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 […]
Americas flyways atlas maps the routes of 89 at-risk migratory bird species
Announced at the end of March, the “Atlas for the Americas Flyways” website tracks high concentrations of migratory bird species at risk of major population declines along their routes throughout the Americas. This new United Nations-backed tool identifies heavily trafficked breeding grounds, migratory stopover locations and wintering areas, with the aim of providing policymakers and […]
“More than 60% of females gave birth on the same night.” Why do some animals give birth en masse?
In some species, offspring are born (or hatch) at roughly the same time. This is called synchronous reproduction: an evolutionary strategy to give offspring the best possible chance of survival. One of the main drivers of synchronised reproduction is predator satiation. Predators tend to target young animals because they are easy prey. If young are […]