Chester Zoo has released the first pictures of a highly-endangered deer fawn that was born at the end of last year.
Meet Lyra.
Born at the UK’s largest charity zoo just before Christmas back in December 2021, Lyra is a Philippine spotted deer – a species which is said to have become regionally extinct on several islands in the Philippines as a result of intensive and devastating hunting and deforestation, which is estimated to have left as few as 700 remaining in the wild, according to The International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN).
Now, the deer can only be found in the wild on the islands of Panay and Negros.
The population of the Philippine spotted deer at Chester Zoo is part of an acclaimed conservation breeding programme set up at the request of the Philippine government to ensure a genetically-viable population of the deer can live in leading European zoos.
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Lyra’s birth was a “significant addition” to this programme.
Despite being a few months old now, Lyra has only recently emerged outside for the first time, and Chester Zoo has made sure to capture her first outing on camera and on video to share with the eagerly-awaiting public.
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🦌 SUPER RARE DEER BORN! 🦌
We’re celebrating the birth of Lyra – a tiny Philippine spotted deer.
Only 700 remain in the wild ❌ so here’s how we're helping to prevent their extinction with conservation friends at the @Talarak_TFI 🎥
Lyra has been named after a constellation of stars, and shares the theme with her parents Nova and Cosmos.
“Every Philippine spotted deer birth is absolutely crucial to the long term survival of this species, so we were absolutely overjoyed to see a fluffy bundle alongside mum Nova one morning,” explained Emma Evison – Keeper at Chester Zoo.
“At birth, Lyra only stood at 30cm tall and weighed just 3kg, but after a few weeks on mum’s milk, she’s already shot up and has gained in strength and confidence.
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“She’s full of personality and is keeping mum busy with her new found energy.”
Chester Zoo is working to protect the Philippine spotted deer in its homeland, while “educating and empowering local communities that live alongside them,” Emma explained.
Lyra is a Philippine spotted deer – a species which is said to have become regionally extinct on several islands / Credit: Chester Zoo
Conservationists at the zoo have been supporting efforts to protect and restore the habitat in the Philippines, while also funding critical breeding centres for a number of highly endangered species – including spotted deer – for more than two decades, and back in 2020, the zoo and partners safely reintroduced a group of 28 Philippine spotted deer back to the wild into a protected nature reserve.
“We’re very pleased to report that the group is now thriving in their new home,” revealed Stuart Young, Regional Field Programme Manager for South East Asian Islands at Chester Zoo.
“This is the first time a reintroduction of this scale has been attempted in the region and is a landmark moment for the future of the species, thanks to a worldwide collaboration of conservationists.”
Featured Image – Chester Zoo
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Jack Grealish welcomes baby girl with partner Sasha Attwood
Emily Sergeant
Jack Grealish and his girlfriend Sasha Attwood have announced they’ve welcomed their first child into the world.
Back in July, the Birmingham-born couple – who are both 28-years-old, and are childhood sweethearts, having been reportedly dating since their high school days in Solihull – each took to social media to share with their millions of followers that they were “beyond blessed” to be expecting a baby together in a couple of months’ time.
The footballer posted a photograph of himself hugging Attwood from behind, with both of their hands over her pregnancy bump.
And now, nearly three months after sharing the news, the couple have welcomed the newest addition to their family.
They’ve welcomed a baby girl named Mila Rose.
According to the posts shared by the couple to Instagram yesterday, Mila was born Friday 27 September, and Attwood has described her daughter’s arrival as “the most special moment of my life” in her message to her 324,000 followers.
Grealish has received an outpouring of love and support from dozens of his fellow players, both at club and international level, on the announcement of the birth of his baby daughter – including by England teammates Marcus Rashford and Declan Rice, among many others – as well as thousands of his fans in the comments.
Attwood also received thousands of well-wishes from friends and fans.
Congratulations to Jack and Sasha on their new arrival.
Featured Image – Jack Grealish & Sasha Attwood (via Instagram)
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The 1975 and Charli XCX drop collab teaser in Manchester city centre
Danny Jones
Manchester, we might have a collaboration between two of the biggest British acts around right now as local lads The 1975 and pop sensation Charli XCX look to have just teased something big right here in the city centre.
It’s fair to say that if 2023 was the biggest year of The 1975‘s career to date then 2024 has very much been Charli XCX’s. In fact, we’d say it’s been a pretty great 12 months or so for pop music in general, which it feels like we don’t get to say that often.
That being said, despite the Cambridge-born singer having only just released her smash-hit BRAT back in June, is already ramping up for more new music to be dropped.
A massive new poster has appeared near Piccadilly and not only is it the bright lime green and plain black font now synonymous with her album but the words also read “the 1975” backwards.
It looks like this could finally be The 1975 x Charli XCX collab so many fans have been waiting for and there’s plenty of reason to believe it could be coming very soon.
For starters, rumours of the two working together have been running ever since the 32-year-old became partners with the band’s drummer, producer and co-songwriter, George Daniel, who has regularly appeared with her on stage at the likes of Boiler Room, not to mention sharing mixes of her songs.
She also came out as a surprise guest during their second-to-last visit to Manchester and the AO Arena back in January 2023 – much to the delight of the crowd.
Furthermore, Charli recently announced her next project rather straightforwardly called Brat and it’s completely different but still also brat.
While there are no other discernible clues to take from the rather large billboard, the title alone, George Daniel’s involvement and her own penchant for DJing of late quickly led people to piece together that she is planning to release a reworked version of her sixth studio album.
Moreover, Charli (real name Charlotte Emma Aitchison) has already revealed a number of feature artists on the remixed version of BRAT, including Addison Rae, Robyn, Billie Eilish and Yung Lean, as well as Troye Sivan and Lorde, who both joined her on stage recently for the ‘Sweat Tour’.
As already confirmed, whatever this new project ends up sounding like, it’s coming out next Friday, 11 October and if the collabs we already know about are anything to go by, then it’s a pretty safe bet that The 1975 will be also a appear on a tune or two. Who knows, maybe it could be something even bigger?
‘Bratty Healy’ is born, whether you like it or not.
Emily Sergeant -
23rd March 2022 
