Hungry Rat Terrifies the Queen in Buckingham Palace

Buckingham Palace and the forecourt is seen in central London. Photo: Reuters
Buckingham Palace and the forecourt is seen in central London. Photo: Reuters
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Hungry Rat Terrifies the Queen in Buckingham Palace

Buckingham Palace and the forecourt is seen in central London. Photo: Reuters
Buckingham Palace and the forecourt is seen in central London. Photo: Reuters

A hungry rat spotted in one of Buckingham Palace's kitchens in London left the Queen Elizabeth II horrified.

The palace's staff has called in a pest control squad that shortly arrived to address the situation.

The British Pest Control Association admitted that the country witnesses an invasion or a new species of rodents with immunity against poison, which raised anger among Britons.

The proliferation of rats and mice has become a major problem hitting the ancient buildings of Britain such as the royal palace that dates back to 1703, the parliament, and other governmental edifices.

It is reported that officials have given staff, in particular kitchen workers, basic training such as shutting cupboard doors and sweeping away bits of food in order to stop the problem spreading.

The tiny animals developed a genetic mutation known as LG20, which renders many toxins useless.

A spokesperson for the British Pest Control Association admitted that the long-tailed rodents had grown increasingly immune to the poison.



Scientists: Giant Kangaroos Perished During 'Climate Upheaval'

This handout photo taken on April 17, 2025, and released on April 23, 2025 by the University of Wollongong shows Scott Hocknull, a vertebrate palaeontologist and senior curator at the Queensland Museum, holding a Protemnodon skull fossil. (Photo by Handout / UNIVERSITY OF WOLLONGONG / AFP)
This handout photo taken on April 17, 2025, and released on April 23, 2025 by the University of Wollongong shows Scott Hocknull, a vertebrate palaeontologist and senior curator at the Queensland Museum, holding a Protemnodon skull fossil. (Photo by Handout / UNIVERSITY OF WOLLONGONG / AFP)
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Scientists: Giant Kangaroos Perished During 'Climate Upheaval'

This handout photo taken on April 17, 2025, and released on April 23, 2025 by the University of Wollongong shows Scott Hocknull, a vertebrate palaeontologist and senior curator at the Queensland Museum, holding a Protemnodon skull fossil. (Photo by Handout / UNIVERSITY OF WOLLONGONG / AFP)
This handout photo taken on April 17, 2025, and released on April 23, 2025 by the University of Wollongong shows Scott Hocknull, a vertebrate palaeontologist and senior curator at the Queensland Museum, holding a Protemnodon skull fossil. (Photo by Handout / UNIVERSITY OF WOLLONGONG / AFP)

Giant prehistoric kangaroos perished when "climate upheaval" turned lush Australian rainforest into desert, scientists said Thursday after studying ancient fossils with new techniques.

Weighing as much as 170 kilograms (375 pounds) -- almost twice as hefty as the chunkiest living kangaroos -- the extinct "Protemnodon" bounded across Australia as many as five million years ago, AFP reported.

Researchers were able to recreate the foraging habits of one population by matching long-lived chemicals from fossilized teeth to recently unearthed rocks.

Similarities in chemical composition helped mark how far the kangaroos hopped in search of food.

"Imagine ancient GPS trackers," said Queensland Museum scientist Scott Hocknull.

"We can use the fossils to track individuals, where they moved, what they ate, who they lived with and how they died -- it's like Palaeo Big Brother."

Scientists found the mega-herbivores lived in what was then a verdant rainforest -- barely venturing far from home to forage.

The rainforest started to wither around 300,000 years ago as the region's climate turned "increasingly dry and unstable".

"The giant kangaroos' desire to stay close to home, during a time of major climate upheaval 300,000 years ago, likely contributed to their demise," the researchers said.

Species of giant kangaroo survived in other parts of Australia and Papua New Guinea, with the last populations surviving until around 40,000 years ago.

Scientist Anthony Dosseto said the new techniques could be used to better understand the disappearance of Australia's megafauna.

Prehistoric species of giant echidna, wombat-like marsupials weighing over two tons, and hulking flesh-eating lizards once roamed the Australian continent.

"The debate about the extinction of the Australian megafauna has been going on for decades, but now we can take it to an individual and species-by-species perspective," said Dosseto, from the Wollongong Isotope Geochronology Lab.

"With these precise techniques, each site and each individual can now be used to test and build more accurate extinction scenarios."

The findings were published in peer-reviewed journal PLOS One.