One reserve is already gone and ten others are likely to go within the next few weeks when the legislature of one of Brazilian Amazonia’s most anti-environmental states votes on overriding a veto from the state governor. The 11 protected areas total 537,000 hectares (3 percent of the state), and four of them had been […]
Tag: Morgan Erickson-Davis
‘Decimated’: Germany’s birds disappear as insect abundance plummets 76%
A new study in PLOS ONE reveals a 76 percent reduction in Germany’s flying insect biomass over the past 27 years while another reports the country’s bird abundance has declined 15 percent in just over a decade. While the causes behind the insect decline haven’t yet been conclusively studied, the PLOS ONE study suggests agricultural […]
POLL: Should trophy hunting in Kyrgystan be banned?
BOKONBAYEVO, Kyrgyzstan – Kyrgyz folklore is laden with stories that warn its adherents against the over-hunting of animals. In one foreboding tale, Kodzhodzash, the leader of the Ak-Bars tribe, brutally ignores the wish of a female ibex, shooting dead her child and her mate.“May your father cry over you as I cry over my murdered […]
Tree-huggers: koalas cuddle up to keep cool
Animals that live in hot climates have various behavioral adaptations to help keep them cool. Kangaroos lick their wrists; rats lick their testicles. New-world vultures urinate on themselves. Humans and horses sweat. These behaviors all take advantage of the ability of evaporation to lower temperature by transferring heat energy from an animal’s body to the […]