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 […]
Researchers uncover hidden routes and patterns of Amazon wildlife trade
Home of the world’s largest biodiversity, the Brazilian Amazon is one of the main hubs for international wildlife trafficking. Every day, thousands of animals are taken from the rainforest to be sold in other parts of the country and abroad. Despite its key role in this illegal market, there is still a lack of information […]
“They creep low to the ground, advancing in short bursts until close enough to pounce.” One of the world’s most beautiful, rarest, dogs facing extinction
One of the world’s rarest, most beautiful dogs faces extinction. When you scan the starkly beautiful landscape of Ethiopia’s highlands, one of the first things you notice is the vegetation. Howling winds ensure that few plants grow high off the ground here, with giant (familiar from gardens around the world) among the few exceptions. In […]
‘Like selling wolves from Yellowstone’: how protected US sharks are being sold off to foreign aquariums
Shortly after 12.45pm, what remains of a 300-metre line goes taut. Somewhere beneath the murky green surface of Delaware Bay, on the eastern US coast, a sand tiger shark has taken the bait of a mackerel chunk. Marine researchers at the University of Delaware haul the line towards a small boat as the shark’s grey-brown […]
Why do cats stalk and pounce, rather than chase?
Hunting consumes a huge amount of energy and it is much more calorie-efficient for cats to sit, wait, stalk and pounce rather than travel long distances over difficult terrain. Why do cats stalk and pounce? Feline energy expenditure has been the subject of research by scientists from the University of California. They developed a high-tech […]
Vulture conservation project to target illegal killing and poisoning in Chad
Conservationists are launching a project to protect dwindling vulture populations in Chad amid a Central Africa-wide decline. Run by the nonprofit Sahara Conservation, the project is part of a larger EU-funded LIFE EV Safe Return program that focuses on protecting the endangered Egyptian vulture (Neophron percnopterus). Egyptian vultures migrate from their breeding sites in the […]