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Mongabay’s most popular stories in April 2021

EcoNusa's COVID-19 expedition. Photo credit: EcoNusa

EcoNusa's COVID-19 expedition. Photo credit: EcoNusa

  • Despite challenges from the worsening pandemic in several countries where we operate, Mongabay published nearly 400 stories during the month of April.
  • Overall, Mongabay had nearly 10 million pageviews during the month.
  • Below is a look at the ten most read stories published on Mongabay Global English news site.

Despite challenges from the worsening pandemic in several countries where we operate, Mongabay published nearly 400 stories during the month of April. Below is a look at the ten most read stories published on Mongabay Global English news site.

The most popular Mongabay news story during the month of April was Ian Morse’s profile of the Sumatran serow, an elusive goat-antelope that is little studied. The serow shares the same habitat as better-known species such as the Sumatran tiger and the sun bear, but hasn’t attracted anywhere close to the same level of funding for research and conservation activities as these other, “charismatic” animals. The serow continues to be hunted for food and for traditional medicine, though it’s ostensibly protected under Indonesian law. The story attracted nearly 105,000 pageviews on the website and a larger number of impressions within social media and syndication by third party media outlets.

A veterinária Flávia Fiori, do instituto Pró-Carnívoros, examina um lobo-guará. Foto: Adriano Gambarini.  

A story about maned wolves with mange by Dimas Marques was the second most read story on Mongabay’s English news site in April. Eight maned wolves with mange have been seen along the border between the states of São Paulo and Minas Gerais in Brazil in recent years. Researchers suspect the infestation is the result of contact with domestic dogs, which increasingly come into contact with wildlife as human settlements and activities eat into the wolf’s habitat. The story, which was adapted from Portuguese by Maya Johnson, got just under 100,000 views.

An article by Erwin M. Mascariñas on odd behavior being exhibited by captive-bred Philippine crocodiles was the third most popular story with 87,000 pageviews during April 2021. The critically endangered reptile has been reintroduced into the wild in recent years and researchers are finding these captive-bred individuals are uncharacteristically climbing steep hilly slopes and nesting outside the previously understood breeding period.

A story that built on Mongabay’s ongoing coverage about the African swine fearing tearing through Southeast Asia was the fourth most popular article. Ebed de Rosary wrote about the death of tens of thousands of pigs across the Indonesian province of East Nusa Tenggara, including 40% of the pigs on Flores, the island famous for its population of Komodo dragons. The swine flu outbreak also threatens Southeast Asia’s various wild pig species, many of which are rare and endangered. This story, which had 65,000 pageviews, was adapted from a Mongabay-Indonesia post.

Eliza, a Haruku Kewang, is helping protect a local population of gosong birds. Photo credit: EcoNusa/Victor Fidelis
Eliza, a Haruku Kewang, is helping protect a local population of gosong birds. Photo credit: EcoNusa/Victor Fidelis

Mongabay founder Rhett A. Butler’s interview with Indonesian environmental activist Bustar Maitar was the fifth most popular post in April. Maitar, who while at Greenpeace led a forest conservation campaign that pressured major corporations like Nestlé and Unilever to commit to zero deforestation in their supply chains, today runs the EcoNusa Foundation, which focuses on empowering local communities in Indonesian Papua. The interview received 55,000 pageviews during the month.

Fernanda Wenzel’s coverage of the voluntary forest carbon credit market in Brazil was the sixth most read during April. It attracted more than 51,000 pageviews.

Rhett A. Butler’s interview with Jinfeng Zhou, secretary general of the China Biodiversity Conservation and Green Development Foundation, about civil society’s efforts to promote biodiversity conservation in China was the seventh most trafficked story during the month. It had just under 50,000 views.

IBAMA agents in a past year on a raid against illegal deforesters in Jamanxim National forest, Pará state, Brazil. The president has slashed the environmental agency’s staff and budget, and disallowed personnel from carrying weapons when dealing with frequently well-armed illegal logging and mining organized crime. Image courtesy of IBAMA.

Daniel Pye’s interview with Igarapé Institute co-founder Robert Muggah about his organization’s Ecocrime data visualization platform, which combines visual storytelling with access to raw data on environmental crime in the Amazon, was the eighth most popular story with 45,000 views.

A post by Karla Mendes about Brazilian prosecutors citing Mongabay’s recent investigation into the palm oil sector ranked as the ninth most read post in April with 41,000 pageviews.

And rounding out the top ten for the month of April was U.N. report on the role Indigenous and tribal communities in Latin America and the Caribbean play in maintaining forest cover. It had 39,000 pageviews.

Header image: EcoNusa’s COVID-19 expedition. Photo credit: EcoNusa

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