Populations of Amazonian birds have been quietly plummeting for years, even in forests untouched by human activity. According to research highlighted by Tess McClure in The Guardian, scientists working at remote sites in Ecuador, Brazil, and Panama have found that bird numbers are falling generation by generation. These spots, such as the Tiputini Biodiversity Research […]
Tag: Amazon rainforest
In the most untouched, pristine parts of the Amazon, birds are dying. Scientists may finally know why
Something was happening to the birds at Tiputini. The biodiversity research centre, buried deep in the Ecuadorian Amazon, has always been special. It is astonishingly remote: a tiny scattering of research cabins in 1.7m hectares (4.2m acres) of virgin forest. For scientists, it comes about as close as you can to observing rainforest wildlife in […]
Fate of endangered monkey hinges on Brazilian city’s planning policy
The fate of one of the world’s most threatened primates will be on the line in the coming months when Brazilian authorities decide whether to incorporate the pied tamarin into the urban planning policies of Manaus. Conservationists say the inclusion is crucial not just to protect the critically endangered monkey but as an indicator of […]
‘Bear’s-eye camera’ reveals elusive Andean bear cannibalism and treetop mating
In the mountains of Peru, where ancient cloud forests meet the Amazon Rainforest, an Andean bear made scientific history. For four months, a camera collar captured the wild male’s daily life, revealing behaviors never before documented in the Southern Hemisphere’s only bear species, from treetop mating rituals to unexpected acts of cannibalism. The study, published […]
Indigenous guardians embark on a sacred pact to protect the lowland tapir in Colombia
In the forest’s fecund gloom, José Muchavisoy leads the guardians of the territory as they scan the undergrowth for trails left by their target. Strangely splayed paw prints, dung among the leaf litter and mud wallows where the creature cooled off during the hottest hours of the day are hints it was recently here. If […]
‘We Are Reaching Points of No Return’: WWF Report Finds Wildlife Has Declined 73% in Half a Century
According to the Living Planet 2024 report — compiled by WWF and the Zoological Society of London (ZSL) — Earth’s wildlife populations have plummeted by 73 percent on average in half a century. The highest declines — 95 percent — were seen in the Caribbean and Latin America, the report said. A 76 percent decline […]
Report exposes meatpackers’ role in recent chemical deforestation in Brazil
A recent investigation has uncovered new significant links between Brazil‘s top meatpackers — JBS, Marfrig and Minerva — and widespread environmental destruction in the Pantanal wetlands, the Amazon Rainforest, and the Cerrado savanna. The investigation, part of Mighty Earth’s Rapid Response deforestation monitoring program in partnership with Brazilian news outlet Repórter Brasil and sustainability NGO […]
Fraud and corruption drive illegal wildlife trade in the Amazon
In 2017, authorities at the Miami airport inspected a commercial shipment from Europe. Inside a container, they found 21 splash-backed poison frogs (Adelphobates galactonotus), a species known for its vibrant colors and poisonous skin. The species is endemic to the southern tributaries of the Amazon River and highly sought after by private collectors worldwide. When […]