A mysterious disease is wiping out one of the world’s smallest bats, the aptly named “little brown bat,” which has an extensive range across the United States and Canada. But these tiny mammals, which are classified as an endangered species by the IUCN and Canada’s Species at Risk Act, are turning out to be more […]
Tag: Mongabay.com
‘They never intended to conserve it’: Outcry as loggers gut Cambodian reserve
In late February, conservationist Kheng Khou tried to enter Prey Lang Wildlife Sanctuary, which he routinely patrols with other members of the Prey Lang Community Network (PLCN). Instead, he and his colleagues were denied access and threatened with arrest. Local authorities told them they couldn’t enter because they didn’t have permission from the Cambodian Ministry […]
Authorities seize record 26 tons of illegal shark fins in Hong Kong
Customs officials in Hong Kong have seized 26 tons of shark fins from an estimated 38,500 sharks classified as vulnerable and protected species — the biggest shipment ever to be intercepted in the region, according to a press release published May 6. This is more than double the amount of all fins seized in 31 […]
As calls to shutter wildlife markets grow, China struggles with an industry worth billions
Last Thursday, U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo called on China to shut down wet markets where illegal wildlife are sold. Pompeo’s call was echoed by the Australian government, which on the same day urged G20 countries to take action on wildlife markets in order to reduce the risk of new diseases like COVID-19 spilling […]
Iceland won’t be killing any whales this year
Icelandic whaling company IP-Utgerd announced April 24 that it is stopping whaling completely, while the country’s largest whaling firm, Hvalur hf., says it won’t be hunting any whales for the second year in a row. IP-Utgerd, which mainly targeted minke whales (Balaenoptera acutorostrata), cited financial difficulties after no-fishing zones were extended off the Icelandic coast, […]
For world’s rarest great ape, COVID-19 is latest in a litany of threats
JAKARTA — The COVID-19 pandemic has become the latest threat to the Tapanuli orangutan in Indonesia, the rarest great ape species of all and one already under severe pressure from a range of human threats. The critically endangered species, Pongo tapanuliensis, found in a single patch of rainforest in northern Sumatra, shares 97% of its […]
Birds in Amazon forest fragments: New study summarizes 40 years of research
For the past 40 years, researchers have studied Amazonian bird communities in the world’s longest-running experiment on tropical forest fragments. This research, summarized in a newly published paper in The Condor: Ornithological Applications, sheds light on the way Neotropical birds respond to and recover from deforestation in a dynamic tropical landscape. The Biological Dynamics of […]
Palm Oil Deforestation: A Threat to Orangutan Populations, Indigenous People and Biodiversity
The California fires in November 2018 were more severe than ever and yet – the amount of forest that was lost in the combined fires makes up only a fraction of Indonesian forest that is burned every year in slash-and-burn practices to clear palm oil plantations. In 2015 alone,the area of Indonesian forest burned was […]