Australia has one of the highest rates of species extinctions in the world, but it has just announced an initiative to preserve 30% of the country’s land mass by 2030 in order to bring species extinctions down entirely to zero. Australia is home to many unique plants and animals, but increasing extreme weather events, including […]
Tag: invasive species
It’s time cats were recognized as a major environmental issue
The Macquarie Island parakeet was, by all accounts, an elegant parrot endemic to the island off southern Tasmania that shared its name. We will never really know, because the last of its species was seen in the 1880s. The lesser bilby inhabited warmer climes – it was found predominantly in the sandy deserts of central […]
‘You’ve got to remove every rat’: the race to protect Round Island
As the boat weaves between the jagged rocks of the Scilly archipelago off the coast of Cornwall, Round Island, uninhabited but for a lonely Victorian lighthouse, comes into view. Those on board preparing for their visit are not armed with cameras and binoculars but with buckets of toxic cereal bait and rat traps. When signs […]
‘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 […]
Call for hippos to join list of world’s most endangered animals
Hippos could be added to the list of the world’s most endangered animals because of dwindling populations caused by the climate crisis, poaching and the ivory trade. The semi-aquatic mammals are found in lakes and rivers across sub-Saharan Africa, with an estimated population of 115,000-130,000. As well as the trade in ivory – found in […]
Tasmanian landowners are slaughtering 15,000 deer each year and dumping them in pits
In the short grass on a farm in Tasmania’s central midlands, Scott Chorley is squatting. He lets off one shot. It strikes a fallow deer square in the eyes as it resounds over the level grassland. He has over 400 this year and 50 for the evening. Chorley, one of a group of seven professional […]
Is invasive species management doing more harm than good? (commentary)
Where I live in the Rocky Mountains, summer is marked by the arrival of the Rocky mountain iris, a favorite for bumble bees and other pollinators, which also make their debut in the brief summer months here. By keeping the land wild and natural, free from threats, retained by nature, I protect and nurture these […]
UK Research has shown that grey squirrel numbers can be effectively controlled using oral contraceptives
Research has shown that oral contraceptives for squirrels are effective, and the government is hoping to utilize them to control squirrel populations in the UK. Since being brought to the UK from North America in the 1870s, grey squirrels have become an invasive species. They are an issue for animals, notably red squirrels, who are […]