions.
*Sassy Appaws!

The Beagle Freedom Project (BFP) also shut down a large testing lab in Nowata, Oklahoma, that provided animals for flea-med testing.
*Sassy Appaws!

As your world news alert dog reporter, I am thrilled to report that overall in 2025-26, these grand juries, subpoenas, and convictions compelled the NIH and Envigo to free all the laboratory animals immediately and end the breeding facilities.

Officials forced Envigo to shut down its dog breeding operations, yet they still sell research products.

Rescuers took the animals to a thirty-acre property called Freedom Fields to start the adoption and rehabilitation required by the federal court. Thousands of animals have found new homes through adoption.
*Sassy Appaws!

A massive effort to find these animals homes has been in full swing since June 2025 and continues today.
Dance paws!

We know bad labs and breeders will still be out there, but we hope jail time and threats of federal charges will stop them cold.

Join us in celebrating the demise of Envigo and the National Institute of Health’s animal testing and breeding labs.

Wave goodbye to the last in-house NIH animal testing lab and unnecessary, outdated, cruel experiments and worldwide sales policies.

If you can, adopt a Beagle and hug your pets.
High paws.

Over and out from Sassy, reporting for World News Alert from My Big Bed.

Badger Article 6

Badger Article 6 Picture1
~ McPusspusses ~ 2 Comments

Badgers in September

The badgers in the UK have had a hard summer this year. The drought hit hard, causing many cubs and older badgers to perish because they could not forage for food or water.

Thankfully, we are now getting some rain, which will provide some relief to the suffering wildlife and allow them to get on with their normal behaviour for the time of year.

September is a month when badgers hope to have abundant food, with berries, fruit falling, acorns, alongside their earthworms and insects. It is a month of building up fat reserves—badgers will reach their heaviest, even double the weight from summer. 

There will also be a lot of sett renovations and cleaning happening at this time of year. Collection of bedding to take into the sett to have warm, comfy sleeping chambers for the coming winter. 

Alongside this, there are territorial relationships playing out, and sadly fighting, with some badgers being pushed out of the family groups, including youngsters moving on to their own patch.

Badgers can mate all year round because of delayed implantation, but August and September are key fertile months for badgers. Mating at this time of year will result in any eggs fertilized now not actually implanting in the womb until December, ensuring all cubs are born together in high winter (around February).

Let’s hope the badgers can prep well at this time and that the winter will not be as hard as the summer has been this year.

Our visiting badgers:

Sixty Thousand Lakes and More

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By Angel Alma

This summer the important word is WATER. Nature is thirsty, wildfires rage, and the demand for water grows. Finland has been lucky so far, although we have a history of wildfires too.

The South East experiences sporadic, gentle rain, yielding lush greenery in lawns and gardens. We had some heavy showers, with streets flooding, but that didn’t last long. It was worse in central Finland where smaller roads even crashed.

Water is essential also for mum. You could call her slightly obsessed, as she must visit the waterside several times a week if possible. Our former home was by the sea in the Helsinki region, followed by many years in Finnish Lakeland. The biggest lake in the country, Saimaa, was almost on the doorstep. Mum swam post-work, even through winter, through an ice hole.

This passion for water started as a child during the long summer holidays by Lake Saimaa. Her family had a summer cottage, like many Finns do. Swimming occurs mornings, on numerous occasions daily, and certainly in the evenings following sauna use.

A few years ago she learned that this is called wild swimming. One style is running in deep water using a special vest, but we do that mostly in swimming pools. You can also walk and maybe do some gym moves in waist-high water.  

My brother Aimo and I went swimming too, not on purpose, but jumping after Mum. Imagine a flying cat! We appeared that way, retreating quickly toward the pier. Aimo even waded in the shallow water. He had Norwegian Forest cat heritage, and they catch fish.

Mum often drives to nearby lakes or rivers, sometimes just to sit and enjoy the sounds of the water. A park pond offers more than nothing.

The big river Kymijoki flows through this region towards the Gulf of Finland. Scenic trails for walking and cycling now line the banks.

For those who like waterside action, there is a resort area with an amusement park, Aquapark, cottages and bikes for rent, beach volleyball courts and a diving platform. This summer’s speciality is a sand art exhibition by local artists.

Our lakes are mostly clean, although blue algae can be a pain, especially in hot summers. Periodically, the Gulf of Finland waters resemble thick, green soup. Authorities collected samples from popular beaches; results here were “excellent” when Mum last checked.

Finns call the first swim of the year “throwing your winter fur away”. Mum plans to do that, though she has not yet. Maybe in August when beaches are quiet and the water is “warm”, meaning about +20 Celsius. If you ask me, I’ll rather keep my winter fur on and my summer one dry. Licky baths, of course, make an exception.

Wildlife Need Water

wildlife Picture2
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In the UK, we are in another heatwave pattern, particularly in central and southern areas. 

We broke temperature records in May and June, and these hot spells have lasted for several days and not just the odd extreme day.

Nature and wildlife will struggle.

Badger cubs have a high mortality rate anyway, but in dry ground and hot conditions, they struggle even more. Many badger groups are reporting dehydrated badger cubs being found.

When temperatures soar, badgers leave their underground homes throughout the day, searching for hidden resting places amidst plants. They will come out needing water too.

The ground is so hard; they are not getting moisture from that and it’s too hard to forage.

We have a cat litter tray out at the bottom of our garden as a water trough, and the wildlife will use it.

Suddenly They Were Here

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By Angel Alma

You wait and wait, and one morning you’ll notice it. Chirps and shouts, cries, songs, all the typical tunes of migratory birds. They are eager to announce their arrival and declare: “This is my territory.”

Some species arrive overnight, like fieldfares. Mum usually walks a certain route to listen until she can hear them from the woods.

Often, one hears birds before seeing them. For example, a Pied Wagtail mum heard chirping when she was sitting by the river. Check the surroundings, and soon the bird was jumping on a stone trying to catch insects above the water surface.

Honkers, as we kitties call geese, Mum heard during her walks through the fields. “Honk Honk”, she looked up and saw the typical formations fly over. Goosebumps!

Perhaps the most significant arrivals every spring in Finland are chaffinches, singing loudly near homes and gardens. It may be THE early bird most Finnish people recognize. Curiously, most individuals claim familiarity solely with magpies, craws, seagulls, and cuckoos. Not every paw needs to be a birdwatcher; just enjoy the performance. But if you are interested in learning more, YouTube and phone apps can help.

In a few weeks, fresh voices will join the concert. Loud gulls fly above roofs, as they have learned to nest inland. High houses are like seaside cliffs.

Mum loves the day when she hears the first swifts. Several, then more, launched skyward. They arrived this year on May twenty-third, the same date as the prior year, which proved rather amusing.

Later in June, the soundscape changes. Nesting is in full swing, and you hear more and more warning sounds. Parents warn the chicks about approaching humans, dogs, squirrels, us cats, and bigger birds. When gull chicks jump from the nest, often onto the asphalt, shouting is constant. Humans need to beware of their hats, as the bird parents attack to defend their offspring.

We’ve installed special materials on the roof to safeguard our elderly residents. It’s paste you can buy from garden centers. Birds see it shining and avoid it. Other houses use flickering lights to tell gulls are not welcome.

You need to take the warnings seriously. A while ago, a woman was taking a phone pic of an Ural Owl. The bird was warning, of course, and suddenly pecked the woman’s eye. A trip to the hospital, a lesson learned, plus a story in a newspaper.

In July, the soundscape changes again. It’s calmer and more silent, and female Curlews leave. Dads are taking care of the kids until they are ready to survive on their own.

Summer hasn’t ended, despite our jokes about Finland’s brief summer with minimal snow.

Badger Article 5

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Badgers cubs

Cubs having snuggled down in the sett since February, it is time from May to venture above ground

Badger cubs in the UK are typically born in February. They spend their first eight to ten weeks underground in a safe sett, only emerging above ground for the first time in late spring, usually around mid-to-late April or May.

Here is how they grow and develop:

Birth (February): Cubs are born blind, weigh between 75 g and 130 g, and have fine white fur.

5–7 Weeks: Their eyes open for the first time.

8–10 Weeks: Cubs peek above ground from the sett entrances.

12 Weeks: The mother weans them and they learn to forage alongside her.

5–16 Weeks: They are mostly independent and can forage alone.

In the UK, badger cub mortality is extremely high, with an average of 50% to 66% of cubs dying in their first year. Only one out of every three cubs typically survives to reach one year of age.

Primary Causes of Mortality

Starvation and Climate: Lack of food availability is the primary natural driver of cub deaths. Drought years significantly decrease the survival rate, as it severely limits their major food source (earthworms).

Road Traffic Accidents: Badgers are habitual creatures, and roads built across ancient paths lead to major casualties. UK roads kill over 50,000 badgers of all age groups every year, and these accidents leave many dependent cubs orphaned.

Predation: While adult badgers have no natural predators in the UK, young cubs can occasionally fall prey to foxes

The local badger group, on which Mummy is on the committee, has orphaned cubs to look after each year. Experienced members hand-rear them. Once strong, they relocate to the wildlife hospital, joining others within a larger enclosure.

The badger group then always tries to find somewhere suitable to build an artificial badger sett to release the cubs together. The badgers receive food support initially, but then they return to the wild and their own sett. They often then build their own outlier setts in the area.

Inventing Your Own Seasons

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by Angel Alma

Finnish humans like to repeat the mantra about how lovely it is to have four proper seasons. You know the rhyme: Winter, Spring, Summer and Fall…

But there are more, namely “mid-seasons”. Summer-Fall, Spring-Winter, and so on. Also, crossings between seasons aren’t as clear as they used to be.

Mum loves the Japanese idea of 24 or even 72 microseasons. Perhaps the best known is Hanami, the season to watch cherry blossoms. The Finnish newspaper Helsingin Sanomat even used this idea in their monthly magazine. They published a calendar on this theme together with ProAgria Finland.

Mum has invented microseasons on her own. Let’s see what they are like in the springtime.

We have just survived the sandstorm season, phew. When the snow melted, the air was full of dust, which strong winds blew all over. During the winter, they gritted the streets and pavements multiple times, and maintenance tractors and street sweeping vehicles spent a long time washing it all away.

Sandstorm dust is bad for lungs and irritates eyes. During the worst time, Mum checked the air quality in our town from her phone before going out. The Finnish Meteorological Institute collected the measurements. Rush hours were awful, of course, but other times too, depending on the wind direction.

And the snow didn’t leave us at once. It came back twice and was rather thick, too. In late April Mum saw that several centimeters of snow had covered the backyard during the night. The sun was already warm enough to melt it by the afternoon. That’s another microseason: warming sun.

The list goes on: the day you can wear trainers and not the heavy winter boots with spikes. You can enjoy coffee on the balcony or ice cream on a terrace when it’s warm enough. When you need to close the bedroom curtains to sleep. Rainbows appear on the kitchen wall when sunlight strikes the glass ball positioned on the shelf.

Microseasons also reveal what has been secretly happening during the winter. They appear when they are ready: the first daffodil, butterfly, bumblebee, spider. Those tiny birch leaves which we call “ears of a mouse”.

Of course, Mum thinks the most exciting springtime microseason is when migratory birds return. Maybe we’ll tell more about it in the next blog.

Weather Article 2

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Northern Blocking in the UK

Northern blocking is one of the most influential drivers of UK weather. High pressure building interrupts the jet stream’s usual westward flow in the high latitudes of Greenland, Iceland, or Scandinavia. This “block” forces weather systems to divert around it, often locking the UK into a particular pattern for days or even weeks.

Although blocking can occur at any time of year, its effects in winter and spring are dramatically different.

For snow lovers like mummy, northern blocking is a key hope for winter months in the UK and to be in the correct position to bring in winds and snow. 

Northerly flows bring snow showers to Scotland, Northern Ireland, and the eastern coasts.

Easterly flows can produce widespread snow, especially when North Sea convection is strong. People know this weather phenomenon as the Beast from the East.

How winter blocking forms

In winter, the jet stream is stronger and more active. When a northern block forms, it forces the jet to buckle southwards, often sending it through Spain or the Mediterranean. This opens the door for Arctic or continental air to spill into the UK.

The most common winter blocking positions are:

*Greenland High (Greenland block) drives cold north‑westerlies or northerlies into the UK.
*The Scandinavian High (Scandi block) pulls in cold easterlies from Siberia and western Russia.
*Energy demand spikes. Prolonged cold spells increase heating demand and can strain infrastructure.

Why winter blocking is so impactful

Cold air masses are dense and persistent. Once they settle over the UK, they can be very difficult to shift without a major change in the jet stream. That’s why winter blocking often leads to memorable cold spells—think 2010 or the “Beast from the East” in 2018.

Northern Blocking in Spring:

Spring is a transitional season, and blocking behaves differently because the atmosphere is warming, the jet stream weakens, and the contrast between polar and tropical air reduces.

How spring blocking forms

Spring blocks often develop over:

*Greenland
*Iceland
*Scandinavia
*The North Atlantic

But the key difference is that the air masses involved are no longer cold. Instead, the block’s position determines whether the UK gets warmth, chill, or dry settled weather.

It can bring cold, grey days, though, and chilly spring nights. Can also mean a lot of dry weather, which is not welcome in spring for nature, wildlife, and farmers.

The same blocking pattern that brings snow in February might bring sunshine and warmth in May. The key is the temperature of the source air and the strength of the sun. By late spring, even an easterly flow can feel pleasant rather than bitter.

Badger Article 4

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Badgers in Spring…..

Badgers are very active in spring after keeping warm and conserving energy throughout winter.

February marks prime cub birth season within the UK. A litter normally has 1-5 cubs, and they will remain tucked up in the sett, feeding from their mum. They will stay underground for a few months.

February and March are key mating times. Badgers use delayed implantation to ensure cubs are born between January and March. While mating can occur 11 months prior, actual gestation is only 6-8 weeks, as fertilized embryos (blastocysts) remain dormant in the uterus until early winter. 

February through to May is a very active time for badgers, with them needing food, especially nursing mums.
There can be hierarchical changes and territorial fights.

Regrettably, increased activity presently heightens badger transit and their vulnerability to road fatalities.

Our mummy is a volunteer for our local badger group, and that means the sad role of going out to deceased badgers on our roads to check they are not lactating females. Should that be true, finding the abandoned cubs requires urgent attention to ensure their survival. This is especially relevant to lactating female foxes too at this time of year.

We can see that our visiting mama badger is lactating, so we will hope to see cubs in the forthcoming months

For more information, visit The Badger Trust and Wildlife Trusts