Five elephants collared in Bornean wildlife sanctuary
Jul01

Five elephants collared in Bornean wildlife sanctuary

By Brandon Allen A small group of students and volunteers in Malaysia successfully collared five Bornean elephants earlier this month in the Lower Kinabatagngan Wildlife Sanctuary.  This collaring mission was an effort led by Cardiff University PhD student Nurzhafarina Othman who is seeking to obtain data on the elephants that will support her research on the social behaviors of female Bornean elephants.  This recent collaring is of...

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Jaguars of Guatemala: elusive cats caught on film
Jun19

Jaguars of Guatemala: elusive cats caught on film

By Phyllis Sena The Wildlife Conservation Society captured a photograph of a male jaguar using a remote camera trap, a unique contraption that is activated by motion or heat that takes pictures of animals in the wild that are normally hard to locate because of their elusiveness. Since each jaguar has a unique pattern of spots, the WCS has integrated camera traps into their manual of methods in order to estimate jaguar population in...

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Meet the baby kipunji: first photo of little-known monkeys’ offspring
Jun12

Meet the baby kipunji: first photo of little-known monkeys’ offspring

By Brandon Allen A Kipunji (Rungwecebus kipunji) infant was just born in Tanzania this month, an important addition to the critically endangered monkey species. The Kipunji is the first new species of monkey to be discovered since 1923.  Originally scientists had assumed that this unique primate was a mangabey, an endangered population of Old World monkeys that live in African rainforests.  However, DNA tests revealed that the Kipunji...

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Beautiful leviathan: the leatherback sea turtle
May29

Beautiful leviathan: the leatherback sea turtle

By Phyllis Sena The gargantuan leatherback sea turtle (Dermochelys coriacea) is the largest of all sea turtles and according to the IUCN Red List, is also critically endangered with their population declining 90 percent in the past 20 years. This sea turtle got its name by having a soft, leathery textured carapace (top shell) instead of the common hard shell that other turtles have. This enormous species can weight up to 2,000 lbs....

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Beautiful Birds of Panama
May23

Beautiful Birds of Panama

By Hannah Lindstrom Panama has a total of 972 bird species, of which 20 are considered to be globally threatened. Since the 1940’s, Panama’s tree cover has been reduced by over 50% which is having an effect on the avifauna of the nation. Species in Panama range from Giant Harpy Eagles, Panama’s national bird, to small species of kingfishers, with many in between....

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Gummy grin: colobus monkey born at ZSL London Zoo
May09

Gummy grin: colobus monkey born at ZSL London Zoo

by Phyllis Sena The ZSL London Zoo welcomes baby Anvil, an Eastern Black and White Colobus monkey who is the new pride and joy of her mother, Sophia. Even though there is a stark contrast when it comes to appearance between mother and daughter, the jet-white newborn will eventually become black and white and better resemble her mother once she gets older. Anvil’s aunty Thumbelina is the only member of the family that is allowed to...

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Adorable baby sun bear
May08

Adorable baby sun bear

by Jemma Smith The Sun Bear (Helarctos malayanus) is the smallest member of the bear (Ursidae) family. A patch on their chest enables them to be individually identified by the size, color and pattern variations between individuals. Very little is known about the sun bear; however, they are believed to be found throughout Southeast Asia, from India to Borneo. Listed as vulnerable on the IUCN’s Red List and are believed to be extinct in...

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The howler in the forest
Apr26

The howler in the forest

By Phyllis Sena Nicknamed “Howlers”, Howler monkeys are famously known for their deafening calls that can be heard up to three miles (five kilometers) away in the jungles of Central and South America. A cacophony of loud cries can be heard during dusk and dawn in order to send a message to other monkeys that the territory is being occupied by their group. Howlers are also considered to be the loudest land mammal on Earth. Howlers are...

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Tiger Cub Caught on Camera
Apr22

Tiger Cub Caught on Camera

Written by Jemma Smith This image of a 4-5 month old tiger cub was recently captured on a remote camera in the India’s Bhadra Tiger Reserve. The Bhadra reserve was identified by the Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS) as one of 42 ‘source sites’ that are essential for the future of tigers.  These sites are found within 9 different countries and are home to 70% of the remaining tiger population; although only make up 6% of their range....

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Turtle Hatchling in Costa Rica
Apr18

Turtle Hatchling in Costa Rica

By Jordanna Dulaney A Olive Ridley sea turtle (Lepidochelys olivacea) hatchling. The Olive Ridley is named for its olive-colored heart-shaped shell, which changes from dark grey to olive as the turtle matures. Like other sea turtles, the Olive Ridley nests and hatch in tropical waters and then migrate to subtropical areas like the southeastern or eastern central Atlantic. Although it is considered the most abundant sea turtle in the...

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Rare Siamese Crocodile’s Hatchlings Released
Apr15

Rare Siamese Crocodile’s Hatchlings Released

By Jemma Smith The Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS) has recently released 19 baby Siamese crocodiles into a local wetland in Lao PDR.  The eggs of the crocodiles were discovered and collected during a wildlife survey back in 2011, hatched and reared at Lao Zoo as part of the Community-based Crocodile Recovery and Livelihood Improvement Project. The 19 month old hatchings were released near to where the eggs were found into a ‘soft...

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Caterpillars in Colombia
Apr13

Caterpillars in Colombia

by Hannah Lindstrom Caterpillars are the larval form of moths and butterflies. Since these creatures are so rich in protein, they tend to be a favored food source of many species. As a result, caterpillars have developed many a coping mechanism for this issue. Predators can easily be deterred by the appearance or size of a caterpillar. Bright colors, as seen in these pictures, usually makes an animal think poison, so they will tend to...

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Rescued Wooly Monkeys in Colombia
Apr08

Rescued Wooly Monkeys in Colombia

Written by Jordanna Dulaney The woolly monkey (Lagothrix lagotricha) is listed as “Vulnerable” on the IUCN’s Red List. In fact, studies predict that the species will decline at least 30% in the coming 45 years. The IUCN cites hunting, habitat loss due to the expansion of farming land, and pet trafficking. These pictures were taken at a rehabilitation center for animals in the pet trafficking trade in Amacayacu National Park, Colombia....

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Sea Turtles Released During Earth Hour
Apr05

Sea Turtles Released During Earth Hour

Written by Jemma Smith To commemorate this years Earth Hour and raise awareness of turtle conservation, the Chinese organization Sea Turtles 911 released two Green Sea Turtles (Chelonia mydas) back into the wild during this special hour. Earth Hour encourages businesses and households worldwide to switch off their lights for one hour between 8.30pm and 9.30pm on the 23rd of March. This is to raise awareness of climate change. This...

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The river-horse of the Okavango Delta
Apr03

The river-horse of the Okavango Delta

Written by Alexander Holmgren The word hippopotamus comes from ancient Greek meaning “river horse” and this sturdy animal is the third largest land dwelling mammal in the world. It spends half of its time submerged in large groups in bodies of water such as rivers or lakes taking mud baths to keep itself cool in the hot African day. At dusk, as the sun begins to fall, the hippopotamus will depart from the water to graze on...

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Master of Disguise: Oustalet’s Chameleon
Apr01

Master of Disguise: Oustalet’s Chameleon

These masters of disguise are endemic to Madagascar and can be found in a variety habitats ranging from urban to rural landscapes and moist to dry areas at various elevations.  Oustalet’s Chameleon (Furcifer oustaleti) are known as the words longest chameleon maturing to nearly 70cm in length. Due to this widespread range there are listed as Least Concern on the IUCN’s Red List. They mainly feed on insects which they catch with...

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Eats, shoots and leaves, an essay on giant pandas

Giant panda in Chengdu in South Western China. Photo by: Shubhobroto Ghosh. By: Shubhobroto Ghosh Please note : The opinions expressed in this article are those of the author and not representative of the viewpoints of any organization. “We have to remember that what we observe is not nature herself, but nature exposed to our method of questioning” – Werner Heisenberg, Nobel Prize winner in Physics (1932) in Physics...

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Update: interview on toxic pesticide used to kill wildlife (and endangering people) in Kenya

An interview in four parts with Paula Kahumbu, Executive Director of WildlifeDirect, provides detail and context on the use of the neurotoxic pesticide Furadan to kill lions and birds en masse in Kenya. Lions are down to around 2,000 individuals in Kenya. Kahumbu, recently awarded an Emerging Explorer by the National Geographic, and WildlifeDirect are working to pressure the government to estimate the environmental and human cost of...

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Toxic pesticide used to kill birds by the thousands (warning: video is graphic)

A new video from WildlifeDirect shows the brutal impacts of the neurotoxic pesticide Furadan being used intentionally to kill entire flocks of birds, which are later sold as meat. Ducks, pigeons, and storks are often targeted. The process is brutal. “Based on a survey I did in 2009, 6,000 birds were killed every month. Tens of thousands are killed every year. I’m very concerned and I think man is at risk too–that is...

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Activism: funds needed to replant forest for nearly-extinct loris

Note: as a news organization mongabay.com does not endorse the action below, but believes its readers may be interested in taking action or discussing the issue in comments. Horton Plains slender loris. Photo courtesy of EDGE. Researchers estimate that only 80 Horton Plains slender loris (Loris tardigradus nycticeboides) survive in the world. After believed to be extinct ZSL EDGE rediscovered the subspecies in a dwindling Sri Lanka...

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