Tourists in Hudson Bay, Canada, are usually most eager to see polar bears. But in November of 2012, it was a snowy owl and an Arctic fox that stole the show. Over the course of about a week, the fox and owl were seen repeatedly dancing around each other, almost as if they were playing. […]
Category: News
Snowy Owl faces frosty future: classed as Vulnerable for the first time
Striking, widespread and widely recognised, thanks in part to the Harry Potter books, the Snowy Owl Bubo scandiacus was previously listed as Least Concern, the lowest threat category of the IUCN Red List. However, this assessment was based on earlier figures that estimated the global population to number around 200,000 individuals, and the absence of […]
China’s Ban on Domestic Ivory is Finally In Effect
It’s estimated that 96 elephants are killed each day by poachers for nothing more than their tusks. But conservationists are starting the new year with renewed hope for the future of elephants following the official closure of China’s legal trade in ivory. The number of elephants who are senselessly killed is astounding, but that doesn’tcover […]
Stunning Video Shows a Man Flying With Birds
When Christian Moullec saw that lesser white-fronted geese were struggling with their migration from Germany to Sweden in 1995, he took to the skies to help them. Today, weather permitting, he soars with birds on an almost daily basis. A meteorologist by trade, the 58-year-old Frenchman didn’t start out as a pilot. But inspired by […]
Notorious Bat Killer Found to Have a Weak Link
Mysterious cases of white-nose syndrome plague thousands of bats each year, frosting their snouts in toxic, white fungus. But researchers are fighting back against the dark reality—with light. A new study, published January 2 in the journal Nature Communications, shows that ultraviolet rays, the light source behind black lights and sunburns, irreparably break down the […]
An Eagle Helps Preserve L.A. Land for a Wildlife Corridor
There are 17 acres of open land in the Hollywood Hills that provide a crucial corridor for wildlife like mountain lions, bobcats and deer. But, as I wrote in October 2015, that land was in danger of being subdivided into a housing development with four mansions, destroying the corridor. This would be devastating for local […]
De-extinction Versus Wildlife Conservation
How possible is de-extinction anyway? Due to how degraded and incomplete most samples of DNA are it would seem to a take a long time to amass enough DNA to complete a full genetic sequence for an animal genome (the genetic data found in gamete cells that are used in reproduction). However, after many samples […]
It’s a Miracle! Wisdom Lays an Egg at Age 67
Wisdom, a Laysan albatross, has once again returned to Midway Atoll National Wildlife Refuge and Battle of Midway National Memorial and has laid an egg. The approximately 67-year-old flies thousands of miles every year before returning to the Midway Atoll. Although these graceful birds nest on tropical Pacific islands, they can travel as far as […]