When Manuel Lopes-Lima set out to survey aquatic biodiversity on the Corubal River in 2022, he’d set his expectations very low. The river that straddles the West African nations of Guinea and Guinea-Bissau was, after all, very remote and grossly understudied. Two expeditions later, the story has turned on its heels. With the help of […]
Tag: Mongabay.com
CITES suspends Bangladesh as illegal wild bird trade continues
Bangladesh, a signatory nation of CITES (the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora), has failed to control illegal bird trade and has recently been suspended from the convention. Data shows that Bangladesh has been importing several species of endangered birds from the international market to sell locally as pets. […]
Nepal’s first community-based red panda conservation area sparks hope
KATHMANDU — A hilly town close to Nepal’s eastern border with India has declared an area under its jurisdiction as the country’s first community-based red panda (Ailurus fulgens) conservation area, fueling hope for the endangered species’ long-term survival. The Puwamajhuwa area, spread over 116.21 hectares (287.16 acres) of lush-green temperate broad-leaved trees, incorporates two community-managed […]
Concern for Mexico’s Vaquita as Totoaba Swim Bladder Trafficking Surges Online
MEXICO CITY — The trafficking of valuable fish bladders found in Mexico appears to be on the rise online and on social media, and it’s having a ripple effect on other endangered species in the region. Dried swim bladders, or “maw,” of totoaba, an endangered fish found in the Gulf of California in northern Mexico, […]
Nepal’s buffalo-kills-tiger story reveals deeper pains in compensation system
KATHMANDU — Yes, you read the headline right: On Aug. 22, in a rare incident, a tethered domestic buffalo (Bubalus bubalis) killed an endangered Bengal tiger (Panthera tigris tigris) on the fringe of Nepal’s Chitwan National Park. The event, which occurred in Pratappur village within the Manahari Rural Municipality, quickly made headlines across Nepal, with […]
Sumatran tiger confirmed killed by snare in Indonesia’s West Sumatra province
PADANG, Indonesia — One of an estimated 400 of the world’s remaining Sumatran tigers was found dead on July 25 after becoming trapped in a wire snare set in Agam district, West Sumatra province. “Based on the results of the postmortem, this female Sumatran tiger died due to a ruptured trachea, fracture of the neck […]
As waterbodies lose oxygen, are we breaching a potential planetary boundary?
The Earth is in crisis — a reality made increasingly clear by intensifying heat, drought and storms, worsening pollution, land stripped of forests, and the ramping up of the sixth great extinction. But some scientists say we’re failing to prioritize a critical Earth change that is accelerating in the modern world and that helped drive […]
In a fight to save a rare bird, Indigenous communities in Guyana are winning
During an expedition to southern Guyana in 2000, researchers from the Smithsonian Institution and the University of Kansas were surprised to see a red siskin flying overhead. A small bird with a bright red chest, the red siskin (Spinus cucullatus) had never been observed outside Venezuela, Colombia and Trinidad and Tobago. And even in those […]