First, the good news. Collaborative conservation efforts have brought “renewed hope” for mountain gorillas and two large whale species, according to today’s update from the International Union for Conservation of Nature’s (IUCN) Red List of Threatened Species. The mountain gorilla subspecies moved from “critically endangered” to “endangered” due to anti-poaching patrols and veterinary interventions. In […]
By Jason Bittel The striped hyena gets a bad rap. Not only does much of the world mistake it for its cousin, the spotted hyena—which The Lion King taught us to despise—but its shaggy coat, skittish nature and nocturnal lifestyle have all contributed to the idea that this creature is spooky at best. And at […]
It’s been a big year for conservation. Together we assured the world that the U.S. is still an ally in the fight against climate change through the We Are Still In movement, a coalition of more than 2,500 American leaders outside of the federal government who are still committed to meeting climate goals. WWF‘s activists […]
By Jason Bittel Scientists have discovered a new orangutan species in the mountainous forests of northern Sumatra. Of course, the Tapanuli orangutan has been here for quite a while—but it’s new to us! “Discovering a new species of great ape in this day and age just shows how little we know about the world around […]
By William H. Funk Proposed funding cuts to environmental programs in President Trump’s proposed 2018 budget have drawn anxious attention from around the world. But while the biggest numbers deal with rolling back the Obama administration’s climate change initiatives, more subtle withdrawals of federal support from lesser known international programs threaten the continued existence of […]
By Rina Herzl Picture an animal enrobed in a fiery, jigsaw-patterned coat. A creature of such majestic height that it towers amongst the trees. As your eyes make their way up its long neck that appears to defy gravity, you find crowned atop its head two Seussian, horn-like protrusions framing dark, curious eyes fanned by […]
An 18-foot long whale shark washed up dead on Pamban South Beach in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu on Tuesday. “The cause of death is found to be heavy internal injuries it has suffered when it either hit a rock or a big vessel,” local wildlife ranger S Sathish told the Times of India. […]
By Jonathan Hahn On President Trump’s first Earth Day in the White House, he declared on Twitter that “we celebrate our beautiful forests, lakes and lands”—an amiable if blasé arm-punch to the planet from the leader of the free world. Until a few hours later that is, when the president resorted to his usual right […]
By Clara Chaisson What on Earth have you photographed? This open-ended question, asked annually by the BigPicture Natural World Photography Competition, invites predictably diverse submissions: A leopard prowling around Mumbai’s Aarey Milk Colony, a Chilean volcano’s violent eruption, and the surprisingly peaceful relationship between a blackfish and a venomous Portuguese man o’ war, just to […]