Category Archives: Wildlife

Rarest subspecies of wolf in North America sees population almost double in five years

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Environmentalists are hopeful about increase in numbers but say wolves are still in a precarious position

Once on the verge of extinction, the rarest subspecies of grey wolf in North America has seen its population nearly double over the last five years, with more gains being reported in 2020.

The results of the latest annual survey show there are at least 186 Mexican grey wolves in the wild in New Mexico and Arizona, US wildlife managers said on Friday. That marks the fifth straight year that the endangered species has increased its numbers, according to the US Fish and Wildlife Service.

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Chinese hotel with polar bear enclosure opens to outrage

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Harbin hotel keeping threatened species in pen overlooked by bedrooms angers animal welfare groups

A Chinese hotel built around a central polar bear enclosure for the non-stop viewing pleasure of its guests has opened to immediate condemnation from conservationists.

At Harbin Polar Land in north-east China, the hotel bedrooms’ windows face onto the bears’ pen, with visitors told the animals are their “neighbours 24 hours a day”.

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Hemiandrus jacinda: insect named after New Zealand prime minister

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New species of wētā, a giant flightless cricket, is seen as ‘reflecting traits’ of Jacinda Ardern

New Zealand’s prime minister, Jacinda Ardern, has received what may be her greatest accolade yet: a large insect named in her honour.

A new species of wētā – a giant flightless cricket that is endemic to New Zealand – has been named Hemiandrus jacinda for being Labour-party red in colour and “long-limbed”.

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‘Ecological island’: as Maasai herding lands shrink, so does space for Kenya’s elephants

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The collapse of ecotourism during the pandemic and moves to lease land to big farms threaten vital conservation corridors

Kenyan elephants risk a slow extinction in a bleak, ever-shrinking “ecological island” in one of the country’s most picturesque and photographed landscapes, according to a government report.

The animals face a grim future as habitat loss is exacerbated by the pandemic’s impact on tourism, which is pushing landowners to sell off areas for development, and a growing trend towards a sedentary lifestyle among the pastoralist Maasai people, says the new 10-year management plan.

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Rare albino turtle hatchling spotted in Australia faces battle to survive

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Monitors on Queensland’s Lady Elliot Island have only seen a handful of albino hatchlings but never an adult

Jessica Buckman is used to finding stragglers when she heads out to check recently hatched green turtle nests on Queensland’s Lady Elliot Island.

But the tiny pink creature she found in the neck of one nest on Monday was far from a usual find – a rare albino hatchling that was having a little trouble digging itself out.

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What is this ‘hot pigeon’? Is it even real?

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One of the main characters on Twitter today is the pink-necked green-pigeon, a photo of which went viral overnight. Yes, it’s real. Yes, it’s stunning

Steph, there is an incredibly beautiful pigeon all over my Twitter and it doesn’t look real. Is it real?

Lucy, yes, it is real and also extremely attractive. People are calling it “hot pigeon”.

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Can red wolves come back from the brink of extinction again?

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Once a US conservation success story, numbers in the wild have plummeted. Now a court has given hope for their survival

There are perhaps no more than 10 red wolves left in the wild, and they are all in just one place: North Carolina.

It is an astonishing statistic for a species once hailed as undergoing the most successful reintroduction programme in the US, providing the blueprint for Yellowstone national park’s much-lauded grey wolf rewilding project.

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Retailers join calls for ‘urgent’ action to restrict harmful tuna fishing methods

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‘Fish aggregating devices’ have been linked to depletion of yellowfin populations and increased bycatch in the Indian Ocean

Global condemnation is growing at the increasingly widespread use of harmful “fish aggregating devices” (FADs) in the fishing industry, as retailers including Sainsbury’s, Marks & Spencer and the German chain Edeka joined calls for restrictions.

A letter signed by more than 100 NGOs, retailers and artisanal fisheries urges this week’s meeting of the Indian Ocean Tuna Commission (IOTC) to consider proposals by Kenya and Sri Lanka to monitor, manage and restrict FADs. The signatories warn of an “urgent need” to improve management of FADs in order to reduce overfishing and rebuild populations of yellowfin tuna.

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Keep your head: the self-decapitating sea slugs that regrow their bodies – hearts and all

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The disembodied head of the sacoglossan sea slug feasts on algae while its old body decomposes, and a new one grows

If you can keep your head when all about you are losing theirs, then it’s unlikely that you are a sacoglossan sea slug (apologies to Rudyard Kipling).

Scientists in Japan have discovered that this species of sea slug can decapitate itself and then regrow an entirely new body, complete with a beating heart and other vital organs.

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One of world’s rarest toads bred in captivity for first time in Manchester

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Programme may help to ensure the survival of the critically endangered variable harlequin toad

One of the world’s rarest toads has been bred in captivity for the first time, thanks to the scientists at Manchester Museum.

The critically endangered variable harlequin toad, Atelopus varius, lives deep in the central American rainforests of Panama and Costa Rica, breeding only in turbulent streams filled with stones and boulders on which they lay their eggs.

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Toronto lockdown brings humans and raccoons together – neither’s happy

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Raccoon attacks on residents are up 62% as some people act ‘foolish’ but others are enjoying seeing their furry neighbours

Disrupted sleeping schedules, noisy neighbours and a world that looks unrecognizable: the coronavirus pandemic has been tough for Toronto’s raccoons.

And with a lockdown keeping human residents at home in Canada’s largest city, dangerous interactions with Toronto’s infamous urban critters are also increasing.

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Spanish farmers deeply split as ban on hunting wolves is extended

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The predators, protected in the south, are widely blamed for attacks on livestock but some think coexistence is possible

“There have always been wolves. We humans have hunted and killed all the animals around us because we want everything for ourselves,” says Laura Serrano Isla, who tends her flock of 650 sheep near Burgos in north-west Spain.

“We think we rule the world but if we kill all the rest of the animals, the wolf will come for our livestock.”

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Spate of firecracker attacks on Taiwan’s invasive iguanas sparks alarm

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Rights group calls for action after cash bounty schemes lead to reptiles being blown up and shot with a bow and arrow

A spate of cruelty towards invasive iguanas in Taiwan including stuffing firecrackers in the reptiles’ mouths or shooting them with bows and arrows has prompted animal rights groups to call for a government crackdown.

The Environment & Animal Society of Taiwan (East) said local and provincial government campaigns to encourage community involvement in controlling the spread of introduced species lacked guidelines, resulting in “a chaotic free-for-all at the expense of the welfare of the targeted animals”.

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‘A new world of discovery’: readers’ photos of their local wildlife

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We asked UK readers to send in photos of the natural world near them from the last few weeks

  • You can send in your recent wildlife photos here
  • You can see our previous selection of photos here

Living with the coronavirus pandemic has meant many people are having to stay closer to home, but one benefit is having more time to take notice of the natural world around us. From frogs in Cardiff to lichen in Brighton, UK readers have been sharing pictures and stories of their local flora and fauna.

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‘A cause for worry’: Mexico’s monarch butterflies drop by 26% in year

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Butterflies had bad year after four times as many trees were lost to illegal logging and extreme climate conditions

The number of monarch butterflies that reached their winter resting grounds in central Mexico decreased by about 26% this year, and four times as many trees were lost to illegal logging, drought and other causes, making 2020 a bad year for the butterflies.

The butterflies’ population covered only 2.1 hectares (5.2 acres) in 2020, compared to 2.8 hectares (6.9 acres) the previous year and about one-third of the 6.05 hectares (14.95 acres) detected in 2018, according to government figures.

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Male lyrebirds resort to artful deception in the pursuit of procreation

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Males use vocal trickery to fool females into thinking a threat is lurking, giving them time to sow their genetic seeds

Male lyrebirds in the throes of sexual union will mimic the sound of a distressed mob of other birds to fool their mate and stop her from escaping, new research from Australia has found.

The remarkable discovery was made after analysing audio and video of superb lyrebirds – a species known for extravagant dance routines and an ability to imitate the calls of more than 20 other species.

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Black-browed babbler found in Borneo 180 years after last sighting

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Exclusive: Stuffed specimen was only proof of bird’s existence until discovery in rainforest last year

In the 1840s, a mystery bird was caught on an expedition to the East Indies. Charles Lucien Bonaparte, the nephew of Napoleon, described it to science and named it the black-browed babbler (Malacocincla perspicillata).

The species was never seen in the wild again, and a stuffed specimen featuring a bright yellow glass eye was the only proof of its existence. But now the black-browed babbler has been rediscovered in the rainforests of Borneo.

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Australia’s dingo fence from space: satellite images reveal its effects on landscape

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Dingoes eat kangaroos and kangaroos eat grass. So on the side of the fence where dingoes are rare, there is less vegetation

As one of the longest structures in the world, the dingo fence is an Australian landmark. It stretches more than 5,600km across three states, including 150km that traverses the red sand dunes of the Strzelecki Desert.

Since it was established in the early 20th century, the fence has had one job: to keep dingoes out. The effect of this on the environment has been enormous – you can see it from outer space.

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