By Nadia Prupis People are driving marine ecosystems to “unprecedented” mass extinction, according to a new study published Wednesday in the journal Science. Large-bodied animals will be the first to go, the study says—blue whales, great white sharks and bluefin tuna, for example. Their size is part of their vulnerability, making them more susceptible to […]
The U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service (USFWS), which has been managing a recovery operation for the critically endangered red wolf, will decide the fate of the species this month. Just 45 animals remain in and near the Alligator River National Wildlife Refuge in North Carolina. Red wolves, like this one at the Wolf Conservation Center […]
We’ve received some fantastic news over the weekend. The giant panda is no longer listed as endangered! Thanks to amazing conservation efforts and the commitment of the Chinese government, this iconic species has dropped down a level on the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species, from “Endangered” to “Vulnerable” following a remarkable growth of their […]
Grauer’s gorilla (Gorilla beringei graueri), a subspecies of eastern gorilla, the world’s largest ape, and confined to eastern Democratic Republic of Congo, has been listed as Critically Endangered on the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. The announcement was made at the IUCN World Conservation Congress currently underway in Hawaii. The IUCN Red List classifies […]
The population of endangered North Atlantic right whales is under threat due to entanglement in fishing gear and a resulting drop in birth rates, according to a study published by the journal Frontiers in Marine Science. Even though North Atlantic rightwhales numbers have modestly increased from 295 individuals in 1992 to 500 individuals in 2015, […]
Results of a multiyear survey effort released Wednesday reveal that Africa’s savannah elephants are far worse off than anticipated. A survey called the “Great Elephant Census” estimates that only around 352,271 elephants remain—down from previous estimates of 419,000 to 650,000 elephants in 2013. The report’s authors estimate they recorded 93 percent of all savannah elephants […]
By Chelsea Matthews As Conflict Palm Oil companies move into priceless rainforests like Sumatra’s Leuser Ecosystem, they are leaving a trail of destruction behind. Chocolate the orangutan is one of the few lucky survivors of this destruction and his is a story of hope. Racing Extinction, Rainforest Action Network and Wildlife Asia have put together […]
By Todd Woody Mark Harris banks the Cessna 182 over the blue expanse of Humboldt Bay and flies toward the redwood-studded hills beyond, to the now-quiet battlefields of the California timber wars. It’s a flashback moment. Twenty-one years ago, Harris, then a ponytailed young attorney, took me, then a long-haired young reporter, up in Thumper, […]
By Tim Radford Scientists have recruited the elephant seal—the bruiser of the pinniped world—to explore and report back on the dynamics of ocean currents in the Antarctic winter. Elephant seal carrying satellite-linked sensor in Prydz Bay, Antarctica.University of Tasmania And the mammals have delivered a potentially ominous message: because fresh water is melting from the […]