In the dry regions of East Africa lives a group of animals unlike any others. Known as the Samburu Special Five to safari operators in Kenya, they are the dry-adapted reticulated giraffe (Giraffa reticulata), Grévy’s zebra (Equus grevyi), beisa oryx (Oryx beisa), gerenuk (Litocranius walleri) and Somali ostrich (Struthio molybdophanes). But they are increasingly imperiled […]
Cannabis growing has become big business across North America. The industry now uses more energy per square foot than most traditional farms. Legal operations consume enough power each year to light up hundreds of thousands of homes. This creates real problems for wildlife and natural areas. Water gets pulled from streams where fish need to […]
A heartbreaking decision by the Kamo Wildlife Sanctuary in New Zealand has reignited global debate over the ethics of keeping animals in captivity. According to CBS News, the sanctuary announced it would euthanize seven elderly lions after running into financial trouble and failing to find alternative homes for them. The big cats, aged between 18 […]
By Dr. Sarah Yosry, wildlife veterinarian and conservation consultant A herd of gazelles freezes as thunder rolls across the desert. A barn owl blinks beneath the steady hum of a highway. From the Arctic tundra to the urban outskirts, wild animals are adapting — or struggling to adapt — to the noise, heat, and pressure […]
The red-nosed cuxiu (Chiropotes albinasus) is a terrier-sized monkey whose diet is dominated by the unripe seeds of super-hard fruits. While you or I would need a hammer to access them, the cuxiu brings its own toolkit; enormous dagger-like canines, mounted on robust jaws and powered by massive jaw muscles. Combined, these give the glossy-black […]
Scientists studying the North Atlantic right whale have celebrated a year without mortalities in which four new whale mothers entered the breeding population. 11 calves were born this year, the North Atlantic Right Whale Consortium reported in a document released Tuesday. Covered by AP, the animals have now increased to 384 individuals thanks to increased […]
Starting January 1, California hunters will be allowed to kill mute swans year-round — and the move has sparked a heated debate among wildlife lovers and conservationists. The California Department of Fish and Wildlife says the decision is part of an effort to manage the “destructive, non-native” birds, whose growing population is crowding out native […]
A vampire bat’s habit of regurgitating some of its bloody stomach contents to hungry roost-mates is a textbook example of reciprocal altruism – “I’ll scratch your back if you scratch mine.” But it now seems that this sort of co-operation is more subtle than simple tit-for-tat. Vampire bats are most likely to share their blood […]