Unique island species including lemurs and the Galapagos giant tortoise could be at high risk of extinction if the planet warms by more than 3C above pre-industrial levels, new research warns. Analysis of 270 biodiversity hotspots suggests almost half of endemic marine species and 84% of endemic mountain species will face extinction if the planet […]
Tag: climate change
Africa’s forest elephant has been largely overlooked. Now we need to fight for it
Science and conservation politics have finally agreed that Africa is home to two elephant species: the savanna and forest elephant. The debate lasted about two decades, with the politics of elephant conservation and the ivory trade delaying the decision, but the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) has finally concluded its evaluation. Africa’s most […]
Push for Ban on Advertising Unethical Elephant Tourism in the UK Gains Momentum
UK-based campaign group Save the Asian Elephants (STAE) is pushing for a ban on advertising in the country of unethical elephant tourism venues. Its campaigning hit a milestone in early 2020, with a petition on the issue surpassing a million signatures. STAE’s founder Duncan McNair says it is “the largest petition in history for the […]
Conservation actions see Iberian lynx claw back from brink of extinction
It’s midday in summer, the mercury climbing above 40° Celsius (104° Fahrenheit), and nature guide Nuno Roxo is leading us on a hike in Guadiana Valley National Park in Portugal. The high grass and herbs, battered by the strong sun, have not seen any rain for several months. We continue down a narrow trail, used […]
‘Minke whales for dinner’: Norway’s controversial whale hunt is still on
Norway plans to kill up to 1,278 minke whales this year, according to a recent announcement made by the country’s fisheries ministry. This is the same quota as the previous two years, although whalers only killed 503 common minke whales (Balaenoptera acutorostrata) in 2020, and 429 in 2019. “Norwegian whaling is about the right to […]
Biologists Find Evidence of Migration Gene in Birds
Millions of migratory birds occupy seasonally favorable breeding grounds in the Arctic, but scientists know little about the formation, maintenance and future of the migration routes of Arctic birds and the genetic determinants of migratory distance. In new research, a multinational team of researchers established a continental-scale migration system that used satellite tracking to follow […]
Organizations aim to block funds for East African oil pipeline
National and international NGOs from around the world have asked more than two dozen banks not to finance a 1,445-kilometer (898-mile) pipeline to shuttle oil from fields in Uganda to a port on Tanzania’s coast. The groups contend that the project is already impinging on communities and exacerbating poverty in the region. Their representatives also […]
A dedicated team of Malaysian rangers and veterinarians is part of global movement to rescue and preserve rainforest species
As Malaysians were in total lockdown from the COVID-19 pandemic, a sweet-natured baby elephant named Sahabat was found wandering near an oil palm plantation. Nearly blind from severe eye infections, he had become separated from his herd. In Malaysia’s Sabah state, the Wildlife Rescue Unit (WRU) swooped to the rescue. Thousands anxiously followed Sahabat’s story […]