In the middle of some of the most spectacularly diverse rainforest in Peru, contiguous with the larger Amazon basin, a crisis is unfolding on a scale that remains unchecked despite…
determined collaborative effort between health officials and activists has resulted in the shutting down of one of the most egregious and flourishing illegal wildlife markets in all of Peru. Bellavista…
ima’s central markets are famed for sprawling mazes of interconnected shops, organized by product; this block for shoes, that for textiles. At the heart of this bustling district, there is…
ast October, a TV report from Peru’s Chanchamayo province depicted protesters swarming the streets, raising their voices in unison chanting: “Pepe Lucho is free! Pepe Lucho will not go!” The…
In the heart of the Peruvian Amazon, a global craving for precious metals has changed life for local communities. As prices remain relatively high and it retains its reputation as…
Scientists collected water samples to measure ocean acidification in the Bering, Chukchi, and Beaufort seas on two research cruises aboard the US Coast Guard cutter Healy. Photo credit: Jeremy Mathis…
This red-breasted blackbird (Sturnella militaris) is one of the relatively few bird species that is found in oil palm plantations. Photo by Alexander Lees. It may not surprise you to…
A wild Bengal tiger in India. Photo by Morgan Erickson-Davis. A hundred years ago, there were thirteen times as many tigers in the world as there are today, ranging from…
On the border of Colombia and Venezuela lies a mountain range called Serranía de Perijá in which a small brown songbird is going about its day entirely unaware of what…
Belize's Great Blue Hole, part of a UNESCO World Heritage Site that would be included in areas opened to oil and gas drilling under a new proposal from the Belizean…
A stump is all that remains of an illegally felled tree in the rainforest of West Kalimantan, Indonesia. Recent findings indicate amendments made to the Lacey Act in 2008 may…
A logging road transects Peruvian rainforest (this is not an image of one of the newly detected roads). Photo by Rhett A. Butler. Roads spread out like multi-fingered tendrils, eating…
Forest inside a Dominican Republic national park burned to clear land for crops. Photo by Miguel Landestoy. One makes whimsical clicking and whistling noises, while the other communicates in quiet,…
Shipments of hammerhead shark fins were approved by the Costa Rican government in violation of an international treaty, conservation groups allege. A school of hammerhead sharks swim near the Galapagos…
G-20 nations make commitment to invest $60 to $70 trillion worldwide in new infrastructure over the next 15 years Deforestation along the Transoceanic highway in Peru. Photo by Rhett A.…
When I was ten, I acquired my first dog. Rani was a Doberman Pinscher—tall, lean, and a huge pushover. She was wonderfully friendly, but sadly misunderstood her whole life, regularly…
Researchers devise new method to track soy consumption Rainforest fragments in a sea of soyfields in Mato Grosso, Brazil. Photo by Rhett A. Butler. Sitting down at my favorite restaurant…
Vanzolini’s squirrel monkey (Saimiri boliviensis), with its distinctive black cap. Photo Credit: Arkive. Walking through the Amazon rainforest for the first time is an overwhelming experience, and not in an…
Modern day expeditions face a collection dilemma as scientists consider ethics and endangerment A tray of Eriocnemis (a genus of hummingbird) specimens, Swedish Museum of Natural History - Naturhistoriska Riksmuseet,Stockholm,…
This is the fourth part of a four-part series examining trends in Protected Area Downgrading, Downsizing, and Degazettement (PADDD). Read the first, second, and third parts for a more comprehensive…
This is the third part of a four-part series examining trends in Protected Area Downgrading, Downsizing, and Degazettement (PADDD). Read the first and second parts for a more comprehensive look…
This is the second part of a four-part series examining trends in Protected Area Downgrading, Downsizing, and Degazettement (PADDD). Read the first and third parts for a more comprehensive look…
This is the first part of a four-part series examining trends in Protected Area Downgrading, Downsizing, and Degazettement (PADDD). Read the second and third parts for a more comprehensive look…
Steven Amstrup will be speaking at the Wildlife Conservation Network Expo in San Francisco on October 11th, 2014. In 1773, an expedition headed by Constantine John Phipps, the Second Baron…
This is the second part of a two-part series. Part I outlines the expansion announcement. In an August 14 announcement, Bolivian Vice President, Alvaro Garcia Linera, laid out an ambitious…
Cars versus leopards: big cats and other animals face decline due to rising traffic. A big cat crosses the Mysore-Mananthavadi Highway as commercial vehicles look on. Photo credit: Vikram Nanjappa.…
This is the first part of a two-part series. Part II discusses in more detail the proposal's possible impact on Bolivia's forests. On August 14, the Bolivian Vice President, Alvaro…
Nearly a quarter of two reserves' forest cover lost within the last 13 years In southeastern Nicaragua, abutting the coastal Caribbean town of Bluefields, lie two nature reserves - Cerro…
Peru lost nearly a quarter-million hectares of forest in 2012 In 1988, when British environmentalist Norman Myers first described the concept of a “biodiversity hotspot” - an area with at…
Nothing can ruin the intensely enjoyable experience of digging into a spoonful of the delectable hazelnut spread, Nutella, than turning over the can to examine its ingredient list. Right there,…