cross-posted from: https://feddit.uk/post/18599009

A brown bear that underwent brain surgery in the first operation of its kind in the UK is doing well but is “not out of the woods” yet, a charity has said.

Boki went under the knife on Wednesday after an MRI scan revealed he had hydrocephalus, a buildup of fluid in the brain.

The two-year-old mammal, who had been suffering from seizures and related health issues, is awake and said to be doing well after the surgery.

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It was the first time a procedure of this kind has been carried out in the UK. Pizzi previously became the first surgeon to perform a similar operation on a black bear in Asia.

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The conservation charity is fundraising for Boki’s surgery and immediate aftercare costs, which is expected to be about £20,000.

A man allegedly sexually assaulted a woman on the same day he was released from prison under the government's early release scheme.

He allegedly reoffended in Sittingbourne in Kent and was later arrested at an address in south London.

He was among more than 1,700 inmates released from prison last week in a bid to ease prison overcrowding, which the government said did not include terrorists and previously convicted sex offenders.

The former inmate appeared at a magistrate's court on Thursday charged with sexual assault. He is due to appear at crown court next month.

He has been recalled to prison.

cross-posted from: https://feddit.uk/post/16909497

Just across the Kent border with Greater London, one of the UK's most unique locations is hidden - Chislehurst Caves. This remarkable place in historic Kent is nestled in the town of Chislehurst, a stone's throw from Bromley.

The caves are an intricate network of over 22 miles of manmade tunnels, burrowed between the 1200s and 1800s, concealed deep beneath a leafy and unsuspecting slice of suburbia.

Kent's rich history and culture have been significantly impacted by urban sprawl, and Chislehurst Caves is a prime example of this. Although technically the town and tunnels now fall under London, much of the caves' history unfolded when the area was part of Kent, making them an integral part of the county's past.

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Ancient Origins, a site dedicated to exploring archaeological discoveries, has delved into the history of the caves. According to them, when the caves first opened to the public in 1900, visitors were informed that parts of the system had been inhabited between 6,000 and 4,000 years ago.

Legend has it that the initial phase of the caves was carved out by druids, before being expanded upon by the Romans and then the Saxons around 500 AD. Ancient Origins reports that one of the earliest historical records of Chislehurst Caves is a 13th-century charter, which mentions their use for mining lime-burning chalk and flint.

There's also speculation that a prehistoric skeleton discovered in the ceiling could suggest the caves date back to 10,000 BC, when people sought refuge during the end of the Ice Age. However, as far as concrete origins go, the earliest evidence of anyone working or residing in the caves dates back to a 9th-century Saxon charter, which documents mines and lime-burning kilns in the area.

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It is reported that at the onset of the First World War in 1914, the caves served as a munitions depot. According to The Heritage Trail, they became part of the Woolwich Arsenal and a railway was installed to transport the munitions through the tunnels.

In the interwar period, the mines were utilised by the Kent Mushroom Company, with the humidity and darkness providing ideal conditions for mushroom cultivation.

During the peak of the Blitz in the Second World War, the caves were converted into an underground city. They became the largest air raid shelter in Britain, housing 15,000 people with a pitch costing one old penny per night.

The chapel space and hospital area are still present today for visitors to explore, along with a fully functioning electric lighting network - making living in the caves less daunting than it might initially appear.

Picture taken just before lunch today from the old lighthouse.

Boy was it windy!

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dungeness_nuclear_power_stations

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dungeness_Lighthouse

cross-posted from: https://feddit.uk/post/16139774

Plans to build a solar farm the size of 86 football fields in Kent have been rejected as "insane".

Developers of the installation on "high-grade" farmland near Sittingbourne were told by a councillor the panels should instead be placed on roofs and car parks.

Supporters pointed out the site - sitting either side of Vigo Lane and Wrens Road near Borden - would have provided clean energy for 11,500 homes.

Developers Industria Solar said they were "disappointed" by the decision, but would review their application and consider "further steps".

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Building the sprawling solar farm near the boundary of the Kent Downs National Landscape was criticised by Green Party councillor Terry Thompson, who pointed out it took up Grade 1 farmland.

As a farmer, he said it was "insane" to build on such fertile land, reported the Local Democracy Reporting Service.

“It isn’t an industrial landscape, it’s the garden of England.”

“We really seriously need to think about security of food production," he added.

cross-posted from: https://feddit.uk/post/14880829

For the team behind the Wilder Blean bison release at Kent Wildlife Trust and Wildwood Trust it seems like only yesterday when, in front of the world’s media, the founding herd members made their first tentative steps into the woodland. It was a historic day, not just in conservation but in climate, as the UK experienced temperatures past 40 degrees for the first time since records began – a stark reminder of the challenges faced by climate change.

In the two years that followed the release of three original herd members, they increased in number to six, with a surprise calf, a bull arriving from Germany and a not-so-unexpected birth of a male calf in the winter. The woodland now has a New Forest feel to it, with free-roaming Exmoor ponies, longhorn cattle, and Iron-Age pigs, all bringing their unique browsing behaviours to the reserve, shaping the landscape naturally, boosting biodiversity, and helping to build climate resilience.

cross-posted from: https://feddit.uk/post/14688506

Archaeologists are finding out more about prehistoric life in Kent from 5,000 years ago at one of the country’s largest ancient burial grounds.

Experts say the multi-year dig at Stringmans Farm on the Lees Court Estate, near Faversham, has uncovered artefacts dating back to the Neolithic or Bronze Age period.

The community excavation project led by a team from the Kent Archaeological Society unearthed a selection of items including flint chippings (leftovers from making stone tools), fragments of rare, decorated pottery created 3,000 years before the Romans came to Kent, and evidence of human prehistoric cremations.

A free family fun day will be held in Cliffsend to mark the 75th anniversary of the arrival of Viking ship Hugin in Thanet.

On July 28, 1949, the replica longship, now sited at Cliffsend, was met by a large crowd at Viking Bay (formerly called Main Bay), Broadstairs.

It had sailed from Denmark to Thanet to celebrate the 1500th anniversary of the invasion of Britain, the landing of Hengist and Horsa and the betrothal of Hengist’s daughter, Rowena, to King Vortigen of Kent.

The boat was built in Denmark to a design used by the Vikings between the 5th and 8th centuries. It was then sailed by 53 Danes to Broadstairs. It was presented to the people of Thanet by the King of Denmark, its costs having been paid by The Daily Mail, and was placed in its current location at Cliffsend.

In 2005 the ship underwent major repairs coordinated by marine restoration specialist Fred Walker and funded by Thanet District Council, assisted by EU funding.

Hugin’s arrival was presented in a newsreel short entitled “Kent Welcomes Viking Invaders”, which British Pathé has uploaded to YouTube.