With the world experiencing more extreme weather due to climate change, landscapes are being altered and ecosystems are having to respond quickly. So which species are going to struggle and which are going to fare relatively well as extended droughts, heavy rains and floods reshape the world’s terrain? In a new study, biologists Christie Le […]
Tag: extinction
‘Generally ignored’ species face twice the extinction threat, warns study
Plants and animals that do not have enough data to be properly assessed appear to be at twice the risk of extinction as those that have been evaluated, meaning more species may face being wiped off the planet than previously thought, a study has warned. Researchers looked at the extinction risk of species assessed on […]
Earth: Muted review – bees go missing in China despatch from the eco-apocalypse file
This Swedish-produced documentary about China’s Hanyuan valley is nominally another dispatch from the eco-apocalypse file, so the final harmonious impression it leaves behind suggests it hasn’t done its job properly. Located in Sichuan province, the valley is a place where bees are on the verge of extinction, the consequences of which we see in the […]
There are estimated to be almost 6,000 tigers in the wild, an increase of 40% over 2015
According to a prominent environmentalist organization, there may be 5,578 tigers in the wild, which is 40% more than was previously believed. Despite this, tigers are still an endangered species. According to the International Union for Conservation of Nature, the increase in numbers was caused by better monitoring, and the population is believed to be […]
Forty years ago, the world did something amazing for whales
This week marks the 40th anniversary of the global moratorium on commercial whaling, a momentous achievement that turned the course for long persecuted cetacean species. Slow to reproduce, whales were nearly wiped out altogether in the 20th century, with an estimated three million killed for profit. I gave my heart to the campaign for whales […]
Swallowtail butterfly in danger of extinction due to fungal die-back of milk parsley
The uncommon plant that its caterpillars depend on has suffered a catastrophic die-back due to fungus diseases, putting Britain’s largest butterfly in danger. Only 16 locations in Britain, all on the Norfolk Broads, where milk parsley grows, are known to have swallowtail breeding activity. But at one of its breeding sites last summer, more than […]
The World’s Appetite for Frogs is Driving These Amphibians to Extinction
Europe’s appetite for frog legs has led to an extinction domino effect on wild populations of amphibians in parts of Asia and Eastern Europe, according to wildlife campaigners. France is well known for its “cuisses de grenouilles”, or frog legs. In a new report by German non-profit Pro Wildlife and French non-profit Robin des Bois, […]
Purple-crowned fairy wrens may be at even greater risk as a result of global warming
Purple-crowned fairy wrens, a small but attractive Australian songbird, may be at even greater risk as a result of global warming, according to a study that discovered that exposure to hot and dry circumstances affects the DNA of nestlings. Unlike the more visible effects of global warming on animals, such as increased bushfire danger, habitat […]