Abnormally warm weather is affecting the hibernation activity of Ukraine’s brown bears, conservationists have said. In a Facebook post, Synevyr National Nature Park in southwest Ukraine said winter is a period when all bears should be dormant. However, in its rehabilitation center, just three are currently hibernating. This “bearish insomnia” is affecting 29 of the […]
Category: News
Fighting to save an endangered ape, Indonesian activists fear for their lives
JAKARTA — Indonesia’s North Sumatra province, the only known habitat of the Tapanuli orangutan (Pongo tapanuliensis), has proven to be a precarious place for the ape. Just 800 individuals survive in a rapidly shrinking habitat, and the orangutans, which were only described as a new species in 2017, are already listed as a critically endangered […]
Injuries of orca tangled in crayfish line likely to be incredibly painful
The young adult male dolphin became wrapped in a crayfish line with a buoy attached off Tutukaka on Monday morning. Dr Ingrid Visser from the Orca Research Trust followed him on a boat today with a team and twice unsuccessfully tried to untangle him. “Eventually he went into shallow enough water… We managed to hook […]
Vervet monkeys thrive despite habitat loss in South Africa
As countries around the world experience rapid urbanization, many animal species have been forced to adapt to the encroachment of humans into their habitats. For species like the vervet monkey, this adaptation sometimes leads to conflict with humans. Vervets (Chlorocebus pygerythrus)are small, gray-haired monkeys with black faces native to Africa. Their population is considered stable, […]
Measures to arrest nature’s decline must be passed into law, say MEPs
If humanity wants to reverse the widespread destruction of the natural world, biodiversity needs legal protection like the Paris agreement on climate change, members of the European parliament have said. Action to halt biodiversity decline is based on voluntary commitments but, less than a year before a crucial UN biodiversity conference in China, MEPs pointed […]
Mountain gorilla census reveals further increase in numbers
The outlook for eastern Africa’s mountain gorillas is growing brighter, as a recent census released on Dec. 16 shows that the subspecies’ numbers have risen since 2011. Scientists believe there are now at least 1,063 mountain gorillas living in the wild. Tara Stoinski, the CEO and chief scientific officer of the Dian Fossey Gorilla Fund, […]
Bad taste in the moth: study reveals insect’s chemical defence
It might seem like they are being lazy but some moths do not bother to flee from predators because they make themselves taste disgusting. That is the case for a certain species of tiger moth, which researchers have found displays a nonchalant approach when faced with potential predators, on account of its disgusting flavour. Dr […]
Birds are Shrinking Because of Climate Change
A new report from scientists show birds are getting smaller. The cause? Rising temperatures from climate change. The study examined birds over a 40 year period. Birds‘ wings are getting longer, legs are getting shorter and their bodies are shrinking. Over 70,000 birds were measured from 52 different species, between 1978 and 2016. The study […]