In recent decades, plastic pollution has become a key environmental issue. An estimated 8 million metric tons of plastic waste enter the ocean each year, equivalent to a truckload of garbage dumped into the sea every minute — and it’s only projected to get worse. Scientists have reported that numerous marine species mistake plastic for […]
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Lucky No. 13? Latest images could add to Nepal’s 12 wildcat species
KATHMANDU — In early February 2022, a team of tiger researchers started downloading images from camera traps as part of a population census for the big cat in Nepal. They had to analyze 40,111 images taken by camera traps in the Chitwan-Parsa Complex, a key tiger habitat, from Dec. 5, 2021, to Feb. 7, 2022. […]
Dam-building spree pushes Amazon Basin’s aquatic life closer to extinction
“People need to think about river basins or freshwater systems like a heart, a living system,” says Bernardo Caldas, from WWF-Brasil. Caldas is the co-lead author of a new study investigating how freshwater systems in the Amazon Basin are interconnected. It’s the first study of its kind to combine two layers of analysis of 6,000 […]
In Chile, a wildlife rehab center deals with the aftermath of worsening fires
The pungent smell of manure as cows and sheep graze on the green pastures makes the campus of the University of Concepción in the Chilean city of Chillán look like a farm. In the nearby veterinary clinic, barking echoes through the hallway. Three meadows over lies the wildlife rehabilitation center, an inconspicuous building where caretakers […]
Wild pigs threaten biodiversity hotspots across South America, study shows
Wild pigs are recognized worldwide as a nuisance to the environment. The IUCN lists them as one of the worst invasive species due to their potential to damage crops, harbor diseases and disrupt ecological processes. Now, research published in the Journal for Nature Conservation reveals that the expanding presence of wild pigs (Sus scrofa) across […]
‘Shocking’ levels of pangolin deaths from electric fences (commentary)
“South Africa loses between 1,000 and 2,000 pangolins each year to fence electrocutions. This far overshadows the number of individuals that are illegally poached and trafficked,” says Dr Darren Pietersen, one of South Africa’s leading pangolin researchers. There are eight pangolin species worldwide, with four occurring in Asia and four in Africa. Of the four […]
Global study of 71,000 animal species finds 48% are declining
Two centuries ago, extinctions were rare. Islands were hotspots, losing flightless bird species like the dodo and other animals that were hunted out of existence by European traders and colonists or killed off by introduced rats and cats. The Industrial Revolution changed that: Extinction rates soared across continents, roughly paralleling the exponential growth in human […]
A Southeast Asian marine biodiversity hotspot is also a wildlife trafficking hotbed
A new report has highlighted the maritime border zone between Indonesia, Malaysia and the Philippines as a hotbed for the illegal wildlife trade, and called for urgent intergovernmental action to protect this biodiversity hotspot at the apex of the Coral Triangle. Wildlife trade monitoring nonprofit TRAFFIC documented and analyzed the seizure of more than 25,000 […]