The Tapanuli orangutan (Pongo tapanuliensis) of Sumatra is both the world’s newest known great ape species and its most threatened, after being officially categorized this week as “Critically Endangered,” or…
The massive ocean sunfish -- an odd-looking fish with a flat, rigid, tailless body -- is not only the world's largest bony fish, but also one of the most elusive…
For the first time ever, scientists have been able to observe what life is really like for dolphins beneath the ocean’s surface. Using custom-made, noninvasive underwater cameras that they attached…
Scientists have discovered two new species of bioluminescent deep-sea fish off New Zealand. Both species belong to the family Opisthoproctidae, also known as spook fish or “barreleyes”, named for the protruding cylindrical eyes that…
New Zealand’s extremely rare kakapos (Strigops habroptila) have received a much-needed boost. This year, 37 kakapo chicks have survived so far, making it the most successful breeding season in more…
Invasive species are great hitchhikers. They float in the ballast of ships, lurk in luggage, stick to unwashed sports gear, and cling to the soles of hiking boots. Scientists focus…
A New Zealand dolphin, one of whose two subspecies, the Maui's dolphin, is critically endangered with a quickly diminishing population. Photo credit: Steve Dawson/NABU International Foundation for Nature. Maui's dolphins…
Renowned biologist E.O Wilson, assessing Earth's sixth great extinction now underway, described the future as a shrinking keyhole through which all species must pass as humanity responds to, and hopefully…
All of the world's moas exterminated by just a few thousand people A Haast's eagle divebombing a pair of moas. A new study finds that it only took a few…
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…
Since the arrival of Homo sapiens, other species have been going extinct at an unprecedented rate. Most scientists now agree that extinction rates are between 100 and 1000 times greater…
Artist's rendition of the coastal moa, which a new paper says was hunted to extinction, along with all of its relative, by humans. Image by: Michael B. H./Creative Commons 3.0.…
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…
As the most pristine marine ecosystem on the planet, Antarctica's Ross Sea has become dubbed the world's "last ocean." Home to an abundance of penguins, whales, orcas, seals, and massive…
Low carbon prices may spur deforestation in New Zealand according to a survey by a researcher at Canterbury University. As reported last week by The New Zealand Herald, a collapse…
New Zealand's Department of Conservation (DOC) is facing a backlash over plans to aerially drop a controversial poison, known as 1080, over the habitat of two endangered, prehistoric, and truly…
Coal-powered Castle Gate Power Plant in Ohio. Photo by: David Jolley. Ahead of the 18th United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) in Doha, Qatar a variety of reports…
The beaked whale family are among the world's least known mammals. This photo shows a Blainville's beaked whale (Mesoplodon densirostris). Photo by: NOAA. In 2010, a whale mother and male…
Adelie penguins hunting for food. Photo by: J. Weller. Click to enlarge. Pablo Garcia Borboroglu will be speaking at the Wildlife Conservation Network Expo in San Francisco on October 13th,…
The new species, Moore's forget-me-not (Myosotis mooreana) is known from only a single location. Photo by: Lehnebach et al. New Zealand scientists have discovered two new species of forget-me-nots (flowers…
Pumice island. Courtesy of the Royal Navy 0810pumicefloating New Zealand's Royal Navy has found a 10,000-square mile (26,000-square kilometer) patch of pumice floating on the surface of the South Pacific…
Hector's dolphin, the parent species of the Maui's dolphin. Photo by: James Shook. The New Zealand government's recent efforts to protect the world’s smallest dolphin have come under scrutiny from…
A new species of moth has been named after one of the world's most popular movie blockbusters: Avatar. Discovered on New Zealand's Denniston Plateau during a biodiversity survey by local…
Hector's dolphin is the parent species of the subspecies Maui's dolphin. Both are only found in New Zealand. Photo by: Bigstock. The world's smallest dolphin is also the closest to…
Two Kairuku penguins come ashore, passing a stranded Waipatia dolphin. Artwork by Chris Gaskin, owner and copyright owner: Geology Museum, University of Otago.. Around 25 million years ago a penguin…
Asia Pulp & Paper (APP) misled the public when the paper products giant claimed a paper testing company had found its fiber clear of rainforest fiber, says Greenpeace. Last week…
New Zealand's Powelliphanta snail. Photo by: Alan Liefting. Eight hundred large carnivorous snails, known as Powelliphanta snails (Powelliphanta augusta), died in a Department of Conservation (DOC) fridge in New Zealand…
New Zealand's log exports to China are surging, reports the Wood Resource Quarterly. Log exports from New Zealand in 2011 are running 25 percent of last year's rate and are…
White capped albatross killed by oil. This species is listed as Near Threatened by the IUCN Red List. Photo ©: Forest & Bird. According to the New Zealand government an…
View Larger Map A marks the location of Papamoa Beach in the Bay of Plenty. An oil spill from a grounded container ship in New Zealand's Bay of Plenty is…