We have all heard or used the expression “Bird-Brain.” Birds have comparatively small brains, and because of that we humans place them at a very low level of intelligence. Yes, we recognize that we can train birds of certain species to react to a limited assortment of commands, but animal science has, until now, been […]
Tag: animals
Adventures of a Nature Photographer: The Ocelot
What is the work of a nature photographer really like? Adventures, beautiful landscapes, expeditions and wild animals? Have you ever wondered how all these breathtaking pictures are made? I, for sure, did. This is why I created “Adventures of a Nature Photographer”. I want to share my experiences with you. Come with me on expedition […]
“Weaners” get a second chance!
The Marine Mammal Center in Sausalito, California plays a critical role in the survival of many marine mammals along the northern and central California coast. Founded in 1975 on a former Nike Missile site in the Marin Headlands, it took in its first seven patients. Much has changed since then and the Center is now […]
New tree shrew discovered in Vietnam forest
Researchers have described a previously unknown species of tree shrew in the forests of Vietnam. The study was published July 2 in the open access journal ZooKeys. The species, named Crocidura sapaensis after Sa Pa District, where it was collected, was discovered after genetic analysis revealed that it was distinct from three closely-related species also […]
Making movies to save Uganda’s great apes
A new series of films aims to protect Uganda’s great ape species (mountain gorillas and chimpanzees) by bringing entertaining and educational movies to a rural audience living on the edges of Kibale National Park and Bwindi Impenetrable National Park. Produced with heavy input from locals, these films are acted with an all-Ugandan task to teach […]
New long-horned beetle discovered in China
Recent expeditions by the Chinese Academy of Science’s Institute of Zoology to the Yunnan Province of China have uncovered the existence of a new species of long-horned beetle. This newly discovered beetle has a beautifully colored blue-green body with short, slender, and distinctively blue legs according to a new article in Zookeys. There are over […]
Beaten and captured orangutan dies in Indonesia’s Aceh Province
An orangutan in Indonesia’s Aceh province died last Thursday after being beaten by residents of a local village attempting to capture the animal. The case casts a tragic spotlight on what is becoming an increasingly serious problem in the region, as habitat decline and weak law enforcement leave wild orangutans at risk of being killed […]
Amazonian students help monitor threatened frog populations
According to the International Union for Conservation of Nature, amphibians are the most threatened group of animals on Earth: currently around 30 percent of the world’s amphibians are listed as threatened with extinction. However this percentage doesn’t include those species about which too little is known to evaluate (26 percent). Amphibians face many threats but […]
Over 700 species added to the threatened categories on the IUCN Red List (photos)
In another sign of the global biodiversity crisis, the IUCN Red List has added 715 species to its threatened categories of Vulnerable, Endangered, and Critically Endangered in this year’s update. Some of these species were evaluated by the IUCN Red List for the first time while others saw their conditions deteriorate, such as the the […]
Saving the Raja of India’s grasslands: new efforts to conserve the Critically Endangered Great Indian Bustard
The Great Indian Bustard, one of India’s iconic birds, once ranged across most of the Indian subcontinent. Due to a variety of factors, however, the Great Indian Bustard is also now India’s rarest bird and faces imminent extinction. The following is an interview with Ramki Sreenivasan, co-founder of Conservation India, a group that recently petitioned […]
