Climate change has an unlikely new ally. In Ethiopia, urban scavengers, such as hyenas and hooded vultures, are preventing over a thousand tonnes of carbon emissions every year, just by eating rotten meat. The findings are reported in Ecological Solutions and Evidence. Scavenging animals are a common feature of large Ethiopian cities, where they live in the […]
Tag: hyenas
These 8 astonishing, brutal hyena photos reveal the raw chaos, power and intelligence of these top predators
While many think of hyenas as scavengers – as they steal most of their food from lions, they are also extremely adept hunters, chasing down prey across the savannah at impressive speeds. Hyenas can work together to bring down surprisingly large animals, such as zebras, buffaloes and giraffes – and have even been known to […]
Head-butting, drowning and dive-bombing – discover 10 most aggressive, badass animals on the planet that aren’t afraid to put up a fight
They say that nice guys finish last, a sentiment with which this motely crew of mammals, reptiles, birds, fish, amphibians and insects would surely agree. As some of the most aggressive species on the planet, they’ve figured out that offence is often the best defence, whether you’re a bull shark headbutting its prey, a honey […]
Why do-gooding animal rights activists are to blame for the bloody slaughter of 600 majestic African elephants
A three-ton bull elephant lies dead on the ground in a remote corner of Africa. His life has been snuffed out by a marksman’s bullet fired into his brain. In a few seconds it was all over. He will have known nothing. Within minutes of his death ten days ago, a wildlife vet was running […]
Is this the world’s most aggressive animal? Just the size of a fox, this badass raids beehives, steals from lions, shrugs off snake venom and never backs down…
Also known as the ratel, the honey badger is famous for its seemingly fearless and aggressive attitude to other animals, even larger predators such as lions and leopards – but does the honey badger live up to this infamy, and if so, just why is it so aggressive? What is a honey badger? The honey […]
Study busts big bad myth that wolves are growing fearless of humans
After years of being hunting to near-extinction, wolves are making a comeback in some of their historical ranges in Europe and North America. With their return comes a growing concern that the predators are moving too close to human settlements, becoming bolder and less fearful of people. Researchers set out to see if that’s true, […]
Mass vulture poisonings expose need for cross-border action in Southern Africa
A cluster of mass vulture poisonings earlier this year has drawn attention to an alarming, ongoing problem in the Greater Limpopo Transfrontier Conservation Area that straddles South Africa, Zimbabwe and Mozambique. According to the African Wildlife Poisoning Database, more than 2,400 vultures have died from poisoning in the GLTFCA, including in South Africa’s famed Kruger […]
Leopards and wild dogs are thriving in Zambia’s Kafue National Park
Camera-trap images from a section of Kafue National Park in Zambia show conservation efforts are paying off: Populations of leopards, wild dogs and lions are all growing, Mongabay contributor Ryan Truscott reported in July. Truscott interviewed Chisomo M’hango, trainee field ecologist at Musekese Conservation (MC), a nonprofit monitoring wildlife in the Musekese-Lumbeya section of the […]