More than 40 round-leaf pomaderris discovered by environmental community group inside the area earmarked for fire break in July
A mere 150 round-leaf pomaderris were thought left in the world in 2021 and now a planned firebreak in Victoria could destroy dozens of the plants.
The critically endangered shrub, which bursts into cascades of creamy flowers, is known to exist in only a handful of locations in central Victoria’s hill country.
Continue reading...Conservationists hope that in 15 years species will no longer be at risk of extinction in Mexico – but challenges remain
In 2010, Gerardo Ceballos and a group of other researchers set out to answer a burning question: how many jaguars were there in Mexico? They knew there weren’t many. Hunting, loss of habitat, conflict with cattle ranchers and other issues had pushed the population to the brink of extinction.
Ceballos and his team from the National Alliance for Jaguar Conservation (ANCJ) thought there were maybe 1,000 jaguars across the country. They decided to carry out the country’s first census of the animal to find out exactly how many there were. They found 4,100.
Continue reading...Environment advocates have called for important migratory shorebird habitat off Tasmania to be declared ‘no-go site’
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The Albanese government has greenlit a contentious windfarm proposed for Robbins Island off north-western Tasmania, promising to impose conditions to protect threatened bird species, including the critically endangered orange-bellied parrot.
The environment minister, Murray Watt, announced on Friday that he had approved an application by the renewable energy company Acen Australia to build up to 100 turbines, a 1.2km bridge between the nearly 10,000-hectare island and the Tasmanian mainland, a 500-metre wharf and four quarries.
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Continue reading...Activists claim Anant Ambani’s Vantara facility has no plan to return its endangered species to the wild
India’s supreme court has ordered an investigation into a vast private zoo founded by the son of Asia’s richest person over allegations of illegal wildlife imports and financial misconduct.
Home to a reported 200 lions, 250 leopards and 900 crocodiles, Vantara in western Gujarat state describes itself as the “world’s biggest wild animal rescue centre”. It is run by Anant Ambani, a son of Mukesh Ambani, the billionaire head of the conglomerate Reliance Industries, and was one of the venues for his extravagant wedding celebrations last year, where celebrities were encouraged to wear “jungle fever” outfits.
Continue reading...Lion that once roamed northern Africa has been extinct in the wild since 1960s
Four Barbary lion cubs were born recently in a Czech zoo, a vital contribution for the small surviving population of a rare lion that is extinct in the wild.
The three females and one male were seen playing in their outdoor enclosure at Dvůr Králové safari park on Wednesday under the watchful eye of their parents, Khalila and Bart.
Continue reading...Government issued permit to shoot young female who entered Vilnius, despite only small number left in Baltic country
A young female bear caused a stir after wandering out of the forest and into the leafy suburbs of the Lithuanian capital.
For two days, the brown bear ambled through the neighbourhoods of Vilnius, trotted across highways and explored backyards – all while being chased by onlookers with smartphones and, eventually, drones.
Continue reading...Cutting off the animals’ horns more effective than traditional protection methods such as rangers and costs less, say experts
Cutting the horns off rhinos causes a large reduction in poaching, according to a new study, which raises questions about the effectiveness of expensive anti-poaching techniques used to protect the African mammals.
Poaching for horn is a significant threat to the world’s five rhino species. The substance, which is similar to human fingernails, is commonly used for traditional medicine in China, Vietnam and other Asian countries. Dealers in the hidden market will pay tens of thousands of dollars for the horns, which are falsely believed to be effective at treating fevers, pain and a low sex drive in traditional medicine.
Continue reading...Fire in black sheoak forest of East Gippsland would destroy the birds’ food supply, conservationist says
Glossy black cockatoos could be pushed towards extinction in Victoria if planned burns of 13,000 hectares of forest go ahead, ecologists and conservationists warn.
The Victorian government is being urged to abandon the burn, which is intended to reduce bushfire risk.
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Continue reading...Healesville sanctuary releases 21 critically endangered birds in hopes a new wild population will thrive
For the first time in 42 years, critically endangered helmeted honeyeaters have returned to Cardinia in south-east Victoria, where they were found until the Ash Wednesday bushfires in 1983.
Helmeted honeyeaters are charismatic, energetic and curious, according to Dr Kim Miller, the manager of threatened species at Healesville sanctuary.
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Continue reading...Guardian Australia is highlighting the plight of our endangered native species during an election campaign that is ignoring broken environment laws and rapidly declining ecosystems
Nearly 2m hectares of forests suitable for endangered koalas have been destroyed since the iconic species was declared a threatened species in 2011, according to analysis for Guardian Australia.
The scale of habitat destruction in Queensland and New South Wales – states in which the koala is formally recognised as being at risk of extinction – has continued despite political promises it would be protected.
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Continue reading...While the election is ignoring the issue of Australia’s extinction crisis, volunteers and community groups all around the country are doing their best to save our endangered species. We want to hear about them
Australia is in the midst of what experts say is an extinction crisis, but the decline of the country’s unique wildlife and the state of the environment has not been mentioned by the major parties this election campaign.
This week, Guardian Australia launched a new series, Last Chance, to put a spotlight on everyday people standing up for endangered species in their local environment.
Continue reading...Guardian Australia is highlighting the plight of our endangered native species during an election campaign that is ignoring broken environment laws and rapidly declining ecosystems
A rare “bum-breathing” turtle found in a single river system in Queensland has suffered one of its worst breeding seasons on record due to flooding last December. It has prompted volunteers to question how many more “bad years” the species can survive.
A freshwater species that breathes by absorbing oxygen through gill-like structures in its tail, the Mary River turtle is endemic to south-east Queensland. Its population has fallen by more than 80% since the 1960s and its conservation status was upgraded from endangered to critically endangered last year.
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Continue reading...Zoos Victoria wildlife detection dogs uncovered the ‘bloody gorgeous’ reptiles in return for treats and cuddles
Wildlife detection dogs successfully sniffed out 13 critically endangered earless dragons in previously unknown burrows in Melbourne’s west, after a training program launched by Zoos Victoria in 2023.
The Victorian grassland earless dragon – Australia’s most imperilled reptile – had not been seen for 50 years and was thought extinct before its remarkable rediscovery on privately owned grassland in 2023.
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Continue reading...More than half of Britain’s 59 native species are in long-term decline, UK Butterfly Monitoring Scheme finds
Last summer was the fifth worst in nearly half a century for butterflies in Britain, according to the biggest scientific survey of insect populations in the world.
For the first time since scientific recording began in 1976, more than half of Britain’s 59 native species are in long-term decline.
Continue reading...Nine-hectare site home to 57 species including rhino, zebras and ostriches in UK’s biggest such development
“Although we are trying to replicate Uganda and Kenya we are actually in Cheshire so the weather is slightly different,” admits Chester zoo boss, Jamie Christon, on a fresh and very grey Monday morning.
But ignore the chilliness and screw your eyes and you could well be transported to a sweeping African savannah where, one day, there will be giraffes, zebras, antelopes and ostriches roaming majestically side by side.
Continue reading...The Labor Environment Action Network says it won’t ‘sugar coat’ its reaction after working ‘so hard’ on obtaining commitment for EPA
Labor’s grassroots environment action network has told its members it does not support legislation that Anthony Albanese rushed through parliament this week to protect salmon farming in Tasmania, describing it as “frustrating and disappointing”.
In an email on Thursday, the Labor Environment Action Network (Lean) said it would not “sugar coat” its reaction to a bill that was introduced to end a formal government reconsideration of whether an expansion of fish farming in Macquarie Harbour, on the state’s west coast, in 2012 was properly approved.
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Continue reading...Critics say industry threatens the endangered Maugean skate and laws were rushed through with ’no proper process’
Controversial legislation to protect the Tasmanian salmon industry has passed parliament after the government guillotined debate to bring on a vote in the Senate on Wednesday night.
Government and Coalition senators voted in favour of the bill, which was designed to bring an end to a formal reconsideration by the environment minister, Tanya Plibersek, into whether an expansion of fish farming in Macquarie harbour in 2012 was properly approved.
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Continue reading...PM’s pledge to protect Tasmanian industry will weaken laws already failing to protect natural sites and at-risk species, environmentalists say
Former Greens leader Bob Brown has urged the minor party not to preference Labor ahead of the Liberal party in Tasmanian seats at the upcoming election if the Albanese government legislates to effectively exempt salmon farming from national environment laws.
Conservationists have sharply criticised Anthony Albanese’s pledge that he will rush through legislation next week to protect the salmon industry in Macquarie Harbour, on the state’s west coast, from the potential results of a long-running legal review.
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Continue reading...Deal will restrict fishing near colonies on Robben Island and Bird Island for 10 years, after long debate between industry and conservationists
Efforts to stop the critically endangered African penguin from going extinct took a step forward on Tuesday after South African conservationists and fishing industry groups reached a legal settlement on no-fishing zones around six of the penguins’ major breeding colonies.
Sardine and anchovy fishing will not be allowed for 12 miles (20km) around the penguin colony off Cape Town on Robben Island, where Nelson Mandela was imprisoned, and Bird Island, across the bay from Gqeberha, also known as Port Elizabeth. There will be more limited closures around four other colonies, according to a court order formalising the agreement.
Continue reading...Cuttings of tree captured by John Constable being planted on restored Devon floodplain
Captured by John Constable in one of his most celebrated paintings, the black poplar tree was once as common as oak and beech in Britain.
Now the rarest and most threatened native species in the country, the National Trust is creating a living gene bank of the black poplar to ensure Constable’s The Hay Wain does not become a tribute to an extinct breed.
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