An “exceptionally rare” pink grasshopper has been spotted basking in the sun alongside a river in New Zealand’s South Island. A group of department of conservation researchers were conducting their annual grasshopper survey near Lake Tekapo in the MacKenzie basin when they came across the dark pink female critter. The species – the robust grasshopper […]
Watch hungry gannets performing death-defying, perilous dives at breakneck speeds to catch food – where one small mistake can lead to death
As summer approaches, gannets face a perilous challenge: their primary food source, sardines, migrate far out to sea off the coast of South Africa. When dolphins hunt sardines, their herding drives the fish toward the surface, creating a reachable target for gannets. The birds dive from above, taking advantage of the sardines trapped near the […]
Mystery of the missing bait: clever coastal wolf raids crab traps
It’s the sort of mystery that leaves ecologists hungry for answers: A submerged crab trap inexplicably hauled out of the depths, ripped open and the bait trap emptied – a few teeth marks the only clue that some sort of predator may be to blame. It took almost a year and a set of remote […]
It skims the moors like a ghost, sports a wingspan wider than your outstretched arms and can drop on prey with pinpoint precision
The elegant hen harrier is perhaps the most iconic bird of prey in the uplands of northern England, but it is also one of the most endangered bird of prey in Britain. These large raptors wheel and soar above the moorland and, in late spring, perform a spectacular ‘sky dance’, exchanging tokens of their affection […]
Study finds important Nassau grouper spawning site in Belize near collapse
HOPKINS, Belize — The Nassau grouper is drawn by the winter moon, between December and March, to special places where hundreds of the cryptic fish engage in a reproductive dance that sometimes lasts days. Northeast Point at Glover’s Reef Atoll, off the coast of southern Belize, is one of those places. The Nassau grouper (Epinephelus […]
The Trump Administration Wants To Change The Endangered Species Act – Here’s What To Know
The Trump administration announced earlier this week its proposal to make changes to the Endangered Species Act (ESA), limiting protections given to plants and animals and boosting the influence of economic factors in decision-making. This isn’t the first time alterations have been made to the ESA; the previous Trump administration made changes to the act […]
European wildcats could be seen again in England for first time in 100 years
The prospect of European wildcats prowling in south-west England has taken a leap forward after a two-year study concluded a reintroduction was feasible – and most local people were positive about the idea. Felis silvestris has been absent from mid-Devon for more than a century, but the area has been judged to have the right […]
“Each family display loyalty, courage and generosity” – These wild dogs might be branded villains, but what I found in the savannah completely changed my mind
The gritty 1973 thriller about an assassin plotting to murder the French president has much to answer for. Almost 40 years on, The Day of the Jackal continues to cast a long shadow over the lives of the wonderful animals that gave the film’s villain his codename. The word ‘jackal’ still invokes images of scavengers […]