Were we to play the game ‘Word Association’, most of you would surely follow ‘sun’ with ‘moon’ and ‘cat’ with ‘dog’. If ‘Komodo’ was the first word chosen, it’s highly likely most of you would say ‘dragon’. This enormous reptile, which takes its name from the island that Westerners first documented it to be on, […]
Bull bison tosses Yellowstone tourist 8ft in air, with run-in caught on video
An enraged, 2,000lb (900kg) bull bison hooked a tourist and tossed him 8ft into the air at a campsite in Wyoming’s Yellowstone national park on Friday – an encounter captured by a professional photographer who said the animal was “agitated, pissed off and charging anything and everything”. The tourist was reported to be seriously injured by […]
These tree-climbing ninjas are leaving their Scottish stronghold and spreading into England and Wales
Pine martens are among the most elusive of all our woodland wildlife by virtue of being largely nocturnal, super-stealthy, tree-climbing ninjas. And yet sightings of these handsome mammals are on the up – and in quite a big way. Partly, this is down to the popularity of putting out food to attract martens to gardens and […]
Bangladesh gets ready for its first release of tiger rescued from poachers’ trap
In a first, Bangladesh is preparing to release a tiger back into the wild after it was rescued from a poacher’s trap and provided with medical treatment. On Jan. 4 this year, the Forest Department rescued the female tiger (Panthera tigris), estimated to be around 10 years old, from the Chandpai and Sarankhola forest range […]
It looks like a dog, growls like a dog and acts like a dog – but is it actually a dog? It depends on who you ask…
It’s Australia’s largest land carnivorous mammal, yet it’s viewed very differently depending on who you ask. Revered by some as an important native predator and condemned by others as a destructive pest, few animals spark as much debate. It may look familiar at first glance, but there’s far more to this iconic Australian species than […]
Nepal’s Rhino translocation success in numbers masks habitat struggles
While Nepal’s efforts to revive its rhinoceros population is hailed as a conservation success, habitat degradation is forcing translocated rhinos to wander far beyond their designated release zones, according to a new study, reports contributor Bibek Bhandari for Mongabay. The population of the vulnerable greater one-horned rhinoceros (Rhinoceros unicornis) in Nepal grew by 16.6% between 2015 and 2021, reaching […]
What’s the world’s smallest cat? Meet the tiny felines barely larger than a ruler
Vying for first place in the smallest cat in the world category are the rusty-spotted cat (Prionailurus rubiginosus) and black-footed cat (Felis nigripes), which are very close in size, measuring 35-48cm and 35-52cm in length respectively. The smallest cats in the world Each cat is the smallest species on its continent – the rusty-spotted cat […]