A super-mum squirrel has given birth to two new kittens – bringing the number of her offspring to 50.
Seven-year-old Tortoiseshell is one of the most successful breeding red squirrels in the UK and has helped bolster the under-threat species.
Wardens believe that the kittens were born at the end of May but now, at 12 weeks old, are fully weaned and independent from their mother and busy exploring their surroundings at the Pensthorpe Conservation Trust in Norfolk.
Chrissie Kelley, head of species management for the trust, said: “Tortoiseshell is simply a ‘wonder-mum’ of the squirrel world.”
Shopping ‘n’ cinema at Selfridges
Selfridges is to open what it claims is the first cinema operated within a department store, screening a series of classics and latest releases.
The cinema, in collaboration with the independent chain Everyman, will initially screen films tied to the store’s Masters campaign. It will show the favourite films of 12 influential designers such as Paul Smith, Marc Jacobs and Oscar de la Renta.
The cinema opens on Friday, with Breakfast At Tiffany’s, Breathless, The Grand Budapest Hotel and The Wolf Of Wall Street. The Masters selection includes Bruce Robinson’s Withnail and I, chosen by Paul Smith, and Ken Russell’s The Devils, chosen by Rick Owens.
Thames gives seal of approval
Seal numbers in the Thames Estuary have increased this year, a wildlife survey has revealed.
Numbers of seals counted rose from 685 in 2013 to 938 this summer, according to the Zoological Society of London audit of more than 1,500 square miles of the Greater Thames Estuary from Deal, Kent, to Felixstowe, Suffolk.
The estuary is home to harbour and grey seals, and conservationists and volunteers surveyed the area by air, boat and on foot through marshland. Conservationists said the buoyant numbers showed the health of the estuary, which was declared biologically dead in the 1950s as a result of heavy pollution, but has since largely recovered.
First Lady spreading the load
Japan’s first lady said she has such a busy schedule that sometimes it is up to the prime minister to do the dishes or take out the rubbish. It is the kind of flexibility that she says is needed for the advancement of women in Japan.
Prime Minister Shinzo Abe is pushing companies and the government to hire and promote more women, having appointed five to his 18-member Cabinet. His wife, Akie Abe, said that her husband gives her time for activities including raising organic rice and appearing in a gay pride parade. Despite her husband’s conservative image, she says he does chores when he can.
Belly ache by Egyptian body
Egypt’s top religious body has demanded a new belly-dancing TV show be suspended for “corrupting morals” and serving “extremists” who could use it as a pretext to depict Egyptian society as anti-Islamic.
A statement by Dar al-Ifta, the top body that advises Muslims on religious and life issues, said that the Dancer show “serves extremists who take such matters as a justification to promote the idea that society is fighting religion”.
The show was aired only once on the Cairo and People satellite television network. A famous belly dancer known as Dina was among a three-member panel to choose the most-talented dancers, many of whom were not Egyptians.
Lego film sees revenues soar
Danish toy maker Lego saw revenue soar 11 per cent in the first six months of 2014, mostly because of the success of the Lego Movie.
The privately-owned company’s chief financial officer said they were thrilled by the success.
John Goodwin said: “Lego Movie products provided a significant boost to our sales during the first half of 2014.” He said that support could continue in the second half of the year, when Lego Movie will be launched on DVD.