A nest of arm-sized sticks built on a precipitous crag by an octogenarian conservationist dangling from a rope has enticed a pair of golden eagles back to the Highlands of Scotland. The eyrie handmade by Roy Dennis, a renowned conservationist who has masterminded the revival of endangered species across Britain, helped the eagles successfully fledge […]
Author: Supertrooper
More caged birds than wild: Javan songbird crisis revealed
Thirty men squat on concrete outside a colourful urban café on the Indonesian island of Java. Their gaze is focused on a rainbow palate of cages dangling from a corrugated metal roof. They listen even more intently – for inside the structures, birds are competing to get their songs heard. The onlookers are just as […]
Victory! Federal Judge Rules Trump Administration’s Bird-Killing Policy is Illegal
NEW YORK – “Like the clear crisp notes of the Wood Thrush, today’s court decision cuts through all the noise and confusion to unequivocally uphold the most effective bird conservation law on the books–the Migratory Bird Treaty Act,” said Sarah Greenberger, Interim Chief Conservation Officer for the National Audubon Society. “This is a huge victory […]
Is Chinese investment driving a sharp increase in jaguar poaching?
A decapitated jaguar found floating in a river by a scientist doing fieldwork in the Brazilian Amazon; a dead jaguar spotted on the highway between Boa Vista and Manaus, its carcass first observed whole by the side of the road, later seen without its head or paws; dozens of media reports documenting the seizure of […]
A taste of honey: how bees mend fences between farmers and elephants
Watchtowers in trees, tripwire alarms, radio collars, chilli smoke and beehive fences: scientists and conservationists across Asia and Africa are coming up with safe and humane ways to keep elephants at bay and reduce conflict with humans. In early June, the agonising death of a pregnant wild elephant that ate an explosives-filled pineapple in India […]
Call for grouse shooting to be licensed amid rise in bird of prey deaths
Labour has called for grouse shooting to be licensed after a big increase in illegal killings of birds of prey during the coronavirus lockdown, the majority of which, investigators say, are linked to the sport. As the grouse shooting season, known as the Glorious 12th, officially began on Wednesday, the shadow environment secretary, Luke Pollard, […]
Alarm as pesticides spur rapid decline of US bird species
Popular pesticides are causing bird species to decline at an alarming rate in the US, adding fuel to a 50-year downward trend in bird biodiversity, a new report has found. In addition to spray-on pesticides, farmers are widely using chemicals that coat seeds. These pesticides, called neonicotinoids or neonics, deter insects as the seeds sprout […]
Two beluga whales are transported from captivity in China to a new ocean refuge 6,000 miles away thanks to British charity
They are creatures who always seem to have a smile on their faces. And now, two beluga whales are sure to be feeling much happier thanks to British charity the Sea Life Trust. The whales, called Little Grey and Little White, have been freed from captivity in China to swim in the sea for the […]