Anthropologist Maud Mouginot recalls an encounter with bonobos early one morning in 2019 deep in the forests of the Democratic Republic of Congo that helped revise her impression of them as the peace-loving “hippy apes.” It was still pitch dark in Kokolopori Bonobo Reserve, in the center of the country, and she and colleagues were […]
Tag: mongabay
A tiger cat gains new species designation, but conservation challenges remain
Many of the world’s small wildcats are enigmatic, elusive and roam beyond the media spotlight enjoyed by their big cat cousins. But you could be forgiven for never having heard of Latin America’s cloud forest-dwelling small cat Leopardus pardinoides, as researchers only recently described it as a new species. A team comprised of dozens of […]
Jaguar release offers a lifeline to Gran Chaco’s lonely big cats
The lowland forest of El Impenetrable National Park in northern Argentina sprawls across the hot, swampy green of the Gran Chaco biome, home to South America’s largest mammals and thousands of plant species. It’s a critical conservation unit for the protection of one of the planet’s most deforested ecosystems, yet it’s missing an important resident: […]
Study identifies species with a long history but short future amid threats
Over the past 4 billion years, lifeforms have evolved into the spectacular array of species that now inhabit the planet. While many species radiated into extensive families of closely related species, others are so unique that they alone embody millions of years of evolutionary history — sole representatives of entire lineages of the tree of […]
Nepali experts question rhino relocation within park for population balance
KATHMANDU — On March 21, Nepal’s Department of National Parks and Wildlife Conservation completed the relocation of six vulnerable one-horned rhinos (Rhinoceros unicornis) from the western part of Chitwan National Park to the eastern side. Department officials initiated the move to rectify the skewed distribution of the animal’s population, which was dominant in and around […]
Cable car proposal is Nepal’s latest plan to commercialize national parks
KATHMANDU — Nepal’s Ministry of Forest and Environment is preparing to allow the construction of ropeways inside protected areas of the country, a draft of a proposed regulation seen by Mongabay suggests. Ropeways, which carry cable cars, are not permitted in protected areas such as national parks under current laws. But the proposed National Parks […]
Adventure tours with tigers? Nepal’s proposed policy changes raise alarm
KATHMANDU — Nepal’s government has proposed zoning of protected areas, where human activities have long been highly restricted, to accommodate “adventure tourism” activities such as canyoning, mountain biking and motorboating. The sweeping changes have been proposed under the new draft National Parks and Wildlife Conservation Regulations, which have been in the works for a few […]
Nepal mulls policy shift to allow hotels back into tiger strongholds
KATHMANDU — Nepal’s Ministry of Forest and Environment is preparing fresh regulations to allow hotels to return to national parks such as Chitwan, a decade after they were shut down based on environmental concerns. Although rumors were doing the rounds in the corridors of the ministry and the Department of National Parks and Wildlife Conservation […]