Deforestation continues in Kenya’s largest water capturing forest, satellites show

Deforestation continues in Kenya’s largest water capturing forest, satellites show

New satellite data analysis reveals that Mau Forest in Kenya, the largest montane forest in East Africa, is continuing to lose tree cover, likely due to illegal logging and agricultural expansion, despite efforts at protection. The Mau Forest is vital as the country’s biggest water catchment area, covering some 2,700 square kilometers (1,042 square miles) […]

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Fishing, dams and dredging close in on Peru’s river dolphins, study shows

Fishing, dams and dredging close in on Peru’s river dolphins, study shows

Amazon river dolphins navigate the complex waterways of the forest, their pods spread across the Amazon Basin in six different countries. The routes of these large, pink mammals are naturally blocked by land, waterfalls and stretches of shallow water, but increasingly something else is in the way: human activity. According to a recent study published […]

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Spiny new chameleon species described from Bale Mountains of Ethiopia

Spiny new chameleon species described from Bale Mountains of Ethiopia

Researchers have described a new chameleon species from the Bale Mountains of south-central Ethiopia, and say the biodiversity hotspot may harbor even more. Named Wolfgang Böhme’s Ethiopian chameleon (Trioceros wolfgangboehmei), in honor of the senior herpetologist at the Zoological Research Museum Alexander Koenig (ZMFK) in Bonn, Germany, the chameleon is around 15 centimeters (6 inches) […]

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