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	<channel>
		<title>Conservation news</title>
		<atom:link href="https://news.mongabay.com/feed/?s=&#038;type=post&#038;topic=carnivores" rel="self" type="application/rss+xml" />
		<link>https://news.mongabay.com/list/carnivores/</link>
		<description>Environmental science and conservation news</description>
		<lastBuildDate>Fri, 16 Oct 2026 01:54:09 +0000</lastBuildDate>
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	<url>https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2020/05/16160320/cropped-mongabay_icon-32x32.png</url>
	<title>News on Carnivores</title>
	<link>https://news.mongabay.com/list/carnivores/</link>
	<width>32</width>
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				<item>
					<title>Turning vulnerable livestock into four-eyed beasts helps protect them in Zimbabwe</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/09/turning-vulnerable-livestock-into-four-eyed-beasts-helps-protect-them-in-zimbabwe/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/09/turning-vulnerable-livestock-into-four-eyed-beasts-helps-protect-them-in-zimbabwe/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>30 Sep 2026 08:09:48 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Cecil Dzwowa]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Terna Gyuse]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2026/09/29232742/YawningLionPanthera.leo_Julie-LarsenWCS-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=331196</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Africa, Southern Africa, and Zimbabwe]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Animal Behavior, Biodiversity, Carnivores, Cattle, Conservation Solutions, Environment, Human-wildlife Conflict, and Livestock]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[NYANGOMBE, Zimbabwe — In the first six months of 2026, the local council in Chiredzi recorded 317 cases of human-wildlife conflict in this district of southeastern Zimbabwe. In villages like Nyangombe, which is flanked by large game reserves such as Save Valley Conservancy and Nyangombe Community Conservancy, residents say wildlife frequently eat their crops and [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[NYANGOMBE, Zimbabwe — In the first six months of 2026, the local council in Chiredzi recorded 317 cases of human-wildlife conflict in this district of southeastern Zimbabwe. In villages like Nyangombe, which is flanked by large game reserves such as Save Valley Conservancy and Nyangombe Community Conservancy, residents say wildlife frequently eat their crops and attack livestock or even people. “Buffaloes destroy crops and spread diseases, while wild dogs, jackals, leopards and even lions target livestock,” Edson Mabika, a farmer in Nyangombe, told Mongabay. Mabika said he lost four sheep and a calf to wild animals in less than 10 days despite having a secure kraal and an experienced herd boy with three dogs. The loss prompted Mabika to think outside the box to protect his livestock. He asked a friend, a former game-reserve ranger, for suggestions on how to scare away wild predators without getting in harm’s way. His friend’s advice caught him by surprise: “He just advised me to try drawing eyes on the butts of my animals,” Mabika said. One of Edson Mabika&#8217;s cows, with decoy eyes painted on its rump. Image by Cecil Dzwowa for Mongabay. Mabika thought the former ranger was joking, but says his friend kept insisting. In January 2025, he painted black and white eyes on the backsides of about a third of his livestock. The first victims of the fake “butt eyes” were a pack of local dogs who barked aggressively after being startled by the new &#8220;eyes&#8221; on the livestock. Mabika&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2026/09/turning-vulnerable-livestock-into-four-eyed-beasts-helps-protect-them-in-zimbabwe/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
										<wfw:commentRss>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/09/turning-vulnerable-livestock-into-four-eyed-beasts-helps-protect-them-in-zimbabwe/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-331196</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>Gus Mills, hyena expert and &#8216;the cheerful pessimist of the Kalahari&#8217;, has died</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/07/gus-mills-spent-a-lifetime-studying-africas-carnivores/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/07/gus-mills-spent-a-lifetime-studying-africas-carnivores/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>14 Jul 2026 16:24:17 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Rhett Ayers Butler]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Rhett Butler]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2026/07/14161941/gus-mills-header-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=323402</guid>

											<reporting-project>
							<![CDATA[Founder's briefs]]>
						</reporting-project>
					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Africa, South Africa, and Southern Africa]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Animals, Biodiversity, Carnivores, Cats, Cheetahs, Mammals, Obituary, and Wildlife]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[His nephew recalled that the children were taught to chant, “Hyenas are beautiful!” as often as possible. On visits to Kruger National Park, he got them out of bed at midnight to look for bushbabies and again at five in the morning to search for big cats. Wildlife was often most active at inconvenient hours, [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[His nephew recalled that the children were taught to chant, “Hyenas are beautiful!” as often as possible. On visits to Kruger National Park, he got them out of bed at midnight to look for bushbabies and again at five in the morning to search for big cats. Wildlife was often most active at inconvenient hours, and he expected anyone accompanying him to adjust. Michael “Gus” Mills, who died on July 13th, spent more than 40 years studying Africa’s large carnivores, especially hyenas, wild dogs, and cheetahs. He published more than 150 scientific papers, chapters, and reports, advised conservation bodies, and trained younger researchers. Much of his working life was spent in a vehicle on a sandy track, waiting beside an animal that might sleep for most of the day. Gus and Margie Mills. Sourced via the Endangered Wildlife Trust At school he had seemed an unlikely future scientist. He described himself as a “very bad student,” failed South Africa’s high-school leaving examination, and was told that science was beyond him. After passing the examination on a second attempt, he joked that he had earned an MA: “Matric Again.” Three years of psychology persuaded him that he did not want to be a psychologist. Zoology held his attention. A visit to Kruger in 1954, when he was eight, had already pointed him toward field biology. “It did something to me,” he said. From then on he wanted to work in the bush. After studying at the University of Cape Town and&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2026/07/gus-mills-spent-a-lifetime-studying-africas-carnivores/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
										<wfw:commentRss>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/07/gus-mills-spent-a-lifetime-studying-africas-carnivores/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-323402</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>Wildlife’s unpredictable movements make climate-change planning difficult</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/07/wildlifes-unpredictable-movements-make-climate-change-planning-difficult/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/07/wildlifes-unpredictable-movements-make-climate-change-planning-difficult/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>01 Jul 2026 10:40:42 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Gloria Dickie]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Sharon Guynup]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2026/06/30143313/6-Florida-panther-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=322109</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Global]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Adaptation, Adaptation To Climate Change, Animal Behavior, Animals, Big Cats, Biodiversity, Biology, Carnivores, Cats, Climate, Climate Change, Coastal Ecosystems, Conservation, Critically Endangered Species, Ecology, Ecosystems, Environment, Extreme Weather, Fragmentation, Habitat, Impact Of Climate Change, Mammals, Megafauna, Ocean Warming, Oceans, Protected Areas, Research, Science, Temperatures, Threatened species, Top Predators, Wildlife, and Wildlife Corridors]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[New England’s winters have long been a punishing force. Forests fade in and out of deep freezes. Animals pile on fat for warmth in anticipation of the harsh weather to come. Others flee south, seeking warmer refuges. However, over the past 50 years, winters there have become much milder. In the northeastern U.S., winters now [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[New England’s winters have long been a punishing force. Forests fade in and out of deep freezes. Animals pile on fat for warmth in anticipation of the harsh weather to come. Others flee south, seeking warmer refuges. However, over the past 50 years, winters there have become much milder. In the northeastern U.S., winters now average between 4 and 5 degrees Fahrenheit (2.2 and 2.7 degrees Celsius) warmer than in the 1970s. Snowfall can be sparse, and there are usually fewer days of extreme cold. For decades, ecologists have expected that animals living within narrow climate niches would adapt to rising temperatures by moving northwards or upslope to higher elevations. For example, they thought the American red squirrel (Tamiasciurus hudsonicus) in the northeastern U.S. would move up into the mountains in search of cold. But in a study published last year, scientists found that despite warmer winters, the squirrels haven’t sought out higher elevations. Rather, they’ve relocated downslope, seemingly drawn by the return of red spruce forest following a period of dieback. The tiny forest critters, it seems, are prioritizing habitat over temperature. The red squirrel isn’t alone. Thousands of plants and animals that scientists thought would be on the move in response to rising global temperatures don’t yet seem to have hit the road. In a 2023 study in the journal Environmental Evidence, scientists reviewed the observed range movements of more than 12,000 species, both terrestrial and marine, to see whether they aligned with what ecologists had expected would&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2026/07/wildlifes-unpredictable-movements-make-climate-change-planning-difficult/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
										<wfw:commentRss>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/07/wildlifes-unpredictable-movements-make-climate-change-planning-difficult/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-322109</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>Mel Sunquist, field biologist and mentor to generations of conservationists</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/06/mel-sunquist-field-biologist-and-mentor-to-generations-of-conservationists/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/06/mel-sunquist-field-biologist-and-mentor-to-generations-of-conservationists/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>28 Jun 2026 23:37:16 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Rhett Ayers Butler]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Rhett Butler]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2026/06/28082636/MelSunquist_2000px-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=321928</guid>

											<reporting-project>
							<![CDATA[Founder's briefs]]>
						</reporting-project>
					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[India and United States]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Animals, Big Cats, Biodiversity, Carnivores, Cats, Mammals, Obituary, Sloths, Tigers, and Wildlife]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[In the 1970s, studying wild tigers still involved more nerve than equipment. A biologist could not rely on camera traps, GPS collars, or satellite-linked data. To understand where a tiger went, what it killed, how far it ranged, and how its territory overlapped with others, someone had to follow it through forests and grasslands with [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[In the 1970s, studying wild tigers still involved more nerve than equipment. A biologist could not rely on camera traps, GPS collars, or satellite-linked data. To understand where a tiger went, what it killed, how far it ranged, and how its territory overlapped with others, someone had to follow it through forests and grasslands with a receiver, a notebook, and enough judgment to stay useful without getting in the way. Radio collars began to change what was possible. They made the movements of secretive carnivores traceable in a new way. For tigers, jaguars, pumas, ocelots, and other animals that were rarely seen directly, they allowed field biologists to replace guesses with records. The work still depended on patience, careful handling, and a capacity to keep thinking when weather, roads, animals, or people refused to cooperate. Mel Sunquist in India. Courtesy of Ullas Karanth Melvin Eugene Sunquist, who died on May 9th at the age of 85, belonged to that generation of field scientists. Born in Morris, Minnesota, in 1941, he became one of the leading biologists of wild cats and large carnivores. He worked in Asia, Latin America, Panama, and Florida, and spent much of his academic life at the University of Florida, where he taught wildlife ecology and conservation from 1987 until his retirement in 2014. To students and colleagues he was “Mel,” a name that suited his manner: steady, spare with words, dry in humor, and difficult to unsettle. Following tigers His best-known early work was on tigers&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2026/06/mel-sunquist-field-biologist-and-mentor-to-generations-of-conservationists/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
										<wfw:commentRss>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/06/mel-sunquist-field-biologist-and-mentor-to-generations-of-conservationists/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-321928</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>Rodent-killing baits threaten small wild cats and other wildlife</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/06/rodent-killing-baits-threaten-small-wild-cats-and-other-wildlife/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/06/rodent-killing-baits-threaten-small-wild-cats-and-other-wildlife/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>23 Jun 2026 14:29:18 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Sean Mowbray]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Sharon Guynup]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2026/06/18054111/Image_6-768x512.jpeg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=321399</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Africa, Australia, Global, North America, Oceania, South Africa, Southern Africa, United States, and Washington]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Agriculture, Animals, Biodiversity, Birds, Carnivores, Cats, Chemicals, Conservation, Endangered Species, Environment, Health, Mammals, Poisoning, Predators, Rodents, Small Cats, Toxicology, Wildlife, and Wolves]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[Cat kills rodent. Cat eats rodent. Cat is exposed to potentially lethal rodenticides. That scenario is increasingly likely for many small wild cat species across the globe, and yet, only a handful of researchers are investigating this underrecognized conservation issue. Thus far, researchers confirmed that one wild cat population has declined from exposure to these [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[Cat kills rodent. Cat eats rodent. Cat is exposed to potentially lethal rodenticides. That scenario is increasingly likely for many small wild cat species across the globe, and yet, only a handful of researchers are investigating this underrecognized conservation issue. Thus far, researchers confirmed that one wild cat population has declined from exposure to these poisons. That’s a small bobcat (Lynx rufus) living on Kiawah Island off the South Carolina coast in the U.S., which faces imminent local extinction due to rodenticides. Up until 2019, there was a stable population of these beloved cats, which are considered celebrities there, but that year, three cats died. Among them was a female that bled to death while giving birth. Postmortems revealed concoctions of rodenticides in each of the bobcats’ blood and livers. Over the next four years, there were 12 more victims and the bobcats’ overall survival rate fell to 39%. All tested positive for concentrations of anticoagulant rodenticides; some had been acutely poisoned, said Meghan Keating, a doctoral candidate at South Carolina’s Clemson University. That was a troubling sign for a population that now numbers less than 20 individuals. They are regularly exposed to rodenticides, as rodents (including rats) are a major part of their diet, Keating said. Also troubling is that her team found exposure to not just one, but a cocktail of rodenticides. “We haven&#8217;t had a bobcat test positive for less than two rodenticides,” she told Mongabay. Kiawah Island’s rodenticide-driven bobcat decline may be an outlier, given its&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2026/06/rodent-killing-baits-threaten-small-wild-cats-and-other-wildlife/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
										<wfw:commentRss>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/06/rodent-killing-baits-threaten-small-wild-cats-and-other-wildlife/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-321399</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>Asia’s mainland leopard cat is abundant but still cloaked in mystery</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/05/asias-mainland-leopard-cat-is-abundant-but-still-cloaked-in-mystery/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/05/asias-mainland-leopard-cat-is-abundant-but-still-cloaked-in-mystery/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>11 May 2026 14:34:45 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Annelise Giseburt]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Glenn Scherer]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2026/05/11123340/5-ALTERNATE-BANNER-IMAGE-Leopard_Cat_in_Sundarban-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=319100</guid>

											<reporting-project>
							<![CDATA[Almost Famous Animals]]>
						</reporting-project>
					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Asia]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Animals, Biodiversity, Carnivores, Cats, Conservation, Environment, Habitat, Habitat Loss, Mammals, Research, Small Cats, and Wildlife]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[There’s good news about Asia’s mainland leopard cat: Prionailurus bengalensis is thought to be one of the world’s most abundant, widely distributed wildcats. With a conservation assessment of “least concern” on the IUCN Red List, sightings are reported from India to the Russian Far East. That’s partly because mainland leopard cats are highly successful generalists. [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[There’s good news about Asia’s mainland leopard cat: Prionailurus bengalensis is thought to be one of the world’s most abundant, widely distributed wildcats. With a conservation assessment of “least concern” on the IUCN Red List, sightings are reported from India to the Russian Far East. That’s partly because mainland leopard cats are highly successful generalists. With two recognized subspecies — P. b. bengalensis and P. b. euptilurus — this small cat is adaptable to multiple habitats, ranging from forest to shrublands to grasslands, and including areas altered by humans. But this good news comes with a caution: Surprisingly little is known about this felid, say experts, and it may be less plentiful and more at risk than sightings alone indicate. Leopard cats have been understudied, a trend common among small cat species, which garner less public interest than big cats, and a reality that translates into less funding for research and conservation. As a result, P. bengalensis population surveys have only been conducted at a handful of sites, leaving lots of blank spots on range maps. Despite perceived abundance, researchers note that this felid also still faces conservation challenges and could benefit from more attention from funders and the public, as the species plays an important, if underappreciated, role in controlling rodent populations. A leopard cat in the Russian Far East, where it lives alongside leopards and tigers but receives relatively little attention compared with its larger, dynamic cousins. Image courtesy of Yuriy Smityuk. Of ‘least concern’ but at risk&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2026/05/asias-mainland-leopard-cat-is-abundant-but-still-cloaked-in-mystery/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
										<wfw:commentRss>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/05/asias-mainland-leopard-cat-is-abundant-but-still-cloaked-in-mystery/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-319100</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>Indigenous knowledge helps guide conservation of Australia’s endangered northern quoll</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/03/indigenous-knowledge-helps-guide-conservation-of-australias-endangered-northern-quoll/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/03/indigenous-knowledge-helps-guide-conservation-of-australias-endangered-northern-quoll/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>09 Mar 2026 21:36:44 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Nick Rodway]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Morgan Erickson-Davis]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2026/03/09172923/northern-quoll-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=315444</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Australia and Oceania]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Animals, Biodiversity, Carnivores, Conservation, Culture, Endangered Species, Environment, Indigenous Peoples, Mammals, Marsupials, Research, Traditional Knowledge, and Wildlife]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[Despite its widespread biodiversity, Australia holds an unenviable record when it comes to wildlife: the highest mammalian extinction rate in the world. Since the arrival of Europeans and colonial expansion, at least 40 terrestrial mammal species have been lost, and others are facing serious threats. Notable among these is the northern quoll (Dasyurus hallucatus), a [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[Despite its widespread biodiversity, Australia holds an unenviable record when it comes to wildlife: the highest mammalian extinction rate in the world. Since the arrival of Europeans and colonial expansion, at least 40 terrestrial mammal species have been lost, and others are facing serious threats. Notable among these is the northern quoll (Dasyurus hallucatus), a small, carnivorous marsupial that ranges through tropical areas of the continent and is considered endangered on the IUCN Red List due to threats posed by introduced animals gone feral, habitat change, and landscape degradation. The loss of mammalian biodiversity has coincided with widespread threats to the preservation of First Nations cultural knowledge in Australia. Over the past two centuries, Indigenous people have been forcibly removed from their lands and resettled in other parts of the continent. During this time, traditional land management practices and cultural knowledge of local biodiversity have largely not been considered by the scientific establishment. Now, however, a recent study has used Indigenous cultural and ecological knowledge (ICEK) alongside Western scientific methods as way to help conserve northern quolls, and potentially other species, into the future. The study, published in January in the journal Wildlife Research, was led by members of the Martu people, whose traditional lands span portions of the western desert region in Western Australia, the country’s largest state. Northern quolls, known in the Martu language as wiminyji, were only identified by modern science in this part of the country in 2012, despite Martu elders knowing of the species’ presence&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2026/03/indigenous-knowledge-helps-guide-conservation-of-australias-endangered-northern-quoll/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
										<wfw:commentRss>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/03/indigenous-knowledge-helps-guide-conservation-of-australias-endangered-northern-quoll/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-315444</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>In Nepal, the world’s smallest otter continues to elude researchers</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2025/12/in-nepal-the-worlds-smallest-otter-continues-to-elude-researchers/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2025/12/in-nepal-the-worlds-smallest-otter-continues-to-elude-researchers/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>22 Dec 2025 05:34:20 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Abhaya Raj Joshi]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Abhaya Raj Joshi]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2025/12/22045750/Z50_7454-min-scaled-e1766379564645-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=311840</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Asia, Nepal, and South Asia]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Animals, Biodiversity, Carnivores, Conservation, Cryptic Species, Ecosystems, Fish, Freshwater, Freshwater Fish, Mammals, New Discovery, Pollution, Rediscovered Species, Rivers, Species, Species Discovery, and Water Pollution]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[KATHMANDU — A year ago, the appearance of the Asian small-clawed otter in Nepal created a buzz, given that the species hadn’t been seen in the country in 185 years. Since then, however, it’s disappeared once again, with no confirmed sightings in the past year, leaving researchers flummoxed on the question of whether it’s still [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[KATHMANDU — A year ago, the appearance of the Asian small-clawed otter in Nepal created a buzz, given that the species hadn’t been seen in the country in 185 years. Since then, however, it’s disappeared once again, with no confirmed sightings in the past year, leaving researchers flummoxed on the question of whether it’s still found in the country. The November 2024 discovery of a juvenile Asian small-clawed otter (Aonyx cinereus) in Dadeldhura district, on Nepal’s western border with India, left researchers hopeful of more sightings would follow. However, limited funding and difficulties in DNA analysis have left them relying on scattered clues rather than certainty, even as the species is formally incorporated into the country’s conservation plans. “Despite multiple reports of suspected signs, such as scats recovered from different river systems, there hasn’t been a second verified sighting of the Asian small-clawed otter anywhere in the country,” Mohan Bikram Shrestha, a leading otter researcher, told Mongabay. “We firmly believe that the animal is present in the eastern river systems as well.” The lone confirmed record from 2024 was remarkable not only for being the first recorded sighting since 1839, but also for raising the possibility that overlooked populations of the world’s smallest otter species might still roam Nepal’s rivers and wetlands. A rescued Asian small-clawed otter with its distinct webbed feet in Dadeldhura, Nepal. Image by Rajeev Chaudhary. Since then, however, there’s only been indirect evidence of a possible otter presence. Community members and researchers have collected suspected otter&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2025/12/in-nepal-the-worlds-smallest-otter-continues-to-elude-researchers/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
										<wfw:commentRss>https://news.mongabay.com/2025/12/in-nepal-the-worlds-smallest-otter-continues-to-elude-researchers/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-311840</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>Counting kings: How annual lion surveys reveal the health of Africa’s protected areas (commentary)</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2025/09/counting-kings-how-annual-lion-surveys-reveal-the-health-of-africas-protected-areas/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2025/09/counting-kings-how-annual-lion-surveys-reveal-the-health-of-africas-protected-areas/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>29 Sep 2025 02:45:27 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Jon Ayers]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Rhett Butler]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2025/09/29020659/south_africa_kruger_0297z-25-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=306701</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Africa]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Animals, Big Cats, Biodiversity, Camera Trapping, Carnivores, Cats, Commentary, Conservation, Conservation Solutions, Conservation Technology, Environment, Green, Lions, Mammals, Predators, Solutions, Wildlife, and Wildtech]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[On a dawn drive through a savannah reserve in Zambia, a ranger slows the truck and points to a faint trail in the dust. It is not the spoor of an antelope or a stray cow. It is the print of a lioness moving with her cubs toward a waterhole. In another era, such sightings [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[On a dawn drive through a savannah reserve in Zambia, a ranger slows the truck and points to a faint trail in the dust. It is not the spoor of an antelope or a stray cow. It is the print of a lioness moving with her cubs toward a waterhole. In another era, such sightings were a matter of pride and anecdote. Today, they are data points. Each paw print, each camera image, and each confirmed pride member feeds into a growing network of annual lion surveys across sub-Saharan Africa. Those surveys are telling managers and funders something that budgets and patrol logs cannot: whether protected areas are holding their ground or slipping. Lions are more than charismatic megafauna. They are architects of ecosystem dynamics in the savannah food web, shaping the balance of species and the landscapes they inhabit. One apex predator can influence hundreds of plant and animal species by shaping grazing pressure, predator competition, and the movement of prey. When lions vanish, the balance frays. Herbivores boom or crash, vegetation shifts, and even fire regimes change. Reintroductions rarely restore the original equilibrium. In ecological terms, the “king” is a keystone. Lions in South Africa. Photo by Rhett Ayers Butler That makes lions a uniquely revealing indicator of management effectiveness. Unlike rare endemics confined to a single park, lions occur naturally in a number of Africa’s large protected areas. Unlike elephants, whose numbers can mask habitat degradation, lions decline quickly when prey is overhunted or corridors are severed.&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2025/09/counting-kings-how-annual-lion-surveys-reveal-the-health-of-africas-protected-areas/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
										<wfw:commentRss>https://news.mongabay.com/2025/09/counting-kings-how-annual-lion-surveys-reveal-the-health-of-africas-protected-areas/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-306701</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>Sharks didn’t rebound—so Mark Erdmann is putting them back</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2025/07/sharks-didnt-rebound-so-mark-erdmann-is-putting-them-back/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2025/07/sharks-didnt-rebound-so-mark-erdmann-is-putting-them-back/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>13 Jul 2025 12:42:07 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Rhett Ayers Butler]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Rhett Butler]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2025/07/11183735/Mark-recovery-swim-thresher-17-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=302225</guid>

											<reporting-project>
							<![CDATA[Nature conservation Influencers]]>
						</reporting-project>
					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Asia, Indonesia, New Guinea, Papua, Southeast Asia, and West Papua]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Biodiversity, Carnivores, Community-based Conservation, Conservation, Conservation Technology, Ecosystems, Ecotourism, Elasmobranchs, Endangered Species, Environment, Fish, Green, Hope and optimism, Marine Conservation, Marine Protected Areas, Oceans, Predators, Protected Areas, Reintroductions, Restoration, Rewilding, shark finning, Sharks, Species Discovery, Technology, Tourism, Wildlife, Wildlife Trade, and Wildtech]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[For more than three decades, Mark Erdmann has worked where many only dream of diving—on the reefs and in the tangled mangroves of Indonesia’s farthest reaches. A marine biologist by training and a conservationist by necessity, Erdmann has spent much of his life documenting new species, persuading local communities to back marine protection, and fighting [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[For more than three decades, Mark Erdmann has worked where many only dream of diving—on the reefs and in the tangled mangroves of Indonesia’s farthest reaches. A marine biologist by training and a conservationist by necessity, Erdmann has spent much of his life documenting new species, persuading local communities to back marine protection, and fighting off the encroachment of extractive industries. His career, by his own account, has spanned more than 220 species discoveries, a handful of close encounters with crocodiles, and the creation of a new model for shark rewilding. Erdmann’s journey began in a remote island village off the coast of South Sulawesi in 1991, where he arrived as a Ph.D. student studying coral reef ecology. His neighbors, he quickly realized, were bomb fishers and shark finners. The shift from science to action was swift. “It was clear that more than science was needed; active protection was critical,” he recalls. That realization became a life’s work. As Vice President of Asia-Pacific Marine Programs at Conservation International and now Executive Director of ReShark and Shark Conservation Director at Re:wild, Erdmann has been at the forefront of efforts to transform marine protection from a top-down regulatory exercise to a bottom-up, community-owned endeavor. Few places showcase this as clearly as Raja Ampat, the archipelago off West Papua that has become the crown jewel of Indonesian marine conservation. Wayag lagoon release site in Indonesia&#8217;s Raja Ampat. Photo by Mark Erdmann. When Erdmann first visited Raja Ampat in 2001, the coral reefs were&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2025/07/sharks-didnt-rebound-so-mark-erdmann-is-putting-them-back/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
										<wfw:commentRss>https://news.mongabay.com/2025/07/sharks-didnt-rebound-so-mark-erdmann-is-putting-them-back/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-302225</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>Nepal launches plan to boost science, awareness to save dholes</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2025/06/nepal-launches-plan-to-boost-science-awareness-to-save-dholes/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2025/06/nepal-launches-plan-to-boost-science-awareness-to-save-dholes/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>30 Jun 2025 11:59:11 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Abhaya Raj Joshi]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Abhaya Raj Joshi]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2025/06/30092719/Dhole_in_its_habitat_cropped-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=301636</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Asia, Nepal, and South Asia]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Animals, Biodiversity, Canids, Carnivores, Conflict, Conservation, Diseases, Endangered Species, Extinction, Mammals, Predators, Restoration, and Rewilding]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[KATHMANDU — Nepal has launched a species action plan focused exclusively on conserving the endangered dhole (Cuon alpinus), also known as the Asiatic wild dog. The new 262.9 million rupee ($1.9 million) five-year plan, targets key conservation challenges by trying to strike a balance between improving scientific understanding of the species and promoting awareness among [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[KATHMANDU — Nepal has launched a species action plan focused exclusively on conserving the endangered dhole (Cuon alpinus), also known as the Asiatic wild dog. The new 262.9 million rupee ($1.9 million) five-year plan, targets key conservation challenges by trying to strike a balance between improving scientific understanding of the species and promoting awareness among local communities. “The primary objective of this action plan is to establish a strong and adaptable framework for dhole conservation in Nepal, which can also be scaled up across other range countries,” said Ramchandra Kandel, director-general at the Department of National Parks and Wildlife Conservation. The elusive dogs earning notoriety for chasing down their prey in packs were once found in areas ranging from the dense forests of Southeast Asia to the alpine zones of the Himalayas and into the temperate woodlands of the Russian Far East, according to IUCN, the global conservation authority. “One of the most innovative aspects of the plan is its financial model,” said researcher and conservationist Ambika Khatiwada from the National Trust for Nature Conservation. “Around 36% of the funding will be shared from funding allocated for other species conservation plans, such as those for tigers and snow leopards,” he added. While dholes may benefit from funding allocated for other apex predators, it is possible that they are being pushed to the fringes of protected areas by tigers and snow leopards, researchers say. IUCN lists competition with other predators as one of the key challenges to conservation of dholes —&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2025/06/nepal-launches-plan-to-boost-science-awareness-to-save-dholes/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
										<wfw:commentRss>https://news.mongabay.com/2025/06/nepal-launches-plan-to-boost-science-awareness-to-save-dholes/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-301636</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>Coexistence with Europe’s carnivores is possible (commentary)</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2025/04/coexistence-with-europes-carnivores-is-possible-commentary/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2025/04/coexistence-with-europes-carnivores-is-possible-commentary/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>10 Apr 2025 20:30:16 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[John Linnell]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Erik Hoffner]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2024/08/23080616/MLU-20230814-165155-16SQ8-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=297465</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Europe and European Union]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Animals, Bears, Biodiversity, Carnivores, Cats, Commentary, Conservation, Environment, Ethics, Predators, Restoration, Rewilding, Top Predators, Wildlife, and Wolves]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[Few people working in wildlife conservation in the 1980s could have imagined a future where breeding wolf packs roam the Netherlands and Denmark — but this is now part of Europe’s new reality. Over the last 30 to 40 years, European wildlife has undergone a dramatic transformation. Conservation laws, like the Bern Convention and the [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[Few people working in wildlife conservation in the 1980s could have imagined a future where breeding wolf packs roam the Netherlands and Denmark — but this is now part of Europe’s new reality. Over the last 30 to 40 years, European wildlife has undergone a dramatic transformation. Conservation laws, like the Bern Convention and the Habitats Directive, provided vital breathing space for many species to begin the long process to recovery. Among the most striking and iconic comebacks are large carnivores — brown bears, wolverines, Eurasian lynx, and especially the wolf — returning to landscapes from where they had been absent for decades or even centuries. From a conservation perspective, this is a remarkable success. Because of large carnivores’ position at the top of the food chain, conserving them in the modern European landscape requires that most of their populations live outside protected areas (such as national parks and nature reserves). This means that we need to share the landscapes where we live, work and play with new neighbors. In most cases, these new neighbors live quiet and invisible lives. But there is no escaping the fact that have the capacity to be very challenging cohabitants. A lynx being released in Poland as part of a rewilding project. Image courtesy of Fabien Quetier/Rewilding Europe. The return of these species has also led to a resurgence of age-old conflicts, such as livestock depredation and fears for personal safety, while also sparking new debates about how our modern society views nature and&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2025/04/coexistence-with-europes-carnivores-is-possible-commentary/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
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					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-297465</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>How cultural and religious beliefs combine for snow leopard conservation (commentary)</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2025/04/how-cultural-and-religious-beliefs-combine-for-snow-leopard-conservation-commentary/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2025/04/how-cultural-and-religious-beliefs-combine-for-snow-leopard-conservation-commentary/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>07 Apr 2025 18:33:41 +0000</pubDate>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Erik Hoffner]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2019/08/23175248/Snow-leopard-768x512-1.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=297167</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Asia, Himalayas, and Nepal]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Animals, Big Cats, Carnivores, Cats, Commentary, Conservation, Culture, Environment, Ethics, Indigenous Peoples, Livestock, Mammals, Predators, Religions, Snow Leopards, Top Predators, Traditional Knowledge, and Wildlife]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[In November 2023, at 4 a.m., four snow leopards made their way into Mingmar Gurung’s livestock corral in Dhakmar village, Mustang district, Nepal. Hearing the goats’ commotion so early in the morning, Mingmar ran toward the corral. The scene was heartbreaking: out of the 190 goats, snow leopards had killed 77. In the morning, villagers [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[In November 2023, at 4 a.m., four snow leopards made their way into Mingmar Gurung’s livestock corral in Dhakmar village, Mustang district, Nepal. Hearing the goats’ commotion so early in the morning, Mingmar ran toward the corral. The scene was heartbreaking: out of the 190 goats, snow leopards had killed 77. In the morning, villagers found the group of snow leopards on nearby ridges and took pictures and videos. Two of the animals returned the next morning at 3 a.m. to feed on the goats. One of them was trapped in the corral for half an hour while another escaped. Mingmar, who could have sought revenge, chose not to, since Buddhism teaches compassion and nonviolence. “This is the culture of the people of the Himalayas and a reflection of their attitude towards Mother Nature,” says Surya Bahadur Thakali, a Lama priest from Mustang. Mustang is home to 14,452 people of predominantly Buddhist ethnic groups, with 20.9% Thakali, 20.1% Gurung, and the remaining population from other ethnicities. Around 60.2% of the people follow Buddhist teachings in this district north of Nepal’s central Himalaya region, which is also one of the crucial habitats of the globally vulnerable snow leopard (Panther uncia). Although the animal’s actual population is uncertain for lack of detailed studies, Mustang is considered crucial because it also serves as a transboundary corridor between Nepal and its northern neighbor, China. Snow leopard in Nepal. Image courtesy of Madhu Chetri The Buddha’s teachings encourage compassion, mindfulness, interconnectedness, and generosity toward nature&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2025/04/how-cultural-and-religious-beliefs-combine-for-snow-leopard-conservation-commentary/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
										<wfw:commentRss>https://news.mongabay.com/2025/04/how-cultural-and-religious-beliefs-combine-for-snow-leopard-conservation-commentary/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-297167</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>Chain-link fencing protects livestock from big cat attacks in Tanzania: Study</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2025/03/chain-link-fencing-protects-livestock-from-big-cat-attacks-in-tanzania-study/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2025/03/chain-link-fencing-protects-livestock-from-big-cat-attacks-in-tanzania-study/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>31 Mar 2025 11:27:26 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Gilbert Nakweya]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Ochieng' Ogodo]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2025/03/31133122/1280px-Lion_Ruaha_National_Park_9_28407027344-1-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=296737</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Africa and Tanzania]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Animals, Big Cats, Carnivores, Cattle, Fences, Human-wildlife Conflict, Lions, and Wildlife]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[NAIROBI ― For the last two decades, Matambire Mgemaa, a pastoralist in southern Tanzania in the environs of Ruaha National Park, nighttime has meant staying vigilant to protect his goats, sheep and cattle from lion and leopard attacks in an area that is home to 10% of the world’s wild lions. “This [is] a hectic [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[NAIROBI ― For the last two decades, Matambire Mgemaa, a pastoralist in southern Tanzania in the environs of Ruaha National Park, nighttime has meant staying vigilant to protect his goats, sheep and cattle from lion and leopard attacks in an area that is home to 10% of the world’s wild lions. “This [is] a hectic task. … I [spend] the whole day with the livestock outside, making sure they are fed, but I cannot sleep at night because I will lose them,” Mgemaa says. Because of their excellent night vision, which enables them to hunt more successfully in low light, lions, leopards and hyenas are mostly active at night, the time for their dinner. But a new study published this month in Conservation Letters has found that multiple medium- or high-density fortified enclosures in a neighborhood can shield livestock from the marauding carnivores, as they avoid such areas. The researchers reveal that such fortified pens not only help those who have them reduce attacks on their livestock but also those of their neighbors. In southern Tanzania, a key landscape for large carnivore conservation, agropastoralists keep livestock in fenced compounds at night and herd them to community grazing lands during the day. On average, Mgemaa and his neighbors have lost two of their livestock weekly to the carnivores, but the attacks have drastically reduced. Early in 2024, Mgemaa constructed a chain-link corral to prevent his livestock from being raided in the night by carnivores. Winston Mtandamo, field operations manager at conservation&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2025/03/chain-link-fencing-protects-livestock-from-big-cat-attacks-in-tanzania-study/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
										<wfw:commentRss>https://news.mongabay.com/2025/03/chain-link-fencing-protects-livestock-from-big-cat-attacks-in-tanzania-study/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-296737</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>Getting rewilding right with the reintroduction of small wildcats</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2025/02/getting-rewilding-right-with-the-reintroduction-of-small-wildcats/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2025/02/getting-rewilding-right-with-the-reintroduction-of-small-wildcats/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>18 Feb 2025 17:05:21 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Sean Mowbray]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Glenn Scherer]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2025/02/18095213/11-An-ocelot-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=294574</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Argentina, Brazil, Global, Portugal, Scotland, Spain, and Taiwan]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Animals, Biodiversity, Carnivores, Cats, Conservation, Ecosystems, Environment, Extinction, Habitat, Mammals, Predators, Reintroductions, Restoration, Rewilding, Small Cats, Top Predators, Wildlife, and Zoonotic Diseases]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[For the briefest moment earlier this year, the Eurasian lynx — extinct in the U.K. for thousands of years — returned to the wild in Scotland. But this release wasn’t scientifically planned. Rather, it was an illegal act that drew condemnation from authorities and conservationists alike. Though the four lynx were swiftly captured; one died [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[For the briefest moment earlier this year, the Eurasian lynx — extinct in the U.K. for thousands of years — returned to the wild in Scotland. But this release wasn’t scientifically planned. Rather, it was an illegal act that drew condemnation from authorities and conservationists alike. Though the four lynx were swiftly captured; one died shortly after. Following the illegal release, Scottish First Minister John Swinney ruled out a legal reintroduction of lynx (Lynx lynx), or other large carnivores, under his government. “Acting illegally and without consultation is extremely damaging to the cause of conservation and well-planned releases,” says Helen Senn, head of conservation and science programs at the Royal Zoological Society of Scotland. “I think [the illegal release] will really undermine the trust of stakeholders like farmers and landowners [involved] in the process that conservationists go through … to get releases approved.” Senn is part of a legal rewilding project that aims to restore the Scottish wildcat (Felis silvestris), also affectionately dubbed the “Highland tiger” by the Scottish people, even though it’s not much bigger than a house cat. This project is supported and funded by the Scottish government so will be unaffected by Swinney’s recent statement barring large carnivore reintroductions. The Scottish wildcat — a subpopulation of the European wildcat that arrived on what is today the island of Britain at the end of the last ice age 9,000 years ago, and which has remained isolated from mainland populations — was declared “functionally extinct” in 2018 largely due&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2025/02/getting-rewilding-right-with-the-reintroduction-of-small-wildcats/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
										<wfw:commentRss>https://news.mongabay.com/2025/02/getting-rewilding-right-with-the-reintroduction-of-small-wildcats/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-294574</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>Uganda’s tree-climbing lions grow scarce amid nationwide decline of the big cat</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2025/01/ugandas-tree-climbing-lions-grow-scarce-amid-nationwide-decline-of-the-big-cat/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2025/01/ugandas-tree-climbing-lions-grow-scarce-amid-nationwide-decline-of-the-big-cat/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>29 Jan 2025 17:32:44 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Gilbert Nakweya]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Ochieng' Ogodo]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2025/01/29133241/QENP23-71-1-e1738158322956-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=293574</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Africa, East Africa, Kenya, and Uganda]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Big Cats, Carnivores, Cats, Community-based Conservation, Conservation, Environment, Human-wildlife Conflict, Lions, Research, and Top Predators]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[NAIROBI ― Poisoning, poaching and loss of habitat have significantly reduced populations of lion prides in Uganda, signaling the need for long-term commitments to conservation action, researchers write in a recent study. In the first study of its kind conducted in nearly two decades, the researchers surveyed lions (Panthera leo), leopards (Panthera pardus) and spotted [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[NAIROBI ― Poisoning, poaching and loss of habitat have significantly reduced populations of lion prides in Uganda, signaling the need for long-term commitments to conservation action, researchers write in a recent study. In the first study of its kind conducted in nearly two decades, the researchers surveyed lions (Panthera leo), leopards (Panthera pardus) and spotted hyenas (Crocuta crocuta) in six protected areas across Uganda. They found a nearly 50% decline in some of Uganda’s most iconic lion populations over the past decade, including the famous tree-climbing lions of Queen Elizabeth National Park. That population, and one in Kidepo Valley National Park, have hit critical lows, according to the study. Queen Elizabeth National Park now has about 40 lions, while Kidepo has about 22. Murchison Falls National Park remains Uganda’s lion center, with about 240 of the big cats, according to the study. It also has one of the highest densities of leopards in Africa, at about 14 individuals per 100 square kilometers. Study lead author Alex Braczkowski, a research fellow at Griffith University in Australia, said Uganda has emerged as a prominent tourism destination for lion viewing, with Queen Elizabeth National Park a key draw because of the tree-climbing cats. “This is a sighting that one will never forget as long as they live. Eight lions wedged in a euphorbia tree is simply incredible! Apart from the conservation ramifications, lions are a key part of the tourism economy,” he said. Lion inside Queen Elizabeth National Park. Image by Ashoka Mukpo&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2025/01/ugandas-tree-climbing-lions-grow-scarce-amid-nationwide-decline-of-the-big-cat/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
										<wfw:commentRss>https://news.mongabay.com/2025/01/ugandas-tree-climbing-lions-grow-scarce-amid-nationwide-decline-of-the-big-cat/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-293574</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>Do cheetahs scavenge? Yes, research says, but also not really</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2025/01/do-cheetahs-scavenge-yes-research-says-but-also-not-really/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2025/01/do-cheetahs-scavenge-yes-research-says-but-also-not-really/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>24 Jan 2025 20:13:49 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Dann Okoth]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Ochieng' Ogodo]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2025/01/24124921/kenya_3145-e1737722979172-768x512-1.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=293378</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Africa, East Africa, Kenya, Malawi, and South Africa]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Big Cats, Carnivores, Cats, Cheetahs, Conservation, Environment, Predators, Research, Science, and Top Predators]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[NAIROBI — Cheetahs are known to be selective in their feeding habits — “clean eaters” that only go after the prime parts of their kill, such as the liver. But a new study has found that the large, slender, spotted cat found in Africa and parts of Western Asia can also scavenge. Unlike other African [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[NAIROBI — Cheetahs are known to be selective in their feeding habits — “clean eaters” that only go after the prime parts of their kill, such as the liver. But a new study has found that the large, slender, spotted cat found in Africa and parts of Western Asia can also scavenge. Unlike other African predators, cheetahs (Acinonyx jubatus) rarely search for and collect remains they did not kill themselves, but the study published this month in the journal Ecology and Evolution observed cheetahs scavenging between 2019 and 2023 in three different protected areas: Tswalu Kalahari Reserve and Madikwe Game Reserve in South Africa, and Liwonde National Park in Malawi. “The observations made in this paper were very interesting to us and show that there could be potential for further studies into it,” said lead author Elizabeth Kennedy Overton, a researcher at Nelson Mandela University in South Africa. Cheetahs were previously thought not to scavenge, with few reports in the scientific literature of them doing so, according to the researchers. “We wanted just to say, look it does happen and it would be interesting to find out the reasons behind it,” added Overton, who currently is doing a Ph.D. on cheetahs in the Kalahari. According to the study, all the adult cheetahs observed scavenging were animals that had previously been relocated from different areas. During the relocation process, they were temporarily put in holding enclosures known as bomas, where they were provided with supplementary feed in the form of carrion.&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2025/01/do-cheetahs-scavenge-yes-research-says-but-also-not-really/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
										<wfw:commentRss>https://news.mongabay.com/2025/01/do-cheetahs-scavenge-yes-research-says-but-also-not-really/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-293378</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>The paradox of balancing conservation efforts for Himalayan wolves and snow leopards (commentary)</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2025/01/the-paradox-of-balancing-conservation-efforts-for-himalayan-wolves-and-snow-leopards-commentary/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2025/01/the-paradox-of-balancing-conservation-efforts-for-himalayan-wolves-and-snow-leopards-commentary/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>15 Jan 2025 22:38:16 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Naresh Kusi]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Erik Hoffner]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2025/01/15203712/snow-leopard-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=292988</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Asia, Nepal, and South Asia]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Animals, Big Cats, Biodiversity, Canids, Carnivores, Cats, Commentary, Conservation, Ecotourism, Livestock, Predators, Snow Leopards, Top Predators, Tourism, Wildlife, and Wolves]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[The Himalayan wolf (Canis lupus chanco) and snow leopard (Panthera uncia) are apex predators in alpine ecosystems. By controlling the numbers of meso-predators and herbivores, these top predators can have cascading effects on plant and animal species at different trophic levels. Their predation activities create intricate trophic interactions that help stabilize food webs and promote [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[The Himalayan wolf (Canis lupus chanco) and snow leopard (Panthera uncia) are apex predators in alpine ecosystems. By controlling the numbers of meso-predators and herbivores, these top predators can have cascading effects on plant and animal species at different trophic levels. Their predation activities create intricate trophic interactions that help stabilize food webs and promote a balanced ecosystem. These predators support nutrient cycling by helping scavengers through carrion provisioning and dispersing essential nutrients across the ecosystem. Furthermore, these carnivores attract global tourism, providing local communities with valuable ecotourism opportunities. These opportunities provide alternative livelihoods for pastoralists and other communities living in these mountainous regions, offering them a sustainable source of income that aligns with conservation goals. As iconic symbols of wildlife conservation, these predators inspire efforts to protect the Himalayan ecosystem, garnering support from local communities and international conservation organizations. Their presence enriches regional biodiversity and highlights the interconnectedness of life forms, emphasizing the importance of preserving the balance of the high-altitude environments. Perceptions and economic impacts on pastoral communities Mountain pastoralists in Asia often hold negative views of snow leopards and wolves due to predation on livestock that are essential for their income and food security. For these communities, livestock rearing is not merely a way of life; it is central to their economic survival, providing vital products like meat, milk, and wool. In recent years, shifts toward commercial agriculture have increased the economic value of livestock, making each animal crucial to the household’s financial well-being. For marginalized communities,&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2025/01/the-paradox-of-balancing-conservation-efforts-for-himalayan-wolves-and-snow-leopards-commentary/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
										<wfw:commentRss>https://news.mongabay.com/2025/01/the-paradox-of-balancing-conservation-efforts-for-himalayan-wolves-and-snow-leopards-commentary/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-292988</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>Nepal’s buffalo-kills-tiger story reveals deeper pains in compensation system</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2024/08/nepals-buffalo-kills-tiger-story-reveals-deeper-pains-in-compensation-system/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2024/08/nepals-buffalo-kills-tiger-story-reveals-deeper-pains-in-compensation-system/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>24 Aug 2024 02:10:25 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Abhaya Raj Joshi]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Abhaya Raj Joshi]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2020/07/28173223/world-tiger-day-1-768x512.png" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=286492</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Asia, Nepal, and South Asia]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Big Cats, Biodiversity, Buffer Zones, Carnivores, Cats, Conflict, Conservation, Endangered Species, Human-wildlife Conflict, Livestock, Protected Areas, Tigers, and Wildlife]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[KATHMANDU — Yes, you read the headline right: On Aug. 22, in a rare incident, a tethered domestic buffalo (Bubalus bubalis) killed an endangered Bengal tiger (Panthera tigris tigris) on the fringe of Nepal&#8217;s Chitwan National Park. The event, which occurred in Pratappur village within the Manahari Rural Municipality, quickly made headlines across Nepal, with [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[KATHMANDU — Yes, you read the headline right: On Aug. 22, in a rare incident, a tethered domestic buffalo (Bubalus bubalis) killed an endangered Bengal tiger (Panthera tigris tigris) on the fringe of Nepal&#8217;s Chitwan National Park. The event, which occurred in Pratappur village within the Manahari Rural Municipality, quickly made headlines across Nepal, with many users on social media marveling at the unusual role reversal. However, beyond the initial reactions to the incident lies a broader and more crucial issue: ongoing human-wildlife conflict in Nepal and balancing conservation with securing people’s right to livelihoods. The tiger, according to Dil Bahadur Purja Pun, chief conservation officer at Chitwan National Park, was likely severely injured  and struggling to find prey in the wild. “We believe that the tiger attacked the buffalo, which was tethered to a shed, because it perceived the animal as easy prey,” Pun said. However, the buffalo fought back, goring the tiger to death. Bal Bahadur Rai, the 56-year-old owner of the buffalo, said that while he was relieved his buffalo survived the attack, the animal was severely injured. “The buffalo’s neck, where the tiger attacked, is swollen, and it is unable to stand,” Rai told the Nepali news outlet Setopati. Buffalos returning home after grazing in the edges of the Kumroj Community Forest. Image by Jason Houston / USAID via Flickr (Public domain). Despite the severity of the buffalo’s injuries, park officials who arrived at the scene to take away the tiger’s carcass didn’t provide any treatment&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2024/08/nepals-buffalo-kills-tiger-story-reveals-deeper-pains-in-compensation-system/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
										<wfw:commentRss>https://news.mongabay.com/2024/08/nepals-buffalo-kills-tiger-story-reveals-deeper-pains-in-compensation-system/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-286492</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>Conservation success leaves Nepal at a loss for dealing with ‘problem tigers’</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2024/02/conservation-success-leaves-nepal-at-a-loss-for-dealing-with-problem-tigers/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2024/02/conservation-success-leaves-nepal-at-a-loss-for-dealing-with-problem-tigers/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>29 Feb 2024 16:02:52 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Abhaya Raj Joshi]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Abhaya Raj Joshi]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2024/02/29155733/tiger-ntnc-rescue-nepal-768x512.jpeg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=279338</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Asia, Nepal, and South Asia]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Animals, Big Cats, Biodiversity, Carnivores, Cats, Conservation, Human-wildlife Conflict, Hunting, Mammals, Tigers, Trophy Hunting, and Zoos]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[KATHMANDU — Nepal’s government remains undecided on how to manage tigers captured after attacking or killing humans, even as different stakeholders make varied suggestions on dealing with the urgent issue of these so-called problem animals. The rising incidence of human-tiger conflict is a direct consequence of Nepal’s stunning success in conserving tigers (Panthera tigris), which [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[KATHMANDU — Nepal’s government remains undecided on how to manage tigers captured after attacking or killing humans, even as different stakeholders make varied suggestions on dealing with the urgent issue of these so-called problem animals. The rising incidence of human-tiger conflict is a direct consequence of Nepal’s stunning success in conserving tigers (Panthera tigris), which has seen the population of the endangered big cat nearly triple since 2010. With that increase, the number of tigers that authorities have determined must be removed from their habitat for human safety has also gone up. Today, there are 18 of these apex predators in captivity, stretching the capacity of the government to feed and accommodate them. “The government hasn’t taken any new decision so far on how to manage the captive tigers,” Bed Kumar Dhakal, a spokesperson for the Department of National Parks and Wildlife Conservation, told Mongabay. Last year, the country’s environment minister proposed, controversially, that sport hunters be allowed to kill “problem tigers,” thereby addressing human-tiger conflict while also generating revenue that can be invested back into conservation. Other government officials have called for gifting the animals to zoos abroad, while NGOs have lobbied for the establishment of rescue centers at the provincial level. Some academics have suggested simply shooting tigers deemed dangerous to human life. “After a lot of backlash over the proposal to allow sport hunting of problem tigers, the minister hasn’t raised the proposal again,” a wildlife department official familiar with the development told Mongabay, asking not to&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2024/02/conservation-success-leaves-nepal-at-a-loss-for-dealing-with-problem-tigers/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
										<wfw:commentRss>https://news.mongabay.com/2024/02/conservation-success-leaves-nepal-at-a-loss-for-dealing-with-problem-tigers/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-279338</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>Dholes latest wild canids likely making comeback in Nepal, study shows</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2024/02/dholes-latest-wild-canids-likely-making-comeback-in-nepal-study-shows/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2024/02/dholes-latest-wild-canids-likely-making-comeback-in-nepal-study-shows/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>27 Feb 2024 14:18:29 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Abhaya Raj Joshi]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Abhaya Raj Joshi]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2022/08/17130456/15-Dholes-Cuon-alpinus-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=279231</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Asia, Atlantic Forest, Nepal, and South Asia]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Animal Behavior, Animals, Biodiversity, Canids, Carnivores, Conflict, Conservation, Deforestation, Diseases, Extinction, Hunting, Rewilding, Tigers, and Wildlife]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[KATHMANDU — Until four decades ago, villagers in Nepal’s mountains would likely name Himalayan wolves as their primary concern among the wild animals native to their region. Lower down in the country’s plains region, it was the dhole, or Indian wild dog, that rural communities would watch out for. In each landscape, locals witnessed packs [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[KATHMANDU — Until four decades ago, villagers in Nepal’s mountains would likely name Himalayan wolves as their primary concern among the wild animals native to their region. Lower down in the country’s plains region, it was the dhole, or Indian wild dog, that rural communities would watch out for. In each landscape, locals witnessed packs of wolves (Canis lupus chanco) or dholes (Cuon alpinus) hunt down prey, including livestock, using their speed, endurance and social cooperation to deadly effect. In many cases, wolves also posed a threat to people. Locals responded with an extensive campaign of poisoning, snaring and shooting these wild canids. In the Himalayas, wolves grew scarce within a matter of a few decades. However, recent observations indicate they’re now returning, following yak herders from Tibet. Dholes, too, appear to be mounting a comeback, reclaiming their historical range despite persistent old threats and emerging new ones, according to a new study published in the journal Oryx. A dhole photographed by a camera trap set up by Ghimirey and his team. Image courtesy of Friends of Nature “Our findings suggest that dholes may have recolonized many areas such as the Annapurna Conservation Area in central Nepal and the Tinjure–Milke–Jaljale forests in the eastern part of the country where they had been locally extirpated,” study lead author Yadav Ghimirey, from the NGO Friends of Nature Nepal, told Mongabay. As part of the study, Ghimirey and his colleagues carried out camera trap surveys, focused primarily on clouded leopards (Neofelis nebulosa), reviewed&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2024/02/dholes-latest-wild-canids-likely-making-comeback-in-nepal-study-shows/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
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					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-279231</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>Let&#8217;s give the wary wolverine some space (commentary)</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2024/01/lets-give-the-wary-wolverine-some-space-commentary/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2024/01/lets-give-the-wary-wolverine-some-space-commentary/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>12 Jan 2024 20:22:27 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Gabe Schepens]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Erik Hoffner]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2024/01/12185941/WolverinePhoto_MBarrueto_CC2.0_small-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=277651</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Canada, North America, and United States]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Animals, Carnivores, Commentary, Conservation, Endangered Species, Endangered Species Act, Environment, Habitat, Mammals, Predators, Research, Scavengers, Wildlife, and Wildlife Corridors]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[An iconic inhabitant of rugged mountains in western Canada, the wolverine (Gulo gulo) covers tens of kilometers per day, running over treacherous terrain in search of oft-dead meat. For many avid mountain adventurers, a mere glimpse of a wolverine can be a once-in-a-lifetime encounter — even wolverine experts recount tall tales of times they briefly [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[An iconic inhabitant of rugged mountains in western Canada, the wolverine (Gulo gulo) covers tens of kilometers per day, running over treacherous terrain in search of oft-dead meat. For many avid mountain adventurers, a mere glimpse of a wolverine can be a once-in-a-lifetime encounter — even wolverine experts recount tall tales of times they briefly saw a blur slinking away between alpine boulders and shrubbery. The lore surrounding this elusive carnivore is in fact representative of its shy personality. Wolverine are extremely solitary animals that purposefully avoid humans, making their conservation a delicate coexistence. In the contiguous U.S., wolverines received protection under the Endangered Species Act in December 2023 after many years of legal wrangling. The status listing was based on years of science which identified habitat degradation and climate change as primary concerns for the small remaining population of an estimated 300 wolverines. This recent decision is an important reminder of the precarious state of wolverines and adds momentum to conservation initiatives for connected cross-border populations living in southern British Columbia and Alberta. A wolverine rolls playfully, showing off its huge claws. In mountainous areas, these carnivores den in deep snow, but ever earlier spring snowmelt may make them vulnerable to climate change. Photo by Maia C. via Flickr. The situation for wolverines in Canada’s southern mountains is not quite this dire, but it’s heading in the same direction. Over the past decade, wolverine densities in the Canadian Rockies have declined by 39%. Even protected areas like Banff National&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2024/01/lets-give-the-wary-wolverine-some-space-commentary/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
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					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-277651</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>In 2023, Nepal’s ‘uncelebrated’ wildlife continued wait for attention</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2023/12/in-2023-nepals-uncelebrated-wildlife-continued-wait-for-attention/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2023/12/in-2023-nepals-uncelebrated-wildlife-continued-wait-for-attention/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>28 Dec 2023 13:44:35 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Abhaya Raj Joshi]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Abhaya Raj Joshi]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2021/02/25192423/DholeAsiatic_wild_dog-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=277152</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Asia, Nepal, and South Asia]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Bears, Biodiversity, Canids, Carnivores, Conservation, Endangered Species, Governance, Herps, Infrastructure, Mammals, Tigers, and Year-end review]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[KATHMANDU — Nepal’s much-lauded achievement of nearly tripling its tiger population between 2010 and 2022 made headlines all over the world. Officials hailed the milestone as proof that with concerted efforts by all stakeholders and availability of resources, conservation challenges can be overcome. However, the focus on the charismatic big cat has left other species [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[KATHMANDU — Nepal’s much-lauded achievement of nearly tripling its tiger population between 2010 and 2022 made headlines all over the world. Officials hailed the milestone as proof that with concerted efforts by all stakeholders and availability of resources, conservation challenges can be overcome. However, the focus on the charismatic big cat has left other species overlooked — and in some cases has even been to their detriment. Many of these species, just like the tiger (Panthera tigris), are threatened to some degree, yet aren&#8217;t getting enough attention, researchers and conservationists say. Throughout 2023, Mongabay reported extensively on different “uncelebrated” animals across the country that require urgent attention. Here are the top five stories looking at the issue Rare hispid hares feel the heat from Nepal’s tiger conservation measures Every year, Nepal’s protected area managers set fire to the grasslands in key tiger habitats across the country to maintain prime conditions for different prey species. However, these actions could have adverse consequences for the elusive and little-known hispid hare Caprolagus hispidus), research shows. Intact grasslands have been found to be important habitats for hispid hares, which need dense ground cover for resting, feeding and mating. Researchers say the annual grassland burning should be done selectively and outside of the hare’s breeding season to protect the species. They also call on authorities to prepare plans to take urgent action to save the hare from extinction. On Nepal’s day to honor dogs, wild canines face mounting threats Every year, Nepal’s Hindus celebrate their&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2023/12/in-2023-nepals-uncelebrated-wildlife-continued-wait-for-attention/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
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					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-277152</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>Wolves through the ages: A journey of coexistence, conflict, and conservation</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2023/12/wolves-through-the-ages-a-journey-of-coexistence-conflict-and-conservation/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2023/12/wolves-through-the-ages-a-journey-of-coexistence-conflict-and-conservation/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>11 Dec 2023 23:30:58 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Rhett Ayers Butler]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Rhett Butler]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2023/12/10045825/animals_06705-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=276516</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Global and United States]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Animals, Biodiversity, Books, Carnivores, Conservation, Culture, Endangered Species, Environment, Forests, Green, Hunting, Indigenous Peoples, Indigenous Rights, Interviews, Interviews with conservation players, Mammals, Predators, Top Predators, Wildlife, and Wolves]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[Wolves, with their widespread distribution from North America to Eurasia, are ecologically vital as keystone species, playing a critical role in maintaining the health and balance of ecosystems by regulating prey populations. Their influence extends to increasing biodiversity and reshaping landscapes, thus fostering more robust and diverse natural environments. Culturally, wolves hold a unique place [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[Wolves, with their widespread distribution from North America to Eurasia, are ecologically vital as keystone species, playing a critical role in maintaining the health and balance of ecosystems by regulating prey populations. Their influence extends to increasing biodiversity and reshaping landscapes, thus fostering more robust and diverse natural environments. Culturally, wolves hold a unique place in the human imagination, revered and mythologized across various cultures for their intelligence, resilience, and spirit of freedom. In many Indigenous communities, wolves have a prominent role in folklore and spiritual beliefs, often revered as ancestral figures, spiritual guides, and symbols of the untamed natural world. In her new book, Echo Loba, Loba Echo: Of Wisdom, Wolves, and Women, Sonja Swift delves into wolves and their intricate connections with human society, ecosystems, and cultural narratives. Bridging ecological insight with a rich tapestry of cultural wisdom, Swift dives into the multifaceted relationship between humans and wolves, a bond that has been both cherished and challenged throughout history. From childhood recollections to ecological roles, and from colonial impacts to modern conservation efforts, her work is a profound exploration of how wolves mirror our own stories, fears, and hopes. Swift recently spoke with Mongabay about how wolves reflect our existence and the myriad ways they are perceived across cultures. She discussed how Echo Loba, Loba Echo reflects her personal explorations and deep connections with these creatures, and shared observations on the evolving conservation sector&#8217;s recognition of Indigenous and Native interactions with the natural world. Sonja Swift AN INTERVIEW&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2023/12/wolves-through-the-ages-a-journey-of-coexistence-conflict-and-conservation/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
										<wfw:commentRss>https://news.mongabay.com/2023/12/wolves-through-the-ages-a-journey-of-coexistence-conflict-and-conservation/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-276516</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>Honey production sweetens snow leopard conservation in Kyrgyzstan</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2023/05/honey-production-sweetens-snow-leopard-conservation-in-kyrgyzstan/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2023/05/honey-production-sweetens-snow-leopard-conservation-in-kyrgyzstan/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>10 May 2023 22:34:57 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Monica Pelliccia]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Erik Hoffner]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2019/08/23175248/Snow-leopard-768x512-1.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=268478</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Asia, Central Asia, and Kyrgyzstan]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Agriculture, Agroecology, Agroforestry, Animals, Bees, Big Cats, Carnivores, Cats, Conservation, Conservation Solutions, Development, Ecotourism, Endangered Species, Happy-upbeat Environmental, Human-wildlife Conflict, Mammals, Mountains, Predators, Snow Leopards, Solutions, Sustainability, Sustainable Development, Technology, Top Predators, and Wildlife]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[SHAMSHY, Kyrgyzstan — “I was only 9 when I first saw a snow leopard with my father. He was a ranger bringing injured animals found in the mountains to the veterinarian,” says Asanbek Sasukilov, 62, a beekeeper and herder. “I was sitting close to the cage. Suddenly, the snow leopard started to roar, and I [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[SHAMSHY, Kyrgyzstan — “I was only 9 when I first saw a snow leopard with my father. He was a ranger bringing injured animals found in the mountains to the veterinarian,” says Asanbek Sasukilov, 62, a beekeeper and herder. “I was sitting close to the cage. Suddenly, the snow leopard started to roar, and I ran away.” For Sasukilov, snow leopards (Panthera uncia) have always been a part of his life. The same is true for those in other communities living in the area surrounding the Ala-Too mountains, in northern Kyrgyzstan. The difference is that they’re now involved in big cat conservation programs being implemented by the Snow Leopard Trust (SLT) and the Snow Leopard Foundation in Kyrgyzstan (SLFK) that promote beekeeping, agroecology and ecotourism as alternative livelihoods to herding, in an effort to avoid conflict with wildlife like the rare big cats. Here, locals have always seen snow leopards on mountaintops while herding cows or sheep. The big cats are also part of popular stories like farmer Beisheukaz Balasy&#8217;s memory of a snow leopard that was filmed for a movie during the Soviet era. Beekeeper and conservationist Asanbek Sasykilov (r)  with his wife (l) and granddaughter in their home, Shamshy, Kyrgyzstan, December 2022. Image by Monica Pelliccia for Mongabay. Both Sasukilov and Balasy now keep bees in Shamshy, a village of 1,000 inhabitants that’s a 90-minute drive from the capital, Bishkek. Once outside the city, the gray cityscape disappears, melting into blue skies and snowy mountains. Flocks of sheep,&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2023/05/honey-production-sweetens-snow-leopard-conservation-in-kyrgyzstan/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
										<wfw:commentRss>https://news.mongabay.com/2023/05/honey-production-sweetens-snow-leopard-conservation-in-kyrgyzstan/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-268478</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>Montana cannot be trusted with grizzly bear &#038; wolf management (commentary)</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2023/05/montana-cannot-be-trusted-with-grizzly-bear-wolf-management-commentary/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2023/05/montana-cannot-be-trusted-with-grizzly-bear-wolf-management-commentary/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>01 May 2023 22:52:41 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Lara Birkes]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Erik Hoffner]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2021/11/17040402/WOLF-cropped-e1682981335598-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=268143</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Montana, North America, and United States]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Animals, Bears, Carnivores, Commentary, Conservation, Endangered Species, Endangered Species Act, Environment, Hunting, Trophy Hunting, Wildlife, and Wolves]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[Whether you live in Big Sky country, have enjoyed its natural wonders as a tourist, or marveled at the iconic imagery of Yellowstone National Park’s bears and wolves from afar – what’s happening to wildlife in the American West should concern you. Montana’s state legislature has proposed a litany of extreme anti-wildlife bills despite widespread, diverse, [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[Whether you live in Big Sky country, have enjoyed its natural wonders as a tourist, or marveled at the iconic imagery of Yellowstone National Park’s bears and wolves from afar – what’s happening to wildlife in the American West should concern you. Montana’s state legislature has proposed a litany of extreme anti-wildlife bills despite widespread, diverse, and credible opposition. The onslaught began in 2021 and continues in this legislative session with the introduction of bills that go from bad to worse. Last session those included snaring, night shooting and baiting wolves, and approving bounties to encourage more killing. It targeted black bears too, allowing the use of hounds after Montana had banned that for a century. And it opened up unlimited wolf take along Yellowstone’s border, despite the fact that those wolves spend 96% of their time in the Park and provide incredible research data that helps us manage them everywhere. A grizzly bear cub in Montana. Image by Marshal Hedin published to the Creative Commons. This year that effort continues, and the Legislature is making it clear that the next species it wants to target is grizzly bears. They are still protected under the federal Endangered Species Act (ESA), which has led to a remarkable comeback for a species that was almost wiped out before we began strong conservation work. That helped us get back to where we are today, with more than 2,000 grizzlies in the northern Rockies. But now, Montana lawmakers and Gov. Greg Gianforte are pushing measures that&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2023/05/montana-cannot-be-trusted-with-grizzly-bear-wolf-management-commentary/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
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					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-268143</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>For tigers in Nepal, highways are a giant roadblock best avoided</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2023/02/for-tigers-in-nepal-highways-are-a-giant-roadblock-best-avoided/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2023/02/for-tigers-in-nepal-highways-are-a-giant-roadblock-best-avoided/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>27 Feb 2023 13:28:46 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Abhaya Raj Joshi]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Abhaya Raj Joshi]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2023/02/27133137/tiger-crosses-road-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=265950</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Asia, Nepal, and South Asia]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Big Cats, Carnivores, COVID-19, Endangered Species, GPS, Infrastructure, Predators, Roadkill, Roads, Tigers, Top Predators, and Wildtech]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[KATHMANDU — It starts off like the premise for a joke: “Why did the tigers cross the road?” But for researchers and conservationists in Nepal, the spread of roads throughout the big cats’ habitat is no laughing matter. A new study underscores just how serious the problem is, showing that road traffic impedes tiger movements [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[KATHMANDU — It starts off like the premise for a joke: “Why did the tigers cross the road?” But for researchers and conservationists in Nepal, the spread of roads throughout the big cats’ habitat is no laughing matter. A new study underscores just how serious the problem is, showing that road traffic impedes tiger movements within their habitat. But it also shows that the animals can adapt quickly when traffic volume eases, pointing to measures that can be taken to mitigate road impacts not just on tigers, but on wildlife in general. For their study, the researchers focused on Nepal’s East-West Highway, which runs through both Bardiya National Park and Parsa National Park, each of which is home to growing tiger populations (125 in Bardiya as of 2022, and 41 in Parsa). They fitted a female tiger in Bardiya with a GPS collar, and did the same with a male tiger in Parsa, then observed how the highway and its traffic affected the animals’ movements, space use and habitat selection. Study co-author Babu Ram Lamichhane, from the National Trust for Nature Conservation, a semi-governmental body, said the study was especially important as the government prepares to expand the two-lane East-West Highway to four lanes. The researchers began their observations in early 2021, before a second COVID-19 lockdown was imposed in Nepal. The lockdown, and its conclusion, ultimately allowed the researchers to compare any differences in the tigers’ movements in the periods before, during, and after the associated traffic restrictions. “We&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2023/02/for-tigers-in-nepal-highways-are-a-giant-roadblock-best-avoided/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
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					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-265950</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>To restore large carnivore populations, make people wealthier, study finds</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2023/01/to-restore-large-carnivore-populations-make-people-wealthier-study/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2023/01/to-restore-large-carnivore-populations-make-people-wealthier-study/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>25 Jan 2023 20:06:37 +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/20/2023/01/19124422/pexels-mehmet-turgut-kirkgoz-11850473-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=264989</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Global]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Animals, Big Cats, Carnivores, Cats, Conservation, Economics, Endangered Species, Environment, Green, Mammals, Tigers, Wildlife, and Wolves]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[The decline of big carnivore populations like lions, bears and lynx is most closely associated with rapid economic growth, according to a study published this week in Nature Communications. The study looked at 50 species of large carnivores worldwide over the past 50 years and found that social and economic factors, like people&#8217;s quality of life, [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[The decline of big carnivore populations like lions, bears and lynx is most closely associated with rapid economic growth, according to a study published this week in Nature Communications. The study looked at 50 species of large carnivores worldwide over the past 50 years and found that social and economic factors, like people&#8217;s quality of life, are more closely linked to declines of these species than just environmental factors like habitat loss and climate change. “The decline of large carnivores is stark. Lions and tigers are already absent from more than 90% of their historic range,” Thomas Johnson, from the University of Sheffield who led the study while based at the University of Reading, said in a press release. “At home, many of the UK carnivore species, such as lynx, wolf and bear have already been hunted into extinction.” According to Johnson, some carnivores are killed for their meat or for the wildlife trade, while others, like lions, may be murdered if they endanger a person&#8217;s life or way of life, such as their cattle. “In the midst of rapid development, people appear to become less tolerant of carnivores, conflicts explode, and we suspect that incidences of poaching and persecution rocket,” Johnson said. As people become wealthier, they are more likely to tolerate big cats and other carnivores. So, encouraging a sustainable model of social and economic development, rather than focusing only on issues like climate change, is the best way to save carnivores, the study suggested. The study also looked at&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2023/01/to-restore-large-carnivore-populations-make-people-wealthier-study/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
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					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-264989</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>Protecting canids from planet-wide threats offers ecological opportunities</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2023/01/protecting-canids-from-planet-wide-threats-offers-ecological-opportunities/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2023/01/protecting-canids-from-planet-wide-threats-offers-ecological-opportunities/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>10 Jan 2023 14:56:46 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Sean Mowbray]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Glenn Scherer]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2023/01/10124157/2-arctic-fox-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=264477</guid>

											<reporting-project>
							<![CDATA[Covering the Commons and Planetary Boundaries]]>
						</reporting-project>
					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Africa, Arctic, Brazil, Cerrado, Global, Kenya, and Southeast Asia]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Animals, Biodiversity, Canids, Carnivores, Climate Change, Climate Science, Conservation, Ecosystems, Endangered Species, Environment, Extinction, Forests, Habitat, Habitat Loss, Impact Of Climate Change, Mammals, Nature-based climate solutions, Predators, Rewilding, Solutions, Wildlife, and Wolves]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[Wild canids around the world are at risk, though some reintroductions are seeing good results. Conserving canids is not only good for ecosystem health, it can even potentially help curb climate change.]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[The 19th and 20th centuries saw a major decline in Arctic fox populations in Fennoscandia, the vast peninsula that includes Finland, Norway, Sweden and part of Russia. By the early 21st century, as few as 40 Arctic foxes (Vulpes lagopus) remained. But after a nearly two-decade-long captive-breeding and reintroduction program, that number has grown to approximately 500, leading to an easing of the species’ threatened status in Norway and Sweden. Reintroductions of this kind offer hope in the fight against declining canid biodiversity across the globe. Yet these successes, too, remain precarious, as they take place against the background of a rapidly changing and nature-depleted world. In a recent paper, researchers warn that the sustainability of the Arctic fox conservation program is potentially being undermined by climate change, which could be disrupting the life cycle of the lemming, the fox’s primary prey. The Arctic fox’s survival is “problematic if lemmings are disappearing,” Arild Landa, a scientist with the Norwegian Institute for Nature Research, told Mongabay. “You might call the lemming the engine of the high alpine areas .… [But] lemming cycles have been interrupted during recent years and that is believed to be due to a warmer climate.” In Fennoscandia, a successful Arctic fox conservation reintroduction project led to the species being downlisted from critically endangered to endangered in Norway and Sweden. Image courtesy of Arild Landa/NINA. Add to that a second climate conservation challenge, as the Arctic fox is displaced by the red fox (Vulpes vulpes), which is moving&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2023/01/protecting-canids-from-planet-wide-threats-offers-ecological-opportunities/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
										<wfw:commentRss>https://news.mongabay.com/2023/01/protecting-canids-from-planet-wide-threats-offers-ecological-opportunities/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-264477</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>How bears “make” a forest (commentary)</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2022/09/how-bears-make-a-forest-commentary/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2022/09/how-bears-make-a-forest-commentary/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>30 Sep 2022 03:29:05 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Enrique Ortiz]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Rhett Butler]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2022/09/29025939/Oso-6-header-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=260797</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Andes, Latin America, Peru, and South America]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Animals, Bears, Carnivores, Commentary, Conservation, Environment, Forests, Mammals, Tropical Forests, and Wildlife]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[In the Andean region the ageless story of Juan Oso, a half-human and half-bear character, has been heard throughout generations. It is said that Juan lived all sad and alone in a dark cave, until the day he met and fell in love with a shepherdess of the paramos, the alpine seasonally flooded grassland found [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[In the Andean region the ageless story of Juan Oso, a half-human and half-bear character, has been heard throughout generations. It is said that Juan lived all sad and alone in a dark cave, until the day he met and fell in love with a shepherdess of the paramos, the alpine seasonally flooded grassland found in the Andes. Seeing that her parents did not approve of the relationship, they both ran away to live happily together on top of a mountain. And, like any true love story, this one also had a tragic ending: Years later, a mob still inflamed by the family of the missing bride, chased the couple to a cave and killed them, finding only afterwards their love nest full of gold bars. Most curiously, this story is repeated throughout the whole Amazonian Andes, the territory that is home for the spectacled bear, or ukuku, as the Quechuas of southern Peru call it. View of the Kosñipata valley from the outlook at the Wayqecha Biological Station in Cuzco-Peru. Photo: Photo credit: Maxime Alliaga Andean bear “Ukuku” in a Andean grasslands ecosystem at 3500 meters above sea level close to the community Juan Velasco Alvarado. Photo credit: Conservación Amazónica ACCA. Paddington, “from the darkest of Peru” Perhaps due to its size or almost human habits, the ukuku has always fascinated people. It is represented in the iconography of ancient pre-Columbian cultures, and for the mountain dweller, it is a symbol of the cloud forests, equivalent to the condor,&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2022/09/how-bears-make-a-forest-commentary/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
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					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-260797</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>Southeast Asia’s big cats like their prey rare — as in really elusive</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2022/09/southeast-asias-big-cats-like-their-prey-rare-as-in-really-elusive/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2022/09/southeast-asias-big-cats-like-their-prey-rare-as-in-really-elusive/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>06 Sep 2022 06:10:05 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Carolyn Cowan]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Carolyncowan]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2022/09/06060323/1.-CL-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=259979</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Asia, Laos, and Southeast Asia]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Animals, Big Cats, Biodiversity, Carnivores, Cats, Conservation Technology, Endangered Species, Mammals, Poaching, Predators, Rainforests, Snares, Tigers, Ungulates, Wildlife, and Wildtech]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[Tigers and clouded leopards are two of Southeast Asia’s most threatened and enigmatic big cat species. With the numbers of both in sharp decline across the region, leaving their remaining populations small and fragmented, it’s unsurprising that scientists know very little about basic things — such as what they eat. But now, a new study [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[Tigers and clouded leopards are two of Southeast Asia’s most threatened and enigmatic big cat species. With the numbers of both in sharp decline across the region, leaving their remaining populations small and fragmented, it’s unsurprising that scientists know very little about basic things — such as what they eat. But now, a new study that analyzed scat samples collected in a remote protected area in northern Laos provides new insights into their dietary preferences. As expected, wild pigs feature prominently on the menu for both tigers (Panthera tigris) and mainland clouded leopards (Neofelis nebulosa). However, both species appear to deliberately seek out a mysterious, goat-like ungulate called the serow (Capricornis sumatraensis) over all other prey, according to the findings published in Ecology and Evolution. The researchers say their study can help direct conservationists toward the most suitable prey species to target for recovery in their efforts to boost flagging big cat numbers across the region. “Management and enhancement of serow populations, along with other ungulate species, is likely to be important for the clouded leopard to persist and for tiger population recovery in some areas of Southeast Asia,” Akchousanh Rasphone, Laos conservation science director at the Wildlife Conservation Society and lead author of the study, told Mongabay. Mainland serow young and adult photographed in Khao Yai National Park in Thailand. Image by tontantravel via Creative Commons (CC BY-SA 2.0) DNA gives clues about cats long gone Once ranging widely across Asia, tigers and clouded leopards have seen their populations&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2022/09/southeast-asias-big-cats-like-their-prey-rare-as-in-really-elusive/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
										<wfw:commentRss>https://news.mongabay.com/2022/09/southeast-asias-big-cats-like-their-prey-rare-as-in-really-elusive/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-259979</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>In Nepal, endangered tiger kills critically endangered gharial. What does it mean?</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2022/09/in-nepal-endangered-tiger-kills-critically-endangered-gharial-what-does-it-mean/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2022/09/in-nepal-endangered-tiger-kills-critically-endangered-gharial-what-does-it-mean/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>02 Sep 2022 00:53:48 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Abhaya Raj Joshi]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Isabel Esterman]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2022/09/02003749/gharial-breeding-center-Nepal-768x512-1.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=259876</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Asia, Nepal, and South Asia]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Big Cats, Biodiversity, Carnivores, Conservation, Critically Endangered Species, Ecology, Ecosystems, Endangered Species, Habitat, Herps, Predators, Protected Areas, Reptiles, Tigers, Top Predators, and Wildlife]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[KATHMANDU —  On the morning of July 31, a tiger (Panthera tigris) entered the enclosure of the Kasara gharial breeding center in Chitwan National Park unnoticed. It observed the behavior of the crocodiles for a while and then attacked and killed three of them. Before staffers arrived at the site, the tiger ate one of the [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[KATHMANDU —  On the morning of July 31, a tiger (Panthera tigris) entered the enclosure of the Kasara gharial breeding center in Chitwan National Park unnoticed. It observed the behavior of the crocodiles for a while and then attacked and killed three of them. Before staffers arrived at the site, the tiger ate one of the gharials (Gavialis gangeticus) and escaped. When staff did arrive, they witnessed the massacre of a critically endangered species at the hands of an endangered species. “The tiger sneaked in, as the fencing and barricade of the center wasn’t well-maintained,” said Bed Khadka, who recently retired after working at the breeding center for more than two decades. “It’s not the tiger’s fault. If we leave our doors open, our house would automatically be susceptible to theft.” The incident received wide coverage in Nepal’s media as the government and its conservation partners have invested a lot of resources in conserving both species under threat of extinction. Gharials prey on the big fish that would otherwise feed on their preferred catch species. Image by Phoebe Griffith/ ZSL Fewer than 200 breeding adult gharials, known for their long slender snouts, are believed to live in the wild in Nepal. Since 1978, Nepal has been running a program to raise gharial hatchlings in captivity, in an effort to boost the wild population. Officials in breeding centers in Chitwan and Bardiya national parks collect eggs from riverbanks, provide a suitable environment for them to hatch in, and feed and raise the&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2022/09/in-nepal-endangered-tiger-kills-critically-endangered-gharial-what-does-it-mean/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
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					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-259876</doi>				</item>
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