Nearly 60% of all seabird species have plastic in their guts, according to new research findings published in the journal PNAS. The research, which utilized a number of published studies dating back to the early 60s, found a broad trend of rapid increase in seabird exposure to plastic pollution — in 1960 plastic was found
Tanzania has lost two-thirds of its elephant population in just the last 4 years, as a result of growing demand for ivory and the increasing professionalism of poachers, according to recent reports. Elephant numbers in the African country stood at around 316,000 individuals in 1976 (based on aerial surveys); 13,084 in 2013; and 8200 in
The larger Pacific striped octopus was first observed scientifically back in the 1970s, but owing to the fact that the behaviors observed by researchers seemed so strange the scientific community refused to publish any papers (only a single abstract) on the species. These earlier observations have been vindicated by new research though — with the
If waves of cheap rhino horns 3D-printed with real rhino DNA are flooded onto the Asian markets, is this a form of rhino conservation or capitalistic exploitation? This critical question is gnawing at the root of a controversial business venture to use real rhino DNA in the commercial production of 3D-printed rhino horns. In a
The oceans are huge carbon sinks for the world. Fish and whales comprise only a tiny part of their overall biomass. Nevertheless, studies have shown that fishing and whaling by humans have altered the ocean’s carbon storage and sequestration capabilities by causing a change in the food chain, or a trophic cascade. As naturalist and
Originally published on EdenKeeper.org As endangered sea turtles are returning home to the gorgeous Osa Peninsula of Costa Rica, a new initiative to support conservation efforts is in full bloom at the Blue Osa Yoga Retreat. Expanding its vision as an enlightened eco-resort, Blue Osa has recently joined in to protect and conserve
Originally published on InspiredEconomist.com The world’s oceans are vast, floating dumps for plastic pollution. Without a serious plan for cleaning up the world’s oceans, this situation is dire and becoming worse every day. With a goal of retrieving and recycling 400,000 flip flops a year from the coast of Kenya, one small start-up in Nairobi
Declaring that the sixth mass extinction has arrived, Stanford biologist Paul Ehrlich confirms that species are disappearing off the face of Earth faster now than at any time since the mass extinction of dinosaurs. Calling for “fast action to conserve threatened species, populations and habitat before the window of opportunity closes,” Ehrlich and his team
Some of the first research to investigate the feeding habits of Australia’s Irukandji box jellyfish (Carukia barnesi) has, interestingly, found that the jellies actively hunt fish — by utilizing twitching in their extended tentacles to move their nematocyst clusters (the parts that stings people/animals) and using them as lures, according to the research. Considering that
The rise of industrial civilization over the last few hundred years has been accompanied by the extinction of a truly vast number of different animals (as well as plant, fungi, etc) species. While going over all such extinctions would be an impossible thing to do in a single article, it’s probably worth highlighting some of
With the population of the critically endangered black rhino only around 5,000, why did the U. S. Fish & Wildlife Service (US FWS) recently issue sport-hunting permits to kill two black rhinos in Namibia? The permits, which cost hundreds of thousands of dollars each, will allow two wealthy American sport hunters to import their black
An entire family or Amur Siberian tigers was recently captured on film via a camera trap set up by the Wildlife Conservation Society’s Russia Program — in partnership with the Sikhote-Alin Biosphere Reserve and Udegeiskaya Legenda National Park. The images mark the first time that an adult male, an adult female, and cubs (in this
The use of animals in experimental research in the US has surged over recent years, according to a new analysis based on previously unpublished data collected by the US National Institutes of Health (NIH). The new analysis makes the trend pretty clear — the use of animals in laboratory research rose by 73% between the
An ‘extinct’ animal known as the Jerdon’s babbler (Chrysomma altirostre) has been found to not actually be extinct after all, after being ‘rediscovered’ by researchers working in Myanmar. I guess this means that even if you’re declared extinct, that perhaps you’re not necessarily actually extinct…. Well if you’re lucky anyways… And being a small, easy
World Wildlife Day not only offers a good opportunity to celebrate beautiful and varied forms of wild fauna and flora. The day helps raise awareness of conservation and its many benefits to people as well. It also reminds us to step up the urgent fight against wildlife crime, with its wide-ranging environmental, economic, and social impacts. On December
Two new species of peacock spiders — which have been dubbed “Skeletorus” and”Sparklemuffin” — have been discovered (and scientifically described) in Australia, according to recent reports. The two new species of peacock spider were discovered in southeast Queensland by a graduate student at UC Berkeley by the name of Madeline Girard — with help from
A large Vietnamese ship containing two tons of drying shark fins or more was sunk by the Indonesian government. The ship had been illegally collecting a tremendous number of sharks to get their fins. Finning sharks is a disgusting, and very destructive practice that kills millions of sharks every year just to get their fins,
The Costa Rican coral snake has finally given up some the secrets behind the lethality of its venom, — after more than a decade of research — thanks to new work from an international group of scientists. Until this work, the mechanisms behind the lethality of the venom of reclusive coral snake species Micrurus mipartitus
A request to stop the approval of a Dow herbicide called “Enlist Duo” has been filed by a coalition of environmental groups and farmers. This action is called a motion to stay in legal jargon. The coalition felt it was necessary to challenge the EPA’s October 2014 decision to approve the new herbicide. It is
Did an 11 pound (lbs) bull frog really get caught in Louisiana? Do frogs in that area even get that big? Is the viral image purporting to show the 11 pound frog real, or a trick? All of these questions and more will be answered in this article — though you may not necessarily like
An enormous swarm of over 300 quite large manatees all decided to bear down together a few days ago on the Three Sisters Springs in Crystal River, Florida, forcing the closure of the springs to the public. The manatee swarm isn’t particularly unusual as manatees are known to spend significant amounts of time near springs
Some images of what appears to be a very large dead snake hanging on a electric fence have been making their way around the net lately. Given the profusion of utter crap, lies, and just plain nonsense, on the internet it can sometimes be hard to tell exactly what’s real and what’s not. And this
Is there a deadly type of snake known as a “snow snake” killing people in Michigan, Ohio, and Pennsylvania? Is there even such a thing as a snow snake? Can someone actually read the viral clipping below without laughing? I have a hard time believing that someone could actually believe this, but, there you go,
Mercury levels in Hawaiian Yellowfin Tuna have been rising fairly rapidly over the last few decades, according to new research from the University of Michigan and the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution. The work — which was done by compiling and re-analyzing three previously published reports on yellowfin tuna caught near Hawaii — found that, in
A significant proportion — 20-25% — of all well-known marine species are headed rapidly towards extinction, new research from the University of Sheffield’s Department of Animal and Plant Sciences has found. The new work — which made use of the most comprehensive conservation data available for both marine and non-marine organisms — demonstrates that marine
University of Alberta Researchers identified remains of a dinosaur estimated to have been 50 feet in length, with about half of that in just the neck. A skull, vertebrae and tail were found by farmers near Qijiang city, China about nine years ago. (The farmers were digging for a fish pond.) The researchers carefully studied
You remember the spectacular rock climb at Half Dome a few weeks ago? In a more remote part of California’s Yosemite National Park, a motion-sensitive camera placed by Forest Service wildlife biologists has twice recorded another unusual phenomenon. A rare Sierra Nevada red fox (Vulpes vulpes nectar) was sighted in the back country near Sonora Pass on
One of the most endangered primates, and the most endangered chimpanzee subspecies in the world — the Nigeria-Cameroon Chimpanzee (Pan troglodytes ellioti) — is likely to see its numbers plummet over the coming years, according to new research published in BMC Evolutionary Biology. As it stands currently, there are around ~6,000 individuals of this subspecies
Another day, another batch of fascinating videos taken by camera-trap in the Bili Forest of the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Rather than forest elephants this time, or leopards eating/destroying cameras, we’ve got a variety of different animals to show — from giant forest hogs, to agile mangbeys, to olive baboons, to crested guinea fowl,
Have you ever wondered what it would be like to be eaten by a leopard? Wondered if it might just be a lot like getting attacked by a giant domestic cat? Well, if you have (and I’m not saying necessarily that you have…) then the video below would seem to confirm your suspicions — being
Some wonderful footage of wild forest elephants living in the remote Bili Forest of the Democratic Republic of the Congo recently came to my attention. They’re really quite interesting, I definitely recommend that you give them a watch. These videos are coming to us via the Lukuru Foundation. The foundation’s YouTube page features similar footage
If you were to find an incredibly rare and quite striking looking butterfly, what would be your first reaction? What would you do? Appreciate the experience perhaps? Wonder about the turns of fate that led you there? Committed the experience to memory? Or… kill it, preserve it, and put it on display in a museum
More than 28,000 endangered lemurs (across a variety of different species) are currently illegally kept as pets in the only country that they exist in, Madagascar, according to a recent study. Even important public figures, and also those who are supposed to enforce the ban, were apparently found by the study to keep them as
A startup out of San Francisco, based around the ‘custom’ manipulation of DNA, is apparently aiming to take its current business to the predictable next-step of allowing customers to create ‘custom’ animals, plants, etc, according to recent reports. Said company — Austen Heinz’s Cambrian Genomics — currently creates custom DNA for “major” pharmaceutical companies, universities,
I recently came across an interesting folk story about man-eating snakes, or “dragons”, in a remote village in Borneo, recounted in an interesting article that I was sent. The story is such an interesting one that I’ve decided to post it below in its entirety — with some comments on it following. Here it is.
The killer whales — or Orcas as they are often known — that live off of the Iberian peninsula (Gulf of Cadiz, the Strait of Gibraltar and the Alboran Sea) are increasingly isolated and in a precarious position, according to researchers from Spain and Portugal. The killer whale populations in the region can now have
Originally Published on the ECOreport Legal Challenge to Idaho’s Wildlife-killing Contest is a podcast with Amy Atwood, Endangered Species Legal Director, Senior Attorney, The Center of Biological Diversity. The Bureau of Land Management has just issued a five year permit, so that Salmon, Idaho, can hold its’ wildlife killing contest on public land. Five hundred hunters,
A Review of “Salmon Confidential Documentary” Originally Published on the ECOreport What is killing BC’s wild salmon? Anyone simply looking for proof salmon farms are infecting wild salmon will find enough five minutes into Twyla Roscovich’s documentary “Salmon Confidential Documentary.” The evidence is laid so convincingly that one is tempted to turn the video off.
Fred the cockatoo — the infamous sulphur-crested cockatoo currently living at the Bonorong Wildlife Sanctuary — has just turned 100! Well, turned “at least 100” anyways, as the that number is a very conservative estimate. He could actually be considerably older than 100, going by what is currently known. The cockatoo’s birthday was actually recognized
European and American salamander species could very well cease to exist thanks to an emerging disease spread by the international wildlife trade if there’s nothing done to stop it, according to new research from the University of Maryland. The new disease — caused by a fungus brought to Europe from Southeast Asia — is already
A very readable, thought-provoking, and balanced look at Halloween biotech, Frankenstein’s Cat emerged from extensive research and interviews with scientists, conservationists, ethicists, and entrepreneurs by science journalist Emily Anthes. Animal prosthetics, cloning, and animal-machine hybrids comprise most of the stories, with forays into cryogenics and endangered species protection through biotechnology. Genetics, electronics, and computing come alive here in
Today’s World Animal Day, celebrated across the globe since a 1931 convention of ecologists in Florence, Italy, conceived of it as a way to highlight the plight of endangered species. They chose October 4 because it’s the Catholic Feast Day of St. Francis of Assisi, the patron saint of animals. Since then, people have used the
The respective top predators of the land and ocean environments of 210 million year ago — phytosaurs and rauisuchids — apparently hunt and fought with each other, according to new research from the University of Tennessee and Virginia Tech’s Department of Geosciences. The new finding is the result of researchers recently finding the tooth of
Reptiles can learn through imitation, new research from the UK and Hungary has shown. The new findings represent the first strong scientific evidence that reptiles show signs of social learning. Now you may be thinking “well why wouldn’t they be able to?”, but previously the assumption made by many in the scientific community had been
Dolphins are magnetosensitive — that is to say, they have an awareness of magnetic fields — according to new research from the Ethos unit of the Université de Rennes in France. The finding follows on the heels of much recent research greatly widening the number of animals known to be able to sense magnetic fields.
Paleontologists in southern Patagonia, Argentina, have discovered fossils of a new long-necked, long-tailed dinosaur the size of 12 elephants. Bigger than a Boeing 737. At 65 tons, it’s now the largest terrestrial animal with a body mass that can be accurately determined from the fossil record. Ken J. Lacovara, from the Department of Biodiversity, Earth
You saw the viral video last week of a huge fish gulping down a four-foot shark off the coast of Bonita Springs, Florida, right? Turns out that incident is a fairly common one. (If you missed the vid the first time around, here it is.) And here’s a similar scene from 2009, uploaded by dwhtyo,
Seventeen critically endangered juvenile Siamese crocodiles were just released into an area of protected wetland in Lao PDR by the Wildlife Conservation Society, according to recent reports. The relatively small (20-39 inches) 1-2 year old crocs were raised in protected facilities managed by local communities working with the WCS. The aim of the project being
