A Japanese zoo has launched a probe after apparently massacring 31 of its 40 squirrels by mistake with treatments meant to kill parasites, officials said. Keepers at the Inokashira Park Zoo in Tokyo injected the animals with anti-parasitic medicine on December 4 as part of a sanitary precaution, while also spraying insecticide over their nest […]
Tag: flying squirrel
Authorities and Yobin communities clash as deforestation spikes in Indian national park
In the sprawling Himalayas, amidst snow-peaked mountains, is a vast swathe of evergreen forest home to majestic tigers, elusive clouded leopards, charismatic hornbills, mystical giant squirrels, enchanting butterflies and bizarre orchids. Comprising some 1,900 square kilometers (734 square miles) in the state of Arunachal Pradesh in Northeast India, Namdapha National Park is India’s third-largest national […]
Life at 30: the EU project that has saved species from lynx to flying squirrels
“It has been a miracle,” whispers biologist Gabriel Llorens Folgado as he studies a tumble of granite boulders for any signs of movement. The miracle is that Spain’s lynx population has been saved. Today, in the wildflower-coated hills of the Sierra de Andújar in southern Spain, Folgado is looking for Magarza and her four cubs. […]
Underfunded but passionate, Native American conservationists call for more support
In the prairies of the Lower Brulé Indian Reservation, the typically knee-high grass extends to the horizon. But in areas home to burrowing mammals, like prairie dogs (Cynomys ludovicianus), the grass shrinks to an inch in height as the animals feed their vigorous appetite. After sunset one September day, wildlife biologist Shaun Grassel drives through […]
Myanmar’s snowcapped north is a haven for large mammals, new study finds
The Hkakaborazi landscape at the northern tip of Myanmar is dominated by precipitous snowcapped peaks that tower over rainforest-cloaked slopes and valleys below. Rugged and remote, the region is home to Southeast Asia’s highest mountain, Hkakabo Razi, which rises to 5,881 meters (19,295 feet) close to where the borders of Myanmar, India and China meet. […]
Florida Wildlife Authorities Bust Trafficking Ring Smuggling Thousands of Protected Flying Squirrels into South Korea
Seven people have been arrested and charged in a Florida-based flying squirrel trafficking operation after a 19-month investigation that uncovered a global trafficking ring. The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC) found the poachers deployed 10,000 squirrel traps throughout central Florida, capturing as many as 3,600 flying squirrels, a protected species in the state, […]
New species discoveries in the Greater Mekong
A giant flying squirrel, a skydiving gecko, a fish that mates head-to-head, and an eyeless cave-dwelling spider are among the 367 new species revealed by scientists in the Greater Mekong region in 2012-2013, and described in WWF’s new report, Mysterious Mekong. WWF released the report on World Environment Day, highlighting creatures both bizarre and beautiful. […]
Biggest new animal discoveries of 2013 (photos)
Thousands of species were scientifically described for the first time in 2013. Many of these were ‘cryptic species’ that were identified after genetic analysis distinguished them from closely-related species, while others were totally novel. Below are some of the most interesting “new species” discoveries that took place or were formally announced in 2013. The last […]