Camera traps bring you closer to the secretive natural world and are an important conservation tool to study wildlife. This week we’re meeting the largest carnivorous marsupial in the world: the Tasmanian devil. Tasmanian devils (Sarcophilus harrisii) used to live in Australia but now they can only be found in the island state of Tasmania, […]
Tag: Mongabay.com
Did China really ban the pangolin trade? Not quite, investigators say
In early June, it was widely reported that the Chinese government had banned pangolin scales in traditional Chinese medicine (TCM), and that all pangolin species now had the highest level of protection within China. This news grabbed headlines around the world, and conservationists hailed the move as a positive step toward halting the illegal trade […]
‘It’s a success’: Pangolins return to a region where they were once extinct
Pangolins have been locally extinct in South Africa’s KwaZulu-Natal province for the last 30 or 40 years, experts say. But now, local conservationists are working to slowly reintroduce these shy, sensitive animals in a world-first effort to reinstate wild populations. The eight species of pangolins together are considered to be one of the most widely […]
Amazon river dolphin risks extinction if Brazil moratorium not renewed
TEFÉ, Amazonas state, Brazil — A pair of pink Amazon river dolphins emerges for just a moment, arcing above the chocolate brown waters inside the Mamirauá Institute for Sustainable Development, a research facility at the tropical heart of the Brazilian Amazon. Powerful jets of water spray out of their blowholes as these freshwater mammals take […]
Māori push for pandemic stimulus spend to save Raukūmara Forest
Two Māoriiwi, or tribal groups, are campaigning for a portion of the New Zealand government’s new COVID-19 economic stimulus package to help save their treasured, ancestral Raukūmara Forest from being overrun by introduced pests. The Raukūmaras stretch across around 200,000 hectares (494,000 acres) of national park and private land along the North Island’s East Cape. […]
Less than a thousand remain: New list of animals on the brink of extinction
The giant panda, tiny tamaraw buffalo, riverine rabbit and Iberian lynx all have something in common: they join a growing list of animals on the brink of extinction. A newly published studyin the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences lists 515 animal species with fewer than a thousand individuals remaining. Overall, the report is […]
Caught on camera: Rare finless porpoises sighted in Hong Kong waters
Two silvery-white porpoises glide through the ocean, captured in the lens of a drone camera. The pair swim side by side, occasionally surfacing for a quick breath of air. After a few minutes, they’re joined by several other porpoises, and the group travels together before disappearing into deeper waters. This is the first drone video […]
Banned: No more pangolin scales in traditional Chinese medicine
The Chinese government has officially removed pangolin scales from a list of approved ingredients in traditional Chinese medicine, a momentous move that could bring an end to the large-scale illegal trade in the scaly anteaters, conservationists say. The eight species of pangolins are together one of the most widely trafficked animals in the world, with […]
