At one end of the country, conservation groups are doing all they can to stop the burning of moors. Challenging the grouse shooting estates, for example, the RSPB argues that “there is an urgent need to restore these landscapes by bringing an end to burning.” At the other end of the country, conservation groups are […]
Tag: deforestation
POLL: Can ‘Bear-moving’ be a better way to reduce conflict in the Himalayas?
In the Indian Himalayas, threatened Asiatic black bears (Ursus thibetanus) are frequently drawn to energy-rich human food sources such as apple orchards and other crops. This resource-driven movement frequently brings bears and humans into close contact, increasing potential risks for either side that can end in retaliatory killings of bears by local people. Because of […]
‘No wilder place on Earth’: explorers tackle the full Okavango Delta
Recently, wildlife news from Africa has been almost universally bleak and frustrating to the point of despair: rhinos with their faces cut off, elephants slaughtered en masse via helicopter, and chimps and gorillas gunned down or snared for bushmeat. A massive onslaught of people, poaching and habitat destruction has led to declines in everything from […]
Tiny Brazilian opossum could be farmers’ friend
André Mendonça pops open the spring-loaded door on the shoebox-sized trap and peeks inside. Two bulging, black eyes glare back at him. He pulls the trap off the tree limb and shakes the stunned, sopping wet creature into a clear plastic bag. “One more!” he says excitedly. The animal, a gracile mouse opossum (Gracilinanus agilis), […]
New monkey species discovered in the Amazon Rainforest
Flaming orange tail and ochre sideburns set new Brazilian monkey apart from its closest relatives. Scientists have discovered a new species of titi monkey in Brazil, according to a recent paper published in scientific journal Papéis Avulsos de Zoologia. Titis (genus: Callicebus) are new world monkeys found across South America. These tree-dwelling primates have long, […]
Helping orangutans survive: new project aims to connect habitat fragments in Kalimantan (Part II)
Two decades ago, a project to convert one million hectares of forest to rice paddies was undertaken by the Indonesian government in southern Kalimantan. As predicted by experts, this Mega Rice Project (MRP) was a massive failure and was eventually abandoned, but not before it destroyed critical orangutan habitat. Now a new project is trying […]
World’s last wild Siberian tigers threatened by illegal logging, global warming, disease (Part II)
This is the second part of series examining the impact of forest loss on Siberian tigers. Part I discussed overall forest loss in the region and its major drivers. The very fact that there are Siberian tigers in the world today is something of a miracle. In the 1940s, just 20 animals remained in the […]
When forests aren’t really forests: the high cost of Chile’s tree plantations
At first glance, the statistics tell a hopeful story: Chile’s forests are expanding. According to Global Forest Watch, overall forest cover changes show approximately 300,000 hectares were gained between 2000 and 2013 in Chile’s central and southern regions. Specifically, 1.4 million hectares of forest cover were gained, while about 1.1 million hectares were lost. On […]