BBC Wildlife - UK (2019-12)

30 BBC Wildlife December 2019

Gin-crediblesuccess

Juniper,theplantbehindoneof

ourfavouritetipples,hasbeen

steadilydecliningoverthepast

fewdecades.CharityPlantlife

reportsit is recoveringat 13 sites

insouthernEnglandasa result

of ongoing conservation eorts.

Partnersinprotection

A newpartnershipbetween

IndianapolisZooandtheIUCN

SpeciesSurvivalCommission

hasledtothecreationofthe

firstGlobalCentreforSpecies

Survival.Thehubwillsupport

worldwide conservation eorts.

Badnewsforbears

Romania’sSenatehasrecently

passeda billunderwhich,for

a periodoffiveyears,hunting

brownbearsisnolonger

restrictedtotheannualquotas

approvedbytheMinistryofthe

Environment,breachingthe

EU Habitat Directive.

Bitternsarebooming

Britain’sloudestbirdis

enjoyingitsbestyearsince

recordsbegan.Bouncingback

fromthebrinkofextinction,

bitternshaveincreasedfrom

only 11 malesinBritain 20

yearsagoto 198 thisyear,

according to an RSPB survey.

Nature in brief

H

umans,alongwithourclosest

great-aperelatives,arerather

unusualamongtheanimalkingdom

forourhabitofgettinga goodnight’s

sleep.Whilemostmammalsgrab

snatchesofshut-eyeasandwhen

theycan,wedoit ina singlelong,

continuousstretch,everynight.

Butwearenotalone.

Biologistshavefoundthatanother,

distantly-related,primategetsall

itsdailysleepinonego, too – albeit

during the daytime.

“Sofar,it hasbeencommonto

believethatthisrhythmofsleeparose

whenourprimateancestorsswitched

frombeingnocturnaltobeingday-

active,”saysKathleenReinhardtof

OxfordBrookesUniversity.

It hasalsobeensuspectedthatthe

deepersleepthisaffordedsetthescene

fortheapes’leapinintelligence.

ButthediscoverythattheJavanslow

lorissleepscontinuouslyduringthe

daycastsdoubtonallthat,andnot

only because it is nocturnal.

“Thelorisesbelongtoa veryold

group,”saysReinhardt.“Thespecial

rhythmofsleepthatcharacterises

manandmanyofourclosestprimate

relativesseemstobea mucholder

traitthanpreviouslythought.”

Slowlorisessleepclingingtoa

branch,andtheirlimbsaredesigned

toholdoneffortlessly for long periods.

StuartBlackman

Getting a good night’s sleep

PRIMATES

FINDOUTMORE Scientific Reports:

go.nature.com/2q2a1mR

Slow loris: Thomas Marent/Minden/FLPA; bear: Joanne Hedger/Getty; juniper: Trevor Dines/Plantlife; bittern: Andy Hay; elephants: GCSS

Slowlorisesare

theonlyvenomous

primatesandcan

deliver toxic bites.

WILDNEWS