The global Living Planet Index, 1970-2020. The LPI is based on 34,836 monitored populations of 5,495 vertebrate species. The white line represents the index value, and the shaded areas represent the statistical uncertainty surrounding the value. Graphic: WWF / ZSL

Global biodiversity report shows “catastrophic decline” in wildlife populations – “In just my lifetime, 50 years, we’ve seen a decline of 73 percent in the average size of these wildlife populations”

By Molly McCrea 18 October 2024 (CBS News) – A shocking new report on global biodiversity is detailing what it calls “a catastrophic decline” in wildlife populations ahead of a major international conference on biodiversity. On Monday, 21 October 2024, the United Nations will convene a two-week conference in Cali, Colombia called COP16. On the agenda […]

Children from a Maasai community look at the remains of an elephant that died in the drought on community land near the outskirts of Amboseli National Park on 18 December 2022 in Amboseli, Kenya. Photo: Ed Ram / Getty Images Europe / AFP

Latest Horn of Africa climate outlook looks dry – “I have tried my best to save the plants using fertiliser and spraying pesticides, but they are now dying due to lack of rain”

By Jeff Otieno 28 December 2022 (The Africa Report) – The latest climate forecast showing that the greater horn of Africa will experience its fifth consecutive failed rainy season could not have come at a worse time for its drought-stricken residents who are now forced to brace for another bout of extreme hunger. 50-year-old Jeremiah […]

The carcass of an elephant that died during the drought is seen in the Shaba National Reserve, Isiolo county, Kenya, 22 September 2022. Photo: Baz Ratner / REUTERS

Reuters pictures of the year: Extreme weather in 2022

30 December 2022 (Reuters) – From historic droughts to floods, climate change worsened weather extremes in 2022. See more 2022 extreme weather and environment photos from Reuters here and here. Pictures of the year: Extreme weather in 2022

A dead elephant that was killed by Kenya Wildlife Service rangers after it killed a woman as it was looking for water and food amid the drought lies in Loolkuniyani, Samburu County in Kenya on Tuesday, 16 October 2022. Hundreds of animals have died in Kenyan wildlife preserves during East Africa’s worst drought in decades, according to a report released Friday, 4 November 2022. Photo: Brian Inganga / AP Photo

Hundreds of elephants, zebras die as Kenya weathers East Africa’s worst drought in decades

By Evelyne Musambi 4 November 2022 NAIROBI, Kenya (AP) – Hundreds of animals, including elephants and endangered Grevy’s zebras, have died in Kenyan wildlife preserves during East Africa’s worst drought in decades, according to a report released Friday. The Kenya Wildlife Service and other bodies counted the deaths of 205 elephants, 512 wildebeests, 381 common […]

Rescued elephant calves at the Reteti Elephant Sanctuary dust bathe to cool down during the heatwave in May 2022. Photo: Reteti Elephant Sanctuary / The Sunday Times

Elephants are attacking humans as climate change pushes them to the brink – Elephant calves orphaned by drought fill Kenya sanctuaries

By Robyn White 27 May 2022 (Newsweek) – Elephants are known for being gentle giants. But climate change is beginning to take its toll, with attacks on humans increasing as global temperatures rise. In India, 500 people are thought to be killed by elephants every year, mainly in crop-raiding incidents. In 2021, India Today reported that 3,310 […]

African elephants, Loxodonta africana, during a thunderstorm. Photo: Ronan Donovan / National Geographic

Both African elephant species are now endangered, one critically – “At this point, there can be no doubt that poaching and habitat loss have devastated populations of elephants all across Africa”

By Rachel Nuwer 25 March 2021 (National Geographic) – Elephants have long been thought of as either African or Asian. But there are actually two species of African elephant: The savanna elephant is larger, has curving tusks, and roams the open plains of sub-Saharan Africa. The smaller, darker forest elephant, with straight tusks, lives in the […]

An African elephant in Hwange National Park in Zimbabwe. Photo: Martin Bureau

Dozens of elephants starve to death in historic Zimbabwe drought – “The situation is dire. We are desperately waiting for the rains.”

21 October 2019 (AFP) – At least 55 elephants have died in a month in Zimbabwe due to a lack of food and water, its wildlife agency said Monday, as the country faces one of the worst droughts in its history. More than five million rural Zimbabweans — nearly a third of the population — […]

A mother elephant and her baby are attacked by villagers with fire in India. Photo: Biplab Hazra / The Independent

Image of the Day: Mother elephant and her calf attacked with firebombs as deforestation drives them into the paths of humans

26 April 2019 (The Science News Reporter) – Due to the deforestation across India, numerous elephants can be seen wandering in the villages and communities. [Sadly, this is very common, cf. Photo of baby elephant on fire after being attacked by mob wins international award – “The calf screams in confusion and fear as the […]

Due to humans, extinction risk for 1,700 animal species to increase by 2070 – “Losses in species populations can irreversibly hamper the functioning of ecosystems and human quality of life”

By Kendall Teare 4 March 2019 (Yale News) – As humans continue to expand our use of land across the planet, we leave other species little ground to stand on. By 2070, increased human land-use is expected to put 1,700 species of amphibians, birds, and mammals at greater extinction risk by shrinking their natural habitats, […]

China legalizes use of tiger bone and rhino horn for “traditional” medicine – “This is a devastating blow to our ongoing work to save species from cruel exploitation and extinction, and we implore the Chinese government to reconsider”

30 October 2018 (Mongabay) – China has legalized the “controlled” use of rhino horn and tiger bone for medical use and cultural purposes in the country, the government announced on 29 October 2018.Rhino horn and tiger bone for medical purposes can only be obtained from farmed rhinos and tigers, the announcement said, while powdered forms […]

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