The komodo dragon, the world’s largest lizard, is threatened with extinction as rising water levels driven by the climate crisis shrink its habitat, according to the latest “red list” update. Endemic to a handful of Indonesian islands, the komodo dragon lives on the edge of forest or in open savannah, rarely venturing higher than 700 […]
Tag: bats
LED streetlights decimating moth numbers in England
“Eco-friendly” LED streetlights produce even worse light pollution for insects than the traditional sodium bulbs they are replacing, a study has found. The abundance of moth caterpillars in hedgerows by rural roads in England was 52% lower under LED lights and 41% lower under sodium lights when compared with nearby unlit areas. In grass margins, […]
Should experimental coronavirus vaccine be tested on zoo animals?
According to the New York Times, in early July an experimental coronavirus vaccine for animals began making its rounds at the Oakland Zoo in California. During the course of the summer, about 100 zoo animals are going to receive the vaccine, including mountain lions, ferrets, bears, and tigers. The veterinary pharmaceutical company Zoetis is donating […]
As wild areas become farmland, species that carry zoonotic diseases flourish
As the COVID-19 pandemic continues to wreak havoc across the world, much of the blame for the human and economic devastation caused by the virus has been directed toward China. In particular, the country’s “wet markets” have come under fire for endangering public health, despite the fact that few offer the species of wildlife hypothesized […]
Endangered bats are evolving to fight off an exotic fungal disease
A mysterious disease is wiping out one of the world’s smallest bats, the aptly named “little brown bat,” which has an extensive range across the United States and Canada. But these tiny mammals, which are classified as an endangered species by the IUCN and Canada’s Species at Risk Act, are turning out to be more […]
Petition: China Celebrates “Victory” Over Coronavirus with Markets Selling Bats and Wild Animals Again
According to a Daily Mail correspondent, markets in China have continued selling bats and wild animals, even after the government reports those markets were the center of the corona virus outbreak. According to the Daily Mail, cats, dogs, scorpions and bats are available to purchase at an indoor market in southwest China, in Guilin. China […]
Hundreds of flying foxes die in searing Australian heat
A colony of flying foxes has been nearly wiped out by extreme heat in Campbelltown in south-west Sydney, according to environmentalists. The Help Save the Wildlife and Bushlands in Campbelltown campaign posted a series of images to Facebook showing the corpses of the animals lying in the ground, apparently after they had died from dehydration […]
