All posts tagged: abandoned

Owl saved from electrical fence adopts abandoned owlet

Owl saved from electrical fence adopts abandoned owlet

Published by Jenni Sidey

Get the Popular Science daily newsletter💡 Breakthroughs, discoveries, and DIY tips sent six days a week. When animals end up in a wildlife center, it’s usually not for happy reasons. But sometimes tough situations have a silver lining, and that’s exactly what’s happened at Raven Ridge Wildlife Center in Washington Boro, Pennsylvania. The rescue center received a call from a game warden about a female great horned owl (Bubo virginianus) that had gotten stuck in an electrical fence. The game warden had successfully removed her from the fence, but the owl was struggling, unable to stand or fly. Thinking the owl may have broken a wing, he took her to the Raven Ridge Wildlife Center.  Thankfully, neither of the owl’s wings broke, though one of them appeared swollen. While examining the patient, licensed wildlife rehabilitator Tracie Young noticed that the great horned owl had a brood patch—essentially a bare patch of skin that develops to provide a direct heat source for eggs.  That meant she was a mama owl. Unfortunately, with the time that had …

We Tamed Pigeons, Then Abandoned Them: 5 Ways To Help

We Tamed Pigeons, Then Abandoned Them: 5 Ways To Help

Published by Sam Flores

David Attenborough’s new Secret Garden documentaries, which focus on the wildlife in our very own backyard, show just how important unremarkable-seeming species like damselflies and urban foxes are to the natural world. Speaking to HuffPost UK, an ecologist at ecological consultancy firm Arbtech said that it’s time to rethink the role of much-maligned feral pigeons, too. “Feral pigeons have filled an ecological hole caused by the decline and absence of many other species that cannot survive in an urban environment,” they said. Given our history of domesticating, then abandoning, the birds, the ecologist added, we owe them more than our current disdain. We relied on pigeons for thousands of years Pigeons “have been among the oldest domesticated species by humans, dating back thousands of years,” the spokesperson told us. Feral species are descendants of the rock dove. That shows in their nesting habits: their wilder relatives “are cliff nesters, nesting in crevices, with poor nest construction, and the feral pigeon likes cities as the ledges and hiding places mimic those cliff top habitats their ancestors …

‘Trump abandoned us’: Ceasefire sparks anger, fear, division among Iranians

‘Trump abandoned us’: Ceasefire sparks anger, fear, division among Iranians

Published by Sam Flores

On February 28, a new war began after Israel and the United States launched strikes on Iran, killing several high-ranking military figures, scientists and political officials, including Iran’s supreme leader, Ali Khamenei. Iran launched large-scale attacks against Israel and Arab countries hosting US military bases, including Iraq, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, Jordan and Oman. Beyond military targets, both sides also struck civilian infrastructure, including gas and oil facilities, power stations, water treatment plants, steel and aluminium factories, roads, railways and bridges, as well as universities, airports, schools, hotels, stadiums and residential areas, particularly in Israel. Videos shared on April 7, 2026 capture strikes on Iran’s petroleum infrastructure on the islands of Lavan and Siri in the Persian Gulf, hours after a ceasefire had been announced. To display this content from Telegram, you must enable advertisement tracking and audience measurement. Accept Manage my choices On April 7, however, the parties to the conflict announced a two-week ceasefire, brokered by Pakistan, intended to pave the way for broader negotiations hosted by Islamabad …

Prince Harry’s ‘unprincely’ rule he abandoned after Meghan Markle marriage

Prince Harry’s ‘unprincely’ rule he abandoned after Meghan Markle marriage

Published by Daniella Wilson

Almost eight years on from their royal wedding, Prince Harry and Meghan Markle have cemented their place as one of the most stylish members of the royal family, revered worldwide for their fashion influence. Casting our eye back to 2015, one year before they secretly met in London, the Duke of Sussex had a very different approach to fashion. He even went so far as to describe himself as “unprincely”, filling his wardrobe with a combination of comfortable styles from a high street “discount store” and hand-me-downs from King Charles. “As a rule I didn’t think about clothing. I didn’t fundamentally believe in fashion, and I couldn’t understand why anybody would. I often got mocked on social media for my mismatched outfits, my ratty shoes.  “Writers would flag a photo of me and wonder why my trousers were so long, my shirts so crumpled. (They didn’t dream that I’d dried them on the radiator.) Not very princely, they’d say,” he penned in his 2022 autobiography, Spare. Recognising that his family were more concerned with their …

Abandoned UK shopping centre bulldozed after all 30 shops closed in one hour | UK | News

Abandoned UK shopping centre bulldozed after all 30 shops closed in one hour | UK | News

Published by Sam Flores

The demolition of a former shopping centre has begun after 30 shops were purportedly given just an hour’s notice to shut down. Priory Square, on Priory Queensway in Birmingham, once housed hair salons, B&M, restaurants and the renowned Oasis Market. However, traders were forced to close indefinitely back in March 2025, with the site left empty. A spokesperson for Hammerson, the real estate firm that owns the centre, at the time said that the decision was made with the health and safety of tenants and the public in mind. The closure followed an annual fire risk assessment that found issues requiring significant improvements, including upgrades to the electrical system. Hammerson has now confirmed that demolition has begun. Former shop fronts have been ripped out, and staff in high-visibility jackets have been seen at the site alongside construction equipment, reports BirminghamLive. In a statement, a Hammerson spokesperson said: “Since closing Priory Square last year, we have secured the site and have started the demolition works. “We remain in dialogue with Birmingham City Council on next steps …

Georgia man brings abandoned VHS tapes back to life

Georgia man brings abandoned VHS tapes back to life

Published by Jenni Sidey

Get the Popular Science daily newsletter💡 Breakthroughs, discoveries, and DIY tips sent six days a week. Have you ever walked into an old garage or antique store, seen a VHS tape gathering dust and wondered: would those sad old pieces of plastic still play? An eclectic YouTuber named Brady Brandwood is taking that  curiosity to the extreme. Brandwood has collected a handful of neglected VHS tapes and CDs from long-abandoned buildings in Georgia and is setting out on a journey to bring them back to life. Remarkably, after likely spending more than a decade exposed to the elements, almost all of the old media still worked. Well, mostly worked, at least. “I’ve heard the lifespan of a VHS tape is about 30 years,” Brandwood says in his video. “I’m betting it’s actually a lot longer than that. “They are obviously very durable, even when they are left out in the elements.”  What Will We Find On These Old VHS Tapes? Will They Even Play??? Searching abandoned homes for neglected VHS tapes  Brandwood has odd tastes. …

Abandoned by America – The Atlantic

Abandoned by America – The Atlantic

Published by José Betancourt

While bombs and drones explode across the Middle East, in Pakistan an Afghan family is hiding from the police. Saman; her husband, Farhad; and their two small children never leave their room, never see sunlight. They’ve been living as refugees in Islamabad since fleeing Afghanistan four years ago. Both Saman and Farhad (they requested pseudonyms for their safety) served in the Afghan special forces; because of their association with the American war in Afghanistan, and because each belongs to an ethnic minority targeted by the Taliban, in 2022 they were granted priority status in the United States refugee program. Extensively vetted, medically cleared, interviewed three times, the family was about to be resettled in this country when Donald Trump, J. D. Vance, Stephen Miller, and Kristi Noem came to power last year and barred the door to virtually all refugees, including those Afghans who have an urgent claim on American rescue. So the same people whose policies led to the killings of Renee Good and Alex Pretti in Minneapolis now have Saman and her family …

Plans to let AI firms use music without permission abandoned by government | Science, Climate & Tech News

Plans to let AI firms use music without permission abandoned by government | Science, Climate & Tech News

Published by Daniella Wilson

The UK government has scrapped plans to introduce copyright law exceptions which would allow AI firms to use the work of songwriters without their permission. The government had been in favour of allowing AI developers to train their machines on copyrighted works, with rightsholders having an opt-out option. However, that approach was “overwhelmingly rejected by the vast majority of the creative industries”, Liz Kendall, the minister for innovation and technology, said on Wednesday. Due to this, she announced, “the government no longer has a preferred option”. Image: The change of course was announced in a statement by Liz Kendall The decision was welcomed as a “first step” which avoided the “worst outcome” by The Ivors Academy, which represents songwriters and composers. The government was urged to go further by UK Music and other creative bodies. “We urge them to go further and rule out resurrecting this plan throughout their period in office,” UK Music boss Tom Kiehl said. More on Artificial Intelligence “The 220,000 people in our sector, which generates £8bn for the UK economy, …

Women are being abandoned by their partners on hiking trails. What’s behind ‘alpine divorce’? | Relationships

Women are being abandoned by their partners on hiking trails. What’s behind ‘alpine divorce’? | Relationships

Published by Sam Flores

MJ calls what happened to her in Zion national park “small ‘T’ trauma”. She knows women have experienced worse from their partners. But she still feels the anger of being left behind on a hike by her now ex. “It brings up stuff in my body that maybe I have not cleared out yet,” she said. Five years ago, MJ and a new partner – he was not exactly her boyfriend, and the pair were not exclusive – traveled from Los Angeles to Utah for an adventure getaway. MJ, who is 38 and works in PR, was looking forward to exploring Zion’s striking scenery; its vast sandstone canyon and pristine wading trails were on the list. But on the morning of their big hike, MJ was not feeling well. She could not shake the feeling that something was “off”; indeed, MJ would learn on this trip that her partner was seeing other women. As they made their way up Angel’s Landing, MJ’s partner started walking faster than her. “I could tell it was getting on …