Animal rights campaigners are gearing up for protests and petitions aimed at persuading the French government to ban the hunting of Alpine marmots. Open season on the rodents, members of the squirrel and groundhog family, begins in September, a few weeks before they go into a long winter hibernation. Although the marmot is not a […]
It’s the size of a pet cat, looks like a bandit and uses its enormous tail to flirt
Like all lemur species, ring-tailed lemurs are endemic to Madagascar, an island off the coast of East Africa. Lemurs are the world’s most endangered group of mammals; they are even the world’s most endangered group of vertebrates. The 2020 IUCN Red List update found that 98% of lemur species are Endangered, and 31% of species are […]
Japan killed 14,000 bears after a rise in deadly attacks on people – but will it work?
Every summer, millions of people escape the heat and humidity of Tokyo by heading to the tranquil resort town of Karuizawa in Japan’s Nagano prefecture – just an hour by bullet train from the capital. Here, at the foot of Mount Asama, visitors stroll bamboo-lined pathways, cycle in verdant highlands, and practise the wellness ritual […]
“Once they’ve caught their prey it may be shaken violently to ‘deglove’ and they then tear the carcass into pieces small enough to swallow”
With a huge reptile-like head, powerful jaws and a sleek, muscular body, the leopard seal is one of Antarctica’s most formidable apex predators. The third-largest seal species ranking behind elephant seals and walruses, these solitary hunters are capable of tackling penguins and even other seals and can swim at speeds of up to 25mph. What do leopard […]
Trump rollback of US forest protections could accelerate extinction of 400 endangered species
More than 400 endangered animal and plant species could face accelerated extinction after the Donald Trump administration’s decision to rescind a rule that has protected old-growth forests for more than two decades. According to a new report from the Center for Biological Diversity, the rollback of the Bill Clinton-era “roadless rule” could put 7.4m acres (3m hectares) of endangered-species habitat and nearly […]
“The Mass Mortality Event was devastating. In a few short weeks, something strange wiped out more than 60% of the species’ global population”
In May 2015, more than 200,000 seemingly healthy saiga antelopes in the central steppes of Kazakhstan suddenly dropped dead. For the animals, and those charged with their conservation, the Mass Mortality Event was devastating. In the space of a few short weeks, something wiped out more than 60 per cent of the species’ global population, and more than 80 per cent of […]
First Nations in Canada call for emergency order to protect southern mountain caribou
“Under our Syilx Okanagan law, everything is sacred to us. We believe that Mother Earth is alive, all of kʷuləncutn, the creator’s creation, that it’s all alive,” Chief Dan Wilson of the Okanagan Indian Band, a Syilx Okanagan Nation, told Mongabay in a phone call. “That’s why the caribou are so important to us … […]
“It can fit in the palm of your hand, could kill you in minutes with a venom a thousand times stronger than cyanide – and there’s no antidote”
These cute cephalopods that fit in the palm of your hand could kill you in minutes with a venom a thousand times stronger than cyanide, says Melissa Hobson. What are blue-ringed octopuses? Blue-ringed octopus are a genus of octopus known for their iridescent blue markings. These iconic patterns only reveal themselves when the little octopus – which are smaller than a […]