Swimming 4 meters per second, a feeding blue whale swings open its jaws and, in four seconds, swallows 140 percent of its mass—a volume of water and krill the size…
Simon Pakarati recalled how as a child he used to fish with hooks that would constantly get stuck on the rocks off the shore of Easter Island (Rapa Nui, as…
One of the world's major salmon-producing regions has been hit by an environmental crisis. In early May, an unprecedented fish kill struck the archipelago of Chiloé, located in southern Chile.…
It's 7 p.m. in the bay of Quintero, Valparaiso Province. With cuttlefish, hooks, coffee and food at the ready, the crew releases the moorings and sets out into the night…
An area that includes the islands of San Félix and San Ambrosio — also known as the Desventuradas — is now officially protected. On August 24, the Chilean government announced…
Hydroelectric dams will not come up on five Chilean rivers, at least for now. On August 30, Spanish energy company Endesa announced that it was revoking all claims to Futaleufú,…
armed salmon escaping from Norwegian aquaculture facilities are mating with wild salmon frequently enough to dilute their genetic stock, according to a recent paper. As a result the wild salmon…
new study of market-based forest conservation schemes in Chile provides rare insight into the effectiveness of this relatively new approach to preventing deforestation. The schemes, known as non-state, market-driven (NSMD)…
Douglas McCauley began his career as a fisherman but later transitioned to marine science. He now serves as an Assistant Professor at the University of California, Santa Barbara and a Sloan…
orsino Huallata Ibarra was helping his parents round up their herd of llamas at their home in the Bolivian countryside when the sound of gunshots made him jump. Scanning the…
Already known the world over for its famous moai statues, Easter Island might soon become just as recognized for ocean conservation. Chilean president Michelle Bachelet has announced a new marine…
8-DAY LAND SURFACE TEMPERATURE ANOMALY for March 6-13, 2015. Courtesy of NASA. The temperature at a base in Antarctica hit a record high last week, reports Weather Underground. On March…
When assessing the status of an endangered species, conservationists often take into account environmental factors, such as threats to habitat, and behavioral patterns of breeding and feeding. Increasingly, scientists also…
Rainforest in Costa Rica. A coalition of governments and organizations today pledged to restore 20 million hectares (50 million acres) of degraded forests and ecosystems across Latin America by 2020…
Scientists say both rich and developing countries must recognize primary forests as a conservation priority. Primary rainforest in Imbak Canyon in the state of Sabah, Malaysian Borneo. The forest is…
Increased tree cover in Chile is due in large part to expansion of wood fiber farms At first glance, the statistics tell a hopeful story: Chile’s forests are expanding. According…
One of the world's most controversial mega-dam projects met its likely end this week when Chile's Committee of Ministers voted to cancel the permits for the HidroAysén project. Costing around…
A brood of barn owls. Photo by: chdwckvnstrsslhmn/Creative Commons 2.0. This year the Hanta virus has already caused 15 deaths in Chile, according to reports in The Santiago Times. It…
Chile is probably best known for its volcanoes, earthquakes and the formidable peaks of the Andes, but as a country that spans 4,300 km (2,670 miles) from top to bottom,…
Environmental groups have blasted draft text of the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) released yesterday by WikiLeaks as potentially devastating to the environment and wildlife. The massive 12-nation free trade agreement has…
'They justify bigness:' rewilding the ancestor of the llama in Chile Local extinctions have occurred across a variety of habitats on every continent, affecting a gamut of species from large…
An unusual species of mouth-brooding frog was likely driven to extinction by the fungus Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis (Bd), making an unusual example of 'extinction by infection', argue scientists writing in the…
Somewhere in the wet pine forests of Chile, a male frog is gulping-up a bunch of eggs. No he's not eating them, he's just being a good dad. Darwin's frogs…
The reemergence of the endangered Huemul deer (Hippocamelus bisulcus) marks a momentous achievement by local governments and conservationists worldwide. From the brink of extinction—with populations decimated to one percent of…
One-hundred-and-ninety-seven illegal loggers across a dozen Central and South American countries have been arrested during INTERPOL's first strike against widespread forestry crime. INTERPOL, or The International Criminal Police Organization, worked…
Snow blanketed southern Patagonia in late May 2012. The Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) on NASA’s Terra satellite captured this natural-color image on May 30, when snow cover extended from…
Keeper, Vicky Fryson, helps a Humboldt penguin chick, Pickle, test the water for the first time. Photo by: Zoological Society of London's (ZSL) London Zoo. Humboldt penguins was found along…
Scientists have discovered new colonies of Critically Endangered short-tailed chinchilla in Chile. Photo by: Martin Espinosa. The short-tailed chinchilla (Chinchilla chinchilla) once inhabited a range including the mountainous regions of…
A male black necked swan with three babies in Heart Lake at the Wildlife Conservation Society’s Bronx Zoo. Photo by: Julie Larsen Maher © WCS. The black-necked swan (Cygnus melancoryphus)…
A gray zorro (Pseudalopex griseus) in Patagonian Chile. Photo by: Rhett A. Butler. This canine has many names: the gray zorro, the chilla, and the South American gray fox. Despite…