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		<title>Conservation news</title>
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		<link>https://news.mongabay.com/list/diseases/</link>
		<description>Environmental science and conservation news</description>
		<lastBuildDate>Mon, 05 Oct 2026 13:17:42 +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 Diseases</title>
	<link>https://news.mongabay.com/list/diseases/</link>
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				<item>
					<title>A first in Brazil: Black-faced lion tamarins vaccinated</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/10/a-first-in-brazil-black-faced-lion-tamarins-vaccinated/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/10/a-first-in-brazil-black-faced-lion-tamarins-vaccinated/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>01 Oct 2026 18:46:16 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Euan Marshall]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Xavier Bartaburu]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2026/10/01135354/Mico-caicara_PorGabrielMarchi_9-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=331427</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Brazil, Latin America, and South America]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Animals, Biodiversity, Conservation, Diseases, Health, Mammals, Monkeys, Primates, Research, Wildlife, and Zoonotic Diseases]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[On a Wednesday in July, deep in a coastal restinga area of Brazil’s Paraná state, muffled footsteps broke through the chirping of manakins. Three field researchers from the conservation NGO Society for Wildlife Research and Environmental Education (SPVS) moved carefully along a trail, each carrying a small cage covered in a dark cloth. Each cage [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[On a Wednesday in July, deep in a coastal restinga area of Brazil’s Paraná state, muffled footsteps broke through the chirping of manakins. Three field researchers from the conservation NGO Society for Wildlife Research and Environmental Education (SPVS) moved carefully along a trail, each carrying a small cage covered in a dark cloth. Each cage held a black-faced lion tamarin, known locally as the caissara lion tamarin (Leontopithecus caissara). Captured safely from the canopy, the three small primates — two males and one female — were carried to a makeshift tent in a forest clearing, where they would make history. Within hours, they would become the first of their species to be vaccinated against yellow fever. A team of researchers and veterinarians was waiting, quickly transferring each tamarin into a cotton bag to be weighed, starting a race against the clock to protect one of Brazil’s most threatened mammals. L. caissara is one of four lion tamarin species endemic to the Atlantic Forest; it ranks among the world’s rarest primates. First found and described by science in 1990, its wild population was estimated at just 392 individuals in a 2011 study. Most tamarins are confined to coastal restinga areas along the São Paulo-Paraná state border. A Society for Wildlife Research and Environmental Education veterinarian examines a sedated black-faced lion tamarin. Image by Gabriel Marchi. The species’ already restricted range has also been fragmented for decades. Part of the problems started with the Varadouro Canal, a 6-kilometer (3.7-mile)-long, 50-meter (164-feet)-wide artificial&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2026/10/a-first-in-brazil-black-faced-lion-tamarins-vaccinated/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
										<wfw:commentRss>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/10/a-first-in-brazil-black-faced-lion-tamarins-vaccinated/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-331427</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>Study analyzes danger of parasites to Bengal tigers in South Asia</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/09/study-analyzes-danger-of-parasites-to-bengal-tigers-in-south-asia/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/09/study-analyzes-danger-of-parasites-to-bengal-tigers-in-south-asia/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>04 Sep 2026 09:15:07 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Sadiqur Rahman]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Abu Siddique]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2026/09/03140621/Sundarban_tiger_swimming-e1788444411184.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=328586</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Asia, Bangladesh, and South Asia]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Animals, Big Cats, Biodiversity, Cats, Conservation, Diseases, Mammals, Tigers, and Wildlife]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[A typical roundworm measures roughly 2.7% of the average length of a Bengal tiger or weighs just three-millionths of one percent of the largest of the world’s big cats. Though these parasites do not pose a major threat to Bengal tigers (Panthera tigris), researchers across South Asia, the cat’s native range, warn that parasitic infections [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[A typical roundworm measures roughly 2.7% of the average length of a Bengal tiger or weighs just three-millionths of one percent of the largest of the world’s big cats. Though these parasites do not pose a major threat to Bengal tigers (Panthera tigris), researchers across South Asia, the cat’s native range, warn that parasitic infections can act as silent killers, particularly when the big cats are weakened by poor nutrition, injury or other diseases. South Asia is home to roughly 4,367 Bengal tigers: 3,682 in India, 429 in Nepal, 131 in Bhutan and 125 in Bangladesh, according to the latest estimates. The IUCN lists the Bengal tiger as an endangered species, although it is classified as critically endangered in Bangladesh. Bangladeshi researchers, analyzing fecal samples collected from wildlife across the Sundarbans mangrove forest, detected the highest parasite infection rate in Bengal tigers. A study published by the Bangladesh Forest Department in July makes recommendations to address the issue. Sultan Ahmed, a professor in the Department of Microbiology and Immunology at Sylhet Agricultural University and one of the authors of the study, told Mongabay, “The most important recommendation is to keep the mangrove forest away from human interference.” Assigned by the Forest Department, the researchers collected fecal samples in two phases in 2024 and 2025. According to their analysis, the highest parasite infection rate, 85.3%, was detected in Bengal tigers, followed by 84.9% in rhesus monkeys (Macaca mulatta), 73.6% in deer and 66.7% in wild pigs. In molecular analysis, roundworms (including&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2026/09/study-analyzes-danger-of-parasites-to-bengal-tigers-in-south-asia/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
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										<wfw:commentRss>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/09/study-analyzes-danger-of-parasites-to-bengal-tigers-in-south-asia/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-328586</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>Drought is deepening a health crisis among Peru’s recently contacted Indigenous Matsés</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/09/drought-is-deepening-a-health-crisis-among-perus-recently-contacted-indigenous-matses/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/09/drought-is-deepening-a-health-crisis-among-perus-recently-contacted-indigenous-matses/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>02 Sep 2026 15:50:24 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Aimee Gabay]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Latoya Abulu]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2026/09/02152641/contacted-Indigenous-Matses-8-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=328366</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Amazon, Latin America, Peru, and South America]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Conservation, Diseases, Drought, Environment, Extreme Weather, Global Environmental Crisis, Governance, Health, Indigenous Peoples, Indigenous Rights, and Public Health]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[REQUENA, Peru — Until a century ago, few Matsés had ever been in contact with a white person before. The Indigenous people lived in a remote area of the Amazon Rainforest, along the border of Peru and Brazil, in seminomadic forest settlements between the Javari, Yaquerana and Gálvez rivers. There, wild meat was abundant — [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[REQUENA, Peru — Until a century ago, few Matsés had ever been in contact with a white person before. The Indigenous people lived in a remote area of the Amazon Rainforest, along the border of Peru and Brazil, in seminomadic forest settlements between the Javari, Yaquerana and Gálvez rivers. There, wild meat was abundant — and they could hide from outsiders and rival groups. Roberto Necca Tumi Unan had just returned from a swim in the river when Mongabay arrived at his rectangular wooden stilt house for an interview. He’s one of the community&#8217;s last surviving elders, born before first voluntary contact with the outside world in the 1960s. Necca recalled how, on a few rare occasions, while cutting hunting trails through the dense jungle undergrowth alongside older men from his family, they would hear the alien sounds of outsiders. The men would quickly vanish into the undergrowth, covering themselves with damp leaves so the outsiders wouldn’t find them. “That had been a great fear for us because confrontation between mestizos and the Matsés before contact was dangerous,” he said. The Matsés, tired of conflict and displacement, said they chose to make contact with missionaries from the Summer Institute of Linguistics (SIL), an evangelical nonprofit, in 1969. While this initial contact brought some peace, it also marked the beginning of a decades-long struggle against deadly diseases. By 1981, the Matsés population, who had settled in Yaquerana district, in Peru’s Loreto department, was plagued by severe epidemics of influenza and pneumonia.&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2026/09/drought-is-deepening-a-health-crisis-among-perus-recently-contacted-indigenous-matses/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
										<wfw:commentRss>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/09/drought-is-deepening-a-health-crisis-among-perus-recently-contacted-indigenous-matses/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-328366</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>Scientists use mining data to build malaria alert system in the Amazon</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/09/scientists-use-mining-data-to-build-malaria-alert-system-in-amazon/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/09/scientists-use-mining-data-to-build-malaria-alert-system-in-amazon/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>01 Sep 2026 14:21:58 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Fernanda Wenzel]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Alexandre de Santi]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2026/09/01140632/mg_9069-768x512.jpeg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=328177</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Amazon, Brazil, Latin America, and South America]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Conservation Solutions, Crime, Diseases, Gold Mining, Governance, Health, Illegal Mining, Mining, Rainforest Destruction, Rainforests, Saving Rainforests, Threats To Rainforests, and Zoonotic Diseases]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[A 1% increase in illegal mining led to a 24% spike in malaria cases among the Yanomami, prompting a new data-driven defense.]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[A study detailing the links between illegal gold mining and malaria cases in the Yanomami Indigenous Territory in the Brazilian Amazon won second place in the MapBiomas Award, announced in July. The research collective produces data on land use in Brazil and recognizes initiatives that use this information to promote conservation. The study examined the explosion in malaria cases under the government of Jair Bolsonaro, Brazil’s president from January 2019 to 2022, whose far-right policies encouraged illegal miners to invade Brazil&#8217;s largest Indigenous land, home to 31,567 Yanomami. Known locally as garimpeiros, the illegal miners spread disease, contaminated water sources with mercury, and scared away wildlife, prompting a humanitarian crisis in the territory straddling the states of Roraima and Amazonas. Using satellite imagery and data from the Ministry of Health, researchers led by Márcia Castro, from the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health in the U.S., found that a 1% increase in the mined area in the Yanomami territory was associated with a 24% increase in monthly malaria cases. The study, published in November 2025 in the journal PLOS Neglected Tropical Diseases, shows that malaria also increased in areas without mining activity but still used as routes by the miners. “The garimpeiros move around a lot because they have to bring in supplies and machinery,” Castro told Mongabay. “When you pass through these areas, you’re a carrier of the parasite as you walk, and you can get bitten by a mosquito along the way. And just like that, [the&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2026/09/scientists-use-mining-data-to-build-malaria-alert-system-in-amazon/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
										<wfw:commentRss>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/09/scientists-use-mining-data-to-build-malaria-alert-system-in-amazon/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-328177</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>Community programs linked to lower forest loss in Indonesia’s Borneo during COVID-19</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/08/community-programs-linked-to-lower-forest-loss-in-indonesias-borneo-during-covid-19/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/08/community-programs-linked-to-lower-forest-loss-in-indonesias-borneo-during-covid-19/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>28 Aug 2026 02:03:34 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Basten Gokkon]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Basten Gokkon]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2021/12/12215106/kalbar_drone_190946a_sungai_utik-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=327673</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Asia, Indonesia, Southeast Asia, and West Kalimantan]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Avoided Deforestation, Biodiversity, Community Development, Community Forests, Community-based Conservation, Conservation, Conservation Solutions, COVID-19, Deforestation, Environment, Forest Loss, Forestry, Forests, Governance, Happy-upbeat Environmental, Illegal Logging, Logging, NGOs, Pandemics, Protected Areas, Reduced Impact Logging, Research, Solutions, Tropical Deforestation, and Tropical Forests]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[Villages in Indonesia’s West Kalimantan saw less forest loss during the COVID-19 pandemic when conservation groups provided health and livelihood support, a new study has found, suggesting social safety nets can help protect forests during economic crises. The peer-reviewed study, published last month in Lancet Planetary Health, suggests forest loss in West Kalimantan province on [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[Villages in Indonesia’s West Kalimantan saw less forest loss during the COVID-19 pandemic when conservation groups provided health and livelihood support, a new study has found, suggesting social safety nets can help protect forests during economic crises. The peer-reviewed study, published last month in Lancet Planetary Health, suggests forest loss in West Kalimantan province on the Indonesian part of Borneo fell sharply during the pandemic, as weak timber demand and travel restrictions made logging less profitable and harder to carry out. At the same time, villages with access to alternative livelihoods and other support were less reliant on forests for income, the paper adds. The researchers say their study is among the first to combine household surveys with detailed satellite data to examine how the pandemic affected rural livelihoods and forest loss in the same communities, offering a closer look at how economic shocks and social support can influence pressure on tropical forests. “As the pandemic started, we expected economic hardships to cause illegal logging to increase again,” Skylar Hopkins, an assistant professor at North Carolina State University and the lead author for the new study, said in a statement. Mapping deforestation trends Before the pandemic, average forest loss was 52% lower in NGO-affiliated villages than in unaffiliated villages, the study finds. Indonesia has the world’s third-largest tropical forest area, a major store of biodiversity and carbon, long threatened by logging, agricultural expansion and fires. The researchers surveyed 10 villages in West Kalimantan in late 2021: six communities supported by&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2026/08/community-programs-linked-to-lower-forest-loss-in-indonesias-borneo-during-covid-19/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
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					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-327673</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>As hay fever sufferers grow in Japan, the country is looking to plant no-pollen trees</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/08/as-hay-fever-sufferers-grow-in-japan-the-country-is-looking-to-plant-no-pollen-trees/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/08/as-hay-fever-sufferers-grow-in-japan-the-country-is-looking-to-plant-no-pollen-trees/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>26 Aug 2026 16:09:59 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Jonathan Vit]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Philip Jacobson]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2026/08/17115248/Japan-hay-fever-02-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=326395</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Asia, East Asia, and Japan]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Agriculture, Biodiversity, Conservation, Diseases, Environment, Farming, Health, Plants, Reforestation, Solutions, Timber, Trees, and Wildlife]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[TOKYO — For Mariko Aoki, the new year began with an itch. “Right after the New Year in January, my nose starts to get a little itchy,” Aoki said. “It peaks in March, and the sneezing, runny nose, itchy throat and itchy eyes are really bad. It lasts all the way until just before Golden [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
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							<![CDATA[TOKYO — For Mariko Aoki, the new year began with an itch. “Right after the New Year in January, my nose starts to get a little itchy,” Aoki said. “It peaks in March, and the sneezing, runny nose, itchy throat and itchy eyes are really bad. It lasts all the way until just before Golden Week [April 29-May 5].” Aoki, like many in Japan, suffers from hay fever, or kafunsho, an annual affliction that affects more than 40% of the population — nearly double the rate in the U.S. The seasonal allergies leave many with red eyes, a stuffy nose, a sore throat and feelings of exhaustion. The combined lassitude annually costs Japan an estimated 245 billion yen ($1.5 billion) in economic losses per day during hay fever season, according to one survey. “My head feels so foggy that I can’t concentrate,” said Aoki, who works as a secretary at the National Diet — Japan’s legislature. “When it gets really bad, I go to the doctor.” In Japan, hay fever has been called a national disease. But it’s a man-made one. The majority of Japan’s hay fever sufferers are allergic to the pollen of two trees: sugi (Cryptomeria japonica) and hinoki (Chamaecyparis obtusa). Both trees were widely planted in the years following World War II as a much-needed source of timber. Sugi cones. Image by Plant Image Library via Flickr (CC BY-SA 2.0). The trees helped fuel Japan’s post-war recovery. Now, decades later, they’re fuelling a national health crisis. “People&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2026/08/as-hay-fever-sufferers-grow-in-japan-the-country-is-looking-to-plant-no-pollen-trees/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
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					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-326395</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>A deadly cross over: In South Africa, rabies moves from land animals to seals</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/08/a-deadly-cross-over-in-south-africa-rabies-moves-from-land-animals-to-seals/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/08/a-deadly-cross-over-in-south-africa-rabies-moves-from-land-animals-to-seals/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>24 Aug 2026 14:21:58 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Nic Bothma]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Andy Lehren]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2026/08/24125554/a.-Rabies-Seals-10-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=327100</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Africa, South Africa, and Southern Africa]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Animals, Biodiversity, Coastal Ecosystems, Conservation, Diseases, Ecosystems, Environment, Mammals, Marine, Marine Animals, Marine Conservation, Marine Mammals, Oceans, Wildlife, and Zoonotic Diseases]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[CAPE TOWN, South Africa — Debbie Hendrikz was walking along her usual route on the shoreline when she crouched to photograph a seal. She is familiar with seals and has captured similar images along the beach. But this was different. “It just went for me,” the 49-year-old said. “I knew instinctively by the sound it [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
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							<![CDATA[CAPE TOWN, South Africa — Debbie Hendrikz was walking along her usual route on the shoreline when she crouched to photograph a seal. She is familiar with seals and has captured similar images along the beach. But this was different. “It just went for me,” the 49-year-old said. “I knew instinctively by the sound it made that I was its prey. It grabbed my arm and bit hard into a metal bracelet I was wearing, which saved me. I knew I had to get away and not let it get my feet in the soft sand. I managed to shake it off my arm and just got away.” &#8220;I never imagined anything like this could happen. It took me a long while to get over it.&#8221; Seals do not normally see humans as prey, but Hendrikz’s encounter is one of a growing list of recent attacks by the marine mammals in Cape Town. According to Gregg Oelofse, the City of Cape Town&#8217;s coastal manager, the city has recorded 135 incidents of aggressive seal behavior toward humans since September 2021. More than half, 73 incidents,  resulted in bite injuries ranging from broken skin to those requiring hospitalization in an intensive care unit. Researchers in South Africa suspect the incidents stem from a disease normally associated with land animals that appears to be leaping to Cape fur seals (Arctocephalus pusillus) — rabies. According to South Africa’s National Institute for Communicable Diseases (NICD), reports of rabies in seals around the world prior to&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2026/08/a-deadly-cross-over-in-south-africa-rabies-moves-from-land-animals-to-seals/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
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					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-327100</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>Delays, biosecurity failures worsened flu outbreak at Nepal zoo, probe finds</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/08/delays-biosecurity-failures-worsened-flu-outbreak-at-nepal-zoo-probe-finds/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/08/delays-biosecurity-failures-worsened-flu-outbreak-at-nepal-zoo-probe-finds/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>12 Aug 2026 11:57:40 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Deepak Adhikari]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Abhaya Raj Joshi]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2026/08/12111006/sarus-crane-nepal-zoo-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=325997</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Asia, Nepal, and South Asia]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Animals, Biodiversity, Birds, Conservation, Diseases, Environment, Wildlife, Zoonotic Diseases, and Zoos]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[KATHMANDU — Delayed reporting, poor communication and weak biosecurity allowed bird flu to spread through Nepal’s Central Zoo in June and July killing or prompting the culling of at least 65 birds and animals, according to an internal inquiry report obtained by Mongabay. The investigation by the nonprofit National Trust for Nature Conservation (NTNC), the [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[KATHMANDU — Delayed reporting, poor communication and weak biosecurity allowed bird flu to spread through Nepal’s Central Zoo in June and July killing or prompting the culling of at least 65 birds and animals, according to an internal inquiry report obtained by Mongabay. The investigation by the nonprofit National Trust for Nature Conservation (NTNC), the autonomous body that manages the zoo and frequently partners with the government, found that officials failed to act adequately on a warning about avian influenza among crows (Corvus splendens) in Kathmandu. The facility also remained open for five days after a rapid test indicated the virus was present. “The investigation found serious negligence and weaknesses at the management level,” according to the report, a copy of which was provided to Mongabay following a right to information application. The inquiry was led by Rachana Shah, the NTNC’s spokesperson and programs manager, raising questions about a conflict of interest. Shah rejected concerns about a potential conflict of interest, saying the goal was to identify institutional failures and draw lessons from the outbreak. “We treated it as an opportunity to draw lessons from the incident, rather than as a formal investigation into the bird flu outbreak at the zoo,” she told Mongabay. “If a similar incident occurs in the future, we will bring in an external expert.” According to the report, bird flu killed 27 birds and 14 mammals between June 12 and July 2, 2026. Authorities also culled 21 birds on suspicion of bird flu to contain&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2026/08/delays-biosecurity-failures-worsened-flu-outbreak-at-nepal-zoo-probe-finds/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
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										<wfw:commentRss>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/08/delays-biosecurity-failures-worsened-flu-outbreak-at-nepal-zoo-probe-finds/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-325997</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>As DRC confronts largest Ebola outbreak, health agencies revise strategy</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/08/as-drc-confronts-largest-ebola-outbreak-health-agencies-revise-strategy/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/08/as-drc-confronts-largest-ebola-outbreak-health-agencies-revise-strategy/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>12 Aug 2026 11:11:13 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Mongabay.org]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Malavikavyawahare]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2026/08/12093240/Preparing_to_enter_Ebola_treatment_unit_4-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=326013</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Africa, Central Africa, and Democratic Republic Of Congo]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Animals, Diseases, Ebola, Economics, Environment, Forests, Governance, Health, One Health, Planetary Health, Public Health, Research, and Zoonotic Diseases]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[The Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) recorded more than 4,300 Ebola cases with more than 2,000 deaths as of Aug. 9, making this the country’s largest outbreak, to date. In the last major Ebola outbreak, the country reported around 3,500 confirmed and probable cases over two years (2018-20). However, this time, the number was surpassed [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[The Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) recorded more than 4,300 Ebola cases with more than 2,000 deaths as of Aug. 9, making this the country’s largest outbreak, to date. In the last major Ebola outbreak, the country reported around 3,500 confirmed and probable cases over two years (2018-20). However, this time, the number was surpassed in just 12 weeks from the time the outbreak was officially declared on May 15 of this year, making it the fastest-spreading Ebola outbreak on record. “The scale of these epidemic reveals, for the first time, the gravity of the situation and forces us to rethink our response strategies in order to provide a more effective and better-coordinated response,” Dr. Jean Kaseya, director-general of Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (Africa CDC), said during an online press briefing on Aug. 6. In May, the DRC declared its 17th Ebola outbreak in Ituri province, which borders Uganda. Kaseya said the official figures provide only a partial picture of the epidemic&#8217;s true scale in the eastern DRC. In remote villages and rural areas, which are among the hardest hit, many cases may go undetected by surveillance systems due to difficult access and operational constraints. Health workers transporting an Ebola patient to a treatment center. Image by Moses Sawasawa/Associated Press. The World Health Organization and the Africa CDC had previously estimated that the DRC needed $1.4 billion to tackle the crisis in a comprehensive manner, including for humanitarian response, and that available funding was well below that&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2026/08/as-drc-confronts-largest-ebola-outbreak-health-agencies-revise-strategy/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
										<wfw:commentRss>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/08/as-drc-confronts-largest-ebola-outbreak-health-agencies-revise-strategy/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-326013</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>Brazil’s wildcats face multiple diseases due to habitat fragmentation</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/08/brazils-wild-cats-face-multiple-diseases-due-to-habitat-fragmentation/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/08/brazils-wild-cats-face-multiple-diseases-due-to-habitat-fragmentation/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>11 Aug 2026 14:00:26 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Lucas Berti]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Mongabay Editor]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2026/08/10181036/082_Ocelot_in_Encontro_das_Aguas_State_Park_Photo_by_Giles_Laurent-2-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=325826</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Brazil, Latin America, and South America]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Animals, Biodiversity, Cats, Conservation, Diseases, Environment, Forest Fragmentation, Fragmentation, Habitat, Habitat Degradation, Habitat Loss, Mammals, and Wildlife]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[Every day, millions of Brazilians recall how rich the country&#8217;s feline biodiversity is when they reach into their wallets: Since entering circulation in 2010, the ‘50 real’ notes have carried a printed drawing of a jaguar (Panthera onca), the largest feline in the Americas. In Brazil, one can even trace the animal that inspired the [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[Every day, millions of Brazilians recall how rich the country&#8217;s feline biodiversity is when they reach into their wallets: Since entering circulation in 2010, the ‘50 real’ notes have carried a printed drawing of a jaguar (Panthera onca), the largest feline in the Americas. In Brazil, one can even trace the animal that inspired the design of the popular banknotes: It is the jaguar called “Gabi,” a 2002-born female that lived in the old Rio de Janeiro Zoo (today Rio’s BioParque). The “model” Gabi died in 2022, but she remains alive in the imagination of Brazilian consumers in every day-to-day cash transaction. Despite the tribute, alongside species such as the puma (Puma concolor), the ocelot (Leopardus pardalis), and the jaguarundí (Herpailurus yagouaroundi) or gato-mourisco, as it is known in Brazil, the jaguar faces a common crisis among Brazilian species: Its existence is threatened by problems ranging from illegal wildlife trafficking to the accelerated degradation of its habitats across different biomes. Also, there is a silent emergency that places these wild felines in a threatening environmental context: Diseases that affect domestic animals. “There is a risk for all feline species. Especially for our native species and for those that are endangered,” said Flavia Tirelli, a doctor in zoology and coordinator of the Geoffroy&#8217;s Cat Working Group, an international network fighting for the conservation of Leopardus geoffroyi and other wild felines. According to the specialist, who also acts as a researcher at the Laboratory of Evolution, Systematics, and Ecology of Birds and&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2026/08/brazils-wild-cats-face-multiple-diseases-due-to-habitat-fragmentation/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
										<wfw:commentRss>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/08/brazils-wild-cats-face-multiple-diseases-due-to-habitat-fragmentation/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-325826</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>Some free-roaming cats in New York City are parasite &#8216;super-shedders,&#8217; study shows</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/08/some-free-roaming-cats-in-new-york-city-are-parasite-super-shedders-study-shows/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/08/some-free-roaming-cats-in-new-york-city-are-parasite-super-shedders-study-shows/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>06 Aug 2026 16:33:29 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Alex Megerle]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Sharon Guynup]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2026/08/05030557/1-Neighborhood-Cats-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=325347</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Global, New York, North America, and United States]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Animals, Biodiversity, Cats, Conservation, Diseases, Environment, Health, Mammals, Parasites, Small Cats, Wildlife, and Zoonotic Diseases]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[If you’ve ever strolled through New York City and felt like there were a lot of cats strutting the streets, you weren’t wrong. No one knows exactly how many felines wander New York, but it’s a lot. Bideawee, a regional animal shelter, says tens of thousands of stray and feral cats live in the city’s [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[If you’ve ever strolled through New York City and felt like there were a lot of cats strutting the streets, you weren’t wrong. No one knows exactly how many felines wander New York, but it’s a lot. Bideawee, a regional animal shelter, says tens of thousands of stray and feral cats live in the city’s outdoor spaces. In 2023, The New York Times said there could be as many as half a million feral cats; the same year, CBS News reported the number could be double that. The health of these cats is a bit less of a mystery thanks to a recent study from researchers at Rowan and Long Island Universities. It’s well-known that free-roaming cats can carry parasites and “shed” the eggs in their feces, which can then infect humans, pets and wildlife via contact with animal waste or soil in public places. Unmanaged free-roaming cat populations, the authors write, “occupy a critical interface between animal health, human health, and environmental hygiene.” But studies on this problem in New York City are rare, according to the researchers. The team tested nearly 90 cats across every borough except Manhattan in the late spring and summer of 2023. They found that more than half were infected with at least one parasite; 22% harbored two or more. These results aren’t surprising, said Felicia Nutter, a wildlife veterinarian at Tufts University, in an email to Mongabay. The study establishes a baseline for cats in this area. Continuing to study this same population&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2026/08/some-free-roaming-cats-in-new-york-city-are-parasite-super-shedders-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-325347</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>Nepal zoo bird flu outbreak raises alarm for national parks</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/08/nepal-zoo-bird-flu-outbreak-raises-alarm-for-national-parks/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/08/nepal-zoo-bird-flu-outbreak-raises-alarm-for-national-parks/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>06 Aug 2026 16:04:26 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Abhaya Raj JoshiMukesh Pokhrel]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Abhaya Raj Joshi]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2026/08/06135517/vulture-in-kathmandu-zoo-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=325467</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Asia, Nepal, and South Asia]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Animals, Biodiversity, Birds, Conservation, Diseases, Environment, Food, Wildlife, and Zoonotic Diseases]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[KATHMANDU — In the village of Pithauli, on the edge of Nepal’s Chitwan National Park, a safe feeding site for critically endangered vultures has long been hailed as a success story by conservationists. For visitors, the feeding site, also known as a “vulture restaurant”, provides a rare photo op for tourists: As white-rumped vultures (Gyps [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[KATHMANDU — In the village of Pithauli, on the edge of Nepal’s Chitwan National Park, a safe feeding site for critically endangered vultures has long been hailed as a success story by conservationists. For visitors, the feeding site, also known as a “vulture restaurant”, provides a rare photo op for tourists: As white-rumped vultures (Gyps bengalensis) and slender-billed vultures (Gyps tenuirostris) feed on carcasses laid out by locals, greater one-horned rhinos, jackals, wild boars and crows watch and, sometimes, participate. For ornithologist Rajendra Suwal, however, this ensemble is an eyesore, he told Mongabay, &#8220;If an infected bird comes to the site, the disease could spread to other birds or even animals.”. Suwal’s concern stems from a recent outbreak of bird flu or avian influenza in the country’s capital. An outbreak that started in mid-June at Kathmandu’s Central Zoo is believed to have cost the lives of at least 65 animals and birds across more than 20 species. The dead included barn owls, Himalayan griffons, greylag geese, jungle cats, leopard cats, a sarus crane and two common leopards. An investigation by the National Trust for Nature Conservation (NTNC), which manages the zoo, says the origin of the outbreak could likely be traced to two sources: Among birds, it likely started through feral crows roosting in open-topped aviary enclosures, while for carnivores, it spread through chicken meat fed to them by the zoo. A sarus crane (Antigone antigone) at the Central Zoo in Kathmandu. Image by Shadow Ayush via Wikimedia Commons (CC&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2026/08/nepal-zoo-bird-flu-outbreak-raises-alarm-for-national-parks/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
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					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-325467</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>Ebola responders persevere in the DRC as Uganda nears end of outbreak</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/08/ebola-responders-persevere-in-the-drc-as-uganda-nears-end-of-outbreak/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/08/ebola-responders-persevere-in-the-drc-as-uganda-nears-end-of-outbreak/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>03 Aug 2026 18:19:14 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Elodie Toto]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Malavikavyawahare]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2026/08/03103124/image1_Un-travailleur-se-desinfecte-au-Centre-medical-evangelique-de-Bunia_BIS-1536x1024-1-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=325162</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Africa, Central Africa, and Democratic Republic Of Congo]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Animals, Diseases, Ebola, Economics, Ecosystems, Environment, Governance, Health, One Health, Planetary Health, Public Health, Research, and Zoonotic Diseases]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[Several members of the Ebola response gathered on July 15, 2026, outside the Ebola Treatment Center (ETC) in Bunia, eastern Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), to protest their working conditions. Demonstrators said they had not received their risk allowances for several weeks, payments that are supposed to be made by the Congolese government. &#8220;It&#8217;s outrageous [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[Several members of the Ebola response gathered on July 15, 2026, outside the Ebola Treatment Center (ETC) in Bunia, eastern Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), to protest their working conditions. Demonstrators said they had not received their risk allowances for several weeks, payments that are supposed to be made by the Congolese government. &#8220;It&#8217;s outrageous for such a high-risk job,&#8221; Robert Uyergiu Mambo, a community leader and French teacher in Bunia, Ituri province, told Mongabay by phone. Although he is not officially part of the Ebola response, his position within the Alur community, an ethnic group living in northwestern Uganda and northeastern DRC, has made him an important local ally. Uyergiu Mambo, a volunteer host on the community radio station Radio Terra FM, which states it has an audience of five million listeners, said he was frustrated with the situation, but not surprised. &#8220;It&#8217;s common for government employees to go unpaid for long periods. Recently, the minister [Samuel Roger Kamba, minister of Public Health, Hygiene and Social Welfare] came here and managed to calm tensions, but there has been a lot of frustration among Ebola response workers lately and protests have continued one after another,” he said. “If nothing changes, the protests will continue. The problem is that it is paralyzing the response.” It is not unusual for Congolese civil servants to work for months without receiving their salaries, a situation that has long fueled corruption across the country. It was a part of life even under Mobutu Sese Seko,&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2026/08/ebola-responders-persevere-in-the-drc-as-uganda-nears-end-of-outbreak/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
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					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-325162</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>Researchers find &#8216;priority zones&#8217; for yellow fever vaccination of golden lion tamarins</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/07/researchers-find-priority-zones-for-yellow-fever-vaccination-of-golden-lion-tamarins/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/07/researchers-find-priority-zones-for-yellow-fever-vaccination-of-golden-lion-tamarins/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>30 Jul 2026 16:35:16 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Alex Megerle]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Sharon Guynup]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2026/07/29064450/2-B-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=324739</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Atlantic Forest, Brazil, Global, Latin America, and South America]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Animals, Biodiversity, Conservation, Diseases, Ecosystems, Endangered Species, Environment, Forest Fragmentation, Forests, Fragmentation, Habitat, Habitat Degradation, Health, Mammals, Monitoring, Monkeys, Nature-based climate solutions, Primates, Reforestation, Research, Solutions, Wildlife, and Zoonotic Diseases]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[After a two-hour drive from the airport in Rio de Janeiro, you reach a special park dedicated to a special animal in Brazil’s Atlantic Forest. There, you can take a guided tour through the green and perhaps catch a glimpse of vibrant orange: The pelage or furry coat of one of this region’s most famous [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[After a two-hour drive from the airport in Rio de Janeiro, you reach a special park dedicated to a special animal in Brazil’s Atlantic Forest. There, you can take a guided tour through the green and perhaps catch a glimpse of vibrant orange: The pelage or furry coat of one of this region’s most famous resident, the golden lion tamarin. Between 2017 and 2019, a yellow fever epidemic killed roughly 30% of the population, leaving only 2,500 alive. This small, endangered monkey, which nearly went extinct in the 1970s, is relegated to fragmented forests in the state of Rio de Janeiro, about 2% of their original territory, according to conservation nonprofit Save the Golden Lion Tamarin. But the tamarins (Leontopithecus rosalia) have made a significant recovery, rebounding to roughly 4,800 individuals according to a 2023 census. To better prepare for a possible outbreak in the future, a group of researchers wanted to find out how different environmental factors affected yellow fever transmission between tamarins. Their research identified high-risk areas, which could guide conservationists aiming to vaccinate the population against future epidemics. The golden lion tamarin, an endangered species, is found exclusively in Brazil&#8217;s Atlantic Forest, a seriously threatened biodiversity hotspot: only 7%-12% remains. Image by Themium via Wikimedia Commons (CC0 1.0). Mapping an outbreak Researchers compared mortality data from 2014-2016, before yellow fever struck, with more than 1,000 deaths that occurred during the outbreak in 2017-2019, information that was gathered by the nonprofit Golden Lion Tamarin Association (known in Brazil&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2026/07/researchers-find-priority-zones-for-yellow-fever-vaccination-of-golden-lion-tamarins/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
										<wfw:commentRss>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/07/researchers-find-priority-zones-for-yellow-fever-vaccination-of-golden-lion-tamarins/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-324739</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>Study investigates how to prevent viral spread from bat guano in Southeast Asia</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/07/study-investigates-how-to-prevent-viral-spread-from-bat-guano-in-southeast-asia/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/07/study-investigates-how-to-prevent-viral-spread-from-bat-guano-in-southeast-asia/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>28 Jul 2026 13:55:30 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Carolyn Cowan]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Isabel Esterman]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2026/07/25102859/Banner_Rhinolophus_coelophyllus_Croslet-horseshoe-bat-e1784975703551-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=324526</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Asia, Myanmar, Southeast Asia, and Thailand]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Agriculture, Agrochemicals, Animals, Bats, Biodiversity, Business, Caves, Coronavirus, Diseases, Environment, Fertilizers, Health, Mammals, One Health, Public Health, Research, Science, Supply Chain, Wildlife, and Zoonotic Diseases]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[As humans encroach further into ecosystems, people and wildlife are brought into closer proximity. One potential consequence is an increased risk of pathogens jumping from animals to humans, prompting researchers to explore the dynamics of how viruses circulate in nature and how best to prevent the risk of this transmission. New research from Thailand identified [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[As humans encroach further into ecosystems, people and wildlife are brought into closer proximity. One potential consequence is an increased risk of pathogens jumping from animals to humans, prompting researchers to explore the dynamics of how viruses circulate in nature and how best to prevent the risk of this transmission. New research from Thailand identified genetic material belonging to Betacoronaviruses, a genus of viruses that includes the strains responsible for Covid-19, SARS and MERS, within commercially available agricultural products, raising concerns over a general lack of safety protocols to protect harvesters and handlers from exposure. In the study, published in PLOS One, researchers screened 41 samples of bat guano fertilizers commonly sold in Thai markets for the presence of coronaviruses. While all the samples were from products bought in Thailand, the researchers couldn’t determine the exact origins of the guano contained in each product, which may have been from outside the country. Two of the samples tested positive for Alphacoronaviruses, another genus of coronaviruses, and one tested positive for Betacoronaviruses. Genetic analysis showed the Betacoronavirus sample was closely genetically related to the sarbecovirus subgenus, the group that includes the Covid-causing pathogen, SARS-CoV-2. Importantly, the researchers note the viral strains detected are not known to infect humans. Moreover, they only detected a fragment of viral RNA, the genetic blueprint of viruses, and did not fully isolate a live virus in the samples. As a result, they couldn’t definitively confirm the genetic material detected is capable of posing risks to human health.&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2026/07/study-investigates-how-to-prevent-viral-spread-from-bat-guano-in-southeast-asia/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
										<wfw:commentRss>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/07/study-investigates-how-to-prevent-viral-spread-from-bat-guano-in-southeast-asia/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-324526</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>Peru’s only penguin species at risk from upcoming El Niño and bird flu, experts warn</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/07/perus-only-penguin-species-at-risk-from-upcoming-el-nino-and-bird-flu-experts-warn/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/07/perus-only-penguin-species-at-risk-from-upcoming-el-nino-and-bird-flu-experts-warn/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>20 Jul 2026 11:11:02 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Dan Collyns]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Alexandra Popescu]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2026/07/20110117/8SJ4530_%C2%A9AndreBaertschi-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=323856</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Global, Latin America, Peru, and South America]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Biodiversity, Climate Science, Conservation, El Nino, Impact Of Climate Change, Marine Conservation, Penguins, Research, Science, Seabirds, Wildlife, and Zoonotic Diseases]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[SAN JUAN DE MARCONA, Peru — First, there was the H5N1 avian influenza of 2022, then El Niño arrived in 2023, disrupting coastal waters and fish availability. For Peru’s Humboldt penguins, the only species of penguins that breeds in the country, the burden was too heavy: Its population dropped by two-thirds between 2022 and 2025. [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[SAN JUAN DE MARCONA, Peru — First, there was the H5N1 avian influenza of 2022, then El Niño arrived in 2023, disrupting coastal waters and fish availability. For Peru’s Humboldt penguins, the only species of penguins that breeds in the country, the burden was too heavy: Its population dropped by two-thirds between 2022 and 2025. Still recovering, the species is now facing a super El Niño that could further undermine its future. In early June, the Secretary-General of the United Nations, António Guterres, warned: “The science is clear: El Niño is arriving on our doorstep in the coming months with 90% certainty. The world must treat it as the urgent climate warning it is. El Niño conditions will pour fuel on the fire of a warming world. Impacts will hit even harder, travel even farther, and cross borders with devastating speed.” Scientists studying the Humboldt penguins (Spheniscus humboldti) in Peru say that they are already feeling the impact of the 2026 El Niño as warmer coastal waters drive the cold current carrying the main prey fish, Peruvian anchovy (Engraulis ringens) or anchoveta, deeper and further offshore. That means the penguins and other seabirds are forced to undertake longer fishing trips to get enough food to breed or feed chicks. Scientists studying El Niño say the gaps between the events are getting smaller and the effects are more unpredictable. “Climate change is driving more frequent and more severe El Niño events,” Andres Lescano, director of Clima, the Latin American Center of&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2026/07/perus-only-penguin-species-at-risk-from-upcoming-el-nino-and-bird-flu-experts-warn/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
										<wfw:commentRss>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/07/perus-only-penguin-species-at-risk-from-upcoming-el-nino-and-bird-flu-experts-warn/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-323856</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>Laos’s illegal wildlife shops keep growing despite enforcement, investigators find</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/07/laoss-illegal-wildlife-shops-keep-growing-despite-enforcement-investigators-find/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/07/laoss-illegal-wildlife-shops-keep-growing-despite-enforcement-investigators-find/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>15 Jul 2026 01:34:22 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Gerald Flynn]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Philip Jacobson]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2026/07/14121851/baby-pagolin-in-market-768x512.png" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=323316</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Asia, China, Laos, and Southeast Asia]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Animals, Bears, Biodiversity, Business, Conservation, Crime, Critically Endangered Species, Endangered Species, Environment, Environmental Law, Governance, Illegal Trade, Ivory, Law Enforcement, Monkeys, Organized Crime, Pangolins, Poaching, Rhinos, Tigers, Tourism, Trade, Traditional Chinese Medicine, trafficking, Wildlife, Wildlife consumption, Wildlife Rescues, Wildlife Trade, Wildlife Trafficking, and Zoonotic Diseases]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[BANGKOK — Schemes funneling Chinese tour groups through illegal wildlife shopping sites in Laos appear to be persisting and even expanding in spite of some law enforcement action by authorities, Mongabay has learned. In July 2025, a joint Mongabay investigation identified up to 21 illegal wildlife shopping sites embedded in package tours catering to Chinese [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[BANGKOK — Schemes funneling Chinese tour groups through illegal wildlife shopping sites in Laos appear to be persisting and even expanding in spite of some law enforcement action by authorities, Mongabay has learned. In July 2025, a joint Mongabay investigation identified up to 21 illegal wildlife shopping sites embedded in package tours catering to Chinese nationals in the Laotian cites of Luang Prabang and Vientiane. Typically masquerading as cultural centers, restaurants, jewelry stores and the like, or as stores embedded in such venues, the shopping sites typically only showcase their products to Chinese-language tours run by Chinese and Laotian operators, while barring entry to anyone else. Since then, the number of these shops appears to have nearly doubled, according to multiple groups investigating these operations on the ground. Mongabay has seen evidence suggesting that as many as 35 shops are now operating in Luang Prabang and Vientiane, with 22 in the former and the rest in the latter. When Mongabay asked the Laotian Department of Forestry about the first 21 shops in mid-2025, a spokesperson suggested that at least some of them were not registered as retail shops and that they would investigate. Since then, authorities have made seizures of suspected illegal wildlife products at several shopping sites in Vientiane and Luang Prabang, including of nearly 50 kilograms (110 pounds) during inspections of 17 unnamed locations In November and December, and of more than 57 kg (126 lbs) at an unnamed location on June 13, according to local media reports.&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2026/07/laoss-illegal-wildlife-shops-keep-growing-despite-enforcement-investigators-find/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
										<wfw:commentRss>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/07/laoss-illegal-wildlife-shops-keep-growing-despite-enforcement-investigators-find/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-323316</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>Microplastic pollution can fuel rise in antibiotic resistance, studies find</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/07/microplastic-pollution-can-fuel-rise-in-antibiotic-resistance-studies-find/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/07/microplastic-pollution-can-fuel-rise-in-antibiotic-resistance-studies-find/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>08 Jul 2026 16:55:50 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Claire Asher]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Glenn Scherer]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2026/07/06145915/1-resistant-bacteria-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=322580</guid>

											<reporting-project>
							<![CDATA[Planetary Boundaries]]>
						</reporting-project>
					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Global]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Diseases, Environment, Global Environmental Crisis, Health, Medicine, Microorganisms, Microplastics, Planetary Boundaries, Planetary Health, Plastic, Pollution, Research, and Waste]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[Plastic pollution is among the gravest environmental crises facing humanity. Plastic production since 1950 has exceeded 8,300 million metric tons, with most plastic waste ending up in the environment, affecting wildlife, ecosystem functionality, and human health. Simultaneously, the ability of disease-causing bacteria to withstand one or more antibiotics (known as antimicrobial resistance, or AMR) has [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[Plastic pollution is among the gravest environmental crises facing humanity. Plastic production since 1950 has exceeded 8,300 million metric tons, with most plastic waste ending up in the environment, affecting wildlife, ecosystem functionality, and human health. Simultaneously, the ability of disease-causing bacteria to withstand one or more antibiotics (known as antimicrobial resistance, or AMR) has surged to become a public health emergency now accounting for around 5 million deaths worldwide annually. “AMR is an existential human threat,” says Tim Walsh, a professor at the University of Oxford and director of biology at the U.K.’s Ineos Oxford Institute of Antimicrobial Research, who spoke to Mongabay via video call. “It will kill more people [each year] than TB, HIV and malaria, and if unchallenged could eclipse cancer as the biggest killer.” Until very recently, these two global crises, plastic pollution and antimicrobial resistance, were considered separately by scientists and policymakers. But a new line of research suggests they’re inextricably linked: Plastic waste is quickly colonized by microorganisms, creating a new type of ecosystem dubbed the “plastisphere.” And bacteria living in the plastisphere are developing greater resistance to antibiotics at an unprecedented rate. A polyethylene plastic “bio-bead,” used to aid the breakdown of sewage in wastewater treatment plants, which has been colonized by fungi and other microbes. Sometimes, these bacteria-laden plastic pellets can escape wastewater treatment facilities and enter the environment. Image courtesy of Emily Stevenson. How microplastics enhance antimicrobial resistance In 2025, researchers at Boston University found that Escherichia coli bacteria exposed&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2026/07/microplastic-pollution-can-fuel-rise-in-antibiotic-resistance-studies-find/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
										<wfw:commentRss>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/07/microplastic-pollution-can-fuel-rise-in-antibiotic-resistance-studies-find/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-322580</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>Clinical trials begin in DRC epicenter of Bundibugyo strain of Ebola</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/07/clinical-trials-begin-in-drc-epicenter-of-bundibugyo-strain-of-ebola/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/07/clinical-trials-begin-in-drc-epicenter-of-bundibugyo-strain-of-ebola/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>08 Jul 2026 09:59:24 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Prosper Heri Ngorora]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Malavikavyawahare]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2026/07/08093240/image1_Un-travailleur-se-desinfecte-au-Centre-medical-evangelique-de-Bunia_BIS-1536x1024-1-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=322836</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Africa, Central Africa, and Democratic Republic Of Congo]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Animals, Diseases, Ebola, Governance, Health, One Health, Planetary Health, Public Health, and Zoonotic Diseases]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[Clinical trials for treatments targeting the Bundibugyo strain of the Ebola virus disease began on July 2 in the Democratic Republic of Congo. The goal is to develop a standard treatment for the strain, whose current outbreak has already resulted in nearly 1,500 confirmed cases and more than 450 deaths. According to DRC health authorities, [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[Clinical trials for treatments targeting the Bundibugyo strain of the Ebola virus disease began on July 2 in the Democratic Republic of Congo. The goal is to develop a standard treatment for the strain, whose current outbreak has already resulted in nearly 1,500 confirmed cases and more than 450 deaths. According to DRC health authorities, clinical trials targeting this rare strain of Ebola, which is affecting the eastern part of the DRC, were officially launched on July 2 at the Evangelical Medical Center in Bunia, the capital of Ituri province. &#8220;During this epidemic, we also needed to conduct research to find specific drugs to treat this Ebola virus disease and to identify an effective molecule we can use to treat patients suffering from Ebola,&#8221; Dieudonné Mwamba Kazadi, director of the National Institute of Public Health and coordinator of the response to what is now the DRC&#8217;s 17th Ebola epidemic, told Mongabay. According to the Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (Africa CDC), three molecules will be studied in these clinical trials: Remdesivir and MBP134 for patients confirmed to be carrying the Bundibugyo virus, and Obeldsivir — a post-exposure prophylactic treatment to be administered to individuals exposed to the virus, including frontline response personnel. Djodjo Mbusa, a resident of Bunia, welcomed news of the trials, saying they would contribute to the region&#8217;s health security. &#8220;These trials are important for us, ordinary residents affected by this disease. Since they say it is for a potential treatment, I consider it good news,&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2026/07/clinical-trials-begin-in-drc-epicenter-of-bundibugyo-strain-of-ebola/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
										<wfw:commentRss>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/07/clinical-trials-begin-in-drc-epicenter-of-bundibugyo-strain-of-ebola/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-322836</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>Sri Lanka intensifies fight against dengue and the mosquitos that cause the infection</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/07/sri-lanka-intensifies-fight-against-dengue-and-the-mosquitos-that-cause-the-infection/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/07/sri-lanka-intensifies-fight-against-dengue-and-the-mosquitos-that-cause-the-infection/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>02 Jul 2026 05:44:59 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Kamanthi Wickramasinghe]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Dilrukshi Handunnetti]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2026/07/02051422/2-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=322305</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Asia, South Asia, and Sri Lanka]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Climate Change, Diseases, Environment, Governance, Health, Impact Of Climate Change, Insects, and Mosquitoes]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[DEMATAGODA, Sri Lanka — Niroshan Peters, 54, a resident of Dematagoda, a densely populated suburb in Colombo, has no option but to live and work in an environment frequently polluted due to careless waste disposal. He blames authorities for not having an effective waste management system, which results in people getting exposed to unhygienic environments. [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[DEMATAGODA, Sri Lanka — Niroshan Peters, 54, a resident of Dematagoda, a densely populated suburb in Colombo, has no option but to live and work in an environment frequently polluted due to careless waste disposal. He blames authorities for not having an effective waste management system, which results in people getting exposed to unhygienic environments. “Last week, workers from the Colombo Municipal Council (CMC) came to fumigate this area but that alone is not enough,” Peters told Mongabay. “Every time there is a surge in dengue they suddenly remember to carry out fogging and launch dengue prevention drives. But during the rest of the year people continue to dump waste in abandoned lands and contribute to a never-ending problem.” As of July 1, Sri Lanka’s National Dengue Control Unit (NDCU) has recorded a total of 56,422 dengue cases and 35 deaths. In 2025, a total of 51,000 cases were reported, indicating an alarming increase in incidence this year. Speaking at a recent briefing, Nalinda Jayatissa, Sri Lanka’s minister of health and media, told Colombo-based journalists that the increasing number of dengue patients could overwhelm hospitals, adding “severe pressure to the healthcare system.” A dominant serotype In Sri Lanka, there are four dengue serotypes — a distinct variation within a species of bacteria or virus — and different serotypes emerge during different peak seasons, said Preshila Samaraweera, consultant community physician at NDCU. However, since 2017, when Sri Lanka experienced one of its major dengue outbreaks resulting in more than 186,000 suspected&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2026/07/sri-lanka-intensifies-fight-against-dengue-and-the-mosquitos-that-cause-the-infection/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
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					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-322305</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>Seizures reveal macabre grey parrot blood trade in Cameroon</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/06/seizures-reveal-macabre-grey-parrot-blood-trade-in-cameroon/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/06/seizures-reveal-macabre-grey-parrot-blood-trade-in-cameroon/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>25 Jun 2026 18:50:46 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Spoorthy Raman]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Sharon Guynup]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2026/06/25162156/agp-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=321827</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Africa, Cameroon, and Central Africa]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Animal Rights, Animals, Biodiversity, Birds, Crime, Environment, Environmental Law, Ethics, Governance, Health, Illegal Trade, Law, Law Enforcement, Parrots, Pets, Wildlife, Wildlife Trade, and Zoonotic Diseases]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[The blood of African grey parrots is emerging as a new, macabre illegal wildlife product traded in Cameroon, analysts from TRAFFIC, a nonprofit that monitors wildlife trafficking, reported. This grim trade in grey parrots, an endangered species long coveted by exotic bird collectors, first came to light in 2025, when forest officials patrolling Cameroon’s Lobéké [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[The blood of African grey parrots is emerging as a new, macabre illegal wildlife product traded in Cameroon, analysts from TRAFFIC, a nonprofit that monitors wildlife trafficking, reported. This grim trade in grey parrots, an endangered species long coveted by exotic bird collectors, first came to light in 2025, when forest officials patrolling Cameroon’s Lobéké National Park caught trappers with live birds and interrogated them. “Poachers entering the park trap live birds, then kill them, extract their blood and transport them,” said Biloa Donatien Joseph Guy, the park’s conservator, adding that they haul the blood in bottles and jerry cans — normally used to carry fuel. While park authorities haven’t seized blood from apprehended suspects, poachers have been caught with live birds. Further investigations into these cases are ongoing. When last assessed by the IUCN in 2020, grey parrots (Psittacus erithacus), native to the rainforests of West and Central Africa, were declining, largely because of the pet trade. These beautiful, long-lived birds are among the most intelligent animals on the planet, thought to be as smart as a 5-year-old child. These parrots ‘talk,’ mimicking human speech with uncanny accuracy, making them a popular pet. They appear in videos across TikTok and YouTube, further fueling the demand. As a result, these birds have been poached to near-extinction, commanding exorbitant prices from collectors worldwide. Between 1982 and 2001, more than 1.3 million wild-caught grey parrots entered the international trade, according to IUCN, the global wildlife conservation authority, making them one of the most&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2026/06/seizures-reveal-macabre-grey-parrot-blood-trade-in-cameroon/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
										<wfw:commentRss>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/06/seizures-reveal-macabre-grey-parrot-blood-trade-in-cameroon/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-321827</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>Nepal’s Central Zoo faces questions over its bird flu response</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/06/nepals-central-zoo-faces-questions-over-its-bird-flu-response/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/06/nepals-central-zoo-faces-questions-over-its-bird-flu-response/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>25 Jun 2026 16:55:44 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Deepak Adhikari]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Abhaya Raj Joshi]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2026/06/25161349/Sarus_Crane_Central_Zoo_Nepal-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=321835</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Asia, Global, Nepal, and South Asia]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Animals, Biodiversity, Cats, Conservation, Diseases, Ex-situ Conservation, Health, Leopards, Owls, Wildlife, Zoonotic Diseases, and Zoos]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[KATHMANDU — A dead crow was found inside Nepal’s Central Zoo around “mid-June,” the exact date remains unknown. Then birds including a barn owl (Tyto alba) tested positive for avian influenza (bird flu) in a rapid test. Zoo authorities then sent samples to the Central Veterinary Laboratory on June 15. The zoo and officials from [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[KATHMANDU — A dead crow was found inside Nepal’s Central Zoo around “mid-June,” the exact date remains unknown. Then birds including a barn owl (Tyto alba) tested positive for avian influenza (bird flu) in a rapid test. Zoo authorities then sent samples to the Central Veterinary Laboratory on June 15. The zoo and officials from the semi-government body running it have given conflicting accounts of when the first deaths were detected and when bird flu was suspected. The facility remained open for several days, raising questions over its disease response during a major outbreak in Kathmandu Valley, where infected crows and fowl had already been reported in nearby Kirtipur. Ganesh Koirala, spokesperson for the Central Zoo, said officials found a dead crow inside the zoo on June 13. “Although the rapid test had already indicated infection, laboratory confirmation was necessary,” Koirala said. “It took 72 hours for the lab to send the results.” That account differs from Rachana Shah, spokesperson for the National Trust for Nature Conservation (NTNC), the semi-government body that manages the zoo. She said a crow and a pigeon were found dead on June 12, a date also confirmed by a veterinary official. House crows make a nest on a tree in Kathmandu. Image courtesy of Dinesh Bhusal. “During summer, pigeons and crows can also die because of heat stress, so at that point we could not immediately conclude that it was bird flu,” she said. But Koirala’s timeline indicated the zoo had an early warning by&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2026/06/nepals-central-zoo-faces-questions-over-its-bird-flu-response/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
										<wfw:commentRss>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/06/nepals-central-zoo-faces-questions-over-its-bird-flu-response/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-321835</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>We must prevent the next pandemic, not build perfect conditions for it (commentary)</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/06/we-must-prevent-the-next-pandemic-not-build-perfect-conditions-for-it-commentary/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/06/we-must-prevent-the-next-pandemic-not-build-perfect-conditions-for-it-commentary/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>15 Jun 2026 18:54:25 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Chris Walzer]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Erik Hoffner]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2026/06/15183056/kathas_fotos-forest-5481035-e1781548832209-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=321244</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Global]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Commentary, Coronavirus, Deforestation, Diseases, Environment, Health, Pandemics, Wildlife, and Zoonotic Diseases]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[In recent weeks, two outbreaks captured international attention: a hantavirus cluster linked to a cruise ship and an escalating outbreak of Bundibugyo ebolavirus in Central and Eastern Africa. How the world reacted to these outbreaks tells us more about inequity than about epidemiology. The Andes hantavirus outbreak aboard a luxury cruise ship generated extensive evacuation [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[In recent weeks, two outbreaks captured international attention: a hantavirus cluster linked to a cruise ship and an escalating outbreak of Bundibugyo ebolavirus in Central and Eastern Africa. How the world reacted to these outbreaks tells us more about inequity than about epidemiology. The Andes hantavirus outbreak aboard a luxury cruise ship generated extensive evacuation footage and widespread public anxiety. The numbers involved were small, and public health authorities clearly emphasized that the broader risk was very low. Meanwhile, the Bundibugyo virus disease (BVD) outbreak, involving a rapidly increasing number of cases and deaths, spreading across fragile border regions, and unfolding without an approved vaccine, or therapeutics, still struggles to command comparable global urgency despite its coverage in the news. This disparity reflects an uncomfortable and common truth: some outbreaks become global emergencies only when wealthy travelers, tourists, or Western borders appear threatened. Others remain regional tragedies, normalized by poverty, and neglect. However, both outbreaks point to the same deeper reality. These events are not isolated biological accidents, but predictable consequences of the ecological, economic, and political systems we have built. In partnership with local governments across Central Africa, WCS set up an early warning system for Ebola, working with traditional hunters, forest communities, and rangers to raise awareness and promote best practices in zoonotic risk reduction, and to monitor wildlife health through sampling and a carcass monitoring, as in this case where a worker surveys a gorilla. Image courtesy of A. Ondzie / WCS. Global health has largely focused&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2026/06/we-must-prevent-the-next-pandemic-not-build-perfect-conditions-for-it-commentary/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
										<wfw:commentRss>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/06/we-must-prevent-the-next-pandemic-not-build-perfect-conditions-for-it-commentary/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-321244</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>As human Ebola cases climb in DRC, critically endangered gorillas are at risk</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/06/as-human-ebola-cases-climb-in-drc-critically-endangered-gorillas-are-at-risk/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/06/as-human-ebola-cases-climb-in-drc-critically-endangered-gorillas-are-at-risk/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>12 Jun 2026 13:30:15 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Kayleigh Long]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Sharon Guynup]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2026/06/10154839/1-Virunga_Mountain_Gorilla_1-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=320921</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Africa, Atlantic Forest, Central Africa, and Democratic Republic Of Congo]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Animals, Apes, Biodiversity, Conservation, Diseases, Endangered Species, Environment, Gorillas, Great Apes, Health, Mammals, Planetary Health, Primates, Wildlife, and Zoonotic Diseases]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[As human cases continue to climb in the latest outbreak of the deadly Ebola virus in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, concern is growing for the gorilla population, which have been devastated by the virus during previous outbreaks. On May 15, the Congolese Health Ministry announced a new outbreak of the lethal virus, which [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[As human cases continue to climb in the latest outbreak of the deadly Ebola virus in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, concern is growing for the gorilla population, which have been devastated by the virus during previous outbreaks. On May 15, the Congolese Health Ministry announced a new outbreak of the lethal virus, which has struck the country at least 17 times over the past half-century; the World Health Organization (WHO) declared it a Public Health Emergency of International Concern. The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention confirmed 676 Ebola cases in the eastern DRC and 136 deaths as of June 10 — and continue to rise. In neighboring Uganda,  19 cases and two deaths have been reported, with no new cases in the last days. So far, the outbreak seems to be largely contained within the region. The Bundibugyo virus is the culprit, one of five Ebola viruses within the family Filoviridae that spark illness in people. It has no approved treatment or vaccine. As cases mount, virologists — as well as ecologists and primatologists — are warily monitoring its spread. First discovered in humans in 1976 along the Ebola River (where it got its name), Ebola is highly contagious, and this virus can also sicken and kill gorillas and other nonhuman primates. While some symptoms are flu-like — fever, vomiting and diarrhea — the disease can progress to a gruesome, often-fatal hemorrhagic fever, causing both internal and external bleeding. Previous outbreaks have exacted vast human death&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2026/06/as-human-ebola-cases-climb-in-drc-critically-endangered-gorillas-are-at-risk/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
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					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-320921</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>Four years to earn their trust: Habituating bonobos in DRC&#8217;s Salonga National Park</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/06/four-years-to-earn-their-trust-habituating-bonobos-in-drcs-salonga-national-park/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/06/four-years-to-earn-their-trust-habituating-bonobos-in-drcs-salonga-national-park/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>11 Jun 2026 10:56:06 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[David Akana]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Sharon Guynup]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2026/06/11103622/Image-1-2-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=320981</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Africa, Central Africa, and Democratic Republic Of Congo]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Animals, Apes, Biodiversity, Bonobos, Conservation, Diseases, Ebola, Ecotourism, Endangered Species, Environment, Great Apes, National Parks, Parks, Primates, Science, Tourism, Wildlife, and Zoonotic Diseases]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[SALONGA NATIONAL PARK, Democratic Republic of Congo — Just before sunrise, while much of the rainforest remains cloaked in darkness, a team of researchers and trackers leaves the Inkomu research camp. Their destination is the previous night&#8217;s nesting site of a group of bonobos deep within the Salonga forest, located in the center of the [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[SALONGA NATIONAL PARK, Democratic Republic of Congo — Just before sunrise, while much of the rainforest remains cloaked in darkness, a team of researchers and trackers leaves the Inkomu research camp. Their destination is the previous night&#8217;s nesting site of a group of bonobos deep within the Salonga forest, located in the center of the DRC. Their mission is to persuade the bonobos (Pan paniscus) to accept human presence as a natural part of their environment. By earning the animals&#8217; trust, researchers hope to create opportunities to better understand their behavior, ecology and health. This painstaking process, bonobo habituation, involves spending time near the apes day after day until they gradually become accustomed to people. It is a slow and demanding undertaking that can take years, requiring patience, consistency and thousands of hours in the forest. Long before dawn, often around 3 a.m., trackers — some of them former poachers whose knowledge of the forest has become an asset for conservation — begin making their way toward the previous night&#8217;s nesting site. They must arrive before the bonobos wake. Then begins an all-day pursuit through one of the most remote rainforests on Earth, following the apes from dawn until they build fresh nests for the night. &#8220;The whole idea of habituation is that you meet the group every day in a very friendly, non-interactive way so they accept you as part of the forest,&#8221; says Felix Bofeko, an assistant researcher working with a bonobo habituation program in Salonga National Park.&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2026/06/four-years-to-earn-their-trust-habituating-bonobos-in-drcs-salonga-national-park/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
										<wfw:commentRss>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/06/four-years-to-earn-their-trust-habituating-bonobos-in-drcs-salonga-national-park/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-320981</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>Evidence linking bats to Ebola inconclusive, scientist says. &#8216;Solution is not fear&#8217;</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/06/evidence-linking-bats-to-ebola-inconclusive-scientist-says-solution-is-not-fear/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/06/evidence-linking-bats-to-ebola-inconclusive-scientist-says-solution-is-not-fear/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>10 Jun 2026 11:43:14 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[David Akana]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Sharon Guynup]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2026/06/10113226/image1_Rousettus-aegyptiacus-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=320904</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Africa]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Animals, Bats, Conservation, Diseases, Ebola, Governance, Health, Pandemics, Planetary Health, Public Health, Rainforests, Science, and Wildlife]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[As the Democratic Republic of Congo grapples with another Ebola outbreak, bats have once again come under scrutiny as a possible reservoir for the virus. But according to bat ecologist Paul Webala, there is no conclusive scientific evidence linking bats to Ebola and the natural reservoir remains unknown. The current Ebola outbreak is caused by [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[As the Democratic Republic of Congo grapples with another Ebola outbreak, bats have once again come under scrutiny as a possible reservoir for the virus. But according to bat ecologist Paul Webala, there is no conclusive scientific evidence linking bats to Ebola and the natural reservoir remains unknown. The current Ebola outbreak is caused by the Bundibugyo strain, a variant for which there are currently no approved vaccines or treatments, according to the World Health Organization. In this interview with Mongabay, Webala discusses why bats are often misunderstood, details the important ecological services they provide, and explains why habitat destruction may pose a greater risk for zoonotic diseases that spill over between animals and humans than bats themselves. Webala is a wildlife biologist at Maasai Mara University in Kenya who has studied bats for more than two decades. Rousettus aegyptiacus, commonly known as the Egyptian fruit bat, a widespread species found across much of Africa. Photo courtesy of Paul Webala. Mongabay: Many people immediately think of bats whenever there is an Ebola outbreak. Are bats unfairly stigmatized? Paul Webala: Bats are the second-largest group of mammals after rodents. Roughly 25% of all mammal species are bats. They play extremely important roles in ecosystems and are an integral part of biodiversity. Remove them, and entire ecological systems could begin to collapse. Unfortunately, bats are associated with many myths and misconceptions. Some communities associate them with death, evil spirits or bad omens. Because of these long-standing beliefs, bats have often been persecuted.&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2026/06/evidence-linking-bats-to-ebola-inconclusive-scientist-says-solution-is-not-fear/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
										<wfw:commentRss>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/06/evidence-linking-bats-to-ebola-inconclusive-scientist-says-solution-is-not-fear/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-320904</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>Genetic study reveals extinction risk for unique mangrove-adapted pampas cat</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/06/genetic-study-reveals-extinction-risk-for-unique-mangrove-adapted-pampas-cat/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/06/genetic-study-reveals-extinction-risk-for-unique-mangrove-adapted-pampas-cat/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>05 Jun 2026 16:09:35 +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/20/2026/06/05134141/1-desert-pampas-cat-Leopardus-garleppi-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=320650</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Atlantic Forest, Latin America, Peru, and South America]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Animals, Biodiversity, Cats, Conservation, Deserts, Dry Forests, Environment, Extinction, Genetics, Habitat, Mammals, Mangroves, Research, Science, Small Cats, Wildlife, Wildlife Corridors, and Zoonotic Diseases]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[More than a decade ago, conservationists began working to preserve a unique population of desert pampas cats that has adapted to the mangroves of Peru’s northern coast. This small, isolated population roams the San Pedro de Vice dry mangroves, a Ramsar Site and South America’s southernmost mangrove ecosystem. “This is a very unique population, because [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[More than a decade ago, conservationists began working to preserve a unique population of desert pampas cats that has adapted to the mangroves of Peru’s northern coast. This small, isolated population roams the San Pedro de Vice dry mangroves, a Ramsar Site and South America’s southernmost mangrove ecosystem. “This is a very unique population, because as far as we know, [it] is the only Pampas cat population that lives in a mangrove [habitat],” Alvaro Garcia, co-coordinator of the Pampas Cat Working Group and the Peruvian Desert Cat Project, told Mongabay in an email. The desert pampas cat (Leopardus garleppi), distinctive for its broad face, ranges along a relatively thin band snaking southward from Colombia through Peru and Bolivia, to northern Chile and Argentina. The species is acclimated to dry conditions, so inhabits deserts, grasslands and dry forests, and isn’t found living in mangroves anywhere else aside from this region of Peru. Dry mangrove forests, also called scrub or dwarf mangrove forests, grow in highly saline soils in upper intertidal zones, so lack regular daily flushing by ocean tides. At first, it was thought the dry mangrove-acclimated cats were faring well: “[I]n the mangrove [habitat], we put cameras out for a week, and we got tons of photos,” whereas in other parts of the felid’s range, conservationists barely capture one desert pampas cat image per month, said Cindy Hurtado, co-coordinator of the Pampas Cat Working Group and the Peruvian Desert Cat Project. Based on the photos, the research team assumed the&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2026/06/genetic-study-reveals-extinction-risk-for-unique-mangrove-adapted-pampas-cat/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
										<wfw:commentRss>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/06/genetic-study-reveals-extinction-risk-for-unique-mangrove-adapted-pampas-cat/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-320650</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>Confinement and disinfected bedding: An ape sanctuary in DRC responds to Ebola</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/06/confinement-and-disinfected-bedding-an-ape-sanctuary-in-drc-responds-to-ebola/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/06/confinement-and-disinfected-bedding-an-ape-sanctuary-in-drc-responds-to-ebola/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>04 Jun 2026 09:47:52 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Aimable TwahirwaYannick Kenné]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Malavikavyawahare]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2026/06/03100422/81AB7CA9-AAE1-41A1-A40B-3096240DE38B-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=320525</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Africa, Central Africa, and Democratic Republic Of Congo]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Animals, Chimpanzees, Ebola, Economics, Environment, Gorillas, Governance, Health, Planetary Health, Primates, Public Health, and Science]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[Since May 23, more than 200 primates housed at the Lwiro Primates Rehabilitation Center (LPRC) in South Kivu province in the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) have been placed under confinement due to the Ebola outbreak. This measure follows the death of a man who tested positive for the virus on May 21. This [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[Since May 23, more than 200 primates housed at the Lwiro Primates Rehabilitation Center (LPRC) in South Kivu province in the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) have been placed under confinement due to the Ebola outbreak. This measure follows the death of a man who tested positive for the virus on May 21. This individual, a resident of Kahungu, located just 2 km (1.2 miles) from the town of Lwiro, where the center is situated, had traveled in early May to neighboring Ituri province. Ituri is the epicenter of the outbreak, which, as of May 27, is linked to more than 200 suspected deaths. A threat for humans and apes The LPRC houses at least 129 chimpanzees and 108 monkeys of various species, including olive baboons (Papio anubis), yellow baboons (Papio cynocephalus), L&#8217;Hoest&#8217;s monkeys (Cercopithecus l&#8217;hoesti), blue monkeys (Cercopithecus mitis), agile mangabeys (Cercocebus agilis) and others. Parrots, turtles and porcupines can also be found there. These primates, rescued from poaching and the illegal wildlife trade, are being kept in confinement even though &#8220;for the moment, no cases of Ebola virus transmission from a human to a great ape have been reported,&#8221; primatologist Liz Williamson explained in an email to Mongabay. According to the World Health Organization, the Ebola virus is transmitted to humans through close contact with the blood, secretions, organs or other bodily fluids of infected animals. A chimpanzee at the Lwiro Primates Rehabilitation Center, located in South Kivu province in the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo. Image&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2026/06/confinement-and-disinfected-bedding-an-ape-sanctuary-in-drc-responds-to-ebola/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
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										<wfw:commentRss>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/06/confinement-and-disinfected-bedding-an-ape-sanctuary-in-drc-responds-to-ebola/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-320525</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>Can deforestation predict Ebola outbreaks? Q&#038;A with CDC’s Carson Telford</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/06/can-deforestation-predict-ebola-outbreaks-qa-with-cdcs-carson-telford/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/06/can-deforestation-predict-ebola-outbreaks-qa-with-cdcs-carson-telford/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>03 Jun 2026 09:39:21 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Ashoka Mukpo]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Terna Gyuse]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2018/10/02142438/hammer-headed-fruit-bat-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=320520</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Africa, Democratic Republic Of Congo, East Africa, Uganda, and United States]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Animals, Deforestation, Ebola, Environment, Governance, Health, Planetary Health, and Public Health]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[The 2026 Bundibugyo Ebola outbreak in Central and East Africa has already left at least 49 people dead, with health authorities racing to stop the spread of the disease. What if they could have known ahead of time where it would begin? That’s the question behind a study published last year by Carson Telford and [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[The 2026 Bundibugyo Ebola outbreak in Central and East Africa has already left at least 49 people dead, with health authorities racing to stop the spread of the disease. What if they could have known ahead of time where it would begin? That’s the question behind a study published last year by Carson Telford and a group of researchers with the U.S. Centers for Disease Control (CDC). They wanted to know whether it would be possible to predict where Ebola outbreaks might start by looking at the characteristics of areas where the virus had already “spilled over” from an animal host into a human. Telford and his colleagues analyzed 24 outbreaks between 2001 and 2022, using variables like population density and forest cover to train their model. When they ran the analysis of where those outbreaks occurred, they found a high correlation with forest loss and fragmentation. The model they built with that data was strikingly accurate. It put a town in the Democratic Republic of Congo in its top 0.1% of risk areas — just a few months before an outbreak happened there in 2022. Another that followed in Uganda was in a district it had identified as being in the top 6% for that country. Mongabay’s Ashoka Mukpo spoke to Telford about the link between Ebola and deforestation, and how understanding it could help stop outbreaks early on. Medical staff carry an Ebola patient to a treatment center. Image by Moses Sawasawa via Associated Press. Mongabay: How would&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2026/06/can-deforestation-predict-ebola-outbreaks-qa-with-cdcs-carson-telford/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
										<wfw:commentRss>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/06/can-deforestation-predict-ebola-outbreaks-qa-with-cdcs-carson-telford/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-320520</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>‘People kept dying’: Interview with Dr. Macky Mbavugha on DRC’s latest Ebola outbreak</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/05/people-kept-dying-interview-with-dr-macky-mbavugha-on-drcs-latest-ebola-outbreak/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/05/people-kept-dying-interview-with-dr-macky-mbavugha-on-drcs-latest-ebola-outbreak/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>29 May 2026 19:00:03 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Elodie Toto]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Malavikavyawahare]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2026/05/29142534/AP26135299264877-1-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=320317</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Africa, Central Africa, Democratic Republic Of Congo, and East Africa]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Diseases, Ebola, Economics, Environment, Gold Mining, Governance, Health, Planetary Health, Public Health, and Zoonotic Diseases]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[On May 28, 2026, Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, the director-general of the World Health Organization, sent an open letter to the people of the Democratic Republic of Congo before traveling to the country for a field visit: “I am writing because I want to be with you in these moments. And I want you to know [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[On May 28, 2026, Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, the director-general of the World Health Organization, sent an open letter to the people of the Democratic Republic of Congo before traveling to the country for a field visit: “I am writing because I want to be with you in these moments. And I want you to know that you are not alone,” he wrote, before recalling his involvement during the deadly Ebola outbreak that struck the northeastern DRC between 2018 and 2020. Since May 15, the country has been facing a new outbreak, this time caused by the Bundibugyo variant, a strain of the disease for which there is currently neither treatment nor vaccine. Since the outbreak was declared, the death toll has continued to rise. According to the latest figures, DRC authorities recorded 121 confirmed cases with 17 confirmed deaths, as well as more than 1,077 suspected cases and 238 suspected deaths. The hemorrhagic fever first emerged in Ituri province, on the border with Uganda, before spreading to North Kivu province and to Uganda. That prompted Uganda to close its border with the DRC. While Ituri remains the worst-hit province, the risk of regional spread is high. On May 23, the Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (Africa CDC) identified 10 other African countries at risk from this Ebola outbreak: Angola, Burundi, the Central African Republic, the Republic of Congo, Ethiopia, Kenya, Rwanda, South Sudan, Tanzania, and Zambia. As a result, the international response is intensifying. Dr. Macky Mbavugha is&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2026/05/people-kept-dying-interview-with-dr-macky-mbavugha-on-drcs-latest-ebola-outbreak/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
										<wfw:commentRss>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/05/people-kept-dying-interview-with-dr-macky-mbavugha-on-drcs-latest-ebola-outbreak/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-320317</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>Ebola outbreak draws attention to longstanding virus spillover risks in western Uganda</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/05/ebola-outbreak-draws-attention-to-longstanding-virus-spillover-risks-in-western-uganda/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/05/ebola-outbreak-draws-attention-to-longstanding-virus-spillover-risks-in-western-uganda/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>27 May 2026 06:37:14 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Malavika VyawahareSharon Muzaki]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Malavikavyawahare]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2026/05/26225057/IMG_9541-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=320158</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Africa, East Africa, and Uganda]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Animals, Bats, Diseases, Ebola, Environment, Governance, Health, Planetary Health, Public Health, and Zoonotic Diseases]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[KAMPALA — In the hills and trading centers of western Uganda, bordering the Democratic Republic of Congo, authorities are racing to limit the spread of Bundibugyo ebolavirus, a rare species of Ebola for which there is currently no vaccine or cure. The number of suspected cases in the DRC is fast approaching 1,000, with Uganda [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[KAMPALA — In the hills and trading centers of western Uganda, bordering the Democratic Republic of Congo, authorities are racing to limit the spread of Bundibugyo ebolavirus, a rare species of Ebola for which there is currently no vaccine or cure. The number of suspected cases in the DRC is fast approaching 1,000, with Uganda reporting seven cases, as of May 25. The first cluster of cases of the ongoing outbreak was detected in early May in Ituri province in the DRC, which shares a border with Uganda. The close community and economic ties between people residing on both sides of the border has complicated efforts to contain the outbreak, with Uganda taking measures to stem the flow of people. The Ebola virus driving the current outbreak is named for Uganda’s Bundibugyo district, where it was first detected almost two decades ago. (International health bodies including the World Health Organization have since moved away from naming disease-causing pathogens after places, citing stigmatization.) Most Ebola outbreaks to date have been caused by the Zaire ebolavirus, which also drove the 2014-2016 epidemic centered on West Africa. The Bundibugyo ebolavirus has been linked to two outbreaks in the past. The second outbreak emerged in the DRC in 2012 remained limited to the country, before subsiding later that year. This time may be different, since cases have emerged in Uganda, and the risk of regional spread is high. On May 23, the Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (Africa CDC) identified 10 other&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2026/05/ebola-outbreak-draws-attention-to-longstanding-virus-spillover-risks-in-western-uganda/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
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					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-320158</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>The European wildcat hovers between recovery and local extinction</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/05/the-european-wildcat-hovers-between-recovery-and-local-extinction/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/05/the-european-wildcat-hovers-between-recovery-and-local-extinction/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>11 May 2026 13:12:52 +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/20/2026/05/07014556/Image_1-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=318902</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Czech Republic, Europe, France, Germany, Italy, Portugal, Scotland, Spain, and Turkey]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Animals, Cats, Climate, Climate Change, Conservation, Critically Endangered Species, Diseases, Endangered Species, Environment, Extinction, Forests, Funding, Genetics, Habitat Loss, Happy-upbeat Environmental, Human-wildlife Conflict, Hunting, Mammals, Parasites, Population, Reintroductions, Saving Species From Extinction, Small Cats, Solutions, Species recovery, Wildlife, and Zoos]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[A quiet comeback story is unfolding for the European wildcat in the Czech Republic’s Lusatian Mountains. Conservationists tracking this elusive species there have spotted a male and female, named Jonáš and Tonka, the first to be found in the region in nearly a century. This small cat species lives in forests across Europe. It’s doing [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[A quiet comeback story is unfolding for the European wildcat in the Czech Republic’s Lusatian Mountains. Conservationists tracking this elusive species there have spotted a male and female, named Jonáš and Tonka, the first to be found in the region in nearly a century. This small cat species lives in forests across Europe. It’s doing relatively well in some places and is imperiled in others, like the Czech Republic, where it’s critically endangered. The European wildcat (Felis silvestris), which is around the size of a large housecat, was wiped out because of disappearing habitat — and persecution. They were considered vermin and killed because they preyed on poultry and they were hunted for sport. More recently, they’re sometimes hybridizing, breeding with domestic cats. Numbers are spotty across parts of their range, so overall population numbers and trends, whether they’re rebounding or declining, is currently unknown. That’s a challenge shared by many of the world’s 30-plus small wildcat species that are often overlooked by research and funding. But they are hanging on in the Czech Republic. Earlier this year, Tonka gave birth to at least three kittens, offering hope that a slow wildcat recovery may be underway. Conservationists set up “hair traps,” wooden posts smeared with a lure that attracts the wildcats, then analyzed DNA from fur they left behind when they rubbed on them to mark their territory, as cats do. Genetically confirmed records of wildcat births are “exceedingly rare” in the country, said Kristýna Chroboková, field coordinator with the&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2026/05/the-european-wildcat-hovers-between-recovery-and-local-extinction/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
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					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-318902</doi>				</item>
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