Tropical mammals are living in an ever-changing chemical landscape warns a recent study, with wildlife increasingly exposed to an array of plastics, pharmaceuticals, pesticides and nanoparticles. The recent study, published in the journal Biological Conservation, warns that this underrecognized threat requires urgent action. Colin Chapman, a biologist and professor at George Washington University, and his […]
Tag: rainforest
This narrow corridor of land could mean life or death for jaguars in Belize
Jaguar spots are etched in black ink on Reynold Cal’s lower arms. Tattooed on the left is the rose-shaped pattern found on Romeo, and on the right is that of Superman, names Cal gave to two of the big cats after watching them over the years on camera trap footage. “Every jaguar has spots, but […]
World heading towards a devastating insect apocalypse according to new study
Land overuse, resource depletion, and global warming have all had disastrous implications for the world. According to a new study, portions of the planet are now on the verge of an insect apocalypse. The study, which was published in the journal Nature, discovered a link between high-intensity agriculture and the ever-present climate emergency. They discovered […]
Could jaguars move farther northward and repopulate the Southwestern U.S.?
The powerful and elegant jaguar is the only big cat in the Americas and the third largest in the world after lions and tigers. It was once found all the way from central Argentina to the Southwestern United States. The biggest difference between jaguars and leopards, which live in Asia and Africa, is their size […]
Airborne DNA can now be used to detect rare and endangered species
The discovery of environmental DNA has altered the way environmentalists monitor biodiversity. Scientists can examine entire ecosystems or find unusual animals that are too elusive to trace using traditional methods by sequencing the genetic material contained in water and soil samples. Environmental DNA, or eDNA, has been utilized by teams to catalog everything from viruses […]
Truffle-eating marsupial on ‘brink of extinction’
One of only two remaining populations of an “ecosystem engineer” truffle-eating marsupial found in Queensland is much smaller than originally thought and could be declining further, according to new research. Scientists studying northern bettongs on the Mount Carbine Tableland in north-eastern Queensland have estimated the number of animals in that location is fewer than 50, […]
In Sumatra, a snare trap costs a baby elephant her trunk, then her life
ACEH BESAR, Indonesia — A Sumatran elephant calf has died days after conservation officials in Indonesia amputated half of her trunk due to severe injuries from a suspected snare trap. The female calf had been found alone and severely wounded by locals in Aceh Jaya district, in northern Sumatra, and handed over to the provincial […]
Police bust 2 men selling hornbills on Indonesian Facebook
Police in Indonesia’s Banten province arrested two men who were using social media to sell dozens of hornbills, an iconic bird under threat from habitat loss and poaching. Didin Hendriana, 35, procured the birds, buying them from people living near Ujung Kulon National Park on the western tip of Java, and Luki Hamjah, 20, was […]