A chance sighting of photos on Instagram, then a five-day expedition, including a last-minute, late-night detour in a Colombian rainforest — that’s what it took for researchers to confirm a new-to-science species of giant water lily. The plant has such large leaves the researchers could also spot it from space, according to a new study.

The saga started in 2021, when giant-water-lily expert Carlos Magdalena came across photos posted by Jeremiah Harris on Instagram. In the photos, Harris, who runs a carnivorous-plant nursery in the U.S., was swimming next to giant water lily leaves in Colombia’s Inírida River.

Harris had labelled the plant a wild individual of Victoria amazonica, but Magdalena knew that no known species of South American giant water lilies from the genus Victoria had previously been reported from the Orinoco Basin, of which the Inírida River is a tributary.

“So the moment I saw the picture on Instagram with a geolocation on Inírida I realized it was remarkable,” Magdalena, a botanical and scientific research horticulturist at Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, U.K., told Mongabay by email.

Intrigued, Magdalena turned to satellite imagery. Giant water lilies have massive, circular leaves, more than 3 meters (10 feet) in diameter, and Magdalena spotted several Victoria floating pads in the Inírida and nearby lakes. This confirmed there were more Victoria water lilies in that river system.

Magdalena then formed a team with researchers, as well as with Nilo Rodríguez, Jaime Hernández, and Gustavo Melo, members of the Río Atabapo, Caranacoa-Yurí-Laguna Morocoto, and Puinave-Piapoco el Paujil Indigenous reserves.

Together, they set out on a five-day expedition into Inírida’s flooded rainforest. By the end of the expedition, they had located two plants, but those didn’t have flowers, which researchers need to identify species. It was only on their last night, with just 10 hours to go, that Melo guided them to a small lake deep in the rainforest, where they found a second population of Victoria plants, including one that was in flower.

The researchers eventually confirmed the giant water lilies in the Inírida were indeed new to science. They’ve named it Victoria colombiana. Its leaves can be up to 2 metres (6.6 feet) wide.

Magdalena said partnering with Rodríguez, Hernández, and Melo “was quintessential.”

“Their knowledge of the area is incredible, but also, they had legendary navigation skills in a rather thick flooded forest where GPS knowledge or mobile connectivity was simply not there,” he said. “To say that this research would have not been possible without their support and help, is an understatement.”

Magdalena added that Inírida’s giant water lily remained unknown to science despite its size because it’s “incredibly rare and grows in places that are not often visited by people, let alone science.”

The researchers estimate there may only be about 30-50 wild V. colombiana plants, making it critically endangered.

Magdalena said his team is trying to collect its seeds to propagate in botanic gardens and near the Indigenous communities.

Banner image: Carlos Magdalena with Victoria colombiana’s leaves. Image courtesy of Mauricio Bernal.

A new-to-science species of egg-eating snake has been documented in the forested mountains of southern Ethiopia, according to a recent study.

The snake, which has an ink-black body, bluish skin between its scales, and stark-white throat and belly, has been named the white-throated egg-eater (Dasypeltis albigularis). It’s nonvenomous, feeding entirely on bird eggs, which it cracks using specially adapted vertebrae in its throat before swallowing, the authors say.

Arthur Tiutenko of Germany’s University of Erlangen-Nuremberg, and his colleagues, first encountered a population of this snake in 2019 in the Harenna Forest, in the Bale Mountains. They collected a young female for identification and initially thought it was an African egg-eating snake (Dasypeltis atra), a similar black, nonvenomous species. But the team also noticed the juvenile had some unusual scales and coloration that differed from the known D. atra.

These observations prompted captive-breeding trials, where the researchers mated the female with a male African egg-eating snake, and saw that their offspring showed a mix of traits from both parents. Further genetic analysis and examination of more individuals seen on future field trips confirmed the snake in the Harenna Forest was indeed new to science.

“In the case of D. albigularis, it was a classic discovery, like in previous centuries, when one encounters an animal in a place previously not visited by researchers and recognizes it as something new,” Tiutenko told Mongabay by email.

To formally describe a new species, researchers would typically have to deposit a dead, preserved physical specimen, known as the holotype, in a museum collection. For Tiutenko’s team, though, this posed an ethical dilemma.

Some recent studies have relied on photos and videos alone to describe a species, but Tiutenko said this too has been criticized by the scientific community. He added that using a live individual to represent a species in a collection is also a bad idea, because such a specimen can escape, and its features can change over time as it ages. “And such values of an old animal that died years later and finally became preserved would almost certainly differ from those stated in the paper.”

Tiutenko said he didn’t want to euthanize a snake for the purpose of describing the species. So he waited for several years, until a dead snake showed up. “As soon as I found a dead specimen killed by local villagers, I could designate it as holotype and proceed with the publication,” he said.

Their analysis showed the white-throated egg-eater is likely endemic to the southern slope of the Somalian Plateau, frequenting natural forest, agricultural clearings, and village settlements. Tiutenko added it’s not yet confirmed whether the species is present in Bale Mountains National Park.

Human persecution remains the primary danger to the snake, Tiutenko noted.

“Although no dangerous snakes live in this area, people fear or disgust any snakes and kill them,” he said.

Banner image of Dasypeltis albigularis, by Tiutenko et al., 2026 (CC BY 4.0).

Construction of a power plant that will burn waste to generate electricity at a landfill near Bangladesh’s capital faces strong opposition from nearby communities, who say they fear severe health risks posed by toxic air pollution, reports contributor Eyamin Sajid for Mongabay.

The $467 million project is being overseen by the municipal authority Dhaka North City Corporation, and is owned by the China Machinery Engineering Corporation (CMEC), backed by Chinese-headquartered multilateral lenders. It’s designed to incinerate up to 3,000 metric tons of municipal waste daily, tackling the capital’s escalating garbage crisis while also generating up to 42.5 megawatts of electricity. The project is slated for completion in December 2028.

Densely populated communities, including several schools, sit less than a mile from the location of the power plant. Local farmers told Mongabay that unmanaged trash fires at the dumpsite already disrupt their work and well-being.

“We can’t breathe when waste is burned in the dumping station,” said Md Naim, who grows rice and vegetables nearby. “Our nose closes with ashes, and we feel a headache from the smoke while working on the field.”

According to the environmental impact assessment for the project, the incinerator will produce 74.8 metric tons of fly ash daily, enough to get airborne. An analysis by environmental groups indicates the plant will generate 73,576 metric tons of solid waste annually, along with 39.56 metric tons of toxic substances, including dioxins, furans, and heavy metals.

“If the power plant is built and run regularly, local residents, especially children and elderly people, will face more respiratory and lunch-related problems, eye irritation, fatigue, and long-term health issues due to chronic exposure to air pollution,” said Hasan Mehedi, secretary of the Bangladesh Working Group on Ecology and Development (BWGED).

Residents and the BWGED have demanded the project be cancelled, but officials maintain the facility is indispensable.

Mir Shahe Alam, state minister for local government, rural development and co-operatives, said during a July 1 site visit: “The municipal waste has now become a chokepoint of Dhaka city. At any cost, we need to ensure waste management, whether it is through waste-to-energy, bio-compost fertilizer or chemical production; we need to use this huge pile of waste.”

To facilitate operations, the Department of Environment amended Bangladesh’s Air Pollution Control Rules 2022, cutting the minimum incineration temperature, reportedly to lower the plant’s operating cost.

However, environmental activists argue that a lower burning temperature would generate more fly ash, leading to more pollution.

Shaikh Faridul Islam, state minister for environment, forest and climate change, told Mongabay that lower temperatures remain sufficient because the facility will rely on household organic waste rather than electronic or clinical refuse. “If e-waste and medical waste are not burned, there will be no harm,” Islam said.

Read the full story by Eyamin Sajid here.

Banner image: Mountains of solid waste rise at the Aminbazar landfill in Savar, Dhaka district, next to which a waste-to-energy plant is planned. Image by Md Jahidul Islam.

Australian authorities have disrupted an alleged wildlife trafficking syndicate, uncovering a clandestine operation where smuggled native animals were hoarded alongside caches of cash and gold, reports contributor Johan Augustin for Mongabay.

The operation reportedly seized 28 native and a few exotic species alongside approximately A$300,000 (nearly $210,000) in cash, gold, and silver bullion on July 16. The bust marks the first major wildlife crime investigation carried out by the new National Environmental Protection Agency (National EPA), Australia’s first independent federal environmental regulator, launched on July 1.

In addition to the 28 native Australian reptiles — including shingleback lizards (Tiliqua rugosa), spiny-tailed skinks (Egernia stokesii), and lace monitors (Varanus varius) — there were heavily regulated nonnative species like a North American hognose snake (genus Heterodon) and a ball python (Python regius). The agency alleges the native species were supplied to foreign nationals for illegal export.

“Illegal trade of Australia’s native wildlife is a serious crime,” Dani Yannopoulos, head of the National EPA’s environmental permitting and compliance division, said in a media release published Aug. 22. “Australia’s native wildlife is precious and we are working closely with [Australian] Border Force and international partners to stop those who attempt to exploit it through the illegal wildlife trade.”

Yannopoulos added that anyone taking part in the illegal wildlife trade risks serious penalties.

Under Australian federal environmental law, exporting native animals or eggs without a permit carries penalties of up to 10 years in prison and fines reaching A$364,000 ($253,000). Even so, immense profits continue to incentivize criminal syndicates. Native lizards that sell legally in Australia for A$100 to A$400 ($70 to $280) can command between A$1,000 and A$20,000 ($700 and $14,000) on foreign black markets.

“Wildlife trafficking is worth about $30 billion a year in the East Asia and Pacific region alone,” Tanya Plibersek, Australia’s minister for the environment and water, said in a press release. “The price of Australian reptiles on the international black market can be more than 28 times the domestic price.”

Plibersek added that Australian wildlife is highly lucrative to criminals and organized crime syndicates, “especially those animals that are already vulnerable or threatened with extinction.”

Between June 2025 and May 2026, authorities intercepted 113 illegal exports involving 1,250 native animals, according to the Department of Climate Change, Energy, the Environment and Water.

“Australian reptiles have always been common and attractive in the exotic pet trade,” said Phil Cassey, director at the Wildlife Crime Research Hub. “We’re also seeing a rise in non-native pet species coming … into Australia, including mammals and most recently a big rise in the popularity of insect and invertebrate species — including spiders, scorpions, cockroaches and ants.”

Read the full story by Johan Augustin here.

Banner image: In its first major operation since being established on July 1, Australia’s National EPA seized reptiles, including hognose snakes and ball pythons. Image courtesy of the National EPA.

Part of a forest in Malaysian Borneo that Indigenous communities had envisioned co-managing and self-governing has been turned into an active commercial logging concession, according to a recent civil society report.

The 283,500-hectare (700,500-acre) Upper Baram Forest Area, in the northeastern part of the state of Sarawak, was proposed as a community-led conservation area more than 15 years ago.

In 2021, the Sarawak Forest Department secured $1.4 million from the International Tropical Timber Organization (ITTO), which promotes the sustainable use of forests, to develop a conservation initiative with 32 Indigenous villages, called the Baram Peace Park. However, the state government subsequently granted a 170,000-hectare (420,000-acre) timber concession in 2024 to a company called Borneoland Timber Resources Sdn. Bhd., overlapping key cultural and ecological zones, reports contributor Danielle Keeton-Olsen for Mongabay.

According to a report from Swiss-based nonprofit Bruno Manser Fonds, a key funder of the Baram Peace Park project, between March and May 2025, community observers tracked more than 160 logging trucks exiting the concession monthly. These trucks hauled an estimated 10.5 million ringgit ($2.6 million) in timber per month.

Logging paths have penetrated core primary forest around Gunung Murud Kecil, a peak central to the Indigenous Penan heritage, threatening protected species including helmeted hornbills (Rhinoplax vigil), sun bears (Helarctos malayanus), and Sunda clouded leopards (Neofelis diardi). Affected villagers allege loggers have violated native customary rights by bulldozing land and destroying ancestral fruit trees.

Komeok Joe, CEO and founder of the Penan rights organization Keruan, said local communities are actively monitoring and mobilizing to defend their forests. “If the logging doesn’t stop this year, the forest might be finished in those two areas,” he said.

State authorities, however, defend the timber concession. Hamden Mohammad, director of the Sarawak Forest Department, told Mongabay that Bruno Manser Fonds held a “misunderstanding — or misrepresentation — of the project’s original concept and objectives.” He added the project was always intended as an “integrated landscape management area” that permitted timber licensing alongside community use and conservation.

Mohammad also pointed to a decision by the High Court of Sabah and Sarawak, dismissing an Indigenous-led challenge, as an indication that there were no irregularities with the timber concession.

“Accordingly, assertions that the concession was improperly granted solely because it was not subject to a public tender process are not supported by the relevant legal requirements or the Court’s findings,” he said.

Mohammad added that not all communities in Upper Baram are opposed to Borneoland’s logging activities. However, he acknowledged the recent blockades held by some residents were a sign that Indigenous communities were frustrated with the concession.

Read the full story by Danielle Keeton-Olsen here.

Banner image: Timber is chopped and tagged for transport at a logging area near the site of the former Baram dam blockade on Aug. 22, 2023. Image by Danielle Keeton-Olsen for Mongabay.

The Zambian government is investigating a chemical spill in its Copperbelt Province allegedly linked to Konkola Copper Mines (KCM), owned by U.K.-based multinational Vedanta Resources.

Residents in Chingola district told Mongabay they observed discoloration of the Kafue River and fish die-off on Sept. 28, raising fresh concerns about the environmental and social impacts of mining operations in one of Zambia’s most important copper-producing regions.

According to a statement by Gilbert Siame, Zambia’s minister of Green Economy and Environment (MGEE), the incident was caused by a leaking pipe at KCM’s tailings leach plant and an overflow from the company’s pollution control dam outside Chingola.

“The pollution control dam was full, that’s why it spilled,” Eugene Mulenga, Chingola-based human rights activist and coordinator for caritas, told Mongabay. “The [chemical] discharge happens all the time, mostly at night, and the local residents consume this water because they don’t have another option.”

Following the Sept. 28 spill, tests conducted by the Zambia Environmental Management Agency (ZEMA), KCM and local water utility Mulonga Water Supply and Sanitation Company showed elevated levels of turbidity and conductivity downstream along the Kafue River.

In a statement issued Oct. 1, KCM contested its responsibility in the spillage, saying that company officials reported the incident to ZEMA and asked for a fact-based investigation. Mongabay reached out to the company but did not receive a response by the time of publication.

Siame noted in the statement shared with Mongabay that authorities are still testing water samples to confirm heavy metals and other contaminants.

He added the ministry has ordered KCM to conduct a comprehensive assessment of its pollution control dams, tailings pipelines and related infrastructure to determine whether other facilities could pose environmental risks.

“The Ministry is consulting with relevant stakeholders on the appropriate penal sanctions against the polluter in accordance with the provisions of the Environmental Management Act,” he wrote in the statement.

Under this law, major toxic discharges or hazardous waste violations can result in penalties of up to 280,000 Kwacha ($14,000).

The Sept. 28 incident adds to a long history of environmental concerns surrounding KCM and other mining companies operating in Zambia’s Copperbelt. KCM was previously at the center of a major legal case in the U.K. following a 2008 pollution incident. The case was settled out of court in 2021, with the company paying compensation to around 2,500 affected villagers “without admission of liability.”

KCM, one of Zambia’s largest copper producers, is expanding and recapitalizing mining and processing operations in the country as the government seeks to more than triple national copper output in the coming years. Vedanta Resources owns 80% stake in KCM.

The Zambian government had placed KCM into liquidation in 2019, citing concerns including tax evasion, unpaid debts, inadequate investment and environmental pollution, but the company picked up operations again in 2024.

Banner image: Dead fish at Hippo Pool, north of Chingola, where the Kafue River narrows into a shallow valley. Image by Victoria Schneider for Mongabay.