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Irish folklore has many mythical characters such as the banshees or Tir na nOg, but according to one man Leprechauns are 100 per cent real. Kevin Woods, recognised as Ireland’s one and only leprechaun whisperer, recently shared astonishing claims on Ireland AM. During the broadcast, Woods, who comes from Carlingford, County Louth and affectionately known as McCoillte, shared some of the secrets involving leprechauns and their long history which has become intertwined with human spirits. Is British wine the next big thing? According to woods’ official website: ‘He talks to the 236 leprechauns that still exist there. They are affectionately...

The Loch Ness Centre has reached out to NASA for assistance in a new quest to search for the Loch Ness monster. Following last year’s extensive search of Loch Ness in the Highlands, which included the capture of loud underwater noises and several potential sightings, the centre is eager to enlist NASA’s expertise in their pursuit. Scheduled to coincide with the 90th anniversary of Sir Edward Mountain’s expedition, the latest search will take place from May 30 to June 2. Since the inaugural expedition in 1934 by the Watchers of the Monster, over 1,156 sightings have been documented on the...

A wave anomaly captured by a weather-mapping system sparked a global mystery this week—with some internet sleuths even claiming it proves the existence of aliens. A giant cluster of waves over 80 feet high and spanning 2,000 miles—an area larger than Texas—appeared to move through the ocean off the coast of Africa on April 10 in a journey that lasted about 24 hours before it vanished. Some online commentators said the formation could only have been created by something moving under the surface of the sea—making it an "unidentified submersible object," the ocean equivalent of a UFO. A graphic of...

A small deer, Pudella carlae, stands on rocks in a river. So small. Image credit: Ramiro Yábar, courtesy of Guillermo D’Elía. Anew species of tiny deer has been discovered in the central Andes in Peru, becoming the first new cervid species found in South America for over 60 years – though that’s not the only cool thing about this discovery. Previously, there were thought to be just two species of a group of deer known as pudus, which are the world’s smallest deer. They’re split into the Southern and Northern pudu, reflecting where they’re found. However, whilst out in the...

The whale was spotted 30 miles south of the Massachusetts island Friday diving and resurfacing, appearing to feed. Scientists say climate change may be why the species has reappeared. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ A gray whale south of Nantucket, Mass., on Friday.New England Aquarium ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ A gray whale extinct from the Atlantic for more than 200 years was spotted off New England last week in an “incredibly rare event,” the New England Aquarium said. The whale was spotted Friday 30 miles south of Nantucket, Massachusetts, diving and resurfacing, appearing to feed, the aquarium said in a news release. The aquarium’s aerial survey team...

A massive new species of anaconda that could potentially be the largest currently in existence has been uncovered in the Amazon rainforests of Ecuador, according to newly published findings that expand our understanding of these massive snakes and their habitat. The discovery was made during fieldwork by a team of researchers with the University of Queensland, who traveled to the region in search of an undocumented variety of northern green anaconda spoken of by its indigenous residents. According to accounts shared by the Waorani people of the Ecuadorian Amazon, stories of a variety of large anacondas said to exist in...

Borneo Pygmy Elephant © Source: pinterest Welcome to the wild side of our planet, where nature's most extraordinary and elusive creatures come to life! We embark on a journey to explore the hidden treasures of our natural world—30 rare and exotic animals that have been fortunate enough to grace the lens of a camera. From the depths of dense rainforests to the icy peaks of remote mountains, each of these remarkable species offers a glimpse into the awe-inspiring diversity of life on Earth. Join us as we delve into the realms of the mysterious, the enigmatic, and the endangered. These...

It’s the first time a breeding population of this critically endangered species has been reported. f you’re familiar with the Twitter game “flat f*** Friday”, then oh boy, do we have a treat for you. We present to you one of the flattest fellas around: the Asian giant softshell turtle (Pelochelys cantorii). And, with the help of local community knowledge, researchers have just discovered both its first-ever nesting female and breeding population. Unfortunately, the Asian (or Cantor’s) giant softshell turtle is also critically endangered; its population has been declining due to habitat destruction, getting caught up in fishing gear, and...

John O’Connor’s The Secret History of Bigfoot: Field Notes on a North American Monster is a work of mourning. Bigfoot, as O’Connor, a journalism professor, illustrates, is thriving—if by “Bigfoot” we’re talking about the legend of Sasquatch and the communities that have sprung up to seek out the hairy, towering primate said to lurk in the depths of America’s few remaining old-growth forests. It’s that Bigfoot, the symbol, who, O’Connor argues, flourishes and does so because of how much we’ve lost. This Bigfoot is a black armband commemorating everything from the environmental devastation wrought on the continent to the dearth...

A Chaunax, a genus of bony fish in the sea toad family Chaunacidae, is seen at a depth of 1,388 meters (4,553 feet) on a seamount inside the Nazca-Desventuradas Marine Park. Image credit: Schmidt Ocean Institute ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ More than 100 new species have been discovered on an underwater mountain range off the coast of Chile. Among the never-before-seen critters seen on the expedition are corals, glass sponges, sea urchins, amphipods, lobsters, plus a gaggle of peculiar fish and squid that are already known to science (but no less strange). The discoveries come from an international group of scientists who recently...

The Yellow-crested Helmetshrike was ready for what might be its first-ever closeup - Matt Brady, University of Texas at El Paso ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ No-one has seen the Yellow-crested Helmetshrike for about 20 years. That changed when researchers embarked on a six-week expedition in the Democratic Republic of the Congo and captured the dramatic-looking yellow-topped bird in its first-known photo. With nearly 70% of the planet's wildlife populations having declined since the 1970s, there are not often stories worth cheering for when it comes to global animal welfare. But a new find in the remote Itombwe Massif in the Congo is certainly...

A healthy frog has been spotted with a tiny mushroom sprouting from the side of its body, the first time such a growth on live animal tissue has been observed. Naturally, it completely stunned scientists. While fungi invasions are fairly common in the small-animal world, this growth appeared to be very different to the zombie parasitic types that spell bad news for their hijacked hosts. The fungus-accessorizing Rao's Intermediate Golden-backed Frog (Hylarana inter-media) was discovered by scientists out on a nature walk at the foothills of the Kudremukh Range in India's Western Ghats mountains. Despite this species being on the...

We present to you, the rare pointy long boi Somali sharp-snouted worm lizard. Image courtesy of Mark Spicer ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Being elusive might seem exclusively the realm of spies and space stuff, but animals are pretty good at it too, and one that takes the trait to heart is the Somali sharp-snouted worm lizard. Having not been officially seen in over 90 years, the odd-looking creature has now made a reappearance. The Somali sharp-snouted worm lizard (Ancylocranium somalicum) was first reported back in 1931, when scientists discovered a subspecies of the reptile in what’s now the unrecognized state of Somaliland. It...

An aquarium and shark lab in Hendersonville is expecting a miracle birth any day -- with some exciting new additions. The Aquarium and Shark Lab by Team ECCO in downtown Hendersonville has an expectant stingray named Charlotte. But this pregnancy isn't just any normal pregnancy -- and because of that, staff thought the swelling they started to see in Charlotte in September might be cancer. Why? Because there was no possible way for her to have become pregnant -- or so they thought -- as there were no male sting rays in the tank. 'Miraculous birth' expected from stingray with...

One of the most famous ‘proofs’ of Nessie Credit: Marmaduke Arundel "Duke" Wetherell/Creative Commons The latest sighting of the famously illusive Loch Ness Monster was recorded on January 24, 2024, and the tourist who saw it claims he was most surprised by the colour. Jarod Strong was close to Urquhart Castle on the banks of the loch, near Inverness, Scotland when he says he spotted the mysterious monster. However, although being surprised at the sight of old Nessie, he reveals the thing that shocked him most was that it wasn’t green! Jarod said: “I was near the castle with my...

A walk on a northeastern Prince Edward Island beach has turned into a quest for answers for an Island man and his friends. Ron Howse spotted a bin full of bones when he was finishing up a walk along the beach in Souris in August 2023. The town had placed the bin there for people to throw debris into, and someone had tossed in the bones. These were not just any bones, though: Their darkening colour indicated that they were in the process of fossilizing, or turning into rock-hard minerals, and there were at least 50 of them. Howse was...

Japanese scientists took a video illustrating how plants communicate with each other. They created a device that vents chemicals from plants being damaged by insects directly into a healthy plant. In response, the video shows the living one producing calcium through its leaves, which indicates the plant senses danger. We don’t see plants prowling in the wild, hunting prey, and making sounds, so it’s easy to assume they don’t communicate with each other. However, this experiment proves that plants can convey messages to each other for survival. As a result, it becomes an eye-opener that expands our understanding of the...

The solitary swan lost its mate last yearA widowed swan has been crossing a road every day so it can stare at its own reflection in the windows of a Telford school following the death of its mate last year. The solitary swan was snapped waddling across Grange Avenue outside Telford Park School in Stirchley on Thursday [Jan 11] by construction worker Spencer Clayton. Commuters sat bemused and watched as the wildfowl stopped traffic and used the zebra crossing to make it safely to the other side. But locals in Stirchley have said that the swan has been making the...

In the vast depths of the ocean, scientists have made an amazing discovery in a seemingly unassuming creature: the sea squirt. Researchers from the Institute of Science and Technology Austria have uncovered how sea squirt oocytes (immature egg cells) utilize friction within their interior compartments to trigger developmental changes after conception. This revelation opens a new chapter in our understanding of the forces that shape life.

Lord Howe Island Stick Insect (Dryococelus australis) (Zoos Victoria) Only 20 to 30 'tree lobsters' remain in the wild. This single fragile population was rediscovered in 2001 after the insects were presumed extinct for 80 years. These wild Lord Howe Island stick insects (Dryococelus australis) currently cling to their precarious existence on a near-vertical volcanic outcrop called Ball's Pyramid. Now, San Diego Zoo is inviting visitors to see the extraordinary, extinction-defying Australian animals in person. Prone to catastrophic weather events and landslides, Ball's Pyramid is not exactly a safe place for a critically endangered species. Here there's only one species...