The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) is a globally-recognized conservation group with thousands of expert scientists. According to new reporting by Buzzfeed News, many IUCN members have interests counter to the IUCN’s of conservation. Buzzfeed News found that fashion companies and trophy hunters have influenced the IUCN in significant ways. In the past […]
Tag: iucn
Flightless bird provides ‘spark of hope’ amid environmental crisis
The Guam rail, a flightless bird typically about 30cm long, usually dull brown in colour and adorned with black and white stripes, has become a rare success story in the recent history of conservation. Previously extinct in the wild, the bird has been saved by captive breeding programmes and on Tuesday its status was updated […]
Scientists uncover five new species of ‘toupee’ monkeys in the Amazon
While saki monkeys may be characterized by floppy mops of hair that resemble the worst of human toupees, these acrobatic, tree-dwelling primates are essential for dispersing seeds across the vast Amazon landscape as they primarily dine on fruit. After long being neglected by both scientists and conservationists, a massive research effort by one intrepid researcher […]
Colombia’s endangered felines
We normally associate felines with large African or Asian cats such as lions, tigers, leopards or cheetahs, but little is known about felines from other parts of the world and, in particular, the Americas. A recent study by Instituto von Humbolt and Fundación Panthera bring into light information on the six species of felines that […]
Over 700 species added to the threatened categories on the IUCN Red List (photos)
In another sign of the global biodiversity crisis, the IUCN Red List has added 715 species to its threatened categories of Vulnerable, Endangered, and Critically Endangered in this year’s update. Some of these species were evaluated by the IUCN Red List for the first time while others saw their conditions deteriorate, such as the the […]
Working to save the mystery antelope that’s little bigger than a pet cat (photos)
Little is known about the silver dik-dik (Madoqua piacentinii) population that roams the dense coastal bushlands of eastern Africa, but experts are working to learn more about the mysterious species. Weighing little more than a domestic cat, the small antelopes are found in a long, narrow coastal strip spreading across 250 kilometers (155 miles) from […]
Bizarre, little-known carnivore sold as illegal pet in Indonesian markets (photo)
Few people have ever heard of the Javan ferret-badger, but that hasn’t stopped this animal – little-known even to scientists – from being sold in open markets in Jakarta according to a new paper in Small Carnivore Conservation. The Javan ferret-badger (Melogale orientalis) is one of five species in the ferret-badger family, which are smaller […]