Deep in the wilderness, surrounded by ferns and the calls of cockatoos, Richard Marchant was so focused he didn’t realise three leeches were latched to his face. The ecologist had spent the day on his knees, searching for tiny invertebrates carried by a stream winding through Wilsons Promontory, a 50,000 hectare national park in Victoria, […]
Tag: grasslands
How a Prairie Dog Plague Outbreak is Destroying Ecosystems and Challenging Livestock Management
When an outbreak of sylvatic plague decimated black-tailed prairie dog numbers in the Thunder Basin National Grassland in 2017, researchers saw an opportunity to explore the impact of the rodents’ die-off on the plants and other wildlife in that area of northeast Wyoming. The results were astounding, showing how a keystone species plays a critical […]
Tiny Solar Backpacks Could Help Save One of Australia’s Most Endangered Birds
The plains-wanderer is a small, critically-endangered bird with a tawny marking on its chest that can only be found in south-eastern Australia’s arid grasslands. It is estimated that only 250 to 1,000 of these speckled birds are left in the wild, according to Bush Heritage Australia. The plains-wanderer is at risk of impending extinction and […]
Plan for ‘sea of roofs’ will destroy last koala habitat in western Sydney, critics say
A plan to build up to 73,000 houses in new suburbs in western Sydney relies on conservation promises that might not be delivered until decades into the future, environment groups say. The New South Wales government recently approved the Cumberland Plain conservation plan, a major planning policy that will guide the development of four new […]
71-year-old Pennsylvania woman gored by a bison in Yellowstone National Park
The wildlife of Yellowstone National Park, which welcomes over three million tourists annually, is one of its main draws. More than 360 species live in the 3,472 square miles of alpine meadows, sagebrush steppe, grasslands, and subalpine woods that make up the park, including black bears, moose, elk, bighorn sheep, bison, Canada lynx, and gray […]
Nepal’s key habitat could lose 39% of its tigers in 20 years, study says
KATHMANDU — Roads that run close to an important national park in Nepal’s southern plains could result in an increased rate of roadkill that would cut the park’s population of adult tigers by nearly two-fifths over two decades, a new study shows. The study forecasts that 46 Bengal tigers (Panthera tigris tigris) could be killed […]
Tiger-centric conservation efforts push other predators to the fringes
KATHMANDU — The monsoon season in Nepal is expected to begin in the second week of June, which means officials in the country’s prime habitats for Bengal tigers (Panthera tigris tigris) are busy with their seasonal work. They’re setting fire to the tall grasses that grew throughout the year, and uprooting trees that may have […]
Green light for return of red-footed tortoises to Argentina
It may be one of the slowest-moving conservation projects in history, not just because of the red tape, but due to the animals themselves: 40 red-footed tortoises are being released into El Impenetrable national park in Argentina in the coming weeks after being rescued from the illegal pet trade in Paraguay and transported to Argentina. […]