Most of Europe’s wild bee species and about half of its hover fly species have declined over the last century, a study has found, as a UN biodiversity summit begins in Armenia. Records since 1921 show more bee species are declining than increasing in all parts of Europe except the Alpine region. The richness of […]
It might look like a beautiful flower but it’s actually a deadly predator… Meet a very innocent-looking, cold-hearted mass killer
One of the world’s most beautiful insects, the orchid mantis, is just too beautiful to be taken seriously as a deadly predator – but that’s what it is says Stuart Blackman. Camouflage is usually about hiding. And plenty of insects deploy colours and patterns that allow them to blend in amongst flowers. But this gorgeous denizen of Southeast Asian forests doesn’t want to hide; it wants […]
Florida fisher dragged into water and killed by 12ft alligator
A man fishing at a pond in Florida was killed on Friday by an alligator that was almost 12ft long in a rare kind of animal attack, according to authorities and media reports. Steve Hamilton, 71, was on the shoreline in the community of Winter Garden when the animal dragged him into the water, the […]
“After nearly an hour of brutal fighting, it’s all over.” An otter family must defend its pups from a deadly caiman. What happens next is truly extraordinary
Measuring up to almost two metres (6 feet) long, the giant otter is the largest of its kind. Found in the Amazon, Orinoco and Río de la Plata River systems of South America, these highly social creatures build underground burrows which can house large family groups. They primarily eat fish (such as perch, catfish and […]
Legal gaps allow rampant pet trade, poaching reptiles and amphibians towards extinction
Spain’s law enforcement agency, the Civil Guard, announced on Sept. 25, 2026, that it seized 209 reptiles from breeding facilities in Jérica and Sot de Ferrer (Castellón), including critically endangered iguanas endemic to Fiji. Nearly half of the reptiles were protected under CITES, the global wildlife trade treaty. They also seized unlicensed handguns and nearly […]
Canada’s wolves may be using fire to hunt moose
In a practice that goes back hundreds of thousands of years, hunter-gatherer groups today light fires at night to keep wild animals, and predators especially, at bay – animals are afraid of fire, the reasoning goes, and a campfire will keep you safe while you sleep. But not all predators, it seems. A new paper published in […]
Uncovering the secrets of New Zealand’s elusive ‘jungle penguins’
Deep in the misty fjords of New Zealand’s South Island, a team of researchers is trying to catch one of the world’s most elusive penguins: the forest-dwelling tawaki, or Fiordland crested penguin.For weeks, researchers stand sentry each day over a burrow on Eleanor Island, hoping to corner the female bird so they can retrieve data […]
Researchers tracked 172 jaguars across the Americas. What they found could help protect the big cats
There’s a map of Central and South America in a new research paper that shows the core areas for the continents’ only big cats, jaguars, and it reveals much about how these apex predators are faring. Western Brazil and parts of eastern Peru, in the heart of the Amazon Basin, are deep red, showing this […]