Increasing numbers of shark species are being found in British waters. Why is this happening, asks Ben Garrod – and where can we see them?
My lasting love of sharks was kindled the day I rescued one. Just 11 years old, I was on a deserted beach one cold Sunday morning, with my trusty terrier, Toby. There had been a high spring tide, leaving broad, shallow furrows in the sand. It was in one of these temporary channels that we spotted a fish thrashing desperately about.
I’d grown up on nature documentaries and had read every one of Gerald Durrell’s books, so I felt prepared for the task ahead. Worried that the water would seep away and that the shark would effectively suffocate, I waited until she was facing away (and yes, it was a ‘she’) and grabbed her tail. I felt her course sandpaper skin and the power in her muscular body, and flung her into the nearby surf, afraid of receiving some terrible injury from her jaws. It was over in seconds. As I saw her disappear back into the sea, I had never been so proud or felt as brave. I feel that my achievement should in no way become diminished simply because my shark was a small-spotted catshark and was only around 40cm long.
As well as introducing me to sharks and their flattened cousins, the rays, my rescue showed me that, like anything, sharks too could be vulnerable and needed our help. In my adult life as a biologist I’ve been lucky enough to meet some fantastic sharks. I’ve dived with majestic tiger sharks off Cuba, seen schooling hammerheads in the Galapagos and fallen in love with gentle leopard sharks on a Madagascan reef – but my love of sharks started here in the UK, and it is still ‘our’ British sharks that fascinate me most.
PLACE OF REFUGE
Diese Geschichte stammt aus der March 2018-Ausgabe von BBC Countryfile Magazine.
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Diese Geschichte stammt aus der March 2018-Ausgabe von BBC Countryfile Magazine.
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Guilt-Free Meat? - Should the world stop eating meat to tackle the climate crisis? Chris Baraniuk meets an experimental farmer who says we don't all have to become vegetarians
Should the world stop eating meat to tackle the climate crisis? Chris Baraniuk meets an experimental farmer who says we don't all have to become vegetarians. Livestock farming around the world is facing scrutiny because of its greenhouse gas emissions. Globally, the sector contributes somewhere between 11.1% and 19.6% of total emissions. Meat production is roughly twice as bad as the production of plant-based food, according to some analyses. And beef is the worst of all. Study after study has suggested that, in order to curtail the devastating effects of climate change, we ought to shift to a diet containing less meat - or even go vegetarian or vegan.
Discover Cider Country - Explore mellow golden countryside, pedalling between medieval villages, historic inns and fruitful orchards, on a delightful Herefordshire Cider Circuit adventure with Julie Brominicks
Explore mellow golden countryside, pedalling between medieval villages, historic inns and fruitful orchards, on a delightful Herefordshire Cider Circuit adventure with Julie Brominicks. I'm cycling Porter's Perfection, one of three cider circuits developed for Visit Herefordshire over the past few years. Each showcases a section of this bucolic county's loveliest villages, pubs, orchards and cidermakers via lanes suited to bicycles - e-bikes for hill-averse cyclists like me. The idea is to allow you to appreciate the sights, sounds and smells of cider country while traversing roads never meant for modern cars. If you have dodgy knees, or are keen to indulge in the local adult apple juice as you go (remember, it's illegal to cycle while under the influence), Visit Herefordshire also promotes cider bus routes.
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Would this protected status bring welcome recognition and attention - or overcrowding and problems for farmers?
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For farmers out in their fields in all seasons, worried about the future as dramatic levels of rainfall blamed on climate change damage their crops, inflation and uncertainty push up their costs and what they see as unfair imports threaten their livelihoods, here's a spot of unexpectedly good news: the rest of us think you are doing a good job.
Pumpkin patches
Find the perfect jack-o'-lantern for Halloween at a pick-your-own pumpkin patch. Some are simple affairs in tranquil countryside; others offer activities ranging from ghost trains to spooky mazes.
