The Trump administration presented a new plan to roll back regulations in the Endangered Species Act (ESA) on Wednesday, a move experts fear will accelerate the extinction crisis if adopted. The proposed changes would allow the federal government more power to weigh economic impact against habitat designations, remove safeguards against future events – including the […]
Avian Flu Wipes Out Nearly Half of Breeding Elephant Seals at World’s Largest Colony
The beaches of South Georgia, a remote splinter of ice and rock in the South Atlantic, should be a place of deafening, chaotic life. Normally, the shores host the planet’s largest gathering of southern elephant seals, Mirounga leonina. They are the largest seals on Earth, and they come by the tens of thousands to fight, […]
Congo Basin nations roll out community payments for forest care
Congo Basin countries have announced the launch of a payments for environmental services, or PES, initiative at the COP30 climate summit in Belém, Brazil, intended to encourage practices favorable to forest protection and restoration. The financial mechanism, announced Nov. 18 and supported by the Central African Forest Initiative (CAFI), transfers direct payments via a mobile […]
Despite weighing up to 4 tonnes, this mammal can dive to depths of 2000 metres, hold its breath for an incredible two hours and even control its heart rate
The gold medal for deep diving goes to a bull southern elephant seal, recorded at an incredible 2,388m, says Ellen Husain. While this is extreme, the species frequently dives to depths of 400–800m, staying under for 20–30 minutes. Motivated by food, elephant seals plumb the depths for squid and rays, often at nutrient-rich boundary zones […]
Trade in marine fish for aquariums includes threatened species, lacks oversight: Study
The United States is the main market for “ornamental” marine fish, those that end up as pets in aquariums. Now, a new study of U.S.-based online retailers has found that nearly 90% of traded species are sourced exclusively from the wild, including a number of threatened species, and that the trade is poorly tracked. The […]
What’s at risk for Arctic wildlife as Trump expands oil drilling access in the fragile National Petroleum Reserve-Alaska
The largest tract of public land in the United States is a wild expanse of tundra and wetlands stretching across nearly 23 million acres of northern Alaska. It’s called the National Petroleum Reserve in Alaska, but despite its industrial-sounding name, the National Petroleum Reserve-Alaska, or NPR-A, is much more than a fuel depot. Tens of […]
‘They’re a lot like us’: saving the tiny punk monkeys facing extinction
Luis Enrique Centena spent decades silencing the forest. Now, he listens. Making a whistle, the former logger points up to a flash of white and reddish fur in the canopy. Inquisitive eyes peer back – a cotton-top tamarin, one of the world’s rarest primates. “I used to cut trees and never took the titís into […]
It Looks Like Even Your Car Isn’t Safe From Bears – ‘Bear Ripped Off All My Door Handles’
Growing up on the shores of Lake Superior and spending much of my life in the woods, I’ve had countless run-ins with black bears — but one Reddit post made me double-take at a bear’s full-blown car demolition. I’ve heard bears rummage through packs, scale trees, and swim through roaring rapids to get to food, […]