A fearless orangutan has been caught on camera walking a tightrope some six metres above the ground.

Mali, 20, and her toddler Tatau had been climbing around in a cargo net on one of their islands at Paignton Zoo Environmental Park in Devon. The watchful mother effortlessly walked a tightrope to a spot where she could keep an eye on Tatau as her two-year-old explored alone.

‘Ghost’ railway station discovered

A “ghost” station in Britain which closed a century ago has been uncovered during work on a £6.5 billion rail project.

Southwark Park station in south London only served passengers from 1902 to 1915 before shutting for good. But now engineers constructing the Bermondsey Dive Under as part of the Thameslink Programme have rediscovered the former ticket hall and platforms.

Perched on a viaduct above Rotherhithe New Road, Southwark Park was one of several stations in the area, including Spa Road, which closed as a result of competition from trams and buses and the coming of World War I.

Jail sanctuary for threatened birds

One of the world’s most threatened birds has found a sanctuary within a prison used for housing the most dangerous inmates in Northern Ireland.

Life sentence prisoners helped create the habitat for around 20 pairs of breeding lapwings which have made their home at HMP Maghaberry on a marshy no-man’s-land dominated by razor wire and lookouts behind reinforced glass.

The six acres of waste ground lie between the perimeter fence and wall of a jail, near Lisburn in County Antrim, more familiar as a holding centre for dissident republicans, sex offenders and murderers.

University course on Thrones

A course on the TV series Game of Thrones is being offered at Northern Illinois University. The University Honours Programme calls the class ‘Game of Thrones, Television and Medieval History.’

“It represents aspects of the Middle Ages much more realistically than other media depictions that purport to be more accurate,” co-professor Valerie Garver said.

“It stands out because it comments on the human condition in a way that seems real to people. It’s a really good example of a piece of modern culture that draws on how the past impacts the present.”

The course’s syllabus includes readings and watching episodes of the show. Students also see presentations on how the drama relates to modern technology, history and current events.

Wizard roleplay in Polish castle

At a 13th-century castle in Poland, wizards and witches are sneaking through the halls and stone staircases of the College of Wizardry that opened this weekend for Harry Potter devotees.

Some 140 wizardry fans from Europe and the US are studying witchcraft and potions in the live action role-playing game at the Hogwarts-like Czocha Castle in southwestern Poland.

From Thursday to Sunday, participants will live an academic life similar to that of the students and professors of Hogwarts, enacting an original scenario inspired by JK Rowlings’ saga about the young wizard. But the game does not follow the book’s characters or storyline, and organisers stress it is not connected to the Potter franchise.

Drivers urged to ‘bee’ careful

A truck carrying honeybees scattered hundreds of hives when it overturned on a motorway north of Seattle.

The company that owns the insects sent beekeepers to recover as many as possible. But the bees became more active as the sun rose and Seattle television stations reported that firefighters sprayed a layer of foam on some of the boxes, killing the bees for safety.

Drivers in the area have been urged to keep their windows closed. The insects covered bee keepers’ protective suits as they worked.