In the last four decades, dugong (Dugong dugon) aggregations have been rarely reported from the geographically isolated, vast seascape of the Andaman Islands, India. The Indian Ocean tsunami of 2004, hunting, coastal development, and habitat loss are the major causes of this change in the social system of dugongs in …
Pipelines, roads, railways and transmission lines cause severe habitat fragmentation in the Amazon rainforest. A new study looked at canopy connectivity for large arboreal mammal populations using natural bridges above a new gas pipeline in Peru. In 7,102 canopy camera trap nights, the crossing rate of natural bridges in the …
Glyphosate is the most widely used herbicide worldwide. It is a broad spectrum herbicide and its agricultural uses increased considerably after the development of glyphosate-resistant genetically modified (GM) varieties. Since glyphosate was introduced in 1974, all regulatory assessments have established that glyphosate has low hazard potential to mammals, however, the …
The majority of the world's terrestrial large carnivores have undergone substantial range contractions and many of these species are currently threatened with extinction. However, there has been little effort to fully quantify the extent of large carnivore range contractions, which hinders our ability to understand the roles and relative drivers …
The strong focus on species extinctions, a critical aspect of the contemporary pulse of biological extinction, leads to a common misimpression that Earth’s biota is not immediately threatened, just slowly entering an episode of major biodiversity loss. This view overlooks the current trends of population declines and extinctions. Using a …
After quantifying the extent of habitat fragmentation faced by 4,000 mammal species, researchers found higher levels of fragmentation predict greater risk of extinction. As habitat fragmentation increases, so does extinction risk: study A new study published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS), set out to quantify …
RUMAH KINANGKUNG — Authorities were explaining the rules governing protected animals to residents of this North Sumatran village when a man appeared, carrying a small, scaly creature by the tail. It was a live pangolin, the world’s most trafficked mammal. The man had been catching them in the forest and …
The stability of Cape Town's climate on the southern tip of Africa has enabled it to become home to approximately 3000 species of plants, 361 species of birds and 83 species of mammals. The honour was bestowed by the leader of the UN's City and Biodiversity Outlook Project, Thomas Elmqvist, …
A new study reveals that the loss of larger animals in tropical forests diminishes the overall ecosystem biodiversity because of subtle interactions involving those animals and the evolutionary strategy of the forests’ plants. These findings highlight the need for conservation efforts aimed at protecting these important animals. Why losing big …
For the first time in two decades, cheetahs are wandering in Malawi as the African Parks has reintroduced four cheetahs to Liwonde National Park. According to the Park’s Facebook page, the four animals, two males and two females, arrived in Liwonde mid last week. The Park says the animals have …
Dengue is the most important arthropod-borne viral infection of humans, it is established in the tropics worldwide, and its geographical expansion is expected to increase due to factors such as modern dynamics of climate change, globalization, travel, trade, poverty, unplanned urbanization, and viral evolution. The World Health Organization (WHO) estimates …
Arusha — Chimpanzees may soon join elephants and rhinos as the most threatened wildlife species in Tanzania due to their fast falling populations, wildlife experts have said. The current population of the primates in the country vary, but it is estimated to be between 1,500 and 2,200 from tens of …
New research into what caused extinctions at the end of the last ice age has revealed the life-altering force of warming temperatures on Earth. Extinct mammoths and rhinos portend a grim future in a warming climate The new analysis shows that, while hunting caused problems for cold-dwelling rhinos and mammoths, …
In the Salish Sea, the endangered Southern Resident Killer Whale (SRKW) is a high trophic indicator of ecosystem health. Three major threats have been identified for this population: reduced prey availability, anthropogenic contaminants, and marine vessel disturbances. These perturbations can culminate in significant morbidity and mortality, usually associated with secondary …
Conservationists are celebrating the successful reintroduction of an iconic antelope species, the scimitar-horned oryx, to a portion of its historical range on the edge of the Sahara desert after 14 captive-bred animals were released in a remote region of Chad. Scimitar-horned oryx return to the Sahara nearly two decades after …
Cameroon has burned more than three tons of pangolin skins and scales seized from smugglers and destined for Asian countries. The central African state says by burning the skins of the world's most trafficked mammal and arresting smugglers, it is sending strong signals that Cameroon will no longer be a …
The International Fund for Animal Welfare (IFAW) said pangolins are the world's most illegally traded mammal and in danger of extinction. In a press release sent to The Ethiopian Herald Friday, IFAW campaigns officer Mark Hofberg said the World Pangolin Day on February 18 reminded us to do a lot …
Although it is widely accepted that future climatic change—if unabated—is likely to have major impacts on biodiversity, few studies have attempted to quantify the number of species whose populations have already been impacted by climate change. Using a systematic review of published literature, we identified mammals and birds for which …
Robust partnership between wildlife conservationists in Kenya and Tanzania has led to a dramatic slump in poaching of iconic mammals like elephants and rhinos, experts said Thursday. The experts and campaigners said this while attending the Kilimanjaro Landscape Cross-border Wildlife Security Forum, organized by Africa Wildlife Foundation (AWF) to discuss …
Kenya Wildlife Service with support from various partners will next week conduct the Tsavo-Mkomazi elephant aerial survey. The first three days of the census taking place between February12-24, 2017 will be dedicated to intensive training and induction of participants. The Elephant aerial census in Kenya has been carried out systematically …
The lemur has a grey body and a white underbelly, and its tiny hands and feet are lightly colored. It is separated from other species of dwarf lemurs both genetically, and geographically, the authors say. In the forests of northern Madagascar, scientists have discovered a new species of dwarf lemur. …
