By John PlattJan 18, 2011 04:55 PM Are Tasmanian devils (Sarcophilus harrisii) doomed to extinction in the wild? The infectious cancer known as devil facial tumor disease (DFTD) has killed off as much as 90 percent of the world’s Tasmanian devils since it was first observed in 1996 (up from 70 percent when we last […]
By Johann HariMonday, Jan. 10, 2011, at 6:51 AM ET When Jonathan Watts was a child, he was warned: “If everyone in China jumps at exactly the same time, it will shake the earth off its axis and kill us all.” Three decades later, he stood in the gray sickly smog of Beijing, wheezing and […]
By Bagehot for The EconomistJan 13th 2011, 15:03 THERE is a lot of talk in the air, just now, about the madness of the European Union’s Common Fisheries Policy (CFP), and how its strict quota system forces British trawlermen to throw vast quantities of fish back into the sea, dead. Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall, a television chef […]
By John Platt Jan 13, 2011 11:15 AM Rhinoceros poaching in South Africa hit an all-time high in 2010, with 333 animals slain for their valuable horns. That’s nearly triple the 122 rhinos killed in the country in 2009. Most of the poached rhinos were southern white rhinoceri (Ceratotherium simum simum). The most prolific type […]
By The Tico TimesMonday, January 10, 2011 Thugs on Saturday allegedly chased a biologist through a crowded market in the Pacific port of Puntarenas after he attempted to film shark fins drying at a makeshift dock. Investigating Costa Rica’s profitable shark-fin trade appears to be an increasingly dangerous undertaking. For the second time in less […]
By Danny Vittore, Karl Smallwood Jan 06, 2011 Animals aren’t extremely ambitious. Sometimes, however, all they need is a little helpful prodding in the right direction to start conquering everything around them like warlords. As we first pointed out a couple of weeks ago, human stupidity is always there to give them a helping hand. […]
By John Platt Jan 6, 2011 11:20 AM Six Australian birds that have not been seen in decades have been declared extinct by a team of scientists assessing the health of the country’s bird species. In most cases they could have been saved, says team leader Stephen Garnett, professor of tropical knowledge at Charles Darwin […]
By Alok Jha, science correspondent, www.guardian.co.uk Monday 3 January 2011 20.02 GMT The abundance of four common species of bumblebee in the US has dropped by 96% in just the past few decades, according to the most comprehensive national census of the insects. Scientists said the alarming decline, which could have devastating implications for the […]
By Staff WritersDec 26, 2010 Hong Kong (AFP) Dec 26, 2010 – The US Senate’s move to toughen laws on shark finning is unlikely to have much impact in Hong Kong, dubbed the “Grand Central Station” of the controversial trade, environmentalists say. The new legislation passed last week is aimed at protecting the ancient fish […]
By Darryl Fears, Washington Post Staff WriterTuesday, December 21, 2010; 10:59 PM The killing season has begun. Hordes of bats recently flew into abandoned mines and caves across the region for their annual winter hibernation – and more than likely, wildlife biologists said, tens of thousands won’t fly back out. A flesh-eating fungus has stalked […]
