location: Global

location: Global

Social media activity version | Lean version

Satellite data reveal massive scale of routine oil pollution in oceans. See the map
Oil slicks from ships and offshore oil platforms cover nearly 1.6 million square kilometers (618,000 square miles) of the ocean surface each year, an area slightly larger than the nation of Mongolia. The estimate comes from a recent report by Skytruth, a U.S.-based nonprofit that used satellite imagery, machine learning and vessel tracking data to […]
Future of Amazon rainforest policies at stake in Brazilian presidential election
SAO PAULO (AP) — Brazil’s upcoming presidential election could reshape the Amazon’s future. Control of the country, which contains about 60% of the rainforest, could pass to Sen. Flávio Bolsonaro, son of former President Jair Bolsonaro. Experts warn a Bolsonaro victory could reverse deforestation-control policies restored by President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva. During Jair […]
Vietnam’s fishers face rising costs, declining catches and a contested sea
- As Hanoi leans on fishers to hold the line in contested waters, a distant war and a demanding European compliance regime are squeezing the same boats from opposite directions.
- The fuel crisis caused by the Iran War adds to the pressure.
- Data shows a nearly-19% year-on-year drop in fishing activity during March and April 2026, the height of the fuel crisis.

Probiotics prevented coral bleaching during a Red Sea heat wave: Study
- A new field study found that two treatments of beneficial bacteria each protected reef corals from bleaching during a heat wave in the Red Sea.
- A heat-killed version of one of the bacterial treatments also protected the corals and may provide a cheaper, more shelf-stable alternative to live probiotics.
- Future studies are needed to determine whether the treatments also help corals stay alive over longer periods of time.
- Though wider implementation of probiotics faces barriers, researchers say many approaches are needed to protect corals in the long term.

Permafrost, wetland, wildfire and freshwater emissions could amplify climate change by up to 30%, study finds
- As Earth warms, greenhouse gases released by thawing permafrost, wetlands, wildfires, and freshwaters could cause 0.2°-0.4°C (0.4°-0.7°F) of additional warming by 2100, a new study estimates.
- That would amplify human-caused warming since 2020 by 20-30%, with methane accounting for roughly half of the added warming.
- Most climate models leave these natural feedbacks out, so projections of future warming are likely too low and remaining carbon budgets too generous, the authors say.
- Cutting human emissions remains essential, but because some natural sources have no off switch, researchers are exploring ways to remove methane from the atmosphere.

How to grow $25K into community-led conservation: Interview with Tanzania’s Mwambao
- Ali Thani and Lorna Slade shared frustration with top-down conservation and a belief that coastal communities could manage their own resources led them to come together to create the Mwambao Coastal Community Network.
- Their partnership grew from different experiences. Thani, a Tanzanian from the coast who had worked in government and with international conservation groups, brought intimate knowledge of coastal communities; Slade brought decades of experience and understanding of the international institutions financing conservation.
- Mwambao has since grown into a multimillion-dollar organization and helped communities experiment with fisheries closures, co-management and livelihood programs. But its experience has not been uniformly successful, with different degrees of acceptance from communities.
- Its growth also raises a harder question for its founders: can a community-led model remain truly community-led as the organization itself becomes larger?

Uganda and NGO to co-manage sector of national park home to tree-climbing lions
The Uganda Wildlife Authority (UWA) and the Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS) have signed a 10-year agreement to co-manage a portion of Queen Elizabeth National Park, famous for its tree-climbing lions. WCS will take over some day-to-day roles for the Ishasha Sector in the south of the park, including those covering biodiversity management, community engagement and […]
As Hong Kong heats up, calls grow for tougher rules to protect outdoor workers
- Hong Kong’s heat stress warning system has been widely criticized as ineffective, failing to raise alerts even when temperatures hit a record high.
- Although the system has since been revamped, critics say the government’s heat stress guidelines to protect workers are flawed.
- Unlike mainland China and other countries, Hong Kong doesn’t require employers to stop high-risk work or let workers rest when heat warnings are issued.
- Workers’ rights advocates also urge authorities to codify heatstroke as an occupational disease.

Wildlife traffickers are now targeting Indonesia’s critically endangered maleo birds
- Sulawesi’s critically endangered maleo birds are increasingly targeted by wildlife traffickers, according to a new study that documented seizures of smuggled birds Some were carried by families with children, young couples or single mothers to try to avoid detection.
- Researchers found that 25 live juvenile maleos were seized by enforcement agents in 2024 in India or en route there. Conservationists say they may have been smuggled from hatcheries built to conserve the critically endangered species. None were repatriated alive to Indonesia.
- Maleos are a protected species in Indonesia, and all international commercial trade is banned under CITES, the global wildlife trade treaty.
- Researchers urge authorities in India, Indonesia and Thailand to increase surveillance and enforcement in airports and build a mechanism to return seized birds to Indonesia, where they could potentially be released back into the wild.

As fires spread, Indonesia’s rubber growers draw on traditional ways to fight back
- Data from remote sensing platforms indicates Indonesia is likely experiencing its worst wildfires crisis in years as a strong El Niño deepens the country’s main dry season over Sumatra and Borneo islands.
- In South Sumatra province, rubber tree growers in the Tempirai customary zone say they use fire only after the end of the dry season, after they have planted food crops, and that fires began to afflict this area of South Sumatra province after the oil palm industry began operating in the peatland.
- That may reflect the relative resilience of oil palm trees to wildfires compared with rubber trees, which are much more vulnerable to incineration.
- “If a fire breaks out here, we’re finished — so right now, fire is our enemy,” one latex tree grower told Mongabay Indonesia.

Women shoulder the burden of expanding wildfires in rural India
In the Indian Western Himalayas, women are the primary first responders to escalating forest fires. They risk their physical safety to protect homes and livelihoods despite receiving little formal support or equipment and no pay, reports contributor Swati Thapa for Mongabay. Uttarakhand is the most fire-prone state in India’s Western Himalayas. High-elevation warming exceeds global […]
Mangroves keep waves at bay. A new study helps scientists predict how
- Mangrove forests can help protect tropical coastal areas from rising sea levels and storm surges.
- New research presents a model by which to predict how much mangroves can reduce — or attenuate — large waves associated with severe storms such as typhoons.
- The researchers also created an online tool that can be used by practitioners to estimate the attenuation impact of mangroves anywhere around the world.
- The authors say their work can be used for ecological restoration and coastal engineering, and to help “vulnerable coastal communities deploy adaptive defenses before disaster strikes.”

India’s isolated island tribes need autonomy to survive rising threats, says scholar
Isolated and contacted Indigenous tribes in India’s Andaman and Nicobar Islands face threats from illegal fishing, mega-development projects and misinformed government welfare policies that undermine their self-sufficiency, says Manish Chandi, a former research scholar who has spent decades working with tribal communities in the region. Chandi worked with the communities while he was with the […]
A first in Brazil: Black-faced lion tamarins vaccinated
- In restinga shrub areas of the Atlantic Forest on the coast of Paraná state, researchers have carried out the first yellow fever vaccinations of black-faced lion tamarins.
- The initiative took place in July 2026 and aims to protect the species, known locally as the “caissara lion tamarin,” from disease outbreaks that could further reduce its small wild population.
- The primate is listed as endangered on the IUCN Red List, with a population estimated at fewer than 400 individuals in the wild and none in captivity, increasing the risk of sudden extinction.

Wind turbine taller than the Eiffel Tower aims to boost German electricity production
SCHIPKAU, Germany (AP) — A wind turbine described by its developer as the world’s tallest now rises 365 meters (1,197 feet) above the sparsely populated landscape of eastern Germany, surpassing the height of the Eiffel Tower. The colossal turbine has been built at an existing wind farm in Lusatia, southeast of Berlin. Once a major […]
US-Argentina initiative aims to boost critical mineral, oil and gas exports
A new initiative between the U.S. and Argentina is meant to bolster investment opportunities and strengthen supply chains for critical minerals that could be used in the clean energy transition, such as copper and lithium. The Andes-Atlantic Corridor, announced Sept. 23, will make it easier to funnel U.S. investment into Argentina’s mining sector and to […]
Renewable energy companies fuel Brazilian data center boom, investigation finds
Renewable energy companies are driving most of Brazil’s plans for new data centers, according to a recent joint analysis by The Intercept Brasil and Mongabay. As of December 2025 there were 68 requests to connect data centers to Brazil’s national power grid with 65% registered by renewable energy companies, including wind and solar power plants, […]
Gabon, home to the medicinal plant behind ibogaine, wants a fairer share of its global boom
- Gabon passed a decree this year requiring benefit sharing for commercial uses of the medicinal plant iboga, its derivatives, and associated traditional knowledge, but the mechanisms for distributing those benefits are still being built.
- A community association in Ogooué-Ivindo province earned the equivalent of about $50,000 from three legal iboga shipments since 2023, yet its promised share of value created further downstream has still not arrived.
- The decree is unusually broad, attempting to cover ibogaine, analogs, and compounds made through synthetic or alternative sources, although how Gabon could enforce those claims abroad remains unresolved.
- In September, Gabon moved to halt exports of iboga and all derivatives while it develops a new national framework, freezing even the legal community-based trade the country had previously encouraged.

Dolphins keep their social and hunting lives in separate waters, study finds
- Scientists have found that dolphins have separate areas in the ocean where they hunt and socialize.
- Dolphins along Florida’s Atlantic coast were found to communicate using whistling sounds in the nearshore locations where they socialize, and rapid clicking sounds in areas with an abundance of prey fish.
- The data also hinted at the possibility that fish quieten down when they sense a dolphin approaching, indicating that prey might also be listening in to predators.
- The findings could help better inform policies geared toward protecting dolphin habitats, the scientists say.

A year ago today, Jane Goodall died at 91. Her message is more important than ever
- On October 1, 2025, Jane Goodall died at the age of 91.
- Goodall, who began her career in 1960 with little formal training, transformed science’s understanding of chimpanzees and in the process reshaped the boundary between humans and animals.
- She built on that science with activism: founding the Jane Goodall Institute in 1977. In 1991 she established Roots & Shoots, which grew into a vast youth movement spanning more than 100 countries.
- The following is an abridged version of a piece Mongabay Founder and CEO Rhett Ayers Butler published following her passing.

From ‘community-based’ to ‘community-led conservation’ in Kenya: Interview with Dickson Kaelo
- Dickson Kaelo grew up herding livestock, while living alongside wildlife. He remembers what it meant when lions killed cattle, elephants destroyed crops or a hyena got into a boma and killed animals a family depended on.
- Nearly three decades ago, fresh from college, he began working with elders in his community to find a way for livestock, wildlife and people to share the same landscape. His first attempt of building community conservancies worked for a while — and then collapsed.
- Today, Kenya has roughly 240 conservancies (land set aside by communities, individual landowners, groups or companies primarily for wildlife conservation) covering close to 15% of the country. Kaelo says their growth has brought benefits, but also problems: Elite capture, poor deals with private investors, land disputes and conservancies that have simply failed.
- Kaelo, who is also the CEO of the Kenyan Wildlife Conservancy Association, was recently in New York, U.S., for Climate Week, held alongside the United Nations General Assembly. Mongabay’s David Akana caught up with him to discuss the promise, challenges and future of community-led conservation.

Vantara in talks with Brazil on ‘strategic cooperation’ on threatened species, FOIA documents reveal
- Documents obtained by Mongabay show Vantara, the controversial private zoo in India run by billionaire Anant Ambani, was in talks with Brazilian authorities to form a “strategic conservation partnership” focused on the country’s threatened species.
- The zoo also proposed a conservation partnership on Spix’s macaw, a parrot species endemic to Brazil but extinct in the wild; 26 of the birds were sent from Germany to Vantara in 2023 without Brazil’s consent.
- Representatives from Vantara met with Brazilian officials in 2025 to discuss this partnership. A Brazilian delegation was scheduled to visit the Indian zoo in 2026; that trip was canceled at the last minute.
- Conservationists say that given the ongoing investigations into Vantara’s links to alleged wildlife trafficking, the country must be transparent about any agreement signed with the zoo.

Giraldo Alayón García, Cuba’s ‘spider man,’ died on Sept. 24
Founder’s Briefs: An occasional series where Mongabay founder Rhett Ayers Butler shares analysis, perspectives and story summaries. For much of the 20th century, Cuba’s spiders and scorpions received limited attention beyond specialist circles. Identifying them required careful research in museum collections and comparing them with descriptions published abroad. Giraldo Alayón García spent much of his […]
Rising seas could cost Australia economic losses of $855 billion, study finds
Rising sea levels due to climate change could damage hundreds of thousands of properties and millions of hectares of land along Australia’s coastline by 2100, according to a recent study. This could cost the country an economic loss of $855 billion, researchers estimate. To calculate the costs, researchers in Australia used existing projections of sea […]
Endangered dolphins survive in a Bangladesh river so polluted it’s ‘not livable’ for fish
At least 20 endangered Ganges river dolphins still survive in Bangladesh’s extremely polluted Buriganga River, a 12-month study found, reports contributor Md Jahidul Islam for Mongabay. Skirting the southern edge of the country’s capital, Dhaka, the 29-kilometer (18-mile) river is recognized as one of the most contaminated urban waterways globally. Researchers surveyed a 27-km (16.7-mi) […]
Indonesia’s new peatland agency faces questions over what it will do differently
- Indonesia plans to create a new agency to restore and manage peatlands prone to burning, in a repeat of a measure it took in response to the severe fire season of 2015.
- The new agency will replace an older one that shuttered at the end of 2024, raising questions about why its predecessor was allowed to die off and what the new body will do differently.
- The previous agency’s restoration efforts helped reduce fire hotspots, but damaged infrastructure and continued land conversion have limited lasting ecological recovery.
- Experts and environmental groups say the new agency must prioritize fire prevention and landscape-scale restoration, with clear authority, funding, and accountability.

Myanmar’s polluting mines selling to China through Thai companies
- Large volumes of critical minerals are being imported from Myanmar into Thailand and then mostly resold to China.
- At least six Thai rivers have been found to be contaminated with heavy metals linked to mining operations in Myanmar.
- Data suggests companies in Myanmar, Thailand and China are profiting from an industry that has created a public health crisis, impacting food and water security for hundreds of thousands across eastern Myanmar and northern Thailand.
- Civil society and Thai political groups are calling for an end to imports of minerals mined in Myanmar in response to the ongoing river pollution crisis.

In Panama’s Darién forest, 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, reports Mongabay contributor María Paula Rubiano A. Their biodiversity monitoring project recorded more than 200 species across 18,000 hectares (44,500 acres) of threatened […]
Isle Royale wolves inbred but likely to survive, study says
Researchers have found that wolves brought to Isle Royale in 2018 are likely to survive but face challenges from inbreeding and isolation. The island had only two inbred wolves in 2016, so officials introduced 19 new wolves between 2018 and 2019. A study published in Conservation Science and Practice shows the wolf population has over […]
New releases a leap forward for endangered frog in southern California
- In August, conservation organizations released another 650 southern mountain yellow-legged frogs into the San Gabriel Mountains, another step forward in reintroduction efforts for this highly endangered species in Southern California in the U.S.
- Once abundant across its range, the species has seen dramatic declines from invasive fish species, climate change impacts, and the deadly chytrid fungus that is wiping out amphibians worldwide.
- The August releases involved the Aquarium of the Pacific, Los Angeles Zoo and the U.S. Geological Society. Other institutions and agencies also released captive-bred frogs and tadpoles in 2026, at other sites.
- With researchers actively exploring ways to manage or mitigate the impact of chytrid fungus, a major obstacle to recovery for this species, reintroductions remain a key tool to keep frogs on the landscape, experts say.

Philippine eagle habitat study maps mining risks and conservation priorities
- A new study systematically mapped likely Philippine eagle nesting habitat on Mindanao, the Philippines’ second-largest island and the species’ main stronghold.
- Approved mining concessions overlap with 41% of highly suitable nesting habitat and 65% of its core areas, the researchers found, while only 35% of highly suitable habitat identified across the Eastern Mindanao Biodiversity Corridor lies within protected areas.
- Indigenous ancestral domains separately overlap with 65% of core high-quality nesting habitat, highlighting their importance to the species’ conservation.
- The study authors say their findings can help identify priority spots for conservation interventions.

Global experts gather in Sri Lanka for historic first World Congress on Snakes
- Sri Lanka will host the first ever dedicated global conference on snakes from Oct. 1-4 in Kandy, central Sri Lanka.
- There will be several scientific sessions including plenaries, symposia, workshops and special events attended by more than 500 researchers and conservationists from 25 countries.
- Sri Lanka is home to some 112 snake species and is a biodiversity hotspot, with more than 56% of the country’s snake species found nowhere else on Earth.

Illegal wildlife continues to slip through Canada’s borders. Experts explain how
- The global wildlife trade is a multibillion-dollar industry that mixes legal business and illegal transactions. It’s a major driver of biodiversity loss, and even legal trade is often unsustainable.
- Canada is a significant player but struggles to enforce a key law that bans the import of wildlife taken illegally in other countries.
- This gap allows various protected species to be brought into Canada illegally, sold and sometimes bred.

In Brazil’s Acre, calls for new roads clash with deforestation commitments
- The 2024 inauguration of the Chinese-built Chancay Port in Peru has reinforced calls to build road infrastructure through the Amazon, connecting Brazil to the Pacific coast, with authorities in Acre, on Brazil’s border with Peru, wanting their state to be part of a strategic corridor to the Pacific.
- Acre already has a road connection to Peru through the BR-317 highway, but local politicians running for election this year defend the extension of the BR-364 from Cruzeiro do Sul in Acre to Pucallpa in Peru’s Ucayali department, saying it will ease connectivity for local communities and encourage economic development.
- A new report from NGO Amazon Conservation argues that this will increase areas at risk of forest loss and could drive additional deforestation of up to 68,500 hectares (169,270 acres) per year, while threatening Acre’s multimillion-dollar revenue from the sale of carbon credits, according to the report.
- Uncertainty around whether the extension of the BR-364 will go ahead is already driving land speculation between the town of Mâncio Lima and the Serra do Divisor National Park and encouraging criminal groups that are already established along the border, local environmentalists say.

Big Oil vs. national parks: Who wins?
12 critically endangered Nubian Giraffes were recently relocated from their home at Murchison Falls National Park to a reserve over 100km away. One of the reasons? Murchison Falls is now being opened up for oil extraction, as almost half of Uganda’s oil reserves are thought to lie there. National parks are home to some of […]
Evidence builds showing climate change could be intensifying El Niño events
- A potentially historic El Niño event is building in the Pacific Ocean and already impacting the globe. Based on most recent models, this year’s event could be the largest ever recorded.
- Recent studies suggest that climate change is increasing the intensity of El Niños. A paper analyzing coral samples from the Galapagos Islands found that intensity has increased 36.5% in the last four decades.
- Modeling suggests that climate change will continue to intensify El Niños into the future and change their frequency. Though this is still debated, with some models showing more limited influence.

Pratap Singh Chundawat rescued a leopard from a well. He died in the line of duty, aged 40
Founder’s Briefs: An occasional series where Mongabay founder Rhett Ayers Butler shares analysis, perspectives and story summaries. On April 9, a farmer named Rupalal heard noises in a well at his field in Dhawadi village in the state of Rajasthan in India. He looked down and saw a leopard 21 meters (70 feet) below. A […]
Tokyo records historic 35-day rain streak driven by El Niño and stalled fronts
Central Tokyo has experienced 35 consecutive days of rainfall, setting the longest continuous rainy streak since records began in 1886, reported local media citing Japan’s weather agency. Rains began on Aug. 27 and have continued daily as of Sept. 30. This spell breaks the previous record of 33 consecutive days of rainfall set in 2019, […]
Turning vulnerable livestock into four-eyed beasts helps protect them in Zimbabwe
- In the first half 2026, the local council of one district in southeastern Zimbabwe recorded 317 cases of human-wildlife conflict, including attacks on livestock by predators.
- Edson Mabika says he used to lose four or five animals this way every year — until he took an ex-ranger’s advice and painted black and white eyes on the backsides of his livestock.
- Since then, he told Mongabay, he’s lost just one goat and a lamb.

Plastic fused to coral rubble raises new concerns for ocean pollution
From the seafloor to turtle stomachs, scientists are finding plastic everywhere they look for it. Now, researchers in Japan have found plastic thermally adhered to coral rubble, an amalgamation they’ve termed “plasticoral,” according to a new study. The finding is raising concerns about potential ocean chemical leaching, habitat degradation and a new way for microplastics […]
Iwi and community-led effort return kiwi to Wellington for first time in over a century
For the first time in 150 years, kiwi once again live in the hills surrounding Wellington, Aotearoa New Zealand. More than 250 manu (“birds” in the Māori language) were successfully translocated back to the region, thanks to the efforts of the iwi (nations of Aotearoa), community members, and landowners behind the Capital Kiwi Project. Paul […]
Uganda pastoralists turn to wild plants as food shortages bite, study finds
- New research reveals that pastoralist communities are turning to wild plants to cope with food shortages in northern Uganda.
- As in Uganda, experts reckon that edible wild plants can be a boon to countries like Nigeria, where roughly 15% of the population faces serious hunger.
- The study’s findings raise a broader question: Will communities with less richer botanical diversity be less capable of coping with food crises?

Kenyan nuclear project faces international legal challenge over security risks
A case has been brought to the East African Court of Justice (EACJ) over the Kenyan government’s plan to build a 2,000-5,000-megawatt nuclear power plant in Bondo, near the eastern shore of Victoria Lake, Africa’s largest freshwater lake. The project has been the source of numerous protests from residents since it was announced. A Strategic […]
Hurricane Polo makes landfall in Baja California, flooding coastal communities and toppling trees
PUERTO SAN CARLOS, Mexico (AP) — Hurricane Polo has made landfall in Baja California, Mexico, with powerful winds and flash flooding. The Category 2 hurricane struck early Tuesday near Las Barrancas, bringing maximum sustained winds of 110 mph. The U.S. National Hurricane Center reports Polo is crossing the Gulf of California and could bring heavy […]
In war-torn South Sudan, giraffes retain a surprisingly healthy gene pool
Giraffes living in the South Sudan’s war-torn savannas are genetically healthy and connected to nearby giraffe populations by gene flow, despite decades of conflict, recent research suggests. These findings show that “regions of the world that have been affected by conflict can maintain a lot of biodiversity and should therefore not be overlooked by genetic […]
New global maps chart 40 years of ocean heat and acidification extremes
- Using satellite data and water samples taken by ships over the last 40 years, researchers employed machine learning to untangle the history of marine heat waves hitting simultaneously with acidification events.
- They found that these compound events happen more frequently than would be expected by chance, attributing them to ocean physics that allow marine heat waves to become unusually acidic in some regions.
- The resulting database captured some “double-hit” heat-acidity events that have been largely ignored in the scientific literature, such as a massive 2016 event in the Southern Pacific Ocean that lasted eight months.
- Experts say more research is urgently needed to better understand how these compound events affect marine life and fisheries.

Bhutan recognized for eliminating dog-transmitted rabies ahead of World Rabies Day
The World Health Organization has officially recognized Bhutan for eliminating dog-transmitted human rabies as a public health problem — in time for World Rabies Day on Sept. 28. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), Bhutan is the first country in the Southeast Asia region, and the second to be named globally after Mexico, to […]
Jaco Muller turned his 15-year-old son’s idea into 197 rhino births
Founder’s Briefs: An occasional series where Mongabay founder Rhett Ayers Butler shares analysis, perspectives and story summaries. In 2022, poachers had taken 14 white rhinos from private farms in Namibia in six weeks, so owners started removing their horns. One cow had a horn 86 centimeters (34 inches) long. Jaco Muller said he was nearly […]
Despite a drop in deforestation in 2025, forest losses pile up in the Mekong
- Over the course of 2025, Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar, Thailand and Vietnam lost a combined 746,168 hectares of tree cover (1.8 million acres), including more than 154,000 hectares (380,000 acres) of primary forest, according to Mongabay’s analysis of data published by the University of Maryland and Global Nature Watch.
- However, the rate of deforestation in each country dropped when compared to 2024, continuing a decline that data show started in 2023.
- Experts say fewer wildfires, stricter enforcement and lower market rates for commodities could explain the drop.
- Mongabay’s analysis also found almost 200,000 hectares (494,000 acres) of forest loss occurred within protected areas, where deforestation risks should be lower.

More plastic, less glow? Pollution threatens deep sea’s bioluminescent life, experts warn
Plastic pollution could disrupt the bioluminescent light produced by deep-sea organisms, researchers warn in a letter in the journal Cambridge Prisms: Plastics. When deep-sea organisms ingest plastics, it could disrupt the chemical pathways that create bioluminescence and damage the tissues in their bodies, impairing their ability to find food and a mate, the authors said. […]
Reintroduced Grauer’s gorilla gives birth in DRC national park, ‘makes us happy’
Lulingu, a Grauer’s gorilla (Gorilla beringei graueri), was reintroduced to Virunga National Park, in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo in 2024. In May 2026, Lulingu gave birth to a new baby, bringing hope for the species and excitement for the conservationists working there. “The baby and the mother are doing perfectly well. It really makes us […]
New deep-sea creatures unlocked!
A giant octopus devouring a jellyfish. An ultra-fast gossamer worm. These are just a couple of the 31 new species scientists discovered on a recent expedition off the coast of Brazil. They explored the ocean’s midwater zone — the vast space between the sunlit surface and the seafloor — which is the Earth’s largest and […]
Sri Lanka’s disappearing snake charmers carry a legacy of fear and fascination
- In Sri Lanka, the traditional snake charming culture is fast fading as changing livelihoods, modern entertainment and attitudes toward wildlife reshape the island’s nomadic community, the Ahikuntika tribe.
- During the act of snake charming, cobras do not respond to the music itself, but to the movement of the charmer and instrument, which they perceive as a potential threat, herpetologists say.
- Breaking a cobra’s venom fangs, which the snake charmers do, does not necessarily prevent it from developing replacement fangs, while deliberate fang removal can cause injury and raise animal-welfare concerns, conservationists say.
- Researchers recommend using the existing traditional knowledge of snakes to be redirected toward conservation action, as harmful practices associated with wildlife performances are disappearing.

As yellow-eyed penguins disappear, conservationists focus on deaths in fishing nets
- Yellow-eyed penguins, found only in Aotearoa New Zealand, are at risk of extinction.
- The “mainland” population is down to 117 breeding pairs, having declined more than 80% since the 2008-2009 breeding season; the only other population, which lives on New Zealand’s subantarctic islands, is believed to be larger but isn’t well surveyed.
- Set-net fishing, a type of gillnet fishing, has been one of several factors in the population decline.
- Following pressure from conservationists but over the objections of fishers, New Zealand’s government recently banned set-net fishing around the Otago Peninsula and established an annual fishing-related mortality limit of four yellow-eyed penguins.

Rain eases in Bangkok but persistent flooding forces thousands to leave home
BANGKOK (AP) — Rain eased in Thailand ’s capital on Sunday, but flooding persisted in several low-lying areas, with thousands forced to move into temporary shelters. At least eight people were reported killed in the past 10 days nationwide. Days of continuous downpours have caused widespread flooding and severe disruptions in Bangkok, impacting traffic and […]
The mountain lion photo that helped change Los Angeles
Founder’s Briefs: An occasional series where Mongabay founder Rhett Ayers Butler shares analysis, perspectives and story summaries. A mountain lion in front of the Hollywood sign sounds almost too convenient. When photographer Steve Winter proposed the picture, National Park Service biologist Jeff Sikich thought he was crazy. There were, as far as Sikich knew, no […]
Preserving wildlife DNA for the future: Interview with the Frozen Zoo’s Katie Heineman
- Biodiversity banking is the collection and preservation of genetic samples of plants and animals.
- At the San Diego Zoo Wildlife Alliance, the biodiversity bank includes a plant gene bank, a tissue and DNA bank, along with their popular Frozen Zoo where genetic samples are cryopreserved in liquid nitrogen.
- Preserving genetic samples is crucial for species recovery in the future as well to preserve genetic diversity and for research purposes, Katie Heineman, conservation program leader for biodiversity banking, tells Mongabay.
- The alliance is now helping build capacity for sample collection by collaborating with governments and partner organizations in Kenya, Vietnam, Peru, and Hawai‘i.

Indonesia passes agrarian reform law amid concerns over land protections
- Indonesia’s long-debated Agrarian Reform Regulation Law was approved on Sept. 22.
- The legislation establishes a framework for resolving agrarian land disputes, restoring land rights and redistributing land, but details of how the law will operate remain unclear.
- A coalition of civil society groups have raised concerns about the final draft of the bill, saying it could limit land redistribution and make it difficult to resolve conflicts involving state-controlled land.
- The test of the new legislation will be whether it changes conditions for farmers, Indigenous communities, fisherfolk and other groups affected by land conflicts, says the coalition.

As Australia’s kangaroo numbers rise, record cull renews calls for other control methods
- Kangaroo populations are surging across Australia, driven partly by large-scale deforestation and few natural predators.
- This year, a controversial government cull program in the Australian Capital Territory logged one of its highest numbers of kills.
- Scientists and conservationists say there’s no easy way to control the species’ growing numbers.
- Other possible solutions include reforestation efforts and reintroducing native predators like dingoes.

Philippines is the deadliest country in Asia for environmental defenders, report finds
The Philippines remains the deadliest country in Asia for land and environmental defenders, according to a new report by the non-profit Global Witness. In its report, Global Witness says it could verify the killings of 124 land and environmental defenders worldwide in 2025. While the majority, 85% of cases, occurred in Latin America, Asia accounted […]

Feeds: news | india | latam | brasil | indonesia