Hutias are a strange group of rodents living on various islands of the Caribbean. Although big, and sometimes looking a little plump, they’re active climbers and spend a considerable amount of their lives in trees. They look almost like a cross between a squirrel and a beaver, but are only distantly related to either. Instead, […]
Tag: Mongabay.com
‘Bear’s-eye camera’ reveals elusive Andean bear cannibalism and treetop mating
In the mountains of Peru, where ancient cloud forests meet the Amazon Rainforest, an Andean bear made scientific history. For four months, a camera collar captured the wild male’s daily life, revealing behaviors never before documented in the Southern Hemisphere’s only bear species, from treetop mating rituals to unexpected acts of cannibalism. The study, published […]
Legal battle against controversial oil pipeline faces another setback
A critical legal case filed by four East African NGOs against a controversial oil pipeline is facing yet another delay, but the NGOs say they remain hopeful. “What we need is for the court to hear the case on its merit, and we believe we have presented good evidence,” Dickens Kamugisha, CEO of the Africa […]
‘Old’ animals offer wisdom and stability, need protection: Study
In many animal societies, elderly individuals are critical contributors to their species’ survival, a new study has found. That’s why wildlife conservation must account for older animals, researchers say. Keller Kopf, lead author and ecologist at Charles Darwin University, Australia, told Mongabay he wanted to counter the idea that “getting old is always a bad […]
Researcher discovers new role played by manatees, ‘the gardeners of the Amazon’
MANAUS, Amazonas, Brazil — Located near the confluence of the Solimões and Japurá rivers, Lake Amanã, which means “the path of the rain,” is known as the home of the Amazonian manatee (Trichechus inunguis). During the dry season, when river levels drop, this mammal finds refuge and food there. It was on the beaches of […]
‘Momentous’ sustainable fishing rules adopted for Atlantic Ocean swordfish
In the late 1990s, swordfish had been so overfished in the North Atlantic Ocean that its population faced the possibility of collapse. The dire situation sparked boycotts and conservation campaigns in honor of the highly migratory species, a predator that can move at nearly the speed of a cheetah and slash at prey with the […]
Vulture poisonings in the Serengeti alarm conservationists
In July this year, conservationists from North Carolina Zoo in the U.S. and the Grumeti Fund in Tanzania went searching for a white-backed vulture in Tanzania’s Serengeti National Park that had been tagged a few weeks earlier. Tracking data suggested the bird had died. The team traveled off-road to the southwestern edge of the park, […]
Indigenous guardians embark on a sacred pact to protect the lowland tapir in Colombia
In the forest’s fecund gloom, José Muchavisoy leads the guardians of the territory as they scan the undergrowth for trails left by their target. Strangely splayed paw prints, dung among the leaf litter and mud wallows where the creature cooled off during the hottest hours of the day are hints it was recently here. If […]