Population of world’s rarest giant turtle rises to 4 with new discovery
When Cu Rua, an old Yangtze giant softshell turtle, died in Vietnam in 2016, he left behind only three of his kind: an elderly pair in a Chinese zoo, and…
Articles by Shreya Dasgupta
Shreya is a science and environmental writer based in India. A former wildlife researcher, she writes about animals, conservation, biology, people and places. Her work has appeared in BBC Earth, New Scientist, Ensia, The Scientist, The Guardian and others. She lives in Bangalore with her husband and cat.
Wildlife trade detective Samuel Wasser receives prestigious Albert Schweitzer Medal
From dogs to poop, Samuel K. Wasser has used it all to monitor wildlife and track down poachers. A conservation biologist at the University of Washington, U.S., Wasser has pioneered…
Six staff killed in deadliest attack at Congo’s Virunga National Park
Suspected members of an armed militia ambushed and killed five rangers and a driver in Virunga National Park in the Democratic Republic of Congo on Monday, park authorities said, in…
Brazil creates four massive marine protected areas
Brazil will soon have four vast marine protected areas (MPAs) in the Atlantic Ocean, covering an area of more than 920,000 square kilometers (355,200 square miles). The new designation will increase the…
Small section of controversial refinery wall in Indian ‘elephant corridor’ demolished
Environmental activists in India have expressed dismay at the partial demolition of a wall built by an oil refinery that they hoped would be completely pulled down. The wall, they…
‘IUCN Green List of species’: A new way to measure conservation success
The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species, the world’s most widely used information source on a species’ conservation status, may soon get a makeover. The Red List measures the decline in populations…
Belize creates one of Central America’s largest biological corridors
Belize is set to establish one of the biggest biological corridors in Central America, connecting two nature reserves that are home to jaguars and pumas, among other wildlife. The Belize…
Bushmeat hunting threatens hornbills and raptors in Cameroon’s forests, study finds
Hornbills, vultures and eagles are being hunted for bushmeat in Cameroon in much greater numbers than previously thought, a new study has found. Previous research has shown that relatively few…
Cambodia’s banteng-eating leopards edge closer to extinction, new study finds
For Cambodia’s last remaining Indochinese leopards (Panthera pardus delacouri), extinction could be just around the corner, a new study has found. The only breeding population of this leopard subspecies in Cambodia…
New maps reveal industrial fishing in over half of world’s oceans
Industrial fishing takes place across more than 55 percent of the world’s oceans, according to a new study published in Science. Fishing is vital for food security and livelihoods across…
Study delves into overlooked community perceptions of conservation impact
Most conservation projects today must answer a key question: How does the project affect the local people? But high-quality studies that measure the impacts of conservation projects on people’s well-being remain…
Tree-dwelling animals can ‘climb’ away from climate change, study finds
Animals that live in trees in the tropics are likely to be better at crossing mountains and dealing with climate change compared to ground-dwelling animals, a new study published in…
Earthquake triggers spawning in world’s rarest fish a few thousand miles away
Last month, a powerful 7.9 magnitude earthquake struck in the northwest Pacific, rocking Alaska, U.S. More than 3,200 kilometers (2,000 miles) away, the earthquake on Jan. 23 caused waves over…
Mountain lions often lose to wolves and bears, study finds
The large, secretive puma (Puma concolor) may be at the top of its food chain, but it is not always the king of its territory. Native to the Americas, the…
The ups and downs of marine protected areas: Examining the evidence
In 1962, at the First World Conference of National Parks in Seattle, U.S., Carleton Ray, a marine biologist at the University of Virginia, pleaded the cause of setting aside “unmolested”…
New app hopes to reduce wildlife deaths on India’s roads, railway lines
India’s growing network of roads and railway lines, often crisscrossing forests and wild lands, has turned deadly for wildlife. In December last year, for example, an 8-year-old male tiger died…
New ‘ghost’ scorpion among several species recorded for the first time in Malaysian rainforest
In a first-of-its-kind expedition, a team of more than 100 scientists and students have surveyed the largely unexplored Penang Hill in the Malaysian state of Penang. The landscape of rolling…
Top 10 HAPPY environmental stories of 2017
The past year may have seemed like doom and gloom for the environment, but there was plenty to be thankful for. So once again, we bring you some of the…
Power lines killing the last remaining Great Indian Bustards in India
On Dec. 9, researchers discovered the remains of an extremely rare bird in India’s Thar Desert, in the northwestern state of Rajasthan. All that remained was a pile of bones,…
Do protected areas work in the tropics?
In 1986, Patricia Wright, then a budding primatologist, spent weeks combing the rainforests of eastern Madagascar in search of the greater bamboo lemur (Prolemur simus), a five-pound bamboo-eating primate that…
Special series
Endangered environmentalists
- Peru cracks down after environmental defenders’ murders
- Murder of activist in India highlights growing risk to environmental defenders
- Number of murdered environmental activists rose once again in 2017
Indonesias forest guardians
- Papuan chef Charles Toto serves up sustainability and environmental protection in a platter
- In eastern Indonesia, a forest tribe pushes back against miners and loggers
- Faith in the forest helps Indonesia’s Dayaks keep plantations, loggers at bay
Amazon infrastructure
- Purus-Madeira: the Amazon arc of deforestation marches north
- Bolsonaro pledges government shakeup, deregulation, Amazon development
- China increasingly involved in Brazil’s ambitious Amazon rail network
Asian rhinos
- Jaw-dropping footage: conservationists catch Javan rhino in mud wallow
- For Javan rhinos, the last holdout may also be a deadly disease hotspot
- ‘At capacity’? A Nepali park reckons with its rhinos
