Within months of newly discovered species of snakes, geckos and turtles being described (along with their locations) by scientists, traders find and harvest the animals for sale on the Internet.
This article is a one year follow up to the award-winning series, The Great Insect Dying published in June, 2019 on Mongabay. The original series documents insect losses in Europe, the U.S. and the tropics — here’s what we know today.
Maned wolves, pumas, giant anteaters, tapirs and other Neotropical mammals are threatened with local extinctions unless more conserved areas are established in Brazil’s savanna biome, say scientists.
Last recorded in 1968, Megaelosia bocainensis, a frog known for its rounded snout and granular skin, was thought extinct until researchers tracked down its environmental DNA in Brazil’s São Paulo state.
In his 2006 book, The Reluctant Mr. Darwin, science writer David Quammen says, “Some people admire soldiers, or surgeons, or firemen, or astrophysicists, or medical missionaries, or cowboys. I admire…
A lapsed moratorium protecting the Amazon river dolphin is up for renewal, but the Bolsonaro administration has delayed acting, even as scientists warn it could mean the freshwater mammal’s extinction.
Extinct in its habitat for at least three decades, the Alagoas curassow (Pauxi mitu) is now back in the jungle and facing a test of survival, thanks to the joint efforts of more than a dozen institutions to pull this pheasant-like bird back from the brink.
The largest study of ocelots ever reveals insights into habitat preferences and use. Brazilian Amazon ocelots prefer thick canopy cover, avoid humans.
Ivory, pangolin scales, bear bile: Rachel Nuwer, author of the new book “Poached,” saw it all as she trekked from rainforests to posh restaurants on the trail of wildlife traffickers.
Biologist Joel Berger endures extreme conditions to study muskoxen and learn about the opportunities — and limits — of behavioral flexibility in a fast changing climate.
Both species of Amazon river dolphin declined by over 90 percent between 1994-2017 in an Amazonas state reserve, mostly due to hunting and fishing: study.
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.
Mongabay does its very best to be accurate in its reporting, but sometimes we need a little help from our friends.
With the Arctic winter of 2017-18 the warmest on record, researchers are finding a troubling range of climate change impacts on wildlife, including wolverines, reindeer, snowy owls, and more.
On this episode of the Mongabay Newscast, we welcome Mongabay contributing editor Glenn Scherer to the program. Glenn is responsible for Mongabay’s “Almost Famous Animals” series, which just wrapped up…
The beauty of the saiga belies first impressions. It may be hard to look beyond the big nose — a bulbous schnozz that looks like a chunk of an elephant’s…
If quizzed on what we know about Asia’s clouded leopard, most of us would be stumped. But ask an expert who works with these wild cats, and you’ll get an…
The Jeypore ground gecko (Geckoella jeyporensis) was first noted and described by a British colonel in 1877, but was not seen again for more than 130 years, and presumed extinct.…
Romer's tree frog is, in every respect, an animal that keeps out of the way. Start with its size: averaging just 1.5 to 2.5 centimeters (0.6 to 1 inches) in…
Happy New Year to all of our faithful listeners! On the first episode of 2017, we’re joined by Joel Berger, a professor at Colorado State University and a senior scientist…
Among best selling items this gift-giving season are Hatchimals, a Retro Pop-Up Hot Dog Toaster, and a Monogrammed Blackhead Remover. But what do you buy for a harried, underfunded, hard…
It’s a hummingbird… it’s a bumblebee… it’s Kitti’s hog-nosed bat. Yes, seriously, look at it: it’s a bat. A teensy, tiny, teeny, weeny bat. Kitti’s hog-nosed bat (Craseonycteris thonglongyai) is…
You know a bird has a PR problem when an ornithologist refers to it as “a prodigy of ugliness.” That was written in the 19th century, when the Greater Adjutant…
Humanity rarely seems to get very excited about conserving fish species, maybe because they are largely invisible to us land-dwelling creatures — except when they arrive on a dinner plate.…
Right up front, this is a story about unsung species — not those megafauna with the extraordinary symbolism of a snow leopard, a blue whale, or a rhino. These little-known,…
When I mentioned to some friends that I was writing a piece for Mongabay about langurs, their perplexed reactions were similar: “I thought you were an environmental journalist?” they said.…
Loud gibbon-like hoots, ending in a maniacal cackle, echo through the dense Indonesian forest. This flamboyant utterance isn’t produced by a primate; nor even a mammal. It is sounded by…
t has been said that the binturong is part bear, part cat, and has a monkey’s tail. Indeed, it does seem a bit like a composite animal, with parts gathered…
ack in 2010, scientists discovered a new primate species with a distinct and unusual aversion to rain. Tipped off by hunters’ stories, they found the Myanmar snub-nosed monkey (Rhinopithecus strykeri)…
he 7,100 islands of the Philippine Republic, scattered across the Pacific Ocean and South China Sea, teem with life. The entire nation is a recognized biodiversity hotspot — rated among…
