On the Thunder Basin National Grassland of northeastern Wyoming, the livestock industry has been pursuing an aggressive campaign to expand poisoning and shooting of prairie dogs. And in 2020, the Forest Service gave them a plan amendment that radically expanded prairie dog killing, and eliminated a special designation of a Black-footed Ferret Reintroduction Area to […]
Two Giant Nets Pulled in a Day to Protect the Vaquita
In a dramatic mission, Sea Shepherd’s Milagro Task Force aboard the Seahorse made a significant discovery that highlights the escalating threat to marine life in the Vaquita Refuge, specifically within the ZTA extension. The crew detected what initially appeared to be multiple ghost nets, each located about 250 meters apart. However, after retrieval and further […]
Why don’t Tasmanian magpies swoop people? It’s not black and white
In Tasmania, no one has to wear an ice-cream container with eyes on their head when magpies are breeding. That’s because the magpies there don’t swoop – and no one knows why. Magpie Alert, a website that tracks and maps swoops and any resultant injuries, shows 3,271 reported swoopings and 426 injuries around Australia so […]
Georgia Man Arrested for Alleged Exotic Animal Trading Ring
A Georgia man known for his social media presence with exotic pets was arrested on October 17 after authorities uncovered an alleged illegal animal trading ring. JaeQuan Smith Devers, who went by “PetzonWheelz” on Instagram, was taken into custody following a raid on his home that revealed a collection of dangerous and tropical animals, including […]
International panel launches guidelines for ‘high integrity’ biodiversity credits
At the United Nations biodiversity conference currently underway in Colombia, an international panel has published a framework with guidelines to scale up “biodiversity credits,” an emerging financial mechanism to tackle the global loss of nature. Biodiversity credits are meant to be a way for companies to invest in projects that protect or restore nature, earning […]
High-flying life of Australia’s birds revealed in new detail – thanks to weather radars
The yearly travel plans of birds up and down Australia‘s east coast have been revealed for the first time, using the same tool that tracks the weather – a development experts say could have “profound” implications for conservation as more windfarms are built. Scientists have used weather radars to show that bird migration across eastern […]
Frogs Face Dire Threats from Climate Change and Habitat Loss
A recent study in Nature Climate change reveals alarming news for frog populations worldwide. Due to increasing aridity caused by climate change, scientists predict that by 2080 to 2100, between 7 percent and over one-third of frog habitats may become too dry for survival. If human activity, particularly the burning of fossil fuels, isn’t curtailed, […]
As Nepal counts its snow leopards, even the best estimate is still a guess
KATHMANDU — Scientists and government officials have embarked on the uphill task of coming up with a number, or even just a range, for the population of snow leopards in the Himalayan country. To do so, they’re having to rely on several fragmented studies carried out during different periods of time in different landscapes across […]