May 16 is Endangered Species Day, founded to honor the incredible biodiversity that the Endangered Species Act (ESA) has helped conserve for more than half a century. Thanks to the ESA, sea otters still splash along the Pacific coastline, grizzly bears roam the Northern Rockies, and California condors once again soar over the Southwest. Since […]
Less than 1% of UK biosecurity budget goes on tackling invasive species, figures show
Less than 1% of the government’s biosecurity budget goes on tackling invasive species, despite the danger they pose to British wildlife, figures suggest. Conservationists warned the funding to address non-native plants and animals was failing to match the risk they posed to “cherished” native species, from water voles to ladybirds, as well as to waterways, […]
Chimps Found Treating Each Other’s Wounds
Chimpanzees in Uganda were found treating the injuries of other, unrelated chimps, including those caught in hunting snares. The finding comes from the Budongo Forest, where researchers followed two groups of chimpanzees for several months, watching as the chimps treated wounds caused by fights, accidents, or snares. In one group, 40 percent of the chimps […]
Thai man arrested for smuggling baby orang utans
BANGKOK – Thai police have arrested a man suspected of smuggling two baby orang utans into the kingdom, they said on May 15, in a case linked to an international wildlife trafficking network. The 47-year-old suspect was detained on the evening of May 14 at a petrol station in a residential district of Bangkok while […]
Koalas face death, attacks and starvation as blue gums chopped down in Victoria
Thousands of koalas are being displaced each year as blue gum plantations are cut down in Victoria, worsening overcrowding in nearby forests and exacerbating the risk of injury and death during bushfires. An estimated 42,500 koalas live in blue gum plantations in south-west Victoria, data shows. Between 8,000 and 10,000 hectares of plantation are harvested […]
Petition: Save Spain’s Wild Horses from Disappearing – Protect Biodiversity and Fight Wildfires
Wild horses in the Galicia region of Spain are helping to fight wildfires! By grazing in areas that typically had dry underbrush near forests, the animals are helping to naturally clear out low-lying plants, like the flowering gorse, that would have easily caught fire and spread sparks. But sadly, the population of wild horses in […]
Man stuffed 6 parrots in his boots in bizarre border smuggling attempt, officials say
A man was caught attempting to smuggle parrots into California after U.S. Customs and Border Protection officers noticed “unusual clothing bulges” around his ankles and discovered six birds stuffed into his boots, authorities said. The bizarre incident happened April 30, when Customs and Border Patrol Agents pulled aside a 51-year-old man applying for admission to […]
Endangered New Zealand bird caught fighting ‘at risk’ reptile in rare footage
Two of New Zealand‘s most rare and beloved animals – a large flightless takahē bird and an ancient tuatara reptile – have been captured chasing and nipping at one another during a bush-floor melee. Nick Fisentzidis, a department of conservation ranger on the pest-free Tiritiri Matangi Island near Auckland, saw the takahē attack the tuatara […]