Norman does a re-appearing act !
They say a cat has nine lives - Norman from Ashford certainly does. His owners thought he'd died but then he returned from the dead.
Bear takes space flight
Students at a Hampshire school have launched a teddy bear into space as part of a physics outreach project with Southampton University.
Baby leopards wow Kent
Two rare leopard cubs have been born at the Wildlife Heritage Foundation in Kent and Meridian's viewers have been invited to name them.
Live updates
Norman does a re-appearing act !
They say a cat has nine lives - Norman from Ashford certainly does. His owners thought he'd died but then he returned from the dead.
Read the full storyPompey's got the blues!
Portsmouth FC have launched their new shirt in a press conference on board HMS Warrior.
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Baby swan parents could 'defy selfish gene'
Hundreds of fluffy cygnets are beginning to hatch at Abbotsbury Swannery in Dorset after the first baby swan was born earlier today.
The swannery is the only place in the world where visitors can walk through a colony of mute swans, see cygnets hatching and participate in mass feedings.
Swanherds noticed the first signs of hatching when a female swan, or pen, became restless and began hovering over the nest, allowing the emerging cygnet more room to peck its way out of the egg.
Another expectant mother was recently bereaved when her mate died in a territorial dispute. Swanherds put up a fence to protect her nest and were astonished when a neighbouring male, or cob, swam downstream and "adopted" her eggs as his own.
Deputy Swanherd Steve Groves said: "Even though he is not the father of these eggs, he is behaving like he is, which is very odd - I have not seen anything like this in nearly 25 years of this work.
"This behaviour seems to go against what scientists call the ‘selfish gene’, where you would expect a cob to kill young that don’t belong to him.
"Staying true to the old adage that swans mate for life, we believe she will stay paired with him, and next year he will be able to father his own cygnets with her."
Was King Arthur real or just part of a mythical legend?
It's a question that has been the cause of much debate. Was King Arthur a real historical figure or a myth? According to medieval history, he led Britons to repel saxon invaders in the 5th & 6th centuries. His story complete with knights, dragons and magic has developed over the centuries.
Now historians have established the first written mention of the legendary King came through work done in Oxfordshire. Penny Silvester reports.
Peregrine falcons are an 'exciting' sight
– Councillor David Thompson, AylesburyIt is wonderful that Aylesbury’s peregrine falcons have successfully bred again this year. It is so exciting for people walking through the town centre to look up and get a sight of the birds.”
Peregrine chicks best bits
The first peregrine falcon chick of the year for Aylesbury appeared this week after several days of anticipation amongst fans.
A family of peregrine falcons — a protected species — are currently residing on a nesting platform at the top of Buckinghamshire County Council’s County Hall.
The female falcon laid two eggs between 25 March and 5 April, and this week the first egg hatched. It will be five to six weeks until the chick begins to fly.
Unfortunately, it is unlikely there will be a second falcon chick this spring as the hatching should have occurred by now.
The peregrines are being monitored by Aylesbury Vale District Council’s biodiversity team via web cameras at the nesting platform. Since the birds of prey returned to Aylesbury earlier this year, more than 10,000 hits have been recorded on the council’s website.
Anyone can view the live footage of images from the platform here and the council is hoping to arrange some watch point events to help people get the best possible view of the peregrine family.
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A family affair for Cathedral falcons
Three of the four eggs laid by the peregrines at Chichester Cathedral have now hatched and people can watch the parents tending to their young, live on camera. The first two chicks hatched during last Friday after 32 days of incubation, with the third chick hatching the following day.
Peregrine falcons are the fastest animal in the world, reaching speeds of around 180 mph. The fastest peregrine was recorded in the Guinness Book of Records reaching 217mph.
Why has Fred gone down the drain?
Click video. The Brighton Festival gets underway this weekend. And when you think of the Festival you think of music, dance, drama and comedy. What you perhaps don't think of is Brighton's sewers! Fred has gone underground to investigate.
Meerkats dance around the maypole
Meerkats at Port Lympne Wild Animal Park in Kent are taking part in a theme for May Day. A colourful pole feeder has been placed in their enclosure as an alternative way for them to get hold of their tasty snacks.
Mystery of the appearing sheep
Now, it's all been a bit of a mystery. How did a flock of sheep turn up on their own, in a village in Sussex? Yes, the animals - all fifty of them - were found wandering around Chiddingly (pronounced Chidding-lie) near Lewes. So were they dumped, or had they escaped?
Well, it's all been a bit woolly, until now! Malcolm Shaw has the story.
