9 hours agoShare https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cdr58enrmyko

A peregrine falcon fledging in Glasgow has died after contracting bird flu.

The young falcon, named after the character Jack from the TV comedy Still Game, hatched on the rooftop of the University of Glasgow tower in April alongside his sibling Victor.

He took unwell at the start of the week, when volunteers at the Glasgow Peregrine Project observed him acting subdued and not eating.

After a rescue project saw Jack lifted from his nest on Wednesday, the SSPCA determined he needed to be put down to ease his suffering.

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Jack and Victor’s parents, Bonnie and Clyde, have nested on the rooftop of the university tower each spring since 2022.

Jack and Victor hatched on 27 April, and initially seemed in good health.

However Jack’s condition steadily worsened after first taking ill, including not responding when Clyde attempted to feed him.

The Glasgow Peregrine Project provided updates on the bird after he first seemed unwell.

They later posted: “It is with sadness that we must report that after pulling out all the stops and effecting a rescue, Jack has passed away.

“The University of Glasgow and all the project team have monitored him through the night and worked throughout the day to put the rescue plan in place.

“Work that would ordinarily be done in a month was done in a day to expedite Jack’s care.

“The SSPCA assessed Jack and deemed that he had likely contracted bird flu and sadly, had to put him down to ease his suffering.”

The project will now carry out round the clock monitoring of the rest of the family to monitor their health.

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Meet Glasgow’s new peregrine falcon chicks – Jack and Victor

Four falcon chicks hatch in Glasgow university tower

Kate Green

June 11, 2025Share https://www.thepost.co.nz/nz-news/360720833/bodies-four-weasels-found-inside-zealandia-eco-sanctuary

Four unwanted visitors have weaselled their way into Wellington eco-sanctuary Zealandia in the past week.

The first dead weasel was found on Saturday afternoon, when a member of the public alerted the team to a fresh body in a DOC200 trap within the fence.

Rangers cleared and reset the trap, and another weasel was found in the same trap the next day. A third weasel was discovered in another trap on Monday, and a fourth on Tuesday.

These traps had been set after a tree fell onto the fence in May, and it was possible the weasels had got in during the storm, with these animals able to get through tiny holes only a thumb-width in diameter.

General manager for conservation and restoration Jo Ledington said: “We don’t know exactly how these weasels entered the valley but as they have not shown up on any of the detection devices deployed for the fence damage, the bodies were fresh and the traps had recently been checked and rebaited, we don’t think they have been inside the fence for long.”

She said there was a “complex and layered biosecurity system in place, including motion-activated cameras, tracking tunnels, detection dogs, and a comprehensive trapping network”.

There was no evidence these weasels had killed any of the sanctuary’s wildlife.

“This is exactly what our conservation team is trained for. We’re prepared for events like this, and our systems are doing their job. We will be continuing with our response until we are confident there are no further weasels in the sanctuary.”

Before this, the last time a weasel was found dead in a trap was August 2024, and before that was October 2023, and then back as far as 2019.