topic: Biodiversity

topic: Biodiversity

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A plan to save Bali’s lost fireflies
BALI — Indonesia. Wayan Wardika used to see “clouds of fireflies” as a child growing up among the rice fields of Bali, Indonesia. But 40 years later, he realized that the fireflies in his village had all but disappeared. Fireflies in Southeast Asia are vanishing due to habitat loss, light pollution, pesticide use, and climate […]
How new is the first ‘new-to-science’ cat discovered in more than 100 years?
Scientists have described a species of tiger cat that was previously unknown to science. From Bolivia’s Yungas cloud forests, it is the first discovery of a living novel cat species in more than 100 years. The tilcayo (Leopardus tilcayo) takes its species name from the name locals already had for it. Paola Nogales-Ascarrunz, a National […]
NGOs call on Vantara to end all wild animal imports permanently
- In a letter, 27 leading global wildlife conservation and animal welfare organizations have urged Vantara, a private zoo in India funded by Reliance Industries’ nonprofit, to permanently end all wild animal imports into its facilities.
- The letter comes after Vantara announced a self-imposed one-year moratorium, which runs through June 2027, on all animal imports to its facilities as it improves its “due diligence” by appointing a governing council and stricter oversight.
- The announcement came amid allegations of illegal wildlife trade linked to Vantara — and a CITES Secretariat investigation into its 60,000 live animal imports over the past two years.
- The coalition of NGOs call for Vantara to address compliance concerns of animals already under its care, be transparent about future acquisitions and prioritize conservation of wildlife in their native habitats.

Cheetah cubs at Prague Zoo are doing well after a period of strong storms and their mother’s illness
PRAGUE (AP) — Five cheetah cubs had to survive a weather scare and the illness of their mother after their birth at the Prague Zoo. But they are doing well now, the zoo said on Friday. The zoo said the quintuplets — four males and one female — that were born on June 18 had […]
Scientists clone Southern Africa’s wild fruit trees as forests disappear
- Researchers at gene banks scattered across Southern Africa have spent decades collecting and duplicating specimens of valuable wild fruit trees.
- Among the species cloned by researchers from the Landscape Alliance is the wild loquat — an evergreen tree that produces large quantities of highly sought-after berries that provide income and nourishment for millions of people.
- Alice Muchugi and her colleagues are skilled practitioners of “air layering,” which ingeniously spurs a branch to produce roots, hugely reducing the time needed to establish a new, mature, fruit-bearing tree.
- Planting and preserving prolific indigenous fruit trees protects both the biodiversity of miombo woodlands and an important alternative food source for communities who live in them.

Global coral reefs get less time to recover as oceans heat up, report finds
- The largest global coral reef assessment finds that average hard coral cover has declined 9.5% relative to a three-decade reference period spanning 1980-2009.
- A fourth global bleaching event in 2023-2025 drove a record 8.9% one-year loss, though its full effects are not captured in this analysis, which ends in 2024.
- Reefs can recover after bleaching events, but increasingly frequent marine heat waves are shortening their recovery window.
- Scientists say local management can strengthen reef resilience, but rapid greenhouse gas emission cuts remain essential to prevent further widespread losses.

Pakistan expands protected habitat for Indus River dolphin as recovery offers hope
- Pakistan has established the Punjnad Indus River Dolphin Sanctuary in Punjab, which connects with an existing reserve in Sindh to form a continuous 400-kilometer protected river corridor.
- A 2025 abundance study reveals the endangered Indus River dolphin metapopulation has rebounded to an estimated 1,987 individuals, marking a 19.4% increase between 2011 and 2017.
- Despite this encouraging recovery, nearly 99% of the population is confined to a 690-kilometer stretch of the river and remains highly vulnerable to fatal gillnet entanglements and habitat fragmentation from irrigation barrages.
- Wildlife officials and conservationists stress that long-term survival for the endemic bhulan, as it is locally known, will require cross-provincial coordination, ecological modifications to barrage operations and community-led sustainable fishing practices.

A new cat species was just discovered. Several more may follow
- The recent description of the tilcayo (Leopardus tilcayo) from Bolivia comes amid a broader reassessment of wild cat taxonomy, with genetic research suggesting that several additional species may be waiting to be recognized
- Brazilian biologist Tadeu Gomes de Oliveira says the number of recognized tiger-cat species could increase from three to six or even seven, while new research is also raising questions about the taxonomy of margays and other small cats.
- These distinctions can have direct conservation consequences: Oliveira estimates that no more than about 200 munoai pampas cats remain and argues that recognizing the population as a distinct species could help unlock targeted protection and funding.
- In September 2026, Panthera board chair Jon Ayers interviewed Oliveira about the changing taxonomy of small cats, emerging genetic research, threatened populations, and plans for a global monitoring program for small wild cats.

Anthrax suspected in 46 hippo deaths in Zambia amid potential spillover to humans
Zambia is investigating wildlife deaths and human exposure linked to an anthrax outbreak in the northern province of Muchinga, where several hippos have died since the outbreak was reported on Aug. 31. While other wildlife deaths have also been reported, hippos (Hippopotamus amphibius) are the species with the clearest laboratory evidence of anthrax, according to […]
Ugandans plant trees near national park to keep people out of gorillas’ habitat
BWINDI, Uganda (AP) — In the tangled greenery of a Ugandan national park, mountain gorillas sit among the leaves, calmly carrying on as tourists trek into their forest home. Many gorilla families are used to people, but while their population grows, the forest available to them does not. Communities have planted trees for medicine, firewood […]
Ebola, twins and women-led conservation: Reporting on gorillas for World Gorilla Day
Gorillas are among humans’ closest relatives, with a common ancestor dating back around 8 to 10 million years. Both species of gorilla alive today are on the edge of extinction: The eastern gorilla (Gorilla beringei) is listed as endangered on the IUCN Red List, while the western gorilla (Gorilla gorilla) is critically endangered. In its […]
New report reveals the environmental cost of USAID’s destruction
- The consultancy firm One Earth Partners has published an analysis of the environmental consequences of USAID’s closure.
- One Earth Partners was founded by Monica Bansal and Hadas Kushnir, two former senior employees at the U.S. international development agency.
- The report is based on interviews with 150 people in five countries who were familiar with USAID’s conservation and environmental work.
- It finds that a large number of projects in fragile ecosystems have stalled or collapsed, and is accompanied by a list of 100 that are looking for new funders.

‘Lost’ bird reappears in West Africa’s forests after more than a decade
- In June, a team of researchers working in Côte d’Ivoire’s Taï National Park spotted a Ghana cuckooshrike, a bird that hadn’t been seen in 13 years.
- The bird’s home range in West Africa’s Upper Guinean rainforest has been whittled away by logging and agriculture, leaving a patchwork of disconnected forests.
- The ‘rediscovery’ shows the value of conserving places like Taï, where mining and illegal hunting also pose threats.
- The finding relied on close collaboration with West African researchers, the experience and knowledge of the team, and the Ghana cuckooshrike’s listing by the Search for Lost Birds partnership.

Biodiversity credits shouldn’t copy the carbon market playbook (commentary)
- The biodiversity credit market should stop trying to copy the carbon market’s method of reducing everything to one tradable unit, a new op-ed argues.
- Instead, these credits should be measured by how continuously and independently a claim can be verified, since their benefit cannot be expressed as simply as carbon credits can.
- “A hectare of mangrove forest is not interchangeable with a hectare of grassland: pretending otherwise is closer to a category error than a measurement gap, and I suspect it is the real reason estimates of this market vary by a factor of 80,” the author writes.
- This article is a commentary. The views expressed are those of the author, not necessarily of Mongabay.

Floating weeds threaten farming and fishing at Malawi’s Chia Lagoon
A mass of floating weeds at Chia Lagoon, Malawi’s largest, is choking out waterways and livelihoods as farmers and fishers struggle to access fields and fishing areas. Seven months after the rainy season ended in Malawi, fields that once absorbed seasonal water at the lagoon are submerged, frustrating irrigated maize and rice production, according to […]
Agency says sea turtle eggs laid on California beaches are a first for the US West Coast
HUNTINGTON BEACH, Calif. (AP) — A reptile believed to be struggling in sand at a Southern California beach was simply making history: a sea turtle laying eggs on the U.S. West Coast. And three days later, there were more. An olive ridley turtle — maybe the same one — laid eggs on Sept. 19, a […]
New Galápagos Atlas charts the islands’ biodiversity and the mysteries that remain
A new atlas of biodiversity of the Galápagos Islands highlights the unique evolutionary and ecological diversity of life in the famed archipelago that helped Charles Darwin develop the theory of natural selection. The Galapagos Atlas, created by the Darwin Foundation, highlights 68 species and species groups in the island chain. These include the celebrities of […]
A ‘devil-like’ flower from Thailand is new to science — and critically endangered
Botanists in Thailand have identified a new-to-science species of “fairy lantern” — plants that live almost entirely buried under leaf litter, emerging aboveground only occasionally to flower. Researchers were surveying evergreen forests in the mountains of Thong Pha Phum National Park when they chanced upon a plant none of them had ever seen before, at […]
As fires spread in Indonesia, Bornean orangutans run out of forest to flee
- Fires are spreading across Bornean orangutan habitat in West Kalimantan, including Gunung Palung National Park and the Mendawak Biodiversity Corridor.
- Conservationists said losing forest in the national park would be devastating for its large orangutan population and long-running research program.
- More than 40 people, including field assistants, staff and local villagers, have been working around the clock to protect a research station from the fires.
- Geopix detected 17,865 fire hotspots in mapped orangutan habitat across Kalimantan between June 1 and Aug. 28, while conservationists warn that fires are shrinking the forest available for orangutans to escape.

Reptiles, gold and money: How Australia is cracking down on wildlife trafficking
- Australian authorities disrupted an alleged wildlife trafficking ring in Sydney, seizing 36 reptiles and about AU$300,000 (more than $215,000) in cash and gold bullion.
- The animals included 28 native Australian reptiles, including shingleback lizards, spiny-tailed skinks and lace monitors.
- This bust was the first major wildlife crime operation conducted by the National Environmental Protection Agency (National EPA), Australia’s new federal environmental regulator.
- The National EPA alleges native reptiles were supplied to foreign nationals for illegal export.

Cigarette butts make up 12% of aquatic litter, global review finds
Cigarette butts account for roughly 12% of the litter found in rivers, lakes and beaches surveyed for a recent global review. Researchers pooled data from 130 studies conducted in 55 countries between 2013 and 2024. Across all ecosystems, including both aquatic and terrestrial, researchers found on average a density of 1 cigarette butt every 4 […]
A rare slow loris may have a much larger population in China than scientists thought
- A recent study documented 98 northern pygmy slow lorises living in the wild in Guangxi, China, roughly doubling the country’s known population of the endangered species.
- The species was previously thought to live almost exclusively in Vietnam and Laos.
- The northern pygmy slow loris was only identified as a separate species in 2023; physically, it’s plumper, fuzzier, and has a flatter nose than the southern species.
- Like all lorises, northern pygmy lorises are threatened by habitat loss and hunting for the wildlife trade and for use in traditional medicine.

World Rhino Day: What does it take to save a species?
In honor of World Rhino Day, on Sept. 22, here’s a snapshot of Mongabay’s reporting from the past year on the actions being taken to save rhinos from extinction: Reintroduction in Uganda In 1983, the last wild northern white rhino (Ceratotherium simum cottoni) living in Uganda was killed for its horn. But now rhinos are back […]
Fat Bear Week opens for Alaska’s heavyweight crown. Can Chunk, the 1,200-pound champ, win again?
ANCHORAGE, Alaska (AP) — After a summer spent packing away sockeye salmon, Alaska’s heftiest brown bears are ready to throw their weight around. Online voting began Tuesday for Fat Bear Week, the annual contest that pits the rotund residents of Katmai National Park and Preserve against each other for the title of most oversized ursine. […]
Photographing Sri Lanka’s human-elephant conflict — Interview with Federico Borella
- For internationally acclaimed photographer Federico Borella, documenting Sri Lanka’s human-elephant conflict goes beyond the gory story often depicted globally and instead offers an opportunity to learn about a complex web of experiences and responses, and a window for coexistence.
- Borella has been documenting human-elephant conflict in Sri Lanka for four years and has found intense conflict intertwined with genuine affection for the animals, despite the scale of human suffering.
- As a professional documentary photographer, Borella insists his role is to document the reality as he encounters it and not to sit in judgement as to whose suffering matters more.
- He intends to convert his body of work into a book, then hold exhibitions and work with schools to bring the complex story directly to the affected communities and the next generation.

Tourism has the potential to reverse coral decline at Bali travel hotspot: Study
- A new study in Bali found that coral reefs continue to decline at one of the island’s major tourism hubs, despite multiple efforts to rehabilitate them.
- Reef restoration initiatives often take place without first addressing the underlying drivers of coral decline such as sediment runoff and wastewater discharge, the study found.
- The study points to uncoordinated governance systems that result in overlapping responsibilities, slow and bureaucratic decision-making and wasted resources as driving the problems.
- The researchers recommend a more coherent and collaborative approach to reef protection, and underscore the paradoxical role of tourism: While it exacerbates threats to reefs, it also offers a viable way of promoting, implementing and funding potential solutions.

For wild rivers like the Karnali, Nepal’s disaster is a warning and an answer (commentary)
- The recent disaster that sent a wall of water and debris roaring down rivers of the Tibetan Plateau serves as a warning for future hydropower development on Nepal’s rivers, especially the Karnali, the nation’s last undammed watershed.
- Two proposals have targeted the Karnali — which is home to Indigenous communities and provides habitat for endangered fish and reptiles — seeking to bore tunnels through its mountains, drain miles of riverbed, and turn whitewater into megawatts.
- “A free-flowing Karnali River is an insurance policy — ecological, cultural, and now, unmistakably, physical — against the very disaster that just killed hundreds of people and buried hundreds more alive in hydropower tunnels. Nepal does not need to dam its last wild river; it needs to save it,” a new op-ed argues.
- This article is a commentary. The views expressed are those of the authors, not necessarily of Mongabay.

How freediving helps Indonesia’s Bajau preserve traditions and conserve marine life
- The Bajau people of Indonesia, Malaysia and the Philippines have traditionally harvested the sea through freediving.
- A recent ban on compressor-assisted diving in Indonesia’s West Nusa Tenggara province has made traditional freediving skills more valuable than ever.
- On Sumbawa, one of the province’s largest islands, traditional fishers and a local NGO are working together to preserve Bajau diving techniques and to manage local marine and fisheries resources in harmony with traditional management practices.

Sperm whales blow bubbles to stay afloat while resting, research shows
Sperm whales are the only whales known to rest vertically, floating steadily just below the ocean’s surface. Scientists have hypothesized that the whales release air bubbles to help them stay neutrally buoyant but the mechanism for how they do so has not previously been demonstrated — until now. “We already knew that sperm whales rest […]
These dolphins are shouting
Pilot whales now need to shout to be heard over the rumble of ship traffic in the Strait of Gibraltar, the narrow strip of water between Morocco and Spain. Researchers looked at near and long-distance communication between long-finned pilot whales (Globicephala melas), which are actually a species of large dolphin. They found the mammals were […]
46% of wild-caught fish could be fed to farmed fish and shrimp by 2040, says report
- A new report from U.K.-based NGO the Changing Markets Foundation lays out several scenarios for the aquaculture sector’s expansion between now and 2040.
- The scenarios assess projected increases in demand for wild-caught fish to feed farmed fish, from 13% of global catches, if production of aquaculture species requiring little or no wild fish were to expand; to 46%, if production of species such as salmon and shrimp, which largely rely on feed made from wild-caught fish, expands.  
- In response to the report, a senior U.N. Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) said that a 75% growth “milestone” for the aquaculture industry published by the organization in 2023 is not a real goal of the FAO, which instead aims to grow the sector by 35% by 2030.
- The report was published on the eve of the Committee on Fisheries meeting, an FAO forum where policymakers set the direction for developing the fisheries and aquaculture sectors, and intensified an already heated debate at the meeting between the FAO and representatives of small-scale fisheries.

Illegal mines threaten biodiversity and drinking water in Ghana’s Atewa Forest
- Forestry officials charged with protecting the Atewa Forest Reserve in eastern Ghana have been overrun by illegal miners whose operations are putting the water supply of millions of Ghanaians in jeopardy, according to conservation groups.
- Atewa is a biodiversity hotspot, with more than 80 threatened and endangered species found in its 26,300 hectares (65,000 acres).
- Environment group A Rocha Ghana and others have called on the government to provide greater resources to counter illegal mining in Atewa and elsewhere.

New study reveals the genetic history – and possible future – of four Asian hornbills
Researchers from India have generated reference genomes for four threatened species of Asian hornbills, reports contributor Nikhil Sreekandan for Mongabay India. The scientists from the Nature Conservation Foundation (NCF) in Mysore and the CSIR–Centre for Cellular and Molecular Biology (CCMB) in Hyderabad assembled high-quality genomes for threatened Asian hornbill species including the great hornbill (Buceros […]
H5N1 bird flu jumps to marine mammals and wildlife in Australia
H5N1 avian influenza is spreading rapidly across southeastern Australia owing to infected wild bird species, including little penguins, magpies, crested terns and pelicans. Bird aggregations during breeding seasons will likely accelerate transmission to mammals, said Victoria’s chief biodiversity officer James Todd. In late August, H5N1 jumped to a mammal, a red fox (Vulpes vulpes), in […]
‘How did you come to be here?’ Study digs into origins of Zambian wildlife crime
- Wildlife crimes are committed by a wide range of offenders, from local people who may stumble upon a salable animal to professional poachers and middlemen traffickers and all the way up to kingpins behind the trade that rule over international trafficking syndicates.
- The NGO Wildlife Crime Prevention Zambia investigated how and why people incarcerated for wildlife crimes in the country got involved in this black-market industry. They found that opportunity was the major driver.
- About one-third of the jailed respondents said or implied they would not be involved in poaching or wildlife trade when they were freed.
- Experts note that helping offenders find work after they’re released could be one way to lower the risk of wildlife crime recidivism. Wildlife Crime Prevention Zambia recently completed a pilot program aimed at connecting inmates with family before their release and helping them plan for ways to generate legal income after prison.

‘You Belong with Me:’ Taylor Swift has a new genus of bug named after her
You may have heard her songs, seen her videos, maybe even attended one of her concerts … but have you seen the new genus of Australian plant bugs named after Taylor Swift? Scientists at the University of California, Riverside recently described a new genus of plant bugs, they’ve named Swiftiephylus, in honor of the Grammy-winning […]
Britain’s Prince William reveals finalists for Earthshot environmental prize
LONDON (AP) — How does a grizzly bear cross the road? With the help of Indigenous people, ranchers and governments. That’s the idea behind the Yellowstone to Yukon Conservation Initiative, which is working to keep the Rocky Mountains an unfettered migration route for wildlife from Wyoming to northwestern Canada. To do so, the group works […]
Five orangutans found in India face long road back home to Indonesia
- On Sept. 8, five infant orangutans were found in an Indian forest, thousands of kilometers from their native range, raising questions about where they came from, how they got there, and who moved them.
- The Sumatran (Pongo abelii) and Tapanuli orangutans (Pongo tapanuliensis) are both found only in Indonesia, on the island of Sumatra.
- The Bornean orangutan (Pongo pygmaeus) is found only in Indonesian and Malaysian Borneo; the island is shared between the two countries and Brunei.
- The government of Indonesia has engaged its counterparts in India in a bid to identify the animals and return them to Indonesia.

At 86, Sri Lanka’s ‘father of herpetology’ inspires a new conservation generation
Anslem de Silva is widely regarded as the father of modern herpetology in Sri Lanka. He has spent more than six decades documenting the island’s rich reptile and amphibian diversity while mentoring generations of researchers. De Silva spoke with Mongabay contributor Malaka Rodrigo as he, at 86 years old, prepares to host the first World […]
US move to loosen restrictions on fishing could harm vital ecosystems, experts warn
- The U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) Fisheries published a list of 34 priorities in early September that outline its intention to loosen restrictions on domestic fishing.
- The list includes walking back restrictions on fishing near protected species, removing fishing restrictions at marine national monuments and weakening NOAA Fisheries’ national standards, the regulatory guidelines that have shaped the agency since its inception.
- What NOAA Fisheries is proposing to strip back are “the absolute basics of conserving a healthy ocean ecosystem,” Andrea Treece, deputy managing attorney for the Oceans Program at the San Francisco-based NGO Earthjustice, told Mongabay.
- The agency’s priorities list also emphasizes updating fisheries monitoring technology and data-sharing methods, and including fishers in planning and decision-making.

Tapanuli orangutans face mining, landslides, and fire threats — with no recovery plan
- In late 2025, extreme rainfall associated with Cyclone Senyar wiped out swaths of North Sumatra’s Batang Toru ecosystem, home to the largest known population of Tapanuli orangutans.
- Nearly a year later, there are is still no coordinated recovery strategy for the critically endangered ape, and its habitat faces multiple threats.
- Satellite footage from June this year shows new ground disturbances in the area; plans to expand a gold mine are proceeding even as an environmental audit of the mine is underway; and meteorologists warn that Indonesia faces an unusually severe fire season.

Mekong’s Irrawaddy dolphins find cautious hope amid a river in crisis
- Irrawaddy dolphins, the Mekong River’s sole cetaceans, are viewed as sacred animals by Mekong communities, and are also an important source of tourism revenue.
- The species’ population has dropped steeply since the 1990s, due to hunting, entanglement in fishing gear and habitat degradation.
- The Anlong Chheu Teal pool, along the Laos-Cambodia border stands as a cautionary tale: The pool’s last dolphin died in 2022, and tourism subsequently cratered.
- Six calves were confirmed to be born this year in Cambodia, increasing the population to 118 and bringing hope that the species can rebound if dolphins and their habitats are protected

India’s tiger success brings a new challenge: Living alongside the big cats
- As tiger populations in India grow and disperse beyond protected areas, encounters with people are increasing, prompting repeated capture and relocation operations by the forest department.
- High density doesn’t necessarily mean India has too many tigers. Experts caution that a region’s carrying capacity is influenced by available habitat and prey, the human population and other factors.
- While some landscapes support large tiger populations, potential habitat is relatively empty in other areas. Distribution and landscape management are top challenges, conservationists say.
- With around 30% of India’s tigers living outside its 58 tiger reserves, a landscape-scale management that maintains and reconnects wildlife corridors is crucial to keep both people and tigers safe, as well as careful monitoring of dispersing tigers, and better management of human-wildlife conflict.

As drought shrinks Sri Lanka’s water holes, poisoning poses threat to wildlife
- Sri Lanka will keep the two most visited sections of Yala National Park closed from Sept. 14 to Oct. 15 as drought conditions and extreme heat intensify pressure on wildlife.
- Wildlife officers are supplying water to animals as natural water sources have largely dried up but concentrating thirsty wild animals around remaining water holes could spark new conservation risks.
- Poachers have previously poisoned water holes during droughts to kill deer and other animals for meat, with similar incidents reported in and around several protected areas across Sri Lanka.
- The crisis highlights how climate-driven water shortages expose wildlife to an array of fresh threats.

World’s smallest crocodile in high demand for bushmeat trade in Nigeria
- The African dwarf crocodile is found in dense swamps and flooded forests across large parts of West and Central Africa.
- Experts say these reptiles, which are widely hunted and sold, are under pressure from overexploitation and loss of habitat.
- A recently published study set out to assess how many of the reptiles were sold in three bushmeat markets in the Niger Delta.

A giant anteater’s return in Argentina offers a case for letting nature restore itself
- The return of a giant anteater to the protected area in the humid Gran Chaco in Argentina has given researchers hope that ecosystem restoration could help restore biodiversity in an area threatened by habitat loss and agriculture.
- Passive restoration in the area meant removing pressures on the landscape from livestock, dogs, hunting, and fishing, which allowed the natural vegetation to recover.
- Experts say it’s too early to say if the anteater’s return is the start of the species’ recovery or just a one-off, and call for continuous monitoring.

Rescuers race against time as fires ravage orangutan habitat inside Indonesian oil palm concession
- Conservationists are racing to rescue orangutans from fire-affected habitat inside an Indonesian oil palm concession.
- Some orangutans have been brought to safety, while others are believed to remain in the area.
- First Resources, which owns the concession, says it enforces a strict “zero-burning policy” across all planting activities.
- Another, larger conservation area that once supported an estimated 200 orangutans has also been affected by fire.

Exotic pet trade poses rising zoonotic disease risks in India
In India, the exotic pet trade is increasing the risk of zoonotic disease spillovers, as close contact with imported wild animals creates repeated opportunities for dangerous pathogens to jump to humans and vice versa, reports Mongabay India’s Arathi Menon. Dr. Rina Dev, an avian and exotic animal veterinarian in Mumbai who treats imported and seized […]
‘Don’t shoot. Listen’: The AI-aided quest to understand Yellowstone’s wolves
- Wolf howls have mystified listeners for ages, prompting a range of questions. For more than three decades, wildlife biologists, using traditional research methods, have sought answers from the wolf packs of Yellowstone National Park, among the most studied on Earth.
- Jeff Reed, a native Montanan, linguist and computer engineer, has joined the Yellowstone researchers in a quest to decode what he calls “wolfish” by deploying the latest technology. Reed’s bioacoustic listening devices collect massive amounts of ambient sound annually from the vast Yellowstone soundscape.
- Using large-language models and artificial intelligence, Reed has isolated more than 8,000 hours of continuous wolf vocalizations, the largest database of its kind in the world. Through repetitive analysis, Reed has identified a range of distinct wolf calls, possibly signifying specific meanings or emotions.
- Reed’s pioneering technology is already in use to eavesdrop on wolf packs in Italy, and it has potential utility for wildlife research and conservation worldwide. Longtime Mongabay contributor Justin Catanoso field-reported this story from Yellowstone National Park in Wyoming and Emigrant, Montana.

‘A good way to die’: Triumph and tragedy among dispersing African wild dogs
- A pack of wild dogs has recorded the longest journey by an African mammal by clocking up more than 4,100 kilometers (2,500 miles).
- The record is documented in a new study that tracked wild dog dispersals over nearly 20 years across Zambia.
- Some of the dogs studied were killed in wire snares at the end of similarly epic journeys.
- Connections between separate landscapes still exist, the researchers say, but work must be done to ensure they aren’t lost within the next decade to unchecked human expansion.

‘Carnival of the Nearly Extinct Animals’ celebrates species with song
Once upon a time, flocks of passenger pigeons were so dense they blocked the sun like great gray thunderclouds flying overhead. Composer Stephanie Ann Boyd imagines this with music. “You will feel this movement before you hear it: a deep rumble in the low voices of the orchestra suddenly crescendo and explode into a grand, […]
Why do these monkeys look so weird
Why do the monkeys in Vietnam look so… odd? “The odd-nosed group” — that’s what scientists have called a group of primates found across Asia that share a common ancestry. Scientists think Vietnam’s monkeys—like the red-shanked douc and the Tonkin snub-nosed monkeys—developed their unique, flat or non-existent noses to adapt to the cold of high-elevation […]
Fishers bear deep costs of plastic pollution in Vietnam, but could help turn the tide
- A new study in Vietnam found coastal plastic pollution costs small-scale fishers thousands of dollars a year in lost earning potential.
- Fishers lose on average $3,421 per vessel per year as a result of lost fishing time, reduced catch efficiency and damaged gear due to plastic waste, the study found, with lower-income fishers in the Mekong Delta the worst affected.
- However, fishers may also have a significant role to play in solutions to tackle the plastic pollution crisis, according to the research.
- The study calculated that a “fishing for litter” scheme, whereby fishers would receive modest payments for returning plastic bycatch to collection facilities on land, would require an investment of around $60 per vessel per year.

For the first time, Congolese NGO to manage a DRC protected area
For the first time in the modern history of the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), a Congolese nongovernmental organization will co-manage a protected area in the country. “It is an honor,” Dominique Bikaba, founder of the NGO Strong Roots, told Mongabay by phone. Strong Roots has been entrusted with the management of Itombwe Nature Reserve […]
Marine heatwave likely caused sharp decline in Hawaiian humpback whales, study finds
Roughly a decade ago, a marine heatwave in the northeastern Pacific Ocean caused a dramatic decline in populations of forage fish and krill, the base of the marine food chain. A recent study found that the Hawaiian humpback whale population, which feeds on krill and small fish, also declined sharply during the 2013-16 heatwave and […]
‘Big Cats’ highlights the remarkable power of photojournalism
Jeff Sikich, the biologist for the National Park Service in Griffith Park, Los Angeles, thought that Steve Winter “was crazy” for wanting to capture a photograph of a mountain lion in front of the Hollywood sign. “He looked at me like I was crazy because he said, ‘There are no mountain lions in Griffith Park.’ […]
Report links fishmeal production to decline in key species for Guinea-Bissau communities
Populations of sardinella, an important protein-rich fish, are in rapid decline in the waters off Guinea-Bissau in West Africa. The decline appears to be related to industrial fishing for two species of sardinella used to make fishmeal, according to a report by investigative news organization OCCRP. In Guinea-Bissau, fish like the Madeiran sardinella (Sardinella maderensis) […]
10 promising ways to ‘green’ offshore wind
- Offshore wind is expanding as an important renewable energy source that many experts say is essential to meeting climate goals.
- Ensuring wind farms limit environmental harm and work with nature is vital, experts say.
- Several measures can be taken to limit negative impacts on the environment throughout the lifespan of turbines and wind farms, from construction to decommissioning. These range from technical solutions to policy interventions.
- Continued innovation and research is important to ensure measures are backed by monitoring data and science, experts say.

‘They should choose their own destinies’: Manish Chandi on India’s isolated tribes
- Mongabay interviewed Manish Chandi, a former research scholar who has spent over two decades working on tribal communities, about the latest threats and activities affecting the lives of isolated and contacted tribal peoples living in the Andaman and Nicobar Islands off the southeastern coast of mainland India.
- Isolated tribes, which maintain little to no contact with outsiders, face threats ranging from trawlers entering buffer waters and development projects planned in hunting grounds, to government perspectives that can limit their independence and capacity to decide their future on their own terms.
- Chandi discusses the impact of curious outsiders trying to visit isolated tribes, how contact can affect different tribes differently and how to protect isolated peoples’ autonomy.
- Tribal reserves are large biodiversity hotspots, rivaling protected areas and wildlife sanctuaries in the Andaman and Nicobar Islands, says Chandi.

Electric fences that kill and the Maasai trying to save Kenya’s last giant pangolins
- Electric fences were responsible for 14 of the 15 giant ground pangolins found dead near Kenya’s Nyekweri Forest since 2022.
- With fewer than 30 giant ground pangolins believed to remain in the country, all in this one area, landowners are switching off the lowest strands of their electrified fences to create safe passage for these endangered animals.
- This community-led effort has made about 134 kilometers (83 miles) of fencing safer, but habitat loss and continued land subdivision threaten to undermine those gains.

Roads, infrastructure prevent tigers from settling in Indian tiger reserve
A forested tiger reserve in southern India is home to a thriving population of spotted and sambar deer, nilgai antelopes, and wild pigs — all ideal prey for tigers. Yet the reserve has no resident tigers, reports contributor Nivedhika Krishnan for Mongabay India. Kawal Tiger Reserve in the state of Telangana connects key tiger populations […]
Decline of migratory birds spurs calls for coordinated conservation
- More than 100 organizations have signed the Nairobi Flyways Declaration, pledging to integrate conservation of migratory birds’ intercontinental routes into development planning and finance.
- The declaration marked the end of the Global Flyways Summit, organized by BirdLife International in Nairobi from Sept. 8-11, with the organization’s CEO saying pledges from multilateral finance institutions signal a shift toward incorporating biodiversity into the mainstream of development decisions.
- BirdLife also presented the latest edition of its quadrennial “State of the World’s Birds” report at the summit, reporting that 45% of migratory bird species are declining, while about one in nine faces the threat of extinction.

Can we stop ships from killing the Mediterranean’s last great whales?
Collisions with ships are a leading anthropogenic killer of the Mediterranean’s two endangered large-bodied cetacean species, sperm and fin whales. In 2025, thousands of vessels traveled through the Mediterranean’s key whale habitats at speeds above 15 knots (28 km/h), the threshold at which vessel strikes are almost always fatal, according to an analysis by Magma […]
Panama looks to science, fishers, and the law to protect its sharks and rays
- In Panama, various initiatives are underway to reduce bycatch of sharks and rays, led by biologists, NGOs, politicians, and local restaurants.
- Many industrial fishing boats carry biologists with them to help train the crew on how to free marine animals accidentally caught in their nets.
- A bill is also currently in discussion in the legislature that proposes measures to restore and conserve shark and ray populations.
- According to local experts, the bill would mark a major step forward for shark conservation, but still has significant weaknesses because the country lacks data on shark and ray populations, especially on breeding sites.

Against the odds, endangered dolphins survive in Bangladesh’s polluted river
- The Buriganga River in Bangladesh is one of the five most polluted rivers in the world, with heavy metal pollution from chromium, lead and cadmium.
- However, a recent survey found that around 20 Ganges river dolphins survive in this toxic river.
- More than 2,000 Ganges river dolphins were recorded across 4,900 kilometers (3,045 miles) across 45 rivers in Bangladesh in another survey.
- For river dolphins to survive in Bangladesh, the country needs to keep a check on the intense pollutions and on harmful fishing methods, conservationists say.

Pacific bluefin tuna will get some help as countries agree to new harvest strategy
- The Inter-American Tropical Tuna Commission (IATTC), a multilateral body that manages tuna and other fish stocks in the Eastern Pacific Ocean, held its annual meeting Aug. 31- Sept. 4 in Portugal.
- Commission members agreed to adopt a harvest strategy to ensure sustainable long-term management for Pacific bluefin tuna, which a decade ago had fallen to 2.6% of its historic population due to excessive catches, but has since recovered substantially following implementation of a stock rebuilding plan.
- The new Pacific bluefin tuna harvest strategy allows for slight increases in catches, but automatic reductions should a new decline occur.
- IATTC members failed to reach an agreement on an anticipated multispecies management framework for three other tuna species — bigeye, yellowfin and skipjack — that would have triggered fishing restrictions should any of their populations decline.

Nearly forgotten languages are finding new words for Colombia’s dragonflies
Founder’s Briefs: An occasional series where Mongabay founder Rhett Ayers Butler shares analysis, perspectives and story summaries. When researchers began cataloging dragonflies in Guainía, a remote region in eastern Colombia, the scientific record contained only about 10 species. By working with Indigenous communities, they’ve found nearly 120. “When we started, very little was known,” Yiselle […]
Longest African mammal movement recorded by Zambian wild dogs
Three male African wild dogs in Zambia have travelled more than 4,000 kilometers, about 2,500 miles, in search of new territory and mates, according to a new study. This nine-month odyssey, about half the distance between Cairo and Cape Town, reveals how these endangered animals connect populations and ecosystems that are far apart within Southern […]
Biodiversity corridor payments boost household incomes in Vietnam’s Annamite mountains
- A recent study in Vietnam’s central Annamite mountains found biodiversity corridors linking protected areas can significantly boost the income of households living inside them.
- The researchers interviewed 120 families both inside and outside of biodiversity corridors to assess how conservation incentive payments affect people’s lives and views of conservation.
- The study found households inside biodiversity corridors earned substantially more, primarily from conservation-linked payments and activities, than those outside corridors, who depended more on plantations and forest resources.
- The researchers say their findings underscore how well-managed conservation-linked payments can align intact ecosystems with viable livelihoods, offering a practical model for conservation.

How burnt coconut helped discover new to science endemic species in Sri Lanka
- Scientists have formally described Mus dumbara, a new species of spiny mouse from Sri Lanka’s Dumbara or Knuckles Mountain Range after years of waiting.
- Collected for the first time in 2004, it took more than two decades of morphological and genetic analysis to establish it as a distinct species from the other spiny mouse species found in Sri Lanka.
- Subsequent efforts to find fresh specimens of the elusive mouse proved unsuccessful, despite around 1,900 trap nights in the area, leaving scientists with limited information about its current population and distribution.
- Found only from a small area of the Knuckles Range so far, the discovery highlights the island’s overlooked biodiversity of small mammals and the need for further surveys to understand the species’ ecology and conservation needs.

The push for a sustainable artisanal mining in the Peruvian Amazon
MADRE DE DIOS, Peru — In Madre de Dios, in the Peruvian Amazon, thousands of people depend on gold mining, while the spread of mercury and deforestation are transforming the country’s most biodiverse tropical forest. In La Pampa, one of the region’s main gold mining hubs, a formalized artisanal mining operation is trying to prove […]
Mozambique protects Mount Mabu ‘butterfly forest’
Mozambique has formally protected Mount Mabu, a hotspot of endemic wildlife and home to more than 200 species of butterflies, located in the Lugela district of northern Mozambique. The decree, published on Aug. 24 by the Ministry of Agriculture, Environment and Fisheries, created the 9,341-hectare (23,082-acre) Mount Mabu Community Conservation Area, with stewardship of the […]
Migratory bird species increasingly at risk, report finds, but there is still hope
- The new State of the World’s Birds report says 45% of migratory bird species are in decline with 11% threatened with extinction.
- “This report is about migratory birds, but it also serves as a warning about the state of the planet in general,” the report’s lead author says.
- Currently only around 9% of migratory bird species have adequate protection across their full cycle, compared with 45% of non-migratory species, the report states.
- The launch of the report coincided with the signing of the Nairobi Flyways Declaration by governments, conservation organizations and others that are committing to protecting vital flyways.

World Dolphin Day: Reporting unusual behavior, threats and increased protections
Nine dolphin species, and several more subspecies and local populations, are currently critically endangered or endangered, according to the most recent assessment by the IUCN, the global wildlife conservation authority. September 12 marks World Dolphin Day, an awareness day created in 2022 by marine conservation nonprofit Sea Shepherd to bring attention to the threats that […]
Lack of data hinders fight against environmental crimes in Angola, says environmentalist
- At 29, Érica Tavares represents a new generation of environmentalists in Angola, where she leads the NGO EcoAngola.
- She advocates for satellite monitoring, specialized oversight and energy solutions to curb illegal deforestation.
- Tavares says the government’s strategies and plans still fall short of what Angolans need to address environmental challenges.

Indigenous knowledge x tech in the search for a tiny Amazon monkey
- Conservationists are collaborating with Indigenous communities in Ecuador to look for the world’s smallest monkey.
- Pygmy marmosets live high up in trees and are hard to monitor visually; they’re also a key indicator of how forests are faring in the face of deforestation and degradation.
- Conservationists are using passive acoustic monitoring to find the monkeys; they’re also training the communities on using the technology for the future.

Nigeria’s Rachel Ikemeh wins Rolex Award for efforts to save rare red monkey
Nigerian conservationist Rachel Ikemeh has been named the 2026 Rolex Award laureate, for her work with communities in the Niger Delta to protect the region’s ecology and the critically endangered Niger Delta red colobus monkey. The red colobus (Piliocolobus epieni), a monkey known as epieni by the region’s communities, is listed as one of the […]
Javan rhinos survive eruption in Indonesia, but single habitat leaves species vulnerable
- Indonesia’s critically endangered Javan rhinos appear to have weathered a recent volcanic eruption near their only remaining habitat, highlighting the precarious position of one of the world’s rarest large mammals.
- With the entire wild population concentrated in one coastal national park, the species faces risks from natural disasters as well as the challenges of conservation and population management.
- Efforts to give the rhinos greater protection have included plans for a second habitat and attempts to move the animals to safer areas.

Amazon Fund grantees fear a new funding freeze after Brazil’s election
- As Brazil approaches a pivotal presidential election, grantees of the Amazon Fund warn that a radical change in administration could derail its recent momentum, which saw annual financing quadruple.
- While the fund helped drive Amazonian deforestation to its lowest level in a decade, experts warn a new disruption would have greater impacts amid the growing climate crisis.
- International donors are already signaling caution, as widespread anxiety reflects the trauma of 2019, when the previous government dismantled Brazil’s environmental frameworks.

Offshore wind may be good for the climate but can it be good for the ocean, too?
- Offshore wind energy is on the rise. Many experts regard it as pivotal to building renewable energy grids around the globe, while also noting that it affects the marine environment.
- On one hand, offshore wind farms can create mini marine protected areas by prohibiting harmful practices like bottom trawling, and could eventually enable restoration of depleted habitats like oyster reefs.
- But they also bring notable challenges. Alongside well-documented threats to birds and bats, several issues remain poorly understood, such as how large-scale wind platforms might affect ocean circulation, temperature and the movement of sediment.
- Researchers say a host of measures can be taken to address some environmental challenges, while underlining the need for continued investment and innovation in solutions.

‘Forgotten fauna’: Little known river sharks and rays face increased extinction risk
- Dozens of shark and ray species are known to spend some or all of their life cycle in freshwater environments, but they remain among the least studied and least protected.
- According to the IUCN, 76% of non-marine sharks and rays in the Indo-Pacific region are threatened with extinction — about twice the rate of their marine relatives.
- Rivers and estuaries are heavily impacted by human activities, and many non-marine sharks and rays have already disappeared from parts of their historic range, with some at risk of vanishing before their conservation needs are understood.

Indigenous fisherwoman finds ‘lost’ spinach pipefish, not seen by science in 40 years
Founder’s Briefs: An occasional series where Mongabay founder Rhett Ayers Butler shares analysis, perspectives and story summaries. On the final day of a two-week expedition, where researchers were searching for a “lost” species along Papua New Guinea’s Sepik River, Helen Asu arrived with two small, greenish-brown fish. She had caught them while fishing for prawns […]
Japan wants to plant no-pollen trees to solve its hay fever crisis
Two species of trees helped Japan build millions of homes after World War II. However, pollen from those same trees has also fueled a nationwide hay fever allergy. More than 40% of Japan’s population now suffers from hay fever, locally called kafunsho. That’s nearly double the rate in the U.S., reports contributor Jonathan Vit for […]
Two wild Przewalski’s horse foals born in Kazakhstan after 200 years
Two Przewalski’s horse foals were born in a reintroduction center in the grasslands of central Kazakhstan in late August. They are reportedly the first wild horses born on Kazakh soil in more than 200 years. The first foal, a male, was born Aug. 22 to a 7-year-old mare named Tessa. The second, also male, followed […]
Nepal’s high-altitude wildernesses & wildlife are increasingly under threat (commentary)
- High-altitude wildernesses like Limi Valley in Nepal are suffering from human encroachment, which is advancing at an unprecedented pace, pushing wildlife into ever-smaller pockets of shrinking habitat.
- Creatures ranging from wild yaks to Himalayan wolves, snow leopards, Eurasian lynx, Tibetan brown bears and Pallas’s cats are under pressure from a new wave of herders bringing sheep, goats and dogs into the remotest areas, spreading disease and degrading grazing lands.
- “What this high-altitude landscape, its people, and biodiversity need is straightforward: formal legal ecosystem protection from the Nepalese government, led by the stewardship of the Limi community who are best placed to protect it, and supported by conservation organizations,” a new op-ed argues.
- This article is a commentary. The views expressed are those of the authors, not necessarily of Mongabay.

How to enhance ocean health and resilience with marine rewilding
Ocean ecosystems are under extreme stress on several fronts including overfishing, ocean acidification, climate change and marine warming. While ocean conservation efforts often tend to focus on creating marine protected areas, researchers recently stressed the need to move beyond protection toward active recovery using a different approach: Marine rewilding. In a new perspective paper, the […]
Vantara works with lobbyist tied to Trump Jr. and pro-hunting groups
- Vantara, the controversial billionaire-run Indian zoo, has worked with lobbyists in the U.K. with ties to pro-hunting organizations and the Trump administration, sources told Mongabay.
- Tristan Breijer, a U.K.-based lobbyist at Checkmate Government Relations, invited at least one wildlife conservation organization to a roundtable hosted by Vantara on the sidelines of the CITES Animals Committee in July 2026, according to sources.
- Checkmate was founded by Charles ‘Ches’ McDowell, a hunting friend of Donald Trump Jr. Its long list of clients includes Reliance Industries, the petrochemical giant owned by the Ambani family, which includes Anant Ambani, who started Vantara.
- Conservationists say Vantara’s lobbying efforts at CITES meetings before a key November meeting raises questions about its intentions. India is expected to respond to a CITES report on the origins of some endangered and protected species imported by Vantara. They also question the Indian zoo’s association with lobbyists tied to pro-hunting organizations, when it claims to be rescuing animals from around the world.

Rescuers scramble to save orangutans as El Niño-boosted fires spread across Borneo
- Through last month, Indonesian wildlife conservation NGO YIARI and government conservation officials recovered seven critically endangered Bornean orangutans from wildfires raging across the island.
- One of the orangutans died from smoke exposure, while others were taken some to YIARI’s rehabilitation center and some released others into a nearby national park.
- A strengthening El Niño threatens to fuel major fires across Indonesia’s peatlands and mineral soils during this year’s dry season.
- YIARI workers in Ketapang district, a low-lying peatland area in Borneo’s West Kalimantan province, remain on high alert for orangutans stranded or injured by wildfires.

Colombia’s Indigenous guardians adapt as pressures mount on the ‘Heart of the World’
- Indigenous Wiwa families in Colombia’s Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta are moving farther downslope in an effort to preserve community cohesion amid climate and security pressures.
- The mountain range’s Indigenous nations continue to hold to a “law of origin” that guides their path amid intensifying pressures from armed violence, resource extraction, and climate change.
- Wiwa leaders describe sacred sites, rivers and forests as “living curricula,” inseparable from cultural and ecological responsibilities.
- Recent protections have expanded the protected parts of the Sierra Nevada and prohibited new bids for mining and fossil fuel extraction.

To save Europe’s raptors, conservationists say, look to West Africa
- The fate of an osprey that was tagged in Scotland and shot in Ghana highlights the dangers migratory raptors face far from their European breeding grounds.
- Researchers found strong migratory links between Northern Europe and West Africa by analyzing records from 257 tagged raptors.
- Habitat loss, hunting and belief-based trade threaten both migratory and resident raptors across West Africa.
- Conservationists say better tracking, monitoring, and collaboration between European and West African institutions could help protect raptors along their entire migratory routes.

Colorful Himalayan pheasants face a less rosy future under human pressure
In the Indian Himalayas, numerous species of colorful pheasants roam the understory, pecking at seeds, roots, leaves, berries, and insects. These large, ornate birds are vital to the Himalayan ecosystem. But some species now face increasing pressures from habitat degradation and hunting, reports contributor Hirra Azmat for Mongabay India. Among them is the white-crested kalij […]
Indigenous peoples near Congo parks propose diverse solutions for the future of conservation
- Mongabay spoke with Indigenous people and members of local communities living near four national parks in the Congo Basin, in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, to gather their testimonies and learn about the solutions they envision for reconciling forest conservation with the rights of nearby communities.
- Many Indigenous peoples wish to return to their ancestral lands from which they were displaced when the national parks were established; though some still prefer that authorities continue to lead conservation efforts.
- Others, however, believe they should remain outside the parks, while calling for better living conditions and greater access to resources and economic opportunities to prevent environmental destruction.
- Initiatives such as community forest concessions, local employment and ecotourism programs seek to reconcile conservation, land rights and the needs of communities, but their implementation continues to face tensions and significant challenges.

Singkil peat swamp: The embattled orangutan capital of the world
- The Singkil peat swamp, part of Sumatra’s Leuser ecosystem, is a critical habitat for Sumatran orangutans.
- Although legally protected, the Singkil peat swamp is being cleared and drained for oil palm and other crops.
- Drained and deforested peat swamps are highly flammable, and Indonesia’s fire season is beginning.
- This photo essay highlights the beauty and diversity of Singkil, as well as documenting some of the many threats facing the ecosystem.

New-to-science Amazon frog stands out for its slow ‘lazy’ song
Scientists recently described a new species of a tiny brown frog found in the Amazonian floodplain forests of Ecuador and northwestern Brazil. It looks nearly identical to related species but its slow, widely spaced out call sets it apart, researchers note in a study. “I’ve had to get into arguments because people said the frog […]
Why is Amazonian wildlife turning up at a Bangkok market?
- The sheer numbers and vast array of Latin American wildlife species offered for sale in one of Southeast Asia’s largest wildlife markets, in Thailand, has been steadily rising over the past two years, observers say, alongside animals from across the globe.
- The trend points to a broader shift in the global wildlife trade, with more species coming out of the imperiled Amazon and many of them sold as pets.
- Trafficked animals are often laundered from other South American countries through Peru, where regulations make it easier to export species abroad.
- Many of these species are threatened, plucked from the wild, and then face abhorrent conditions during the journey from the Amazon to Asia, raising further animal welfare concerns; many perish during transit.

‘Birds know no borders’: Interview with BirdLife Africa’s Alex Ngari
- “[M]igratory birds do not belong to any one country, but are a shared global heritage, and their survival requires a borderless safety net,” says Alex Ngari, migratory birds and flyways programme manager for BirdLife Africa.
- Gaps in scientific knowledge regarding migratory birds’ pathways affect conservation efforts, Ngari explains.
- These gaps also prevent us from predicting the safety of bird populations in relation to climate change, he adds in a Q&A with Mongabay ahead of the Global Flyways Summit in Nairobi, Kenya.

In Panama’s Darién, Indigenous communities test a new way to fund conservation
- With illegal logging and agricultural expansion closing in on their lands, four Indigenous Wounaan and Emberá-Wounaan villages in Panama’s Darién forest started a biodiversity monitoring project to document their forests’ conservation status.
- Their biodiversity monitoring project recorded more than 200 species across 18,000 hectares (44,500 acres) of threatened forest.
- They’re now using the data as a baseline for joining the biodiversity credits market — a nascent arm of the nature finance industry that’s being touted as a way to help pay for conservation.
- Although biodiversity credit advocates say this market has learned from the mistakes of the carbon credit markets, observers say it’s still too soon to evaluate if it will deliver on its promises.

Guinea’s Iron Frontier
What does it take to turn one of the world’s richest iron deposits into a global export hub? Eastern Guinea has become a focal point in the global race for high-grade iron ore. Mongabay has traced the rapid expansion of two of Guinea’s largest iron ore projects in the Simandou range and the Nimba Mountains, […]
What conservation rumors reveal about climate projects in the Congo Basin (commentary)
- Conservation rumors should not be dismissed as misinformation: they influence people’s attitudes toward conservation and how they respond to it, a group of researchers argues in a new op-ed.
- In the Democratic Republic of Congo’s Yangambi Biosphere Reserve, rumors about a scientific tower became a vehicle for both resistance and demands to benefit from conservation.
- These reactions are rooted in a longer history of dispossession and extraction, but also in memories of the jobs and services once associated with conservation, the authors write.
- This article is a commentary. The views expressed are those of the authors, not necessarily of Mongabay.

New nocturnal snake from New Guinea named after Slash of Guns N’ Roses
Scientists have identified a new-to-science, reddish-brown snake from specimens found in the forests of Papua New Guinea and named it after Slash, the lead guitarist of the rock band Guns N’ Roses. Slash’s groundsnake (Lielaphis slashi) is the twentieth species to be confirmed within the genus Lielaphis, a group of groundsnakes found primarily on the […]
World Heritage status for South Sudan parks will be a boon for the birds
- South Sudan’s Boma and Badingilo national parks are best known for the massive herds of antelope that migrate across them each year.
- But the landscape is also a key habitat for birds — resident species like shoebills, and those that migrate between southern and northern parts of Africa.
- In July, the parks and surrounding areas were designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site, which conservationists hope will attract support to conserve the region’s rich biodiversity.

Indigenous knowledge helps reveal the ties between reefs and mangroves
- A scientific collaboration between Australian scientists and First Nations Bardi Jawi rangers and elders has highlighted how fish species rely on the connectivity of reef and mangrove ecosystems.
- The study found that culturally important fish species, which form part of traditional fishery practices in the Kimberley region of northwestern Australia, migrated between the two ecosystems more than other species.
- The collaboration enabled Western scientists to draw on millennia of traditional ecological knowledge in carrying out the study and interpreting its findings.
- While most of the findings were already part of traditional ecological knowledge, rangers say they learned how certain species may not be able to survive if either reefs or mangroves were threatened by climate change and environmental impacts.

Why are they killing this beautiful fish?
Lionfish are beautiful, venomous and devastating Caribbean reefs. In Honduras, divers are fighting back with homemade spears, hunting competitions and by putting lionfish on restaurant menus. Watch the full film to meet the community fighting back against one of the Caribbean’s most destructive invasive species.
Tanzania’s first official wildlife corridor links savanna elephants to rainforest
- African savanna elephants are using a narrow strip of land across the densely populated Kilombero Valley in southern Tanzania to migrate.
- It’s Tanzania’s first officially designated wildlife corridor, linking Nyerere National Park’s open savanna woodlands with the high-altitude rainforests of the Udzungwa Mountains National Park.
- Local landowners have designated parts of their farms for the corridor and co-manage it with the government.
- Experts note that vigilance is needed to prevent some planned development, which could negatively impact the corridor.

Marine conservation collides with mining in Indonesia’s biodiversity-rich Moramo Bay
- Pressure on a protected marine area in Indonesia’s Southeast Sulawesi province is growing as conservation efforts intersect with mining activity.
- Moramo Bay is part of the Coral Triangle, one of the world’s richest marine biodiversity regions, and provides habitat for humphead wrasse and other protected species.
- Researchers and officials say the health of its coral reefs and marine life is increasingly under scrutiny as development expands around the conservation area.

Illegal gold mining continues in Indonesia’s Aceh despite government crackdown pledge
- Residents in different districts across the Indonesian province of Aceh say gold mining activity in the interior of forest areas continues despite the province’s leaders agreeing a crackdown on illegal mining.
- Fuel shortages have been reported at local gas stations, which some attribute to demand from excavators working to unearth gold ore from inside forest areas.
- In August, Mongabay reported that gold miners had encroached in to a crucial reintroduction forest in Aceh for critically endangered Sumatran orangutans rescued from the illegal wildlife trade.
- Environmental advocacy group Walhi says there are more than 1,000 units of heavy equipment working at more than 450 illegal mining operations in Aceh, while a former provincial official said the government is aware of mining in around half of Aceh’s districts.

Study analyzes danger of parasites to Bengal tigers in South Asia
- Researchers analyzing parasite infections of Bengal tigers and their prey population in the Sundarbans in Bangladesh have raised concerns about the critically endangered species’ conservation.
- Researchers in South Asia warn that parasitic infections can act as silent killers to stressed tigers and cubs.
- Human settlements near habitat elevate the risk of parasite transmission between wild and domestic animals, the research suggests.
- Experts recommend reducing human-wildlife contact and adopting integrated and long-term wildlife disease prevention.

Genetic road map offers hope for threatened Visayan spotted deer
Scientists have sequenced the first-ever draft genome of the Philippines’ highly threatened Visayan spotted deer. The genome could guide efforts to save it from extinction, reports contributor Pippo Carmona for Mongabay. The Visayan spotted deer (Rusa alfredi) was once found across six islands in the central Philippines. But deforestation and hunting decimated its population, prompting […]
Ebola outbreak underscores food insecurity crisis in DRC
The recent Ebola outbreak caused by the Bundibugyo strain of the virus has reportedly claimed more than 3,000 lives, and more than twice as many reported cases, in the Democratic Republic of Congo, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. At the same time, analysts warn that roughly 26 million people across […]
Key tree species boost Amazon forest restoration, new study shows
- A study in Global Change Biology shows that just 15 to 25 tree species make up nearly half of the trees and carbon stocks in regrowing Amazon forests.
- While pioneer species grow quickly, experts warn that forests need a robust succession of stronger trees to avoid ecological decline over time.
- Understanding these forest dynamics may help Brazil meet its international pledge to restore 12 million hectares (30 million acres) of forest by 2030.

Cherokee youth win legal rights for waterway in first all-female U.S. effort
- On Jan. 8, 2026, the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians Tribal Council unanimously passed a resolution recognizing the inherent legal rights of the Longperson (Ganvhidv Asgaya), an interconnected waterway system whose headwaters rise in the Great Smoky Mountains and end in the sea.
- The resolution was brought forward by the NAIWA Daughters, a group of Indigenous girls aged 10 to 17, making it the first all-female-led rights-of-nature effort in the U.S., and only the second such youth-led resolution passed by a Tribal nation.
- The effort followed 18 months of grassroots organizing and built on the foundations of the rights-of-nature movement, which holds that ecosystems and natural entities should have legal standing to exist and flourish.
- The Longperson resolution grants the waterway five inherent rights and has already spurred related action, including a separate tribal resolution to raise funds for removing the Ela Dam.

A ‘lost’ Philippine pigeon reappears after 20 years — but its forest is disappearing
- Philippine conservation nonprofit CCIPH and Indigenous Iraya Mangyan forest patrollers documented a Mindoro bleeding-heart pigeon, providing the first confirmed image of the critically endangered species in two decades.
- Two independent ornithologists confirmed the identification based on the bird’s orange-red breast marking, iridescent green plumage, and other distinctive features.
- The image was recorded at an elevation above 900 meters (about 3,000 feet), higher than the species’ typical lowland range of 400-88 m (1,300-2,600 ft).
- Experts called for expanded camera-trap surveys, a comprehensive population. assessment, stronger habitat protection, and measures to address logging, poaching and accidental trapping.

From seizure to sentence: Weak prosecution leaves tigers vulnerable to trafficking in Southeast Asia: Report
- Prosecution of tiger crime — trafficking and sales of tiger skins, bones, and other body parts — is poor in Southeast Asia, according to a recent report.
- Fewer than half of arrests were prosecuted: Of 259 cases examined, only 110 resulted in fines or jail sentences, with outcomes varying widely between countries.
- The authors propose concrete actions to strengthen enforcement to deter tiger poaching and trafficking: improving domestic and international coordination, better training for law enforcement, and intelligence-driven investigations.

Andean condors: From fear to coexistence
In a remote Colombian village where Andean condors were once feared and routinely poisoned, Doris Torres grew up seeing the birds as a threat to her sheep. But as she learned about the importance of the species, Vultur gryphus, she turned into an unlikely conservationist now leading a grassroots effort that has helped bring condors […]
Vietnam seizes 1.2 tons of ivory, plus big cat bones, hidden in timber shipment
Authorities in Vietnam have intercepted more than a ton of elephant ivory along with big-cat bones in a shipment from the Republic of Congo. Gia Lai provincial authorities announced that the haul of 1,193 kilograms (2,630 pounds) of ivory and 79.3 kg (175 lb) of bones was uncovered at Quy Nhon Port in early August. […]
West Africa’s plan to save its vultures struggles to take flight
- Launched two years ago, the West African Vulture Conservation Action Plan (WAVCAP) aimed to protect the region’s dwindling vulture populations. But progress to implement it is lacking, say experts.
- Vultures are under severe threat in the region due to poisoning for belief-based use, persecution, and habitat destruction. Other raptors and bird species are under severe pressure due to this trade as well.
- Experts point to a lack of coordination, limited funding, and low priority for vulture conservation as ongoing challenges, amid an ever-growing trade in their parts that’s also impacting Central African countries.
- Urgent action is needed to avoid complete extirpation of vultures in countries like Benin and Nigeria, say experts, adding they hope that a coordination meeting in November will address these issues.

Women farmers in Sumatra find a gentler way to keep elephants at bay
On the island of Sumatra, Indonesia, in the buffer zone of a national park, a women-led farming group has come up with a solution to reduce encounters with elephants. Deforestation and oil palm encroachment have stripped Tesso Nilo National Park of more than three-quarters of its old-growth forest. This has forced the park’s roughly 150 […]
Beetle larvae trick bees into feeding and sheltering them by smelling like flowers, study finds
European Black oil beetle larva lures unsuspecting bees by manufacturing smells that mimic floral scents, new research suggests. The larva then hitches a ride on the bee to its burrow, where it eats the bee’s eggs and pollen, and develops into an adult beetle. This is the first known instance of an animal hijacking the […]
Indigenous ‘turtle women’ help vulnerable reptiles recover in Ecuadorian Amazon
On the banks of the Aguarico River in the Ecuadorian Amazon, a group of Indigenous Siekopai women are combining traditional knowledge and modern technology to help a threatened native turtle recover. Their efforts center around charapa turtles (Podocnemis unifilis), also known as the yellow-spotted Amazon River turtle, Mongabay Latam’s Astrid Arellano reported. The animal’s populations […]
Damselfish-assisted repair of wounded corals surprises scientists
- A new study finds that a coral-associated damselfish may help hasten the healing of wounded corals.
- The research showed a 55% faster recovery rate from larger coral wounds in the presence of damselfish, and a 38% faster rate of healing for smaller wounds.
- Algae living within wounded corals exhibited decreased photosynthetic efficiency, an energy source vital to coral healing, when damselfish were absent.
- Scientists say the findings could inform conservation management plans, focusing more attention on preserving fish habitats to better protect corals.

The race to document Indigenous knowledge to protect Philippines’ birds
In the forests of the Philippines’ Mindoro Island, an urgent effort is underway to record the vanishing ecological knowledge of the Indigenous Iraya Mangyan community. As elders age and fewer young people learn beside then, and deforestation and infrastructure development threaten the island’s endemic wildlife, traditional knowledge holders are partnering with conservationists to document wildlife, […]
Southeast Asia’s oak trees highly threatened as report warns of lack of protection
Many of Southeast Asia’s native oak species are under high stress from human pressures and lack protection, according to a recent report, reports contributor Sean Mowbray for Mongabay. Of the 430 known oak species in the world, 172 are native to Southeast and East Asia. The report, produced by the Morton Arboretum, a nonprofit that […]
Togo cosponsors proposal to review commercial whaling ban
Togo is cosponsoring a proposal to review commercial whaling quotas, drawing criticism from whale conservation groups. The draft resolution was submitted for discussion at the upcoming 70th meeting of the International Whaling Commission (IWC), which will be held Sept. 27 to Oct. 2. Togo was the only African nation to support the proposal, which was […]
Rooting tree seed production in local knowledge boosts forest restoration outcomes (commentary)
- Integrating knowledge of Indigenous and local communities (IPLCs) into the process of seed propagation can strengthen forest restoration outcomes in Southeast Asia, and beyond.
- These communities’ familiarity with their local tree species, landscapes, and ecological rhythms makes them indispensable partners in restoration efforts, the authors of a new op-ed argue.
- “Engaging IPLCs in the critical processes of seed production is not just a matter of improving restoration success, but also empowerment and engendering ownership,” they write.
- This article is a commentary. The views expressed are those of the authors, not necessarily of Mongabay.

South Africa’s new gold rush: Spekboom restoration speeds up, but it’s a bumpy road, insiders report
- A unique approach to ecosystem restoration in South Africa — repairing exhausted farmlands through the mass planting of an endemic drought-tolerant succulent called spekboom — is receiving global attention as one new entrant gets an injection of $91 million to dramatically increase its plantings.
- This financing will contribute toward the goal of planting more than 300 million spekboom (Portulacaria afra) cuttings, funded by investors through global carbon markets.
- Smaller restoration projects have blazed a trail until now, helping to improve planting and land management methods to get maximum plant survival, bush recovery and, ultimately, carbon credit returns.
- Plant survival rates through the next five planting seasons will dictate how well farmlands recover in coming decades, whether they deliver on the carbon drawdown expectations, and whether investors get their returns. But Mongabay’s investigation finds that things may be getting off to a rocky start.

As British Columbia mulls continued wolf-killing to save caribou, critics say habitat loss is the real threat
- The provincial government of British Columbia, Canada, has proposed extending its decade-long wolf cull program by five more years in areas that are home to 15 declining woodland caribou herds.
- The province has killed 200-300 wolves each year since 2015 to help endangered caribou populations recover, spending nearly $10 million to date, but caribou numbers have increased only marginally.
- Scientists argue that old-growth forests cut for logging, mining and oil and gas extraction — and not wolves — is the main driver of caribou declines, making the province’s focus on wolf culls a short-sighted approach that will ultimately not save caribou and could have unintended consequences on the ecosystem.
- Conservationists call on the B.C. government to stop issuing new logging permits in areas where caribou live; stop building roads through forest and invest in forest restoration projects; and design long-term strategies for caribou conservation to address habitat loss.

Namibia greenlights controversial project to dredge phosphate from seabed
- Company Namibian Marine Phosphate has received an environmental clearance for dredging within a concession that spans 2,234 square kilometers (863 square miles) of the Atlantic seabed off Namibia’s coast.
- The company wants to mine phosphate rock, a major ingredient in fertilizers, which has previously only been commercially mined on land.
- The nonprofit Ocean Conservation Namibia (OCN) has strongly criticized the decision to issue the ECC, warning “that the large-scale development could have significant impacts on the Benguela marine ecosystem, Namibia’s fishing industry, and marine conservation.”
- NMP, registered in Namibia, is 85% owned by Oman-based Mawarid Mining LLC and 15% owned by a Namibian company, Havana Investments (Pty) Ltd.

UN fund for sharing biodiversity benefits struggles for attention — and money
- The Cali Fund, established to channel companies’ contributions from the use of digital genetic data back to the countries and communities of origin, has received just $6,000 from two companies since its launch in February 2025 — far short of the $1 billion a year it was expected to raise.
- “Nobody knows about the fund,” said Astrid Schomaker, executive secretary of the U.N. Convention on Biological Diversity, citing low awareness, a limited operational framework, and the reluctance of large companies to make the first move.
- Experts also flagged limited recognition of the fund’s compliance certificates by countries, and concerns over a memorandum of understanding that uses “donor” language.
- Governments are expected to address these issues at the next U.N. biodiversity summit, in Yerevan, Armenia, in October.

Growing Indigenous food trees in East Africa fights malnutrition and biodiversity loss
- In East Africa, many communities are experiencing both malnutrition and a loss of biodiversity due to deforestation.
- Despite this, tree-planting programs frequently focus on fast-growing, non-native species that can be utilized for timber, rather than food-bearing native trees.
- A recent workshop in Malawi provided landscape restoration workers with a tree-planting guide for local species and gathered information about what organizations and communities need to plant these trees more frequently.
- These findings are summarized in a new paper.

Gulf of Mexico’s unique Orca Basin shouldn’t become a carbon dump (commentary)
- Deep in the Gulf of Mexico, an ecosystem exists in water so salty and lacking in oxygen that its marine life is unique and virtually unstudied.
- Called the Orca Basin, it’s now the focus of a corporate effort to profit from fighting climate change by dumping tons of organic waste into its depths, a deep-sea biologist explains in a new op-ed.
- “The Orca Basin is not a waste repository waiting for a use. It is a living system that has been developing for thousands of years, hosting organisms we have barely begun to characterize, preserving a chemical and biological record we have barely begun to read,” the author argues.
- This article is a commentary. The views expressed are those of the author, not necessarily of Mongabay.

Indigenous rangers pull killer ‘ghost nets’ from Australia’s northern coast
- Indigenous ranger groups across northern Australia are removing tons of ghost nets and other marine debris from some of the country’s most remote coastline, where abandoned fishing gear kills turtles, dugongs and sharks long after it is lost.
- The nets ride ocean currents into the Gulf of Carpentaria from Southeast Asia, and removing them is slow and dangerous work, though rangers are now using drones and AI to find nets faster than before.
- After funding for the patrols nearly lapsed, the Australian government committed AU$25 million ($18 million) over four years, most of it to continue the cleanups, and AU$4.5 million ($3.2 million) to stop nets from reaching the ocean in the first place.
- Rangers and advocates say the fix is not to blame any single country, but to address the problem at its source and keep supporting the Traditional Owners who care for this coastline.

Gold miners breach a crucial refuge for rescued Sumatran orangutans
- New analysis by Indonesia’s largest environmental pressure group shows illegal goldminers have encroached Indonesia’s Jantho forest reservation, a vital reintroduction site for the charity workers and state biodiversity officials trying to save the critically endangered Sumatran orangutan from extinction.
- Global investors have rushed to buy gold to maintain wealth against inflation and political instability, exacerbated by the Trump administration and Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
- The total area damaged by goldminers in Indonesia’s Jantho reservation according to satellite analysis exceeds 14 hectares (around 35 acres), equivalent to approximately 20 football pitches.
- A traditional administrator for the Jantho area in Aceh, a semiautonomous province of Indonesia, said 13 local villages had united against mining in the area, and had reported the miners to local authorities.

This rare wild cow is making a comeback
Thailand’s banteng (Bos javanicus) population has declined dramatically across much of its range. But inside Huai Kha Khaeng Wildlife Sanctuary, this rare wild cattle species is making a comeback. Anti-poaching efforts and community-led ecotourism have allowed banteng to return to the forests, benefiting both wildlife and local livelihoods.
Superb fairywrens disappearing in Australia’s capital: Conserving insects could help save them
- A three-decade study of Australia’s beloved superb fairywren revealed a substantial decline in what was previously considered a common species in the capital, Canberra. This population could disappear within decades.
- Researchers say this is part of a worrying trend of declining woodland birds and insects in Australia and across the globe, mainly driven by loss of habitat, pesticides and changing climate.
- The study highlighted the “catastrophic cumulative effect” that multiple small impacts from climate change can have on wildlife.
- Through collaborative efforts between ornithologists, entomologists and local communities, Australia could reshape its urban environments and better monitor the health of its birds: creating insect-friendly gardens and protecting and restoring bushy habitat could help slow its decline.

Scientists use satellites to track whale strandings in remote places from space
- In the early 2000s, attempts to track cetaceans from space yielded only unidentifiable dark blobs; now, very high-resolution satellite imagery allows researchers to pinpoint specific whale species from orbit.
- This optical satellite technology provides access to remote parts of the world’s oceans, helping scientists establish vital baseline data on whale mortality trends, sea surface temperatures and ocean currents.
- Researchers emphasize that satellites will supplement, not replace, traditional field-work, as data quality remains vulnerable to environmental limitations, including cloud cover and heavy winds, and to satellite availability.
- Scientists are building global networks to improve consistency in data collection and are advocating for increased access to satellite data to better understand causes of whale strandings around the world.

Recording a rainforest before Indonesia’s new capital changes it
Founder’s Briefs: An occasional series where Mongabay founder Rhett Ayers Butler shares analysis, perspectives and story summaries. In the forests around Pemaluan in East Kalimantan, Indonesian Borneo, researchers led by Wendy Erb at the Cornell K. Lisa Yang Center for Conservation Bioacoustics in the U.S. have placed audio recorders on mountains, beside caves, and among […]
‘You can’t protect what you don’t know:’ Interview with marine scientist Loyiso Dunga
- The Great African Seaforest is one of the only expanding kelp forests in the world. To better understand this important ecosystem, and why it should be conserved, marine biologist Loyiso Dunga set out to map the entire forest for the first time ever in 2016 using satellite imagery.
- Dunga now works on kelp forest conservation across the globe with both the International Union for Conservation of Nature and the Kelp Forest Alliance.
- As a member of an Indigenous community in South Africa, Dunga is sensitive to how conservation measures were employed during the country’s apartheid-era to expel coastal communities, and makes sure that other scientists include coastal communities in their work.
- “There is so much knowledge that is documented within coastal communities but is outside of science,” Dunga says. “I try to spend a lot of time understanding that, which also enriches my science.”

‘Lost’ for 170 years, rare plant recorded in Sri Lanka
Researchers have found a population of an extremely rare plant species, last recorded in Sri Lanka in 1855, growing in a lowland forest fragment along the Sitawaka Ganga River. Documenting the finding in a recent study, researchers write that the plant, Indianthus virgatus, while officially listed as critically endangered in Sri Lanka, was presumed possibly […]
Turning the tables on invasive lionfish: How Honduran divers are fighting back
TELA, Honduras — Mario never set out to become a lionfish hunter. An engineer by training and founder of the local dive center Tela Divers, he simply wanted to do something about the growing number of invasive lionfish appearing on the reef where he learned to dive. Native to the Indo-Pacific and thought to have […]
First Nations in Canada call for emergency order to protect southern mountain caribou
- Southern mountain caribou are a type of caribou found in mature forests of western Canada, where they subsist on lichen as a winter food.
- Habitat loss — primarily driven by logging — has transformed their mature forest habitat, upsetting the predator-prey balance and leading to caribou declines.
- In the past 20 years, 15 of 40 southern mountain caribou herds in British Columbia and Alberta have winked out, including a transboundary herd that once ranged into the U.S. states of Idaho and Washington.
- In June, the Syilx Okanagan Nation asked the Canadian government to issue an emergency order to protect caribou, with a spokesperson calling provincial efforts insufficient to stop logging of caribou habitat within Syilx Okanagan traditional territory; the Xatśūll First Nation joined the petition in July.

Global sea surface temperatures reach a record high, again
Global sea surface temperatures have reached a record high, raising serious concerns for global Earth systems, according to new data released by the European Union’s Copernicus Climate Change Service (C3S). On Aug. 22, the daily global average sea surface temperature, outside polar regions, reached 21.1° Celsius (69.98° Fahrenheit), exceeding the previous record set in March […]
As Photo Ark turns 20, Joel Sartore photographs 18,000 animal species
- Wildlife photographer Joel Sartore’s National Geographic Photo Ark turned 20 this year and reached its 18,000th animal, a critically endangered red handfish.
- The project aims to photograph every species living in the world’s zoos, aquariums, and sanctuaries, so the portraits can move people to care about extinction.
- Some animals Sartore has photographed, including the northern white rhino Nabiré and the frog Toughie, were among the last of their kind, and have since gone functionally or entirely extinct.
- After more than 30 years as a photographer, Sartore keeps a relentless pace and is preparing his son Cole to carry the Photo Ark forward.

Hà Đình Đức, guardian of Hanoi’s legendary turtle, died at 86
On March 15th 1991 Hà Đình Đức happened to be passing Hồ Gươm, the small lake at the center of Hanoi, when he saw its giant softshell turtle surface. Đức went home and marked the date on his calendar. He was a zoologist, but the encounter created an “invisible bond” between himself and the turtle, […]
A sea cucumber venture in Zanzibar seeks to balance business and conservation
- For decades, conservationists have argued that protecting nature cannot rely indefinitely on donor funding. To endure, conservation efforts must generate enough economic value to sustain themselves.
- That search for sustainable financing has prompted governments, investors and conservation organizations to experiment with models that seek to align commercial returns with environmental protection.
- On Tanzania’s Pemba Island, a company called Asili is betting that sea cucumber ranching can do both. The venture is building the infrastructure needed to cultivate and process sea cucumbers for sale while supporting the restoration and protection of marine ecosystems.
- Yet, significant questions remain. Can enough sea cucumbers be produced to make the business commercially viable? Can profits be shared equitably with local communities? And can a model built around conservation and commerce truly deliver on both promises?

The conservation population of Australia’s endangered eastern quoll welcomes joeys
- The endangered eastern quolls are functionally extinct in the wild on the Australian mainland, but wild populations still survive in Tasmania.
- In fox-free Tasmania, predation by cats is likely a driver of wild population decline.
- Released captive-bred eastern quolls in Tasmania are now demonstrating successful interbreeding with wild populations.
- Meanwhile, work to rewild eastern quolls on the mainland has seen captive-bred quolls released into predator-proof conservation reserves, with plans to scale up over the coming years.

Singapore made a crow-friendly city. Now it wants to shoot them
The resumption of a crow-shooting campaign in Singapore has revived intense debate over lethal wildlife management in the highly urbanized city-state. Government officials revived the culling program in response to public complaints about crow attacks on pedestrians and cyclists, reports contributor Robin Hicks for Mongabay. In a public statement in March announcing the resumption of […]
Community programs linked to lower forest loss in Indonesia’s Borneo during COVID-19
- As climate and economic shocks put pressure on tropical forests, a new study suggests support for rural communities could help protect forests while strengthening their ability to withstand crises.
- Forest loss in protected areas of West Kalimantan on the Indonesian part of Borneo fell during the COVID-19 pandemic, with a larger decline in villages receiving health and livelihood support, the study finds.
- The findings point to health care, alternative livelihoods and other social support as potential tools for easing pressure on forests and helping forest-dependent communities adapt to future economic and environmental shocks — although the study does not establish a direct cause-and-effect relationship.

South Africa’s new gold rush: Big money, high stakes in emerging spekboom restoration sector
- After decades of livestock pressure, 1.5 million hectares (3.7 million acres) of farmland in South Africa’s Albany thicket biome need rehabilitation — the way a burn victim needs lifesaving skin grafts.
- Carbon finance seems the most likely source of funding, kickstarting the process with the mass planting of an endemic drought-tolerant succulent called spekboom (Portulacaria afra).
- Until now, restoration projects have been artisanal, but that’s changed with a $91 million loan to a new entrant and tech giant Amazon throwing its hat into the ring.
- A flush of new funding shows growing faith in a business model for ecosystem restoration, but there’s concern that if projects grow too fast and promise more carbon dioxide drawdown than the emerging science can account for, it could leave projects on shaky ground.

Costa Rica to require wildlife crossings for roads when they impact fauna
Costa Rican lawmakers unanimously voted to require wildlife crossings for new and existing road infrastructure when evidence shows the infrastructure interrupts natural connectivity and threatens wildlife safety. The measure, approved in August 2026, will help wildlife avoid being struck by cars while crossing roads and connect habitat, the regulation notes. Once signed into law by […]
Australia’s 30×30 conservation promise matters a lot, but how it’s achieved is key (commentary)
- How Australia — one of the planet’s most megadiverse nations — tackles its goal to conserve 30% of its land and seas by 2030 (30×30) may signal whether this, the world’s most ambitious conservation commitment, can succeed.
- With just four years to meet its promise, Australia has a way to go, but has also achieved some important milestones in part by involving Indigenous communities closely in the effort.
- “If Australia meets the target well, it will help demonstrate that conservation can be representative, rights-based, well-funded, and effective,” a new op-ed argues.
- This article is a commentary. The views expressed are those of the author, not necessarily of Mongabay.

13 peccaries sail home to heal a Costa Rican forest
- Costa Rica’s Osa Conservation moved 13 white-lipped peccaries by truck and boat across the Golfo Dulce to reintroduce the threatened species to Piedras Blancas National Park, where hunters had wiped it out roughly 18 years ago.
- The peccaries function as ecosystem engineers, churning soil, dispersing seeds, and digging wallows that become microhabitats, and serve as key prey for jaguars, which had also vanished from the park.
- The translocation followed more than a decade of population study, community outreach, and patient corral-baiting, culminating in a 16-hour, 20-person relay to capture, transport, and soft-release the herd, which now appears healthy and cohesive based on tracking data and camera-trap monitoring.
- The herd’s long-term safety still hinges on curbing poaching and sustaining local support, and Osa Conservation plans further translocations this year toward a target of 25-30 peccaries in the park.

US environmental groups plan to sue to relist gray whales under Endangered Species Act
A group of environmental organizations announced their intent to sue the United States National Marine Fisheries Services (NMFS) for failing to consider protections for Eastern Pacific gray whales under the Endangered Species Act (ESA). Gray whales (Eschrichtius robustus) are experiencing a potentially catastrophic population decline, a sharp reversal from what had been considered a conservation […]
In Java’s hills, former bird hunters are rebuilding a songbird haven
- Some former hunters on the Indonesian island of Java have abandoned catching birds for the songbird trade and have since become notable local conservation figures.
- The Menoreh Hills is a karst biosphere in Central Java province where sightings of songbirds have declined over several years due to hunting and land-use change.
- One local songbird, the Javan blue flycatcher, has become critically endangered due to hunting, with population assessments indicating the number of caged birds is at least an order of magnitude greater than the total population living freely in low- and mid-lying forests in Java.

A ‘leading’ Chinese miner of Mozambique’s heavy sands linked to environmental destruction
- Rapid loss of mangroves in Mozambique’s Zambezia Province is linked to the activities of Mozambique Heavy Sand Company VIII, which is part-owned by an influential Chinese mining group, Mongabay has found.
- The mangrove loss occurred inside a site considered “one of the most diverse and productive river delta systems in the world.”
- Satellite imagery suggests it was caused by what appears to be a blocked waterway where sand mining activities took place between 2022 and 2026.
- Increasingly, environmentalists are raising the alarm about the environmental impacts of heavy minerals prospecting and mining in vast sections along Mozambique’s coast.

Pastoralists in a Changing World
Pastoralism is one of humanity’s oldest ways of life. Moving livestock across vast landscapes in rhythm with seasonal change and environmental conditions, pastoralist cultures rely on freedom of movement and shared arrangements over how to graze rangelands. Today, pastoralists are navigating profound environmental changes to the lands that have sustained their communities for generations. This […]
As hay fever sufferers grow in Japan, the country is looking to plant no-pollen trees
- More than 40% of the population in Japan suffers from hay fever, or kafunsho, an annual affliction.
- The majority of Japan’s hay fever sufferers are allergic to the pollen of two trees — sugi and hinoki. Both trees were widely planted in the years following World War II as a much-needed source of timber.
- In 2023, the Japanese government announced a solution: Fell 750,000 hectares of sugi and hinoki trees in a bid to cut the problem off at the root.
- After decades of work, researchers have developed more than 30 strains of low-pollen and no-pollen sugi trees, which will replace some of the trees cut down.

Nigeria can build the new coastal highway and also protect natural areas (commentary)
- To improve living conditions in Nigeria, new roads like the Lagos–Calabar Coastal Highway are needed.
- But these can and must be built in such a way that protects mangroves, swamps, and remnant forests, using knowledge and tools like environmental and social impact assessments.
- “The question is not whether Nigeria should develop. It is whether development will be intelligent enough to avoid destroying the natural infrastructure that already protects coastal communities,” a new op-ed argues.
- This article is a commentary. The views expressed are those of the author, not necessarily of Mongabay.

Blast fishing destroys reefs. Underwater microphones can help detect it
- Once home to a pristine and vibrant network of coral reefs, the Spermonde Archipelago off the coast of South Sulawesi in Indonesia has had its coral decimated by the illegal practice of blast fishing, in which improvised explosives are tossed into the sea to kill and stun fish en masse.
- A new study harnesses acoustic data to produce what is likely the first rigorous estimate of the frequency and intensity of bomb fishing in the archipelago.
- Using low-cost microphones and an easy-to-run algorithm, the researchers detected more than 3,500 so-called fish bombs going off in their study area within the archipelago — an average of 23 blasts a day, or almost one every hour.
- The scientists believe their approach could help communities and NGOs around the world design targeted interventions to combat the practice, which can devastate not only reefs but the broader marine ecosystems.

Scientists discover 149 new deep-sea species at remote Indian Ocean seamounts
- A new study details a deep-sea expedition near the remote Christmas and Cocos islands, where researchers visited unexplored seamounts and identified 149 previously unknown marine species, including black corals, sea worms, sea cucumbers and a variety of fish.
- At a site they dubbed “The Shark Tooth Graveyard,” researchers discovered around 1,000 shark teeth, covering more than 22 million years of evolution.
- Researchers from institutions in Australia, New Zealand, Canada and the U.S. surveyed the seafloor down to 5,431 meters (17,818 feet), where conditions are cold, dark and high-pressure with limited food options for benthic species.
- Deep-sea research is notoriously challenging, but scientists stress the importance of exploring these ecosystems as they face growing threats from warming oceans, pollution, overfishing and deep-sea mining.

‘They will do it legally or illegally’: Interview with James Giahyue on Liberia’s cocoa boom
- In July, Mongabay published a feature investigation and video report about deforestation in southeastern Liberia dude to cacao cultivation.
- The remote region contains some of West Africa’s last intact rainforests, many of which are under threat due to the emergence of the cacao industry there.
- Liberian journalist James Giahyue told Mongabay that poverty and the involvement of local politicians are helping to drive deforestation there.

Kenyan investigators arrest 4 people linked to 18 Amboseli elephant deaths
At least four suspects have been arrested in connection with the deaths of 18 elephants in the Amboseli ecosystem in southern Kenya, near the border with Tanzania. Preliminary investigations by a multiagency team suggest poisoning from agricultural pesticides, authorities say. In July, 16 elephants were found dead at Kimana Sanctuary and Kuku Group Ranch in […]
El Niño is disrupting the Pacific’s marine food web from the bottom up
As the 2026 El Niño strengthens in the equatorial Pacific, satellites are capturing the first major signs of disruption to the marine food web. According to by NASA’s Earth Observatory observations, satellite measurements show a substantial drop in surface concentrations of chlorophyll across the Central Pacific compared with neutral conditions in June 2025. Chlorophyll is […]
Tracing the origins of tulips: Interview with botanist Brett Wilson
- A massive genetic analysis of wild tulips has confirmed that Central Asia is the birthplace of tulips, but no single country can rightfully claim the flower originated within its borders.
- The researchers of the study also traced the closest ancestors of the popular garden tulips down to two possible candidates, Tulipa suaveolens and T. scardica.
- Brett Wilson, the study’s lead author and co-founder of the IUCN SSC Wild Tulip Specialist Group, told Mongabay that “urgent action is needed … if we are not going to lose a great many of these species.”
- More than half of all wild tulips assessed on the IUCN Red List are threatened with extinction.

Polluted waterways and water shortages complicate the fight against Ebola in the DRC
- Safe access to water is scarce across parts of Ituri province, which is the epicenter of the Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of the Congo.
- The Ebola virus is transmitted through direct contact with bodily fluids like blood, saliva and urine of an infected person. It is, therefore, crucial, in order to prevent the spread of the disease, to be able to wash regularly. Response teams also need access to water to clean equipment and areas used by patients.
- People sometimes use taps and showers installed at Ebola treatment centers to collect water, potentially increasing contact between healthy and infected people.
- Artisanal and small-scale mining in the region also put pressure on local water resources, by turning some waterbodies muddy.

Can REDD+ deliver for Philippines’ Iraya Mangyan?
- The Mindoro Forest and Biodiversity Conservation Programme combines Indigenous forest patrols, ancestral-domain support, carbon monitoring and livelihood projects to protect more than 40,000 hectares (nearly 99,000 acres) of Iraya Mangyan forest.
- Indigenous patrollers and local officials say the program has already strengthened monitoring and helped reduce timber poaching and small-scale mining, while surveys have documented hundreds of plant and animal species across the project area.
- Community nurseries and paid conservation roles are creating early livelihood opportunities, but many benefits remain limited and uneven while the project awaits verification, a finalized benefit-sharing agreement and carbon revenue expected no earlier than around 2029.
- Whether the program can deliver lasting benefits will depend on finalizing a transparent revenue-sharing agreement, sustaining patrols and livelihoods during the long wait for carbon income, and ensuring the Iraya retain a meaningful role in decisions over their forests.

At global desertification conference, pastoralists call for greater recognition
- Hundreds of pastoralists are in Mongolia for the U.N. Convention to Combat Desertification, or UNCCD, from Aug. 17 to 28, 2026.
- They want stronger protections for Indigenous pastoral traditions, greater access to funding and resources to address climate change, and official recognition of Indigenous knowledge of how to adapt to a hotter, drier world.
- The pace of arable land degradation is 30 to 35 times the historic average, threatening even the most resilient communities, according to the U.N.
- Pastoralist delegates say that though their traditions offer biodiversity benefits, traditional knowledge is not always enough as climate change and land degradation accelerate.

Indonesia charges 72 over fires as haze chokes Borneo and Sumatra
Indonesian authorities have charged 72 individuals with intentionally igniting forest fires across five provinces on the island of Borneo and four on Sumatra. Fires across both islands have burned nearly 286,000 hectares (about 707,000 acres) of land from January to Aug. 24 alone, according to FireWatch, a satellite-based monitoring tool developed by forest-mapping platform Nusantara […]
Only 1,325-1,648 wild elephants left in Indonesia, government says
- The new estimate represents a decline of 41-45% over the 2,400-2,800 estimate published by Indonesia in 2007.
- The launch of the new 2026-2036 strategy and action plan for elephant conservation comes after a long wait since the current plan expired in 2017.
- The new plan sorts Indonesia’s wild elephants into 21 population pockets in Sumatra and one in Kalimantan, the Indonesian part of Borneo.

EU’s deforestation rule could derail Liberia’s cocoa trade
In Liberia’s Grand Gedeh county, deforestation for cocoa has soared since 2020, pushing the region’s cocoa trade into an uncertain future. The EU is Liberia’s biggest cocoa customer, but is set to implement the EU Deforestation Regulation (EUDR), which bans the import of forest products, including cocoa, made on land deforested after Dec. 31, 2020, […]
Inspiring young herpetologists in Sri Lanka: Interview with Anslem de Silva
- Anslem de Silva, Sri Lanka’s pioneering herpetologist, has spent over six decades studying reptiles and amphibians while inspiring generations of conservationists through his work.
- He has authored more than 25 books and 350 scientific papers, shaping global understanding of Sri Lanka’s unique herpetofauna.
- From launching scientific journals such as Lyriocephalus to organizing international crocodile and herpetological conferences, de Silva has created platforms for research and conservation in Sri Lanka and beyond.
- At 86, he is preparing to host the world’s first ever snake conference in Sri Lanka, continuing his lifelong mission to advance snake conservation and awareness.

Cambodia targets online wildlife trade on social media, but experts say it’s not enough
- Cambodia’s environment ministry has called on content creators and social media users to stop posting content that promotes the online sale of wildlife products, to tackle the illegal wildlife trade in the country.
- The ministry’s statement comes after a recent undercover investigation by the NGO Earth League International revealed rampant illegal wildlife trade of endangered species products such as rhino horns, ivory, pangolin scales, and tiger bones, claws, skin and meat.
- The investigation found that most consumers of these products in Cambodia were wealthy Chinese government officials and businessmen, while the trafficking was run by “kingpins” who also operate scam centers to defraud people of their money.
- Conservationists say Cambodia’s statement is encouraging, but doesn’t address the bigger issue: organized criminal syndicates that traffic wildlife as part of their business model.

DNA analysis of Asiatic wild dogs scat in India reveals wild prey preference
Endangered Asiatic wild dogs in central India almost entirely eat wild prey, even where they overlap with livestock, according to a recent study. The findings show that maintaining healthy wild prey populations is key to conserving the species, reports contributor Rajeev Tyagi for Mongabay India. The study, led by the National Centre for Biological Sciences […]
Bogong moths support Australia’s alpine ecosystems, but face uncertain future
- Bogong moths are a critical resource for the many rare and wonderful species that live in the Australian Alps, but their future is far from certain.
- The IUCN classifies the bogong moth as an endangered species, but Australia, the only country where the moth is habitually found, has refused to recognize it as such, categorizing it instead as “data deficient”.
- Currently, a network of entomologists, ecologists, data scientists, First Nations peoples, and volunteers is working to address the data gaps, hoping to reapply for a national endangered species listing and identify the best strategies to protect the bogong moth.
- However, tracking a tiny creature that migrates hundreds of kilometers in the dark of night is no easy task.

In Raja Ampat, children learn that their knowledge can help protect their islands
- Research suggests that children who grow up closely connected to their surroundings can develop sophisticated understandings of their local environment.
- A recent children’s book reading was part of a gathering of Indigenous communities in Arborek that brought together representatives from 20 Indigenous subtribes in Raja Ampat, as well as Indigenous people from other parts of Indonesia and abroad.
- The book turns the biodiversity of Indonesia into a visual story about what could be lost if mining damages the environment.
- The author and illustrator hope that seeing their home, animals and stories represented in a book will encourage the children to tell more stories of their own.

How a rare bird sparked a wildlife movement across 16 villages in Guyana
- The documentation of the endangered red siskin, a rare bird, in Guyana inspired the creation of the South Rupununi Conservation Society.
- The organization has built a multi-community grassroots conservation approach that is grounded in traditional knowledge, organizes across 16 village boundaries and includes Indigenous villagers, farmers and teachers who research wildlife, develop conservation guidelines and teach local ecology.
- Projects include community conservation zones to protect wildlife such as giant anteaters, the genetic documentation of species and monitoring.
- Short-term funding, development pressure and cultural change threaten the model, even as communities invest their own money into projects.

Xokleng Indigenous people plant thousands of critically endangered pine in Brazil
The Xokleng Indigenous people of Santa Catarina state of southern Brazil have planted nearly a 100,000 seedlings of a critically endangered native tree, Mongabay contributor Letícia Klein reported. The Brazilian pine (Araucaria angustifolia), or araucária, can grow more than 50 meters (164 feet) tall and has a straight trunk with a broad crown of branches […]
Did you know forests can save themselves?
Did you know forests can save themselves? (With a little help from us, of course). Turns out, trees can be super valuable apart from being used for timber. Their seeds, nuts, leaves, bark, and more are natural commodities… and have the potential to prevent logging, support local communities, and protect the health of our precious […]
Rescue networks built by fire: Saving animals from Australia’s bushfires
- While emergency responders prioritized human life and property during Australia’s 2019-2020 Black Summer bushfires, there were few systems in place to protect wildlife or evacuate and care for domestic animals during and after the fires, exposing a gap in disaster planning.
- Neighbors, wildlife carers, veterinarians, landholders and volunteers rapidly organized evacuations, rescue efforts, feeding stations and supply networks, demonstrating the power of local knowledge and grassroots coordination.
- Fire ecology research suggests animals may be more vulnerable to fire than previously understood, and more research is needed to understand wildlife mortality and survival during and post-bushfire.
- Experts say that community-led efforts could dramatically improve outcomes for both people and animals during disasters with better funding, coordination and institutional support. Community networks offer a blueprint for the future as bushfires become more frequent in a climate-changed world.

Local knowledge guides rediscovery of spinach pipefish, not seen in four decades
- Scientists have rediscovered spinach pipefish, a freshwater species endemic to Papua New Guinea’s Sepik River, not seen in nearly 40 years.
- The discovery came during a two-week survey led by local scientists and community members. Local fisherwoman Helen Asu netted two spinach pipefish, which scientists sent to experts for confirmation of the taxonomy.
- Scientists say the rediscovery offers hope that populations of the little-known, elusive fish still survive and provides an opportunity to understand more about its life cycle, habitat and ecology.
- The discovery highlights the importance of combining local knowledge with scientific research.

Daniel Janzen and the long work of bringing back a forest
- Daniel Janzen’s scientific work helped reshape ecologists’ understanding of tropical forests, especially the relationships among plants, insects, pathogens, predators, and seeds.
- With Winnie Hallwachs and Costa Rican partners, he helped turn degraded ranchlands in Guanacaste into a protected, working landscape that now connects ecosystems from the Pacific coast to cloud forest and Caribbean rainforest.
- ACG’s parataxonomists, educators, field staff, directors, and neighboring communities have made the project durable through their day-to-day work, linking conservation to local employment, education, and scientific expertise.
- Janzen and Hallwachs’s more recent work on DNA barcoding and bioliteracy aims to help Costa Rica identify, study, and value the extraordinary diversity of life within its borders.

Antarctic krill fishery closes months early amid increasing fishing pressure
- The krill fishery in the Southern Ocean has closed more than three months early after reaching its annual catch limit of 620,000 metric tons — a precautionary quota established to prevent overfishing.
- Krill forms the foundation of the Antarctic food web, with penguins, whales, seals, fish, squid and other animals depending on the tiny shrimp-like crustacean.
- The early closure of the fishery is linked to the growth of the krill-targeting fleet, as well as to what some scientists call an “unprecedented” concentration of fishing activities in areas where krill is most abundant.
- Scientists are raising concerns about the combined impacts of overfishing and climate change on both krill and the Antarctic and Southern Ocean wildlife it nourishes.

A deadly cross over: In South Africa, rabies moves from land animals to seals
- Cape Town, South Africa, has recorded 135 incidents of aggressive seal behavior toward humans since September 2021, including injuries that led to hospitalizations.
- Researchers suspect the cause is rabies, a disease normally associated with land animals but has leapt to Cape fur seals.
- Since May 2024, rabies cases have been confirmed in Cape fur seals along the Western Cape and Northern Cape coastlines of South Africa — the first time the virus has established itself in a marine mammal population anywhere in the world.
- Beyond attacks on humans, researchers worry whether the disease will spread to other marine mammals, as seals interact with different species.

Dragonflies help protect water and ancestral Indigenous languages in Colombia
- Researchers investigating Colombia’s remote region of Guainía have identified nearly 120 dragonfly and damselfly species, uncovering a biodiversity hotspot for these insects.
- Dragonflies rely on pristine freshwater ecosystems, but their aquatic habitats face growing pressure from regional deforestation, unmanaged waste and exponential tourism.
- By naming in their ancestral languages and monitoring local dragonflies, communities are deepening their understanding of ecosystem health and connecting biodiversity and ancestral wisdom with water protection.

Culture, welfare and politics clash over Sri Lanka’s long-delayed animal welfare law
- Sri Lanka’s government has greenlit the country’s long-delayed animal welfare bill, which proposes stringent penalties for cruelty to animals and would replace a century-old animal cruelty law.
- The draft law has reignited a fierce debate over the centuries-old practice of using domesticated elephants in religious processions.
- Critics say the proposed law could effectively end elephant chaining, while animal welfare advocates argue that the bill does not explicitly prohibit chains but instead targets causing unnecessary pain, suffering and cruelty.
- With the bill now before parliament, the elephant debate is forcing Sri Lanka to confront the realities of regulating the use of an animal that occupies both a place in religious tradition and is a protected species.

Move over bears. Fat Marmot Week puts a spotlight on the alpine rodents
GOTHIC, Colo. (AP) — Fat Marmot Week is coming soon. Last winter was tough for the groundhog-like rodents living in the Colorado mountains. Researchers say there wasn’t enough snow to keep marmots’ burrows warm while they hibernated, causing many of the animals to freeze to death. The marmots that survived are doing well. They’ve fattened […]
Angola’s peatlands highly underestimated, new study suggests
- New research mapping out the Angolan Highlands Water Tower (AWHT), a stretch of elevated plateau spanning 380,382 km², finds that a significantly larger portion of the region hosts peatland than previously thought.
- The findings show that the AWHT, named thus because it receives and regulates vast amounts of rainwater, and because it feeds important freshwater systems across southern Africa, is also a critical carbon sink.
- The research can inform national carbon policies and conservation strategies for these peatlands which store thousands of years-old carbon, experts said.
- The biggest threats to the AHWT’s peatlands are human-made including slash and burn agriculture and the unsustainable use of peat — partially decomposed plant material that builds up in waterlogged soils — which result in the release of CO2.

How ‘gentle power’ can preserve traditional biodiversity in Tokyo
- In Japan, satoyama are rural landscapes with natural attributes that have also been shaped by centuries of human activity.
- Tokyo’s satoyama provide habitat for many kinds of animals, including ecologically sensitive amphibians.
- A recent study examined a satoyama conservation initiative in Tokyo, finding that it succeeded by prioritizing mutual trust and collaboration — an approach the study defines as “gentle power”.
- Yet, some say this approach, which is based on volunteer participation, can stagnate as the volunteers are typically older, leading to the challenge of “how to pass this on to the younger generation.”

Southeast Asia is a hotspot for oak trees, many under ‘dire threat’
- A recent report sheds light on Southeast Asia’s important oak tree diversity and underlines that many of these species are highly threatened.
- Many threatened oak species in the region have limited distribution data, lack protected area coverage and aren’t found in ex situ collections.
- The report authors are calling for surveys targeted at oaks, expansion of protected areas, and propagation of seedlings for restoration.

Spain proposes 23 new marine protected areas in the Canary Islands and Mediterranean
- The proposal represents Spain’s latest effort to advance protection of 30% of its waters by 2030.
- It looks to protect 22,405 square kilometers (8,651 square miles) of marine waters, primarily in the eastern North Atlantic Ocean around the Canary Islands, as well as four sites in the Mediterranean Sea.
- Conservation groups have raised concerns in recent years about the state of Spain’s marine protected areas, highlighting a significant discrepancy between areas designated “on paper” and those that are subject to effective protection.

Hands On: Stories that build change
Communities across the globe are responding to environmental pressures like climate change, biodiversity loss and pollution with local knowledge and practical action. This Mongabay multimedia Special Issue documents what communities are doing to adapt through hands-on activities—showcasing applied wisdom, craftsmanship, and worldviews that are crucial to navigating environmental crises at the local level
Reconnecting the skies: Linking flyways for migratory seabirds across continents
- Seabirds are the most threatened group of birds, with more than 30% at risk of extinction. Migratory seabirds are especially vulnerable.
- Researchers have described six marine flyways used by migratory pelagic seabirds, aerial corridors that cross the national waters of 56 countries; the high seas are used by at least 151 species.
- In March, the U.N. Convention on Migratory Species adopted a resolution on marine flyways, creating a structure for international cooperation on protections.
- Researchers are using seabird tracking data to identify key sites along marine flyways that need protection or mitigation measures against threats.

This tiny Thai lizard shares its name with a ‘House of the Dragon’ beast
Researchers have described a new-to-science species of horned lizard from the high-elevation, evergreen forests of western Thailand. The lizard, named the Syrax mountain horned dragon, or Acanthosaura syrax, in a recent study, was discovered in Mae Wong National Park. The species name syrax refers to the yellow dragon ridden by Queen Rhaenyra Targaryen in the […]
Hermit crabs and cockroaches emerge as unlikely seed dispersers on a Japanese island
In the humid, coastal forests of Japan’s Ishigaki Island, near Okinawa, a parasitic plant relies on some unusual allies to spread its seeds: land hermit crabs and cockroaches, according to a recent study. The plant, fungus root (Balanophora fungosa), is non-photosynthetic, meaning it lacks chlorophyll and can’t make its own food. Instead, it grows as […]
To secure protected areas from wildlife trafficking, criminal networks must be dismantled (commentary)
- Well managed protected areas can reduce the illegal wildlife trade, but the reality is that this crime will persist as long as trafficking networks remain, a new op-ed says.
- Corruption often provides traffickers a way to circumvent and undermine even well-managed protected areas, suppressing enforcement and concealing wildlife losses.
- “The question is not whether we can afford to invest in dismantling trafficking networks. Given what we now know about their reach and capacity, the question is whether we can afford not to,” a new op-ed argues.
- This article is a commentary. The views expressed are those of the author, not necessarily of Mongabay.

Criminal probe clears Sloth World of criminal neglect in deaths of 57 animals
Authorities in the U.S. state of Florida have cleared a controversial startup of criminal neglect after dozens of wild-caught sloths that it imported from South America for tourism purposes died. The Orange County Sheriff’s Office (OCSO) opened an investigation following the closure of the Sloth World facility in April this year. On Aug. 19, it […]
Climate change drove extreme July heat in European seas, study finds
European coastal waters recorded unprecedented sea surface temperatures in July 2026. A new study has found that human-induced climate change primarily drove the temperature surge, pushing marine ecosystems past their limits. The rapid analysis was conducted by World Weather Attribution (WWA), a global network of researchers who analyze the influence of climate change in extreme […]
Indigenous fishers rethink shark hunting & protect species on Colombia’s coast
- In the Colombian department of La Guajira, at South America’s northernmost tip, Indigenous Wayuu fishers from the community of Punta Gallinas are working with marine biologists to conserve and document shark populations.
- Despite a 2021 law banning targeted shark and ray fishing in Colombia, the meat remains a vital protein source in one of the country’s most remote and food-insecure regions.
- Colombian shark conservation initiative Proyecto Puyuii is working with Wayuu fishers to record shark species in the understudied waters of La Guajira, implementing sustainability measures such as larger-mesh nets, safe release techniques and avoiding longlines.
- With sustainable tourism touted as a potential economic alternative to shark fishing, some fishers argue that compensation will need to be offered before they can afford to stop.

Nepal pushes for hydropower in protected areas through legal grey area
- Nepal’s government is allowing hydropower development inside protected areas, despite a January 2025 Supreme Court ruling that invalidates the legal provision for this activity.
- With the court’s full verdict still unpublished, the government has interpreted the ruling and continued to issue land-use and environmental permits.
- Mongabay’s investigation finds that 10 private hydropower projects, totaling more than 360 MW, have received permits since January 2026, affecting about 85 hectares across the Annapurna, Gaurishankar and Kanchanjunga protected areas, and the buffer zones of Makalu Barun and Langtang national parks.
- Officials say they are relying on 2023 guidelines and cabinet decisions covering projects licensed before July 2024, while the country’s wildlife department has continued approving feasibility studies, environmental assessments and transmission lines in protected-area buffer zones.

Sloth bears help shape India’s dry forests as unlikely seed dispersers
Sloth bears play a critical role in structuring India’s dry deciduous forests by dispersing viable seeds and influencing plant regeneration, reports contributor Sneha Mahale for Mongabay India. “Dry deciduous forests’ plant compositions are a function of sloth bear presence, movement, and dietary habits,” study co-author K.S. Gopi Sundar, an independent scientist, told Mongabay India. For […]
Why every endangered species needs a champion: a conversation with conservationist Bill Konstant
- Wildlife conservationist Bill Konstant has spent more than four decades helping build species-conservation programs, connect field biologists with funding, and support threatened wildlife around the world.
- Konstant argues that successful conservation often depends on strong local leadership, committed species champions, diverse teams and relatively small, strategically targeted grants that can launch or sustain field projects.
- He sees the growth of career biologists and conservation organizations in primate range countries as one of the field’s most encouraging changes, even as habitat loss and wildlife population declines remain persistent problems.
- Konstant spoke with Mongabay founder Rhett Ayers Butler in August 2026 about his career, his memoir Wrestles With Wolves, and what decades of species conservation have taught him about how conservation succeeds.

Dolphin mother and calf observed using shells to catch fish in Australia
A small population of dolphins in Shark Bay in Western Australia have a documented history of using an unusual tool to help them catch fish: Large, empty snail shells. For the first time, scientists have now observed the same behavior in a different dolphin population on Australia’s east coast. Researchers even filmed a baby dolphin […]
Orangutan Day: Here’s where the three critically endangered species stand
Aug. 19 is World Orangutan Day, a day to honor the three species of Southeast Asian great apes, all of which are classified as critically endangered by the IUCN, the global conservation authority. Orangutans were classified into two species: The Sumatran orangutan (Pongo abelii) found in northern Sumatra, Indonesia, and the Bornean orangutan (Pongo pygmaeus), […]
Egypt’s deserts show why ecological knowledge matters in conservation (commentary)
- Egypt is famous for ancient ruins but its protected areas and biosphere reserves contain another kind of heritage: Fossil valleys, desert plants, coral-linked coastal systems, migration routes, geological formations and human knowledge shaped by arid environments.
- Desert expanses are not empty — or merely open spaces between archaeological monuments — but rather are places full of life, and this point matters urgently, a new op-ed argues.
- “If conservation is to work in these landscapes, it must listen more carefully. It must see local ecological knowledge not as anecdote, and interpretation not as decoration, but as tools for making protection more grounded, more understandable and more just,” the author writes.
- This article is a commentary. The views expressed are those of the author, not necessarily of Mongabay.

Philippine Supreme Court rules monitoring commercial fishing vessels is unconstitutional
- The Philippine Supreme Court struck down a regulation requiring commercial fishing vessels to continuously transmit their locations and submit electronic catch reports.
- The requirement was partially implemented before being suspended in 2022 during a court challenge, with devices installed on about 52% of targeted vessels.
- Small-scale fishers and scientists warn reduced oversight could increase commercial incursions into coastal waters where many fish stocks are already overexploited.
- Following the high court’s decision, the country’s Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources filed a motion for reconsideration, a procedural remedy that allows a party to ask the Supreme Court to review its ruling before it becomes final.

Cougars cut deadly vehicle-deer collisions in the US by up to 76%, study shows
- When cougars are present in a landscape, roads are safer, according to a new study.
- In area where the cats were highly active, the expected number of deer-vehicle collisions fell by 76% over five years, with the probability of a collision falling by 67%.
- Researchers found that fear changes deer behavior: Rather than simply reducing deer numbers by eating them, pumas appear to create a “landscape of fear” that pushes deer away from developed areas and shifts their active hours from nighttime into daylight.
- Large carnivores, including cougars, keep fast-reproducing prey species in check, while also reducing dangerous and costly wildlife collisions — another reason why coexistence with them is important, experts say.

Spotted by AI: seahorses and shark fins
While elephant ivory, rhino horns and pangolin scales get a lot of attention when it comes to illegal wildlife trade, marine wildlife are widely targeted as well. A new AI-driven tool detects marine wildlife in luggages and bags at airports. The tool can detect sea cucumbers, sea horses and shark fins, with more species to […]
Why carbon markets alone won’t save Southeast Asia’s concessions forests
New research suggests a “massive and untapped” opportunity for conservation within commercial concessions in Southeast Asia, reports Mongabay’s Carolyn Cowan. Using satellite data, researchers identified roughly 42 million hectares (104 million acres) of intact forest still standing inside logging, timber, rubber and oil palm concessions across Cambodia, Indonesia, Malaysia and Myanmar. The study suggests that […]
Tapirs, bats and nests: How plastic infiltrates Amazonian wildlife
- Studies have found microplastics in various species of Amazonian wildlife, including fish, tapirs, crabs and bats, even within protected areas far from major urban centers.
- Contamination spreads through multiple routes, traveling from small forest streams known as igarapés to the mouth of the Amazon River, where birds are building “blue nests” out of plastic debris.
- Although the toxic effects on animals remain poorly understood, data show that microplastics cross between aquatic and terrestrial ecosystems, potentially impacting the entire food chain.

‘Remembering Wildlife’ shines a spotlight on the species we risk losing forever
British wildlife photographer Margot Raggett says she created the book Remembering Elephants after she heard David Attenborough say, “The question is, are we happy to suppose that our grandchildren may never be able to see an elephant except in a picture book?” Her effort was to provoke this question in others and to give the […]
Elders, conservationists race to record fading sacred ties to Philippines’ endemic birds
- The Iraya Mangyan ancestral forestland supports hundreds of plant and animal species, including many that are rare, threatened or found only on the Philippines’ Mindoro Island.
- Culturally important birds include the Mindoro racket-tail (Prioniturus mindorensis), Mindoro boobook (Ninox mindorensis) and Mindoro scops owl (Otus mindorensis), whose calls and behaviors guide weather preparation, farming decisions and spiritual practices.
- Iraya knowledge also links medicinal plants, wildlife and healing, showing how customary beliefs can regulate harvesting, discourage disturbance and protect forest habitats.
- Community-led documentation will help carry this knowledge into ancestral-domain planning, ecotrail interpretation and broader conservation of Mindoro’s endemic wildlife.

On the Great Barrier Reef, management by Traditional Owners is growing
- Joint management of the Great Barrier Reef is changing, with Traditional Owners playing an increasing role in the conservation of one of the seven natural wonders of the world.
- Despite climate change continuing to threaten the health of the Reef, the World Heritage Committee has again decided not to put the Great Barrier Reef on its “in danger” list, and has cited increased levels of Traditional Owner management in its decision.
- Traditional use and management agreements currently cover 43% of the Great Barrier Reef’s coastline and the government has announced new funding and measures to further include Indigenous management.
- There are still gaps in the full inclusion of Indigenous communities in the stewardship of their traditional waters, say Indigenous governance organizations, though strides are being made.

Indigenous food sovereignty is one of the most overlooked conservation strategies (commentary)
- Conservation cannot succeed if it separates biodiversity from the Indigenous people who have helped sustain it for generations, a new op-ed argues.
- Indigenous food systems are an important facet of this biological stewardship, and these demonstrate that ecological stewardship, cultural continuity and human well-being are deeply interconnected.
- “Indigenous food sovereignty is not simply about preserving the past but, rather, it is a living practice and a proven practical pathway toward a more diverse, resilient and sustainable future the world needs,” the authors write.
- This article is a commentary. The views expressed are those of the authors, not necessarily of Mongabay.

On an Indonesian island, an ancient ritual evolves to protect an endangered cockatoo
- A new study has found that the Huaulu Indigenous community on Indonesia’s Seram Island is adapting a centuries-old coming-of-age ritual to help protect the endangered salmon-crested cockatoo.
- Researchers say that rather than hunting the birds for their feathers, used in the Cidaku ceremony, the Huaulu have agreed to use naturally shed feathers, collected from rehabilitation centers, rescue facilities and zoos.
- The findings suggest that conservation efforts may be more effective when they work with Indigenous cultural traditions and local knowledge rather than relying solely on imposing restrictions from outside.
- However, an independent expert warns that this still leaves the much larger threats to the species — wildlife trafficking and habitat loss — unaddressed, and that the approach is a bespoke solution that won’t work with other threatened species.

As an industry and a cooking ingredient, seaweed is gaining ground in Brazil
- In Paraty, Brazil, a Caiçara family has transformed seaweed cultivation into gastronomy, educational tourism and a source of income. The venture is driven by strong female participation and a deep connection to their territory.
- Originally introduced in Brazil to supply the carrageenan industry, the macroalgae Kappaphycus alvarezii is also being used as a biofertilizer and increasingly as a food item..
- Its farming also supports ecological balance. It produces oxygen, absorbs carbon and helps improve water quality by filtering out excess nutrients.
- Experts say the expansion of seaweed farming in Brazil faces bottlenecks in credit, marketing, technology and regulation. New research networks and public policies are attempting to organize the sector as part of the country’s growing bioeconomy.

Mobile queen conch hatcheries strive to help the species, engage Caribbean communities
- International demand for queen conch meat and shells has led to severe overharvesting, while habitat degradation, pollution and warming waters add further threats.
- In a bid to slow the decline of the queen conch, researchers are partnering with local conservation organizations across the Caribbean to establish a network of mobile hatcheries aimed at protecting the giant marine snail through its vulnerable early life stages.
- The goal is not only to nurture developing conch, but to create community spaces where local people can learn about the queen conch life cycle and participate in restoration efforts.
- However, some researchers have doubts about whether aquaculture alone can restore wild conch fisheries.

‘Cocoa fever’ in Liberia’s Grand Gedeh is wiping out native forests
Until 2020, 99% of Liberia’s Grand Gedeh county was covered by natural forests. Since then, cacao farms have rapidly encroached on those forests, reports Mongabay’s Ashoka Mukpo. Grand Gedeh in southeastern Liberia borders Côte d’Ivoire, the world’s largest exporter of cacao beans. Much of Côte d’Ivoire’s forests have been cleared for cacao and many of its cacao […]
Nepal’s newest national parks drive tiger recovery, but emerging concerns threaten progress
In the last four years, Nepal’s wild tiger population has experienced a historic increase. In 2022, the tiger (Panthera tigris tigris) population was numbered at 355 individuals. Now, it has reached an estimated 429 individuals — nearly a four-fold jump from 16 years ago, reports Mongabay’s Abhaya Raj Joshi. Bed Kumar Dhakal, spokesperson for the […]
Increasingly rare: Jaguarundi moves up a notch on the endangered species list
- The jaguarundi needs more attention, researchers say. This small cat, ranging from Mexico to Argentina, was recently recategorized from least concern to near threatened on the IUCN Red List.
- Despite the species’ large territory, monitoring data suggests it’s rare, now among the least abundant felids across its range. Conservationists also warn some populations are in decline due to human-wildlife conflict, dangerous roadways, attacks by dogs and infectious disease.
- With relatively little field study or funding for research, there are huge gaps in researchers’ understanding of this cat, but conservationists hope this change in conservation status will spark greater attention.

Only a few hundred Timor green pigeons may remain. There is still time to save them
Founder’s Briefs: An occasional series where Mongabay founder Rhett Ayers Butler shares analysis, perspectives and story summaries. On April 20, on the south coast of Timor-Leste, Jafet Potenzo Lopes saw three green pigeons. He had not seen the species for years. The birds were Timor green pigeons, and the site, in Manatuto municipality, had no […]
Safeguarding passageways is the next step for India’s growing tiger populations
As Bengal tiger numbers rebound in India and increasingly disperse into human-dominated areas, conservationists are urging the government to prioritize protecting ecological corridors that connect vital habitats and tiger populations. But they also warn that corridors shouldn’t become sticking plasters for compromised core habitats, reports contributor Nirmal Ghosh for Mongabay. India is home to roughly […]
Logging and the slow disappearance of Australia’s large old trees (commentary)
- Large old trees store substantial amounts of carbon and provide essential nesting and denning hollows for hundreds of Australian animal species.
- Logging removes these trees directly and increases the risk that surviving trees will be damaged by wind and regeneration burns.
- In this commentary, David Lindenmayer of the Australian National University argues that protecting large old trees is essential because they take centuries to replace.
- This article is a commentary. The views expressed are those of the author, not necessarily of Mongabay.

South Africa’s top court blocks Shell oil exploration off country’s Wild Coast
In a landmark judgment on Aug. 14, South Africa’s Constitutional Court set aside exploration rights held by oil giant Shell and Impact Africa, a South African oil and gas company. The ruling prevents the companies from exploring for fossil fuels off South Africa’s Wild Coast. The case was brought by Wild Coast communities and environmental […]
Is this the world’s loneliest tree?
The last known wild individual of Dendroseris neriifolia hangs off the side of a steep cliff on a remote island. To try to prevent its total extinction in the wild, conservationists recently went to great lengths—and heights—to collect seeds from the tree. They have begun trials to cultivate them with the help of the Millennium […]
Steve Smit, South Africa’s “Monkey Man,” has died
- Steve Smit, known in KwaZulu-Natal as the “Monkey Man,” spent three decades rescuing and rehabilitating vervet monkeys and other urban wildlife.
- Before becoming a full-time rescuer, he spent roughly 25 years in South Africa’s intelligence services and helped build the country’s early animal-rights movement.
- Through FALCON, Justice for Animals, and later Monkey Helpline, he challenged elephant culling, wildlife trade, vivisection, and other practices he believed sacrificed individual animals.
- Smit, who died on August 12 at 70, became known for an uncompromising defense of animals that many people regarded as common, troublesome, or expendable.

The king of the Andes: How a village learned to coexist with condors
PÁRAMO EL ALMORZADERO, Colombia — Doris Torres is a sheepherder who grew up seeing Andean condors as enemies. In this remote village high in the Colombian Andes, the birds were blamed for livestock losses and often killed through poisoning or shooting — persecution that helped push their population to the brink. But as Torres learned […]
Global marine protected areas fail to safeguard most sharks and rays: Study
- Marine protected areas (MPAs) cover less than 10% of the ranges of most species of sharks and rays, with significant shortfalls for threatened and critically endangered species, a new study finds.
- The analysis also reveals major gaps in reporting on the extent of fishing and harvesting re-strictions in these preserves.
- The study’s authors recommend including biodiversity targets as part of the 30×30 framework and encourage policymakers to consider aligning MPAs with important shark and ray areas to maximize conservation and biodiversity benefits.
- However, some researchers disagree that blanket MPAs would meaningfully benefit shark and ray conservation.

Among the sacred hills of Colombia’s Guainía
I had been struck by photographs of the Cerros de Mavicure rising above the forest and the Inírida River in eastern Colombia. The dark rock, exposed against an almost unbroken expanse of green, seemed unlike anywhere else I had visited in the Amazon. Last month, ahead of Mongabay Latam’s PUMA FEST in Bogotá, I finally […]
Caught on camera: Sand cats may have a ‘sizable population’ in Qatar
- The tiny, seldom-studied sand cat is the only feline adapted to survive in harsh deserts: It lives across Southwest and Central Asia, northern Africa and the Arabian Peninsula.
- Because of its large geographic range, this cat isn’t classified as threatened by the IUCN, but data is difficult to come by. Some scientists want to uplist the species to near-threatened status.
- The sand cat is difficult to see, day or night. After scattered anecdotal reports, scientists used camera traps to document the first systematic record of the sand cat in Qatar. Their findings offer valuable glimpses into this elusive species’ distribution and preferred habitat.

New studies portray Amazon as surprisingly resilient, but tipping point looms
- Three 2026 studies reveal that the Amazon can regrow quickly, but deforestation and warming could trigger a system-wide tipping point in the next 15 years.
- Research also shows that repeated wildfires are replacing fire-resistant specialist trees with generalist species, halving biodiversity at forest edges despite a closing canopy.
- According to research, extreme conditions have increased tree mortality due to hydraulic failure, which is key to understanding the forest’s shrinking carbon sinks.
- Ending deforestation is necessary and achievable, but must be combined with global actions to curb climate change, say experts.

How women farmers are helping elephants and forests in a Sumatran national park
- Tesso Nilo National Park on the Indonesian island of Sumatra is notorious for human-wildlife conflicts, but women farmers living in its buffer zone are working to protect the park.
- Members of the Batang Nilo Women’s Forest Farmer Group, known as Perbani, plant citrus trees, which elephants avoid, around their farms, while also growing fruits that the animals can feed on.
- Perbani also empowers its more than 30 members through monthly gender equality classes, covering skills such as leadership and public speaking, as well as a savings-and-loans scheme.
- In 2024, the forestry ministry granted the women’s group Wanawiyata Widyakarya status, awarded to community organizations that successfully run conservation and forestry-related enterprises and provide training to residents.

How AI helps gather remote biodiversity data: Interview with Microsoft’s Juan Lavista Ferres
- An AI-powered tool is helping keep an eye on the world’s most remote forests.
- Named SPARROW, the biodiversity monitoring tool continuously gathers and analyzes images and audio from forests over a long time period without human intervention.
- Developed by Microsoft, it aims to make data gathering and analysis from remote forests easier for scientists and conservationists.
- SPARROW has been deployed in five continents and, according to Microsoft, tests on location show it can function for more than a year without interruption.

100 species on the brink get a $200m conservation lifeline
Recovery projects for 100 critically endangered and extinct-in-the-wild species across the world are set to receive new funding under a conservation initiative announced Aug. 4. Re:wild and the Bezos Earth Fund, both U.S.-based environmental organizations, created the Phoenix Species Project and committed $100 million each, for a total of $200 million, to the project. The […]
Rescued from traffickers, reintroduced orangutan becomes mother in the wild
- Fieldworkers at the Jantho orangutan release forest in Aceh, Indonesia’s westernmost region, have recorded the 10th birth by orangutans successfully released back into the wild from a charity-run rehabilitation center.
- Indonesia’s forestry minister named the baby Badar, which means a full moon, and highlighted the need for consistent protection of orangutan habitats in Borneo and Sumatra islands, which are home to Indonesia’s three species of orangutan.
- However, a new study on Sumatran orangutan populations published in the September issue of “Global Ecology and Conservation” concluded that surviving populations likely declined by nearly 20% between 2011 and 2023.

South Africa school uses cattle dung to generate biogas for cooking meals
Women preparing meals for more than 1,000 students at Tiyani Secondary School in South Africa’s Limpopo province no longer rely only on firewood. Instead, much of the cooking is powered by biogas generated from cattle dung collected from Tiyani village. This community-led project could reduce pressure on forests while cutting greenhouse gas emissions, experts say. […]
More people, farms, and drought could mean more elephant conflict in Southern Africa
A growing human population, expanding croplands, and drier conditions driven by climate change within protected areas could significantly intensify human-elephant conflict in Southern Africa, a recent study finds. Southern Africa is home to almost 300,000 African savanna elephants (Loxodonta africana), with many populations rebounding after decades of poaching. The region is also seeing rapidly expanding […]
From one deer’s DNA, a road map emerges to save an endangered Philippine species
- Scientists in the Philippines have produced a draft genome of the Visayan spotted deer, an endangered mammal endemic to the island nation.
- The draft genome, the first of its kind for any of the Philippines’ endangered mammals, has already revealed information that can be used for conservation planning, including confirmation that captive populations are dangerously inbred.
- While the captive population shows low genetic diversity overall, researchers are working to identify individuals that still carry unique variants, and to shape captive breeding programs around genetic findings.
- Efforts in the lab are paired with efforts to confirm the locations of wild populations, plan future release sites for captive-bred animals, and build community support for conservation.

Big Bear Valley’s beloved bald eagle Jackie is dead
- A popular bald eagle from California’s Big Bear Valley, watched by millions around the world through a livestream nest camera, has died.
- Jackie, as the bird was known, was admitted to the Ojai Raptor Center after rescuers found her grounded and fighting with two juvenile bald eagles in the Big Bear Valley.
- Dehydrated and anemic when she was found, Jackie developed blood clots in her wing and kidney, leading to her declining health and eventual death despite three weeks of intensive veterinary care.
- Jackie’s and her mate Shadow’s popularity spurred a $10 million donation for a land trust to purchase parts of their habitat slated for a luxury housing development.

Timor green pigeon nears extinction after decades of inaction, study warns
- A new study warns the Timor green pigeon is on the brink of extinction after decades of neglect, despite being listed as endangered since 2000.
- Researchers estimate just 100-500 birds remain, with Timor-Leste now the species’ last viable stronghold after it has all but disappeared from Indonesia.
- Scientists say hunting has been the biggest driver of the bird’s collapse, while the absence of a recovery program, regular monitoring and sustained funding have allowed its decline to continue.
- Conservationists argue the species can still be saved, but only through urgent action that combines stronger enforcement with community-led protection rooted in Timorese customary conservation.

A mine polluted a Zambian river in 2025: Residents continue to live with the impacts
- A recent study on the ecological impacts of a tailings dam failure in Zambia’s Copperbelt Province in 2025 finds that highly toxic substances such as arsenic, lead and zinc were released into the Kafue River system.
- As a result of the spill at Sino-Metals Leach Zambia’s mine, millions of liters of acidic mining waste were released into waterways connected to the river.
- The assessment links the incident to the death of wildlife and the contamination of soils and water sources in the region.
- Sino-Metals Leach Zambia says it has initiated cleanup measures, but communities still reside on contaminated land, according to civil society organizations.

Indonesia’s wildfire season surges as haze spreads into Malaysia
- Fires in Indonesia’s West Kalimantan province have sent haze across the border into Malaysia, where worsening air pollution has forced six schools in Sarawak state to switch to online classes.
- Indonesia is entering the peak of its fire season, with West Kalimantan accounting for more than half of the nearly 49,000 hectares (121,000 acres) burned across six priority provinces as of Aug. 9.
- The fires are also threatening biodiversity, including orangutan habitat and rehabilitation efforts in West Kalimantan, while a separate blaze has forced the closure of Bromo Tengger Semeru National Park on the island of Java.
- Authorities have deployed tens of thousands of personnel and dozens of aircraft to fight the fires, but environmental groups say funding cuts and the intensifying El Niño are raising concerns about Indonesia’s preparedness.

Bat virus fragments turn up in fertilizer sold in Thai markets, study finds
Researchers have found the first genetic evidence of bat-borne viruses within commercially sold bat guano fertilizer in Thailand. However, the viral strains the team detected are not known to infect humans. Moreover, since the researchers only identified fragments of viral RNA and did not isolate live, intact viruses, they could not confirm if the genetic […]
How a Brazilian Indigenous ethnobotanist & elders recorded their people’s medicinal knowledge
- In an unprecedented participatory ethnobotany approach, Hemerson Dantas dos Santos Pataxó HãHãHãi, a Brazilian Indigenous ethnobotanist, documented alongside his people their traditional medicinal practices: cataloging 175 medicinal plants, many of which had their use reaffirmed in scientific literature.
- Mongabay visited Hemerson and spoke with several Indigenous elders who survived violent land conflicts about their medicinal knowledge and their efforts to protect it in the Caramuru/Paraguassu Indigenous Territory, a land illegally occupied by cattle farmers for decades in Brazil’s Bahia state.
- Samples of plants collected by Hemerson are being kept at an internationally registered herbarium, and he’s finalizing a book in the hope of keeping the knowledge of the species and ancestral healing practices alive for his people’s future generations.
- The work carried out with his people was essential to make “immortal” the knowledge of the elders, Hemerson said, describing them as “living libraries” and “Guardians of Memories.”

Six African countries now support precautionary pause on deep-seabed mining
Three more African countries have joined calls for a precautionary pause on deep-sea mining until the environmental, social and economic impacts of such mining are better understood. This brings the number of African countries supporting a moratorium to six. Mauritius, Mozambique and the Republic of the Congo announced support for the precautionary pause during the […]
Nepal enlists AI to help fight against crop-raiding macaques
In a village in central Nepal, growing conflict between farmers and rhesus macaques has prompted researchers to test artificial intelligence-based systems that can swiftly detect and deter the monkeys, reports contributor Praveen Kumar Yadav for Mongabay. A 2026 study that followed rhesus macaques (Macaca mulatta) in one central Nepal region, found that nearly half of […]
Urban heat islands have solutions; many tropical cities can’t afford them
- In tropical cities, urban heat islands (UHIs) exacerbate an already challenging hot-humid heat burden for residents. UHIs are formed by urban artificial surfaces like concrete and asphalt that retain heat by day and slowly release it at night, never giving cities a chance to cool.
- Natural and infrastructure solutions can be implemented to combat the UHI effect and cool cities. These include creating shade by planting trees or extending roofs; inducing wind to blow down urban streets; constructing green roofs and walls; painting roofs light colors; and changing social practices to avoid midday heat.
- But sufficient funding is needed to implement many of these changes. Wealthy cities, like Singapore, have an advantage over cities with less funding. Many tropical mega-cities, including Lagos, Mumbai, Manila, Jakarta and São Paulo, are working to reduce UHI effects, but struggle to afford full implementation.
- The 2026-2027 El Niño is now growing in strength and expected to bring record temperatures to the tropics. These extreme temperatures, combined with UHI effects and urban poverty, could prove deadly for vulnerable residents, which include the poor, young, old, those with disabilities, and those working outdoors.

Delays, biosecurity failures worsened flu outbreak at Nepal zoo, probe finds
- The bird flu outbreak at Nepal’s only zoo killed or led to the culling of at least 63 animals, including birds, wild cats, civets, two leopards, a jackal and a bear, an inquiry has found.
- The inquiry’s report says contaminated feed and water in open bird enclosures, along with failures in animal-food handling, likely helped the virus spread.
- The zoo remained open for five days after a rapid test indicated bird flu, despite receiving an earlier warning about infections among crows in Kathmandu.
- Less than two weeks after reopening following the bird flu outbreak, the zoo recorded another disease outbreak that killed three wild boars from African swine fever.

As DRC confronts largest Ebola outbreak, health agencies revise strategy
- The Central African country is facing its largest and also the fastest-spreading Ebola outbreak on record.
- Health agencies are seeking to revise their strategy to tackle the public health crisis but focusing on response at the village level in the affected provinces of the DRC.
- Dr. Jean Kaseya, director-general of Africa CDC underscored the need to bring the outbreak response to the village level, saying that a community-centered approach helps build trust between local populations and health teams while strengthening participatory surveillance.
- One of the reasons this outbreak has turned out to be more difficult to contain is because a rare strain of the Ebola virus, Bundibugyo ebolavirus, is driving the cases.

Bolsonaro’s easing of gun control fueled illegal hunting, study indicates
- A new study points to the easing of gun restrictions during the administration of former President Jair Bolsonaro as a primary driver of illegal wildlife hunting in Brazil.
- By mapping social media posts, researchers documented more than 4,000 animals killed from 157 native species across the country, coinciding with a surge in gun purchases by sport hunters.
- The primary hotspots are concentrated in the Amazon’s Arc of Deforestation, where forest loss, environmental degradation, gun availability and agricultural expansion compound pressure on wildlife.
- Researchers are calling for stricter firearm controls, stronger law enforcement and coordinated conservation policies to curb an environmental impact they describe as silent and widespread.

Illegal mining threatens Ghana’s first marine protected area
- Illegal gold mining in Ghana’s Greater Cape Three Points Forest Reserve threatens vulnerable and endangered species in the protected forest, say conservationists.
- Sediment and toxic chemicals from the mining also threaten the adjacent waters of a newly declared marine protected area just offshore.
- Conservation NGOs want the government to act against illegal miners, including establishing permanent camps in the forest to protect a wider area.

Nickel expansion puts Indonesia’s biodiversity goals under pressure, study finds
- Indonesia holds the world’s largest nickel reserves and has rapidly expanded production, which a new study says has grown roughly tenfold over the past decade.
- Nickel mining can fragment wildlife habitat as mines, roads and associated infrastructure expand, threatening biodiversity in areas of global conservation importance.
- Researchers say protecting the most important biodiversity and carbon areas could substantially reduce environmental risks, but doing so could also constrain nickel supply.
- Even with greater adoption of low- or no-nickel battery chemistries, total nickel demand could continue to grow because the metal is also used extensively in stainless steel, renewable-energy infrastructure and other applications, the study notes.

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