The first sighting of the critically endangered Plains-wanderer in Australia in more than three decades was detected by Zoos Victoria in two areas of remnant grassland west of Melbourne, reported The Guardian. Evolutionarily speaking, Plains-wanderers are unique. As the only member of the Pedionomidae family, there is no other bird like it on Earth. “They’re […]
Category: Wildlife
Humpback whale swallows and then spits out kayaker off Chile coast
A huge humpback whale briefly scooped a kayaker in its mouth in the seas off the coast of southern Chile before spitting him out unscathed in a dramatic incident caught on camera. The kayaker, Adrian Simancas, was out with his father last weekend in the seas off the town of Punta Arenas, when the whale […]
A ‘recipe for extinction’: can the US’s envied nature protections survive Trump and his ‘God squad’?
Donald Trump has already begun dismantling parts of the envied US endangered species protections in his quest to boost oil and gas drilling, in part using a panel with an ominous name: the God squad. A slew of early actions by the Trump administration has set about throwing open more land and waters for the […]
Elephant in the womb? Thailand brings in birth control for pachyderms
Thailand will begin giving birth control to a small number of wild female elephants this year, as the country struggles with the growing problem of human-elephant conflict. Asian elephants have been classified as endangered since 1986. But Thai authorities say that conservation efforts mean the country’s population is growing at a rate of 8% each […]
Avian flu likely killed dozens of geese found in Otisco Lake and Seneca River
On cold winter mornings, Paul Pacelli enjoys walking along the Seneca River in the village of Baldwinsville to watch bald eagles snatch fish from the open water near the dam. On Jan. 20, he noticed something unusual and disturbing: a handful of sick and dying Canada geese laying limp on the ice, unable to lift […]
How to tell if mangrove restoration is working? Listen to the birds
The soundscape in mangrove forests can be wonderfully complex. If you prime your ears, you might chance to hear mudskippers sloshing their bellies across silky mud, or fiddler crabs pattering between their burrows. If you’re lucky, a rustling overhead might indicate monkeys creeping along branches, intently curious, or it could be a Brahminy kite taking […]
Amazon Rainforest Birds Suffer Mysterious Declines in Pristine Habitats
Populations of Amazonian birds have been quietly plummeting for years, even in forests untouched by human activity. According to research highlighted by Tess McClure in The Guardian, scientists working at remote sites in Ecuador, Brazil, and Panama have found that bird numbers are falling generation by generation. These spots, such as the Tiputini Biodiversity Research […]
Man who used knife to slaughter deer his dog had savaged is fined – as he becomes first person in Scotland convicted under new hunt laws
A man has become the first person in Scotland to be convicted under new hunting laws after he slaughtered a deer that had been attacked by his dog. Nickolas Chenier admitted using his golden lurcher for hare coursing near a cemetery in Wick, Caithness. The dog chased and savaged the deer before horrified witnesses intervened […]