Climate change now threatens thousands of species on Earth
In the last decade, report after report has warned that the Arctic is heating up faster than ever, cities are scorching, the Amazon is blazing, boreal forests are shrinking and…
Wildlife News
Without vultures, carcasses are slow to rot and disease-carrying flies abound
"Absolutely disgusting, so grim, the worst fieldwork of my life, but also extremely rewarding in a very odd way," said Julia Grootaers, describing her three months collecting data among rotting…
Wildlife crime crackdown in jeopardy worldwide after US funding cuts
In 2019, Malawi registered a massive win in the fight against the illegal wildlife trade. Intelligence-driven operations culminated in the arrest of more than a dozen members of the Chinese-led…
Study finds fast traffic noise is infuriating Galápagos warblers
When Leon Hohl and Alper Yelimlieş landed in the Galápagos in 2022 to volunteer in a decades-old nest survey project, they expected to look for Darwin finches and their babies.…
Crisis hits community-led conservation group in northern Kenya
GOTU, Kenya — Under the shade of an acacia tree in northern Kenya’s sweltering dry season, a group of elders have gathered to discuss community business in the town of…
Protection is only the beginning: Creating connection through Belize’s Maya Forest Corridor
“About a week ago we lost a jaguar in a car collision, just over here,” says Celso Poot, director of the nonprofit Belize Zoo and Tropical Education Center. He is…
Venomous snakes, freshwater fish among legally traded species most likely to become invasive in US
Although a superpower, the U.S. is under constant invasion — we’re not talking humans here but meek-looking plants and animals that have caused ecological havoc. Take, for instance, the tiny,…
Study unveils mystery of monkey yodeling — and why humans can’t compete
Deep in the rainforest, the monkeys are yodeling. Their wild calls echo across the foliage, sending signals of sex and survival. For decades, scientists have studied why they make these…
Radio tags help reveal the secret lives of tiger salamanders
Where are the salamanders hanging out? Answering that question has been Jake Kushner’s mission — especially in the face of a proposed project by an energy company that will lay…
In India, folklore is a tool that helps women save the greater adjutant stork
Come hear the hargila's speech With a cry of the heart's eyes Hear o hear me out Please do not chop down our trees Do not erase our forests How…
Sumatran tiger protection needs more patrols, tougher penalties, study finds
Authorities managing one of the last protected areas on Earth that still hosts Sumatran tigers must do more to deter poaching and promote alternative livelihoods for local communities, a new…
13 years after deadly attack, an okapi returns to Epulu in DRC reserve
In February 2025, rangers at Okapi Wildlife Reserve in the Democratic Republic of Congo, in partnership with the Okapi Conservation Project, successfully brought an okapi to Epulu, site of the…
New research sheds light on Canada lynx-snowshoe hare cycle, human impacts
Open any ecology textbook and you’ll find the Canada lynx, the snowshoe hare, and their wildly oscillating population cycles offered as a classic example of the intimate relationship between predator…
Even in intact Amazon forests, climate change affects bird populations: Study
Scientists have known for some time now that tropical birds are falling in number. In general, the cause has been attributed to forest degradation and fragmentation. But a 2020 study…
Cape vulture conservation offers hope, but challenges remain
Earlier this year, the vulture conservation organization Vulpro hailed the return of Cape vultures to a farm in South Africa’s Eastern Cape province, near Mountain Zebra National Park. That marked…
Indonesian pangolin trafficking prosecution reveals police involvement — and impunity
ASAHAN, Indonesia – On Nov. 11, 2024, Alfi Simatupang, a police officer in Asahan district on the Indonesian island of Sumatra, was arrested along with two soldiers and a civilian…
Traffickers slither through loopholes with wild-caught African snakes and lizards
JOHANNESBURG — South Africa is a hub for the international pet trade, with thousands of animals exported each year. Many of these are exotic birds and mammals like parrots and…
Cruise ships and intensified tourism in Mexico threaten whale shark habitat
In December 2020, during the COVID-19 pandemic, more than a dozen mega cruise ships were stationed in Bahía de La Paz, Baja California Sur, Mexico, due to the tourism shutdown.…
A rare jaguar rewilding story highlights obstacles to the big cat’s conservation in Brazil
In the space of six months, Xamã the jaguar had crisscrossed more than 14,000 hectares of the Amazon Rainforest, or about 35,000 acres — an area a tenth the size…
Our responsibility for cetacean conservation grows with proof of their intelligence (commentary)
The search for intelligent life is looking in the wrong direction. There are billions of stars in our galaxy, some of them older than our sun and with Earth-like planets…
Top 25 most threatened primates highlighted in new report urging action
Nearly two-thirds of all primates are in danger of disappearing, including 100 that have only been described by science in the last 25 years. To spotlight their plight, leading conservation…
Warming climate is already too hot to handle for 2% of amphibians, study shows
For about 2% of the world's amphibian species, it’s already getting too hot to survive in their natural habitats, according to a new study in Nature. If the planet keeps…
Trophies, body parts & live animals dominate global lion trade, data show
As apex predators, lions (Panthera leo) roam the African savanna, and occasionally even the rainforests, as the only social big cats. A small, isolated population of Asiatic lions (Panthera leo…
In Cameroon’s forgotten forests, gorillas and chimps hang on
At first glance, it’s easy to dismiss the ecological significance of Mbalmayo Forest Reserve in southern Cameroon, one of several degraded forest patches scattered across the country. Located on the…
Bangladesh cracks down on illegal wildlife captivity — but what happens after?
Last month, 48 animals — including endangered species like Asian black bears (Ursus thibetanus), greater adjutant storks (Leptoptilos dubius) and Bengal slow lorises (Nycticebus bengalensis) — were found to be…
Kumana, a historic national park in eastern Sri Lanka, emerges as leopard stronghold
COLOMBO — Located along Sri Lanka’s southeastern coast, Kumana National Park is renowned for its large waterbird colonies and its vital role in supporting diverse birdlife. However, the park is…
‘Puma detectives’ highlight wildlife where Brazil’s Cerrado meets the Atlantic Forest
Named after a river in the state of Goiás, Corumbá the puma was named after a river in the central Brazilian state of Goiás. Between 2022 and 2023, as much…
Winter warming and rain extreme events pose overlooked threat to Arctic life
It’s well established that the slow incremental “press” of rising temperatures is changing the Arctic landscape, threatening the survival of plants and animals adapted to this unique ecosystem. Less noted…
Tuna talks bring wins for Indian Ocean sharks, but more needed, experts say
SAINT-DENIS, La Réunion — The intergovernmental body that regulates tuna fisheries in the Indian Ocean agreed to a suite of shark conservation measures, including rules to curb shark finning and…
Poaching intensifies in M23-occupied areas of Virunga National Park
The intensifying security crisis in parts of the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) over the years is undermining wildlife protection in Virunga National Park, say officials and local residents.…
Reflections on 20 years of Mongabay News (commentary)
Founder's Commentary: An occasional series where Mongabay founder Rhett Ayers Butler shares analysis and perspectives. This month marks 20 years since I started the Mongabay news service. At the time,…
Whales and dolphins at risk as report reveals ecological decline in Gulf of California
Lorayne Meltzer has lived along the Gulf of California for 30 years. As an ecologist and director of a binational field station, she’s supported many scientists in their research into…
Special series
Forest Trackers
- Narco airstrips beset Indigenous communities in Peruvian Amazon
- 15 illegal narco-trafficking airstrips found near Peru Indigenous communities
- Satellite data show bursts of deforestation continue in Indonesian national park
- Fires rip through Indigenous territories in Brazilian Amazon
Oceans
- Southeast Asia’s fisheries thrive despite decades of overfishing warnings: Study
- Peruvian fishers sue for additional compensation after big December oil spill
- Smuggling networks exploit migrant debt to fuel tiger poaching in Malaysia, study shows
- Community-based conservation cuts thresher shark fishing by 91% in Indonesia: Study
Amazon Conservation
- ‘World’s largest’ carbon credit deal in the Amazon faces bumpy road ahead
- New conservation model calls for protecting Amazon for its archaeological riches
- Brazil dredges Amazon rivers to ease drought isolation, raising environmental concerns
- ‘We need white men on our side to save the Amazon from destruction,’ 92-year-old Indigenous Chief Raoni says
Land rights and extractives
- ‘Colombia’s Amazon peoples provide solutions’: Interview with José Homero Mutumbajoy
- Should mining companies consider no-go zones where isolated Indigenous peoples live? (Commentary)
- Brazil sets a date to remove illegal miners from Munduruku land, more details await
- Peruvian logger loses FSC label after latest clash with isolated Mashco Piro
Endangered Environmentalists
- Environmental & rights activists flee and hide as M23 captures DRC’s cities
- Environmental journalist in Cambodia shot and killed by suspected logger
- Vietnam sentences yet another energy expert over renewables research
- Mother Nature Cambodia activists sentenced to prison — again
Indonesia's Forest Guardians
- On a Borneo mountainside, Indigenous Dayak women hold fire and defend forest
- Fenced in by Sulawesi national park, Indigenous women make forestry breakout
- In Borneo, the ‘Power of Mama’ fight Indonesia’s wildfires with all-woman crew
- Pioneer agroforester Ermi, 73, rolls back the years in Indonesia’s Gorontalo
Conservation Effectiveness
- How effective is the EU’s marquee policy to reduce the illegal timber trade?
- How sharing and learning from failures can transform conservation (commentary)
- Is planting trees as good for the Earth as everyone says?
- Failure in conservation projects: Everyone experiences it, few record it
Southeast Asian infrastructure
- An ‘ocean grab’ for a property megaproject leaves Jakarta fishers grounded
- Study: Indonesia’s new capital city threatens stable proboscis monkey population
- Indonesia’s new capital ‘won’t sacrifice the environment’: Q&A with Nusantara’s Myrna Asnawati Safitri
- Small farmers in limbo as Cambodia wavers on Tonle Sap conservation rules
