All posts tagged: prey

‘Brutal’ gamekeeper who killed bird of prey caught in crow trap sentenced

‘Brutal’ gamekeeper who killed bird of prey caught in crow trap sentenced

Published by Sam Flores

A “brutal” gamekeeper who bludgeoned a protected bird of prey to death and illegally stored ammunition has been sentenced. Russell Mason, 49, killed a goshawk by repeatedly striking it with a cosh while it was stuck in a trap set for crows on Cochrage Moor, Perthshire, in February 2024. Mason then placed the raptor in a car and drove away. He admitted killing the bird at a previous hearing and was sentenced at Perth Sheriff Court on Friday. He also admitted a charge of illegally storing ammunition at his home address, which breached the terms of his firearms licence. Mason received a 200-hour community payback order for killing the bird, and was fined £890 for the ammunition offence. Prosecutor Iain Batho, who leads on wildlife crime for the Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service (COPFS), said: “It is highly important to preserve Scotland’s natural heritage, including the wildlife that forms part of it. As such, wild birds are given strict protection by our law. “Russell Mason’s brutal and wholly unnecessary actions resulted in the suffering …

Model jailed for conning ‘easy prey’ found on dating sites into funding luxury lifestyle | UK News

Model jailed for conning ‘easy prey’ found on dating sites into funding luxury lifestyle | UK News

Published by Sam Flores

A fraudster who conned men into spending thousands of pounds to fund designer clothes, holidays and online bets has been jailed for seven years. Model Gemma Kingsley, 50, targeted recent divorcees, and claimed she was due to inherit millions to convince them to lavish money on her. She also used stolen or false card details to pay for fancy hotels, including a five-star resort in the Alps, Swindon Crown Court heard “Your duplicity and brass neck is staggering,” the judge told her at sentencing. “You are a con woman who traded on her charm, charisma and good looks to entice and ensnare victims without any regard to the trail of destruction being left behind in your wake.” Kingsley found her victims on dating sites, and the court was told the men ended up “hopelessly in love with her” “They didn’t want to believe that her stories were the stuff of fantasy, even when they were being confronted with reality,” said prosecutor Barry McElduff KC One of the victims lost more than £125,000, and was “mortified …

Intricate loops of silk help net-casting spiders trap prey in webs

Intricate loops of silk help net-casting spiders trap prey in webs

Published by skeptic

core: Something — usually round-shaped — in the center of an object. fiber: Something whose shape resembles a thread or filament. gland: A cell, a group of cells or an organ that produces and discharges a substance (or “secretion”) for use elsewhere in the body or in a body cavity, or for elimination from the body. insect: A type of arthropod that as an adult will have six segmented legs and three body parts: a head, thorax and abdomen. There are hundreds of thousands of insects, which include bees, beetles, flies and moths. microscope: An instrument used to view objects — such as bacteria or the single cells of plants or animals — that are too small to be visible to the unaided eye. prey: (n.) An organism hunted by another, often for food. (v.) To attack and eat another organism. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences: A prestigious journal publishing original scientific research, begun in 1914. The journal’s content spans the biological, physical and social sciences. Each of the more than 3,000 papers …

I was prey in Channel 4’s new series The Hunt – here’s how I survived

I was prey in Channel 4’s new series The Hunt – here’s how I survived

Published by Daniella Wilson

It’s not every day you find yourself in the middle of a Bulgarian forest, running around and slipping in the mud, but that’s exactly what I (and this year’s cast of The Hunt: Prey vs Predator) got up to last year. The series, which debuts on Channel 4 tonight, introduces audiences to 10 players from all walks of life and regions of the UK, who come together in a contest of stamina and strategy – all hoping to win up to £100,000. As the sun shone in northern Bulgaria last summer, I was quickly equipped with the clothing and gadgets necessary to survive The Hunt. In particular, I was given a “gauntlet” attached to my arm, that would reveal a map and my status in the game, tracked via Bluetooth. For the players, this also shows how much money they have banked. “It was such a massive undertaking,” said Lee McMurray, commissioning editor at Channel 4, of the Bluetooth devices. “It was really complex, it was quite groundbreaking. You can see the players were given …