The sixth mass extinction is here, and it’s speeding up. A new study, published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences Monday, found that 515 land animals are currently on the brink of extinction. That’s slightly less than the at least 543 species that disappeared last century. However, these extremely endangered species are […]
Some two billion years ago, a significant decline of once-abundant oxygen killed as much as 99 percent of all life on Earth in a mass extinction event larger than the one responsible for the dinosaur die-off. Publishing their work in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, a team of researchers describe the catalyst of […]
By Lorraine Chow Kokia drynarioides is a small but significant flowering tree endemic to Hawaii’s dry forests. Native Hawaiians used its large, scarlet flowers to make lei. Its sap was used as dye for ropes and nets. Its bark was used medicinally to treat thrush. But Kokia drynarioides — commonly known as Hawaii tree cotton, […]
With the consequences of human activities pushing Earth into a sixth mass extinction, a team of biologists have calculated that plant and animal species are being wiped out so quickly that evolution cannot keep up. Human activities—including pollution, deforestation, overpopulation, poaching, warming oceans and extreme weather events tied to climate change—are predicted to drive so […]
The largest bird that ever stalked Earth’s surface is officially the “Vorombe titan,” a previously unidentified species of elephant bird that once roamed the island of Madagascar. Literally meaning “big bird” in Malagasy and Greek, the giant creature could weigh more than 1,700 pounds and stood nearly 10 feet tall, a new study published Wednesday […]
The world’s last male northern white rhino has died, leaving only two females left to save the subspecies from extinction, the wildlife conservancy taking care of him announced Tuesday. The 45-year-old rhinoceros, named Sudan, was euthanized Monday at the Ol Pejeta Conservancy in Kenya. He was being treated for age-related complications that led to degenerative […]
By Tim Radford Think of it as the day a comet set the earth on fire. Researchers have evidence of widespread and devastating forest fires around half the world—a blaze to blot out the light of the sun—and all of it at a geological boundary called the Younger Dryas, 13,500 years ago. The evidence, they […]
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 […]
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