OGN Friday

26 minutes ago
4 min read

Concluding the week with an upbeat selection of stories from around the globe.

toad gliding across a crystal clear woodland pond — Credit: Paul Hobson | BWPA 2025

And The Winner is...

The winners of the British Wildlife Photography Awards 2026 have been revealed, celebrating the quiet beauty of the UK’s natural world. This year’s top prize was awarded to a striking black-and-white image of a toad gliding across a crystal clear woodland pond. Selected from over 12,000 entries, the winning photograph was taken by Paul Hobson, who had to get creative to capture the watery shot from the bottom of the pond. “I built a glass box to house the camera and keep it dry,” explains Hobson. “I had to add ballast to make sure it would sink and used old tripod legs glued to its sides to keep the box level. I triggered the camera using an adapted long cable release.”

State Purchase

A famous Oregon waterfall that lies on private land is set to be purchased by the state after being placed on the market. Abiqua Falls has been owned for decades by good stewards who “bent over backwards” to facilitate public access, but who now feel their journey as such has ended. The falls are one of the Pacific Northwest’s most iconic, and are located on land owned by Mount Angel Abbey and Seminary and its foundation since 1908. State Senator Fred Girod (R) leapt at the opportunity to negotiate a price and agree a purchase agreement of $2 million - including 42 acres immediately around it, and another 160 acres upstream owned by a timber company. The abbey agreed to a price that would make the purchase as easy as possible, to ensure that its tradition of public access is maintained.

Young Chinese girl with hair braided like a spider's web — Big brother braids for little sister

Inventive

Big brothers are pretty great, but one 11-year-old in China is setting the bar sky-high. Each day, he carefully braids his little sister’s hair, dreaming up a brand new, wildly imaginative style each time. So far, he’s created more than 300 designs, including delicate butterfly wing plaits, sculptural “ox horn” twists, and spider web-like braids. Guided by his imagination and armed with an array of colourful hair bands and a box of cute accessories, the doting big brother gets straight to work. His little sister sits patiently, clearly loving the daily pamper session, as he twists and weaves her hair into increasingly elaborate creations. The boy’s extraordinary hair-braiding skills have captured social media attention in China, with videos gathering 15 million views.

Cheetah with her five cubs — Credit: @byadavbjp

Baby Boom

A female cheetah named Jwala in India’s Madhya Pradesh state has given birth to a litter of 5 cubs, the third since she arrived in the country. India’s Minister for the Environment wrote on X that the birth increases “the number of Indian-born thriving cubs has risen to 33, marking the 10th successful cheetah litter on Indian soil.” There have been highs and lows for the growing cheetah population in India, reintroduced in 2022 - a first-in-the-world reintroduction - via several groups of animals from African strongholds of Namibia, Botswana, and South Africa.

Respect For Women

Global perceptions of respect for women have rebounded since the pandemic. Gallup found that, in 2025, a median 72 percent of adults across 140 countries said women are treated with respect and dignity, up nine points from 2022, with 24 countries posting gains of at least 10 points. The survey also found that countries with smaller gender gaps correlated to women feeling safer walking alone at night.

Amazon Protection

Global coalition backs protection across 103,000 square miles (266,000 sq. km) of the Amazon. The Brazilian government, plus an international coalition of financiers and conservation groups have launched ARPA Comunidades. It’s a $120 million, 15-year fund that will support community-led conservation across 237,000 km² of existing protected Amazon forest while adding 30,000 km² of new protected areas.

"We owe a lot to Thomas Edison - if it wasn't for him, we'd be watching television by candlelight." Milton Berle

On This Day

13 March 1781: German-born British astronomer William Herschel discovered the planet Uranus while surveying the night sky using a homemade 6.2-inch telescope - the first planet discovered since ancient times, and the first discovered using a telescope. Herschel initially named the planet Georgium Sidus (George's Star) to honour his patron, King George III.

German astronomer Johann Elert Bode later suggested the name "Uranus" to follow the tradition of classical mythological names. Uranus was the father of Saturn and grandfather of Jupiter.