JAKARTA — A new study on certified oil palm plantations and their links to past deforestation has sparked a debate over whether they can be considered sustainable if they’re established on once-forested land. The study, published in the journal Science of the Total Environment, analyzed highly detailed satellite images from 1984, the oldest available, to […]
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A jaguar nicknamed “Short-Tail” the first known to cross between Belize and Guatemala
An adult male jaguar nicknamed “Short-Tail” (due to his partially missing tail) was caught on camera in both Belize and Guatemala, making him the first individual confirmed to cross the international boundary between the two countries. Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS) scientists published their observation in CATnews, the newsletter of the Cat Specialist Group, a component […]
Ornithologists discover more rare hornbills than thought on Philippine island
MANILA — As a rare species of endemic hornbills disappeared from island after island in the Philippines, ornithologists pinned their hopes on Negros: a little-surveyed island in the center of the Philippine archipelago, whose remaining forest areas could potentially hide a population never before seen or recorded by experts. This year, their speculations were confirmed: […]
For tool-wielding chimps of Ebo Forest, logging plan is a ‘death sentence’
Fifteen years ago, Ekwoge Abwe was trekking through Ebo Forest in Cameroon when he heard something cracking in the distance. He scanned the forest, searching for the source of the sound. “One of my local assistants said, ‘Those are chimpanzees cracking nuts,’” Abwe, a biologist, postdoctoral fellow at San Diego Zoo Global and manager of […]
For the Amazon’s rarest short-eared dog, deforestation is a very real threat
It’s a warm May morning in 2015, and beneath a chorus of birds and insects, a small gray-brown dog plops down in front of a camera perched in the Amazon rainforest. Long-bodied and muscular, at first glance the dog looks a bit more like a weasel than your neighborhood golden retriever. But there’s something endearingly […]
Brazilian Amazon drained of millions of wild animals by criminal networks: Report
The Brazilian Amazon is hemorrhaging illegally traded wildlife according to a new report released Monday. Each year, thousands of silver-voiced saffron finches and other songbirds, along with rare macaws and parrots, are captured, trafficked and sold as pets. Some are auctioned as future contestants in songbird contests. Others are exported around the globe. Fish bound […]
Pac-Man: The jaguar hunted for parts in Mexico
Pac-Man walks quickly, wags the tip of his tail, and shows off his fangs while panting. Suddenly he stops and slightly raises his left rear leg. He turns to see Cam walking steadily behind him. The jaguars then appear to lose each other in the Lacandon Jungle. A hidden camera is the only witness to […]
New study quantifies impact of hunting on migratory shorebird populations
Habitat loss and climate change are often blamed for the decreasing numbers of migratory shorebirds in a major flyway in the Asia-Pacific region in recent years. But it might be time to add another likely suspect: hunting. More than 50 million waterbirds from more than 250 different populations use the East Asian-Australasian Flyway (EAAF), a […]