The Bolivian government’s decision to close all national parks in response to the COVID-19 pandemic in mid-March was supposed to stop the spread of the coronavirus. But it’s also had unwanted consequences for the wildlife and for the financial viability of the very parks themselves, not just in Bolivia but across Latin America. Within days […]
Tag: iucn red list
New assessment shows Sri Lanka’s amphibians being pushed to the brink
COLOMBO —Adam’s Peakis Sri Lanka’s fourth-highest mountain and considered a holy site for people of multiple faiths, who flock there in their thousands during the pilgrimage season from December to May each year. The trail to the summit cuts across the biodiversity-rich Peak Wilderness Sanctuary. It was on the edge of this busy trail that […]
‘Fake market’: Red panda study finds no real demand behind rise in poaching
Cases of poaching and illegal trade in the endangered red panda (Ailurus fulgens) are on the rise in Nepal. But with little evidence of a demand for panda pelts and parts, researchers are asking why. Led by researchers from the University of Queensland in Australia, a team of nearly 40 university graduates traveled throughout the […]
Petition: Protect Swedish Lynx From Hunts Starting in March
Although the population of the Eurasian lynx is quite stable right now, they are still on the IUCN red list. They mate during late winter, so late February through March and as protected animals, they should not be disturbed during their mating period. Yet, in Sweden, the government allows licensed hunts of the lynx in […]
Three pangolin species closer to extinction: IUCN
The pangolin’s future looks gloomy, according to the latest update by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN), which assesses the conservation status of species. Of the eight known species of the pangolin, one of the world’s most trafficked mammals, two African species, the while-bellied (Phataginus tricuspis) and the giant ground pangolin (Smutsia gigantea), […]
Global consumer demands fuel the extinction crisis facing the world’s primates
A ceaselessly growing human population and an ever-expanding world economy based on the unsustainable demands of a few over-consuming nations, have already caused habitat degradation, forest fragmentation, and forest loss that are unprecedented in human history. Throughout the tropics, large tracts of forest have been converted to monocultures by industrial agriculture and degraded by the […]
Scientists say endangered whale sharks can live up to 130 years
We know very little about the growth and reproductive biology of whale sharks, the world’s largest fish species. Because they’re listed as Endangered on the IUCN Red List, scientists are looking for ways to fill this gap in our knowledge without overly disturbing or distressing individual whale sharks. Scientists at Nova Southeastern University (NSU) in […]
Sifaka lemurs listed as “critically endangered” amid mysterious die-off
Lemurs in Madagascar have been under pressure from deforestation, poaching, drought and other challenges for years. Now, in the much-visited Berenty Reserve near the island’s southern tip, one species faces a mysterious new threat. In the last month and a half, at least 31 Verreaux’s sifakas (Propithecus verreauxi) have died in the reserve. Most were […]