The population of the critically endangered North Atlantic right whale increased by five individuals, bringing the estimated total to 372 in 2023, according to an Oct. 22 report. The North Atlantic right whale (Eubalaena glacialis) population has declined since 2011. However, the slight rise in recent years may signal some stability for these ocean giants, […]
Tag: mongabay
At Mexico’s school for jaguars, big cats learn skills to return to the wild
In the grasslands of Yagul, in the central valleys of southern Mexico’s Oaxaca state, a jaguar makes its way through the bushes. It stops suddenly, lowering its head and sharpening its gaze, stalking. With its eyes on its target, it stealthily pounces on it. Just a short run and a jump before the jaguar’s prey […]
Cambodia’s once-massive national park continues to lose its forest
One of Cambodia’s largest protected areas, Botum Sakor National Park, continues to lose tree cover, recent satellite data show. Officially designated as a national park in 1993, Botum Sakor initially covered more than 182,000 hectares (450,000 acres) of evergreen, semi-evergreen and mangrove forests. Older surveys from the 1990s and 2000s show that the park was […]
Langurs in Bangladesh face extinction as hybridization between species escalates
A recent study revealed a troubling trend among the wild monkey population in Bangladesh’s northeastern forests. The study, conducted by the German Primate Centre, unveiled a concerning tendency of hybridization between Phayre’s langurs (Trachypithecus phayrei) and capped langurs (Trachypithecus pileatus), listed as critically endangered and endangered, respectively, within Bangladesh by IUCN. This hybridization of the […]
Polar bears are suffering paw injuries likely driven by the warming Arctic: Study
At least two populations of polar bears in the high Arctic are developing paw injuries, possibly because of shifting sea ice conditions in a warming environment, according to a new study. Such injuries have not been reported in these areas previously, the study’s authors write. What the study says Between 2012 and 2022, researchers studied […]
NGOs urge banks and China to refuse support for Ugandan oil projects
A group of 28 NGOs have written to 34 banks, insurance companies and the Chinese government, urging them to deny financing and other support for oil and gas projects in Uganda. The letters, written by U.S.-based Climate Rights International (CRI) and 27 Africa-based NGOs, follow a report detailing numerous human rights violations and environmental harms […]
Climate change and agrochemicals pose lethal combo for Amazonian fish
Among the labs of Brazil’s National Institute of Amazonian Research, or INPA, is what’s known as the “room of the future.” Here, an extreme climate change scenario is being simulated according to projections by the United Nations’ Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC). The temperature is around 5° Celsius (9° Fahrenheit) hotter than the average […]
Most countries miss biodiversity pledge deadline to protect 30% of Earth
Twelve of the world’s 17 most biodiverse nations, home to 70% of the planet’s species, are likely to miss the United Nations’ Oct. 20 deadline to submit plans for reversing biodiversity loss by 2030, a joint analysis by The Guardian and Carbon Brief found. At the U.N.’s 2022 conference on the Convention on Biological Diversity, […]