Maleos, black-and-white birds that stand 60 centimeters (2 feet) tall with a distinctive splash of blue, orange and yellow on their faces, roam Sulawesi’s thick tropical jungles. But when it’s time to lay their eggs, they arrive at communal nesting grounds: Sandy beaches heated by the sun or the earth’s geothermal energy. There, they dig […]
Quoll-ity Breeding Documentary
For anyone in Australia who may be interested, SBS Australia will be showcasing the documentary QUOLL-ITY BREEDING on SBS On Demand from 1 December 2026.
“He stopped, looked at me, snorted – and charged. I turned and ran, but was unceremoniously catapulted by the irate beast”
What’s the most dangerous animal in China? The internet tells me it’s the Chinese cobra, but my own rather hair-raising research suggests that it is a seldom seen and poorly known species known as the takin, says Jonathan Eames. It all started in the Qinling Mountains in the north-west of the country, where I was […]
‘The toll is huge’: El Niño-driven wildfires overwhelm Indonesia’s orangutan population
The mother’s hands were peeling from walking on the torched ground. Her eight-month-old baby, which clung to her side, was dehydrated and thin. The pair, named Mama Abu and Abu (“ash” in Indonesian), were found in an oil palm subsidiary estate, rescuers say. The orangutan pair were saved last month from wildfires that are devouring […]
Amazing new penguin discovered for first time in over 100 years
Until recently, the gentoo penguin (Pygoscelis papua) was thought to be a single, wide-spread species, but researchers now have evidence that it consists of four separate species, one of them previously unknown to science. This is the first new penguin species described in more than 100 years – the Northern rockhopper penguin (Eudyptes moseleyi) was […]
Illegal wildlife continues to slip through Canada’s borders. Experts explain how
It is far easier than one might expect to access the illegal wildlife trade in Canada. Chris Shepherd, a senior conservation advocate with the Center for Biological Diversity, knows this firsthand. On a recent call with Mongabay, he recounted attending a reptile fair in Canada and speaking to a seller who told him he regularly […]
“It was shocking.” Deep-sea scientists find unexpected creature 3,000ft below the ocean’s surface
A new study has found that reproductive female Antarctic krill actively use deep-sea hydrothermal vents as a habitat, suggesting these environments may play a role in the animals’ reproductive cycle. Researchers observed groups of the animals moving along mineral-rich fissures in the ocean floor, with every krill collected from the site found to be a […]
In war-torn South Sudan, giraffes retain a surprisingly healthy gene pool
Giraffes living in the South Sudan’s war-torn savannas are genetically healthy and connected to nearby giraffe populations by gene flow, despite decades of conflict, recent research suggests. These findings show that “regions of the world that have been affected by conflict can maintain a lot of biodiversity and should therefore not be overlooked by genetic […]