National parks in Africa shutter over COVID-19 threat to great apes
Virunga National Park in the Democratic Republic of Congo shut its doors to tourists this week in an attempt to protect its great apes from possibly being infected by the…
Key cetacean site in Philippines sees drop in dolphin, whale sightings
MANILA — Sightings of dolphins and whales in a Philippine strait long considered an important waterway for the marine mammals have plummeted over the past two decades, with human activity…
Iridescence helps these ‘living jewels’ hide in plain sight
A new study in Current Biology shines a light on how iridescence in jewel beetles (Sternocera aequisignata) helps them to hide from predators. Iridescence produces the mesmerizing hues of a male peacock's feathers, the…
Polly share a cracker: Study finds grey parrots are good Samaritans
It looked like a game of parrot poker, but the token exchange counter set up by European researchers at a Spanish zoo was an experiment to determine if African grey…
Simba’s future depends on putting communities at the forefront of lion conservation (commentary)
This past weekend, Disney’s newly released version of The Lion King shattered box office records by earning $544 million in theaters around the world. But while Simba and Mufasa’s return…
Widespread tool-using chimp culture discovered in Democratic Republic of Congo
Scientists have discovered a new chimpanzee “behavioral realm” in the Bili-Uéré region of the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). A research team led by Thurston C. Hicks of the Max…
Audio: What underwater sounds can tell us about Indian Ocean humpback dolphins
On today’s episode, we speak with marine biologist Isha Bopardikar, an independent researcher who is using bioacoustics to study humpback dolphins off the west coast of India. Listen here: …
Iran’s endangered cheetahs and imperiled conservationists (commentary)
Few people realize that Iran is home to cheetahs. Once found from the Arabian Peninsula to India, the Asiatic cheetah — genetically and ecologically distinct from its African counterpart —…
Researchers say orangutans are declining, despite Indonesian government’s claims
Researchers say a recent Indonesian government report inaccurately claims that the orangutan population in the country is increasing, which could have significant implications for future conservation plans. The report, issued…
Hunting, agriculture driving rapid decline of jaguars in South America’s Gran Chaco
New research finds that one-third of critical jaguar habitat in the Gran Chaco, South America’s largest tropical dry forest, has been lost since the mid-1980s. According to the study, led…
Pangolins on the brink as Africa-China trafficking persists unabated
The pangolin trade remains brisk, as conservationists scramble to identify populations and lobby for tough protections, while U.S. zoos make a controversial try to raise them.
Animal trainers are teaching wildlife to conserve themselves
Chimps have been taught to sound an alarm when poachers approach; polar bears and condors have been trained to avoid towns; and even butterflies can learn new tricks.
Amazonian manatee migration at risk from disruption by proposed dams
During the wet season, manatees swim Amazon basin floodplains; in dry times they migrate to lakes. Hundreds of planned dams could disrupt that cycle.
Liberian park protects Critically Endangered western chimpanzees
The Liberian government designated a new national park in August 2017 that will protect an important population of Critically Endangered western chimpanzee (Pan troglodytes verus), as well as several other…
‘Ships, sonar and surveys’: Film explores impacts of a noisy ocean
Animals in the world’s oceans have faced an ever-increasing cacophony in recent decades. They’re inundated with sonar intended to keep countries safe, air gun charges that help energy companies find…
Ecologist wins Heinz environment prize for airborne mapping that informs policy
It’s not uncommon to find ecologist Greg Asner flying transects over the rainforests of the Amazon or Borneo. His specially outfitted plane has helped map out the three-dimensional structure of…
Bats and viruses: Beating back a bad reputation
A burned-out stump was all that remained by the time a team of virologists arrived in Méliandou in 2014. They had been hunting for the source of the deadly outbreak…
A clouded future: Asia’s enigmatic clouded leopard threatened by palm oil
Tigers and orangutans are the well-known faces of the palm oil crisis. But the enigmatic clouded leopard is equally threatened and almost unknown in comparison. Conservationists are looking at ways…
Pangolin hunting skyrockets in Central Africa, driven by international trade
Ballooning demand for pangolin scales and meat has driven the hunting of these armored animals up at least 145 percent in Central Africa since before 2000, according to a new…
First-ever conviction for orangutan trafficking in Aceh
A wildlife trafficker who was caught trying to sell three baby orangutans on Facebook was sentenced to two years imprisonment and fined 50 million rupiah ($3,653) in Indonesia's Aceh province…
Titanium vs. Millipedes: new species discovered in Madagascar threatened by mining
Researchers urge increased conservation attention for invertebrates, fragmented habitats A team of scientists from the United States and Germany has recently described seven new species of Malagasy giant pill-millipede. All…
Those eyes look human: could anthropomorphism be used for conservation?
It’s easier to relate to someone you have something in common with; that feeling of connection can turn strangers into friends. And if those strangers belong to an entirely different…
Those eyes look human: could anthropomorphism be used for conservation?
It’s easier to relate to someone you have something in common with; that feeling of connection can turn strangers into friends. And if those strangers belong to an entirely different…
Tigers gobble up 49 percent of India’s wildlife conservation funds, more imperiled species get nothing
Bengal tiger in Rantgambhore National Park. Photo by: Bjørn Christian Tørrissen. Nearly half of India's wildlife budget goes to one species: the tiger, reports a recent article in Live Mint.…
Cinderella animals: endangered species that could be conservation stars
Somali wild ass and mother in nature. The African wild ass could be a conservation flagship species according to a new paper. Photo by: Bigstock. A cursory look at big…
Special series
Forest Trackers
- Bolivia’s El Curichi Las Garzas protected area taken over by land-grabbers
- Authorities struggle to protect Bolivian national park from drug-fueled deforestation
- Poverty and plantations: Nigerian reserve struggles against the odds
- Logging, road construction continue to fuel forest loss in Papua New Guinea
Oceans
- Warming seas push India’s fishers into distant, and more dangerous, waters
- No protection from bottom trawling for seamount chain in northern Pacific
- Annual ocean conference raises $11.3b in pledges for marine conservation
- Caribbean startups are turning excess seaweed into an agroecology solution
Amazon Conservation
- Deforestation haunts top Peruvian reserve and its Indigenous communities
- Amid record-high fires across the Amazon, Brazil loses primary forests
- A web of front people conceals environmental offenders in the Amazon
- Brazil boosts protection of Amazon mangroves with new reserves in Pará state
Land rights and extractives
- Hyundai ends aluminum deal with Adaro Minerals following K-pop protest
- Brazil’s illegal gold trade takes a hammering, but persists underground
- Maluku bone collector unearths troubling consequence of coastal abrasion
- New FPIC guide designed to help protect Indigenous rights as mineral mining booms
Endangered Environmentalists
- Indonesian activists face jail over FB posts flagging damage to marine park
- Vietnamese environmentalist sentenced to 3 years in prison for tax evasion
- Son of slain Quilombola leader will still strive for community’s rights
- Video: Five Tembé Indigenous activists shot in Amazonian ‘palm oil war’
Indonesia's Forest Guardians
- Fenced in by Sulawesi national park, Indigenous women make forestry breakout
- In Borneo, the ‘Power of Mama’ fight Indonesia’s wildfires with all-woman crew
- Pioneer agroforester Ermi, 73, rolls back the years in Indonesia’s Gorontalo
- After 20 years and thousands of trees planted, Kalimantan’s veteran forester persists
Conservation Effectiveness
- The conservation sector must communicate better (commentary)
- Thailand tries nature-based water management to adapt to climate change
- Forest restoration to boost biomass doesn’t have to sacrifice tree diversity
- How scientists and a community are bringing a Bornean river corridor back to life
Southeast Asian infrastructure
- Study: Indonesia’s new capital city threatens stable proboscis monkey population
- Indonesia’s new capital ‘won’t sacrifice the environment’: Q&A with Nusantara’s Myrna Asnawati Safitri
- Small farmers in limbo as Cambodia wavers on Tonle Sap conservation rules
- To build its ‘green’ capital city, Indonesia runs a road through a biodiverse forest
