With a huge reptile-like head, powerful jaws and a sleek, muscular body, the leopard seal is one of Antarctica’s most formidable apex predators. The third-largest seal species ranking behind elephant seals and walruses, these solitary hunters are capable of tackling penguins and even other seals and can swim at speeds of up to 25mph. What do leopard […]
Author: Supertrooper
Founder and Executive Editor
Trump rollback of US forest protections could accelerate extinction of 400 endangered species
More than 400 endangered animal and plant species could face accelerated extinction after the Donald Trump administration’s decision to rescind a rule that has protected old-growth forests for more than two decades. According to a new report from the Center for Biological Diversity, the rollback of the Bill Clinton-era “roadless rule” could put 7.4m acres (3m hectares) of endangered-species habitat and nearly […]
“The Mass Mortality Event was devastating. In a few short weeks, something strange wiped out more than 60% of the species’ global population”
In May 2015, more than 200,000 seemingly healthy saiga antelopes in the central steppes of Kazakhstan suddenly dropped dead. For the animals, and those charged with their conservation, the Mass Mortality Event was devastating. In the space of a few short weeks, something wiped out more than 60 per cent of the species’ global population, and more than 80 per cent of […]
First Nations in Canada call for emergency order to protect southern mountain caribou
“Under our Syilx Okanagan law, everything is sacred to us. We believe that Mother Earth is alive, all of kʷuləncutn, the creator’s creation, that it’s all alive,” Chief Dan Wilson of the Okanagan Indian Band, a Syilx Okanagan Nation, told Mongabay in a phone call. “That’s why the caribou are so important to us … […]
Habitat, Wildlife, and the First Hour of a Wildfire
Coverage of wildfire usually arrives after the fact. Aerial images of black hillsides, a tally of dead animals, a recovery timeline measured in decades. The variables that produce those images are settled much earlier, long before anyone reaches for a camera. Severity and final size are largely decided in the first hour. A start found […]
“It can fit in the palm of your hand, could kill you in minutes with a venom a thousand times stronger than cyanide – and there’s no antidote”
These cute cephalopods that fit in the palm of your hand could kill you in minutes with a venom a thousand times stronger than cyanide, says Melissa Hobson. What are blue-ringed octopuses? Blue-ringed octopus are a genus of octopus known for their iridescent blue markings. These iconic patterns only reveal themselves when the little octopus – which are smaller than a […]
Louisiana gears up for first recreational alligator hunt in more than 50 years
The first recreational alligator hunt in Louisiana in more than half a century is about to commence in the swamps of that state, with up to 5,000 hopeful trappers facing strict rules in order to snare a reptile. The state’s fish and wildlife commission banned alligator hunting in 1962 to allow the species to recover after decades […]
“It screams, chatters and whistles”. It might look like a dog but it definitely doesn’t sound like a dog with its freaky, spine-tingling vocals…
Sure, dogs bark, growl and howl. But did you know they can scream, chatter and whistle, too? The dhole or ‘whistling dog’ is a formidable and co-operative hunter that relies on these strange vocalisations to communicate with pack members across dense vegetation and bring down prey far larger than itself. With a russet coat and […]