A new report finds that a chronic lack of funding is undermining youth-led environmental work worldwide. The report, titled “Ecologies of Empowerment: Why and how to fund youth-led biodiversity action,” argues that a current lack of adequate funding for youth biodiversity conservation initiatives threatens development of future generations of conservation leadership and action.

“Youth are already doing the work, restoring wetlands, defending territories, leading species conservation efforts, training next-generation leaders, and influencing global policy,” lead author of the report Félix Feide, told Mongabay in an email. “A core recognition of the report is that a biodiversity sector without a well-supported regeneration layer, will never be sustainable, and as a result our work will risk failing in the long term.”

The report was compiled by the Global Youth Biodiversity Network, The Iris Project, Synchronicity Earth and the Global Landscapes Forum. The report authors surveyed 161 youth-led biodiversity initiatives from 57 countries and found that 93% of the contributors involved in such initiatives are volunteers. 

The findings also show that 85% of youth initiatives lack adequate funding. “If you are among the fortunate 15% of young people who are able to access funding for biodiversity conservation, that is wonderful,” report co-author Swetha Stotra Bhashyam told Mongabay. “But for the rest of us, the reality is that there is no quick-fix approach, and we can no longer approach this work in isolation.”

Roughly 44% of surveyed organizations reported operating on less than $1,000 in 2024 and one-fifth of them had no funding. 

Most of the funding was from small grants; 62% of the grants were under $10,000. Most of the grants, 58%, lasted less than a year and 88% were project-restricted. 

Report co-author Eirini Sakellari told Mongabay in an email that conservation funders should work harder to engage young people. “Speak to youth-led organizations. Reach out to youth-led networks like the Global Youth Biodiversity Network and to funders already supporting youth-led work well. They are often the best guides to where your focus, values, and risk appetite can meaningfully contribute.”

Samantha Sithole, a youth conservation expert not affiliated with the report, told Mongabay that the report makes a compelling case for why funders should pay attention to youth-led biodiversity conservation. “It does excellent work showing the diversity of youth involved, the multifaceted nature of their initiatives, and the deep contextual knowledge and strategic thinking they bring to their work, despite facing persistent funding barriers,” she said in an email. 

“I’d push the conversation further by asking how youth-led initiatives can be made more legible and attractive to local or indigenous governments and funding centers, so that homegrown projects can be sustained and embedded within their own communities rather than relying solely on external funders,” Sithole said.

 Banner image: Children in Nepal attend school as part of a conservation project. Image by Jason Houston for USAID. (Public Domain)

SAN DIEGO (AP) — Many seabirds are starving to death as a marine heat wave lingers off California and fish seek deeper, cooler waters. That’s according to scientists who say a persistent marine heat wave has shrunk the band of cold, nutrient-rich surface water where krill, anchovies and sardines thrive near the shore. Scientists fear the die off of birds could worsen with El Nino. The natural warming of parts of the central Pacific that alters weather worldwide and spikes global temperatures formed in June. Wildlife rehabilitation facilities in California before El Nino formed were seeing hundreds of emaciated birds brought in by people when the marine heat wave intensified this spring.

By Julie Watson, Associated Press

Banner image: A common murre lies on a beach near Scripps Pier during a survey for dying seabirds Wednesday, May 6, 2026, in San Diego. Image by Gregory Bull via Associated Press

A large fish once feared extinct in Cambodia has been recorded in the country’s waters for the fourth time since 2020, renewing hope for the species.

The Mekong giant salmon carp (Aaptosyax grypus), a critically endangered large-sized freshwater fish, was formally described from the Mekong River in 1991. Over the next 14 years, there had been only 20 formal records of the species; none since 2005.

However, Bunyeth Chan, a researcher at Svay Rieng University in Cambodia, and his colleagues confirmed three observations in a 2024 study. The three carps had been caught by fishers from different parts of the lower Mekong River Basin between 2020 and 2023. “Those recent observations indicate that the species persists, and that one or more populations of A. grypus inhabit the Cambodian Mekong and its tributaries,” the researchers wrote.

The same team confirmed a fourth record of the species, captured by a fisher on Nov. 27, 2025, according to a note recently published in the journal Oryx.

“The rediscovery of the giant salmon carp is a reason for hope, not just for this species but for the entire Mekong ecosystem,” Chan said in a statement to Nevada Today in 2024. “The Mekong ecosystem is the most productive river on Earth, producing over two million tons of fish per year worth over $10 billion.”

The Mekong giant salmon carp, endemic to the middle and lower reaches of the Mekong River basin, can grow up to 130 centimeters (more than 4 feet) in length and weigh up to 30 kilograms (66 pounds). The most recent specimen was a 6.2-kg (13.67-lbs) individual.

The IUCN Red List currently flags the species as “possibly extinct” in Cambodia, but the new evidence suggests a small population persists in the Lower Mekong Basin, the authors wrote. They added that the species likely undertakes transboundary movements, migrating between Cambodia, Thailand and Lao PDR.

The recent records are the result of a research initiative named the Wonders of the Mekong Project, which has established financial incentives to encourage fishers to report captures of threatened large-sized fish and release them back into the wild.

However, all four recently documented carps were recovered dead from market vendors. This has limited the ecological data researchers could gather like critical habitats and threats, the authors wrote.

Following the recent records, the Cambodian Fisheries Administration listed A. grypus as a threatened species, making its capture and sale illegal.

To ensure long-term survival of the salmon carp, researchers recommended using non-invasive detection methods, such as environmental DNA, to locate remaining populations. They also emphasized that given the carp migrates between countries, it would benefit from regional cooperation on monitoring, threat reduction and protection of key river reaches and migration corridors. Lastly, they urged the species be included under the Convention on Migratory Species.

Banner image: Giant Salmon Carps in Laotian market. Image by Peter Cunningham via Wikimedia Commons (CC BY 3.0).

Dinosaurs like tyrannosaurs and velociraptors famously walked on two legs. But they weren’t the only bipedal prehistoric creatures to exist. In a study published in June, paleontologists shared the discovery of a new bipedal shuvosaurid, an ancient, distant relative of crocodiles, that lived 212 million years ago in what is now the U.S. state of New Mexico.

Unlike modern-day crocs, the newly described Labrujasuchus expectatus was beaked, toothless, had two tiny arms, and walked on two legs.

Researchers found fossilized bones of L. expectatus alongside those of bipedal dinosaurs at the Hayden Quarry at the Ghost Ranch site, famous for its well-preserved fossils. They were found in sediments dated to the Late Triassic period.

The generic name of the species Labrujasuchus comes from “Ranchos de los Brujos,” or Ranch of the Witches, an old Spanish name for the Ghost Ranch area. The Greek word Σοῦχος (suchus) means crocodile.

The species name expectatus references the idea that researchers expected to find a shuvosaurid fossil at the Hayden Quarry. In an email interview with Mongabay, Nathan Smith, study co-author, paleontologist and director of the Dinosaur Institute, Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County, U.S., said the first shuvosaurid described, which was originally misclassified as a dinosaur, was named Shuvosaurus inexpectatus, as a way to point out that such a bizarre-looking creature was not “expected” in Late Triassic rocks.

“So, the ‘expectatus’ name is a cheeky nod to the original Shuvosaurus discovery, and the fact that we definitely expected to come across some shuvosaurid fossils at the Hayden Quarry,” Smith said.

Why shuvosaurids and dinosaurs evolved bipedal lifestyles is a biological mystery, but it could have offered several evolutionary advantages, he said, including faster locomotion and a higher line of sight for seeing prey or predators. It also likely freed up forelimbs for other activities such as grasping prey, he added.

Although L. expectatus fossils were found in what is now the New Mexican desert, the area was a very different habitat 212 million years ago. “It would have been a broad, low floodplain that would have seen a lot of seasonal fluctuation in rainfall, and also experienced shifts in plant communities and resources,” Smith said. “We also know that the region was marked by intermittent large-scale wildfires from fossil charcoal evidence.”

What L. expectatus ate is, however, a mystery. Some studies examining the skulls and jaws of other shuvosaurids suggest they consumed both plants and animals, Smith said. “[I]t’s worth noting that plenty of animals with toothless beaks are still carnivores,” he added. “Given the fact that these animals evolved from other terrestrial carnivores, I would wager that it was at least omnivorous if not solely carnivorous.”

L. expectatus could also have been prey. Long-snouted phytosaurs and the distant crocodile relative Vivaron, the largest predators of the time, may have eaten shuvosaurids, Smith said.

Banner image: Reconstruction of Labrujasuchus expectatus. Image © Jorge Gonzalez/NHMLAC Dinosaur Institute.

A group of geladas monkeys (Theropithecus gelada), pictured above, huddle to keep warm on a cold day in the Wilhelma Zoo in Stuttgart, Germany.

Endemic to Ethiopia’s cold Afroalpine and sub-Afroalpine grasslands, the species is the only primate, apart from humans, that primarily lives on land rather than trees. They spend most of their time grazing grass and have complex social systems focused around vocal communication, hugging, and grooming, especially between females.

“On this day … the chill in the air made ideal conditions for a gelada group hug that included some mutual grooming,” Julie Larsen, Mongabay’s photo editor, said of the moment she captured in 2014.

“As I looked down on their gathering, the monkey in the middle peered up at me, clearly benefitting from her fortunate position,” she added. “Then, the group closed over her, a single blanket of chocolate-colored shaggy fur against the elements.”

According to Dario Fraschetti, a scientific assistant at Wilhelma Zoo, animals with short hair, as in the photograph, are likely females. Males have distinctive long manes and a bright red mark on their chests. Of the 30-40 gelada monkeys that live at the zoo, the vast majority are females, which is similar to their social structure in the wild.

The zoo participates in a Europe-wide effort to keep a healthy captive-bred population of the species in partnership with EAZA Ex situ Programme (EEP).

Hugging between females in the wild has been observed to increase between unrelated mothers during the first months of their offspring’s life, which researchers said may be to “improve female cohesiveness against males, thus reducing the risk of infanticide, which is particularly high in geladas.”

The monkeys also display social behaviors that are rare among mammals such as consoling and protecting victims of conflict. And like humans, they also exhibit contagious yawning, which is thought to be linked to empathy.

The species is listed as least concern by the IUCN, the global conservation authority. Though the organization notes that the conservation status is partially due to an absence of detailed data on their geographic range and demographic trends.

Aerial population surveys in the 1970s estimated a population of approximately 440,000 geladas. But a recent synthesis looking at studies published between 2009 and 2024 put the current population estimate at just under 30,000; though, the authors noted that further studies are needed.

Research has also found that gelada monkeys have an interesting relationship with Ethiopian wolves (Canis simensis). Reminiscent of the friendship between humans and dogs, a 2015 study found that the two species don’t display aggression toward each other. Wolves were observed spending more than an hour roaming among the monkeys in peace while looking for rodents. Moreover, the study found that the wolves had more rodent-hunting success while in the company of Gelada monkeys.

Banner image: Gelada monkeys engage in a group hug in Wilhelma Zoo in Germany. Image © Julie Larsen.

NICOSIA, Cyprus (AP) — Natural gas could start flowing by 2033 out of two undersea deposits discovered by ExxonMobil off Cyprus, a senior executive with the company said Tuesday, helping to turn the east Mediterranean island nation into a new European energy hub.

The largest U.S. oil company and its consortium partner, QatarEnergy, consider the most likely option for getting the gas to market would be conveying it through a pipeline to existing processing facilities in Egypt where it can be liquefied for export, ExxonMobil’s Vice President of Global Exploration John Ardill said.

Other options including building onshore facilities in Cyprus or a floating one in waters over the deposits are considered too costly at this point.

“Everything you’ve seen between the government of Cyprus and the government of Egypt gives us a lot of confidence that there’s good government to government coordination, the agreements in place to leverage that eastern Mediterranean energy hub concept,” Ardill said.

He was speaking after ExxonMobil and QatarEnergy signed a deal with Cyprus declaring the two deposits commercially viable.

The deposits — dubbed Glaucus and Pegasus — are located in Block 10 of Cyprus’ exclusive economic zone (EEZ) and are estimated to hold together roughly 7 trillion cubic feet of gas.

Ardill said the consortium is looking to expand its presence off Cyprus, expressing interest in exploring an area, or block, on the southwestern corner of the EEZ that is adjacent to an area where it already holds drilling licenses.

The consortium will carry out additional drilling at the Pegasus deposit around the end of this year to collect more key data for its development, he added.

“So what we should tell ordinary people is we have been working very diligently together between government and investor to make these discoveries and we’re working very diligently to get the gas flowing for the people of Cyprus,” Ardill said.

Cyprus is trying to position itself as a new energy source for Europe and beyond following the initial discovery of natural gas off its southern shore in 2011.

Apart from ExxonMobil and QatarEnergy, two other consortiums hold exploration licenses in the Cypriot EEZ.

A consortium composed of Italy’s Eni and French TOTAL holds licenses for four blocks where two deposits hold an estimated 5.6 trillion cubic feet of gas combined, while a partnership between Chevron, Dutch Shell and Israeli NewMed is licensed for one bloc where the oldest discovery — Aphrodite — holds approximately 5.6 trillion cubic feet of gas.

Earlier this year, Eni’s Chief Operating Officer Guido Brusco said the company was close to making a final decision on developing the Cronos gas field that could deliver the hydrocarbon to European markets by late 2027 or early 2028.

Banner image: People on the beach take photos of the ‘Tungsten Explored’ drilling ship, in the southern coastal city of Larnaca, Cyprus, on Nov. 3, 2021. Image by Petros Karadjias via Associated Press