Dog walkers have spotted rats around Jardins de la Mer, Jersey at the Waterfront. Have you seen any?

Dog walkers say they’ve seen site of rodents in Les Jardins de la Mer recently.

The latest sightings have been reported by dog walkers at the entrance where the trampolines used to be.

Two rats are also said to have been seen running from the rocks across a pathway.

Following a complaint In 2007 the Waterfront Enterprise Board, which oversees the development of the area, baited the area to trap the rodents.
Rat

At the time it said high tides were forcing rats living in the sea wall into the public areas around the gardens, but some local residents claimed it had been happening for years.

Bait traps were put down then to try and reduce the number of rats.

See the full BBC article

Lucy Smy said her dog Mavis became sick following a walk on Rushmere Common and was put down after going into a coma.

See more from the BBC article 16 November 2011

An extract from this article:

“White-nose syndrome (WNS), the disease rampaging its way through the bats of North America, is caused by a fungus, scientists have confirmed.

Researchers from a number of US institutions infected healthy bats with the fungus Geomyces destructans, and found they did develop the disease.

The team also showed that the fungus can pass from one bat to another.

Writing in the journal Nature, they say WNS “has the potential to decimate North American bat populations”.

So far, the disease has killed more than a million bats in the eastern US and Canada since it was first identified in New York state in 2006.”

The wet summer has led to a bumper year for earthworms, which the creatures feed on, and breeding conditions have also been ideal.

See the BBC Report

In other bats this channel is “tuned” to temperatures above 43C but in vampire bats it activates at 30C, meaning it can detect infrared radiation, according to a study in the Nature journal.

See the full article in The Daily Telegraph – Vampire bats use infra-red sensors to guide them to blood – 3 August 2011

“But once we explain what we’re doing – and we do ask for permission to do this – people are generally very interested.”

Professor Memmott and her team, from the University of Bristol, are in a typical residential street just outside of the centre of Bristol.

They are gathering data for a Britain-wide survey, which will provide a snapshot of the number of insect pollinators – bees, butterflies, beetles and flies – that can be found in an urban area like this.

Read the full BBC Article – Cities could be the key to saving pollinating insects By Rebecca Morelle 2 August 2011

They found that the African crested rat chews the roots and bark of a highly toxic tree, and then smears the lethal mixture on its specially adapted fur.

Any animals that attack receive a mouthful of potentially deadly poison.

For further detai see the BBC Science/Environment Artcile African crested rat uses poison trick to foil predators By Rebecca Morelle 3 August 2011

Two people have been taken to hospital in west Sussex suffering from a severe skin reaction to red-haired caterpillars.

The caterpillars, which become brown tailed moths, have been found in Nutboure, Chichester and Selsey.

They are black with white side markings and orange spots.

Karl Hitchock, pest control officer at Chichester District Council, said their hairs can cause severe irritation to the skin.

Residents in Pangbourne and parts of west London have been warned to steer clear of a toxic caterpillar.

The Forestry Commission has issued a caution not to touch the caterpillars of the oak processionary moth.

Their hairs contain a toxin that can cause itchy skin rashes as well as eye and throat irritations.

The Forestry Commission’s Stewart Snape said residents can report sightings but that the caterpillars should only be removed by pest control operators.

Officials are now dealing with outbreaks of the moth in Pangbourne in West Berkshire and the London boroughs of Ealing, Brent, Hounslow, Richmond upon Thames and Hammersmith & Fulham.

Officers initially thought deliberate criminal damage was the cause of the incidents and carried out high visibility patrols.

After telephone cables to homes were also damaged, forensic examination found squirrels were the culprits.

The RSPCA said: “Squirrels do have a tendency to chew through wires.”

The full story can be found on the BBC News website