The US Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) has agreed to update critical habitat protections for manatees after legal pressure from environmental groups, as the animals continue to die in record numbers. More than 1,000 manatees died in Florida last year, wiping out more than 10% of the state’s population, the deadliest year on record. The … Read more
Every spring for the past 30 years, conservationists at the Tuzly Lagoons national park on the Black Sea in Ukraine have been digging shallow channels from the coastal lagoons down to the shoreline, linking the bodies of water together. The rivulets, which used to occur naturally until industrial agriculture plugged the small rivers that fed … Read more
Almost half the planet’s land surface needs extra conservation protection if the biodiversity crisis is to be halted, a major new study has found. At least 64.7 million sq km (25 million sq miles) needs “conservation attention” but overlaps with areas where 1.8 billion people live – about a quarter of the world population – … Read more
News stories about change in the countryside often make their point by presenting stark totals – 28,000km of hedgerow lost in the six years from 1979, followed by even more (42,000km) lost between 1984 and 1990, for instance. These and other significant statistics for countryside change over the last half century resulted from the work … Read more
The Pacific island state of Niue has announced that it will protect 100% of the ocean in its exclusive economic zone (EEZ), which spans 317,500 sq km (122,000 sq miles), roughly the area of Vietnam. The water that surrounds one of the world largest raised coral atolls is the only place where the katuali is … Read more
More than 40 Australian animals at the highest risk of extinction in the next two decades could be saved – and it would only take a small amount of extra conservation effort to achieve this, according to new research. A team of Australian scientists has identified the 63 vertebrates they believe are most likely to … Read more
Thet is twilight in Las Horquetas valley in Patagonia’s northern Aysén region. Several cars have pulled over beneath sandy cliffs on a wide paved road. Just meters away, three deer graze unperturbed in the glow of the car lights. The Patagonian huemul (Hippocamelus bisulcus), or South Andean deer, is the most endangered hoofed animal in … Read more
National parks and other protected areas have had mixed success in conserving wildlife, according to the largest ever global study of their effects. Using wetland bird data from 1,506 protected areas around the world, scientists analyzed the trends of more than 27,000 populations, and found that increased provision for the birds had not necessarily helped. … Read more
More commonly known as New Zealand, Aotearoa is home to more than 1.4 million cats. That means forty percent of families there have at least one feline. The Guardian reports the country boasts one of the highest cat ownership rates in the world. As for the feral cat population, they number in the millions. And … Read more
Animal cruelty is abhorrent, and we welcome actions that unambiguously increase animal welfare. However, campaigns that conflate the cruelty of elephant rides and dolphin attractions with the conservation dividends supported by sustainable hunting (Letters, April 1) risk decreasing animal welfare and imperilling biodiversity. We are concerned that pressure from well-meaning campaigners to enact the current … Read more