By John R. Platt 8 January 2014 (Scientific American) – Physically and emotionally demanding. That’s how Philipp Henschel, Lion Program Survey Coordinator for the big-cat conservation organization Panthera, describes the six years he and other researchers spent combing the wilds of 17 nations looking for the elusive and rarely studied West African lion. The results […]
By Matt McGrath, Environment correspondent9 January 2014 (BBC News) – Three quarters of the world’s big carnivores – including lions, wolves and bears – are in decline, says a new study. A majority now occupy less than half their former ranges according to data published in the journal, Science. The loss of this habitat and […]
By Claire Salisbury 23 December 2013 (mongabay.com) – The majestic jaguar (Panthera onca), the largest of the New World cats, is found as far north as the southern states of the US, and as far south as northern Argentina. In the past jaguars ranged 1,500 kilometers (930 miles) further south, but their range has shrunk […]
By Robert Scribbler18 December 2013 (robertscribbler.wordpress.com) – During the terrible mass extinction event at the Permian-Triassic boundary about 250 million years ago nearly all life on Earth was snuffed out. The event, which geologists have dubbed “The Great Dying,” occurred during a period of rapid warming on the tail end of a long period of […]
30 December 2013 (mongabay.com) – Like every year, wildlife conservation had its ups and downs in 2013. Elephant and rhino poaching hit levels unseen since the 1970’s, but there were nascent signs of growing awareness in China on the impacts of wildlife trade, including official bans on the serving of wildlife products at official state […]
By JOHN FLESHER, AP Environmental Writer19 December 2013 TRAVERSE CITY, Michigan (AP) – For visitors to Isle Royale National Park, nothing beats the spine-tingling thrill of a wolf’s howl piercing an otherwise silent night — or a glimpse of the wily beast slipping across a forest path. But such experiences are becoming increasingly rare, and […]
By Laura Beans 6 December 2013 (EcoNews) – New data pointing to a dramatic rise in polar bear hunting surfaced this week as the biennial meeting of the international Polar Bear Agreement kicked off in Moscow, Russia. Clearly, climate change isn’t the only challenge facing Polar Bears. Hunting of Canadian polar bears is rising at […]
Contact: Mart Dixon (1-347-840-1242; mdixon@wcs.org) Stephen Sautner (1-718-220-3682; ssautner@wcs.org)3 December 2013 NEW YORK – A new study led by the Wildlife Conservation Society and Zoological Society or London warns that the world’s largest tropical desert, the Sahara, has suffered a catastrophic collapse of its wildlife populations. The study by more than 40 authors representing 28 […]
19 November 2013 (AFP) – Poachers slaughtered a rhino in one of Kenya’s best guarded wildlife parks, officials said Tuesday, in a brazen attack highlighting the risks gunmen are taking during a surge of killings. “Poachers infiltrated Lewa’s borders during the full moon on November 17 and killed Meluaya,” a 17-year-old black rhino suspected to […]
By Oliver Milman 16 October 2013 (theguardian.com) – Australian researchers have developed the “first rigorous framework” on how to relocate animals displaced due to climate change. The study, conducted by academics from four Australian universities and the Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO), devised a formula on how to decide whether to relocate a […]