Category Archives: Wildlife

When Lambs Become Lions review – on the trail of Kenya’s elephant killers

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This coolly even-handed documentary dips into the lives of an ivory poacher and a stressed-out wildlife ranger trying to obstruct the illegal trade

Jon Kasbe’s documentary When Lambs Become Lions has been much praised on the festival circuit, and it is cleverly and effectively made, seeking to grip you the way a thriller would. Yet I’m not sure that I was completely on board with this film, which appears to have smoothly carpentered its narrative in the edit. Is it almost too good to be true?

The film gives us a coolly even-handed study of some ivory hunters in Kenya – and also the rangers, the hunters of the hunters, who have to roam through the landscape, in their camouflage gear and assault rifles, on the lookout for those who are illegally killing elephants for their tusks.

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Counting the cost of Australia’s summer of dread

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Australia’s catastrophic bushfire season has taken 33 lives, destroyed thousands of homes, shrouded cities in smoke and devastated the country’s unique wildlife. Guardian Australia surveys the damage

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Alarm over collapse of chinstrap penguin numbers

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Global heating suspected to be behind sharp decline in populations across Antarctic islands

Colonies of chinstrap penguins have fallen by more than half across islands in Antarctica, prompting scientific concern that “something is broken” in the world’s wildest ecosystem.

After more than a month counting chicks in the South Shetland Islands, researchers suspect global heating is behind the sharp fall in numbers of the distinctive birds, which get their name from a black line that runs below the beak from cheek to cheek.

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Endangered mountain gorillas ‘killed by lightning’ in Uganda

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The four were members of a group known as the Hirwa family that had crossed into Mgahinga national park from Rwanda

Four endangered mountain gorillas, including three adult females, have been killed by an apparent lightning strike in a Ugandan national park, a conservation group has said.

A post-mortem examination has been performed on the four, including a male infant, who died on 3 February in Mgahinga National Park in south-west Uganda.

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Fear in Mexico as twin deaths expose threat to monarch butterflies and their defenders

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The deaths of two butterfly conservationists have drawn focus to a troubling tangle of disputes, resentments and violence

The annual migration of monarch butterflies from the US and Canada is one of the most resplendent sights in the natural world – a rippling orange-and-black wave containing millions of butterflies fluttering instinctively southward to escape the winter cold.

The spectacle when they reach their destination in central Mexico is perhaps even more astonishing. Patches of alpine forest turn from green to orange as the monarchs roost in the fir trees, the sheer weight of butterflies causing branches to sag to the point of snapping. Tens of thousands of the insects bounce haphazardly overhead, searching replenishment from nearby plants.

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Bumblebees’ decline points to mass extinction – study

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Populations disappearing in areas where temperatures are getting hotter, scientists say

Bumblebees are in drastic decline across Europe and North America owing to hotter and more frequent extremes in temperatures, scientists say.

A study suggests the likelihood of a bumblebee population surviving in any given place has declined by 30% in the course of a single human generation. The researchers say the rates of decline appear to be “consistent with a mass extinction”.

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‘No tigers here’: why Goa is in denial about its big cat population

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Officials claim there are no tigers in Goa. But the poisoning of a mother and three cubs has forced the issue into the open

As a child living in the Vagheri hills at the foot of the Western Ghats, Rajendra Kerkar would often hear the majestic roar of tigers echo across the mountains. It was never greeted with fear by the villagers in this remote corner of northern Goa; the name Vagheri translates as “home of the tigers” and coexistence with India’s national animal was part of their way of life.

Yet according to state authorities, these tigers do not exist; or if they do, they are just passing through. Unlike other states in India, where the presence of tigers has been celebrated, embraced and in many cases exploited for tourism, Goa’s tigers have instead been subjected to a strange charade, whereby their existence has repeatedly been denied or covered up by those in government.

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Koala ‘massacre’: scores of animals found dead or injured after plantation logging

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Victorian environment minister ‘appalled’ by allegations and her department is investigating

Investigators at the scene of a “koala massacre” at a cleared gum tree plantation in Victoria say the number of animals killed is likely to rise above 40 as they make their way through 10 kilometres of felled timber.

A major incident response has been set up at the site, on private land near Cape Bridgewater, with koalas being treated by vets for starvation and broken bones.

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Galápagos experts find a tortoise related to Lonesome George

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Thirty tortoises partially descended from extinct species found, including one of same species as famed individual

Conservationists working around the largest volcano on the Galápagos Islands say they have found 30 giant tortoises partially descended from two extinct species, including that of the famed Lonesome George.

The Galápagos national park and Galápagos Conservancy said one young female had a direct line of descent from the Chelonoidis abingdonii species of Pinta island. The last of those tortoises was Lonesome George, who died in June 2012 and was believed to be more than 100 years old.

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Mexico: defender of monarch butterflies found dead two weeks after he vanished

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  • Homero Gómez González was found floating in a well
  • Activists say death could be over illegal logging disputes

A Mexican environmental activist who fought to protect the wintering grounds of the monarch butterfly has been found dead in the western state of Michoacán, two weeks after he disappeared.

Homero Gómez González, a former logger who managed El Rosario butterfly reserve, vanished on 13 January. His body was found floating in a well on Wednesday, reportedly showing signs of torture.

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Prince Harry loses Mail on Sunday complaint over sedated wildlife photos

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Harry told Ipso that article implied he misled public about pictures of a rhino, elephant and lion

The Duke of Sussex has lost a complaint against the Mail on Sunday over a claim by the newspaper that dramatic wildlife pictures he took in Africa did not highlight the fact the animals were sedated and tethered.

Prince Harry complained to press standards regulator the Independent Press Standards Organisation (Ipso) that the newspaper had breached a clause of the editors’ code of practice relating to accuracy over its article about photographs he took of a rhino, elephant and a lion.

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Court to probe Carrie Symonds’ influence on PM after cancellation of badger cull

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Boris Johnson’s partner and animal rights activist was briefed by Badger Trust weeks before the policy was changed

The influence exerted on the prime minister by his partner, Carrie Symonds, will be explored in court after permission was granted last week for a judicial review into how the government came to pull a cull on badgers in Derbyshire.

The case could embarrass Boris Johnson and raise questions about the government’s willingness to listen to its advisers when formulating policy.

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Frozen iguanas fall from trees in Florida as temperatures plummet – video

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Iguanas are falling from trees in south Florida as unusually low temperatures sweep through the region. The invasive species can become sluggish when the temperature drops below 50F (10C) and are susceptible to freezing once temperatures drop to around 40F (4.5C). Once frozen, these cold-blooded creatures lose their grip on the trees they call home. Residents have expressed shock at the sight of rigid reptiles lying motionless in the middle of sidewalks and backyards. But while they appear lifeless, they are simply too cold to move

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Out cold: unseasonal temperatures litter south Florida with stunned iguanas

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The weather forecast warned it would be raining reptiles and Floridians recorded encounters with lizards feeling the chill

It truly was the night (and day) of the iguana.

After the National Weather Service (NWS) sent an unusual alert to south Florida residents on Tuesday night warning them of possible “falling iguanas” in light of unseasonably low temperatures, residents were indeed treated to a show of rigid reptiles out of the sky (or, actually, the trees).

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New Zealand has been a life-raft for unique species – now they must adapt or die | Erica Wilkinson

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Our nation has been in a biodiversity crisis for more than 100 years, but the climate crisis could push our at-risk animals to the brink

As world leaders debate how to curb emissions to shape a better tomorrow, for New Zealand’s iconic wildlife the reality is clear – the environment they once thrived in has rapidly changed and species must adapt to survive.

New Zealand is home to species found nowhere else in the world – a flightless parrot, a reptile as old as the dinosaurs, a bat that uses folded wings as “limbs” to scramble around on the forest floor. The unique wildlife thrived on a landmass that was essentially a life-raft separated from predators such as rats and stoats for 80m years.

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Frozen iguanas forecast to shower south Florida as temperatures drop

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National Weather Service warned of reptiles falling from trees as iguanas are susceptible to freezing once temperatures fall to 40F

The National Weather Service (NWS) took the unusual step on Tuesday of warning that frozen iguanas are expected to shower south Florida as temperatures drop to unusually low levels for the region overnight.

Iguanas, as it turns out, are susceptible to freezing once temperatures drop to around 40F (4.44C). When frozen, these cold-blooded creatures lose their grip on the cozy trees they call home and slip. But the experts informed the public to be aware that the chilled reptiles may be stiff and appear lifeless – but they are not dead.

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Will Australia’s wildlife recover from this bushfire season?

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Images of burned koalas and native animals fleeing the fire front have been beamed around the world. There are estimates that 1 billion animals have been impacted and experts fear that some plants and animals have been pushed to extinction. So how bad is the damage? And will Australia’s wildlife bounce back?

You can read Graham Readfearn’s articles on the impact of the fires on Kangaroo island wildlife, plus the mass fish kills in the wake of the fires.

Environment editor Adam Morton has written about the latest figures from the government on threatened species, and environment reporter Lisa Cox has written about the world heritage areas burned, plus a guide to the animals most at risk.

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Tanzania to relocate 36 Serengeti lions after attacks on humans and cattle

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The lions, which live on the edge of the national park, will be moved to avoid conflicts with people and livestock

Tanzania will find a new home for 36 lions following a slew of attacks by the big cats on people and cattle.

The lions, an increasingly endangered species, live on the edge of the safari mecca of the Serengeti national park, but have been affected by encroaching human activity.

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Hundreds of thousands of fish dead in NSW as bushfire ash washed into river

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Ecologist fears the Macleay River may take decades to recover, with heavy rains likely to affect other waterways

Hundreds of thousands of native fish are estimated to have died in northern New South Wales after rains washed ash and sludge from bushfires into the Macleay River.

Parts of the Macleay River – favoured by recreational fishers – have been turned into what locals described as “runny cake mix” that stank of rotting vegetation and dead fish.

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Huge ‘hot blob’ in Pacific Ocean killed nearly a million seabirds

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  • Thousands of bodies washed up on North America’s Pacific coast
  • Study finds common murres probably died of starvation

A million seabirds died in less than a year as a result of a giant “blob” of hot ocean, according to new research.

A study released by the University of Washington found the birds, called common murres, probably died of starvation between the summer of 2015 and the spring of 2016.

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