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		<title>Conservation news</title>
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		<link>https://news.mongabay.com/by/rutgers/</link>
		<description>Environmental science and conservation news</description>
		<lastBuildDate>Thu, 08 Oct 2026 18:34:45 +0000</lastBuildDate>
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	<title>Stories by Rutgers -</title>
	<link>https://news.mongabay.com/by/rutgers/</link>
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				<item>
					<title>Endangered angelshark is still traded in Brazil despite import ban</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/10/endangered-angelshark-is-still-traded-in-brazil-despite-import-ban/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/10/endangered-angelshark-is-still-traded-in-brazil-despite-import-ban/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>08 Oct 2026 18:34:45 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Fernanda Wenzel]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Rebecca Kessler]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2026/10/08144635/stalls-in-the-Porto-Alegre-Public-Market-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=331970</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Brazil, Latin America, and South America]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Animals, Biodiversity, Business, Conservation, Crime, Environment, Fish, Fisheries, Fishing, Food, Food Industry, Governance, Illegal Fishing, Illegal Trade, Marine, Marine Conservation, Oceans, Saltwater Fish, Sharks, and Wildlife]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[PORTO ALEGRE, Brazil — “Good choice!” said the clerk at one of the fish stalls in the Porto Alegre Public Market when Mongabay asked about the peixe anjo, which means “angel fish” in Portuguese, in mid-September. “We sell a lot of these. It’s really good, and it doesn’t have any bones.” The same product was [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[PORTO ALEGRE, Brazil — “Good choice!” said the clerk at one of the fish stalls in the Porto Alegre Public Market when Mongabay asked about the peixe anjo, which means “angel fish” in Portuguese, in mid-September. “We sell a lot of these. It’s really good, and it doesn’t have any bones.” The same product was for sale by at least four other fishmongers in the traditional market of the capital of Rio Grande do Sul state, in the South of Brazil. Prices were attractive, ranging from 30 to 37 reais per kilo ($5.70 to $7). The problem is that the “angel” isn’t just any fish — it’s a shark. More specifically, an angelshark, and in Brazil, that means three of the world’s most endangered shark species: Squatina guggenheim, the angular angelshark; S. occulta, the hidden angelshark; and S. argentina, the Argentine angelshark. And fishing of these species is prohibited in Brazil. For many years, the Brazilian government authorized the import of angelsharks from neighboring countries. According to data from the Federal Revenue Service obtained by Mongabay through the Freedom of Information Act, 48 metric tons of S. guggenheim meat and 194.6 metric tons of S. argentina entered Brazil between January 2021 and Sept. 10, 2026, totaling 242.6 metric tons. Most of the shipments came from Argentina, entering the country through the customs ports of São Borja and Uruguaiana municipalities in Rio Grande do Sul, and Dionísio Cerqueira in Santa Catarina state. Once in Brazil, the imported product was mixed with&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2026/10/endangered-angelshark-is-still-traded-in-brazil-despite-import-ban/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
										<wfw:commentRss>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/10/endangered-angelshark-is-still-traded-in-brazil-despite-import-ban/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-331970</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>Activists cite ecological, social connections in blocking US border wall construction (commentary)</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/10/activists-cite-ecological-social-connections-in-blocking-us-border-wall-construction-commentary/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/10/activists-cite-ecological-social-connections-in-blocking-us-border-wall-construction-commentary/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>08 Oct 2026 17:56:07 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Meg Perret]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Erik Hoffner]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2026/10/08172450/IMG_8310-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=331995</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Arizona, North America, and United States]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Activism, Commentary, Conflict, Conservation, Environment, Environmental Law, Environmental Policy, Ethics, Governance, Human Migration, Law, Migration, Politics, Social Justice, Trees, and Wildlife Corridors]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[A group of activists in the small border town of Lochiel, Arizona, U.S., is fighting to save 200-year-old cottonwood trees by stopping contractors from building a section of the U.S.’s new wall along its border with Mexico. One activist lived for over 70 days in the upper branches of an ancient cottonwood dubbed the “Grandmother [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[A group of activists in the small border town of Lochiel, Arizona, U.S., is fighting to save 200-year-old cottonwood trees by stopping contractors from building a section of the U.S.’s new wall along its border with Mexico. One activist lived for over 70 days in the upper branches of an ancient cottonwood dubbed the “Grandmother Tree,” preventing construction workers from cutting it down while other activists used pulleys to bring them food and water. The protest was about more than protecting ancient trees: Activists were also fighting habitat fragmentation caused by the border wall in a landscape where biodiversity depends on ecological connectivity. The tree encampment began on July 28, after construction workers cut down three of the four cottonwood trees that were in the path of the wall. This double wall consists of two 30-foot-high (just over 9 meters) steel walls that run parallel to one another with a buffer zone between. Since then, helicopters, drones, U.S. Border Patrol agents, and local law enforcement have been surveilling the area, according to the activists at the encampment. I interviewed activists camped in the meadow adjacent to the tree, photographed the landscape, and participated in the daily morning rituals aimed at honoring Grandmother Tree and the land. There I learned that the movement has connected social and environmental issues since its inception. Many of the activists I met at the Lochiel protest are involved in No More Deaths, a humanitarian group that provides water and aid to migrants crossing the border,&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2026/10/activists-cite-ecological-social-connections-in-blocking-us-border-wall-construction-commentary/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
										<wfw:commentRss>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/10/activists-cite-ecological-social-connections-in-blocking-us-border-wall-construction-commentary/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-331995</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>Crackdown reveals ‘industrial-scale’ wildlife and timber trafficking across Latin America</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/short-article/2026/10/crackdown-reveals-industrial-scale-wildlife-and-timber-trafficking-across-latin-america/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/short-article/2026/10/crackdown-reveals-industrial-scale-wildlife-and-timber-trafficking-across-latin-america/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>08 Oct 2026 17:55:58 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Spoorthy Raman]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Bobbybascomb]]>
					</author>
															<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2026/10/08175148/189_Red-and-green_macaw_couple_flying_in_Chapada_dos_Guimaraes_National_Park_Photo_by_Giles_Laurent-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?post_type=short-article&#038;p=332013</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Latin America]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Animals, Big Cats, Biodiversity, Biodiversity Hotspots, Birds, Charismatic Animals, Conservation, Crime, Governance, Insects, Jaguars, Lions, Mammals, Organized Crime, Parrots, Raptors, Reptiles, Tigers, Trade, Wildlife, Wildlife consumption, Wildlife Rescues, Wildlife Trade, and Wildlife Trafficking]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[Authorities across nine Latin American and Caribbean countries have arrested hundreds of people and recovered more than 1,000 animals as part of a two-month coordinated operation against environmental crimes. Operation Madre Tierra was the eighth edition of a recurring Interpol-led initiative, and was conducted in June and July in Colombia, Costa Rica, the Dominican Republic, [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[Authorities across nine Latin American and Caribbean countries have arrested hundreds of people and recovered more than 1,000 animals as part of a two-month coordinated operation against environmental crimes. Operation Madre Tierra was the eighth edition of a recurring Interpol-led initiative, and was conducted in June and July in Colombia, Costa Rica, the Dominican Republic, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Mexico, Nicaragua, and Panama. Investigators found illegal timber and wildlife trafficking networks operating on an “industrial scale” along the corridor connecting Central and South America, Interpol announced in a press release. Many of the products were destined for markets in Europe and Asia, where South American wildlife is in demand as pets. Reptiles, rare insects, and exotic birds were the most commonly seized live wildlife. In Mexico, authorities seized several big cats along routes used by drug traffickers, including two endangered Bengal tigers (Panthera tigris), one of them a rare white tiger, as well as lions (Panthera leo), ocelots (Leopardus pardalis), and jaguars (Panthera onca). In Nicaragua, authorities confiscated several birds, including parrots and red-and-green macaws (Ara chloropterus), that are protected under CITES, the global wildlife trade treaty. They also seized about 165 kilograms (364 pounds) of dried shark fins, thought to be destined for the Asian market, where they could have fetched $280,000. Investigators also traced financial transactions to identify how criminals profited while evading detection. “Following the money, whether from an illegal gold mine in Panama to a buyer in North America, Europe or Asia, helps a case move&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/short-article/2026/10/crackdown-reveals-industrial-scale-wildlife-and-timber-trafficking-across-latin-america/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
										<wfw:commentRss>https://news.mongabay.com/short-article/2026/10/crackdown-reveals-industrial-scale-wildlife-and-timber-trafficking-across-latin-america/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-332013</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>Nepal ends search for thousands of flood victims, leaving some families angry and others relieved</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/short-article/2026/10/nepal-ends-search-for-thousands-of-flood-victims-leaving-some-families-angry-and-others-relieved/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/short-article/2026/10/nepal-ends-search-for-thousands-of-flood-victims-leaving-some-families-angry-and-others-relieved/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>08 Oct 2026 17:34:48 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Associated Press]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Mongabay Editor]]>
					</author>
															<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2026/10/08162840/AP26275405211174-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?post_type=short-article&#038;p=331998</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Nepal]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Disasters, Environment, Extreme Weather, Flooding, Global Environmental Crisis, and Impact Of Climate Change]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[KATHMANDU, Nepal (AP) — The families of thousands of people who remain missing in Nepal weeks after catastrophic floods devastated the country have expressed mixed feelings after the government said this week that it is stopping the search for victims. The office of Prime Minister Balendra Shah decided on Monday that search and rescue operations [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[KATHMANDU, Nepal (AP) — The families of thousands of people who remain missing in Nepal weeks after catastrophic floods devastated the country have expressed mixed feelings after the government said this week that it is stopping the search for victims. The office of Prime Minister Balendra Shah decided on Monday that search and rescue operations for victims of the Aug. 26 floods will cease. Instead, authorities will concentrate on rehabilitation and reconstruction including restoring roads and bridges cut off by floods, particularly in remote areas where damaged infrastructure has made aid deliveries difficult. Rescuers have so far recovered the bodies of at least 1,455 people, but 5,285 others remain missing, including hundreds of foreigners. The government estimates reconstruction and recovery will cost $4.77 billion. Nearly 33,000 people have been affected and about 7,500 homes were damaged or destroyed. Hopes for finding survivors were briefly revived after two Nepalese workers were rescued from an underground tunnel at the Trishuli hydropower project on Sept. 4, and again two days later when rescuers found a Chinese man at the same location. Families of victims have held protests and vigils in Nepal, calling for search efforts to be improved. “I am so angry at the government for giving up on search and rescue with thousands of people still missing. I just don’t understand how they can do that when we still have hope left that our loved one can still be found,” said Usha Khatri, who has spent days searching for her husband in&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/short-article/2026/10/nepal-ends-search-for-thousands-of-flood-victims-leaving-some-families-angry-and-others-relieved/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
										<wfw:commentRss>https://news.mongabay.com/short-article/2026/10/nepal-ends-search-for-thousands-of-flood-victims-leaving-some-families-angry-and-others-relieved/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-331998</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>South Korea strengthens migrant fisher protections. Advocates are not impressed.</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/10/south-korea-strengthens-migrant-fisher-protections-advocates-are-not-impressed/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/10/south-korea-strengthens-migrant-fisher-protections-advocates-are-not-impressed/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>08 Oct 2026 14:47:18 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Andrew Jeong]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Yenni Kwok]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2018/05/31010214/farisbobero3_Nelayan-Bajo-Sankuang-abk-bagan-ikan-saat-menarik-jangkar-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=331941</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Asia, East Asia, and South Korea]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Activism, Conflict, Crime, Culture, Environment, Environmental Law, Fisheries, Fishing, Food Industry, Forced labor, Governance, Human Rights, Industry, Law, Law Enforcement, Oceans, Regulations, Slavery, and trafficking]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[SEOUL — At 2 a.m. one night, two Indonesian fishers were gripping a flimsy, makeshift rope, hanging on for dear life. The precarious rope dangled from the eighth-floor window of a motel room overlooking a dark alley in the South Korean port city of Busan, swinging left and right with the wind. The men had [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[SEOUL — At 2 a.m. one night, two Indonesian fishers were gripping a flimsy, makeshift rope, hanging on for dear life. The precarious rope dangled from the eighth-floor window of a motel room overlooking a dark alley in the South Korean port city of Busan, swinging left and right with the wind. The men had been locked up in that room for nearly 24 hours, and they were trying to make their escape. But the crude rope, made out of tied bed sheets, unraveled, sending the men plunging. One fell to his death, hitting the pavement headfirst. The other survived with a broken leg, according to Lee Han-sook, director of the Migration and Human Rights Institute, a Busan-based civic group. She was briefed on the July 21 incident by the survivor, whom she declined to name. According to activists, the incident served as one of the last straws that prompted the government to boost efforts to crack down on human trafficking, especially abuses against migrant workers in the country’s $7.5 billion fishing industry. On Sept. 2, the Ministry of Gender Equality and Family and the Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries announced they had amended national guidelines on human trafficking to make it easier for law enforcement officials to spot and stop forced labor and other abuses in the fishing industry. The new guidelines outline specific situations in which the likelihood of human rights abuse is high, such as seeing workers who have physical injuries being left untreated, workers who have&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2026/10/south-korea-strengthens-migrant-fisher-protections-advocates-are-not-impressed/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
										<wfw:commentRss>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/10/south-korea-strengthens-migrant-fisher-protections-advocates-are-not-impressed/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-331941</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>Australia&#8217;s new eco police flexes muscles with major wildlife trafficking bust</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/short-article/2026/10/australias-new-eco-police-flexes-muscles-with-major-wildlife-trafficking-bust/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/short-article/2026/10/australias-new-eco-police-flexes-muscles-with-major-wildlife-trafficking-bust/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>08 Oct 2026 14:41:57 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Mongabay.com]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Naina Rao]]>
					</author>
															<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2026/10/08144050/Ball-Python-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?post_type=short-article&#038;p=331972</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Australia and Oceania]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Crime, Environment, Environmental Law, Governance, Illegal Trade, Law, Trade, trafficking, Wildlife, Wildlife Trade, and Wildlife Trafficking]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[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 [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[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&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/short-article/2026/10/australias-new-eco-police-flexes-muscles-with-major-wildlife-trafficking-bust/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
										<wfw:commentRss>https://news.mongabay.com/short-article/2026/10/australias-new-eco-police-flexes-muscles-with-major-wildlife-trafficking-bust/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-331972</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>Invasive species have more severe environmental impacts in Global South, study finds</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/10/invasive-species-have-more-severe-environmental-impacts-in-global-south-study-finds/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/10/invasive-species-have-more-severe-environmental-impacts-in-global-south-study-finds/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>08 Oct 2026 14:38:09 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Esther J]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Karen Coates]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2026/10/08104335/red-eared-slider-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=331861</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Global]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Biodiversity, Conservation, Diseases, Environment, Fellows, Health, Invasive Species, Mongabay.org, Planetary Health, Public Health, Research, and Wildlife]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[The environmental impacts caused by invasive alien species are more severe in poor countries of Global South than wealthy countries of Global North, a new study finds. The study shatters a long-standing assumption that wealthier Global North countries suffer the worst effects of invasive alien species (IAS) and highlights weak governance and insufficient management capacity [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[The environmental impacts caused by invasive alien species are more severe in poor countries of Global South than wealthy countries of Global North, a new study finds. The study shatters a long-standing assumption that wealthier Global North countries suffer the worst effects of invasive alien species (IAS) and highlights weak governance and insufficient management capacity as some of the reasons for greater severity of impacts in the Global South. The study published in Science in July employed a method involving the assessment of the average impact of severity, which uses a different approach from previous research. Instead of focusing on numbers of invasive species, this method focuses on how serious the level of impacts caused by invasive species are. Previously, impacts of IAS have been regarded more of a problem in the Global North because fewer large impacts were reported from the Global South, Sven Bacher, professor of ecology at University of Fribourg and the lead author of the research, told Mongabay by email. “We show that this is due to uneven reporting, and that the average impacts are actually higher in the GS [Global South]. This even holds for impacts of the same IAS introduced to both the GS and the GN [Global North]: on average their impacts are larger in the GS,” he said. Among the paper’s key findings, the scientists identified weak governance and limited management capacities as two major factors contributing to the Global South’s greater vulnerability. Some of the impacts of IAS can include damage&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2026/10/invasive-species-have-more-severe-environmental-impacts-in-global-south-study-finds/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
										<wfw:commentRss>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/10/invasive-species-have-more-severe-environmental-impacts-in-global-south-study-finds/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-331861</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>Did two of the lemurs stolen in Bangladesh end up in India? Officials are investigating</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/10/did-two-of-the-lemurs-stolen-in-bangladesh-end-up-in-india-officials-are-investigating/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/10/did-two-of-the-lemurs-stolen-in-bangladesh-end-up-in-india-officials-are-investigating/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>08 Oct 2026 14:30:14 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Sadiqur Rahman]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Abu Siddique]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2026/10/08141934/ring-tailed-lemurs-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=331951</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Asia, Bangladesh, India, and South Asia]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Animals, Biodiversity, Conservation, Crime, Environment, Environmental Law, Governance, Law, Lemurs, Primates, Wildlife, Wildlife Trafficking, and Zoos]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[The case of three ring-tailed lemurs, an endangered species, stolen from Gazipur Safari Park in Bangladesh last year resurfaced on social media in September this year, when news spread that two of the lemurs were trafficked to India and later sheltered at a private wildlife conservation facility, Vantara. The viral news prompted Vantara to release [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[The case of three ring-tailed lemurs, an endangered species, stolen from Gazipur Safari Park in Bangladesh last year resurfaced on social media in September this year, when news spread that two of the lemurs were trafficked to India and later sheltered at a private wildlife conservation facility, Vantara. The viral news prompted Vantara to release a statement, denying the allegations while assuring cooperation in sharing the DNA profile of the ring-tailed lemurs (Lemur catta) currently in its custody with Bangladesh authorities. However, the Bangladesh Forest Department was unprepared to respond to the call immediately, as it had no prior DNA profiling record of the lemurs stolen from Gazipur. Sufi Ullah, special superintendent of police under the Criminal Investigation Department of Bangladesh Police, the investigation agency, told Mongabay on Sept. 13, “Even though Bangladesh court orders further probe following the availability of the DNA profile, cross-border investigation is impossible.” Forest Department officials said that tracing the last destination is challenging and bringing the lemurs back is uncertain, as there is no repatriation protocol under the existing mutual understanding between Bangladesh and India. Mohammed Mizanur Rahman, director at Bangladesh Forest Department’s Wildlife Crime Control Unit (WCCU), said, “Further investigation and repatriation [of the lemurs] may follow only if the governments of the two countries agree to do so.” Meanwhile, South Asia Wildlife Enforcement Network Secretary General Krishna Prasad Acharya, in an email to Mongabay, said that the exchange of information can assist the concerned countries in verifying available information, coordinating follow-up, and&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2026/10/did-two-of-the-lemurs-stolen-in-bangladesh-end-up-in-india-officials-are-investigating/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
										<wfw:commentRss>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/10/did-two-of-the-lemurs-stolen-in-bangladesh-end-up-in-india-officials-are-investigating/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-331951</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>Logging threatens Bornean forest earmarked for Indigenous Peace Park</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/short-article/2026/10/logging-threatens-bornean-forest-earmarked-for-indigenous-peace-park/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/short-article/2026/10/logging-threatens-bornean-forest-earmarked-for-indigenous-peace-park/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>08 Oct 2026 14:25:13 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Mongabay.com]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Naina Rao]]>
					</author>
															<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2026/10/08142458/20230822_153133-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?post_type=short-article&#038;p=331964</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Asia, Borneo, and Southeast Asia]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[agribusiness, Business, Conservation, Forest Products, Forestry, Governance, Indigenous Peoples, Indigenous Rights, Law, Logging, Protected Areas, and Timber]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[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 [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[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&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/short-article/2026/10/logging-threatens-bornean-forest-earmarked-for-indigenous-peace-park/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
										<wfw:commentRss>https://news.mongabay.com/short-article/2026/10/logging-threatens-bornean-forest-earmarked-for-indigenous-peace-park/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-331964</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>Fishing in polluted waters</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/short-article/2026/10/fishing-in-polluted-waters/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/short-article/2026/10/fishing-in-polluted-waters/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>08 Oct 2026 14:23:56 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Izzy Sasada]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Sam Lee]]>
					</author>
															<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2026/10/08142321/NFTF-2-Thumb.png" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?post_type=short-article&#038;p=331962</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Asia, Borneo, Malaysia, and Southeast Asia]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Indigenous Peoples, Indigenous Rights, Infrastructure, Pollution, and Water Pollution]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[In a remote community in Malaysian Borneo, fishermen are facing an existential threat: their water source is being polluted. The fish they depend on is dying. Long Jawe village sits on the banks of the vast Bakun Reservoir. It is so remote that most residents only make the five-hour journey to the nearest town once [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[In a remote community in Malaysian Borneo, fishermen are facing an existential threat: their water source is being polluted. The fish they depend on is dying. Long Jawe village sits on the banks of the vast Bakun Reservoir. It is so remote that most residents only make the five-hour journey to the nearest town once a year, and visitors are rare. When the reservoir was created in the 1990s, the surrounding landscape was flooded. The community has since adapted to this enormous body of water, which is now crucial to their way of life, providing transport, food and livelihoods. But what happens when that water source becomes polluted? Join Conservation Entangled host Izzy Sasada as she travels to Long Jawe to investigate what could be behind the pollution.This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/short-article/2026/10/fishing-in-polluted-waters/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
										<wfw:commentRss>https://news.mongabay.com/short-article/2026/10/fishing-in-polluted-waters/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-331962</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>Despite legacy court case, Zambian Vedanta mine pollution continues</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/short-article/2026/10/despite-legacy-court-case-zambian-vedanta-mine-pollution-continues/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/short-article/2026/10/despite-legacy-court-case-zambian-vedanta-mine-pollution-continues/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>08 Oct 2026 04:51:31 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Victoria Schneider]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Shreya Dasgupta]]>
					</author>
															<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2026/10/08044648/Dead-fish-at-Hippo-Pool-north-of-Chingola-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?post_type=short-article&#038;p=331927</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Africa, Southern Africa, and Zambia]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Biodiversity, Ecosystems, Environment, Fish, Freshwater, Freshwater Fish, Health, Mining, Pollution, Rivers, and Wildlife]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[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 [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[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&#8217;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&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/short-article/2026/10/despite-legacy-court-case-zambian-vedanta-mine-pollution-continues/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
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					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-331927</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>Africa’s monitored wildlife populations declined 80% since 1970, new report says</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/short-article/2026/10/africas-monitored-wildlife-populations-declined-80-since-1970-new-report-says/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/short-article/2026/10/africas-monitored-wildlife-populations-declined-80-since-1970-new-report-says/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>07 Oct 2026 23:05:41 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[David Akana]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Bobbybascomb]]>
					</author>
															<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2026/10/07225750/Namibian_Elephants_in_Etosha-Stephan_Scholvin-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?post_type=short-article&#038;p=331871</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Africa]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[30x30 conservation target, Animals, Biodiversity, Biodiversity Hotspots, Community-based Conservation, Conservation, Crime, Elephants, Environment, Global Environmental Crisis, Governance, Habitat, Habitat Degradation, Habitat Loss, Hunting, Ivory, Mammals, Poaching, Pollution, Wildlife, Wildlife Trade, and Wildlife Trafficking]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[Africa’s monitored wildlife populations have declined an average of 80% since 1970, according to a new global assessment. The report also points to pockets of recovery where conservation efforts have been maintained over decades. The report on the decline in the average size of monitored populations was released Oct. 8 in the Living Planet Report [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[Africa’s monitored wildlife populations have declined an average of 80% since 1970, according to a new global assessment. The report also points to pockets of recovery where conservation efforts have been maintained over decades. The report on the decline in the average size of monitored populations was released Oct. 8 in the Living Planet Report 2026. It tracked monitored populations of mammals, birds, fish, reptiles and amphibians between 1970 and 2022. Africa’s 80% decline compares with a global average of 73%; Latin America and the Caribbean recorded the largest regional decline, at 95%. The findings come as governments prepare to assess progress on the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework, whose 23 targets include commitments to halt human-induced extinctions and support the recovery of threatened species by 2030. The framework also calls for conserving at least 30% of the world’s land, inland waters and seas by 2030. The Living Planet Index, managed by the Zoological Society of London in partnership with the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF), draws on 35,803 population trends from 5,790 vertebrate species worldwide. The index measure changes in the average size of monitored populations, it does not mean that Africa lost 80% of its wild animals or wildlife species, a press release obtained by Mongabay cautions. Habitat destruction and degradation are the most frequently reported pressures on the wildlife populations tracked globally, the report finds. Overexploitation, climate change, pollution, disease and invasive species are among the other threats identified. In the Congo Basin, for example, those pressures&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/short-article/2026/10/africas-monitored-wildlife-populations-declined-80-since-1970-new-report-says/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
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					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-331871</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>Can WarWilding defend Poland’s borders and save Europe’s last ancient forest?</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/10/can-warwilding-defend-polands-borders-and-save-europes-last-ancient-forest/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/10/can-warwilding-defend-polands-borders-and-save-europes-last-ancient-forest/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>07 Oct 2026 20:13:42 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Marta Kasztelan]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Morgan Erickson-Davis]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2026/10/07161238/European_bison_Bison_bonasus_male_Bialowieza-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=331825</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Eastern Europe, Europe, and Poland]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Biodiversity, Conservation, Conservation leadership, Development, Ecosystems, Environment, Forests, Habitat, Infrastructure, Old Growth Forests, Roads, Sustainable Development, Sustainable Forest Management, and Wildlife]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[BIAŁOWIEŻA, Poland — Michal Żmihorski, deputy director of the Institute of Environmental Protection, will never forget the morning of Aug. 1, 2023. Two Belarusian helicopters entered Polish airspace, hovering above the village of Białowieża in eastern Poland, three kilometers (1.9 miles) from the Polish-Belarusian border. The panic was palpable. “We didn’t know if the invasion [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[BIAŁOWIEŻA, Poland — Michal Żmihorski, deputy director of the Institute of Environmental Protection, will never forget the morning of Aug. 1, 2023. Two Belarusian helicopters entered Polish airspace, hovering above the village of Białowieża in eastern Poland, three kilometers (1.9 miles) from the Polish-Belarusian border. The panic was palpable. “We didn’t know if the invasion had begun, if they were going to start dropping bombs,” he says during a conversation at the Białowieża-based Mammal Research Institute. The incident galvanized Żmihorski’s conviction that the borderlands should be impenetrable to enemy forces. “So that bandits on motorbikes can’t get through and start murdering people, because this is a real threat in this area,” says the longtime researcher of the UNESCO-protected Białowieża Forest straddling the Polish-Belarusian frontier. Poland shares a 420-km (261-mi) border with Belarus, 55 km (34 mi) of which runs through the Białowieża Forest, Europe’s last ancient woodland. This sprawling forest, covering an area equivalent to 200,000 football pitches, is among the continent’s top biodiversity hotspots. Consisting of impressive evergreens and broad-leaved trees, the Polish side alone is home to 900 European bison (Bison bonasus) — a species reintroduced to the forest — as well as lynx, wolves and up to 4,000 fungi species. While the specter of a military escalation by Belarus, a country that supports Russia, feels very real to some in this part of Eastern Europe, Poles throughout the country have been impacted by the war ever since Russia invaded Ukraine in 2022. To strengthen national security and&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2026/10/can-warwilding-defend-polands-borders-and-save-europes-last-ancient-forest/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
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					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-331825</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>Arabian Sea humpbacks may be a unique subspecies at risk of extinction</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/short-article/2026/10/arabian-sea-humpbacks-may-be-a-unique-subspecies-at-risk-of-extinction/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/short-article/2026/10/arabian-sea-humpbacks-may-be-a-unique-subspecies-at-risk-of-extinction/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>07 Oct 2026 18:39:53 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Naina Rao]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Shreya Dasgupta]]>
					</author>
															<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2026/10/07183207/Photo-3-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?post_type=short-article&#038;p=331868</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Indian Ocean]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Animals, Biodiversity, Cetaceans, Charismatic Animals, Environment, Mammals, Marine Animals, Marine Mammals, Oceans, Threatened species, Whales, and Wildlife]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[Humpback whales found in the Arabian Sea are likely a distinct subspecies, having evolved in isolation for tens of thousands of years, according to a newly published genetic analysis. “Arabian Sea humpback whales have long been an enigma to the scientific community,” lead author Rita Amaral, from the Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS), said in a [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[Humpback whales found in the Arabian Sea are likely a distinct subspecies, having evolved in isolation for tens of thousands of years, according to a newly published genetic analysis. “Arabian Sea humpback whales have long been an enigma to the scientific community,” lead author Rita Amaral, from the Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS), said in a press release. “Their ecology is unlike that of any other known humpback whale population, and this new genetic work represents an important milestone in understanding how that uniqueness developed.” Humpback whales (Megaptera novaeangliae) are found throughout the world’s oceans, typically migrating from warm waters near the equator, where they breed, to the colder poles, where they feed. To date, scientists recognize three subspecies: the North Atlantic (M. n. novaeangliae), Southern Hemisphere (M. n. australis), and North Pacific (M. n. kuzira) humpback whales. Unlike most humpbacks, however, the population living in the Arabian Sea doesn’t migrate, remaining in tropical and subtropical waters all year. Researchers compared mitochondrial DNA, which mothers pass to their babies, collected from 2,285 humpback whales globally, including those from the Arabian Sea coast of Oman. The analysis showed considerable genetic differentiation between the latter population and the other subspecies. The researchers also found the Arabian Sea population had the lowest genetic diversity observed across any global ocean basin. The study estimates humpback whales in the Arabian Sea diverged from the other populations between roughly 43,000 and 113,000 years ago, suggesting a long history of isolation. Such isolation also makes them vulnerable to&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/short-article/2026/10/arabian-sea-humpbacks-may-be-a-unique-subspecies-at-risk-of-extinction/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
										<wfw:commentRss>https://news.mongabay.com/short-article/2026/10/arabian-sea-humpbacks-may-be-a-unique-subspecies-at-risk-of-extinction/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-331868</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>Tropical Storm Isaias forms, is forecast to become a hurricane and hit US Gulf Coast this week</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/short-article/2026/10/tropical-storm-isaias-forms-is-forecast-to-become-a-hurricane-and-hit-us-gulf-coast-this-week/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/short-article/2026/10/tropical-storm-isaias-forms-is-forecast-to-become-a-hurricane-and-hit-us-gulf-coast-this-week/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>07 Oct 2026 18:09:01 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Associated Press]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Mongabay Editor]]>
					</author>
															<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2026/10/07180212/AP26280555166570-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?post_type=short-article&#038;p=331865</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[United States]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Climate, Climate Change, Disasters, Earth Science, Environment, Extreme Weather, Flooding, Global Environmental Crisis, Impact Of Climate Change, and Weather]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[MIAMI (AP) — Tropical Storm Isaias formed Wednesday in the warm waters off eastern Mexico and forecasters said it was expected to strengthen into the first hurricane of the Atlantic season before hitting the U.S. Gulf Coast later in the week. The rapidly strengthening storm was on track to tie or break a 121-year-old record [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[MIAMI (AP) — Tropical Storm Isaias formed Wednesday in the warm waters off eastern Mexico and forecasters said it was expected to strengthen into the first hurricane of the Atlantic season before hitting the U.S. Gulf Coast later in the week. The rapidly strengthening storm was on track to tie or break a 121-year-old record as the latest arriving initial hurricane of the Atlantic season. According to the National Weather Service, the record dates to 1905, when the year&#8217;s first Atlantic hurricane formed on Oct. 8. The Miami-based National Hurricane Center on Wednesday issued a hurricane watch for the northern Gulf Coast from Bay St. Louis, Mississippi, to Indian Pass on the Florida Panhandle. The watch means hurricane conditions are possible within 48 hours. Isaias was centered about 260 miles (420 kilometers) northwest of Progreso, Mexico, and about 540 miles (870 kilometers) southwest of the Mississippi River’s mouth, according to the National Hurricane Center. It had maximum sustained winds of 45 mph (75 kph) and was moving east-northeast at 8 mph (13 kph). Forecasters predict Isaias will become a hurricane by Thursday as it turns northward toward the U.S. Gulf Coast. Though its path and timing could shift, the storm is expected to make landfall late Friday or early Saturday. The hurricane center said residents of the northern Gulf Coast should prepare for dangerous wind, storm surge and heavy rain that could trigger flash floods. “It’s definitely time to look at your hurricane plan and put whatever you need into&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/short-article/2026/10/tropical-storm-isaias-forms-is-forecast-to-become-a-hurricane-and-hit-us-gulf-coast-this-week/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
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					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-331865</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>‘A few are afraid of the chicks’: Preparing Thailand’s rescued leopard cats for life in the wild</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/10/a-few-are-afraid-of-the-chicks-preparing-thailands-rescued-leopard-cats-for-life-in-the-wild/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/10/a-few-are-afraid-of-the-chicks-preparing-thailands-rescued-leopard-cats-for-life-in-the-wild/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>07 Oct 2026 17:30:57 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Ana Norman Bermúdez]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Isabel Esterman]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2026/10/07165523/leopard-cat-release-25-of-26-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=331841</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Asia, Southeast Asia, and Thailand]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Animal Behavior, Animals, Biodiversity, Biology, Cats, Charismatic Animals, Conservation, Cute, Environment, Governance, Habitat, Mammals, Research, Science, Small Cats, Wildlife, and Wildlife Rehabilitation]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[KHON KAEN, Thailand &#8211; A wildlife officer holds a leopard cat cub in one hand, its entire body small enough for her fingers to wrap around its torso. With the other hand, she feeds it formula milk from a syringe. This is the latest rescue at the Department of National Parks and Wildlife’s rescue center [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[KHON KAEN, Thailand &#8211; A wildlife officer holds a leopard cat cub in one hand, its entire body small enough for her fingers to wrap around its torso. With the other hand, she feeds it formula milk from a syringe. This is the latest rescue at the Department of National Parks and Wildlife’s rescue center in Khon Kaen, northeastern Thailand, which rehabilitates and ultimately releases dozens of lost and injured leopard cat cubs every year. Behind the officer, 15 larger leopard cats (Prionailurus bengalensis), rescued as young cubs months earlier, pace around inside their cages. They look a lot like domestic cats, only slightly more slender and with sharply defined markings on their fur; unlike domestic cats, they bare their teeth and growl whenever a human walks past. Nine of the cats, between 8 and 9 months old, will be released in the forest that afternoon. The other six, a younger cohort, will take their place in the center’s specialized behavioral rehabilitation pens, where they will spend two months practicing their climbing and hunting skills in preparation for life in the wild. Leopard cats are small wild felines common across much of Asia. The IUCN classes them as least concern, though experts believe populations are increasingly vulnerable to hunting and habitat loss. Highly adaptable to changing landscapes, leopard cats often live close to farms and villages. In northeastern Thailand, females are frequently found raising their litters in sugarcane fields. The tall leaves offer shelter from the sun, but proximity to&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2026/10/a-few-are-afraid-of-the-chicks-preparing-thailands-rescued-leopard-cats-for-life-in-the-wild/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
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					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-331841</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>International pledge to fund forest rights exceeds target, but direct funding remains low</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/10/international-pledge-to-fund-forest-rights-exceeds-target-but-direct-funding-remains-low/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/10/international-pledge-to-fund-forest-rights-exceeds-target-but-direct-funding-remains-low/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>07 Oct 2026 17:23:29 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Aimee Gabay]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Latoya Abulu]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2026/10/07154220/AP24302739182917-Jayapura-Papua-province-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=331812</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Global]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Climate Justice, Community Development, Community Forests, Conservation, Culture, Deforestation, Environment, Finance, Funding, Governance, Human Rights, Indigenous Peoples, Indigenous Reserves, Indigenous Rights, Land Rights, Law, Politics, Protected Areas, and Social Justice]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[Funders of the $1.7 billion pledge to support Indigenous peoples and local communities’ land rights, announced at the 2021 United Nations Climate Change Conference, say they have exceeded the target by 35%, delivering $2.35 billion between 2021 and 2025. According to the final report of the Forest Tenure Funders Group (FTFG), in 2025 alone, donors [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[Funders of the $1.7 billion pledge to support Indigenous peoples and local communities’ land rights, announced at the 2021 United Nations Climate Change Conference, say they have exceeded the target by 35%, delivering $2.35 billion between 2021 and 2025. According to the final report of the Forest Tenure Funders Group (FTFG), in 2025 alone, donors provided about $486 million. Sources say the five-year pledge was a major accomplishment, but problems around direct access, regional inequality, funding for women and youth and aid sustainability persist. In 2025, only 7.2% went directly to Indigenous and local community organizations, the latest report found, while the vast majority still flowed through intermediaries, such as NGOs, consultancies and development banks. According to recently updated data in the report, the share of direct funding has increased over the five-year period, from 2.9% of the $351 million provided by donors in 2021, decreasing to 2.1% of the $514 million in 2022. By 2023, this number had risen to 10.6% of the $533 million provided that year, and in 2024, 7.6% of the $467 million provided went directly to these groups. “The pledge was good news, but the figure of the result doesn&#8217;t tell us how much actually reached the territories,” Myrna Cunningham Kain, of the Indigenous Miskito community of Waspam and chair of the Guiding Committee at the Pawanka Fund, told Mongabay over email. The Pawanka Fund is a global organization led by Indigenous people that channels financial and technical resources directly to Indigenous peoples and other&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2026/10/international-pledge-to-fund-forest-rights-exceeds-target-but-direct-funding-remains-low/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
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					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-331812</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>Invading the globe: Bird flu now threatens Australia and Oceania</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/10/invading-the-globe-bird-flu-now-threatens-australia-and-oceania/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/10/invading-the-globe-bird-flu-now-threatens-australia-and-oceania/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>07 Oct 2026 17:02:43 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Christine Heinrichs]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Sharon Guynup]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2026/10/02172718/Australian-Sea-Lion-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=331586</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Australia, Europe, Global, Latin America, Oceania, and United States]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Animals, Biodiversity, Birds, Conservation, Diseases, Environment, Marine Animals, Marine Mammals, Research, Science, Wildlife, and Zoonotic Diseases]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[Like a dark cloud of pestilence spreading across the globe in a science fiction movie, a highly contagious, fatal strain of avian influenza is continuing its death march across the globe, infecting wild birds, poultry, dairy cattle and mammals from pole-to-pole, sometimes with massive mortalities. In mid-June, it invaded the last bird flu-free continent, Australia, when [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[Like a dark cloud of pestilence spreading across the globe in a science fiction movie, a highly contagious, fatal strain of avian influenza is continuing its death march across the globe, infecting wild birds, poultry, dairy cattle and mammals from pole-to-pole, sometimes with massive mortalities. In mid-June, it invaded the last bird flu-free continent, Australia, when the first cases of this lethal virus were detected in migratory seabirds, who likely brought it from the Antarctic to Australian islands, and then, inland. “These outbreaks mark the loss of the last continent previously free from the virus,” said Amandine Gamble, an expert on pathogens in endangered seabirds at Cornell University in the U.S., in a statement. “There are serious concerns for wildlife in Australia, New Zealand and surrounding islands, which are home to many already vulnerable endemic species.” The virus has spread rapidly since then, killing thousands of birds in some 690 “events” as of Oct. 6. An event may involve a confirmed infection or death of one — or many — animals. H5N1 has now spilled over into mammals, including endangered Australian sea lions (Neophoca cinerea) at key breeding sites. Across the globe, species that live or breed in colonies have died in shocking numbers, and this virus continues to mutate and adapt, infecting new hosts. As of publication, it had infected some 613 types of bird and about 112 mammal species, both wild and domestic, according to the Food and Agricultural Organization of the United Nations. “We have seen this virus&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2026/10/invading-the-globe-bird-flu-now-threatens-australia-and-oceania/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
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					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-331586</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>International Whaling Commission rejects push to revive commercial whaling</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/10/international-whaling-commission-rejects-push-to-revive-commercial-whaling/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/10/international-whaling-commission-rejects-push-to-revive-commercial-whaling/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>07 Oct 2026 11:20:26 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Elizabeth Claire Alberts]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Rebecca Kessler]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2026/10/07110650/OceanImageBank_LarsvonRitterZahony_14-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=331801</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Global]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Fisheries, Oceans, and Whaling]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[A push to reopen the door to commercial whaling failed at the recent meeting of the International Whaling Commission (IWC) after a controversial resolution was taken off the table on the last day. The draft resolution, put forward by the Caribbean nation of Antigua and Barbuda and co-sponsored by Palau, St. Kitts and Nevis, St. [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[A push to reopen the door to commercial whaling failed at the recent meeting of the International Whaling Commission (IWC) after a controversial resolution was taken off the table on the last day. The draft resolution, put forward by the Caribbean nation of Antigua and Barbuda and co-sponsored by Palau, St. Kitts and Nevis, St. Lucia and Togo, called for the IWC to discuss the “sustainable use of whale resources” and introduced a path toward the reintroduction of commercial whaling. The bill, however, was ultimately withdrawn by another Caribbean nation, Grenada, which did not co-sponsor the bill, leaving the IWC’s 40-year-old global moratorium on commercial whaling intact. The IWC, an intergovernmental organization that oversees the management and conservation of cetaceans, including whales, dolphins and porpoises, convened its 70th meeting between Sept. 27 and Oct. 2 in Hobart, Tasmania. Approximately 400 delegates from all 89 member governments and several observer organizations attended this year’s commission meeting, which has been held biennially since 2012. The meeting marked 80 years since the IWC was established and 40 years since the moratorium it placed on commercial whaling took effect. The International Convention for the Regulation of Whaling, the international agreement that established the IWC in 1946, only refers to baleen and toothed whales, leading some to believe the moratorium only applies to these species, and not smaller cetacean species. Experts say the moratorium has aided the recovery of many whale species once on the brink of extinction due to whaling. But other threats to&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2026/10/international-whaling-commission-rejects-push-to-revive-commercial-whaling/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
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					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-331801</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>Wild tulips in Central Asia have become rare, expert says</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/short-article/2026/10/wild-tulips-in-central-asia-have-become-rare-expert-says/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/short-article/2026/10/wild-tulips-in-central-asia-have-become-rare-expert-says/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>07 Oct 2026 10:53:31 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Mongabay.com]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Shreya Dasgupta]]>
					</author>
															<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2026/08/26062941/Tulipa-anadroma-1-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?post_type=short-article&#038;p=331799</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Asia and Central Asia]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Biodiversity, Biodiversity Hotspots, Climate Change, Conservation, Environment, Ex-situ Conservation, Impact Of Climate Change, Overexploitation, Plants, Trade, Wildlife, and Wildlife Trade]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[More than half of the world’s wild tulip species assessed so far are threatened with extinction, reports Mongabay’s Shreya Dasgupta. “For a flower this famous, it may surprise people how rare its wild relatives have become,” Brett Wilson, co-founder of the Wild Tulip Specialist Group at the IUCN, the global nature conservation authority, told Mongabay [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[More than half of the world’s wild tulip species assessed so far are threatened with extinction, reports Mongabay’s Shreya Dasgupta. “For a flower this famous, it may surprise people how rare its wild relatives have become,” Brett Wilson, co-founder of the Wild Tulip Specialist Group at the IUCN, the global nature conservation authority, told Mongabay in an interview. Researchers have so far assessed the conservation status of 62 wild tulip species for the IUCN Red List, Wilson said. Of these, 32 are threatened with extinction. Most of the assessed species, 53, occur in Central Asia; five are critically endangered, seven endangered, 15 vulnerable, and 14 classified as near threatened. These at-risk wild tulips are concentrated in the massive Central Asian mountain systems of Tien Shan and Pamir-Alay, which Wilson calls the single richest region on Earth for tulip diversity. The biggest threats to most wild tulips are livestock overgrazing and climate change. Tulips grow underground as dormant bulbs in cold, harsh conditions, before emerging and flowering in spring. Grazing animals can trample tulip bulbs and eat the flowers before they produce seeds, Wilson said. Meanwhile, “a warming, drying climate is squeezing mountain species upslope with nowhere left to go while more unpredictable weather can lead to landslides and floods,” he added. Other threats including mining, infrastructure development, and overharvesting of bulbs from the wild, which affect specific species. The “classic victims of overcollection,” Wilson said, are the big, showy red-flowered species growing close to settlements. “Tulipa fosteriana in Uzbekistan and&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/short-article/2026/10/wild-tulips-in-central-asia-have-become-rare-expert-says/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
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					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-331799</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>Colombia’s new government backs fracking as debate over energy future heats up</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/10/colombias-new-government-backs-fracking-as-debate-over-energy-future-heats-up/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/10/colombias-new-government-backs-fracking-as-debate-over-energy-future-heats-up/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>07 Oct 2026 10:46:55 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Catherine Ellis]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Alexandra Popescu]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2026/10/07103518/Residents-in-the-Medio-Magdalena-region-protest-against-proposed-fracking-CREDIT-Alianza-Colombia-Libre-de-Fracking-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=331720</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Colombia, Global, Latin America, and South America]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Clean Energy, Climate Change, Ecosystems, Energy, Energy Security, Energy Transition, Fossil Fuels, Fracking, Governance, Greenhouse Gas Emissions, Natural Resources, Politics, and Renewable Energy]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[PUERTO WILCHES, Santander &#8211; On the banks of Colombia’s largest river, the town and the wider municipality of Puerto Wilches sit amid a maze of wetlands and floodplain lakes in the Middle Magdalena Valley. Residents spend weekends at riverside swimming spots known as balnearios and nearby waterfalls, while local fishermen still cast their nets each [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[PUERTO WILCHES, Santander &#8211; On the banks of Colombia’s largest river, the town and the wider municipality of Puerto Wilches sit amid a maze of wetlands and floodplain lakes in the Middle Magdalena Valley. Residents spend weekends at riverside swimming spots known as balnearios and nearby waterfalls, while local fishermen still cast their nets each morning. Since about 2018, however, the municipality has been a focal point in Colombia’s debate over how to balance energy security, environmental concerns, and the transition away from fossil fuels. In 2021, Puerto Wilches was chosen for two pilot projects to test whether fracking, a method of extracting oil and gas trapped in shale rock, could be done commercially in Colombia, targeting shale formations beneath the region. Then-President Gustavo Petro later halted the projects, arguing that Colombia should move away from fossil fuels rather than expand oil and gas production. But that policy could soon be reversed under the new government of right-wing populist Abelardo de la Espriella, who during his campaign pledged to &#8220;fully open the door to fracking.&#8221; De la Espriella and other fracking supporters say the practice could help shore up Colombia&#8217;s gas supplies. According to the National Hydrocarbons Agency (ANH), the country’s proven gas reserves will only last another 5.9 years at the current production rate and with no new discoveries. Critics, however, warn that fracking could expose communities and ecosystems to environmental risks while also deepening Colombia&#8217;s reliance on fossil fuels, just as the country has been accelerating its clean&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2026/10/colombias-new-government-backs-fracking-as-debate-over-energy-future-heats-up/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
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					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-331720</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>Death of anti-plague lab worker in Russia prompts quarantines and international concern</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/short-article/2026/10/death-of-anti-plague-lab-worker-in-russia-prompts-quarantines-and-international-concern/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/short-article/2026/10/death-of-anti-plague-lab-worker-in-russia-prompts-quarantines-and-international-concern/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>07 Oct 2026 05:42:26 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Naina Rao]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Shreya Dasgupta]]>
					</author>
															<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2026/10/07054203/Irkutsk_Russia1-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?post_type=short-article&#038;p=331786</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Eastern Europe, Europe, and Russia]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Bacteria, Chemicals, Communication, Diseases, Governance, Health, Medicine, Pandemics, Public Health, Research, Science, and Tracking]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[The reported death of a 28-year-old laboratory technician in eastern Siberia has triggered regional quarantines and international attention over fears of the cause of death and a lack of transparency. According to local media reports, Darya Shipilova, a technician employed at the Irkutsk Anti-Plague Research Institute of Siberia and the Far East, died on Oct. [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[The reported death of a 28-year-old laboratory technician in eastern Siberia has triggered regional quarantines and international attention over fears of the cause of death and a lack of transparency. According to local media reports, Darya Shipilova, a technician employed at the Irkutsk Anti-Plague Research Institute of Siberia and the Far East, died on Oct. 2 at a regional hospital in the nearby town of Shelekhov. She had been diagnosed with pneumonia of “unknown” origin, according to Rospotrebnadzor, Russia’s public health agency. Local Russian media reported that Shipilova told medical staff she had accidentally dropped a test tube containing live bacteria while collecting samples. Rospotrebnadzor refuted claims of a biosafety reach, maintaining that tests detected no professional pathogens and there had been no complaints from other staff at the institute regarding infectious diseases in the past 10 days, Russian newspaper Kommersant reports. Russian authorities have reportedly quarantined the hospital and anyone who came into contact with the employee, according to the Associated Press (AP). AP also reports that Anna Popova, the head of Rospotrebnadzor, flew to Irkutsk for an emergency anti-epidemic meeting with the region’s Governor Igor Kobzev, who called the case a “particularly dangerous infection”. Local media have reported that more than 60 staff members at the Anti-Plague Institute were isolated inside their workplace. Unofficial reports, including those from the independent Russian media outlet Liudi Baikala, said that nearly 200 people were placed under medical observation or isolation. “Attention must be paid to the reported illness and death of&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/short-article/2026/10/death-of-anti-plague-lab-worker-in-russia-prompts-quarantines-and-international-concern/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
										<wfw:commentRss>https://news.mongabay.com/short-article/2026/10/death-of-anti-plague-lab-worker-in-russia-prompts-quarantines-and-international-concern/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-331786</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>New crocodile species found fossilized in stone used to build Egypt’s Great Sphinx</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/10/new-crocodile-species-found-fossilized-in-stone-used-to-build-egypts-great-sphinx/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/10/new-crocodile-species-found-fossilized-in-stone-used-to-build-egypts-great-sphinx/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>06 Oct 2026 23:14:27 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Liz Kimbrough]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Liz Kimbrough]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2026/10/06231012/Sphinx-croc_Herugavialis_cairensis-768x512.png" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=331777</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Africa, Egypt, and North Africa]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Biodiversity, Conservation, Environment, Green, and Wildlife]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[About 45 million years ago in northern Egypt, a long-snouted crocodile hunted in the warm, shallow sea. Its bones settled into the same limestone formation that ancient Egyptians would later carry and carve into the Great Sphinx. Now, a century after researchers first dug up the fossils, they say the animal is a species new [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[About 45 million years ago in northern Egypt, a long-snouted crocodile hunted in the warm, shallow sea. Its bones settled into the same limestone formation that ancient Egyptians would later carry and carve into the Great Sphinx. Now, a century after researchers first dug up the fossils, they say the animal is a species new to science. The extinct reptile, named Herugavialis cairensis, is described in a study published in Royal Society Open Science. Like the Sphinx, the fossil is missing the tip of its nose. &#8220;Given this coincidence with the famously missing nose of the Great Sphinx, we decided to name the new crocodile after the Egyptian god Heru, who was possibly the inspiration for this iconic monument,&#8221; Philip Mannion, a paleontologist at University College London who co-led the study, said in a press release. The fossils, including a nearly complete skull, were recovered in the 1920s from Egypt&#8217;s Mokattam Formation. At the time, scientists assigned them to Tomistoma, the genus of the living false gharial (Tomistoma schlegelii), because the two looked alike. An international team from the U.K., Sweden, Germany and Egypt decided to take another look at the fossils with modern tools. Led by Paul Burke of the Swedish Museum of Natural History in Stockholm, the researchers used CT scans to see inside the skull. They found several features that set the fossil apart from the false gharial. Herugavialis belongs to a group of long-snouted crocodilians called gavials. Fossils show gavials once lived nearly worldwide, and many&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2026/10/new-crocodile-species-found-fossilized-in-stone-used-to-build-egypts-great-sphinx/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
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					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-331777</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>Indigenous activist Kynan Tegar on Indonesia’s fires, and defending the Earth</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/podcast/2026/10/indigenous-activist-kynan-tegar-on-indonesias-fires-and-defending-the-earth/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/podcast/2026/10/indigenous-activist-kynan-tegar-on-indonesias-fires-and-defending-the-earth/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>06 Oct 2026 19:06:37 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Basten GokkonMike DiGirolamo]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Mikedigirolamo]]>
					</author>
															<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2024/11/15123538/5-Customary-long-house-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?post_type=podcasts&#038;p=331702</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Indonesia and West Kalimantan]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Activism, Conservation, Corporate Environmental Transgressors, Corporations, Environment, Fires, Human Rights, Indigenous Peoples, and Indigenous Rights]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[Indigenous activist and filmmaker Kynan Tegar joins the Mongabay Newscast this week to discuss the impacts of the fires devastating Kalimantan, the Indonesian portion of the island of Borneo. Some 48,000 hectares (about 119,000 acres) of land have burned so far this year; Kynan says these fires are intentional on the part of agricultural corporations. [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[Indigenous activist and filmmaker Kynan Tegar joins the Mongabay Newscast this week to discuss the impacts of the fires devastating Kalimantan, the Indonesian portion of the island of Borneo. Some 48,000 hectares (about 119,000 acres) of land have burned so far this year; Kynan says these fires are intentional on the part of agricultural corporations. “The process that has gotten us to this point right now, where fires are raging through the island, it’s a process that started maybe you can draw the line up to the 1970s, which was around the time where the Indonesian New Order period regime of Suharto was leasing out a lot of lands as concessions to companies,” she says. “A lot of times it’s logging, it’s palm oil concessions, it’s also gold mines.” Corporations have drained more than 1 million hectares (2.5 million acres) of peatland, she says. But the impact, she says, that isn’t receiving as much attention is the decreased access to freshwater for Indigenous and local communities, which both climate change and El Niño are making worse. “It’s quite an ironic thing. Like, it’s one of the world&#8217;s biggest rainforest[s], and a lot of the people there are struggling for water. So that, on top of the conditions created by the massive wildfires that has been happening since July … has put a lot of the people there in strain,” she says. Kynan released a spoken-word music video in 2024 to dramatize and tell the story of her community, Sungai Utik,&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/podcast/2026/10/indigenous-activist-kynan-tegar-on-indonesias-fires-and-defending-the-earth/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
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					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-331702</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>100 conservation projects are looking for funding after USAID’s closure</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/short-article/2026/10/100-conservation-projects-are-looking-for-funding-after-usaids-closure/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/short-article/2026/10/100-conservation-projects-are-looking-for-funding-after-usaids-closure/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>06 Oct 2026 18:20:09 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Rhett Ayers Butler]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Rhett Butler]]>
					</author>
															<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2026/09/24143236/USAID-1-scaled-e1791303366230-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?post_type=short-article&#038;p=331767</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Global]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Animals, Biodiversity, Biodiversity Hotspots, Community Forests, Community-based Conservation, Conservation, Conservation Finance, Finance, Forestry, Governance, Sustainable Forest Management, and Wildlife]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[Founder&#8217;s Briefs: An occasional series where Mongabay founder Rhett Ayers Butler shares analysis, perspectives and story summaries. Twenty months after the dismantling of USAID, a new analysis documents what the international development agency’s disappearance has meant for conservation projects around the world. Projects have stalled or collapsed in countries from Kenya to Bangladesh, reports Mongabay&#8217;s [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[Founder&#8217;s Briefs: An occasional series where Mongabay founder Rhett Ayers Butler shares analysis, perspectives and story summaries. Twenty months after the dismantling of USAID, a new analysis documents what the international development agency’s disappearance has meant for conservation projects around the world. Projects have stalled or collapsed in countries from Kenya to Bangladesh, reports Mongabay&#8217;s Ashoka Mukpo. Wildlife patrols, forest monitoring, community conservation programs and environmental policy work have all been hit. The report draws on interviews and surveys involving 150 people familiar with the agency’s work in Bangladesh, Peru, Kenya, Colombia and Vietnam. It was produced by One Earth Partners, a consultancy founded by former senior USAID officials Monica Bansal and Hadas Kushnir. U.S. President Donald Trump’s dismantlement of USAID removed nearly $1 billion from global conservation and environment funding. USAID spent $366 million on biodiversity conservation and $257 million on climate adaptation in fiscal year 2024, plus hundreds of millions more on clean energy, natural climate solutions, ocean plastics and pollution. The report traces what happened to some of that work after the agency was dismantled. USAID had trained officials in Colombia and Peru to use satellite data to monitor Amazon deforestation. It was a major supporter of anti-poaching and wildlife law enforcement at Mozambique’s Gorongosa National Park. In Bangladesh, nearly two decades of work had gone into helping communities develop nature-based tourism and negotiate revenue-sharing arrangements around protected areas. Kenya was particularly hard hit. Daniel Sopia, who heads the Maasai Mara Wildlife Conservancies Association, told Mongabay that&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/short-article/2026/10/100-conservation-projects-are-looking-for-funding-after-usaids-closure/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
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					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-331767</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>Solar power helps Amazon communities ditch diesel and prepare for El Niño drought</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/short-article/2026/10/solar-power-helps-amazon-communities-ditch-diesel-and-prepare-for-el-nino-drought/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/short-article/2026/10/solar-power-helps-amazon-communities-ditch-diesel-and-prepare-for-el-nino-drought/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>06 Oct 2026 16:06:43 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Associated Press]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Mongabay Editor]]>
					</author>
															<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2026/10/06160008/AP26272825099885-scaled-e1791302750226-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?post_type=short-article&#038;p=331764</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Brazil]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Adaptation To Climate Change, Alternative Energy, Climate, Climate Change, Disasters, Energy, Environment, Extreme Weather, Global Environmental Crisis, Natural Resources, Renewable Energy, Solar Power, Solutions, and Weather]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[SANTAREM, Brazil (AP) — Off-grid solar power is spreading across Brazil’s Amazon, helping remote communities prepare for severe drought while replacing costly, polluting diesel generators. In Nova Sociedade, where residents walked up to 20 kilometers for water during the historic 2024 drought, solar panels now power pumps supplying clean water to 36 families. Household systems [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
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							<![CDATA[SANTAREM, Brazil (AP) — Off-grid solar power is spreading across Brazil’s Amazon, helping remote communities prepare for severe drought while replacing costly, polluting diesel generators. In Nova Sociedade, where residents walked up to 20 kilometers for water during the historic 2024 drought, solar panels now power pumps supplying clean water to 36 families. Household systems provide lighting and phone charging, while installations elsewhere support schools, health clinics and local businesses. More than 100,000 off-grid systems were operating by 2026. Advocates say renewable energy can strengthen Indigenous and traditional communities, improve climate resilience and help protect the rainforest. By Gabriela Sá Pessoa, Associated Press Banner image: Felipe Arapiuns, who is part of the Arapium Indigenous group, installs a donated solar panel on the roof of his home in the Nova Sociedade community near Santarem, Para state, Brazil, Thursday, Sept. 3, 2026. Image courtesy of Andre Penner, Associated PressThis article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/short-article/2026/10/solar-power-helps-amazon-communities-ditch-diesel-and-prepare-for-el-nino-drought/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
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					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-331764</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>In Australia’s Wet Tropics, restoration misses the forest for the tree cover</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/10/in-australias-wet-tropics-restoration-misses-the-forest-for-the-tree-cover/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/10/in-australias-wet-tropics-restoration-misses-the-forest-for-the-tree-cover/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>06 Oct 2026 15:14:29 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Liz Kimbrough]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Liz Kimbrough]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2026/05/20181459/6-1-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=331696</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Australia]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Animals, Biodiversity, Climate Change, Conservation, Deforestation, Environment, Forests, Green, Rainforests, and Wildlife]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[Relics of ancient wet forests stretch across the coast of Queensland state in Australia. In a landscape made patchwork by agriculture, volunteers, community groups and Indigenous rangers in Australia&#8217;s Wet Tropics now grow more than 300,000 native plants to turn cleared pasture back into rainforest. But once the young trees shade out the weeds, some [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
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							<![CDATA[Relics of ancient wet forests stretch across the coast of Queensland state in Australia. In a landscape made patchwork by agriculture, volunteers, community groups and Indigenous rangers in Australia&#8217;s Wet Tropics now grow more than 300,000 native plants to turn cleared pasture back into rainforest. But once the young trees shade out the weeds, some groups aren’t keeping track of the trees, a new study finds. That gap means the goals these groups care about most, such as bringing back wildlife and reconnecting fragmented forest, are poorly captured by what most groups measure. Researchers from Australia’s James Cook University and the University of Queensland surveyed 25 organizations doing rainforest restoration in northeastern Australia. The respondents included community groups, conservation land trusts, Indigenous ranger groups, nature market investors, and commercial land managers. The results were published in the journal Restoration Ecology. Australia’s Wet Tropics, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, stretches about 450 kilometers (280 miles) along Queensland&#8217;s northeast coast, and contain relics of the ancient forests that once covered the supercontinent of Gondwana, according to UNESCO. Mossman Gorge in Daintree National Park in Far North Queensland, Australia. Photo by Merryjack via Flickr (CC BY 4.0) Around 40% of Australia’s bird species live in the Wet Tropics. Of the roughly 2,800 plant species found here, about 700 grow nowhere else in the world, according to the Wet Tropics Management Authority. Rare animals living there include the southern cassowary (Casuarius casuarius), the northern bettong (Bettongia tropica), and the spotted-tailed quoll (Dasyurus maculatus). During&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2026/10/in-australias-wet-tropics-restoration-misses-the-forest-for-the-tree-cover/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
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					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-331696</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>Science, Indigenous knowledge team up to restore Canada&#8217;s kelp. (Sea otters help, too.)</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/10/science-indigenous-knowledge-team-up-to-restore-canadas-kelp-sea-otters-help-too/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/10/science-indigenous-knowledge-team-up-to-restore-canadas-kelp-sea-otters-help-too/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>06 Oct 2026 14:44:29 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Jennifer Cole]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Rebecca Kessler]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2026/10/02162939/a.-BANNER-Liam-Ragan-original-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=331571</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[British Columbia, Canada, and North America]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Biodiversity, Coastal Ecosystems, Conservation, Conservation Solutions, Culture, Ecosystems, Education, Environment, Indigenous Peoples, Marine, Marine Animals, Marine Conservation, Marine Mammals, Oceans, Research, Restoration, Science, Seagrass, Solutions, Traditional Knowledge, and Wildlife]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[Emily Fulton spends a lot of time in a small boat cruising the waters of Clayoquot Sound off the west coast of Vancouver Island in British Columbia, Canada. As the marine program manager for the nonprofit Redd Fish Restoration Society, she regularly checks on a newly created kelp nursery growing within the traditional territory of [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[Emily Fulton spends a lot of time in a small boat cruising the waters of Clayoquot Sound off the west coast of Vancouver Island in British Columbia, Canada. As the marine program manager for the nonprofit Redd Fish Restoration Society, she regularly checks on a newly created kelp nursery growing within the traditional territory of the Tla-o-qui-aht First Nation. “We have grown a lot of kelp,” Fulton told Mongabay in a phone interview. Touted by its organizers as the largest kelp restoration project on the West Coast of North America, the nursery has planted more than 4,200 square meters (45,200 square feet) of new kelp habitat since launching in early 2026. That’s the footprint of three and a half Olympic-size swimming pools. The team grows baby bull kelp (Nereocystis luetkeana) and giant kelp (Macrocystis pyrifera) on four lines; each 330 meters (1,083 feet) long, submerged below the water’s surface and away from seafloor predators such as sea urchins. As the kelp grows and matures, they’ll take some of it off the lines and transplant it to sites throughout Clayoquot Sound, to restore degraded kelp forests and also seed new ones. Getting a project of this scale up and running has cost almost a quarter of a million Canadian dollars. The funding has come from various sources, including the provincial government, the World Wildlife Fund of Canada and the Clayoquot Biosphere Trust. Managing the project alongside Redd Fish is West Coast Kelp, a business devoted to kelp restoration and the Tla-o-qui-aht&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2026/10/science-indigenous-knowledge-team-up-to-restore-canadas-kelp-sea-otters-help-too/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
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					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-331571</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>The Indonesians facing El Nino’s fires have lessons to teach us (commentary)</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/10/the-indonesians-facing-el-ninos-fires-have-lessons-to-teach-us-commentary/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/10/the-indonesians-facing-el-ninos-fires-have-lessons-to-teach-us-commentary/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>06 Oct 2026 14:17:40 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Akane Nishimura]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Erik Hoffner]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2025/04/22123507/borneo-Dayak-fire-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=331681</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Asia, Global, Indonesia, and Southeast Asia]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Air Pollution, Climate Change, Commentary, Conservation, Disasters, Environment, Extreme Weather, Fires, Global Environmental Crisis, Health, Impact Of Climate Change, Peatlands, Pollution, Rainforests, Threats To Rainforests, and Tropical Forests]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[In October 2006, I was supposed to be starting my dissertation research on tropical reforestation in Indonesia. Instead, I found myself in the forests of Tanjung Puting National Park in Central Kalimantan helping locals to fight fires with brooms, backpack pumps, and hoses connected to hand-dug water wells. It was an ‘all hands-on deck’ moment [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
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							<![CDATA[In October 2006, I was supposed to be starting my dissertation research on tropical reforestation in Indonesia. Instead, I found myself in the forests of Tanjung Puting National Park in Central Kalimantan helping locals to fight fires with brooms, backpack pumps, and hoses connected to hand-dug water wells. It was an ‘all hands-on deck’ moment for the local NGO I was working with then — Friends of Nature, People and Forests (FNPF) — including Basuki Santoso, FNPF’s Kalimantan program manager, alongside Adut and Isam, who were teenagers at the time. On our first night of firefighting, we slept in the forest on a raised platform that would later become part of a field station. I was awoken in the middle of the night by a sun bear rifling through our makeshift kitchen about 20 feet away. I sat frozen, watching this wild animal who was fleeing the fires while everyone else slept soundly. It was a surreal and humbling moment. Twenty years ago, these severe forest and peatland fires were due to a dangerous combination of El Niño-induced drought, slash-and-burn agriculture and other land clearing, and the grass-fire cycle. Much of Southeast Asia was left choking on the haze, and that was a weak El Niño year. Firefighting in Indonesia often requires resourcefulness as well as resilience and fortitude. Image courtesy of Basuki Santoso. History keeps repeating itself, and it’s hard to watch. Experts say we are now facing a Super El Niño. For the past three months, millions of&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2026/10/the-indonesians-facing-el-ninos-fires-have-lessons-to-teach-us-commentary/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
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					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-331681</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>Artificial nests give Hong Kong’s cockatoos a home – and a chance to study their behavior</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/10/artificial-nests-give-hong-kongs-cockatoos-a-home-and-a-chance-to-study-their-behavior/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/10/artificial-nests-give-hong-kongs-cockatoos-a-home-and-a-chance-to-study-their-behavior/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>06 Oct 2026 13:39:42 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Yenni Kwok]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Philip Jacobson]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2026/10/06121036/WSK_20260509_1006-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=331714</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Asia, China, East Asia, and Hong Kong]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Animal Behavior, Animals, Biodiversity, Biology, Birds, Cities, Conservation, Critically Endangered Species, Education, Endangered Species, Environment, Monitoring, Parrots, Research, Science, urban ecology, and Wildlife]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[HONG KONG — “Spiderman … Tom Holland,” two secondary school boys repeated to each other as they watched conservationist Harry Wong nimbly climb a tall tree at their school, St. Louis School, in downtown Hong Kong. On a humid September afternoon, Wong installed a nest box for yellow-crested cockatoos (Cacatua sulphurea) on a candlenut tree [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[HONG KONG — “Spiderman … Tom Holland,” two secondary school boys repeated to each other as they watched conservationist Harry Wong nimbly climb a tall tree at their school, St. Louis School, in downtown Hong Kong. On a humid September afternoon, Wong installed a nest box for yellow-crested cockatoos (Cacatua sulphurea) on a candlenut tree (Aleurites moluccanus). Equipped with a harness and ropes, he climbed up the tree, installed the box, and quickly rappelled down. Wong and Astrid Andersson, a biologist and postdoctoral researcher at the University of Hong Kong (HKU), are the dynamic duo behind HK Cockatoo Watch, a conservation project that seeks to protect the city’s feral yellow-crested cockatoos. Arborist and conservationist Harry Wong installs a nest box for yellow-crested cockatoos on a tree at St. Louis School in Hong Kong on Sept. 7, 2026. Image by Yenni Kwok/Mongabay. Yellow-crested cockatoos are considered to be critically endangered, with fewer than 2,000 individuals remaining in their native range in eastern Indonesia and Timor-Leste. However, few people know that Hong Kong is home to the largest wild population of the species outside the two Southeast Asian countries. There are roughly 200 cockatoos in the city, or about 10% of the global wild population, believed to be descendants of released or escaped pets. The number is stable, thanks to the lack of natural predators and strict legal protection. A recent DNA analysis study by Andersson and her research team found that Hong Kong’s feral cockatoos have unexpectedly high genetic diversity and&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2026/10/artificial-nests-give-hong-kongs-cockatoos-a-home-and-a-chance-to-study-their-behavior/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
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										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-331714</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>16 new fungal species found hiding in Thailand&#8217;s flowers</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/short-article/2026/10/16-new-fungal-species-found-hiding-in-thailands-flowers/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/short-article/2026/10/16-new-fungal-species-found-hiding-in-thailands-flowers/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>06 Oct 2026 11:02:53 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Naina Rao]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Shreya Dasgupta]]>
					</author>
															<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2026/10/06110219/Melampodium-divaricatum-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?post_type=short-article&#038;p=331712</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Asia, Southeast Asia, and Thailand]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Biodiversity, Earth Science, Environment, Flowers, New Discovery, Plants, Research, Science, Tropical Conservation Science, and Wildlife]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[Researchers surveying garden and wild flowers across northern Thailand have uncovered 16 previously unknown species of black, yeast-like fungi living inside the flowers, according to a recent study. The newly described fungi belong to the Aureobasidium genus, a commonly occurring group of yeast that can be found almost everywhere, from air and human skin, to [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[Researchers surveying garden and wild flowers across northern Thailand have uncovered 16 previously unknown species of black, yeast-like fungi living inside the flowers, according to a recent study. The newly described fungi belong to the Aureobasidium genus, a commonly occurring group of yeast that can be found almost everywhere, from air and human skin, to water, rocks, soils and wood. A research team from Chiang Mai University and Kasetsart University, both in Thailand, found the 16 new-to-science species growing in 31 different flowering plants, including bougainvillea, vinca, and butter daisy, according to the study. Many of the newly described fungi take their names from their host flowers, such as A. bougainvilleae, or A. catharanthi, referring to its host, the Catharanthus genus of periwinkles. Others were named after their collection sites, such as A. chiangmaiense, referring to the province, and A. kwanphayaoense, referring to Kwan Phayao (Phayao Lake). Two species were named in honor of prominent Thai mycologists, or fungi experts: A. saisamorniae recognizes Saisamorn Lumyong, a professor at Chiang Mai University, while A. savitreeae honors Savitree Limtong, a professor at Kasetsart. “We wanted the names to tell a story, either about where these fungi came from or about the people who have helped advance mycological research in Thailand,” Nakarin Suwannarach, study co-author and professor at Chiang Mai University, said in a news release. Alongside the 16 species, the researchers also recorded four species of fungi that had previously never been documented in Thailand before. “Our team was motivated to study&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/short-article/2026/10/16-new-fungal-species-found-hiding-in-thailands-flowers/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
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					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-331712</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>Far-right election results in Brazil &#8216;bleak&#8217; for Indigenous peoples, says Indigenous leader</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/short-article/2026/10/far-right-election-results-in-brazil-bleak-for-indigenous-peoples-says-indigenous-leader/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/short-article/2026/10/far-right-election-results-in-brazil-bleak-for-indigenous-peoples-says-indigenous-leader/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>06 Oct 2026 10:59:21 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Shanna Hanbury]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Bobbybascomb]]>
					</author>
															<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2025/12/10035129/54929781835_62d2201585_k-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?post_type=short-article&#038;p=331709</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Brazil]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Governance, Indigenous Peoples, Indigenous Rights, Law, Politics, and Protected Areas]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[Right-wing candidates made big gains in both houses of Congress in Brazil’s Oct. 4 general election. Brazil’s main Indigenous organization, the Articulation of Indigenous Peoples of Brazil APIB, told Mongabay that the result will drive new attempts to strip constitutional protections from Indigenous peoples. &#8220;Unfortunately, what we saw today is, let&#8217;s say, a bleak moment,&#8221; [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[Right-wing candidates made big gains in both houses of Congress in Brazil’s Oct. 4 general election. Brazil’s main Indigenous organization, the Articulation of Indigenous Peoples of Brazil APIB, told Mongabay that the result will drive new attempts to strip constitutional protections from Indigenous peoples. &#8220;Unfortunately, what we saw today is, let&#8217;s say, a bleak moment,&#8221; Dinamam Tuxá, an executive coordinator with APIB, told Mongabay in an audio message. &#8220;We did not expect this result.&#8221; The far-right Liberal Party, affiliated with presidential candidate Flávio Bolsonaro, won 19 of the 54 Senate seats up for election, bringing its total seats to 28 of the chamber&#8217;s 81, or 35%, starting from 2027. This is nearly double its current number and the largest bloc in the house. Other right-wing parties, namely the Progressistas (PP), Republicanos and Novo, secured 8 seats, bringing their total representation to 15 seats. This gives the four parties a majority in the Senate. Center-right parties now occupy 9 seats, and centrist parties, 13. Left and center-left hold 15 seats. The Liberal Party consistently cast votes against Indigenous rights between 2019 and 2026, according to an analysis of Congress&#8217;s voting records by the Indigenous Missionary Council (CIMI), a Catholic Church-affiliated advocacy organization. According to CIMI’s analysis, 95.9% of the party’s votes were against Indigenous rights. The other right-wing parties voted similarly: Republicanos at 90.5% and Progressistas (PP) at 85.6%. Novo cast anti-Indigenous votes 100% of the time. On Oct. 25, Flávio Bolsonaro will face off against incumbent Luiz Inácio Lula da&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/short-article/2026/10/far-right-election-results-in-brazil-bleak-for-indigenous-peoples-says-indigenous-leader/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
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										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-331709</doi>				</item>
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