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	<channel>
		<title>Conservation news</title>
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		<link>https://news.mongabay.com/list/sea-turtles/</link>
		<description>Environmental science and conservation news</description>
		<lastBuildDate>Fri, 16 Oct 2026 13:25:14 +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 Sea Turtles</title>
	<link>https://news.mongabay.com/list/sea-turtles/</link>
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				<item>
					<title>Indigenous rangers pull killer ‘ghost nets’ from Australia’s northern coast</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/08/indigenous-rangers-pull-killer-ghost-nets-from-northern-australias-coast/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/08/indigenous-rangers-pull-killer-ghost-nets-from-northern-australias-coast/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>31 Aug 2026 20:02:22 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Liz Kimbrough]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Latoya Abulu]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2026/08/31195439/aad44e0a-4b0b-4d7d-8261-c4daa88bad1d-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=328070</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Australia and Oceania]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Animals, Biodiversity, Conservation, Environment, Green, Oceans, Sea Turtles, and Wildlife]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[On a remote beach on Groote Eylandt, a large island in Australia&#8217;s Gulf of Carpentaria, Kirsten Eden and her colleagues found a fishing net that someone had tried to make disappear. It had been burned and melted into a lump while at sea, and thrown overboard. It didn&#8217;t sink, but floated to shore as a [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[On a remote beach on Groote Eylandt, a large island in Australia&#8217;s Gulf of Carpentaria, Kirsten Eden and her colleagues found a fishing net that someone had tried to make disappear. It had been burned and melted into a lump while at sea, and thrown overboard. It didn&#8217;t sink, but floated to shore as a wheel of hard plastic — once a net perhaps 60 meters (about 197 feet) long, now breaking into the microplastics that will outlast us all. “So, the entire Groote Eylandt is Aboriginal freehold land,” Eden, who manages the Anindilyakwa Land and Sea rangers, told Mongabay. “It&#8217;s spoken for by Indigenous Australians. So, they&#8217;re not beaches that anyone can just go to. There&#8217;s so much cultural value to these beaches. There&#8217;s so much significance. There are songlines, there are art sites … And I guess that&#8217;s the drive to try and protect it and move this debris. And it&#8217;s such an eyesore.” Aside from general cleanup, the team has its eyes on ghost nets: Discarded fishing nets that end up floating adrift, entangling sea life and gathering trash along their paths. Across northern Australia, Indigenous rangers are the working to retrieve the lost and abandoned fishing gear that keeps killing long after it is retired. Removing a ghost net on Australian beach. Photo courtesy of Timothy Hillier/Agency Project. Getting a net off a beach is slow, physical work. Some have sat for years, buried deep or wound around driftwood and rock. One net can take hours,&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2026/08/indigenous-rangers-pull-killer-ghost-nets-from-northern-australias-coast/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
										<wfw:commentRss>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/08/indigenous-rangers-pull-killer-ghost-nets-from-northern-australias-coast/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-328070</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>How a community is helping sea turtles hatch in the Philippines</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/07/how-a-community-is-helping-sea-turtles-hatch-in-the-philippines/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/07/how-a-community-is-helping-sea-turtles-hatch-in-the-philippines/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>17 Jul 2026 17:23:39 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Rachel Duckett]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Isabel Esterman]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2026/07/17164527/olive-ridley-hatchlings-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=323904</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Asia, Philippines, and Southeast Asia]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Animals, Biodiversity, Community-based Conservation, Conservation, Conservation Solutions, Environment, Herps, Marine, Marine Animals, Marine Conservation, Oceans, Reptiles, Sea Turtles, Solutions, Turtles, and Wildlife]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[When Jerald Mahusay was a kid, he and his friends saw turtle eggs so often, they treated them like toys. “We were always playing with the eggs,” Mahusay recalled of his childhood in Santo Niño, a village in the Philippines’ Palawan province. “We didn’t know why they are important.” Mahusay’s relationship with turtles has changed. [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[When Jerald Mahusay was a kid, he and his friends saw turtle eggs so often, they treated them like toys. “We were always playing with the eggs,” Mahusay recalled of his childhood in Santo Niño, a village in the Philippines’ Palawan province. “We didn’t know why they are important.” Mahusay’s relationship with turtles has changed. In 2023, he started working as a patroller for the Large Marine Vertebrates Research Institute Philippines (LAMAVE), an NGO that conducts marine research around the country, including a turtle monitoring project in Palawan. This year, Mahusay was promoted to head of the local patrol unit and research assistant for LAMAVE’s turtle project. Santo Niño is located in San Vicente, an agriculture and fishing municipality that is a vital nesting ground for olive ridley sea turtles (Lepidochelys olivacea), classified as vulnerable on the IUCN Red List. However, nesting turtles here face a myriad of challenges. The most prevalent is a largely unchecked stray dog population, but higher tides and more frequent storms caused by climate change loom large, as do plans to develop the area for mass tourism. LAMAVE patrollers find a predated nest in Santo Niño, San Vicente, Palawan, April 2026. Image by Rachel Duckett for Mongabay. On patrol During peak nesting season, volunteers and local patrollers walk more than 8 kilometers (about 5 miles) in five shifts each night and early morning. When they find a turtle, they’ll wait for her to finish nesting, shooing away dogs when necessary. Before she re-enters the water,&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2026/07/how-a-community-is-helping-sea-turtles-hatch-in-the-philippines/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
										<wfw:commentRss>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/07/how-a-community-is-helping-sea-turtles-hatch-in-the-philippines/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-323904</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>A marine protected area can ban fishing boats. It cannot stop drifting gear</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/07/a-marine-protected-area-can-ban-fishing-boats-it-cannot-stop-drifting-gear/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/07/a-marine-protected-area-can-ban-fishing-boats-it-cannot-stop-drifting-gear/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>13 Jul 2026 10:29:11 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Rhett Ayers Butler]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Rhett Butler]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2026/07/13102355/dFADs-GP015S4-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=323159</guid>

											<reporting-project>
							<![CDATA[Founder's briefs]]>
						</reporting-project>
					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Global]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Animals, Biodiversity, Conservation, Fish, Fisheries, Fishing, Freshwater Fish, Marine, Marine Conservation, Marine Protected Areas, Oceans, Protected Areas, Sea Turtles, and Wildlife]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[When fishing gear invades marine protected areas.]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[For a marine protected area, a line on the map is supposed to carry legal weight. It tells fishing vessels where they may not go. It tells managers where their authority begins. It tells governments what they have promised to protect. In the open ocean, that line can be hard to defend. Fish move through it. Currents cross it. Plastic and lost gear drift into it. A reserve may be closed to fishing vessels and still receive the debris of industrial fishing. A recent paper in Science Advances shows how serious that problem has become for one widely used fishing technology: drifting fish aggregating devices, or dFADs. These are floating rafts, often fitted with satellite buoys and echosounders, that help purse seine fleets find and catch tuna. Tuna and other species gather around floating objects. For fishing companies, dFADs make a mobile and unpredictable ocean easier to search. For protected areas, they create a different problem. A dFAD can be deployed outside a reserve, drift into it, aggregate fish, entangle wildlife, break apart, sink, or wash ashore on reefs and beaches. It can do this without a vessel crossing the boundary. It can also do it without being visible to managers, since buoy data are usually controlled by fishing companies. Intersection between 88,359 tracked dFAD buoys (pink) with existing MPAs showing where dFADs have likely entered (red) or not (blue); (E) MPAs and shark sanctuaries where dFAD strandings were identified with count (circle), observed but not counted (red diamond), or&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2026/07/a-marine-protected-area-can-ban-fishing-boats-it-cannot-stop-drifting-gear/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
										<wfw:commentRss>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/07/a-marine-protected-area-can-ban-fishing-boats-it-cannot-stop-drifting-gear/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-323159</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>Tiwi rangers eradicate invasive tropical fire ants in Australia’s Melville Island</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/06/rangers-eradicate-invasive-tropical-fire-ants-in-australias-tiwi-islands/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/06/rangers-eradicate-invasive-tropical-fire-ants-in-australias-tiwi-islands/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>22 Jun 2026 19:31:44 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Nick Rodway]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Latoya Abulu]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2026/06/22184547/Solenopsis_geminata_Francois-Brassard_LR-768x512.jpeg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=321598</guid>

											<reporting-project>
							<![CDATA[Indigenous-led conservation]]>
						</reporting-project>
					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Australia and Oceania]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Biodiversity, Conservation Solutions, Indigenous Peoples, Insects, Sea Turtles, Seabirds, and Solutions]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[DERBY, Australia — While Spanish sailors packed in dirt to stabilize the bottom of ships sailing from the Americas in the 16th century, they were unaware that they were also helping tiny stowaways aboard. Research suggests that tropical fire ants sailed across the Pacific Ocean, joining Europeans over the centuries as they landed and colonized [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[DERBY, Australia — While Spanish sailors packed in dirt to stabilize the bottom of ships sailing from the Americas in the 16th century, they were unaware that they were also helping tiny stowaways aboard. Research suggests that tropical fire ants sailed across the Pacific Ocean, joining Europeans over the centuries as they landed and colonized landmasses across the world. Then, in the early 2000s, tropical fire ants (Solenopsis geminata) were detected on Melville Island in the Tiwi Islands, a picturesque archipelago off the coast of Darwin, the capital of Australia’s Northern Territory. Here, they were able to flourish, according to researchers, and have since become naturalized in parts of the Australian tropics while dominating the environment, eating small mammals, and potentially deterring nesting birds. “The ants have a huge impact on native birds and animals on the Tiwi Islands,” said Stanley Tipungwuti, a ranger on the islands where most identify as Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander. But after two decades of effort, and the work of the Tiwi Ranger team, tropical fire ants are deemed no more on Merville Island: In 2025, the species was completely eradicated, according to Ben Hoffmann, who was part of the eradication program from its inception. That same year, the Tiwi Island Rangers received the Territory Indigenous Natural Resource Management Award in Darwin for their efforts. The Tiwi Rangers were the 2025 winners of the Territory NRM Indigenous Natural Resource Management Award. Image by the Territory Natural Resource Management Award, supplied by Tiwi Resources. Hoffmann, principal research&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2026/06/rangers-eradicate-invasive-tropical-fire-ants-in-australias-tiwi-islands/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
										<wfw:commentRss>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/06/rangers-eradicate-invasive-tropical-fire-ants-in-australias-tiwi-islands/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-321598</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>Mona Khalil, who left safety in Europe to protect sea turtles in Lebanon, was killed by an Israeli airstrike</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/06/mona-khalil-left-safety-in-europe-to-protect-sea-turtles-in-southern-lebanon/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/06/mona-khalil-left-safety-in-europe-to-protect-sea-turtles-in-southern-lebanon/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>21 Jun 2026 07:59:53 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Rhett Ayers Butler]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Rhett Butler]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2026/06/21074513/Mona-Khalil-header-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=321527</guid>

											<reporting-project>
							<![CDATA[Founder's briefs]]>
						</reporting-project>
					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Lebanon and Middle East]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Conservation, Herps, In-situ Conservation, Murdered Activists, Obituary, Reptiles, and Sea Turtles]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[At night on Mansouri beach, the first evidence was often a track in the sand. The beach lies south of Tyre, near the border with Israel, where checkpoints, shelling, and evacuation orders have long shaped daily life. It is also one of Lebanon’s important nesting grounds for loggerhead and green sea turtles. The turtles come [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[At night on Mansouri beach, the first evidence was often a track in the sand. The beach lies south of Tyre, near the border with Israel, where checkpoints, shelling, and evacuation orders have long shaped daily life. It is also one of Lebanon’s important nesting grounds for loggerhead and green sea turtles. The turtles come ashore after dark. They dig, lay, cover, and return to the water. For the hatchlings, the distance from nest to sea is only a few yards. It is still dangerous. Dogs and foxes dig up eggs. Crabs and birds take the young. Lights from roads and resorts pull them away from the water. Plastic drifts offshore. Fishing nets catch adults that have survived for decades. Even a footprint can trap a turtle no bigger than a child’s palm. Mona Khalil gave much of her life to that narrow strip of beach. She was 76 when she died on June 19 from wounds sustained after an Israeli airstrike struck her home at Mansouri beach earlier that month. Her assistant was also injured, suffering severe burns. The house, known to visitors and volunteers as the Orange House, had been the base of her conservation work for more than 25 years. Mona Khalil in 2004 in Lebanon. Photo by Joseph Barrak/AFP/Getty Images She had not set out to become a conservationist. Born in Lagos to Lebanese parents, she later left Lebanon during the civil war. In the Netherlands she worked as a porcelain restorer, a trade that required&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2026/06/mona-khalil-left-safety-in-europe-to-protect-sea-turtles-in-southern-lebanon/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
										<wfw:commentRss>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/06/mona-khalil-left-safety-in-europe-to-protect-sea-turtles-in-southern-lebanon/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-321527</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>Teeming with turtles: Cabo Verde island sees 80-fold increase in nesting loggerheads</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/06/teeming-with-turtles-cabo-verde-island-sees-80-fold-increase-in-nesting-loggerheads/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/06/teeming-with-turtles-cabo-verde-island-sees-80-fold-increase-in-nesting-loggerheads/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>16 Jun 2026 16:36:44 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[André Habet]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Autumn Spanne]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2026/06/15192409/b.-%C2%A9-Roberto-Pillon-via-iNaturalist-1-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=321257</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Africa]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Biodiversity, Climate Change, Conservation, Ecosystems, Environment, Hope and optimism, Marine, Marine Animals, Marine Conservation, Sea Turtles, and Wildlife]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[In 2018, night patrol teams on Boa Vista, the third-largest island in the Cabo Verde archipelago, started noticing a change along the beaches: The loggerhead turtles were arriving in significantly larger numbers than usual. In previous years, each team, comprised of staff and volunteers from local conservation NGO Cabo Verde Natura 2000 (CVN2), encountered between [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[In 2018, night patrol teams on Boa Vista, the third-largest island in the Cabo Verde archipelago, started noticing a change along the beaches: The loggerhead turtles were arriving in significantly larger numbers than usual. In previous years, each team, comprised of staff and volunteers from local conservation NGO Cabo Verde Natura 2000 (CVN2), encountered between five and 10 female turtles (Caretta caretta) a night. But now, the teams were each recording between 20 and 30 females a night. By 2021, that number had grown to between 30 and 40. A recent study published in Biological Conservation confirms the upward trend: An 80-fold increase in the population of loggerheads nesting at three of Boa Vista’s beaches over 27 years, from 1998 to 2024. The authors of this first long-term study of Cabo Verde’s nesting loggerheads ascribe the remarkable trend to decades-long conservation efforts at the local and national level. Loggerheads, which primarily inhabit temperate and subtropical regions of the Pacific, Atlantic and Indian oceans and the Mediterranean Sea, are long-lived, slow-maturing migratory animals. With a lifespan of 80 years or more, female loggerheads take decades to reach sexual maturity. The global loggerhead population has declined by 47% over the past three generations, according to the last IUCN Red List assessment, where it remains listed as a globally ‘vulnerable’ species. The IUCN, the global wildlife conservation authority, largely attributes this decline to anthropogenic pressures such as habitat loss, marine pollution, bycatch, poaching and multiple climate change-driven impacts. Loggerhead turtle eggs. Image by&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2026/06/teeming-with-turtles-cabo-verde-island-sees-80-fold-increase-in-nesting-loggerheads/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
										<wfw:commentRss>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/06/teeming-with-turtles-cabo-verde-island-sees-80-fold-increase-in-nesting-loggerheads/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-321257</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>Facebook is a hub for illegal wildlife trade, and that’s by design, report says</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/05/facebook-is-a-hub-for-illegal-wildlife-trade-and-thats-by-design-report-says/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/05/facebook-is-a-hub-for-illegal-wildlife-trade-and-thats-by-design-report-says/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>05 May 2026 11:04:39 +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/20/2026/05/01050735/Tiger-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=318531</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Global, North America, and United States]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Animals, Conservation, Crime, Critically Endangered Species, Endangered Species, Environment, Gibbons, Illegal Trade, Law, Leopards, Mass Extinction, Pangolins, Regulations, Sea Turtles, Social Media, Technology, Wildlife, Wildlife Trade, and Wildlife Trafficking]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[With just the click of a button or a swipe on a phone, it’s possible to buy almost anything online, including rare or endangered animals. From quirky shark trophies to exotic live birds, contraband rhino horns or ivory, buyers can flock to e-commerce platforms and find them all. Traffickers hide behind their screens while profiting [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[With just the click of a button or a swipe on a phone, it’s possible to buy almost anything online, including rare or endangered animals. From quirky shark trophies to exotic live birds, contraband rhino horns or ivory, buyers can flock to e-commerce platforms and find them all. Traffickers hide behind their screens while profiting from online sales of protected species as these animals dwindle in the wild. “It&#8217;s the largest wildlife market,” said wildlife trade researcher Chris Shepherd from the Center for Biological Diversity. “It&#8217;s easy, it&#8217;s convenient; you can operate anonymously from the comfort of your home. You don&#8217;t have the expenses of setting up a shop.” Online commerce in illicit wildlife products continues to grow, involving more species and wider geographies. It’s an illicit industry run by kingpins with well-connected networks, and it’s hard to prosecute. Catching online criminals is extremely challenging. “Wildlife markets have moved from physical locations into online locations, and that&#8217;s mirroring broader trends in the global economy,” said Simone Haysom, director of environmental crime programs at the Swiss-based organization Global Initiative Against Transnational Organized Crime. In a recent report, Haysom and her colleague Russell Gray analyzed online wildlife trade data from April 2024 to March 2026. They focused on 10 countries across three continents, places where environmental crime and internet use are high, making them fertile grounds for online wildlife trafficking. They found some 266,535 wildlife products posted on 61 online marketplaces, worth about $66 million. About 75% of the nearly 22,000 ads&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2026/05/facebook-is-a-hub-for-illegal-wildlife-trade-and-thats-by-design-report-says/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
										<wfw:commentRss>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/05/facebook-is-a-hub-for-illegal-wildlife-trade-and-thats-by-design-report-says/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-318531</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>Oil spill continues in Gulf of Mexico vulnerable habitats, while Pemex admits fault</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/04/oil-spill-continues-in-gulf-of-mexico-vulnerable-habitats-while-pemex-admits-fault/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/04/oil-spill-continues-in-gulf-of-mexico-vulnerable-habitats-while-pemex-admits-fault/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>22 Apr 2026 11:33:53 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Caitlin Cooper]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Alexandra Popescu]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2026/04/22111835/AP26085839385231-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=317934</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Latin America, Mexico, and North America]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Biodiversity, Coastal Ecosystems, Conservation, Coral Reefs, Crime, Endangered Species, Environment, Fish, Fisheries, Fishing, Governance, Marine, Oceans, Oil Spills, Politics, Pollution, Sea Turtles, Turtles, Waste, Water Pollution, and Wildlife]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[MEXICO CITY — In Nautla, a municipality on the coast of the Mexican state of Veracruz, soft folds of sand await sea turtles as their annual nesting season begins between April and June. But instead of the miniature olive-green turtles — the Kemp’s ridley turtles (Lepidochelys kempii) that show up here are the world’s smallest [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[MEXICO CITY — In Nautla, a municipality on the coast of the Mexican state of Veracruz, soft folds of sand await sea turtles as their annual nesting season begins between April and June. But instead of the miniature olive-green turtles — the Kemp’s ridley turtles (Lepidochelys kempii) that show up here are the world’s smallest species of their kind — sticky black discs the size of coins dot the coastline. Along a 1-meter (3-foot) section of beach, Nautla resident Ricardo Yepez Gerón, director-general of the Yepez Foundation, an NGO focused on sea turtle conservation, said he could count approximately 100 of these spots. “To remove the oil that has [washed up] on these beaches … let’s be honest, the coastline is too long,” Yepez Gerón told Mongabay in a video interview. “You need one person for every 10 meters [33 ft].” Similar reports of tar stains on the beaches of Veracruz, Tabasco and Campeche, along the southern arc of the Gulf of Mexico, have cropped up since early March. According to a late March report from the Coral Reef Network of the Gulf of Mexico, what appeared to be an oil spill had impacted 933 kilometers (about 580 miles) of shoreline — and at least seven of nine natural protected areas, ANPs by their Spanish acronym, in the Tabasco, Veracruz and Tamaulipas states, according to Alicia Bárcena Ibarra, Mexico’s secretary of environment and natural resources. For 67 days, the government denied any wrongdoing as various scenarios circulated regarding the source&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2026/04/oil-spill-continues-in-gulf-of-mexico-vulnerable-habitats-while-pemex-admits-fault/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
										<wfw:commentRss>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/04/oil-spill-continues-in-gulf-of-mexico-vulnerable-habitats-while-pemex-admits-fault/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-317934</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>Outlook for migratory species worsens amid habitat loss &#038; avian flu, report finds</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/03/outlook-for-migratory-species-worsens-amid-habitat-loss-avian-flu-report-finds/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/03/outlook-for-migratory-species-worsens-amid-habitat-loss-avian-flu-report-finds/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>12 Mar 2026 16:03:11 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Gloria Dickie]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Sharon Guynup]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2026/03/12132145/Sea-Turtle-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=315646</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Africa, Arctic, Asia, Central Asia, Chad, East Africa, Europe, Global, Kenya, Serengeti, and Tanzania]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Animals, Birds, Climate, Climate Change, Conservation, Diseases, Elasmobranchs, Environment, Fish, Fishing, Freshwater Fish, Habitat Loss, Hunting, Jaguars, Mammals, Mapping, Migration, Mining, Poaching, Sea Turtles, Sharks, Species, Turtles, Wildlife, and Wildlife Corridors]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[From shorebirds flying between their Arctic breeding grounds and southerly foraging ranges to freshwater fish returning to native spawning streams, migratory animals are struggling. About half of all migratory species populations protected under a global treaty are now in decline, with the situation worsening in just the last two years, according to a new United [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[From shorebirds flying between their Arctic breeding grounds and southerly foraging ranges to freshwater fish returning to native spawning streams, migratory animals are struggling. About half of all migratory species populations protected under a global treaty are now in decline, with the situation worsening in just the last two years, according to a new United Nations-backed report. When the first State of the World’s Migratory Species report was published in 2024, 44% of migratory species populations listed under the U.N. Convention on the Conservation of Migratory Species of Wild Animals (CMS) were declining, according to data from the IUCN Red List, the world’s most comprehensive guide to global extinction risk. Since then, the proportion of imperiled CMS-listed species rose to 49%, according to updated Red List data and new research. Though the next status report isn’t due until around 2030, conservation advocates said the deteriorating situation required an interim report, as many countries are moving in the wrong direction when it comes to conserving wildlife that depend on various habitats to complete their life cycles. “This [interim report] is saying there are some alarming trends in the meantime; that we don’t want to wait six years to talk about this,” said CMS executive secretary Amy Fraenkel. Jaguars have no subspecies. Their range extends from Mexico to Argentina, but some populations are cut off, at risk of inbreeding and the demise that comes with it. Image by Gregoire Dubois. The convention, established in 1979, aims to conserve migratory species by protecting&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2026/03/outlook-for-migratory-species-worsens-amid-habitat-loss-avian-flu-report-finds/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
										<wfw:commentRss>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/03/outlook-for-migratory-species-worsens-amid-habitat-loss-avian-flu-report-finds/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-315646</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>Azores dodges proposal to overturn no-fishing zones in its giant new MPA network</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/02/azores-dodges-proposal-to-overturn-no-fishing-zones-in-its-giant-new-mpa-network/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/02/azores-dodges-proposal-to-overturn-no-fishing-zones-in-its-giant-new-mpa-network/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>23 Feb 2026 19:29:18 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Maria José Mendes]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Rebecca Kessler]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2026/02/23192451/b.-OceanImageBank_EllenCuylaerts_01-1-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=314634</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Atlantic Ocean, Europe, and Portugal]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Animals, Cetaceans, Conservation, Dolphins, Ecosystems, Environment, Fish, Fishing, Islands, Marine, Marine Animals, Marine Protected Areas, Oceans, Regulations, Sea Turtles, Seabirds, and Tuna]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[SÃO MATEUS, Portugal — Winter forced Emanuel Alves to remove his boat from the water at the port of São Mateus in the Azores, the Portuguese archipelago in the North Atlantic Ocean. The 64-year-old fisher expressed concern about the giant network of marine protected areas that permeates the archipelago. &#8220;Where are we going to fish [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[SÃO MATEUS, Portugal — Winter forced Emanuel Alves to remove his boat from the water at the port of São Mateus in the Azores, the Portuguese archipelago in the North Atlantic Ocean. The 64-year-old fisher expressed concern about the giant network of marine protected areas that permeates the archipelago. &#8220;Where are we going to fish now?” he asked. The law establishing the Azores Marine Protected Areas Network was approved in October 2024 and took effect just recently, on Jan. 1 this year. The network now safeguards 30% of Azorean waters, 287,000 square kilometers (110,800 square miles) of seascape sheltering a rich array of marine life. Not two weeks later, on Jan. 15, the Azores Parliament voted to uphold a core provision of the MPA network, after it came under fire in recent months: No fishing inside the fully protected areas, which constitute half the vast network. Pico Mountain on Pico Island in the Azores, the tallest mountain in Portugal at 2,351 meters (7,713 feet). Image by Maria José Mendes for Mongabay. The vote effectively killed an earlier move to open these areas to pole-and-line tuna fishing that would have been “catastrophic and damaging to the region,” according to Luís Bernardo Brito e Abreu, coordinator of Blue Azores, a Portugal-based partnership between the Azores regional government, the U.S.-based nonprofit Waitt Institute and the Portugal-based Oceano Azul Foundation that began advocating for the establishment of the MPA network in 2019. “[The] criterion for a total protection area is indeed total protection; there&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2026/02/azores-dodges-proposal-to-overturn-no-fishing-zones-in-its-giant-new-mpa-network/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
										<wfw:commentRss>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/02/azores-dodges-proposal-to-overturn-no-fishing-zones-in-its-giant-new-mpa-network/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-314634</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>Texas sea turtles have lost a conservation hero (commentary)</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/02/texas-sea-turtles-have-lost-a-conservation-hero-commentary/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/02/texas-sea-turtles-have-lost-a-conservation-hero-commentary/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>16 Feb 2026 22:36:20 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Todd Steiner]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Erik Hoffner]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2020/07/08142930/TT_Kemps_Ridley_sea_turtle_nesting_National-Park-Service-Public-domain-768x512.jpeg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=314318</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Texas and United States]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Activism, Animals, Commentary, Conservation, Ecosystems, Endangered Species, Environment, Marine, Marine Animals, Obituary, Oceans, Sea Turtles, Turtles, Turtles And Tortoises, and Wildlife]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[Carole Allen — founder of HEART (Help Endangered Animals Ridley Turtles) and the first director of the Turtle Island Restoration Network’s Gulf of Mexico office — passed away at the age of 90. For decades, she was the voice of the critically endangered Kemp’s ridley sea turtle (Lepidochelys kempii), and one of the central figures [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[Carole Allen — founder of HEART (Help Endangered Animals Ridley Turtles) and the first director of the Turtle Island Restoration Network’s Gulf of Mexico office — passed away at the age of 90. For decades, she was the voice of the critically endangered Kemp’s ridley sea turtle (Lepidochelys kempii), and one of the central figures responsible for bringing this species back from the brink of extinction. HEART began as an all-volunteer, grassroots organization dedicated to educating Texas schoolchildren about the mysterious and imperiled Kemp’s ridley. But Carole always insisted that education alone was not enough. People had to be inspired to care and then motivated to act. That is exactly what she did. Carole inspired not only children, but teachers, scientists, policymakers, and even fishermen who initially viewed endangered species protections as a threat to their livelihoods. She had an uncanny ability to bring people together and turn concern into action, whether through community projects like hand-sewn, heart-shaped stuffed turtles, or sea turtle cookie cutters that helped spread the message while raising funds for conservation. But Carole’s warmth was matched by her resolve. She was fearless. She did not back down in the face of intimidation from powerful politicians or threats from angry fishermen. When Kemp’s ridley turtles were being killed, Carole stood her ground. I first met Carole in 1990 in Mexico City, when we were both invited by the President of Mexico to witness the historic announcement closing the country’s notorious sea turtle slaughterhouse and permanently banning sea&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2026/02/texas-sea-turtles-have-lost-a-conservation-hero-commentary/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
										<wfw:commentRss>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/02/texas-sea-turtles-have-lost-a-conservation-hero-commentary/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-314318</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>Jean Beasley, who turned her young daughter’s dying wish into a mission to save sea turtles, has died</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2025/12/jean-beasley-who-turned-her-young-daughters-dying-wish-into-a-mission-to-save-sea-turtles-has-died/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2025/12/jean-beasley-who-turned-her-young-daughters-dying-wish-into-a-mission-to-save-sea-turtles-has-died/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>03 Dec 2025 18:43:56 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Rhett Ayers Butler]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Rhett Butler]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2025/12/03183312/Jean-Beasley-photo_credit-KEN_BLEVINS_STARNEWS-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=310550</guid>

											<reporting-project>
							<![CDATA[Founder's briefs]]>
						</reporting-project>
					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Atlantic Ocean, North America, and United States]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Animal Welfare, Animals, Biodiversity, Conservation, Endangered Species, Environment, Green, Happy-upbeat Environmental, Herps, Hope and optimism, Obituary, Oceans, Pollution, Reptiles, Sea Turtles, Turtles And Tortoises, and Wildlife Rescues]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[On the beaches of Topsail Island in North Carolina, the sight of a sea turtle crawling ashore has long signaled both urgency and hope. For many years, a woman with a clipboard and a watchful eye was often there to note every track and nest. What brought her there was grief. In 1991 her daughter, [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[On the beaches of Topsail Island in North Carolina, the sight of a sea turtle crawling ashore has long signaled both urgency and hope. For many years, a woman with a clipboard and a watchful eye was often there to note every track and nest. What brought her there was grief. In 1991 her daughter, Karen, died of leukemia at the age of 29. She had made a final request of her mother that was simple and precise: “Do something good for sea turtles.” It was a young woman’s hope that the creatures she had come to love would somehow be cared for. The family had shared many late nights walking those beaches together, looking after nests and guiding hatchlings toward the water. After Karen’s death, Jean Beasley returned to that work not as a hobby but as a promise. She never framed it as sacrifice. “I loved every minute of what I did,” she said late in life. “Whether it was sea turtles or what it might be, I loved every minute of the teaching. I loved every minute of that old rotten building that we were in and trying to look after animals in.” There were challenges, she added, but “who hasn’t liked a good challenge?” Saving a single turtle mattered. But inspiring a child to love the ocean, and act accordingly, could mean saving thousands. Jean Beasley with the Karen Beasley Sea Turtle Rescue and Rehabilitation Center in Topsail Beach, N.C. releasing a juvenile loggerhead sea turtle&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2025/12/jean-beasley-who-turned-her-young-daughters-dying-wish-into-a-mission-to-save-sea-turtles-has-died/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
										<wfw:commentRss>https://news.mongabay.com/2025/12/jean-beasley-who-turned-her-young-daughters-dying-wish-into-a-mission-to-save-sea-turtles-has-died/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-310550</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>Nickel mining damage near UNESCO site stirs outrage in southern Philippines</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2025/10/nickel-mining-damage-near-unesco-site-stirs-outrage-in-southern-philippines/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2025/10/nickel-mining-damage-near-unesco-site-stirs-outrage-in-southern-philippines/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>23 Oct 2025 22:21:34 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Bong S. Sarmiento]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Isabel Esterman]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2025/10/23043732/pujada-nickel-project-2-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=308163</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Asia, Philippines, and Southeast Asia]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Biodiversity, Conservation, Deforestation, Dugong, Environment, Forests, Habitat Loss, Mining, Mountains, Protected Areas, Rivers, Roads, Sea Turtles, Water, Whale Sharks, and Wildlife]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[MINDANAO, Philippines — A nickel mining project in the southern Philippine island of Mindanao is facing renewed calls for closure after a recent government inspection revealed that strip mining there has stripped bare about 200 hectares (494 acres) of forest land in an ecologically sensitive area. The Pujada Nickel Project, in the province of Davao [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[MINDANAO, Philippines — A nickel mining project in the southern Philippine island of Mindanao is facing renewed calls for closure after a recent government inspection revealed that strip mining there has stripped bare about 200 hectares (494 acres) of forest land in an ecologically sensitive area. The Pujada Nickel Project, in the province of Davao Oriental, stands about 8 kilometers (5 miles) from the Mount Hamiguitan Range Wildlife Sanctuary, a UNESCO World Heritage site and ASEAN Heritage Park. It also sits 7 km (4.3 mi) upstream from Pujada Bay, a nationally protected seascape into which several rivers and creeks within the Mount Hamiguitan sanctuary drain, including waterways affected by the mining venture. The Pujada mine is operated by Hallmark Mining Corporation and Austral-Asia Link Mining Corporation under the management of Asiaticus Management Corporation, which are all controlled by Filipino mining investor Pedro O. Tan and his family. Part of a 2004 action plan to revitalize the nation’s mining industry, the project was awarded a Mineral Production Sharing Agreement in the same year and began commercial shipments in 2016. Due to its proximity to two protected areas and the anticipated environmental damage associated with large-scale mining, the project has faced opposition for more than a decade from the community-based Macambol Multi-Sectoral Association for Integral Development, the regional environmental group Interfacing Development Interventions for Sustainability (IDIS) and the Catholic Diocese of Mati. The Pujada Nickel Mining Project leaves a brown swathe of deforested land, sandwiched between the Mount Hamiguitan Range Wildlife Sanctuary&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2025/10/nickel-mining-damage-near-unesco-site-stirs-outrage-in-southern-philippines/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
										<wfw:commentRss>https://news.mongabay.com/2025/10/nickel-mining-damage-near-unesco-site-stirs-outrage-in-southern-philippines/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-308163</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>New report warns 54% of turtles and tortoises are at risk of extinction</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2025/08/new-report-warns-54-of-turtles-and-tortoises-are-at-risk-of-extinction/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2025/08/new-report-warns-54-of-turtles-and-tortoises-are-at-risk-of-extinction/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>15 Aug 2025 19:32:17 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Liz Kimbrough]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Liz Kimbrough]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2025/08/08202026/Screenshot-2025-09-08-at-3.19.42-PM-768x512.png" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=304381</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Global]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Animals, Conservation, Critically Endangered Species, Ecosystems, Endangered Species, Environment, Habitat Loss, Illegal Trade, Marine, Marine Animals, Oceans, Reptiles, Saving Species From Extinction, Sea Turtles, Solutions, Species, Turtles, Turtles And Tortoises, Wildlife, and Wildlife Trade]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[“Most people have a turtle story, whether that&#8217;s seeing a turtle at an aquarium, having a turtle as a pet as a kid, or they helped one cross the road, or one happened across their backyard one day,&#8221; Jordan Gray, from the Turtle Survival Alliance, told Mongabay. For many Indigenous cultures, turtles hold profound spiritual [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[“Most people have a turtle story, whether that&#8217;s seeing a turtle at an aquarium, having a turtle as a pet as a kid, or they helped one cross the road, or one happened across their backyard one day,&#8221; Jordan Gray, from the Turtle Survival Alliance, told Mongabay. For many Indigenous cultures, turtles hold profound spiritual significance. Some refer to North America itself as Turtle Island. These ancient creatures seem to inspire an innate human connection, but these survivors of the age of dinosaurs now face their greatest challenge: us. More than half of the world&#8217;s turtle and tortoise species now face extinction, according to the 2025 &#8220;Turtles in Trouble: The World&#8217;s Most Endangered Tortoises and Freshwater Turtles&#8221; report compiled by the Turtle Conservation Coalition. According to the report, 196 of the world&#8217;s 359 living turtle and tortoise species are now considered threatened under the criteria of the IUCN, the global wildlife conservation authority. Of these, 134 species (36.8%) are classified as endangered or critically endangered. The situation has deteriorated since the last major evaluation seven years ago. Five species have gone extinct in modern times. &#8220;The crisis is worsening,” said Gray, one of the report&#8217;s editors. “Despite all of our collective efforts as a global turtle conservation community, the number and percentage of threatened species have increased&#8230;But, there are success stories that offer hope.&#8221; The report lists the top 66 species facing the most imminent threat of extinction. To identify the species in most immediate peril, the Turtle Conservation Coalition&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2025/08/new-report-warns-54-of-turtles-and-tortoises-are-at-risk-of-extinction/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
										<wfw:commentRss>https://news.mongabay.com/2025/08/new-report-warns-54-of-turtles-and-tortoises-are-at-risk-of-extinction/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-304381</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>Former poachers guard Cabo Verde’s endangered sea turtles</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2025/08/former-poachers-guard-cabo-verdes-endangered-sea-turtles/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2025/08/former-poachers-guard-cabo-verdes-endangered-sea-turtles/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>04 Aug 2025 18:03:23 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Sonam Lama Hyolmo]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Latoya Abulu]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2025/08/04173212/2-scaled-e1754330170778-768x512.jpeg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=303705</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Africa, Atlantic Ocean, Cape Verde, and West Africa]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Animals, Biodiversity, Conservation, Environment, Hunting, Illegal Trade, Marine, Marine Animals, Oceans, Poaching, Sea Turtles, Trade, and Turtles]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[Seven years into patrolling on Cabo Verde’s islands, Roni Nelson Batista Ramos now protects endangered sea turtles on the beaches where he once poached them. A few decades ago, he hunted sea turtles to feed his family, he says, since consuming turtle meat was a common practice among locals on his island. Back then, all [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[Seven years into patrolling on Cabo Verde’s islands, Roni Nelson Batista Ramos now protects endangered sea turtles on the beaches where he once poached them. A few decades ago, he hunted sea turtles to feed his family, he says, since consuming turtle meat was a common practice among locals on his island. Back then, all he did was hunt turtles, and it was free food on the table, Ramos tells Mongabay. However, after stricter conservation efforts and new legislation that criminalized killing threatened turtle species, poaching activities plummeted in the country. Many poachers were fined and struggled to adapt to a new life. “I had turtle meat for personal consumption and never realized I could make a living out of conserving them,” he says. “But now, I guard them against the poachers, and it’s motivating to see how these efforts have driven positive impacts for their conservation.” Ramos is among about a dozen former poachers who have been employed by conservation organizations to keep poaching numbers low on the country’s beaches. According to the Turtle Foundation, illegal catches of female turtles on the island of Boa Vista have declined from 1,253 in 2007 to just 20 in 2024. Meanwhile, in the same period, loggerhead turtle nests on the island increased more than sevenfold. Rangers find a sea turtle on the Lacacão beach during a morning census. Image courtesy of The Turtle Foundation. A ranger measuring a turtle’s shell and collecting data at the Canto camp. Image courtesy of The Turtle&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2025/08/former-poachers-guard-cabo-verdes-endangered-sea-turtles/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
										<wfw:commentRss>https://news.mongabay.com/2025/08/former-poachers-guard-cabo-verdes-endangered-sea-turtles/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-303705</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>Malaysia’s turtle egg buyback scheme saved thousands — but is it sustainable?</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2025/07/malaysias-turtle-egg-buyback-scheme-saved-thousands-but-is-it-sustainable/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2025/07/malaysias-turtle-egg-buyback-scheme-saved-thousands-but-is-it-sustainable/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>31 Jul 2025 05:02:34 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Keith Anthony Fabro]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Isabel Esterman]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2025/07/28141435/leatherback-turtle-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=303290</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Asia, Malaysia, and Southeast Asia]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Animals, Biodiversity, Conservation, Consumption, Ecosystems, Endangered Species, Environment, Environmental Law, Illegal Trade, Marine, Marine Animals, Marine Conservation, Oceans, Reptiles, Sea Turtles, Turtles, Wildlife, Wildlife consumption, and Wildlife Trade]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[On the moonlit beaches of Terengganu state, on Malaysia’s east coast, green sea turtles have been returning for generations to lay their eggs. For just as long, people have collected, sold and eaten the eggs as a delicacy, supporting coastal livelihoods but stressing turtle populations. As a conservation compromise to balance livelihoods and turtle protection, [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[On the moonlit beaches of Terengganu state, on Malaysia’s east coast, green sea turtles have been returning for generations to lay their eggs. For just as long, people have collected, sold and eaten the eggs as a delicacy, supporting coastal livelihoods but stressing turtle populations. As a conservation compromise to balance livelihoods and turtle protection, the state’s Department of Fisheries (DoF) introduced a licensing system in 1951, auctioning rights to harvest eggs from designated beaches. In 1961, it added a buyback scheme, paying licensed collectors to hand over eggs for relocation to protected hatcheries. With limited resources, the DoF partnered with NGOs like Marine Conservation and Research Organisation Malaysia (PULIHARA), which has run buyback efforts since 2016. While the scheme helped divert eggs from markets, it also faced financial and logistical challenges — especially until 2022, when Terengganu expanded its leatherback turtle (Dermochelys coriacea) egg ban to cover all species, ending legal egg sales altogether. Now, a study published in Ocean &amp; Coastal Management in May 2025 offers the clearest picture yet of the buyback model’s conservation impact — and its limits — in this new legal landscape. “We wanted to better understand the conservation impact of our efforts &#8230; and whether such a model could remain viable in the long term,” said lead author Seh Ling Long, who conducted the study while at PULIHARA and now works as a senior program officer at wildlife trade watchdog TRAFFIC. During the five-year study period, from 2016 to 2021, PULIHARA bought more&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2025/07/malaysias-turtle-egg-buyback-scheme-saved-thousands-but-is-it-sustainable/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
										<wfw:commentRss>https://news.mongabay.com/2025/07/malaysias-turtle-egg-buyback-scheme-saved-thousands-but-is-it-sustainable/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-303290</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>Global tracking study reveals marine megafauna hotspots lie largely unprotected</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2025/07/global-tracking-study-reveals-marine-megafauna-hotspots-lie-largely-unprotected/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2025/07/global-tracking-study-reveals-marine-megafauna-hotspots-lie-largely-unprotected/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>16 Jul 2025 16:02:51 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Keith Anthony Fabro]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Rebecca Kessler]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2025/06/27203226/AP25175119772976-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=301969</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Atlantic Ocean, Global, Indian Ocean, Pacific Ocean, and Southern Ocean]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Animals, Biodiversity, Birds, Bycatch, Conservation, data, Ecosystems, Environment, Fish, Fishing, Governance, Marine, Marine Animals, Marine Conservation, Marine Mammals, Marine Protected Areas, Megafauna, Migration, Oceans, Research, Sea Turtles, Sharks, Whales, and Wildlife]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[A global study tracking nearly 13,000 individual marine animals has uncovered a sharp disconnect between where these animals actually spend their time and where marine protections exist. The findings raise concerns over whether current conservation targets can deliver for ocean giants. Published in the journal Science on June 5, the study mapped the movements of [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[A global study tracking nearly 13,000 individual marine animals has uncovered a sharp disconnect between where these animals actually spend their time and where marine protections exist. The findings raise concerns over whether current conservation targets can deliver for ocean giants. Published in the journal Science on June 5, the study mapped the movements of 12,794 individuals from 111 marine megafauna species. The analysis drew from a global dataset built from nearly 16,000 original individual tracks comprising 11 million geoposition records. Researchers found that these animals spend 80% of their time in just 63% of the area they traverse — in zones the authors call Important Marine Megafauna Areas (IMMegAs). But only about 5% of these IMMegAs currently fall within marine protected areas (MPAs). “It was very interesting to see that some areas are just used by multiple species in many similar ways, [which] clearly shows hotspot areas that are of high biological and ecological importance,” Ana Sequeira, the study’s lead author and an associate professor in the Research School of Biology at Australian National University, told Mongabay by email. “These areas represent good candidates for areas that should be considered for protection.” The findings cast doubt on whether the 30&#215;30 global target under the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework — protecting 30% of Earth’s land and sea by 2030 — can deliver for wide-ranging species without stronger alignment between protections and the places these animals actually use. “It was concerning to see that even if the total increase to 30%&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2025/07/global-tracking-study-reveals-marine-megafauna-hotspots-lie-largely-unprotected/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
										<wfw:commentRss>https://news.mongabay.com/2025/07/global-tracking-study-reveals-marine-megafauna-hotspots-lie-largely-unprotected/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-301969</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>Peru’s new bycatch training aims to help save hooked sea turtles: Q&#038;A with fisher Gustavo Rosales</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2025/06/perus-new-bycatch-training-aims-to-help-save-hooked-sea-turtles-qa-with-fisher-gustavo-rosales/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2025/06/perus-new-bycatch-training-aims-to-help-save-hooked-sea-turtles-qa-with-fisher-gustavo-rosales/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>18 Jun 2025 16:32:44 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Ana Cristina Alvarado]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Morgan Erickson-Davis]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2025/06/17135201/8-Buenas-Practicas-Liberacion-TORTUGA-1-e1746057118140-768x512-1-768x512.jpeg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=300913</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Pacific Ocean, Peru, and South America]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Animals, Bycatch, Conservation, Education, Environment, Fish, Fishing, Interviews, Oceans, Saltwater Fish, Sea Turtles, Seabirds, and Turtles]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[Attracted by bait, sea turtles off the coast of southern Peru often get caught on fishing hooks intended for mahi-mahi. Releasing the turtles is complicated as they’re heavy animals, and some try to defend themselves from humans by flapping their flippers and biting. “It gives me great satisfaction to release them,” says Gustavo Rosales, a [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[Attracted by bait, sea turtles off the coast of southern Peru often get caught on fishing hooks intended for mahi-mahi. Releasing the turtles is complicated as they’re heavy animals, and some try to defend themselves from humans by flapping their flippers and biting. “It gives me great satisfaction to release them,” says Gustavo Rosales, a fisher from the city of Ilo. “If it weren’t for the turtles, there would be no balance. Everything is in a chain.” Rosales is one of 4,472 Peruvian fishers who have been trained by the government in best practices for releasing turtles, seabirds and other animals unintentionally caught by fishing gear, better known as bycatch. A hawksbill turtle, one of the species fishers have tried to rescue and release in southern Peru. Image courtesy of WWF. The training workshops, held along the country’s coastline, began in 2022 to implement a regulation aimed at the mahi-mahi (Coryphaena hippurus) fishery. The regulation requires that at least one crew member per boat has obtained a training certificate. Jesús Nieves, general director of technical development and training in artisanal fishing at the National Fund for Fisheries Development (FONDEPES), says there are approximately 4,500 fishing boats targeting mahi-mahi, with about one trained crew member per boat at present. The goal is to reach 10,000 trained fishers, so the workshops are ongoing. Gustavo Rosales during a training workshop aimed at implementing the regulation for the mahi-mahi fishery. Image courtesy of Prodelphinus Perú. Rosales says the training not only raises awareness among&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2025/06/perus-new-bycatch-training-aims-to-help-save-hooked-sea-turtles-qa-with-fisher-gustavo-rosales/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
										<wfw:commentRss>https://news.mongabay.com/2025/06/perus-new-bycatch-training-aims-to-help-save-hooked-sea-turtles-qa-with-fisher-gustavo-rosales/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-300913</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>15 years after the BP oil spill disaster, how is the Gulf of Mexico faring?</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2025/04/15-years-after-the-bp-oil-spill-disaster-how-is-the-gulf-of-mexico-faring/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2025/04/15-years-after-the-bp-oil-spill-disaster-how-is-the-gulf-of-mexico-faring/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>21 Apr 2025 18:24:46 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Liz Kimbrough]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Rebecca Kessler]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2025/04/21165201/BP-oil-burn-plane-pj-hahn-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=297888</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[United States]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Animals, Biodiversity, Birds, Climate Change, Dolphins, Ecosystems, Environment, Fish, Fisheries, Fishing, Health, Indigenous Peoples, Mammals, Marine, Marine Conservation, Oceans, Oil Drilling, Oil Spills, Pollution, Sea Turtles, Turtles, Whales, and Wildlife]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[PLAQUEMINES PARISH, U.S. — Down past New Orleans lies Plaquemines parish, a narrow sliver of land at the tip of Louisiana that reaches southward like a finger pointing into the Gulf of Mexico. Past barbecue joints, a naval base, Baptist churches, white egrets, blue herons, and signs advertising items FOR SALE (live shrimp, empty lots [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[PLAQUEMINES PARISH, U.S. — Down past New Orleans lies Plaquemines parish, a narrow sliver of land at the tip of Louisiana that reaches southward like a finger pointing into the Gulf of Mexico. Past barbecue joints, a naval base, Baptist churches, white egrets, blue herons, and signs advertising items FOR SALE (live shrimp, empty lots and crawfish), Captain Kindra Arnesen lives with her husband and dog in a tidy brick house that smells like eucalyptus potpourri and home cooking. &#8220;There&#8217;s nothing I&#8217;d rather be doing than be out on the water fishing, especially offshore. I like to get high up on the boat and look out over the water as far as I can see,&#8221; Arnesen told Mongabay while stirring a pot of beans. She has worked small commercial fishing boats out in the gulf for decades. “The only thing I love more is my grandbaby.” &#8220;Before the spill, you could ride out there and everywhere you rode there were bait balls of bonita, blue runners, thread herrings, spinners jumping through them. Everywhere you went it was just a sight,&#8221; Arnesen recounted, referring to plentiful schools of small fish and spinner dolphins in the open ocean. &#8220;After the spill you could ride a hundred miles and not see a bait ball … It slowly died.&#8221; Fireboat crews work to extinguish the burning wreckage of the BP Deepwater Horizon oil platform. The disaster was one of the worst ecological catastrophes in history. Image courtesy of the U.S. Coast Guard. April 20,&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2025/04/15-years-after-the-bp-oil-spill-disaster-how-is-the-gulf-of-mexico-faring/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
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					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-297888</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>How one researcher walked thousands of miles along India’s shores to conserve sea turtles</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2025/03/a-curious-conservationist-who-walked-along-indias-coastlines-to-learn-about-sea-turtles/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2025/03/a-curious-conservationist-who-walked-along-indias-coastlines-to-learn-about-sea-turtles/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>20 Mar 2025 11:41:59 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Priyanka Shankar]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Mongabay Editor]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2025/03/20113731/Umeed-Mistry-1200x798-1-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=296169</guid>

											<reporting-project>
							<![CDATA[Beyond the screen: DCEFF]]>
						</reporting-project>
					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Asia, India, and South Asia]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Animals, Biodiversity, Conservation, Conservation leadership, Endangered Species, Environment, Film, Herps, Marine, Marine Animals, Marine Conservation, Reptiles, Sea Turtles, Turtles, and Wildlife]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[Satish Bhaskar was a curious man. From a very young age he was fascinated with the sea and the diverse marine creatures, especially turtles. When he learnt that sea turtles were being exploited in India for their eggs, shells and flesh, he understood the importance of documenting and protecting nesting turtle beaches. In the late [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[Satish Bhaskar was a curious man. From a very young age he was fascinated with the sea and the diverse marine creatures, especially turtles. When he learnt that sea turtles were being exploited in India for their eggs, shells and flesh, he understood the importance of documenting and protecting nesting turtle beaches. In the late 1970s, he decided to cover every single beach and island in India, by foot. Over 19 years, Bhaskar surveyed more than 4,000 kilometers (2,485 miles) of the country’s coastline and published several important reports, filling huge gaps of knowledge about sea turtle distribution. He even chose to maroon himself on an uninhabited island in Lakshadweep for months, equipped with only basic essentials and a transistor, to study turtles. In a documentary about his life and career, titled Turtle Walker, the late conservationist described being with turtles as some of the happiest days in his life. “I am glad I did the things I did,” he said. Produced by Emaho Films and backed by Tiger Baby, HHMI Tangled Bank Studios and Ceres, the 75-minute documentary is already winning international recognition and is set to be screened at the DC Environmental Film Festival 2025 (DCEFF 2025). Mongabay is a media partner for DCEFF 2025 and has interviewed some filmmakers as part of this collaboration. In this interview with Mongabay India, Taira Malaney, the director of Turtle Walker talked about why she chose Satish Bhaskar as the subject of her documentary, the challenges of filming with turtles, the&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2025/03/a-curious-conservationist-who-walked-along-indias-coastlines-to-learn-about-sea-turtles/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
										<wfw:commentRss>https://news.mongabay.com/2025/03/a-curious-conservationist-who-walked-along-indias-coastlines-to-learn-about-sea-turtles/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-296169</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>Concerns of illegal sea turtle trade persist in Bali as police foil smugglers</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2025/02/concerns-of-illegal-sea-turtle-trade-persist-in-bali-as-police-foil-smugglers/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2025/02/concerns-of-illegal-sea-turtle-trade-persist-in-bali-as-police-foil-smugglers/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>27 Feb 2025 11:25:37 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Luh De Suriyani]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Philip Jacobson]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2025/02/26172046/sea-turtle-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=295064</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Asia, Bali, Indonesia, and Southeast Asia]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Animals, Biodiversity, Conservation, Consumption, Culture, Ecosystems, Endangered Species, Environment, Environmental Law, Law Enforcement, Marine, Marine Animals, Marine Conservation, Oceans, Overconsumption, Religions, Reptiles, Sea Turtles, Traditional People, Turtles, Wildlife, Wildlife consumption, and Wildlife Trade]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[DENPASAR, Indonesia — Conservation foundations on the Indonesian island of Bali raised concerns in February over the volume of live sea turtles seized from traffickers so far this year. “The number of turtles smuggled shows that the main purpose isn’t just for ceremonies, it’s to meet greater consumption in the market,” Ranny R. Yuneni, endangered [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[DENPASAR, Indonesia — Conservation foundations on the Indonesian island of Bali raised concerns in February over the volume of live sea turtles seized from traffickers so far this year. “The number of turtles smuggled shows that the main purpose isn’t just for ceremonies, it’s to meet greater consumption in the market,” Ranny R. Yuneni, endangered animals lead at WWF Indonesia, told Mongabay Indonesia. On Jan. 12, police in Jembrana district in the island’s northwest told reporters that officers had recovered 29 green sea turtles (Chelonia mydas) transported by road, five of which later died. On Jan. 24 police said they had foiled criminal attempts to trade 23 turtles in Pemuteran, a village on the west of the island’s northern coast road. The Pemuteran coastline is home to several small resorts and other tourism ventures. “We’re still investigating who the buyers are,” said Ratna Hendratmoko, the head of the Bali provincial conservation agency. Live green turtle being butchered for its flesh and shell, Indonesia. Image © Peter Van der Bunt / Greenpeace. Shell companies Poaching of turtle eggs by local communities and organized crime is the primary driver of a crisis that has condemned six of the world’s seven sea turtle species to threatened status, according to global wildlife watchdog the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN). However, a study by Arizona State University researchers published in Global Change Biology in 2022 estimated that more than 1.1 million sea turtles were killed between 1990 and 2020. These killings were primarily&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2025/02/concerns-of-illegal-sea-turtle-trade-persist-in-bali-as-police-foil-smugglers/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
										<wfw:commentRss>https://news.mongabay.com/2025/02/concerns-of-illegal-sea-turtle-trade-persist-in-bali-as-police-foil-smugglers/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-295064</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>Conservationists suspect fishing nets, increased tourism for sea turtle deaths in Bangladesh</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2025/02/conservationists-suspect-fishing-nets-increased-tourism-for-sea-turtle-deaths-in-bangladesh/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2025/02/conservationists-suspect-fishing-nets-increased-tourism-for-sea-turtle-deaths-in-bangladesh/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>24 Feb 2025 12:04:30 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Abu Siddique]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Abu Siddique]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2025/02/24115157/Dead-Olive-Ridley-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=294896</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Asia, Bangladesh, and South Asia]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Animals, Coastal Ecosystems, Conservation, Ecosystems, Environment, Fishing, Herps, Marine, Marine Animals, Marine Conservation, Oceans, Sea Turtles, Turtles, and Wildlife]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[Within only a couple of weeks during their breeding season, more than 100 olive ridley turtles were found dead at Bangladesh’s Cox’s Bazar Beach. Conservationists blame the indiscriminate use of fishing nets as one of the major reasons behind the incident. Bangladesh is host to five out of seven sea turtle species: olive ridley turtles [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[Within only a couple of weeks during their breeding season, more than 100 olive ridley turtles were found dead at Bangladesh’s Cox’s Bazar Beach. Conservationists blame the indiscriminate use of fishing nets as one of the major reasons behind the incident. Bangladesh is host to five out of seven sea turtle species: olive ridley turtles (Lepidochelys olivacea), green sea turtles (Chelonia mydas), hawksbill turtles (Eretmochelys imbricata), loggerhead turtles (Caretta caretta) and leatherback turtles (Dermochelys coriacea). The olive ridley turtle is the most common, while the others visit Bangladesh’s coasts in much fewer numbers. The olive ridleys, which are vulnerable under the International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN), usually arrive at Bangladesh’s coasts from October to April seeking favorable conditions like warmer weather to lay eggs before returning to the sea. The turtle’s main nesting grounds are the islands of the country’s southeastern district, Cox’s Bazar, in the Bay of Bengal. “Though the death of olive ridley turtle is not rare on Bangladesh coasts during their breeding period, this year’s the number is huge as it crossed more than a hundred in the last few weeks,” said Shital Kumar Nath, a wildlife researcher and project director at Community Development Centre (CODEC) Bangladesh. “Based on our analysis, we apprehend the turtles clashing with fishing nets and later getting injured as one of the main reasons behind such a high death toll,” he said. About 1.63 million fishers in Bangladesh rely on fishing for their livelihood, mostly venturing into the sea&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2025/02/conservationists-suspect-fishing-nets-increased-tourism-for-sea-turtle-deaths-in-bangladesh/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
										<wfw:commentRss>https://news.mongabay.com/2025/02/conservationists-suspect-fishing-nets-increased-tourism-for-sea-turtle-deaths-in-bangladesh/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-294896</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>Report reveals staggering levels of wildlife trafficking in Hispanic America</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2025/02/report-reveals-staggering-levels-of-wildlife-trafficking-in-hispanic-america/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2025/02/report-reveals-staggering-levels-of-wildlife-trafficking-in-hispanic-america/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>07 Feb 2025 13:18:34 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Spoorthy Raman]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Alexandra Popescu]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2025/02/07121009/Yucatan_black_howler_Alouatta_pigra_with_baby_Peten-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=294106</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Central America, Latin America, and South America]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Animal Welfare, Animals, Birds, Conservation, Crime, Freshwater, Illegal Trade, Poaching, Sea Turtles, Turtles, Wildlife, Wildlife Rescues, Wildlife Trade, and Wildlife Trafficking]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[From the glacial fjords of Chilean Patagonia to the beaches and mountains of Baja California, Hispanic America, representing Spanish-speaking countries in South and Central America and the Caribbean, is a biodiversity treasure trove. These include colorful macaws, showy iguanas, gaudy poison frogs and charismatic cats — animals so beautiful that people want to own them [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[From the glacial fjords of Chilean Patagonia to the beaches and mountains of Baja California, Hispanic America, representing Spanish-speaking countries in South and Central America and the Caribbean, is a biodiversity treasure trove. These include colorful macaws, showy iguanas, gaudy poison frogs and charismatic cats — animals so beautiful that people want to own them as pets. A recent report throws light on what this desire for exotic pets means for biodiversity in Hispanic America, where wildlife numbers are already nosediving due to large-scale deforestation and planned infrastructure projects. The report, published by the International Fund for Animal Welfare (IFAW), examines seizure and poaching incidents in Hispanic America over a six-year period and provides the first region-wide analysis of illegal wildlife trafficking, a key contributor to biodiversity loss. Most of the trafficked animals supplied the global demand for wild pets. With detailed analyses of wildlife crimes in 18 countries, the report gives a “whole picture” of the region,” says Polen Cisneros, project manager for the wildlife crime program at IFAW. “My idea was to have the first report that had all the baseline information, which people can easily access online and read about it, so we are more informed of what&#8217;s actually happening in the region.” Green iguanas (Iguana iguana), trafficked for the exotic pet trade, are the most seized lizards in Hispanic America. In countries like Thailand, they have become an invasive species. Image credits: Aatu Dorochenko &#8211; CC BY-SA 4.0. Cisneros and her team scoured through media reports,&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2025/02/report-reveals-staggering-levels-of-wildlife-trafficking-in-hispanic-america/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
										<wfw:commentRss>https://news.mongabay.com/2025/02/report-reveals-staggering-levels-of-wildlife-trafficking-in-hispanic-america/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-294106</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>Illegal cockfighting threatens endangered sea turtles across Central America</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2024/12/illegal-cockfighting-threatens-endangered-sea-turtles-across-central-america/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2024/12/illegal-cockfighting-threatens-endangered-sea-turtles-across-central-america/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>13 Dec 2024 18:05:01 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Tina Deines]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Alexandra Popescu]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2022/04/06112525/hawksbill-sea-turtle-2-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=291591</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Central America, Costa Rica, and Latin America]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Animal Rights, Animal Welfare, Animals, Biodiversity, Conservation, Crime, Endangered Species, Law Enforcement, Marine, Sea Turtles, Turtles, Wildlife, Wildlife consumption, Wildlife Rescues, Wildlife Trade, and Wildlife Trafficking]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[Cockfighting has been illegal in Costa Rica for more than a century, but this violent tradition persists underground across the country. To make the birds deadlier, their owners often tie razor-sharp blades to their legs, known as gaffs or cockspurs. Aside from the roosters, which get seriously injured or killed during fights, another species has [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[Cockfighting has been illegal in Costa Rica for more than a century, but this violent tradition persists underground across the country. To make the birds deadlier, their owners often tie razor-sharp blades to their legs, known as gaffs or cockspurs. Aside from the roosters, which get seriously injured or killed during fights, another species has become an unlikely victim of the cockspur trade: the hawksbill sea turtle (Eretmochelys imbricata), a critically endangered species whose shell is often used to make these deadly implements. Hawksbills have long been targeted for their black-and-brown mottled shells, used in jewelry, combs and other decorations going back to ancient Rome. The species was also historically hunted for its meat as far back as the fifth century B.C.E. in China. Maike Heidemeyer, a Costa Rica-based marine biologist and head of biodiversity and community for the nonprofit conservation group Natural Capital Reserve, first noticed tortoiseshell spurs at holiday markets about two decades ago after moving to the country from Germany. The spurs were openly displayed, mixed in with other hawksbill-shell products like bracelets and trinkets. Though she says these types of bold exhibitions of hawksbill products have tapered off in recent years, demand remains, despite the nationwide ban on cockfighting. The critically endangered hawksbills (Eretmochelys imbricata) are found in tropical and subtropical waters in the Atlantic, Indian and Pacific oceans where they prefer coral reefs. Image by Kanenori via Pixabay. “There are associations, groups that openly defend their right to fight cocks, even in Costa Rica,” says&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2024/12/illegal-cockfighting-threatens-endangered-sea-turtles-across-central-america/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
										<wfw:commentRss>https://news.mongabay.com/2024/12/illegal-cockfighting-threatens-endangered-sea-turtles-across-central-america/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-291591</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>Amid haze of war, Lebanese activists helped turtle hatchlings journey to sea</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2024/09/amid-haze-of-war-lebanese-activists-helped-turtle-hatchlings-journey-to-sea/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2024/09/amid-haze-of-war-lebanese-activists-helped-turtle-hatchlings-journey-to-sea/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>25 Sep 2024 14:15:50 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Amélie David]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Rebecca Kessler]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2024/09/25113802/loggerhead-turtle-hatchling-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=287832</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Asia, Lebanon, and Middle East]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Animals, Anthropocene, Biodiversity, Coastal Ecosystems, Conflict, Conservation, Conservation leadership, Endangered Species, Environment, Human-wildlife Conflict, Marine, Marine Animals, Marine Conservation, Oceans, Poaching, Reptiles, Sea Turtles, Social Conflict, Tourism, Turtles, War, and Wildlife]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[BEIRUT — Baby loggerhead turtles (Caretta caretta) and green turtles (Chelonia mydas) made their way from their sandy nests in South Lebanon to the Mediterranean Sea, their flippers seemingly too large for their tiny bodies. Videos circulating on social media show these vulnerable creatures being carefully guided by a group of dedicated people to ensure [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[BEIRUT — Baby loggerhead turtles (Caretta caretta) and green turtles (Chelonia mydas) made their way from their sandy nests in South Lebanon to the Mediterranean Sea, their flippers seemingly too large for their tiny bodies. Videos circulating on social media show these vulnerable creatures being carefully guided by a group of dedicated people to ensure they reach the water safely. Between mid-June and mid-September, such scenes regularly occurred at Al-Mansouri Beach, south of the city of Tyre, even as war loomed audibly in the background. The people, part of a volunteer group that has been tending the beach and the turtle nests there for two decades, continued their work this nesting season undeterred by the violence around them. A series of cross-border attacks between Hezbollah, the pro-Iranian Shia party in Lebanon, and Israel have spiraled since the beginning of the war in Gaza in October 2023. In South Lebanon, more than 600 people had been killed, including at least 147 civilians, as of Sept. 20, and more than 111,000 had been displaced from their homes, according to the latest figures from the U.N. Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs. Numbers have risen sharply since the recent escalation in which Israel detonated pagers and walkie-talkies belonging to Hezbollah militants and struck hundreds of targets, killing more than 500 additional people across the country including many civilians as of Sept. 23, according to Lebanon’s health ministry. In northern Israel, conflict with Hezbollah has killed dozens and displaced tens of thousands, according&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2024/09/amid-haze-of-war-lebanese-activists-helped-turtle-hatchlings-journey-to-sea/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
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					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-287832</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>Protecting Nigeria one child &#038; one tree at a time: Interview with Doyinsola Ogunye</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2024/07/protecting-nigeria-one-child-one-tree-at-a-time-interview-with-doyinsola-ogunye/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2024/07/protecting-nigeria-one-child-one-tree-at-a-time-interview-with-doyinsola-ogunye/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>24 Jul 2024 07:00:31 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Tarinipre Francis]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Karen Coates]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[africa]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2024/07/23173419/two-school-boys-planting-a-tree-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=284444</guid>

											<reporting-project>
							<![CDATA[Y. Eva Tan Conservation Reporting Fellowship]]>
						</reporting-project>
					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Africa, Nigeria, and West Africa]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Afforestation, Coastal Ecosystems, Community-based Conservation, Conservation, Conservation Solutions, Ecosystems, Education, Environment, Fellows, Interviews, Interviews with conservation players, Oceans, Restoration, Sea Turtles, Solutions, Trees, and Waste]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[Driven to protect the planet one child, one tree and one recycled piece of plastic at a time, environmental advocate Doyinsola Ogunye is helping children, youth and women in Nigeria to create a more sustainable future for themselves. Ogunye founded the Mental and Environmental Development Initiative for Children (MEDIC), through which she also established a [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[Driven to protect the planet one child, one tree and one recycled piece of plastic at a time, environmental advocate Doyinsola Ogunye is helping children, youth and women in Nigeria to create a more sustainable future for themselves. Ogunye founded the Mental and Environmental Development Initiative for Children (MEDIC), through which she also established a Kids Clean Club, Kids Beach Garden and Sea Turtle Sanctuary, and other activities to teach children eco-friendly habits such as cleaning up beaches, planting trees and recycling. She also founded the Recycling Scheme for Women and Youth Empowerment (RESWAYE), an initiative to empower youth and women to protect the environment through recycling and waste management. As she navigates her daily work, Ogunye says she is guided by the same question that came to her when she first found herself in a new environment she didn’t like: What can I do? Over the years, she has found some answers — and has even been rewarded for them. Across Africa, she is recognized as an environmental advocate pulling resources to better the planet. In 2020, she won the Her Network Woman of the Year award. She is an alumnus of the Social Innovators Programme (SIP) and a goalkeeper at the Gates Foundation for U.N. Sustainable Development Goals. Doyinsola Ogunye is known across Africa for her work to help children and women build more sustainable futures. Image courtesy of Doyinsola Ogunye. Doyinsola Ogunye recently spoke with Mongabay by phone to discuss her initiatives. The following interview has been&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2024/07/protecting-nigeria-one-child-one-tree-at-a-time-interview-with-doyinsola-ogunye/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
										<wfw:commentRss>https://news.mongabay.com/2024/07/protecting-nigeria-one-child-one-tree-at-a-time-interview-with-doyinsola-ogunye/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-284444</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>To end turtle hunting, an African island state embraced the hunters</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2024/07/to-end-turtle-hunting-an-african-island-state-embraced-the-hunters/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2024/07/to-end-turtle-hunting-an-african-island-state-embraced-the-hunters/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>17 Jul 2024 08:49:39 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Anna Dulisse]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Jeremy Hance]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2024/07/16111334/FP5-768x512.jpeg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=284390</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Africa and Sao Tome And Principe]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Animals, Biodiversity, Community-based Conservation, Conservation, Ecosystems, Environment, Fellows, Marine, Marine Animals, Sea Turtles, Turtles, and Wildlife]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[Five of the world’s seven species of marine turtles come to the islands of São Tomé and Príncipe, in Africa’s Gulf of Guinea, to breed or forage. The islanders patrol nesting sites, survey adult turtles at sea, educate students about the animals’ life cycle, work for ecotourism operations, and sell jewelry made from plastic waste [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[Five of the world’s seven species of marine turtles come to the islands of São Tomé and Príncipe, in Africa’s Gulf of Guinea, to breed or forage. The islanders patrol nesting sites, survey adult turtles at sea, educate students about the animals’ life cycle, work for ecotourism operations, and sell jewelry made from plastic waste or cow horn instead of tortoiseshell, the traditional material of choice. It wasn’t always that way. Traditionally, locals viewed sea turtles as seafood, and often harvested them as a source of both food and income. But this hunting also endangered sea turtle populations and marine ecosystems. “The year I arrived here [in 2013], 357 sea turtles were killed,” says Sara Vieira, a marine biologist from Portugal and coordinator of conservation NGO Programa Tatô. “You could find sea turtle meat and sea turtle eggs in every market and São Tomé shop. It was quite shocking.” All this changed in 2014, when the government of São Tomé and Príncipe approved a law that was decades in the making. It criminalized the possession, trade and transportation of sea turtles in both São Tomé and Príncipe, the two islands that make up this nation. Community members on Príncipe participate in regular sea turtle monitoring projects, collecting data about and working to protect endangered sea turtles. Image courtesy of Fundação Príncipe. But having lived there for nearly a decade, Vieira says, she knew that, like anyone who faces a disruption to the way they make a living, getting some locals&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2024/07/to-end-turtle-hunting-an-african-island-state-embraced-the-hunters/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
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					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-284390</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>In Bangladesh, olive ridley turtles break 4-year record with 53% increase in eggs</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2024/04/in-bangladesh-olive-ridley-turtle-breaks-4-year-record-with-53-increase-in-eggs/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2024/04/in-bangladesh-olive-ridley-turtle-breaks-4-year-record-with-53-increase-in-eggs/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>30 Apr 2024 13:40:34 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Farhana Parvin]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Abu Siddique]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2024/04/30120947/cr_4219-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=281570</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Asia and Bangladesh]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Animals, Conservation, Environment, Happy-upbeat Environmental, Herps, Sea Turtles, Turtles, and Wildlife]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[This year, Bangladesh has seen its highest number of olive ridley turtle eggs, thanks to extensive conservation actions, including building awareness among local people and the vigilance of local conservation groups to ensure favorable conditions for the species. Nature Conservation Management (NACOM) found 12,425 eggs in five turtle hatcheries — Pachar Island, Shilkali Island, Shahpari [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[This year, Bangladesh has seen its highest number of olive ridley turtle eggs, thanks to extensive conservation actions, including building awareness among local people and the vigilance of local conservation groups to ensure favorable conditions for the species. Nature Conservation Management (NACOM) found 12,425 eggs in five turtle hatcheries — Pachar Island, Shilkali Island, Shahpari Island, Matharbunia, and Shonadia Island in Cox&#8217;s Bazar district — through April 17 this year. The number of eggs has increased by almost 53% compared with the previous year, from 8,096 to 12,425. Those tallies represent a significant jump from the 4,713 eggs recorded in 2020-2021 and 5,763 in 2022-23. Baby turtles born from the eggs in the hatchery. Image courtesy of NACOM. Of the seven turtle species living in seas, five species are found in Bangladesh&#8217;s territorial waters: the olive ridley (Lepidochelys olivacea), green (Chelonia mydas), hawksbill (Eretmochelys imbricata), loggerhead (Caretta caretta) and leatherback (Dermochelys imbricata). Three species of sea turtles — olive ridley, green and hawksbill — come to the coast of Bangladesh to lay their eggs. Green turtles and hawksbills are rare. The olive ridley is listed as an endangered turtle on the IUCN Red List. Olive ridley turtles usually hatch from November to April. At this time, in the dark of night, the mother turtle comes to the house (nesting ground) made in the sand on the beach and returns to the sea with eggs. How the development works Comprehensive conservation action across the beach is a key reason behind the&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2024/04/in-bangladesh-olive-ridley-turtle-breaks-4-year-record-with-53-increase-in-eggs/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
										<wfw:commentRss>https://news.mongabay.com/2024/04/in-bangladesh-olive-ridley-turtle-breaks-4-year-record-with-53-increase-in-eggs/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-281570</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>As a megaport rises in Cameroon, a delicate coastal ecosystem ebbs</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2024/04/as-a-megaport-rises-in-cameroon-a-delicate-coastal-ecosystem-ebbs/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2024/04/as-a-megaport-rises-in-cameroon-a-delicate-coastal-ecosystem-ebbs/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>05 Apr 2024 07:45:19 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Elodie Toto]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Rebecca Kessler]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[africa]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2024/03/29125127/kris-mikael-krister-tkldDsOBGRg-unsplash-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=280458</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Africa, Cameroon, and West Africa]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Animals, Biodiversity, Coastal Ecosystems, Conservation, Ecosystems, Endangered Species, Environment, Environmental Law, Fish, Governance, Habitat Degradation, Mangroves, Marine, Marine Animals, Marine Conservation, Oceans, Politics, Sea Turtles, Turtles, and Wildlife]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[Since he was old enough to work, Sam Elong has been a fisherman in Kribi, a coastal town of more than 90,000 inhabitants that stretches along the shore of the Gulf of Guinea at the mouth of the Kienké and Lobé rivers in Cameroon. &#8220;Before, when we went fishing, we used to come back with [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[Since he was old enough to work, Sam Elong has been a fisherman in Kribi, a coastal town of more than 90,000 inhabitants that stretches along the shore of the Gulf of Guinea at the mouth of the Kienké and Lobé rivers in Cameroon. &#8220;Before, when we went fishing, we used to come back with 100-150 kg [220-330 pounds] of fish,” Elong tells Mongabay during a video call. “But over the last 10 years or so, since the port has been built, fish have been less easy to find … The construction of the port has made a lot of noise, and the waves are stronger. It pushes the fish away. Now, after fishing, we come home with 70 to 80 kg [154-176 lbs] of fish.&#8221; A father of four in his 40s, Elong spends most of his time at sea, returning to the dock only on market days, Wednesdays and Saturdays, to sell his catch. But in recent years, he&#8217;s had less and less to sell. He says he has financial difficulties and struggles to feed his children. &#8220;At the present time we eat breakfast in the morning, and then in the afternoon and in the evening we struggle on like this, with nothing in our stomachs. We can&#8217;t do otherwise.” he says. Yet Kribi is renowned for its fish. Customers come from the cities of Douala, Yaoundé and Bafoussam to stock up. A decline in fishing could have dramatic consequences for the fishermen of Kribi as well as&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2024/04/as-a-megaport-rises-in-cameroon-a-delicate-coastal-ecosystem-ebbs/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
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					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-280458</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>Cambodia sea turtle nests spark hope amid coastal development &#038; species decline</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2024/02/cambodia-sea-turtle-nests-spark-hope-amid-coastal-development-species-decline/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2024/02/cambodia-sea-turtle-nests-spark-hope-amid-coastal-development-species-decline/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>01 Feb 2024 02:47:07 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Gerald Flynn]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Isabel Esterman]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2016/12/01184939/hawksbill-Gary-Rinaldi-Flickr-670x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=278406</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Asia, Cambodia, and Southeast Asia]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Animals, Biodiversity, Birds, Coastal Ecosystems, Community-based Conservation, Conservation, Crime, Development, Ecosystems, Endangered Species, Fisheries, Fishing, Global Environmental Crisis, Governance, Habitat, Habitat Degradation, Habitat Loss, Illegal Fishing, Illegal Trade, Islands, Marine, Marine Animals, Marine Conservation, Marine Mammals, Marine Protected Areas, Overexploitation, Overfishing, Pollution, Rediscovered Species, Sea Turtles, Seagrass, Sustainable Development, Tourism, Turtles, Water Pollution, Wildlife, Wildlife consumption, Wildlife Trade, and Wildlife Trafficking]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[PHNOM PENH — In late December 2023, on a remote island in Preah Sihanouk province, off the southwest coast of Cambodia, a team of conservationists uncovered nine nests belonging to sea turtles after more than a decade of searching for them. Cambodia’s marine turtle population has long been declining, but this discovery has sparked hope [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[PHNOM PENH — In late December 2023, on a remote island in Preah Sihanouk province, off the southwest coast of Cambodia, a team of conservationists uncovered nine nests belonging to sea turtles after more than a decade of searching for them. Cambodia’s marine turtle population has long been declining, but this discovery has sparked hope among conservationists that the critically endangered hawksbill turtles (Eretmochelys imbricata) and endangered green turtles (Chelonia mydas) have not vanished from Cambodia’s waters. Nine nests were discovered by volunteers from the Royal Cambodian Navy who are stationed on the island and have been trained by Fauna &amp; Flora to monitor for the presence of sea turtles after a nest was discovered in March 2022. That initial finding of a single nest represented the first time that a sea turtle nest had been seen in Cambodia for a decade, highlighting the species’ decline. During the final days of 2023, naval personnel uncovered the nine nests, two of which had already hatched, and were able to estimate that the nests could hold as many as 1,000 eggs. It is believed that all of the nests should have hatched before the end of January 2024. Hatched eggs were excavated by naval volunteers to assess the success rate. Image supplied by Fauna &amp; Flora. Matt Glue, a marine technical specialist working with Fauna &amp; Flora in Cambodia, was able to confirm that some of the newly discovered nests were laid by a green turtle due to a female being spotted&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2024/02/cambodia-sea-turtle-nests-spark-hope-amid-coastal-development-species-decline/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
										<wfw:commentRss>https://news.mongabay.com/2024/02/cambodia-sea-turtle-nests-spark-hope-amid-coastal-development-species-decline/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-278406</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>PFAS ‘forever chemicals’ harming wildlife the world over: Study</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2023/09/pfas-forever-chemicals-harming-wildlife-the-world-over-study/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2023/09/pfas-forever-chemicals-harming-wildlife-the-world-over-study/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>26 Sep 2023 13:50:04 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Sharon Guynup]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Glenn Scherer]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[global forests]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2023/09/25164451/1.-Banner-image-Credit-Steve-Winter-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=273622</guid>

											<reporting-project>
							<![CDATA[Planetary Boundaries]]>
						</reporting-project>
					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Arctic, Global, and Tropics]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Amphibians, Animals, Biodiversity, Birds, Chemicals, Conservation, Critically Endangered Species, Diseases, Endangered Species, Environment, Extinction, Forests, Global Environmental Crisis, Mammals, Mass Extinction, Novel Entities, Planetary Boundaries, Research, Saving Species From Extinction, Sea Turtles, Solutions, Tropical Forests, Turtles, and Wildlife]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[While PFAS impacts on human health are well known, scientists are also finding severe impacts on wildlife, including hawksbill turtles, American alligators, Arctic kittiwakes, hooded seals, striped bass, bottlenose dolphins and other species.]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[In Hawaii and elsewhere in the North Pacific, few hatchlings are emerging from the nests of endangered hawksbill and green sea turtles. In Wisconsin, some tree swallows have failed to produce offspring. In California, infectious diseases are now more common in southern sea otters. In Michigan, bluegills are swimming slower. In the Arctic, some hooded seals and their pups have thyroid problems. And in North Carolina’s Cape Fear River, American alligators have been found with lesions and unhealed, infected wounds. What each of these disparate places, animals and maladies have in common is high exposure to long-lived, human-made chemicals: per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances, better known as PFAS. While it’s now well known that human exposure to PFAS can cause cancer, reduce immunity, impair fertility, cause liver damage and trigger myriad other health problems, scientists are becoming increasingly aware that wildlife is also at risk. A new study published September 26th in The Science of the Total Environment documents how exposure affects animals in the wild and includes an updated map pinpointing wildlife exposure to PFAS on every continent, with hotspots in the U.S., Europe, China and Australia. But the study’s lead author, David Andrews, notes that pretty much anywhere you look for these long-lived “forever chemicals,” you’ll find them. Andrews, a senior scientist at the nonprofit Environmental Working Group (EWG) and his team scoured scientific journals to compile this planetwide overview, a first-time analysis of existing data. They found that more than 600 species risk harm from PFAS. It’s an&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2023/09/pfas-forever-chemicals-harming-wildlife-the-world-over-study/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
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					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-273622</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>Study reveals turtles’ millennia-old food affair with North African seagrass</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2023/08/study-reveals-turtles-millennia-old-food-affair-with-north-african-seagrass/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2023/08/study-reveals-turtles-millennia-old-food-affair-with-north-african-seagrass/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>02 Aug 2023 19:17:55 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Sean Mowbray]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Terna Gyuse]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[africa]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2023/08/02190316/GreenTurtleCheloniaMydas_JimTrodelFlickrBY2.0-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=271737</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Africa and North Africa]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Animals, Biodiversity, Climate Change, Coastal Ecosystems, Conservation, Ecosystems, Endangered Species, Environment, Marine, Marine Animals, Marine Conservation, Marine Mammals, Oceans, Sea Turtles, Turtles, and Wildlife]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[A multidisciplinary team of researchers comparing bone samples from ancient turtles with skin samples from modern-day green turtles have been able to trace the “food footprints” of this endangered species. The evidence points to these turtles returning to the same seagrass meadows on the North African coast of the Mediterranean for at least 3,000 years. [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[A multidisciplinary team of researchers comparing bone samples from ancient turtles with skin samples from modern-day green turtles have been able to trace the “food footprints” of this endangered species. The evidence points to these turtles returning to the same seagrass meadows on the North African coast of the Mediterranean for at least 3,000 years. Until now, knowledge of the green sea turtle’s (Chelonia mydas) pickiness for certain foraging spots, known as site fidelity, was based on limited samples, only dating back around 50 years, Willemien de Kock, a marine biologist at University of Groningen in the Netherlands, told Mongabay. De Kock and her team, comprised of archaeologists, biologists and ecologists, used modern satellite tracking data and archaeological findings from Bronze and Iron Age sites to analyze ancient turtle feeding habits. Thousands of years ago, ancient peoples were eating turtles, leaving behind traces in the form of bones with collagen in them. It was these archaeological samples that de Kock and her team compared with skin samples from contemporary green turtles. “[I]t gives us an amazing snapshot into the ancient world, if we then look at their biological characteristics,” she said. Marine biologist Willemien de Kock, who led the recent study, examines a turtle bone. She underlines that their findings show the importance of protecting seagrass meadows and turtle nesting sites. “These sea turtles have gone to the same place year after year, and this behavior hasn&#8217;t changed for millennia.” Image courtesy Leoni von Ristok. Their results, published in the&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2023/08/study-reveals-turtles-millennia-old-food-affair-with-north-african-seagrass/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
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					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-271737</doi>				</item>
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