Mangroves are carbon warriors. These salt-tolerant forests of trees and shrubs are known to lock away far greater amounts of atmospheric carbon dioxide than any other terrestrial forests, forming some…
In 2016, a group of researchers set out to explore Serra da Neve Inselberg, an isolated mountain and Angola’s second-highest peak, in search of frogs and toads. Now, they have described…
A new study paints a precarious picture for the rare Nilgiri tahr, an endangered goat-like species that lives in the mountains of the Western Ghats, a biodiversity hotspot in India.…
The highly venomous forest cobra, the largest of Africa’s true cobras, is not one, but five separate species, according to a new study. At first glance, forest cobras, which can…
The wildlife conservation community has lost a leader in big cat conservation. Alan Rabinowitz, an American zoologist dubbed the “Indiana Jones of wildlife protection” by Time magazine, died of cancer on…
The world’s largest colony of king penguins has declined drastically by nearly 90 percent, a new study has found. The massive king penguin (Aptenodytes patagonicus) colony on the remote island…
Under the forest floor lies a complex, hidden world of fungi. These tiny creatures form intimate connections with tree roots, sharing resources with each other and influencing the soil around…
The iconic Loktak Lake in the Indian state of Manipur is famous for its unique floating islands made of mats of soil, plants and organic matter at various stages of decomposition,…
A puzzling disease lurks among western pond turtles, one of only two native freshwater turtle species that live in the state of Washington in the U.S. The disease produces deep…
As oceans become more acidic, fish struggle to smell their food and predators, a new study has found. Much of the carbon dioxide in the atmosphere is absorbed by oceans.…
The tsunami that struck Southeast and South Asia in late 2004 killed nearly 230,000 people and destroyed villages, towns and cities across 14 countries. But some affected areas escaped the…
With each bout of persistent and intense rainfall in Ladakh, a cold desert region in India’s northern state of Jammu and Kashmir, the locals begin to worry. It brings back…
The government of Colombia has committed to ending deforestation in its cocoa supply chain by 2020. The National Cocoa Federation and one of the country’s largest chocolate producers, Casa Luker,…
Scientists have just described a new species of shark from the deep waters of the Gulf of Mexico and the western Atlantic Ocean. The new species was formally named Squalus clarkae,…
With India’s general elections looming large next year, the government of Prime Minister Narendra Modi has proposed sweeping overhauls of environmental laws that govern the country’s forests, fragile coasts, wildlife,…
For the first time ever, biologists have sequenced the genomes of two tiny ferns, Azolla filiculoides and Salvinia cucullata, and they’ve revealed some interesting secrets. Despite being one of the most…
A team of biologists researching sea snakes in the mining town of Weipa in Australia’s remote Cape York Peninsula have accidentally discovered a venomous snake that’s new to science. The black-and-white…
UTTARAKHAND, India — H.P. Upreti, an ex-serviceman, vividly recalls the day, five years ago, when one of the worst natural disasters struck his hometown of Srinagar in India’s Uttarakhand state.…
A majority of krill fishing companies have announced their commitment to voluntarily stop harvesting the tiny crustaceans from vast areas of the Antarctic Peninsula, including around important breeding penguin colonies. The…
Consumer interest in farmed bear bile seems to be declining in Vietnam, according to a new study. But this isn’t necessarily good news, researchers say, because it raises concerns for…
