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News articles on wildlife

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Mongabay.com news articles on wildlife in blog format. Updated regularly.

After Chernobyl accident wildlife flourishes

(08/10/2005) Chernobyl's ecosystems seem to be recovering just 19 years after the region was badly contaminated with radiation from a nuclear meltdown. Researchers, who presented the results of suverys around old nuclear power plant at the Ecological Society of America meeting in Montreal, say that biodiversity is actually higher than before the disaster.


Two tiny lemur species discovered in Madagascar

(08/09/2005) German and Malagasy primatologists have discovered two new species of lemurs, naming one of them after Steve Goodman, a Field Museum scientist who has devoted nearly two decades to studying the animals of Madagascar.


1,000 wild orang-utans poached a year says WWF

(08/06/2005) The World Wildlife Fund (WWF), a leading conservation group, estimates that 1,000 orang-utans are poached annually from the wild, often for sale as pets for the wealthy. The organization says there are some 30,000 to 40,000 orang-utans left in the wild.


Organic farming benefits wildlife over conventional agriculture says study

(08/03/2005) In the largest and most comprehensive study of organic farming to date, published today in the Royal Society Journal, Biology Letters, scientists from leading UK institutions show conclusively that organic farms provide greater benefits for a range of wildlife including wild flowers, beetles, spiders, birds and bats than their conventional counterparts.


Food demand greater threat to wildlife than global warming

(07/28/2005) A redoubling of human food demand over the next 50 years that could imperil vast tracts of wildlife habitat. Recognizing the food demand, however, would shift government research funds from climate models to politically incorrect agricultural research stations-our main hope to double crop and livestock yields.


Zoologists to discuss latest in animal enrichment techniques

(07/27/2005) The Wildlife conservation Society is hosting the 2005 International Conference on Environmental Enrichment where zoologists from 15 countries will gather to learn about the latest in animal enrichment techniques to keep animals healthy and stimulated.


Uganda imports rhinos from Kenya

(07/26/2005) Uganda has imported four rhinos from Kenya according to the Uganda Wildlife Authority (UWA). UWA hopes to develop a captive breeding program in an effort to reintroduce rhinos after their disappearance from the country in the 1960s due to poaching.


Sea turtles protected in Costa Rica are killed in Nicaragua

(07/26/2005) Sea turtles that receive the highest protection in Costa Rica and other neighboring countries are dying by the thousands at the hands of unregulated - and unsustainable - commercial fishing in Nicaragua, according to a study by the Bronx Zoo based Wildlife conservation Society.


Microchip implant saves endangered turtle from the cooking pot

(07/18/2005) An extremely rare "royal" turtle narrowly escaped a trip to a Chinese soup-pot, thanks to a tiny microchip implanted in its skin, according to experts from the New York-based Wildlife conservation Society (WCS), who rediscovered the species four years ago in Cambodia.


Lemur hunting persists in Madagascar, rare primates fall victim to hunger

(07/17/2005) While it has been illegal to kill or keep lemurs as pets since 1964, lemurs are hunted where they are not protected by local taboos. Many lemurs are particularly easy targets for hunting because evolution has rendered them ecologically naive in that without natural predators over the majority of their existence, they are less fearful than they should be.


Why American outbreak of monkeypox wasn't fatal

(07/15/2005) An outbreak of 72 cases of monkeypox in the United States during the summer of 2003 didn't produce a single fatality, even though the disease usually kills 10 percent of those infected.


New monkey virus infects human; jumps species barrier

(07/14/2005) Scientists have identified the first reported case in Asia of primate-to-human transmission of simian foamy virus (SFV), a retrovirus found in macaques and other primates that so far has not been shown to cause disease in humans. The transmission of the virus from a monkey to a human took place at a monkey temple in Bali, Indonesia, the researchers report in the July issue of the journal Emerging Infectious Diseases.


Madagascar lemurs descended from single primate ancestor, finds study

(07/11/2005) Yale biologists have managed to extract and analyze DNA from giant, extinct lemurs, according to a Yale study published in a recent issue of the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. Evolutionary analysis of the DNA obtained from the extinct giants reveals that they, like the living lemurs, are descended from a single primate ancestor that colonized Madagascar more than 60 million years ago.


Nature photo blog lauched by mongabay.com

(07/10/2005) Today mongabay.com, a leading rainforest information site, announced the launch of a photo blog featuring images of wilderness from around the world. The aim of the new blog, hosted on Google's blogger.com and found at mongabay.blogspot.com, is to raise interest and appreciation of wildlife and wildlands.


Controlling Wildlife Trade Key to Preventing Health Crises, Study Says

(07/05/2005) According to a study by the New York-based Wildlife conservation Society, controlling the movements of wildlife in markets is a cost-effective means of keeping potential deadly pandemics such as SARS and influenza from occurring. The study appears in the July edition of the journal Emerging Infectious Diseases. The cost of controlling the spread of diseases afflicting both human and animal populations has reached hundreds of billions of dollars globally.


16% of frogs species in Sri Lanka may be gone, new survey finds

(07/02/2005) In a study published Thursday in Raffles Bulletin of Zoology, researchers confirmed the discovery of 35 new frog species in Sri Lanka over the past decade brining the number of frog species in the island country to 105. However, the survey found that 17 of these species have disappeared and at least another 11 face imminent extinction unless their habitat is protected.


Climate change could ruin tourism in the Mediterranean

(07/01/2005) According to a new study the World Wildlife Fund (WWF), global climate change will bring hotter, drier summers to the Mediterranean and significantly impact two of the region's largest industries, agriculture and tourism.


Ebola, SARS battle requires new look at humans, livestock, and wildlife relationships

(06/28/2005) The threat of potential pandemics such as Ebola, SARS, and avian influenza demands a more holistic approach to disease control, one that prevents diseases from crossing the divide between humans, their livestock, and wildlife, according to a report in the journal Foreign Affairs. This "One World, One Health" concept, as described by Wildlife conservation Society (WCS) veterinary staff, calls for the integration of efforts to deal proactively with disease threats to human and animal health before they reach crisis levels.


Siberian tiger population stabilizes according to new census figures

(06/28/2005) Results of the latest full range survey indicate that tiger numbers in Russia appear to be stable, say the coordinators of a 2005 winter effort to count the animals, led by the New York-based Wildlife conservation Society.


Protectors of wildlife in war-torn Congo recognized with new Award

(06/01/2005) Abraham Prize Awarded to Families of Murdered Guards, Survivors of Poaching, Rebel Attacks; UNESCO World Heritage Site Parks Still Under Siege.


Dancing lemur attracts tourists to island of Madagascar

(05/30/2005) In the dry deciduous forests of south western Madagascar there lives a lemur that loudly cusses but "dances" like a ballet performer. Verreaux's sifaka is among the most popular of lemur species, a group of primates endemic to islands off the southeastern coast of Africa. While threatened, Verreaux's sifaka is easily spotted is several of Madagascar's more accessible parks.


ExxonMobil asked to stay out of Arctic National Wildlife Refuge by shareholder group

(05/25/2005) Green Century Capital Management, U.S. PIRG Education Fund, and Clean Yield Asset Management will be attending the ExxonMobil shareholder meeting later this week in an effort to convince the company to stay out of the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge and to improve company policies on operations in other protected and sensitive areas worldwide. The groups have filed a shareholder resolution with the company on this topic and ExxonMobil shareholders will vote on the proposal at Wednesday's annual meeting.


Recordings of coral reef sounds attract fish

(05/24/2005) Using recordings of reef sounds may increase reef fish stocks depleted by shipping traffic, underwater drilling and overfishing. Scientists have discovered that some species of young coral reef fish are lured back to home reefs by sounds they hear while still developing in the egg.


Why visit the real island of Madagascar?

(05/23/2005) Later this week Dreamworks releases Madagascar, an animated film depicting a group of zoo escapees who visit the island by the same name off the eastern coast of southern Africa. While the film takes certain liberties with its representation of the country, The real-life Madagascar is a fascinating place to visit. Madagascar's wildlife is among the best in the world in terms of diversity, abundance, and approachability and travel to Madagascar for this purpose is most rewarding. Madagascar also offers spectacular landscapes, an unusual history, and a countryside full of generally friendly and wonderful people.


Photos of new monkey species found in Africa

(05/20/2005) Photos of the new monkey species discovered in remote mountains in the southern Tanzania.


New monkey discovered in Tanzania

(05/19/2005) Africa's first new species of monkey for over 20 years has been discovered in remote mountains in the southern Tanzania. The Highland Mangabey was first discovered by biologists from the Wildlife conservation Society (WCS) in a remote highland forest.


Vampire Fish discovered in the Amazon

(05/19/2005) A new species, dubbed the 'vampire fish,' was recently discovered in the Araguaia River of the Amazon Basin.


Should environmentalists fear logging or learn to understand its impact?

(05/18/2005) Environmentalists usually oppose logging, associating it with deforestation and biodiversity loss. A new report, Life after logging: reconciling wildlife conservation and production forestry in Indonesian Borneo, from CIFOR suggests that in reality, many logging operations have a lesser impact than than generally believed by conservationists. Further, since more forests in Borneo -- the area of study -- are allocated for logging than for protected areas it is imperative that we have a better understanding of how biological diversity and ecological services can be maintained in such areas and how they can be integrated with protected areas into "multi-functional conservation landscapes." conservationists, loggers, and policy-makers alike need to recognize that logged-over forests have conservation value and work to ensure that these areas are indeed used for this purpose especially when other options for biodiversity conservation are not available.


Somewhere Out There, Millions of Species Await Discovery

(05/17/2005) While Planet Earth is becoming an increasingly smaller and more familiar world as every corner is explored and colonized, there remain millions of species undiscovered and undocumented. A number of significant species have been discovered in recent months, revealing humans' huge gaps in knowledge of the world around them.


How did rainforest shamans gain their boundless knowledge on medicinal plants?

(05/14/2005) For thousands of years, indigenous people have extensively used rainforest plants for their health needs -- the peoples of Southeast Asian forests used 6,500 species, while Northwest Amazonian forest dwellers used 1300 species for medicinal purposes. Perhaps more staggering than their boundless knowledge of medicinal plants, is how shamans and medicinemen could have acquired such knowledge. There are over 100,000 plant species in tropical rainforests around the globe, how did indigenous peoples know what plants to use and combine especially when so many are either poisonous or have no effect when ingested. Many treatments combine a wide variety of completely unrelated innocuous plant ingredients to produce a dramatic effect.


Rebuilding tsunami-ravaged Indonesia without further deforestation

(05/12/2005) American Forest & Paper Association joins World Wildlife Fund, conservation International in seeking donated timber for Indonesia.


Bizarre rodent discovered in Southeast Asia; Oddity new to science

(05/11/2005) A team of scientists working in Southeast Asia have discovered a long-whiskered rodent with stubby legs and a tail covered in dense hair. But don't call it a squirrel. Or a rat. Because it's actually more like a guinea pig or chinchilla. But not quite. In fact the new species, found in Laos by scientists from the Wildlife conservation Society (WCS) and other groups, is so unique it represents an entire new family of wildlife.


New fox species discovered in jungle of Borneo

(05/10/2005) Scientists may have discovered a new species of fox-like mammal in the rainforests of Borneo. The animal was caught on film by an automatic infra-red camera positioned in the forest of the Kayam Menterong National Park in the Indonesian section of the island during a survey by the World Wildlife Fund (WWF). Scientists say the animal is has a reddish-colored coat, a bushy tail, and slightly extended back legs, suggesting that it may be partly arboreal. Local hunters failed to recognize the creature from the pictures.


Scientists search for Mongolian Death Worm

(05/03/2005) A group of English scientists are spending a month in the Gobi desert in search of the Mongolian Death Worm, a fabled creature said to lurk in the sands of the hostile region. The three to five feet long long creature is known to the locals as Allghoi khorkhoi, Mongolian for intestine worm because it is reported to look like the intestine of a cow. Mongolian nomads have made extraordinary claims about the animal, reporting that the death worm can spit a corrosive yellow saliva that acts like acid and that they have the ability to generate blasts of electricity powerful enough to kill a full grown camel.


New media resource on the wildlife of Madagscar

(04/25/2005) WildMadagascar.org, a leading information site on Madagascar, today announced the availability of PDF documents on the wildlife of Madagascar. The colorful "Wildlife of Madagascar" PDF is available free of charge on the site's media section.


Freshwater aquarium fish under threat in the wild

(04/22/2005) Some of those fish you see swimming around the tanks at your local fish store are rarer than you might think. The natural habitats of tropical freshwater fish are increasingly threatened by human activities, and while at times the hobby has been been at odds with conservation, the role of aquariasts in preserving species is growing in importance.


Okapi, other wildlife saved in the Congo by forest protector

(04/21/2005) Corneille Ewango of the Wildlife conservation Society today received the prestigious Goldman Environmental Prize for risking his life helping to protect one of Africa's environmental gems—the Okapi Faunal Reserve—from the depredations of rebel militias in the wartorn region of the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo.


The Next Costa Rica? Environmental activism takes root in Honduras

(04/18/2005) With its biodiversity, rich history, beautiful beaches, and stunning reefs, some believe Honduras could be the ecotourism hotspot in Central America. However, between growing gang violence linked to the drug trade in the United States and conflicts between developers and local communities, the country still faces many challenges in becoming the next Costa Rica. Special correspondent Tina Butler takes a look at changing attitudes about the environment in one of Central America's poorest countries.


Creating habitats for suburban wildlife in Florida

(04/17/2005) Creating habitats for suburban wildlife in Florida


Seeking the world's strangest primate on a tropical island paradise

(04/17/2005) Seeking the world's strangest primate on a tropical island paradise


25 percent of the world's 625 primate species at risk of extinction

(04/07/2005) 25 percent of the world's 625 primate species at risk of extinction



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