In the world of amphibians, sexual dichromatism, where one sex appears a different colour, is an unusual phenomenon. Dichromatism can be further split into ‘ontogenetic’, where the sexes remain different colours, and ‘dynamic’, where the colour change occurs temporarily – something considered rare as hen’s teeth among anurans. Fighting this froggy trend to a spectacular […]
Category: Wildlife
Two Cheetah Cubs Rescued from Illegal Wildlife Trade in Somaliland
When a tip came in that two cheetah cubs were about to be loaded onto a boat and smuggled into the exotic pet trade, responders had only hours to act. What followed was a remarkable effort that not only saved two young lives but also shone a spotlight on a crisis that continues to threaten […]
They’re 2 metres long, 10,000 times heavier than the males and can even rip off the infamous Portuguese man o’war’s tentacles and wield them as weapons
Arms spread to reveal the colourful webbing stretched between them, a female blanket octopus treats us to a spectacular threat display, staring us down with one of her two huge eyes. At up to 2m in length, female blanket octopuses are at least ten thousand times heavier than the tiny 2cm-long males, which are little […]
Invasive ferrets removed from an island in a world-first
Rathlin Island off the north of Northern Ireland is now free from feral ferrets that were harming its native seabirds. Conservationists say this is the first time these nonnative animals, which were domesticated from polecats some 2,000 years ago, have been completely eradicated from any island. Ferrets (Mustela furo) were introduced to Rathlin in the […]
“Notoriously cruel methods are involved in training elephants be ridden.” 10 cruellest and most barbaric animal attractions on the planet…
Cruelty to wild animals can take many forms and is often not obvious to the casual viewer. Many of the worst examples – elephant riding, civet coffee tours, for example – are commonly offered to tourists in the countries in which they take place and might appear to be traditional aspects of their cultures. What this list […]
Brazil’s Blue-and-Yellow Macaws Return to Rio After 200 Years: ‘A dream come true’
In Rio de Janeiro’s largest urban park, the tumult of the city can subside to the faintest murmur among the thick Atlantic Forest ecosystem remnant. It’s here that ecologists have reintroduced the blue-and-yellow macaw through a captive breeding program. It’s a delight—a “dream come true” for residents of a city where the colorful macaw is […]
“An entire colony of breeding penguins disappeared.” Bird flu is out of control – now it’s reached the Antarctic
On 23rd October 2023, a short press release from the government of South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands reported that Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza (HPAI) – what we mostly shorten to bird flu – had been detected on the wildlife-rich islands of South Georgia. It was the moment that this deadly form of the virus officially […]