Wildlife

Reported

A New Program Cleaning Up Crab Traps Is a Start – But Is It Enough?

Abandoned traps catch roughly 3.3 million crabs each year, on top of decimating seagrasses, coral and endangered whales.

Climate•4 min read

Reported

Colorado Plans To Reintroduce Wolves but Is It Enough To Protect Them?

Ranchers are paid up to $15,000 per dead cow, and the state is authorized to kill wolves if wild prey numbers dip below a set threshold.

Climate•6 min read

Reported

7 Wildlife Species at Risk From the Willow Project

Scientists warn the Willow Project not only damages the atmosphere but also threatens vulnerable wildlife — here are 7 examples.

Climate•8 min read

Analysis

Want to Sequester Carbon? Save Wild Animals

Gray wolves, elephants, wildebeests and sea otters are a few of the species that can help sequester carbon and mitigate global warming.

Climate•5 min read

Reported

The Way We Eat Is Killing Manatees

Experts warn the Florida manatee is at risk of mass starvation as farm pollution continues to wipe out their primary food source.

Climate•5 min read

Analysis

Wildlife Wins From Biden’s Bipartisan Infrastructure Act

A bounty of much-needed new federal funds will help reconnect habit for freshwater and terrestrial animals.

Climate•8 min read

Reported

How Climate Change Killed Thousands of Migratory Birds

Researchers call this effect "weather whiplash" but say sanctuaries and sustainable land strategies could help.

Climate•2 min read

Reported

How Animals May Have Conquered Snowball Earth

We know there were animals during Earth’s chilliest era. The question is, what did they look like?

Climate•5 min read

Reported

How Much Has the COP15 Biodiversity Conference Achieved for Wildlife?

At COP15, world governments are at a crossroads.

Climate•6 min read

Explainer

Cattle Ranching Is Actually Terrible for Biodiversity

Over 1.5 million cattle graze on public lands to the detriment of biodiversity — wiping out native wildlife and destabilizing ecosystems.

Climate•12 min read

Reported

Grouse Hunting Persists Despite Record of Damage to Wildlife and Environment

Grouse hunting kills hundreds of thousands of animals each year in the U.K. and releases 260,000 tons of carbon.

Climate•5 min read

Explainer

In Captivity, Dolphins Live Shorter, Less Natural Lives

In the wild, dolphins spend their lives surrounded by other dolphins. But in captivity, life looks very different, and their health often suffers as a result.

Climate•8 min read

In Central America, Local Communities Help Parrot Species Avoid Extinction

The illicit trade in wild birds, particularly scarlet macaws and yellow-naped parrots, has put many native species at risk of extinction.

Climate•5 min read

Perspective

Sixth Great Extinction Isn’t Getting the Attention It Deserves

The climate and biodiversity crises are equally important and entirely interconnected. But experts say the media isn't giving biodiversity the attention it deserves.

Climate•6 min read

Perspective

How Drones Could Help Us Coexist With Wildlife

Human-wildlife conflict is on the rise. Drones offer us a kinder future for wildlife management, one that protects both people and animals.

Climate•5 min read

Explainer

What Is a Food Web? A Simple Definition (With Examples)

All of life is interconnected, and a food web is one way to show how important each plant, animal, fungus, and bacteria is to habitats around the world.

Climate•10 min read

Perspective

The Future of Beavers Depends on Learning Lessons From the Past

For years, Scottish farmers saw the native beaver population as a menace. They learned it’s much easier to work with nature’s problem solvers than against them.

Climate•7 min read

Analysis

Aquatic Animal Welfare Is Important Part of Fight for Sustainability

New report released by the Aquatic Life Institute underscores the importance of aquatic animal welfare in achieving global sustainable development goals.

Climate•2 min read

Analysis

Scientists Call for Solving Climate and Biodiversity Crises Together

A new report highlights the importance of confronting climate change and biodiversity loss together. Solutions that take both issues into account have the best chance of success.

Climate•6 min read

Reported

In China, Traditional Remedies for COVID-19 Are Fueling the Wildlife Trade

The sale of wildlife for human consumption was made illegal in most of China following the outbreak of COVID-19, but thanks to loopholes in the legislation, the wildlife trade is…

Climate•9 min read

Reported

Australian Officials Use Bushfire Recovery Effort to Cover Up Mass Killing of Wild Horses

Environmental officials in Australia are manipulating population data and using COVID-19 scare campaigns to eradicate the Heritage Brumby population. Can they be stopped?

Climate•8 min read

Reported

Coronavirus Pandemic Threatening Last of the Great Apes

COVID-19 did not originate in humans, nor is it infecting just our species. The virus further jeopardizes great apes while continuing to wreak havoc in our own societies.

Climate•7 min read

Perspective

Why Is Palm Oil Such a Problem Now?

Palm oil has revolutionized the way we produce a variety of foods and cosmetics. But most people are unaware of how destructive this "magical ingredient" is to the natural environment.

Climate•10 min read

Reported

When Natural Disaster Strikes, Wildlife Pays A Heavy Price

The Australia bushfires killed an estimated 1.25 billion wild animals. Emergency-preparedness plans still often ignore the needs of wildlife populations during and after natural disasters.

Climate•5 min read

Perspective

Australia’s Landscapes of Fear

Peter Hylands reports from Australia, where the killing of kangaroos is commonplace and the population estimates and hunting permits just don't seem to match.

Climate•6 min read

Perspective

Traditional Conservation Science is a Pathological Disorder: Just Stop Killing Animals

Under the false pretense of conservation, wildlife departments routinely disregard the need to protect all animal life by permitting hunters to kill any animal they define as “pests.”

Climate•4 min read

Reported

Who’s Protecting Africa’s Wildlife?

Africa receives 200 times more development aid than it does for its protected wildlife populations. Maintaining healthy ecosystems for animals also protects the watershed and promotes carbon storage too. All…

Climate•2 min read

Reported

Can Animals Adapt to Climate Change?

It's getting so hot out that Africa could lose up to 50% of its bird and mammal populations by the end of the century. Species loss in the Americas could…

Climate•5 min read

Perspective

Read This Book: Poached

Wildlife Alliance/Flickr Journalist Rachel Love Nuwer reports from the front lines of the cruel trade of the world’s most exotic creatures in Poached: Inside the Dark World of Wildlife Trafficking…

Climate•1 min read

Perspective

Read This Book: The Ravenmaster

Tell me about the last raven you saw. How close did you get? How much did you really see? In The Ravenmaster: My Life with the Ravens in the Tower…

Climate•1 min read

Reported

When Wildlife Conservation Kills

6,000 wild buffalo, horses, donkeys, and pigs were culled from Kakadu National Park, Australia in 24 days—in the name of wildlife conversation. They're not the only ones trying to protect…

Climate•1 min read

Reported

Smart Trash Cans, Smarter Raccoons

First, Toronto residents were afraid raccoon-proofing trash cans would starve out the raccoons. True, only 24 raccoon-related complaints came from nearly half a million new, locking trash cans. But that…

Climate•1 min read

Reported

How Much of the Planet Do Animals Need to Survive

One-third of the oceans and land need to be protected by 2030 to avoid an extinction crisis. Barely 15% of land and less than 4% of the oceans are protected…

Climate•1 min read

Perspective

Read This Book: The Truth About Animals

Let’s talk about sloths. Lucy Cooke founded the Sloth Appreciation Society with one thought in mind: Being fast is overrated. Her book The Truth About Animals: Stoned Sloths, Lovelorn Hippos,…

Climate•1 min read

Reported

Puffins Don’t Have Enough Food to Eat

If seawater temperatures in Iceland increase by just one degree, which it has since the last cold cycle between 1965-1995, the ability of each species to survive the winter changes,…

Climate•1 min read

Perspective

Read This Book: American Wolf by Nate Blakeslee

During Wyoming's first legal wolf hunting season in 50 years, it cost just $12 to tag a wolf. Today, the wolf roams wild and (not-so) free in Nate Blakeslee’s American…

Climate•1 min read

Perspective

Read This Book: Buzz by Thor Hanson

Many of us are afraid of bees, but they help to shape our natural world.

Climate•1 min read