Earlier this week, the Brazilian government announced the declaration of a new federal reserve deep in the Amazon rainforest. The protections conferred by the move will ban deforestation, reduce carbon emissions, and help safeguard the area’s renowned wildlife. Named Alto Maues, the new reserve encompasses 668,000 hectares of mostly pristine forest void of human presence, […]
Tag: endangered
Bahian Mouse-Colored Tapaculo: New Bird Species Discovered in Brazil
An international team of ornithologists led by Dr Marcos Bornschein of the Mater Natura-Instituto de Estudos Ambientais in Curitiba has described an endangered new species of bird from the montane Atlantic Forest of southern Bahia, Brazil. The new species belongs to Scytalopus, a genus of small passerine birds in the family Rhinocryptidae. Its isolated populations […]
POLL: Should the Faroe Islands’ whale slaughter be allowed to continue?
The recent arrest of 14 volunteers working to stop whaling in the North Atlantic Ocean’s Faroe Islands has focused a spotlight once again on a local tradition stretching back over a thousand years. Six of the protesters were found guilty this week of interfering with the grindadráp, or grind, as these drive hunts are called, […]
‘Shocking’ scale of pangolin smuggling revealed
The globally threatened animals are sought for their scales which are used in traditional Chinese medicine. Annual seizures have been estimated at roughly 10,000 animals but experts warn the illegal trade is far greater. Chinese enforcement officials worked with researchers from the UK to assess the extent of the problem. Zhao-Min Zhou, from the Public […]
European bat population rises after years of decline, study finds
European bat numbers are recovering after years of decline, according to a wide-ranging study published yesterday. Scientists surveyed 16 European bat species in nine countries, including Britain, and found that the total number increased by more than 40% between 1993 and 2011. Conservation measures including legislation and managing habitats have helped to reverse the decline, […]
Storm-petrel breeding in the Atacama desert
Seabirds, especially pelagic species, are more threatened than most other bird groups with similar numbers of species. Among them,Storm-petrels (family Hydrobatidae) are diverse and widespread in the Pacific Ocean.Markham’s Storm-Petrel (Oceanodroma markhami) is common in the Humboldt Current, including pelagic and coastal waters of Ecuador, Peru, and Chile between 18°N and 30°S. Only a couple […]
Slaughterhouse Said to Process “Horrifying” Number of Whale Sharks Annually
Whale sharks are being slaughtered: That’s the shocking news from a report issued by WildLifeRisk, a nongovernmental organization. A three-year investigation provides evidence that a factory in southeastern China is cutting up about 600 of the 21-ton (19-tonne) fish a year. It’s illegal—whale sharks are a protected species under Chinese and international law. But it’s […]
Kenyan rhinos cannot survive in the wild, says charity
After roaming free for millions of years, rhinos may be able to survive in Kenya only if they are protected behind fences in sanctuaries, a leading conservation charity has said. Kenya has about 850 black and white rhinos out of approximately 25,000 in Africa, but more than 50 were killed for their horns in 2013, […]