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Showing posts from March, 2024

The rewilding project bringing back an ancient breed of cattle to Portugal

  From - BBC News   By Marta Vidal, ( Features correspondent)  Edited by - Amal Udawatta Izabela Cardoso and Fernando Teixeira The tauros is a specially bred version of the auroch, an extinct cattle species (Credit: Izabela Cardoso and Fernando Teixeira) The tauros, a specially bred version of the long-extinct auroch cattle, is being introduced to Portugal's Côa Valley. On a cold, misty morning, a herd of dun-coloured Sorraia horses, an endangered local breed, graze on grass and small shrubs, their short and stocky bodies enveloped in the mist by the Côa river in the mountains of northeastern Portugal. As the sun rises and the mist starts to dissipate, it unveils the deep gorges of the Côa Valley, where vultures and eagles nest on the cliffs. Further south, a herd of large black and chestnut cattle with long horns run with agility. Known as tauros, these bovines are a specially bred version of the long-extinct auroch, the wild ancestor of the modern cow. The horses and ta...

Earthlings, take note: The sun will be its most active in two decades

  From - The Washington Post By -  Kasha Patel Edited by - Amal Udawatta          A NASA satellite captured this image of sunspots in February 2013. (Images courtesy of NASA/SDO) The sun’s 2024 resolution came in: Let’s get moving. Solar flares, eruptions on the sun’s surface and sunspots are expected to multiply and intensify throughout this year, as our yellow star enters its most active period in two decades. For Earthlings, that could lead to more beautiful dancing aurora far and wide, but also radio blackouts and satellite disruptions. Sign up for the Climate Coach newsletter and get advice for life on our changing planet, in your inbox every Tuesday. “The level of activity here is the biggest it’s been since about 20 years, since about 2003,” said Mark Miesch, a member of the solar modeling team at NOAA’s Space Weather Prediction Center. If the sun replicates its 2003 behavior, Earth could be in for a treat but also some issues. The  Hallowe...