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Why are more than 100 harbour porpoise gathering off Orkney?

The annual meeting of about 150 porpoise near Longhope, Orkney could be the largest in the UK, and it has been well documented for more than a hundred years.

Despite this, no-one knows why they come to Orkney or what they are doing in the weeks they are here.

After 10 years studying the animals, dive boat skipper Hazel Weaver is partnering with Orkney Marine Mammal Research Initiative, also known as OMMRI, on a study that could be the start of finally solving the mystery of what is known locally as Hoy's puffing pigs.

4 October 2022

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BBC reporter, Megan Davies, is central looking at the camera. She in presenting the social video. On her left is are images of a dog and a traditonal fox hunting helmet. On her right is a fox. All three images have been photo edited into the shot rather than placed there. On the table is a coffee insulation cup

Are people still fox hunting?

Bernard and Twinkle the vultures perched on a log, in a cage, looking towards each other

Arthritic vulture reunited with partner after jab

Two dairy cow calves, with black and white patterns, standing in on hay and in a pen.

Cow has four calves in 'one-in-11 million' birth

Two rhinos stand close together in their enclosure, one is an adult and the other is a calf

Rhino calf with feeding issue now stomping around

Beds, Herts & Bucks

Curlew, brown bird with speckled wings, mid-flight

The curlew's return to Lower Lough Erne

Elephants wade through floodwaters at sanctuary

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A screen grab from a camera inside an owl nesting box. It shows a mother owl and her four chicks. The mother owl and one of the chicks both have small rodents in their beaks.

A bird's-eye view inside a baby barn owl nest

Northern Ireland

Maddie with the two binmen

Meet the dog brightening up a weekly bin round

Northern Ireland

Gentoo penguin chick standing sideways and looking at the camera with ice and a wall behind it

Penguin chick takes its first swim at aquarium

Hull & East Yorkshire

Thousands of dead fish are seen on the salt marsh beach in Volos, Thessaly, Greece

Thousands of floating dead fish blanket Greek port

A gold and green leopard frog peers out of some leaves

Endangered leopard frogs released into the wild

A bear eats honey off a measuring stick

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Beds, Herts & Bucks

Primary class

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NE, Orkney & Shetland

Two swimmers look at an oarfish on a paddle-board with one man atop the board

Rare ‘doomsday’ oarfish spotted off California coast

Tortoise on a railway track.

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Cow and man sitting together

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Stella the cat meows at her front door

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Dog looking at mattress on fire

Moment dog sparks house fire after chewing power bank

A wildcat snuggling under a tree

Wildcat kitten caught on thermal imaging camera

BBC Scotland weather presenter Christopher Blanchett in front of a weather map of Scotland showing snow warnings.

Watch the Storm Bert weather forecast for Scotland

Storm Bert looks set to bring more heavy snowfall across the Scotland over the weekend.

BBC Scotland political editor Glenn Campbell lying on the ground with a blue beanie hat and wrapped in a silver blanket

‘I wanted to show what having a seizure was like’

BBC Scotland's political editor Glenn Campbell has been describing his journey since being diagnosed with a cancerous brain tumour.

Weather presenter Christopher Blanchett standing in front of a large-scale photograph of wintry conditions

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Arctic air has been working its way in from the north, bringing cold temperatures that for the coming days.

SNP Westminster leader Stephen Flynn

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Veterans during Edinburgh's Armistice Day event. One of them is saluting while the other have heads bowed while holding flags downward.

Watch: Armistice Day tributes take place across Scotland

The traditional 11 November two-minute period of remembrance took place at 11:00 across the country.

Three rescuers wearing life jackets and hard hats work to free a humpback whale in a sea loch

Humpback whale tangled in creel lines set free

Experts used underwater cameras to work out how the whale was trapped, before untangling it in Loch Fyne.

Sandy Duthie from Aberdeenshire is now the lighthouse keeper on Gabo Island, in Victoria

The Scot in charge of an Australian lighthouse

Sandy Duthie from Aberdeenshire is now the lighthouse keeper on Gabo Island, in Victoria

Police stand next to a blue trawler vessel moored in a harbour

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A 38-year-old man was arrested and two Ghanaian men were removed from the vessel as part of the operation.

Firework explodes on the top or a building behind a traffic island sending red and yellow sparks showering metres in all directions.

Watch: Fireworks set off on Scottish streets on Bonfire Night

Fire crews have been attacked as fireworks were set off on streets across Scotland on Bonfire Night.

Gloved hand picking up one of five Lewis chessmen. Two are facing the camera and three away from the camera.

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Ten of the intricately-carved pieces have been redisplayed in a case which allows visitors to see their backs for the first time.

The Jacobite Express steam train crossing the Glenfinnan Viaduct in the Scottish Highlands

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Tasmina Ahmed-Sheikh, wearing a blue top and black coat, stands beside Alex Salmond, wearing a blue shirt and dark jacket

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Waves can be seen overtopping the barrier at Troon. The sky is grey and sea mist is being blown high by the wind.

Watch: Stormy waters and high winds as storm hits Scotland

Storm Ashley could cause gusts of up to 70-80 mph (113-129km/h) in some areas of Scotland.

Gillian Smart wears a red and black dress. She presents the weather in front of a green screen which forecasts high winds across Scotland.

The latest weather forecast as Storm Ashley hits Scotland

Gillian Smart has the latest weather forecast, as a yellow warning for high winds gusting up to 60 mph (97km/h) is in force across the whole of Scotland.

North Macedonian soldiers carrying Alex Salmond's coffin draped in a Saltire towards a private jet

Alex Salmond’s coffin flown home to Scotland

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Black and white horse sticking its head out of a barn door while a police officer feeds it

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Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer, wears a blue suit and glasses, as he stands in the House of Commons. Angela Rayner and Rachel Reeves sit either side of him on the benches.

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Prime Minister Keir Starmer pays tribute to the 'lasting legacy' of Alex Salmond.

Chris McEleny of the Alba Party speaks to the BBC via Zoom from Zagreb in Croatia

'Can't believe it's happened' - Salmond's Alba colleague

Chris McEleny of the Alba Party is travelling to North Macedonia, where Alex Salmond died on Saturday.

Calum MacColl

BBC weather presenter bursts into song live on air

Calum MacColl sung the Gaelic song that won him a gold medal at the Royal National Mòd in 2021.

Sally Magnusson sits in a darkened room wearing blue-rimmed glasses, a white top and a burgundy blazer

Sally Magnusson hears how a cure for Alzheimer's is 'within our grasp'

Sally Magnusson hears how testing for early symptoms of Alzheimer's could help find a cure for the condition.