In The News: Animal Populations Halved In Just 40 Years

In the modern era, environmental news is high on the agenda for most organisations who report anything and everything from localised shrinking bee colonies to global climate change that affects almost everyone in the world. With so many different stories spanning the front pages and being in the headlines, we have collected a few of our top environmental and animal news stories from the week.

The big talking point from this week is the shocking news that animal populations have halved in the past 40 years according to the tenth edition of WWF's Living Planet Report 2014. It details that mammals, birds, reptiles, amphibians and fish have declined by an average of 52 percent since the 1970s, and that freshwater species have suffered a 76 percent decline. According to the report the worst declines were seen in tropical regions. Click here to learn more about it and to read the full report.

In the evening of Thursday 11th September, the devastating news swamped the headlines of an arson attack on Manchester Dogs Home. More than 150 dogs were able to be rescued from the blaze but sadly dozens lost their lives. Two weeks on and nearly £1.5 million has been donated to help rebuild the site through their JustGiving page, while the animals that survived are mostly being cared for by the sister home in Cheshire. If you would like to learn more about the home or to donate, please visit their website.

Ahead of the recent UN Climate Summit, thousands of people took to the streets last week to take part in the world's biggest ever climate demonstration. All around the world, half a million people took part in the march to tell world leaders that now is the time to take climate change seriously. If you would like to learn more about the protest or to submit your thoughts on the current climate crisis, please visit the WWF website.

A vast number of Pacific walrus have been hauling themselves onto land in northwest Alaska, something which they are known to do when the ice floes they usually reside on are not there. An estimated 35,000 animals were photographed at the weekend by the US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration who were undertaking an annual survey. A number of carcasses have also been observed with these animals thought to have been killed in the stampede. See the full BBC article to find out more.

A rare clouded leopard cub has had a very unusual start to life after being raised in a bathroom. A zookeeper at the Cotswold Wildlife Park took little Nimbus in when she was just a day old after having been abandoned by her mother. She has spent six weeks being hand-reared and cared for by Jamie and his family before returning to a special enclosure in the park. Please click here to view a really charming video of her.