Missing San Francisco sea lions 'off Oregon'

'Missing' San Francisco sea lions 'off Oregon'

Scientists in the US believe they may have solved the riddle of San Francisco's vanishing sea lions.

The Californian city's famous colony of sea lions all but disappeared over the past month, baffling experts.
But now large numbers of the animals have been spotted further north, off the coast of Oregon.

Scientists say the animals have probably migrated in search of food during the winter, although in unusually high numbers.
The sea lions of San Francisco are almost as famous as the city's cable cars or even the Golden Gate bridge, says the BBC's Peter Bowes in Los Angeles.
Twenty years ago, for no apparent reason, the smelly, noisy animals took up residence in the docks at Pier 39.
Their numbers grew rapidly to about 1,700 animals, and they became a popular tourist attraction.
But then most of them disappeared.
Initially, marine experts were baffled.
One outlandish suggestion was that they were fleeing the bay because of an imminent earthquake, our correspondent says.
But now the sighting of large numbers of sea lions off the coast of Oregon may have solved the mystery.
Scientists says it is normal for the animals to move north in search of food during the winter but it is extremely unusual for them to migrate in such huge numbers.

Late-night teens 'face greater depression risk'

Going to bed earlier protects teenagers against depression and suicidal thoughts, New York research suggests.

Of 15,500 12 to 18-year-olds studied, those who went to bed after midnight were 24% more likely to have depression than those who went before 2200.

And those who slept fewer than five hours a night had a 71% higher risk of depression than those who slept eight hours, the journal Sleep reports.

It is estimated 80,000 UK children and young people have depression.

The researchers from Columbia University Medical Center in New York looked at data from 15,500 teenagers collected in the 1990s.

One in 15 of those studied were found to have depression.

Enough sleep, good food and regular exercise and all essential to stay emotionally healthy Sarah Brennan, YoungMinds

As well as the higher risk of depression, those who were set a bedtime by their parents of after midnight were 20% more likely to think about suicide than those whose bedtime was 2200 or earlier.

Those who had less than five hours sleep a night were thought to have a 48% higher risk of suicidal thoughts compared with those who had eight hours of sleep.

Teenagers who reported they "usually get enough sleep" were 65% less likely to be depressed.

Depression and suicidal thoughts were also more likely in girls, older teenagers and in those who had a lower self-perception of how much parents care about them.

Most of the parents of the adolescents in the study set a bedtime of 2200 or earlier.

A quarter set a bedtime of midnight or later.

On average the teenagers were having seven hours and 53 minutes sleep a night - less than the nine hours recommended at that age.

Study leader Dr James Gangwisch said although it it was possible that youngsters with depression struggle to sleep, the fact that parental set bedtimes were linked with depression suggests that a lack of sleep is somehow underpinning the development of the condition.

He said a lack of sleep could affect emotional brain responses and lead to moodiness that hindered the ability to cope with daily stresses.

This moodiness could affect judgment, concentration and impulse control.

Regular exercise

"Adequate quality sleep could therefore be a preventative measure against depression and a treatment for depression," he added.

Sarah Brennan, chief executive at the mental health charity YoungMinds, said: "Enough sleep, good food and regular exercise are all essential to stay emotionally healthy.

"Nearly 80,000 children and young people suffer with depression, yet we are still failing to provide our young people with the help and support to cope with it and prevent it.

"Providing parents with information about how to look after your body, for example by getting enough sleep, and how to get help if they are worried about their teenager, will ensure problems are tackled early and prevent serious mental health conditions such as depression."

Sweden culls its resurgent wolves

Swedish hunters have begun culling wolves for the first time in 45 years after parliament ruled that numbers needed to be reduced again.

More than half the quota of 27 may have died on the first day alone with nine shot dead in Dalarna and up to nine killed in Varmland, Swedish radio says.

Hunters have until 15 February to complete the cull, which will leave Sweden with an estimated 210 wolves.

Some 10,000 hunters were reported to be planning to take part in the hunt.

Hunting in the county of Dalarna was halted as the county's individual quota was nine wolves.

Varmland's quota of nine "may also have been filled", the radio reported later on Saturday.

'Five injured'

In Dalarna, hunters reportedly injured another five wolves.

Every time a hunter shoots and hits a wolf he has to report it to the county authorities, so they can keep track of the local cull.

Earlier, hunters insisted there were measures in place to prevent them shooting too many.

"There's a lot of regulation, hunters have to check the quota every hour," Gunnar Gloersson, of the Swedish Hunters Association, told Swedish radio.

Nevertheless, the Swedish Society for Nature Conservation was critical of the decision to proceed with the cull, saying it was against EU legislation as the Swedish wolf population had not reached a healthy level.

A formal complaint was to be issued to the EU Commission, Swedish radio said.

The hunt is timed to end before the mating season, which begins in mid-February.

Snow vital

Wolves were hunted to near extinction in southern Scandinavia until a hunting ban was imposed in the 1970s.

Sweden and Norway have worked together to reintroduce the species to the forests along their border. When Norway culled some wolves in 2001, saying the population had spread too far, Sweden lodged a protest.

But the Swedish parliament recently decided there should be at most 210 wolves in Sweden.

Michael Schneider of the Swedish Environmental Protection Agency says that was the level last year, and since then more than 20 pairs of wolves have had pups.

"We have to remove this increase to keep the population at this level," he said.

Mr Gloersson, of the hunting association, said: "We have a lot of problems with wolves - in reindeer areas, with livestock, and for hunters they kill our valuable dogs."

"Since they came back we have to live with them, but we have to keep their numbers down."

He said the success of the cull would depend on the weather.

"The only easy way to hunt wolves is if we have snow, so the hunters can track them on the snow. If we don't have snow I don't think we'll even be able to reach the quota of 27 wolves," he said.