A creature that humans came very close to obliterating now offers hope that we may be able to find ways to tackle one of the most pernicious environmental poisons, say scientists. Their research has revealed that one of the world’s most isolated aquatic mammals, Arctocephalus philippii, can tolerate high levels of cadmium, as well as […]
Tag: poison
Ornithologists Identify Two New Species of Toxic Birds
Most people are familiar with South and Central America’s iconic poison dart frogs, especially the golden poison frog (Phyllobates terribilis), that carry the potent neurotoxic alkaloid batrachotoxin. The discovery of two new poisonous bird species in New Guinea — which carry the same toxin in their skin and feathers — demonstrates that batrachotoxin is more […]
Londoners heartbroken after fox sleeps curled up in the rain after home is ‘destroyed’
Londoners are heartbroken at the sight of a lone fox curled up having had its home ‘destroyed’ by the council. The person posting the picture on Reddit said: “Was sleeping in the rain, they are neighbours of mine. Council cut the bush down probably because people are littering the place.” Some forum users were keen […]
P-22, L.A.’s celebrity mountain lion, captured in the backyard of a Los Feliz home
More than a decade after crossing the 405 and 101 freeways to reach his longtime home in Griffith Park, the celebrity mountain lion P-22 made a far less glamorous journey Monday, carried out of a Los Feliz backyard in a blanket by scientists who had sedated him for medical testing. The aging cougar is in […]
National Park Service Reminds People Not to Lick Toads
The National Park Service provides plenty of reminders: don’t pet bison, keep your space from mama bears and their cubs, maybe avoid walking directly on boiling hot geothermal features at Yellowstone. Their newest recommendation makes you wonder: don’t lick toads. In a recent social media post, the NPS brought attention to the Sonoran desert toad, […]
As poachers poison wildlife, Zimbabwe finds an antidote in tougher laws
Nearly a decade ago, poachers used cyanide to slaughter more than 135 elephants for their ivory in and around Zimbabwe’s Hwange National Park. In the wake of these poisonings, the Southern African country tightened its laws to prevent similar deadly attacks on its wildlife. A new study shows that, even as international demand for ivory […]
High on ‘mad honey’: intoxicated brown bear cub rescued in Turkey
A disoriented brown bear cub, believed to have become intoxicated after eating an excessive amount of “mad honey”, was rescued in northwestern Turkey’s Duzce province on Thursday. Footage showed the female bear wobbling and whining as she sat belly-up in the back of a pick-up truck, after people rescued the visibly-debilitated animal from the forest. […]
Poison used to kill lions and hyenas is indirectly killing Kenya’s vultures and other raptors
Darcy Ogada rarely spots raptors from her home in central Kenya any more. The birds were once a common sight in the industrial town of Thika, 25 miles (40km) north of Nairobi, but the region’s forests are rapidly declining, and the few remaining raptor populations face the added threats of poison and persecution. “It is […]