Chester Zoo has rescued a three-legged Ploughshare tortoise from illegal smugglers in Hong Kong, and he’s said to be one of the rarest in the world.
The newest’s tortoise resident – who has been named Hope – is one of the world’s rarest animals, with fewer than 300 remaining in the wild, and he now calls the UK’s largest charity zoo his home after being rescued by customs officials from a would-be wildlife trader who was found with a suitcase concealing 57 live and endangered tortoises when travelling from the Comoro Islands off the coast of East Africa in 2019.
Only 63 specimens of Ploughshare tortoise are said to “exist legally” outside of Madagascar as part of vital conservation breeding programmes battling to save the species.
“Chester Zoo is now home to four of these,” a spokesperson for the zoo said.
He added that the tortoise species was “highly prized for their distinctive gold and black shells”, and are known to fetch “exceptionally high prices” on the black market.
After being rescued, Hope was immediately transferred into the care of conservationists at Kadoorie Farm and Botanic Garden Wild Animal Rescue Centre in Hong Kong, where he was found to be missing his front left leg and claws on its hind left leg, which were said to possibly be due to a birth defect, or injury picked up when very young.
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Experts in Hong Kong decided to fit support rollers under Hope’s lower shell to help with his balance and movement, and further modifications were then made to the rollers at Chester Zoo after he arrived in the UK.
Dr Gerardo Garcia, Curator of Lower Vertebrates and Invertebrates at Chester Zoo, said Hope’s prosthetic mobility support has been “specially-fitted to help him get around”.
“It works wonderfully well – he moves even quicker than his three neighbours.”
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Conservationists at Chester Zoo now say they’re looking for Hope to live up to his name and eventually join an important European conservation-breeding programme – which is playing a vital role in saving this critically-endangered species from extinction.
“He’s settling in nicely to his new home,” Dr Garcia added.
“Hopefully, in several years’ time once he’s more developed, he’ll go on to produce offspring and contribute to the survival of the species thanks to the vital insurance population in conservation zoos.”
Hope only of only 63 specimens of Ploughshare tortoise to “legally exist” outside of its native Madagascar / Credit: Chester Zoo
“This is a species that’s sadly under huge pressure for its survival and there’s a very real possibility that this species could be lost forever,” added Mike Jordan – Director of Animals and Plants at Chester Zoo.
“That’s why Hope is such an important addition to the zoo.
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“We refuse to sit back and see this incredible species disappear and so our aim now is to maintain an ark population, by coming together with some of the world’s other leading conservation zoos to breed a genetically viable safety net population and prevent its extinction.”
The species is listed under the highest protection category of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITIES) – which prohibits all forms of international commercial trade – and is listed as critically endangered by the International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN) having been poached to the very brink of extinction.
Featured Image – Chester Zoo
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Sankeys nightclub is returning to Manchester
Danny Jones
It’s officially happening: iconic local club Sankeys is coming back to Manchester city centre almost a decade on from its gutting closure.
The iconic ‘Sankey’s Soap’ nightlife space – which started out over in Ancoats during the mid-’90s – enjoyed numerous stints during its time in the clubbing world, as well as opening multiple partnered venues in the country and even overseas.
Now, approaching nine years after the shutdown, Sankeys is returning to Manchester in the new year, and Mancs are currently losing their minds.
Whether you are one of those who ‘remember it when’, or someone who sadly missed out on the halcyon days in the old Beehive Mill, we assure you that everyone is in agreement that this is nothing short of massive news…
First teasing the comeback back in July, as our city and the world at large were gripped by ‘Britpop Mania’ 2.0, the largely dormant Instagram account posted: “This week Manchester, and the UK, has been blessed with a homecoming of our very own, Oasis.
“We think Manchester deserves another homecoming… Definitely, maybe?”
The North West corners of the internet and veteran revellers alike were understandably quick to get excited by the potential revival, but nothing else had been said for months – until now.
Confirmed on Tuesday, 25 November, the infamous and storied nightclub’s social media team began by writing, simply: “The Legend Returns” and beckoning “a new era for Sankeys”.
It is still unclear as to where exactly the new and improved club(s) will be, but we do know that the events will be in the city centre. However, we do know we’ll be getting a familiar matrix grid installation as part of the design once again.
They will also be enforcing a strict new no-phones policy, which has become increasingly popular across the scene, thanks to the likes of Amber’s right here in Manchester.
Sankeys first opened in Manchester as "Sankeys Soap" in June 1994.[3] It was so called due to its residence inside Beehive Mill, Ancoats, which once was used to manufacture soap. The basement of the mill was transformed into a club and live music venue#pub#historypic.twitter.com/cnM6Nt23uZ
Sankeys may have remained an active promoter in the days since the building on the corner of Radium and Jersey Street (M4 6JG) closed – going on to become an unsuspecting office development – this will be the first event of the aforementioned next chapter in a flagship venue.
Promising a limited capacity of no more than 500 people, Sankeys is set to make its landmark return on
“We will only be open one night a week on Saturday. There will be no VIP or phones allowed on the dancefloor — everyone is a VIP. People need to stop taking pictures and start dancing to the beat.”
Hordes of clubbers, ravers, students and more are already signing up for early access and general admission tickets for the first two nights on Friday and Saturday, 30-31 January 2026 go on sale at 9am this Friday (28 Nov).
Get ready to grab yours HERE and party like it’s, well, 1994, 2017 – take your pick.
Liam Gallagher thanks Oasis fans with typically unserious and X-rated post on social media
Danny Jones
Liam Gallagher has taken to X to appreciate Oasis fans for what we can all agree was one of the best years of our gigging careers, as the Live ’25 world tour officially ended this month.
The Oasis reunion kicked off back in July and, just like the greatest hits compilation, Time Flies… Their globetrotting series made it possibly the greatest summer of live music in decades, and even after the hometown shows in Manchester were long gone, they took us right through to the winter.
Heaton Park was truly magical, but even those who didn’t manage to get tickets for any of the UK dates got to watch it through the lens of countless fans worldwide, and believe us, the crowds and mania online were a big part of what will see this particular tour go down in history.
It’s clear that fact was not lost on Liam either, as not long after the final show at the Estádio do Morumbi in São Paulo, Brazil, the younger Gallagher brother shared a typically nonsensical, expletive-filled, but nevertheless heartfelt message of gratitude to the legions of Oasis fans who made it happen.
Even after all is said and done, he’s another year older, and Oasis are once again the biggest band on the planet; he’s still as irreverent and unapologetically himself as ever.
We’ll be honest, we’re not entirely confident we know what “absolutely licked it up to ras” even means, but we’re pretty sure it’s a good thing.
In fairness, he isn’t entirely unserious in the post – he still thanked everyone from the bottom of his heart and said he will be “forever grateful for your energy”.
As he sums up everything perfectly in that final line: “without you were just a good band, with you were the BEST BAND ON THE ***ING PLANET”.
He signed off with the trademark “LG x”, but the fanbase now feels bigger than ever and won’t be going anywhere. Personally, we intend to watch every one of those clips from across South America, as those audiences have always ‘got it’ just as much as we did here in Manchester.
Although Noel has yet to share any kind of post following the end of Live ’25, he was one of the very first members of the tour to talk about how the reunion was going.
After taking a scheduled break to look after his health, Paul ‘Bonehead’ Arthurs has also been pretty active on socials over the months, simply replying with a trio of love hearts underneath lead singer Liam’s humorous response to the outpouring of love following the final gig.
We can only hope and pray that we get to do this all over again in 2026, and whether there ends up being new Oasis songs on the setlist or not, we’ll just be happy to be back jumping up and down and crying our hearts out – no matter how many times they tell us to stop.
Emily Sergeant -
6th July 2022 
