New species of ancient human found in a Philippine cave
Over the past decade, archaeologists have dug out several pieces of bones and teeth from a cave on the island of Luzon in the Philippines. These fossil remains, all estimated…
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.
Belize to nearly triple area under strict marine protected areas
The government of Belize has approved a plan to nearly triple the area under its strictly protected waters, the Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS) announced in a press release. According to the…
New species of skink from Angola has waited over 70 years to be described
Researchers have finally described a new species of skink from Angola, specimens of which have lurked on museum shelves for more than 70 years. Belgian herpetologist Raymond Laurent first suspected that…
Study maps where tunas, sharks and fishing ships meet
Overfishing is rapidly pushing many of the world’s sharks and tunas toward extinction. The world’s fastest known shark, the shortfin mako, for example, was recently uplisted to endangered on the…
Super variable California salamander is ‘an evolutionist’s dream’
The ensatina is a fairly common salamander. From southern British Columbia in Canada to northern Baja California in Mexico, it can be found lurking under logs in forests along the…
Wikipedia searches reveal how people’s interests in wildlife change
What kinds of animals and plants are people interested in? When does their interest spike? Wikipedia may hold some answers, a new study has found. As a free and open-access…
Study uncovers 135 species of land snails in Belize, including 17 new ones
The tiny nation of Belize on the eastern coast of Central America is famed for its sparkling blue waters and rich marine life. But it has much more to offer:…
Seahorse trade continues despite export bans, study finds
Seahorses continue to be traded in large volumes, despite many source countries imposing bans on exports of the animals, a new study has found. While some of these peculiarly shaped…
180 years of herps: Q&A with Luis Ceríaco on Angola’s atlas of life
All the amphibian and reptile species that have ever been recorded in Angola have now been included in a comprehensive atlas. Covering published records from 1840 to 2017, the atlas…
Why did Serengeti’s wild dogs disappear? Study challenges controversial hypothesis
In 1991, all of the African wild dogs that previously lived in Serengeti National Park in Tanzania completely disappeared. In the debates that followed, one hypothesis became particularly controversial: in…
Abandoned plantations in forested areas may not recover fully: Study
Eucalyptus plantations in southern India that were abandoned and left to recover for nearly 40 years are still far from resembling the primary forest surrounding them, a new study has…
Report: Turkish carrier is ‘poacher’s airline of choice’ for parrot trade
Wildlife traffickers rely heavily on airlines to smuggle endangered species. Now, in a recent report, the U.K.-based charity World Animal Protection (WAP) has named Turkish Airlines as one of the…
Sri Lanka gets its first data-based elephant distribution map
For a large, charismatic and endangered species such as the Asian elephant, you might think scientists would have figured out where they hang out and when. But it turns out,…
China’s Belt and Road Initiative could increase alien species invasion
China’s ambitious, multi-trillion-dollar Belt and Road Initiative could introduce alien invasive species into several countries, threatening their native biodiversity, warns a new study. Announced by Chinese President Xi Jinping in…
Haiti’s first private nature reserve seeks to protect rare plants and animals
On an isolated mountain in southwestern Haiti, researchers and conservation groups have purchased land and carved out the island nation’s first ever private nature reserve. The new reserve, created on…
New species of leaf-mimicking lizard could already be victim of pet trade
A leaf-tailed gecko can be incredibly tricky to find. These lizards in the genus Uroplatus, found only in the forests of Madagascar, can masterfully camouflage themselves among dried leaves, sometimes…
Tanzania creates new reserve to protect rare colobus monkeys and trees
Tanzania has officially created a new protected area, the Magombera Nature Reserve, extending protection to numerous species of rare plants and animals, including the endangered Udzungwa red colobus monkey (Piliocolobus…
Coffee in trouble: 60% of wild coffee species threatened with extinction
If you're a coffee lover, you're probably familiar with the two most widely grown coffee species: Arabica (Coffea arabica) and robusta (Coffea canephora). But there are more than 100 species…
Camera traps find rich community of carnivores on Apostle Islands
The Apostle Islands, dotting Lake Superior in northern Wisconsin, U.S., are home to at least 12 species of carnivores, a new study has found. These include the American marten (Martes…
China busts major ivory trafficking gang following EIA investigation
Chinese authorities have nabbed all three identified members of a major ivory trafficking syndicate first exposed by the London-based Environmental Investigation Agency (EIA) in 2017. In its 2017 report, EIA had…
Special series
Endangered environmentalists
- Philippine officials not spared as attacks on environmental defenders persist
- ‘Guardian of the Forest’ ambushed and murdered in Brazilian Amazon
- ‘Weird’ police probe rules Indonesian activist died in drink-driving crash
Indonesias forest guardians
- Reforesting a village in Indonesia, one batch of gourmet beans at a time
- Restoring Sumatra’s Leuser Ecosystem, one small farm at a time
- Indigenous Iban community defends rainforests, but awaits lands rights recognition
Amazon infrastructure
- Yanomami Amazon reserve invaded by 20,000 miners; Bolsonaro fails to act
- Amazon infrastructure puts 68% of indigenous lands / protected areas at risk: report
- Amazon fish kill at Sinop spotlights risk from 80+ Tapajós basin dams
Asian rhinos
- Indonesia plans IVF for recently captured Sumatran rhino
- Malaysian attempt at Sumatran rhino IVF fails on low quality of sperm
- At India’s Assam Zoo, decades of experience lead to rhino-breeding success
