In recent years, unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) have increasingly been used to monitor wildlife populations from above, but artificial intelligence has taken drone technology one step further. Koala populations are…
Rising ocean temperatures are bleaching reefs around the world at unprecedented levels, and, with little standing in its way, this coral-killing force is unlikely to relent, according to a new…
A type of transmissible cancer has decimated Tasmanian devil populations. First detected in 1996, the devil facial tumor disease (DFTD) has spread across most of the Tasmanian devil's range and has…
Koalas, the eucalyptus-loving cuddly marsupials found only in Australia, are declining rapidly. In some areas, their numbers have plummeted by more than 80 percent, with koala populations in the state of…
Feral cats now inhabit virtually the entire Australian landscape, and have been implicated in multiple recent mammal extinctions by conservationists. Illuminating the urgency of controlling cat populations across the continent,…
In the highland forests of central Victoria, Australia, lives a marsupial with big eyes and an uncertain future. Fairy possums need big, old trees to survive, which are dwindling due…
During 74 days in late 2009, a leak in the Montara offshore drilling platform gushed tens of thousands of barrels of oil into the Timor Sea, a body of water…
Many internationally traded species are on the verge of extinction in their native countries. In some cases, traded animals have managed to escape -- or have been deliberately introduced --…
Two of Australia’s biggest retailers have been misleading customers with claims that palm oil used in their own-brand products has been certified by the world’s largest association for ethical production…
Scientists have confirmed that Australia’s Great Barrier Reef has suffered its worst-ever coral bleaching event on record due to higher than normal water temperatures in 2015 and 2016. In the…
Bombs and biodiversity can go hand in hand, a new study has found. Military training areas — used for the training of armed forces — can maintain biodiversity and even…
In a swamp, just six miles away from the Newcastle airport in New South Wales, Australia, scientists have discovered a new species of frog that is only slightly bigger than a…
The cachet of the Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil has taken a hit with the withdrawal of support for the organization by an Australian watchdog that had pushed some of…
cientists have long known that invasive species possess “pesty traits” that benefit their spread. But what if similar, but latent, “pesty traits” could be triggered into action in endangered species…
What has a body like a shark’s, a saw protruding from its head and critically endangered status according to the IUCN? The largetooth sawfish is a species of ray that…
A transmissible cancer -- the devil facial tumor disease (DFTD) -- has decimated Tasmanian devil populations. The contagious cancer, first recorded in 1996, has wiped out over 90 percent of…
In the Riversleigh World Heritage Area in north-western Queensland, Australia, scientists have discovered the fossil remains of a new species of marsupial lion that went extinct about 18 million years…
We are currently in the midst of the the third and quite possibly worst global coral bleaching event in history, thanks to record high sea temperatures caused by a strong…
What’s coding got to do with conservation? The first ever Zoohackathon will convene this October 7-9 across six zoos in the US, Europe, Asia and Pacific. Organized by the US…
Corals around the world are bleaching. Australia's Great Barrier Reef, for example, suffered widespread bleaching this year due to rising sea surface temperatures caused by a combination of global warming and a strong El Niño. Bleaching occurs because…
Six new species of peacock spiders have been discovered in Australia. The tiny spiders measure less than four millimeters in length, but make up for their diminutive size with vigorous,…
Rising sea temperatures are destroying corals in Australia’s famous Great Barrier Reef. But warmer-than-normal waters are also damaging the Barrier Reef’s lesser known cousin, the Great Southern Reef, a new study…
Annually, approximately 100 million sharks are killed by commercial fisheries. Coupled with climate change and a decrease of food supply from overfishing, some shark populations are teetering on the edge…
Researchers in Australia say they’ve discovered the first mammal to go extinct due to human-induced climate change: the Bramble Cay melomys, also known as the Bramble Cay Mosaic-tailed rat, a…
Remember Sparklemuffin and Skeletorus, two vividly colored peacock spiders that became Internet sensations last year? Now, researchers have discovered and named seven new species of these colorful tiny arachnids in…
Personality in humans defines who we are. It is the unique combination of qualities and traits that form our distinct characters as individuals. Many people don’t tend to think of…
Jostling through the narrow turns of a market on the outskirts of Bangkok, you might concernedly notice vendors displaying delicate ivory carvings, dried tiger penises and bottles of bear bile…
You’re probably familiar with the 2003 animated film Finding Nemo — it was a box office hit that grossed nearly $400 million, after all. But you may be less familiar…
Author's note: The data that underpins this post is updated on a regular basis on Mongabay's rainforest site: Amphibians, Birds, Fish, Mammals, Reptiles, Vascular Plants. September 26, 2021 update: this…
Last week, the Australian government added 49 species of plants and animals to its Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999 (EPBC Act) list of threatened and endangered species. The new…
