The mighty lion, reclusive cave crabs and the world’s rarest sea lion are among nearly 23,000 species at risk of dying out, a top conservation body warned on Tuesday. In an update to its “Red List” of threatened species, the International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN) hailed some clear advances in saving endangered […]
Tag: threatened species
Five dead Tasmanian devils may have been poisoned, says ranger
Investigations are under way into the discovery of five dead Tasmanian devils south of Hobart as new research shows a decline in population of the threatened species is affecting the island state’s ecosystem. The carcasses of five of the carnivorous marsupials, including a mother with two babies in her pouch, were found near the township […]
Chimpanzees Deemed Endangered by U.S. – What’s It Mean?
All chimpanzees are now listed as endangered by the United States, a ruling meant to better protect those apes in captivity, the government announced Friday. The decision, which goes into effect September 14, follows a 2013 proposal by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to toss out the legal distinction between wild and captive chimpanzees. […]
Eastern Cougar extinct, no longer needs protection, says US conservation agency
Eastern cougars that once roamed North America from Canada to South Carolina are extinct and no longer warrant federal Endangered Species Act protections, US wildlife managers have said. The proposal to remove so-called eastern cougars from the list of endangered and threatened species comes nearly 80 years after the last of those mountain lions was […]
120,000 dead: half of the world’s saiga die in less than a month
No one knows what’s killing them, but scientists estimate that almost half of the world’s saiga (Saiga tatarica) have perished since May 10th. To date, researchers on-the-ground unofficially estimate that 120,000 saiga have died in Kazakhstan from what appears to be a wildly virulent disease, although no cause has been ruled out. Saiga are bizarre-looking, […]
Koala cull resumes in Australian tourist destination
They may be a national symbol, but authorities in Australia are culling a colony of koalas in a popular tourist destination. The move from the state government of Victoria is in reaction to the burgeoning koala population at Cape Otway, in the south of Australia. The Department of Environment, Land, Water and Planning (DELWEP) is […]
Eastern quolls, extinct on mainland, to be reintroduced in NSW national park
Eastern quolls are set to be released on the Australian mainland, 50 years after they were wiped out by a combination of habitat loss and the spread of foxes and feral cats. The quolls, which once spread from the southern reaches of South Australia up to Brisbane, have not been seen on the Australian mainland […]
A third of Europe’s birds under threat, says most comprehensive study yet
One in three European birds is endangered, according to a leaked version of the most comprehensive study of Europe’s wildlife and natural habitats ever produced. The EU State of Nature report, seen by the Guardian, paints a picture of dramatic decline among once common avian species such as the skylark and turtle dove mainly as […]