topic: Reptiles

topic: Reptiles

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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 […]
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 […]
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.

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, […]
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.

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 […]
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 […]
On a Philippine beach, villagers are stepping up to save sea turtle nests
Beaches in San Vicente municipality in the Philippines’ Palawan province are crucial nesting grounds for olive ridley sea turtles. But the turtles and their babies face perilous journeys on those beaches — from dogs, tourism, and increasingly severe storms and high tides. To counter these threats, the NGO Large Marine Vertebrates Research Institute Philippines (LAMAVE) […]
Winners of the annual Mangrove Photography Awards: See the photos
In celebration of World Mangrove Day on July 26, the U.S.-based Mangrove Action Project (MAP) has announced the winners of its 12th annual photography awards. “Mangroves are the underdog. They will never be as glamorous as the Amazon rainforest or coral reefs. But through photography we can change that narrative, and intrigue people by showing […]
Activists allege Cambodia has resumed sea sand exports to Singapore
- An environmental group in Cambodia alleges that sea sand exports to Singapore have quietly resumed despite a 2017 government ban, citing new footage of dredging operations and cargo vessels bound for the city-state.
- The allegations by Mother Nature Cambodia revive long-standing concerns over sand mining in Koh Kong province, where dredging has been linked to environmental damage and declining fisheries, and where a previous export scandal prompted the 2017 ban.
- Cambodia’s minister of mines defended sand mining as important for navigation and construction, while acknowledging environmental concerns, but did not address claims that exports to Singapore have resumed.
- The dispute comes as Mother Nature Cambodia continues to face pressure from the government, with several of its members imprisoned on charges widely viewed as retaliation for exposing environmental abuses.

Félix Guillermo Moncada Gavilán helped move Cuba from sea turtle fishing to protection
For much of the 20th century, Cuba’s sea turtles were treated as a fishery. Green turtles were taken for meat, and hawksbills for the patterned shell used in jewelry and ornaments. In the 1980s, legal fisheries landed an average of 836 metric tons a year. Research focused in part on how the catch might be […]
How a community is helping sea turtles hatch in the Philippines
- The municipality of San Vicente in the Philippines’ Palawan is a vital nesting ground for Olive Ridley sea turtles.
- Nesting turtles and their eggs face an array of challenges. Predation by dogs is the most immediate threat, but rising sea levels, more severe storms and tourism development plans also loom large.
- To try to protect the turtles, Large Marine Vertebrates Research Institute Philippines, a Philippine-based NGO, runs a research project and works with paid patrollers to monitor and protect turtles and their nests.
- Community involvement is key to the group’s conservation efforts.

Brazil lists the Amazon river turtle as endangered for the first time
- The cágado-iaçá, or six-tubercled Amazon River turtle, had its risk elevated from near threatened to endangered, entering Brazil’s official list of fauna species threatened with extinction for the first time.
- Despite protection and conservation efforts, cágado-iaçá’s populations over the past 36 years declined by more than 50% in Amazonas and western Pará states, according to official data.
- The species is widely consumed in the northern region, alongside the yellow-spotted river turtle and the Amazon turtle, which remain in a less concerning category, according to ICMBio.
- The hyacinth macaw, the black howler monkey and the red silky anteater were reclassified as vulnerable, adding to the list of 790 species recently published.

The US government says habitat destruction no longer counts as ‘harm’ to endangered species
The U.S. President Donald Trump’s administration recently finalized a rule that narrows what qualifies as “harm” under the Endangered Species Act. Under the new definition of harm, only actions that directly harm or kill endangered species will be prohibited. Until recently, the definition of harm also included damaging the habitat endangered wildlife depend on for […]
A marine protected area can ban fishing boats. It cannot stop drifting gear
- Drifting fish aggregating devices, or dFADs, are widely used by tuna fleets to gather and catch fish, but they can drift into marine protected areas without vessels crossing the boundary.
- A new Science Advances study found that dFADs have likely interacted with 53% of the global MPA network by area and stranded in 174 protected areas, including sites that harbor at least 490 at-risk species.
- The problem exposes a weakness in ocean protection: MPAs can regulate fishing boats inside their boundaries, but they are less equipped to manage mobile industrial gear that crosses those boundaries, sinks, breaks apart, or washes ashore.
- The costs often fall on MPA managers, island communities, and conservation groups, making dFADs a test of whether fishing governance can assign responsibility before protected areas become cleanup sites for other people’s gear.

Official tied to commercial breeding to represent US at global wildlife trade meeting
- Jennifer Chatfield, a top regulator at the U.S. Interior Department, will reportedly head the country’s delegation at the upcoming meeting of CITES, the global wildlife trade treaty, sources told Mongabay.
- The Animals Committee, a scientific body that influences regulations on wildlife trade, is meeting in Geneva, Switzerland, on July 13-17. Delegations from 184 signatory nations and the EU will attend, along with NGOs and pro-trade organizations.
- Chatfield, a political appointee, has deep links to the commercial wildlife breeding industry: Her family owns and operates 4J Conservation Center in Florida, a facility that breeds two critically endangered species of lemurs, and she is listed as the facility’s veterinarian in documents obtained by Mongabay.
- The Interior Department’s ethics committee has been asked to investigate Chatfield for potential ethics violations and favoring family business related to permitting and proposed rulemaking that weakens the U.S. Endangered Species Act.

Fossils reveal a prehistoric crocodile relative that walked on two legs
Dinosaurs like tyrannosaurs and velociraptors famously walked on two legs. But they weren’t the only bipedal prehistoric creatures to exist. In a study published in June, paleontologists shared the discovery of a new bipedal shuvosaurid, an ancient, distant relative of crocodiles, that lived 212 million years ago in what is now the U.S. state of […]
Tiwi rangers eradicate invasive tropical fire ants in Australia’s Melville Island
- Over the last two decades, Indigenous rangers in Australia’s Tiwi Islands came together with scientists, government actors, NGOs and private enterprise to eradicate the invasive tropical fire ant species from Melville Island.
- The species threatens small animals, vulnerable sea turtle hatchlings and nesting birds, according to some studies.
- The eradication program included locating the ant nests, poisoning them at small-scale with Amdro, an insecticide bait, and then monitoring sites to ensure the eradication was complete.
- A member of the eradication effort hopes lessons of the Tiwi eradication program could be replicated in other regions of the country, like Ashmore Reef.

US moves to allow commercial fishing in Pacific marine protected areas
On June 11, U.S. President Donald Trump signed an executive proclamation to open additional commercial fishing grounds in remote areas of the Pacific. The proclamation says restoring access to these areas “will promote economic opportunity.” However, local groups warn it will open the door to overfishing in a crucial marine habitat and sacred cultural site. […]
Mona Khalil, who left safety in Europe to protect sea turtles in Lebanon, was killed by an Israeli airstrike
- Mona Khalil died on June 19 after being wounded when an Israeli strike hit her home at Mansouri beach in southern Lebanon.
- For more than 25 years, she protected endangered loggerhead and green sea turtles that nested on a narrow stretch of coast near Tyre.
- She left a settled life in the Netherlands to return to Lebanon, where she turned her family home into the Orange House, a conservation project and guesthouse.
- Her work combined daily field labor, public education, local advocacy, and resistance to pollution, dynamite fishing, coastal development, and war.

Museum DNA unmasks new Himalayan pit vipers, study says
For more than 160 years, the Himalayan pit viper was believed to be a single species, found across the Himalayas in Pakistan, India and Nepal. Now, a new study revealed this snake is actually not one, but five distinct species, including three entirely new to science. For their analysis, the researchers conducted fieldwork to different […]
Vanilla, fake eggs and nausea: How Australian scientists are training foxes to avoid turtle nests
- Freshwater turtles in Australia’s Murray-Darling Basin are disappearing. Introduced red foxes — which prey on their eggs — are considered one of the leading threats.
- Researchers from La Trobe University are testing a non-lethal conservation method called “conditioned taste aversion,” using chemically treated poultry eggs to teach foxes to associate turtle nests with nausea.
- Early trials have shown promising but variable results, reducing nest predation by 30-90% depending on the site. Researchers are working to make the aversion longer-lasting.
- The project is being carried out in collaboration with Traditional Owners, community conservation groups and citizen scientists, with the long-term goal of developing a simple, accessible protocol that could help protect turtles, as well as other ground-nesting native species threatened by introduced predators.

Sea turtle hunters become their protectors in Cabo Verde
Former sea turtle hunters in Cabo Verde, off the coast of West Africa, have shifted to working in loggerhead turtle conservation along the archipelago nation’s main nesting beaches. The change was propelled by 2018 legislation that criminalized killing threatened turtle species, Sonam Lama Hyolmo reported for Mongabay. Rangers, around a dozen of which used to […]
How a tiny blue gecko became a conservation comeback story
Williams electric blue day gecko is a small Tanzanian reptile whose recovery shows what focused conservation can do, reports Mongabay contributor, Manuel Fonseca. Once heavily collected for Europe’s pet trade, the species is now rebounding because pressure from trade has eased, captive breeding has reduced demand for wild animals, and local people are helping restore […]
Teeming with turtles: Cabo Verde island sees 80-fold increase in nesting loggerheads
- A new study finds an 80-fold increase in the population of loggerhead turtles nesting at three beaches in Boa Vista, Cabo Verde’s third-largest island, over 27 years.
- Globally, the loggerhead population has decreased by 47% over the past three generations, a decline largely attributed to anthropogenic pressures such as habitat loss, marine pollution, fishing bycatch, poaching and multiple climate change-driven impacts.
- The authors of this first-of-its-kind study of Cabo Verde’s nesting loggerheads attribute the remarkable local recovery to decades-long conservation efforts.

How trade bans and local conservation helped save a dazzling blue gecko
- Driven by demand in the pet trade and habitat destruction, the electric blue gecko experienced a rapid and severe population decline that pushed it to the brink of extinction in Tanzania.
- International restrictions and protection have given the species the chance to stabilize after years of overexploitation.
- Scientists and community-led conservation efforts of removing invasive trees andreplanting native species have given the geckos and other animals a chance to rise again in Kimboza Forest Reserve.

Tracking Lucero: Scientists follow a rare Eastern Pacific leatherback sea turtle
Fewer than 1,000 leatherback sea turtles remain in the Eastern Pacific, nesting along the coastline that runs from Mexico to Ecuador. Scientists have previously fitted tracking devices to leatherbacks on other beaches across Latin America and from bycatch near Ecuador. However, they recently tagged the first nesting leatherback in Ecuador, the southern limit of the […]
World Turtle Day: Important conservation wins amid turtle extinction crisis
World Turtle Day is celebrated every May 23 to raise awareness about the threats faced by turtles and tortoises. Turtles, tortoises and terrapins, which together make up the order Testudines, have evolved over millions of years, dating back to the Triassic period. However, recent reports show that more than half of the world’s 359 turtle […]
Three Thai nationals suspected of smuggling Galápagos iguanas arrested in Ecuador
The Ecuadorian National Police arrested three Thai nationals on May 19, 2026, at the José Joaquín de Olmedo International Airport in Guayaquil on suspicion of wildlife trafficking. They seized 12 marine iguanas (Amblyrhynchus cristatus), endemic to the Galápagos. The reptiles were found stuffed in handbags with their legs tightly bound. One was dead and those […]
Wetland destruction blamed for rise in croc attacks on Indonesia’s Bangka Island
The destruction of coastal wetlands for illegal tin mining and oil palm plantations is to blame for a surge in crocodile attacks on people on Indonesia’s Bangka Island, residents say. Mongabay Indonesia contributor Taufik Wijaya reported that in February this year, a 40-year-old fisherman was killed by a saltwater crocodile (Crocodylus porosus) in the Menduk […]
In Mozambique, four isolated mountains yield four new chameleon species
Scientists have identified four new-to-science species of chameleons inhabiting four distinct, isolated mountains in northern Mozambique. These mountains — Namuli, Inago, Chiperone, and Ribáuè —are granite inselbergs rising sharply from the arid savanna. They act as “sky islands” or ecological oases that have allowed unique species to evolve in isolation for millions of years. The […]
Facebook is a hub for illegal wildlife trade, and that’s by design, report says
- Online sales of wildlife products from protected species are booming on Facebook. The platform hosted more than three-fourths of the 22,000 wild animals and their parts known to be sold online between April 2024 and March 2026, valued at $65 million, according to a recent report.
- Researchers found that about 84% of animals for sale on Facebook are banned from commercial cross-border trade under an international treaty. More than half of them were endangered or critically endangered species.
- Facebook’s architecture — its closed groups, anonymous users, content monetization and algorithms that push related content to users — makes it a go-to platform for traffickers, researchers say. The platform’s official policy bars the sale of wildlife, but the volume of animals offered for sale point to poor moderation.
- To combat this massive online trade, experts call for stricter regulation of content on Facebook and other platforms, as well as better oversight and increased collaboration between online platforms and law enforcement.

Saving crocodiles from extinction
Community-led efforts are helping revive and save Siamese crocodiles from the brink of extinction. Siamese crocodiles are native to Southeast Asia and considered guardians of the wetlands by many communities. However, their population declined drastically due to hunting and habitat loss as a result of which they have been declared a critically endangered species. In […]
A blue-nosed chameleon in Madagascar: Photo of the week
Blue-nosed chameleons, a lizard species found only in northern Madagascar, are known for their colorful noses, which brighten when they get excited. For many years, lack of data meant the blue-nosed chameleon was classified as the species Calumma boettgeri, a chameleon whose nose, while also prominently shaped, isn’t blue. It was only in 2015 that […]
After nearly a century, Taiwan’s legless lizard gets its own identity
A new study has cleared up a century’s worth of identity confusion surrounding a secretive, legless lizard found in Taiwan’s forests. Researchers from National Taiwan Normal University confirmed the Formosan legless lizard (Dopasia formosensis) is a distinct species endemic to the island, separate from the more widespread Hart’s glass lizard (D. harti), under which it […]
Indigenous knowledge helps identify new, highly threatened skink in Australia
Researchers have described a new-to-science species of skink that may be one of Australia’s most threatened reptiles. The small population of the skink, possibly fewer than 20 individuals, lives in a pocket of rocky gorge within the arid Mutawintji National Park in New South Wales state, the researchers report in a new paper. The skink […]
Wetland destruction for mining, oil palm tied to crocodile attacks in Indonesia
- Bangka-Belitung, an island province located to the north of Sumatra Island, accounted for more than a quarter of the world’s tin production five years ago.
- Satellite analysis shows that this globally significant mining industry has come at extensive environmental cost: Bangka-Belitung lost 36% of its old-growth forest between 2002 and 2024, besides the deforestation incurred in the 20th century.
- In 2024, Indonesia’s Attorney General’s Office announced the country’s largest ever criminal corruption case, after investigators uncovered collusion with the state-owned tin miner, PT Timah, and illegal mining operators on Bangka.
- Meanwhile, local wildlife charities say deforestation of the coastal wetland on the west of Bangka Island, which was inhabited by humans at least as far back as the 7th century, may be to blame for the rise in human-wildlife conflicts afflicting local populations.

Oil spill continues in Gulf of Mexico vulnerable habitats, while Pemex admits fault
- An oil spill has contaminated 933 kilometers (about 580 miles) of shoreline along the western Gulf of Mexico, impacting the Mexican states of Veracruz, Tamaulipas, Campeche and Tabasco in eastern Mexico.
- After two months of contradictory theories about what could have caused the spill, Mexico’s national oil company, Pemex, admitted the spill was caused by a leak in one of its pipelines.
- Local communities have had to reduce or stop their fishing and ecotourism activities due to a lack of information from authorities about the risks of coming into contact with the water, and despite a government-led cleanup, residents continue to document damages to the environment, such as oil-slicked vegetation and intoxicated or dead fauna.
- Conservationists say the containment of the spill is urgent for the protection of more than 1,000 marine species, among them, endangered Kemp’s ridley sea turtles whose nesting season is underway on the beaches of northern Veracruz and Tamaulipas.

From carp to hippos, 43% of large freshwater animal species spread far beyond native ranges
From fish and turtles, to hippos and crocodiles, about 43% of all known large freshwater animal species have been deliberately introduced into ecosystems outside their native ranges, a recent study finds. Most species were introduced to boost fisheries, food security or tourism, but many have had unintended consequences for local wildlife, habitats and people. Fengzhi […]
Council recommends opening US Pacific marine monuments to commercial fishing
A U.S. fishing regulator recently recommended allowing commercial fishing across all four of the country’s Pacific marine national monuments. The Western Pacific Regional Fishery Management Council (Wespac) said the move is “about restoring sustainable fishing.” Conservationists and native peoples, however, say it will damage some of Earth’s most pristine ocean ecosystems. The monuments — Pacific […]
Return of the giant tortoises
For the first time in nearly two centuries, giant tortoises are once again roaming Floreana Island in the Galápagos, a conservation milestone more than a decade in the making.
A 3-limbed Kemp’s ridley sea turtle is now being tracked at sea by satellite
JUNO BEACH, Fla. (AP) — The veterinary staff at a Florida sea turtle hospital is getting help from space to monitor the animals they have rehabilitated. They’re particularly interested in amputees. Using satellite tracking devices in a collaboration between the Loggerhead Marinelife Center and the Smithsonian Conservation Biology Institute, scientists are learning how well sea […]
Compost, racoons and sea turtle predation in Costa Rica
Composting keeps organic waste out of landfills, where it can produce methane, a very potent greenhouse gas. But a new study from Costa Rica’s Guanacaste province finds that when not disposed of properly, organic waste can also trigger a cascade of events resulting in fewer sea turtles. “Normally in Costa Rica we are very used […]
Amazon waterway noise threatens unique social life of giant river turtles
- A planned shipping waterway on the Tapajós River, a major tributary of the Amazon, may disrupt the sophisticated social communication systems used by the Amazon river turtle (Podocnemis expansa), a species likely to be endangered.
- Underwater noise from barges risks drowning out the vocalizations used by adult females to guide their young during collective migration in the species’ second-most important nesting area, scientists say.
- The waterway is a central piece of Brazil’s new push to ease the transport of soybean and corn for export.

Outlook for migratory species worsens amid habitat loss & avian flu, report finds
- A U.N.-backed report finds that nearly half of the world’s migratory species protected under a global treaty are now decreasing — and about one in four now faces extinction.
- Habitat loss and degradation as well as hunting and fishing are driving these declines, but a deadly virus, Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza, is also taking a heavy toll on bird populations.
- Wildlife corridors and protected ocean networks can play a pivotal role in conserving imperiled species: Animals need to move to find food, a mate and migrate.

Can Singapore rewild its lost reptiles?
- Singapore has lost most of its primary forest since the 19th century, and roughly a third of terrestrial vertebrate species have disappeared locally, often through gradual habitat thinning rather than sudden collapse.
- Snakes and lizards show a two-stage pattern of decline tied first to plantation-era deforestation and later to rapid urbanization, with forest specialists hardest hit while adaptable species persist in degraded habitats.
- Despite losses, reptiles have proven relatively resilient; many can survive in disturbed environments, but fragmented populations remain vulnerable and natural recolonization is unlikely across the sea barrier to Malaysia.
- Maturing secondary forests and restoration efforts create conditions for cautious rewilding, and scientists suggest targeted translocation—such as reintroducing the forest gecko Gekko hulk—could restore some lost ecological functions even if the original ecosystem cannot be fully recovered.

Australia hands record prison sentence to reptile smuggler in trafficking crackdown
- A 61-year-old Sydney man was sentenced to eight years in prison for attempting to smuggle native Australian reptiles to Europe and Asia.
- Australia is home to 10% of the world’s reptile species, and 90% can be found nowhere else in the world.
- The Australian government is cracking down on wildlife trafficking, with arrests tripling from mid-2023 to early 2025. During that period, authorities seized more than 200 parcels at the border containing 780 native species.

Azores dodges proposal to overturn no-fishing zones in its giant new MPA network
- A law establishing the Azores Marine Protected Areas Network was approved in October 2024 and took effect recently, on Jan. 1 this year.
- The network now safeguards 30% of Azorean waters, 287,000 square kilometers of seascape sheltering a rich array of marine life, and makes up the largest MPA network in the North Atlantic Ocean.
- Not two weeks later, on Jan. 15, the Azores Parliament voted on a measure that upholds a core provision of the MPA network, after it came under fire in recent months: No fishing inside the fully protected areas, which constitute half the vast network.
- Conservationists expressed satisfaction, broadly, with the agreement, but fishers’ groups expressed disappointment.

Giant tortoises return to Galápagos island 180 years after relatives went extinct
For the first time in nearly two centuries, giant tortoises are once again roaming Floreana Island in the Galápagos, a conservation milestone more than a decade in the making. Early settlers on Floreana Island altered the landscape and hunted the Floreana giant tortoise (Chelonoidis niger niger) into extinction about 180 years ago. But while working […]
Texas sea turtles have lost a conservation hero (commentary)
- A dedicated sea turtle conservationist on the Texas Gulf Coast has passed away.
- Carole Allen — the founder of HEART (Help Endangered Animals Ridley Turtles)— passed away this month at the age of 90.
- “Some of Carole’s accomplishments are documented in Edward Humes’ 2009 book “Eco Barons” and the 2011 PBS documentary “The Heartbreak Turtle.” But her true legacy lives on in the countless children and adults she inspired over generations,” a new op-ed says.
- This article is a commentary. The views expressed are those of the author, not necessarily of Mongabay.

Study refutes claim that Indonesia’s legal turtle trade supports livelihoods
- Tens of thousands of freshwater turtles and tortoises are legally harvested each year in Indonesia for their meat and exported primarily to China, while many species teeter on the brink of extinction.
- Although this turtle trade is thought to provide livelihoods for harvesters, a study finds that with current market prices, it only supports a few hundred people nationwide with a barely sustainable minimum wage income.
- A big proportion of the trade must be illegal to keep it profitable, researchers say. They question whether it should be permitted at all, given that many targeted species are threatened with extinction.
- To prevent illegal trade, conservationists urge Indonesian authorities to enforce harvest quotas, ban the trade of threatened species and provide alternative livelihoods for harvesters to save the country’s chelonians.

Snakes on a train: King cobras are hitching rides in India
Author’s note (March 5, 2026): Questions have been raised about the validity of an image included in the Biotropica paper. The authors state that they analyzed the image’s metadata and ran it through an AI detector, but independent analysis has questioned its origin. On India’s railways, stowaways are not limited to ticketless passengers. Some arrive […]
A last refuge for turtles on the brink
The Turtle Survival Center, run by the Turtle Survival Alliance, exists to buy time for species that no longer have much of it. Founded in 2013 in South Carolina, the center functions as a high-security refuge and breeding facility for some of the world’s rarest freshwater turtles and tortoises. It houses hundreds of animals representing […]
Habitat destruction, illegal trade threaten Sri Lanka’s endangered agamid lizards
- Two of Sri Lanka’s rare lizards, the critically endangered Dumbara agama (Cophotis dumbara) and the endangered Ceylon deaf agama (Cophotis ceylanica) are popular on global trading websites as exotic pets since 2015 with the captive bred lizards and juveniles carrying a price tag ranging between $500 to $1000.
- The demand for endemic and exotic lizards as pets is increasing becoming popular, with a spiking demand on social media platforms such as Facebook and Instagram where Copohotis lizards are among the most popular species to be traded.
- Conservationists warn against the consistent demand contributing to exploitation and over-harvesting of these rare species as climate change and habitat loss make their survival difficult.

The Turtle Bank: The last of these Asian turtle species find refuge in the Carolina pines
- Sixteen turtle enthusiasts from three countries traveled to South Carolina’s Turtle Survival Center in September 2025 for an intensive weeklong course on turtle and tortoise conservation, care and breeding. Mongabay staff writer Liz Kimbrough joined them there.
- More than half of the world’s 359 living turtle and tortoise species now face extinction, with 134 classified as endangered or critically endangered — a crisis driven by the wildlife trade, destruction and pollution of wetlands and rivers, and the species’ slow reproductive biology.
- The center houses approximately 800 turtles representing some of the world’s most critically endangered species, mostly from Southeast Asia. It serves as a “turtle bank” that maintains genetic diversity for species in hopes that their progeny may return to the wild.
- Participants learned hands-on skills ranging from disease prevention to optimal lighting. The course strengthens a global network of turtle conservationists who are bringing their newly honed skills to zoos, aquariums, vet offices and community projects back home.

Photos: Top new species from 2025
- Scientists described several new species this past year, including a tiny marsupial, a Himalayan bat, an ancient tree, a giant manta ray, a bright blue butterfly and a fairy lantern, to name a few.
- Experts estimate that fewer than 20% of Earth’s species have been documented by Western science, with potentially millions more unknown and unnamed.
- Although such species may be new to science, many are already known to — and used by — local and Indigenous peoples, who often have given them traditional names.
- Many new species are assessed as threatened with extinction as soon as they are found, highlighting the urgent need for conservation efforts.

Tell Hicks, reptile artist
- Tell Hicks helped bring reptiles and amphibians into serious artistic view, treating snakes, lizards, and turtles as subjects worthy of close, unsentimental attention rather than symbols or curiosities. His paintings emphasized accuracy, individuality, and restraint.
- Largely self-taught, he traveled widely and worked directly from field observation, developing meticulous techniques in egg tempera and later fast-drying oils to support highly detailed work, often produced in public settings.
- He became a central figure in herpetological communities in Britain and the United States, helping found the International Herpetological Society, serving as its president, and contributing artwork that circulated through museums, shows, and educational spaces.
- After a life-altering accident left him paralyzed, he adapted his practice and returned to painting, continuing to attend reptile shows and engage with the community that had long formed around his work.

Tiny Caribbean island brings hope for critically endangered iguana
Over the past decade, Prickly Pear East, a small, privately owned island in the Caribbean, has become a beacon of hope for a critically endangered lizard. The islet, near the main island of Anguilla, a British territory, is one of just five locations where the lesser Antillean iguana (Iguana delicatissima) is breeding and thriving, protected […]
Rapid urbanization, habitat loss are forcing the snakes out in Dhaka
- The government and private agencies in Bangladesh have rescued at least 351 snakes from various densely populated areas in and around Dhaka city this year. Of the rescued snakes, 319 were venomous.
- A study shows that Bangladesh is home to 89 snake species. Though many of these are non-venomous, a fear of snakebites is widespread among the common people.
- Experts say that excessive and unplanned urbanization is playing a major role in exposing snakes to humans, as the species is losing its habitat due to reduced wetlands and open lands, among other reasons.

Countries overwhelmingly support bid to bar Galápagos iguanas from international trade
Four species of iguanas from the Galápagos Islands have received the highest protection against international commercial trade at the ongoing summit of CITES, the global wildlife trade convention, in Samarkand, Uzbekistan. The Galápagos land iguana (Conolophus subcristatus), Galápagos pink land iguana (C. marthae), Barrington land iguana (C. pallidus) and marine iguana (Amblyrhynchus cristatus) are found […]
Jean Beasley, who turned her young daughter’s dying wish into a mission to save sea turtles, has died
- After the death of her daughter Karen in 1991 and her dying wish to “do something good for sea turtles,” Jean Beasley committed herself to sea turtle conservation on Topsail Island, North Carolina.
- She founded the state’s first sea turtle rehabilitation center, beginning in a cramped 900-square-foot space and growing it into a respected 13,000-square-foot hospital and public education facility in Surf City.
- Beasley valued both direct action and education, believing that saving one turtle mattered but inspiring others—especially children—to care about the ocean could save many more.
- Her decades of work helped protect more than 3,000 nests and rehabilitate at least 1,600 turtles, while also motivating future conservationists and proving that a daughter’s dying wish could become a movement of hope.

The long life of a Galápagos tortoise
Founder’s Briefs: An occasional series where Mongabay founder Rhett Ayers Butler shares analysis, perspectives and story summaries. She moved slowly, as if time were something best savored. Visitors leaned over railings or knelt at the edge of her enclosure as she stretched her neck toward a leaf of romaine. Children noted she was older than […]
Solar-lights protect sea turtles from fishing nets, Mexico trials show
- Researchers from U.S. and fishers from Mexico’s Gulf of California have developed solar-powered LED buoys that attach to gill nets to help reduce sea turtle bycatch by 63%.
- The floating devices recharge in sunlight and can operate for over five days without light, addressing cost and waste concerns associated with traditional battery-powered lights and single-use chemical light sticks.
- Researchers say the green flashing lights may help sea turtles see the nets in dark water.
- The technology emerged from collaborative workshops between scientists and fishing communities, with commercial production estimated within two to three years through partnership with fishing gear manufacturer Fishtek Marine.

Island-confined reptiles face high extinction risk, but low research interest
Reptile species found only on islands are significantly more vulnerable to extinction than their mainland counterparts, yet remain vastly overlooked by researchers, according to a recent study. “Reptiles, partly due to their ability to endure long periods without food or water, are particularly effective island colonizers,” Ricardo Rocha, study co-author and an associate professor at […]
In Mexico, world’s smallest turtle faces big threats from trafficking, habitat loss
- The Vallarta mud turtle, the world’s smallest turtle, lives only in temporary lagoons in the Mexican city of Puerto Vallarta, which poses a huge challenge for its conservation.
- By the time scientists had determined they were a distinct species, just 1,000 turtles remained; since then, their number has dropped to 300.
- A key driver of this decline is the illegal pet trade, with an estimated 200 turtles smuggled to China this year alone, according to experts.
- Even though the turtle is listed as critically endangered, Mexican authorities have been slow to implement measures to protect it or its habitat, which is being lost to tourism developments.

Massive turtle bust in Mexico reveals ‘Wild West’ of wildlife trafficking
- A sting by Mexican authorities in September uncovered more than 2,300 live, wild-caught freshwater turtles and other valuable wildlife products. Three men were arrested and charged with wildlife crimes.
- Vallarta mud turtles, the world’s smallest and the most imperiled in the Western Hemisphere, were among the eight species seized by authorities. All are in high demand as pets, and were headed for the U.S. and Asia.
- Smuggled under horrific conditions, nearly half of the turtles seized in this raid died; the rest are being cared for at Guadalajara Zoo.
- This operation highlights rampant turtle smuggling in Mexico, home to the second-most turtle species on the planet. Conservationists urge officials to tighten law enforcement and intelligence gathering to combat trafficking that threatens the survival of the country’s wildlife.

Nickel mining damage near UNESCO site stirs outrage in southern Philippines
- A recent survey by the Davao Oriental provincial government engineering office revealed that a strip mine operating in the province had scraped bare about 200 hectares of forestland.
- After the survey, the provincial governor said the province would order the Pujada nickel mine to cease operations.
- The mine is within 10 kilometers of two protected areas: the Mount Hamiguitan Range Wildlife Sanctuary, a UNESCO World Heritage Site; and the Pujada Bay, a nationally protected seascape.

Ghost nets entangling turtles, marine life in Sri Lanka’s waters
In Sri Lankan waters, there’s a growing problem of ghost nets that are entangling sea turtles, fish, dolphins and seabirds, reports contributor Malaka Rodrigo for Mongabay. “Ghost nets” are fishing gear that have either been abandoned, lost or discarded into the sea. As these drift with the ocean currents, they continue to trap marine animals […]
Green turtle rebounds, moving from ‘endangered’ to ‘least concern’
The green turtle, found across the world’s oceans, is recovering after decades of decline, according to the latest IUCN Red List assessment. The species has been reclassified from endangered to least concern. “I am delighted,” Brendan Godley, a turtle expert from the University of Exeter, U.K., told Mongabay. “It underlines that marine conservation can work, […]
20 animal species on the road to recovery: IUCN Red List update
From three species of Arctic seals to more than half of all birds globally, several animals have slipped closer to extinction, according to the latest update of the IUCN Red List. However, 20 species have seen a positive change in their status: they’ve moved farther away from the threat of extinction, thanks to effective conservation […]
New species of gecko described from Madagascar’s sacred forests
- An international team of biologists has discovered a new species of gecko in small forest fragments in southeastern Madagascar.
- Due to its extremely limited range, researchers say it should be classified as critically endangered.
- The management of these forests by local communities offers a significant advantage for the species’ conservation, according to the research team.

How to smuggle a wild Galápagos iguana? Pretend it was bred in Africa
At least 60 wild iguanas have been captured, sold and exported from the Galápagos Islands in Ecuador under permits that shouldn’t have been recognized since Ecuador doesn’t allow the export of live iguanas, Mongabay’s Ana Cristina Alvarado reported. Researchers behind a recent study found that traffickers smuggle the iguanas out of the archipelago, then declare […]
Photos: Indigenous elders push for comeback of the revered Philippine crocodile
- The critically endangered Philippine crocodile (Crocodylus mindorensis) embodies strength and protective spirits for Indigenous Agta elders who are involved in efforts to rebrand the image of the predator.
- Thanks to conservation efforts led by the Mabuwaya Foundation in partnership with local and Indigenous communities, the wild crocodile population in a region of the northern Philippines increased from one adult in 1999 to 125 individuals by 2024.
- Community sanctuary guards, known as Bantay Sanktuwaryo, play a significant role in safeguarding the crocodiles and their habitat despite ongoing challenges posed by illegal fishing, agricultural encroachment and inadequate law enforcement.
- Conservationists warn that without stable funding and stronger government support, even successful grassroots efforts may not ensure the species’ long-term survival.

Largest turtle nest in the world revealed in drone study
Scientists studying the world’s largest river turtles, a South American species that grows to a length of nearly a meter, or 3 feet, have found the largest nesting aggregation ever recorded. Using drones to conduct a population survey in the western Brazilian Amazon, researchers recorded a nesting area of the endangered giant South American river […]
New gecko species findings highlight threats to Cambodia’s limestone hills
- Researchers have described three new gecko species in northwestern Cambodia’s limestone hills and are eager to conduct further research, but recent border clashes with Thailand have disrupted their studies.
- The region’s limestone karst landscape is a biodiversity hotspot that could harbor many species yet unknown to science.
- These areas are also threatened by the growing demand for cement, made from limestone.

The slow demise of turtles and tortoises
Founder’s Briefs: An occasional series where Mongabay founder Rhett Ayers Butler shares analysis, perspectives and story summaries. Turtles and tortoises have outlived dinosaurs, endured ice ages, and survived the shuffling of continents. Yet despite their evolutionary stamina, these ancient mariners and land dwellers now find themselves in peril. A sweeping global assessment published in Nature […]
Réunion’s ‘rarest’ gecko vanishing from natural areas but appearing in gardens
The critically endangered Manapany day gecko has long been known only from a small part of Réunion Island, a French territory in the Indian Ocean. A recent study finds the bright green lizard no longer appears in 28% of its previous habitat, but has cropped up in newer, more urban areas where it hasn’t been […]
Study uncovers laundering of Galápagos iguanas through wildlife export permits
- All four species of Galápagos iguanas are categorized as threatened on the IUCN Red List and require permits for international trade — something the Ecuadorian government doesn’t issue for live specimens.
- Despite this, 60 Galápagos iguanas are known to have been shipped across the globe under supposedly legal permits, according to a new study.
- The study authors suggest the trafficked species have been “laundered” — reported as captive-bred specimens — to make their international trade appear legal.
- Ecuador is working on a proposal to strengthen the protection of the four iguana species.

Tortoise hatchlings born of century-old parents come out of their shells at Philadelphia Zoo
PHILADELPHIA (AP) — Sixteen critically endangered western Santa Cruz tortoises born to some very old parents got a slow walk and the red carpet treatment Wednesday at a Philadelphia Zoo event to show off the highly prized hatchlings. Animal care specialists who have watched over the 16 since they were eggs held the animals on […]
US proposes threatened listing for widely trafficked Borneo earless monitor
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service has recently proposed listing the Borneo earless monitor, an elusive lizard endemic to the Southeast Asian island of Borneo, as threatened under the Endangered Species Act. Borneo earless monitors (Lanthanotus borneensis) are illegally trafficked for the international pet trade. Finalizing the threatened listing would prohibit the import, export and […]
New report warns 54% of turtles and tortoises are at risk of extinction
- More than half of the world’s 359 turtle and tortoise species now face extinction, with the crisis worsening despite global conservation efforts.
- Asia is the epicenter of the crisis, accounting for 32 of the 66 most threatened species due to intense harvesting, illegal trade and habitat destruction.
- The economics of extinction create a vicious cycle, where rarer species become more valuable to collectors, incentivizing further hunting of the few remaining individuals.
- Successful conservation projects include habitat protection, captive breeding, community engagement and adaptive management, with local communities playing a crucial role.

Former poachers guard Cabo Verde’s endangered sea turtles
- Conservation organizations are employing Cabo Verdeans, who formerly hunted endangered and threatened sea turtles, as rangers who now monitor and patrol beaches.
- From 2007-24, illegal catches of female turtles on one island plummeted from 1,253 to a mere 20, while nesting sites of vulnerable loggerhead turtles increased sevenfold, according to data by a conservation NGO.
- Locals traditionally consume turtle parts, use them in traditional medicine and now sell them in black markets; however, conservation activities, legislation and tourism have led to a reduction in turtle harvesting, researchers say.
- Conservationists say threats persist for sea turtles from at-sea captures, industrial fishing and plastic pollution, and that stricter laws and increased participation of the fisher community in conservation activities are needed.

Requiem for the nearly lost
Founder’s Briefs: An occasional series where Mongabay founder Rhett Ayers Butler shares analysis, perspectives and story summaries. They are not yet gone. But for thousands of species, the Earth is already holding its breath. A new review published in Nature Reviews Earth & Environment confirms what conservationists have long suspected: more than 10,000 species now […]
Illegal pet trade in Nepal now shifting online, research suggests
- The preliminary findings of a recent study suggest a shift in Nepal’s illegal exotic pet trade, moving from physical markets to digital platforms due to widespread smartphone penetration, social media usage, and online payment systems.
- Nepal, traditionally a source and transit country for illegal exotic pet trade, is now potentially emerging as a destination as well, driven by economic growth and increased connectivity in South Asia.
- Birds and reptiles, both native and exotic, are among the most actively traded species, with hundreds of animals now being exchanged in single transactions.
- While the shift to digital poses new challenges for law enforcement, researchers suggest it also could indicate increased public awareness, making open, physical trade more difficult.

Malaysia’s turtle egg buyback scheme saved thousands — but is it sustainable?
- A recent study assessed the effectiveness of Malaysia’s decades-old sea turtle egg buyback scheme, which aims to prevent eggs from entering the illegal wildlife trade by purchasing them from licensed collectors and relocating them to hatcheries.
- Between 2016 and 2021, more than 71,000 green turtle eggs were purchased and relocated, resulting in high hatching (77.6%) and emergence (74.1%) success rates — highlighting the scheme’s biological effectiveness despite covering only a small fraction of total nests.
- The study flagged significant financial and logistical challenges, including rising costs, seasonal erosion, inconsistent cooperation from collectors, and limited capacity to purchase all available eggs, prompting concerns about long-term sustainability.
- With a statewide ban on turtle egg trade now in place, researchers and experts question whether the buyback model should continue, suggesting alternative strategies like nonextractive income opportunities and stronger enforcement against illegal trade.

Rising heat threatens female-male ratio of India’s unique gharial crocs
For India’s critically endangered gharial, a fish-eating crocodile with a slender snout that ends in a bulbous growth, heat is emerging as a major threat, reports contributor Sneha Mahale for Mongabay India. Nest temperatures are rising, researchers wrote in a new study, which could be skewing the sex ratio of hatchling gharials (Gavialis gangeticus) more […]
World’s smallest snake spotted by scientists in Barbados after 20-year absence
- Scientists rediscovered the world’s smallest snake, the Barbados threadsnake, after it had been missing from scientific observation for 20 years.
- The tiny blind snake required microscopic examination to distinguish it from an invasive look-alike species before being confirmed and returned to the wild.
- The finding represents a rare success story on an island where 98% of primary forests have been cleared and many endemic species have gone extinct.
- Researchers plan continued surveys to map the snake’s range and develop habitat protection strategies for this critically endangered species.

Sri Lanka grants protection to a rare ecosystem
Founder’s Briefs: An occasional series where Mongabay founder Rhett Ayers Butler shares analysis, perspectives and story summaries. In a move hailed as a long-overdue conservation victory, Sri Lanka has formally declared Nilgala — a sweeping mosaic of grasslands, forests and sacred sites — as a protected forest reserve, reports contributor Malaka Rodrigo for Mongabay. Spanning […]
Global tracking study reveals marine megafauna hotspots lie largely unprotected
- A global study tracking nearly 13,000 marine animals representing 111 species reveals they spend 80% of their time in just 63% of their range, yet only about 5% of these high-use ocean areas are currently protected.
- The research identifies Important Marine Megafauna Areas (IMMegAs) as ecological hotspots that span national waters and the high seas, where governance and protection are often lacking.
- Findings show that the global target of protecting 30% of the ocean by 2030 is insufficient to safeguard migratory species unless paired with additional mitigation measures outside protected areas, like bycatch reduction and ship speed regulations.
- Researchers call for stronger international coordination and more dynamic, movement-informed conservation strategies to effectively protect wide-ranging ocean wildlife.

Suspicions surround international legal trade in Galápagos iguanas
- The mega-diverse Galápagos archipelago is home to more than 9,000 species, most of them endemic, including four species of threatened iguanas.
- A new study has uncovered how traffickers obtain valid CITES permits for trafficked animals — Galápagos iguanas in this case — and trade them legally, highlighting the role of national CITES authorities in enabling illegal wildlife trade.
- The study identifies a transnational trafficking network of Galápagos iguanas, with Uganda being a hub for the “legal” trade and raises questions on the origins of these animals.
- Conservationists urge all CITES parties to exercise caution when issuing future permits for endemic species and to consult with countries where they are native. They also recommend canceling all previously issued export permits for Galápagos iguanas and refraining from issuing future export permits.

Tracking the return of critically endangered turtles in India’s Ganga River
A recent conservation initiative is closely monitoring the return of 20 critically endangered red-crowned roofed turtles in India’s Ganga River, where the species was nearly wiped out, reports Mongabay India’s Manish Chandra Mishra. The red-crowned roofed turtle (Batagur kachuga), found only in India, Bangladesh and Nepal, was historically widespread in Ganga and its tributaries. But […]
Peru’s new bycatch training aims to help save hooked sea turtles: Q&A with fisher Gustavo Rosales
- Sea turtles often get caught on hooks intended for mahi-mahi in the waters off the coast of southern Peru.
- The government is training fishers in best practices for releasing turtles, seabirds and other species accidentally caught by fishing gear.
- A 2022 regulation for the mahi-mahi fishery requires that at least one crew member per boat has obtained a training certificate.
- “If it weren’t for the turtles, there would be no balance,” says Gustavo Rosales, a fisher from the city of Ilo, who says the training has been beneficial.

Pelicans recover, but dolphins and other species struggle 15 years after BP oil spill
Oil-soaked pelicans struggling to fly came to symbolize the catastrophic impacts of the 2010 BP Deepwater Horizon oil spill on the inhabitants of the Gulf of Mexico. Fifteen years later, brown pelicans in the region have seen some recovery, but other wildlife species haven’t been as fortunate, Mongabay’s Liz Kimbrough reported in April. Researchers estimate […]
Mongabay India wins best science podcast at Publisher Podcast Awards
Mongabay India’s 2024 podcast miniseries “Wild Frequencies” bagged the “Best Science and Medical” category at the Publisher Podcast Awards ceremony in London on June 11. The podcast is a three-episode series that tells stories of how researchers in India use the science of bioacoustics, or animal sounds, to better understand the lives of wildlife, such […]
Four new snake species discovered in Papua New Guinea
Herpetology has long navigated through tangled terrain in Papua New Guinea, where species mislabeling and sparse sampling have clouded scientific understanding. But a recent revision has brought rare clarity—and four unexpected discoveries, reports Akhyari Hananto for Mongabay-Indonesia. In April 2025, Fred Kraus of the University of Michigan published a study in Zootaxa identifying four new […]
Green groups oppose Qatari luxury resort near pristine world heritage site
- Construction has begun on a Qatari-backed project to build 37 luxury villas on Assomption Island, the gateway to Aldabra Atoll, a UNESCO World Heritage Site in Seychelles that is home to one of the last remaining populations of giant tortoises.
- The resort threatens the entire cluster of islands and atolls (Aldabra, Assomption, Cosmoledo and Astove — known collectively as the Aldabra Group), according to activists, who cite the risk of invasive species.
- Activists say the project’s environmental and social impact assessment (ESIA) was rushed, does not meet global standards, and is marred by conflicts of interest.
- An official at the Seychellois government-owned enterprise responsible for developments on islands like Assomption and Aldabra, which aims to turn the island into a “vibrant revenue-generating asset,” said the resort will increase activities on the islands and possibly attract more Seychellois to these remote islands.

Critically endangered chameleon discovered outside its known habitat in Madagascar
- In April, researchers found individuals of a critically endangered chameleon species in southwestern Madagascar.
- Furcifer belalandaensis had not previously been recorded outside of a tiny area threatened by deforestation for charcoal and agriculture, and by the development of a major mining project.
- Researchers working to improve knowledge of the Belalanda chameleon’s distribution were excited to find three of the rare reptile five kilometers (three miles) away, in the PK32-Ranobe protected area.
- But Ranobe’s forests are also under pressure; captive breeding and revising the protected area’s management plan are among of the conservation measures being considered to ensure the species’ survival.

‘Absolutely ecstatic’: Scientists confirm survival of rare South African gecko
Researchers have confirmed the presence of a rare gecko species atop an isolated South African mountain, accessible only by helicopter, more than 30 years after it was last seen. The Blyde rondawels flat gecko (Afroedura rondavelica), with its distinct golden eyes and dark-banded tail with a purplish sheen, was previously known only from two male […]
Venomous snakes, freshwater fish among legally traded species most likely to become invasive in US
- The U.S., the largest importer of wildlife products in the world, brings in nearly 10,000 species of plants and animals into the country legally, some of which have a high potential to become invasive species.
- A recent study assessed these imported species and identified 32 as having the highest risk for becoming invasive, posing threats to local ecosystems and to human health.
- These include venomous reptiles like puff adders and spitting cobras, and freshwater fish; similar species that have already established themselves as invasives have wrought havoc on native wildlife and caused widespread economic harm.
- The researchers say their findings can help authorities regulate the imports of such high-risk species and add them to watchlists to prevent them from becoming invasives.

15 years after the BP oil spill disaster, how is the Gulf of Mexico faring?
- The Deepwater Horizon disaster on April 20, 2010, was the largest offshore oil spill in U.S. history, releasing an estimated 4.9 million barrels of oil into the Gulf of Mexico over nearly three months.
- Fifteen years later, the gulf ecosystem shows a complicated picture of both resilience and lingering damage, with some species, like brown pelicans, recovering, while others, like humans, dolphins and deep-sea corals, continue to struggle with long-term health impacts.
- The disaster prompted an unprecedented legal settlement directing billions toward restoration projects, though experts debate whether these funds have been used effectively for ecosystem-scale recovery.
- Climate change remains the “800-pound gorilla in the room,” threatening the gulf’s future resilience, one expert said, with others warning that continued pressure from fossil fuel development, agricultural runoff and other threats could push the system beyond its capacity to recover.

97-year-old Galápagos tortoise becomes a first-time mom
A pair of Galápagos tortoises in their 90s recently made headlines for successfully producing offspring for the first time. The female tortoise, aptly named Mommy, at Philadelphia Zoo is now considered the oldest recorded first-time mom for the Western Santa Cruz Galápagos tortoise (Chelonoidis porteri), at the age of 97. Mommy, who has been with […]
Amid fuzzy data, scientists urge monitoring of Hong Kong’s tokay gecko trade
- Thousands of tokay geckos (Gekko gecko), native to South and Southeast Asia, are sold each year in Hong Kong’s traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) pharmacies.
- Recent studies have raised questions on the sustainability of this trade and the origins of the geckos, as vendors’ claims don’t agree with data in the CITES database, exposing data discrepancies in legal trade.
- Without stricter oversight, these discrepancies could result in unsustainable trade and facilitate illegal trafficking of tokay geckos in the region, say conservationists, who urge countries and CITES to better monitor the trade.

Siamese crocodile release into the wild marks conservation milestone in Cambodia
- This month, conservationists released 10 captive-bred Siamese crocodiles into Cambodia’s Virachey National Park as part of a regionwide effort to boost wild populations of the critically endangered crocodilian.
- The release marked the first such attempt in Virachey. Since the species was rediscovered in Cambodia in 2000, nearly 200 crocodiles have been released in Cambodia’s Cardamom mountains region.
- Efforts to restore or boost Siamese crocodile populations are underway in protected areas in Laos and Thailand, too.

The Turtle Walker: Satish Bhaskar, sea turtle conservationist
Founder’s Briefs: An occasional series where Mongabay founder Rhett Ayers Butler shares analysis, perspectives and story summaries. For months on end, he would maroon himself on remote islands — no phone, no company, no fanfare. Just a transistor radio, a hammock, and the possibility of seeing a turtle. It was enough. For Satish Bhaskar, the […]
Superstitions fuel trafficking of India’s red sand boa
In India, superstitions and myths have fueled a rampant illegal trade in the red sand boa, a docile, nonvenomous snake, reports Shatabdi Chakrabarti in a video for Mongabay India. The red sand boa (Eryx johnii), as its name suggests, is a thick reddish snake that burrows in loose mud and sand. It’s found in dry, […]
Exploring India, finding new species: Interview with biologist Zeeshan Mirza
- Indian biologist Zeeshan Mirza has identified more than 60 new-to-science species, including snakes, tarantulas and geckos across India’s biodiversity hotspots.
- The Western Ghats and Himalayan regions are particularly rich areas for biological discoveries, though many species remain undocumented and threatened.
- Human encroachment is the greatest conservation challenge, according to Mirza, while the illegal pet trade threatens species, with rare specimens sometimes appearing in online markets shortly after scientific documentation.
- Mirza advocates for withholding precise location data in scientific publications and encourages proper identification skills among young naturalists to document India’s biodiversity before species disappear due to habitat destruction.

Microplastics in sea turtle nests could cause a dangerous gender imbalance
Scientists are finding microplastics everywhere they look for them. A new study finds these tiny plastic particles in sea turtle nests on a remote Malaysian island. Researchers warn that microplastics could alter nest temperatures, potentially skewing the sex ratio of incubating turtles that could further endanger species already facing significant challenges. Up to 1,700 green […]
Devastating flood forces relocation of 10,000 tortoises at Madagascar sanctuary
- In January, a rehabilitation center for critically endangered tortoises in southern Madagascar was severely impacted by heavy flooding caused by two cyclones.
- The rescue center hosts thousands of tortoises rescued from traffckers; the flooding killed more than 800 of them.
- Temporary solutions have been put in place to care for the now twice-rescued animals, as reconstruction will not be possible until later this year.
- This is the first time the conservation center has faced disruption on this scale since it was launched in 2017.

Surgically implanted tags offer rare insight into rehabilitated sea turtles
In 2021, the New England Aquarium in the U.S. state of Massachusetts began surgically implanting acoustic tags in rescued loggerhead sea turtles before returning them to the ocean. Four years on, these tags are providing a rare peek into where rehabilitated turtles travel. “Surgically implanted acoustic transmitters have been used for many years in many […]
Three new gecko species described in Nepal: Interview with herpetologist Santosh Bhattarai
- Researchers in Nepal have discovered three new-to-science species of bent-toed geckos — Cyrtodactylus chitwanensis (Chitwan Bent-toed Gecko), Cyrtodactylus annapurnaensis (Annapurna Bent-toed Gecko), and Cyrtodactylus karanshahi (Karan’s Bent-toed Gecko).
- These geckos were found at elevations between 980–1,600 meters (3,215-5,250 feet), bridging a significant geographical gap in Nepal’s bent-toed gecko distribution, which previously had only three known species from its easternmost and westernmost regions.
- The geckos face threats from habitat destruction due to land-use changes, infrastructure development and mining. Since geckos are nocturnal and often go unnoticed in environmental impact assessments, their populations are at risk of disappearing before they are properly studied, says lead researcher Santosh Bhattarai.

How one researcher walked thousands of miles along India’s shores to conserve sea turtles
- ‘Turtle Walker’ is a 75-minute documentary on the life and career of turtle conservationist Satish Bhaskar, who surveyed more than 4,000 kilometres of the India’s coastline.
- In this interview with Mongabay India, Taira Malaney, the director of Turtle Walker talks about why she chose Bhaskar as the subject of her documentary, the challenges of filming with turtles and the role of environmental films.
- The film is set to be screened at the DC Environmental Film Festival 2025, where Mongabay is a media partner.

New species of parrot snake described in Brazil’s threatened Cerrado
A new species of parrot snake lay undetected for nearly nine years in a scientific collection in Brazil. It closely resembled related species with bright green and yellow tones. But one detail set it apart: a bold black stripe running across its snout, like a mustache. When scientists took a closer look, they suspected it […]
Researchers track Florida’s crocodiles to increase acceptance amid urbanization
Researchers in Florida, U.S., have attached satellite transmitter tags on 15 crocodiles to learn more about their movement patterns in urbanized areas. Through the multi-year study, the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC), aims to better understand the behavior of American crocodiles (Crocodylus acutus) to help minimize human-wildlife conflict. Native to south Florida and […]
Concerns of illegal sea turtle trade persist in Bali as police foil smugglers
- Seizures of large consignments of live turtles in northwest Bali in January have raised concerns among conservationists that trade in the protected species may remain pervasive despite recent progress by civil society and law enforcement.
- Six of the world’s seven species of sea turtle live in the waters around Indonesia, the world’s largest archipelago country.
- WWF Indonesia said the scale of the seizures in January indicated that the trade may be to supply turtle meat for consumption, rather than just for Hindu ceremonial uses.
- A 2019 investigation found authorities in Indonesia, Malaysia and Vietnam seized at least 2,354 whole turtles and more than 91,000 eggs from 163 law enforcement operations between 2015 and July 2019.

Conservationists suspect fishing nets, increased tourism for sea turtle deaths in Bangladesh
- More than 100 olive ridley turtles were found dead in Bangladesh’s Cox’s Bazar Beach in the last few weeks.
- Conservationists blame the uncontrolled use of fishing nets and increased tourism during the turtle nesting period to have played a key role in the incident.
- The olive ridley’s main nesting grounds are the various islands in the southeastern district, Cox’s Bazar in the Bay of Bengal, and they come to the beaches to lay eggs before returning to the sea.
- Over the last three years, Bangladesh saw there was an increased number of olive ridley turtles and hatchlings thanks to different conservation programs.

Can a new DNA test save the world’s rarest turtle?
- Scientists have developed and validated a DNA test kit to help detect the critically endangered Yangtze softshell turtle, a species on the very cusp of extinction.
- The environmental DNA, or eDNA, kit was designed specifically for the species with the hope of finding any unknown individuals in the lakes of Vietnam, in order to eventually establish a captive-breeding program.
- The new method doesn’t require samples to be exported to laboratories abroad; it also allows researchers to obtain results quickly.
- Only two or three individuals of the Yangtze softshell turtle are known to exist; the last known female died in 2023, rendering the species functionally extinct.

Wave of arrests as Madagascar shuts down tortoise trafficking network
- A crackdown on the illegal trade in Malagasy tortoises has led to a series of recent arrests.
- Following the arrest of a Tanzanian national with 800 tortoises in December 2024, officials said a major investigation had uncovered a major international trafficking network that led to the arrests of more than 20 people in Madagascar and Tanzania.
- Wildlife trade monitoring watchdog TRAFFIC says more than 30,000 trafficked radiated tortoises were seized between 2000 and 2021; the critically endangered Malagasy tortoises are in demand internationally.

Wild Targets
The illicit wildlife trade is one of the most lucrative black-market industries in the world, behind only drug trafficking, counterfeit goods, and human trafficking. Wild Targets is a Mongabay video series that explores the cultural beliefs behind the pervasiveness of poaching, as well as the innovative and inspiring solutions that aim to combat the trade. […]
Order restored in Indonesia as fishers recapture scores of farmed crocodiles
- On Jan. 13, several hours of extreme rain over Indonesia’s Batam archipelago, a one-hour ferry from Singapore, caused a breach in the perimeter of a large saltwater crocodile (Crocodylus porosus) farm on the east of Bulan Island.
- More than 100 of the stir-crazy predators reportedly escaped in the storm, causing panic among the population while halting local fishing activities.
- Elected representatives in Batam have since called for the farm to be closed, citing tax irregularities.
- The global supply of reptile skins remains concentrated in northern Australia for the fashion industry, which claims to operate high animal welfare standards despite allegations of extensive suffering on farms.

Nearly 20,000 animals seized in global wildlife trafficking crackdown
- Nearly 20,000 threatened and protected animals were rescued in a global policing operation coordinated by Interpol at the end of 2024.
- The campaign, Operation Thunder , involved law enforcement agencies in 138 countries and targeted six transnational criminal groups.
- Officials made hundreds of arrests and seized thousands of birds, turtles and other reptiles, primates, big cats and pangolins.

Report reveals staggering levels of wildlife trafficking in Hispanic America
- Crimes against wildlife increasingly threaten biodiversity in Latin America, which is home to 40% of the world’s plant and animal species.
- Between 2017 and 2022, almost 2,000 wildlife seizures and poaching incidents were recorded in the region, according to a recent report. The analysis looked at poaching and trafficking covered in the media in 18 countries across Hispanic America.
- The incidents involved more than 100,000 wild animals and birds, a vast majority of them live, belonging to nearly 700 species; reptiles represented more than half of the seized wildlife.
- The report calls for increased resources to fight wildlife crimes, better law enforcement and strengthening cooperation between countries in the region to combat wildlife crimes.

Illegal trade is pushing Bangladesh’s freshwater turtles to the brink
- The Bangladesh Forest Department recently confiscated a large shipment of freshwater turtles from smugglers in the capital city.
- Experts say the consumer base for freshwater turtles is expanding in Bangladesh and attribute the raise in demand to the increasing foreign residents, mainly from East Asia, who are employed in the country’s infrastructural development projects.
- Conservationists warn that if the freshwater turtle trade is not controlled, it could drive multiple turtle species to extinction.

Over 1,100 dead olive ridley turtles wash ashore in southern India
More than 1,100 dead olive ridley turtles have washed ashore on the beaches of Tamil Nadu state in southern India this month. Most were found near the state capital, Chennai. “I never heard [of] such large numbers of turtles stranded at any beaches of Tamil Nadu at least in the last three decades,” K. Sivakumar, […]
Why is this snake one of the most trafficked species in the world? | Wild Targets
HARYANA, India – The red sand boa is a non-venomous snake that thrives in dry scrublands and grasslands that offer loose sand the snake can burrow into and hide as it awaits its prey. Being one of the most illegally traded species worldwide, it is listed as ‘Near Threatened‘ in the IUCN Red List. India […]
Vietnam grapples with ‘alarming popularity’ of online illegal wildlife trade
- Illegal wildlife trade in threatened and protected species and their parts is occurring in plain sight online in Vietnam, according to a recent assessment by monitoring watchdog TRAFFIC.
- Items openly advertised for sale online in the country included products made from rhinos, tigers, elephants, pangolins and multiple other species protected by international and national wildlife laws, the study found.
- The rise of the online wildlife trade is a menace globally: The enhanced anonymity, ease of online transactions and range of evasive tactics deployed by online traffickers typically hampers investigation and prosecution efforts.
- The authors call on social media and e-commerce platforms to help curb the trade by improving their practices and collaborating closely with authorities to clamp down on illegal traders.

Floods devastate tortoise sanctuary in southern Madagascar
Hundreds of tortoises have died following severe floods at a sanctuary in southwestern Madagascar that houses and protects more than 12,000 of the critically endangered animals. On Jan. 16, Tropical Cyclone Dikeledi swept through the Atsimo-Andrefana region, where the Lavavola Tortoise Center is located, dumping torrential rains that caused water levels to rise as high […]
‘James Bond’ lizard among 35 new species described from Caribbean islands
Shaken, not stirred: That’s how fictional secret service agent James Bond prefers his martini. And now there’s a lizard in the Caribbean that shares his name: the James Bond forest lizard, found close to where author Ian Fleming wrote his iconic Bond novels. Researchers recently described the new species alongside 34 others in a 306-page […]
Bangladesh sees first ever rewilding of captive-bred elongated tortoises
Two species of critically endangered tortoises were reintroduced to Bangladesh’s forests last December. Six captive-bred elongated tortoises (Indotestudo elongata) were first released in Lawachara National Park in northeastern Bangladesh on Dec. 18. This was followed by the release of 10 Asian giant tortoises (Manouria emys phayrei) in Matamuhuri Reserve Forest in the Chittagong Hill Tracts of […]
How tortoise conservationist Hery Razafimamonjiraibe manages risks to antipoaching teams
- Environmental defenders in Madagascar have faced a spate of threats and attacks in recent years, overshadowing their work to protect biodiversity and human rights.
- Against this backdrop, tortoise conservationist Hery Razafimamonjiraibe spoke with Mongabay about how his team manages threats working in often isolated conditions in the south of the country.
- Antipoaching work is risky, he says, but this can be managed through close collaboration and cohesion between communities, NGOs and law enforcement agencies.

Road to recovery: Wild animals staging a comeback in 2024
Conservation news is often heartbreaking, with reports of dramatic biodiversity loss globally year after year. But in 2024, there were several reasons for cheer as well, with conservationists finding that certain species, once at the brink of extinction, are making a comeback. Here are five species that researchers confirmed were showing hopeful signs of recovery […]
Tortoise protection culture prompts efforts to curb trafficking in Madagascar
- Community-led antitrafficking networks are proving pivotal in helping authorities intercept poachers targeting critically endangered and endemic tortoises in southern Madagascar’s fast-disappearing spiny forests.
- Illegal hunting, both for their meat and to supply the pet trade, has decimated the species’ population in recent decades.
- Indigenous people living in the range of the imperiled species are motivated to protect them due to long-standing traditional beliefs that value and respect the tortoises.
- But local efforts can’t solve everything; experts urge more action at national and international levels to step up law enforcement, combat systemic corruption, and crack down on the transnational criminal networks orchestrating the trade.

Photos: Top new species from 2024
- Scientists described numerous new species this past year, from the world’s smallest otter in India to a fanged hedgehog from Southeast Asia, tree-dwelling frogs in Madagascar, and a new family of African plants.
- Experts estimate that fewer than 20% of Earth’s species have been documented by Western science, with potentially millions more awaiting discovery.
- Although such species may be new to science, many are already known to — and used by — local and Indigenous peoples, who often have given them traditional names.
- Upon discovery, many new species are assessed as threatened with extinction, highlighting the urgent need for conservation efforts.

Massive tortoise rewilding in Madagascar’s spiny forest strives to save fraught species
- Conservationists and villagers in southern Madagascar aim to release 20,000 critically endangered radiated tortoises rescued from the illegal wildlife trade back into their unique spiny forest home.
- Radiated tortoise numbers have been decimated due to rampant poaching to supply domestic meat markets and the international pet trade; without action, studies predict the species could go extinct within the next 20 years.
- The conservation program has so far rewilded 4,000 individuals into suitably intact forests surrounded by communities with a long-standing cultural affinity for the species.
- But with threats in the wild still prevalent, the program also focuses its efforts on habitat protection by supporting locally led antipoaching patrols and helping communities gain control of local forest management.

Almost extinct Caribbean lizard makes a comeback after island restoration
A tiny lizard found only on one tiny Caribbean island has seen a dramatic 1,500% increase in its population, after just a few years of island restoration efforts. In 2018, researchers estimated there were fewer than 100 individuals of the critically endangered Sombrero ground lizard (Pholidoscelis corvinus) on the small hat-shaped Sombrero Island, part of […]
European Commission to review Greek oil activity permits in whale habitat
The European Commission will reportedly “seek clarification” from Greece about its recent approvals for offshore oil and gas activities in areas critical for threatened whales and sea turtles. That’s according to the NGO ClientEarth, which, alongside WWF Greece and Greenpeace Greece, filed a formal complaint with the European executive body in 2023 alleging that the […]
Greater Mekong serves up 234 new species in a year, from fanged hedgehog to diva viper
- Researchers and local nature enthusiasts described 234 new-to-science species across the Greater Mekong region in 2023.
- Among the new assortment of critters are sweet-smelling plants, glamorous snakes, a dragon lizard, a psychedelic-orange crocodile newt, and several new mammals, including a mole shrew and a fanged hedgehog.
- The Greater Mekong is a fast-developing region of Southeast Asia, characterized by intensive agriculture, internationally significant inland fisheries and rapid urban expansion.
- As such, the newly described species and their habitats are under pressure from multiple threats, not least from the illegal wildlife trade that also flourishes in the region. Experts say consistent and concerted action is required to secure their future.

Illegal cockfighting threatens endangered sea turtles across Central America
- The hawksbill sea turtle (Eretmochelys imbricata), a critically endangered species, has long been exploited for its shell, used in a wide range of ornaments, including, in Costa Rica, the deadly spurs used in illegal cockfighting.
- Cockfighting is banned in Costa Rica, but the tradition persists underground, with authorities increasing their efforts to seize hawksbill spurs.
- Conservationists are also helping to train inspection officers to identify hawksbill products brought into Costa Rica from neighboring countries.
- When poachers harvest hawksbills, they’re not targeting them specifically for spurs but also for other products, which often find their way into tourist shops and online markets worldwide.

China’s plans to trace wildlife trade risks inflaming trafficking, critics warn
- Conservationists are urging China’s wildlife authorities to reconsider plans to introduce a traceability system to regulate the trade and captive breeding of 18 wildlife species, including several on the brink of extinction due to the illegal wildlife trade.
- Critics say the plans, which aim to better regulate and trace the country’s extensive wildlife breeding industry, effectively expose the affected parrot and reptile species to the pet trade, which could drive up pressure on wild populations.
- Unless the traceability system is sufficiently monitored by stepping up enforcement capacity, experts warn there is a risk the new system could be used to launder wild-caught animals.
- The affected species include African gray parrots and radiated tortoises, both of which are included on Appendix I of the CITES wildlife trade convention, meaning their trade is highly restricted.

Four of a kind: King cobra is a quad of species, not one, study finds
For a long time, the king cobra, the world’s largest venomous snake, was thought to be a single species. A new landmark study has concluded it’s not: the snake is actually four different species. “I feel like we created history,” study lead researcher P. Gowri Shankar, founder of the India-based Kalinga Foundation, told Mongabay by […]
Amid haze of war, Lebanese activists helped turtle hatchlings journey to sea
- The sandy beaches of South Lebanon are a crucial nesting ground for sea turtles.
- This year, 2,500 sea turtle hatchlings safely reached the Mediterranean from Al-Mansouri Beach, a key nesting site near the city of Tyre, according to a volunteer group that has been tending the beach and its turtles for two decades.
- Despite the escalating conflict with Israel and the prevailing climate of fear, the volunteers continued their efforts to protect both the animals and the beach.
- On Sept. 23, the leader of the volunteer group told Mongabay she had to flee her home in Tyre after surviving several Israeli air strikes.

Meet the little-known African tortoise with a hatchback for a shell
- The forest hinge-back tortoise is an unusual animal whose shell can swing down 90 degrees in the rear to protect itself from predators.
- However, despite having a large range across sub-Saharan Africa, the species is currently listed as data deficient on the IUCN Red List; experts say it’s tentatively considered endangered.
- The turtle is threatened by deforestation and hunting for food, traditional medicine and fetishes.
- Researchers say to better protect the species would require more investment, but acknowledge that less “charismatic” species like tortoises rarely get the protection or attention they require.

Bangladesh introduces awareness initiatives to curb panic over Russell’s vipers
- The Russell’s viper was thought to be nearly extinct in Bangladesh for many decades. Wildlife biologists were unaware of how widespread the Russell viper is in the country until 2013.
- The snake’s increase in population represents the grave danger that they are to people’s lives as many agricultural workers have been killed in the last few years due to the viper’s snakebites.
- The recent surge in snakebite incidents across the country, particularly during the Boro rice harvesting season from May to June, has led to a sudden rise in the indiscriminate killing of all snakes.
- In response to this crisis, the government has taken proactive steps to promote awareness about the importance of not harming snakes and to understand snake bites. Efforts include the dissemination of educational content on social media and mobile apps.

As climate change shakes up global map of venomous snakes, health risks abound
- Researchers assessed the impacts of climate change on 209 species of venomous snakes from now until 2070, and concluded that while some may disappear from their range, others are likely to expand to new areas.
- Venomous snakes are among the most dangerous animals on the planet, responsible for at least 80,000 deaths a year, mostly in low-income countries with limited access to antivenom.
- Another impact on public health is the reduction in drug development: snake venom has great pharmacological potential, contributing to the production of medicines used to treat illnesses ranging from cancer to heart failure.
- Ecosystems will also face an imbalance as new species move in and existing ones go extinct, since snakes play a critical role in controlling the population of other animals such as rodents, which are also disease vectors.

Study finds 2,000+ species restricted to natural disaster-prone areas
Thousands of land animals could be at risk of extinction from earthquakes, volcanos, tsunamis and hurricanes, a recent study has found. In 2017, for example, when Hurricane Maria struck the island of Dominica in the eastern Caribbean Sea, it likely wiped out most of the 250 known individuals of a critically endangered parrot, the imperial […]
Siamese crocodile hatchlings a ‘promising sign’ in Cambodia, but greater protection needed
- Conservationists say they’re upbeat about the revival of Siamese crocodile populations, following the discovery that 60 of the critically endangered reptiles recently hatched from five nests in Cambodia.
- There are only an estimated 400 of the animals in the country, so the recent discovery represents “a tremendous boost,” according to Pablo Sinovas, Fauna & Flora Cambodia’s country director.
- While poaching for the leather trade was once the main threat to Siamese crocodiles, the main perils today are posed by habitat destruction for dams and entanglement in fishing nets.
- Conservationists say there also needs to be a change in public perceptions of the crocodiles, which are widely seen as dangerous despite there being no records of them having attacked humans.

Protecting Nigeria one child & one tree at a time: Interview with Doyinsola Ogunye
- Nigeria’s Doyinsola Ogunye is known across Africa for her work to help children and women build more sustainable futures; the environmental advocate founded the Mental and Environmental Development Initiative for Children (MEDIC) as well as the Recycling Scheme for Women and Youth Empowerment (RESWAYE).
- She says partnerships with corporations and the ability to scale are important in helping the initiatives grow.
- Many of her initiatives center on activities with children and schools — from cleaning up beaches to planting trees — and now, many of the children she initially worked with have entered university and they have carried their experiences into adult life.
- Doyinsola Ogunye recently talked with Mongabay about her work in the face of some of the biggest environmental challenges in Lagos.

Scientists in Thailand collect roadkill to learn about microplastics
Researchers in Thailand have used an unexpected source to study plastic pollution in terrestrial wildlife—roadkill. Most studies investigating the impacts of plastic on wildlife have focused on oceans; upwards of 12 million metric tons of plastic enter the oceans from land each year. However, a recent study published in PeerJ shifts attention to how microplastics […]
Nepal’s shifting biodiversity research landscape: Interview with Karan Bahadur Shah
- Veteran Nepali researcher Professor Karan Bahadur Shah highlights the shift from manual data recording and fieldwork in the past to the ease and efficiency of modern digital tools, though he notes increased competition and focus on quantity over quality.
- There are more complex and extensive funding opportunities now, with advanced technology like satellite tags improving research capabilities. However, misuse of technology, such as spreading false information and manipulating data, is a growing concern.
- He argues that attributing events to climate change is challenging due to the lack of long-term data in Nepal. He believes that Nepal’s forests and lack of large polluting industries may reduce its vulnerabilities to climate change.

Ecuador’s Indigenous Cofán show how to have your turtle and eat it too
- Inside Ecuador’s Cuyabeno Wildlife Reserve, an Indigenous Cofán community has since the 1990s carried out an initiative that has contributed to an increase in the population of two river turtle species.
- More than 100,000 yellow-spotted Amazon river turtles have successfully hatched as a result of the community-run management program, according to study by scientists and community members in Zábalo, on the banks of the Aguarico River.
- Yellow-spotted Amazon river turtles and Arrau turtles are listed in different threat categories due to historical harvesting for their meat and eggs as well as for the pet trade.
- The success of the program also means the Cofán have secured a sustainable source of turtle eggs and meat for consumption, an important part of Indigenous diets throughout the Amazon.

To end turtle hunting, an African island state embraced the hunters
- The island nation of São Tomé and Príncipe is home to unique species and rich marine ecosystems, including threatened sea turtles.
- In 2014, the country enacted a law banning the trade and possession of sea turtles, which, paired with local conservation programs, has significantly reduced turtle hunting and trade in the country.
- Local communities have become key players in sea turtle conservation, but while many former turtle traders have adapted to new livelihoods, some, particularly women, struggle due to lack of skills, resources and financial capital, highlighting the need for ongoing support and tailored solutions.
- Education and marketing campaigns and trust building with local leaders have helped change public attitudes toward sea turtle conservation, demonstrating that involving and understanding local communities is often crucial for long-term conservation efforts.

In Peru, conservationists and archaeologists unite to save a threatened gecko
- The Lima leaf-toed gecko (Phyllodactylus sentosus) today occurs mostly in archaeological sites in Peru’s capital, where it has become critically endangered.
- A unique cross-disciplinary conservation project, has brought together biologists and archaeologists since 2018 to save the species from extinction.
- The project involves in-situ and ex-situ conservation, environmental education and, soon, plans to translocate individuals between the archaeological sites to boost genetic diversity.

Studying snakes without rattling them? There’s now tech for that
- Scientists have used tiny, noninvasive radio transmitters and accelerometers to study the habitats and behaviors of red diamond rattlesnakes.
- While the radio transmitters help researchers keep track of the snakes, the accelerometers give them an in-depth understanding of the snakes’ physical movements as they hunt, eat and even mate.
- Historically, tracking snakes has involved surgically implanting telemetry radios into them, but this process is time-consuming and also risks infecting the animals.
- Red diamond rattlesnakes, native to southwest California in the U.S. and Baja California in Mexico, face increasing threats from habitat loss and vehicle strikes.

Madagascar lemurs, tortoises seized in Thai bust reveal reach of wildlife trafficking
- The recent seizure in Thailand of 48 lemurs and more than 1,200 critically endangered tortoises endemic to Madagascar underscores the global scale of wildlife trafficking networks that use Thailand as a transshipment hub.
- The operation was aided by intelligence from a joint transnational investigation between Thai law enforcement agencies and international antitrafficking organizations working to dismantle global wildlife trafficking networks spanning Asia, Africa and South America.
- Among the confiscated animals were ring-tailed lemurs, common brown lemurs, spider tortoises and radiated tortoises, all of which were suspected to be destined for illegal pet markets in Asia.
- While Madagascar authorities are keen to see the animals repatriated, experts caution that the country’s capacity to receive them are woefully lacking, and urge the government to step up law enforcement, combat systemic corruption and boost surveillance in Madagascar’s remote protected areas.

In Bangladesh, olive ridley turtles break 4-year record with 53% increase in eggs
- Bangladesh has seen the highest number of olive ridley turtle eggs this year, a conservationist group says.
- The olive ridley’s main nesting ground is different islands of the country’s southeastern district, Cox’s Bazar, in the Bay of Bengal.
- The key reasons behind the success are extensive conservation action across beaches and an awareness program among local people.
- Conservationists say they believe success might decline if the current pace of tourism and related infrastructure development is not checked, as they appear to disturb ecosystems.

Bangladesh uses satellite transmitters on saltwater crocodiles in Asia’s first
- On March 13, the Bangladesh forest department tagged satellite transmitters on two saltwater crocodiles for the first time in Asia and released them in the Sundarbans waters.
- So far, four saltwater crocodiles — three from captivity and one from the wild — have been tagged and the preparation is in place to tag more.
- The forest department has already started collecting data using the satellite transmitters to understand the crocodile’s habits in this ecosystem and identify nesting its hotspots, ecology, mortality rate and habitat range.
- Experts say the satellite data will play an important role in crocodile conservation in Bangladesh, where the species is critically endangered, and will help the authorities make proper conservation management plans to protect it.

As a megaport rises in Cameroon, a delicate coastal ecosystem ebbs
- The deepwater port at Kribi, Cameroon, is a massive project, begun in 2011 and slated for completion in 2040.
- It aims to decongest the existing port at Douala and become a trade hub for all Central African countries.
- The port is located just a few kilometers from Cameroon’s only marine protected area, home to green, olive ridley and hawksbill turtles.
- While aiming to improve the country’s economy, the port has generated unintended environmental consequences, intensifying coastal erosion, increasing human pressure and pollution, and endangering marine life and local fishers’ livelihoods.

Spotted softshell turtle release boosts reptile conservation in Vietnam
- The rewilding of 50 captive-bred spotted softshell turtles has sparked hope among conservationists for the future of the rare and threatened species in Vietnam, a country where softshell turtles are widely considered a culinary delicacy.
- Described by scientists as recently as 2019, the species is considered critically endangered throughout its range in China and Southeast Asia due to hunting for human consumption and habitat loss.
- The reintroduction of the young turtles is the first rewilding of offspring reared at a dedicated turtle conservation breeding facility in northern Vietnam to safeguard Vietnam’s rare and threatened amphibian and reptile species.
- Turtle conservationists say that while it will be a long and perilous road to recovery for the species in Vietnam amid persistent threats, the work to preserve the species is a positive step toward changing people’s view of freshwater turtles as primarily a food item and curbing hunting pressure not only on this species, but many others as well.

Study identifies species with a long history but short future amid threats
- A new study analyzing human-driven extinction threats to jawed vertebrates warns that we could lose between 86 billion and 160 billion years’ worth of evolutionary history over the next 50-500 years without concerted conservation action to save unique species.
- The study is the latest in an increasing body of research that indicates evolutionarily distinctive species are frequently also those most at risk of extinction.
- Turtles and tortoises, sharks and rays, and ray-finned fish were identified as among the groups of species most at risk of extinction.
- Given that global targets under the U.N. Global Biodiversity Framework are based on safeguarding evolutionary history, the authors call on conservationists and policymakers to do more to protect such evolutionarily distinct and globally endangered species.

Nepal’s release of endangered crocs into historical habitat raises concerns
- Nepal recently released 25 critically endangered gharials into a tributary of the Mahakali River to reintroduce them to historical habitats, but concerns have arisen over transparency and timing of the process.
- Gharials are released into the Chaudhar river, part of the Terai Arc Landscape, to augment dwindling populations, although previous translocations have yielded mixed results.
- Researchers highlight challenges faced by gharials, including migration obstacles due to dams and barrages, and they advocate for better timing of releases to optimize adaptation and survival.
- Issues such as lack of publicized government studies, potential influence of reciprocal gifts in translocation decisions and denial of budget-related motives are raised amid efforts to conserve gharials.

Riverine communities join forces to preserve threatened Amazon turtles
JURUTI, Pará state, Brazil — In Juruti, located in the western Pará state of Brazil, residents from 32 communities are uniting in a crucial effort to conserve various turtle species, including the Amazon turtle (Podocnemis expansa), tracajá (P. unifilis), pitiú (P. sextuberculata), and irapuca (P. erythrocephala). These dedicated riverside dwellers actively monitor beaches during the […]
New ecoregion proposed for Southern Africa’s threatened ‘sky islands’
- A group of scientists is proposing the designation of a new African “ecoregion” consisting of an “inland archipelago” of 30 isolated mountains, some harboring animals and plants found nowhere else on Earth.
- The South East Africa Montane Archipelago straddles southern Malawi and northern Mozambique.
- This geographical isolation has fueled the evolution of separate species within the forests that grow on them, and those forests are now severely threatened by charcoal production and agriculture.
- It’s hoped the designation of a new ecoregion encompassing these mountains will promote nature conservation on a landscape-wide scale.

Riverine communities join forces to preserve threatened Amazon turtles
- Residents of 32 communities in Juruti, western Pará state, organize to preserve species such as the Amazon turtle (Podocnemis expansa), tracajá (P. unifilis), pitiú (P. sextuberculata) and irapuca (P. erythrocephala).
- Monitoring beaches during the spawning season to collect eggs and then take them to a protected hatchery are the main actions of riverside dwellers. The numbers are on the rise: Some communities have already protected 300 nests in a single season.
- The Brazilian Amazon is a priority area for chelonian conservation, with 21 species described by scientists. Fourteen species live in Juruti, one of which is endemic.
- Despite being banned by environmental legislation, consumption of turtle eggs and meat still seems to be part of local traditions, contributing to reduce the number of individuals; mining and dam construction projects also threat the survival of the species.

Nile Basin farmers grow food forests to restore wetlands and bring back a turtle
- Sugarcane is a widely grown crop in the Nile Basin, but its destructive effects on soils, water resources and biodiversity have become increasingly apparent.
- As the thirsty crop draws down water resources, aquatic species like the critically endangered Nubian flapshell turtle suffer a loss of habitat, forage and nesting sites.
- In an effort to revive soils, diversify diets and incomes, and boost water levels that many animals rely on, communities are implementing agroforestry projects in lieu of monocultures.
- The resulting “food forests” attract an array of wildlife while refilling wetlands and river systems where the culturally important flapshell turtles swim.

Gharial conservation plan leaves Nepal fishing communities searching for new jobs
- Since the creation of Chitwan National Park, some Indigenous Bote people who have lost access to their ancestral lands and livelihoods have been employed by the park as gharial keepers to help conserve the critically endangered species.
- However, community members say the park’s restrictions on their fishing livelihoods to protect the reptile species is taking a toll on their economic needs and restricting their rights; the possibility of working as gharial keepers and other livelihood alternatives are insufficient, they say.
- Many parents are now encouraging their children to migrate to Persian Gulf countries to work as migrant laborers in order to lead a better material life.
- Conservationists say restricting fishing is an important step in protecting the species, which would struggle to survive if many economically dependent communities fished in the rivers.

We’re losing species faster than we can find them, study shows
- Researchers compiled a database showing the number of lost species is increasing faster than rediscovered species: since 1800, more than 800 amphibian, bird, mammal and reptile species have not seen by scientists in at least a decade.
- Reptiles as well as small, nocturnal or underground species tend to stay lost longer than larger, more widespread mammals and birds.
- Once found, many lost species remain threatened with extinction as their populations are often small and fragmented due to habitat loss.
- New technologies like camera traps and environmental DNA are aiding rediscovery efforts, but the involvement of local communities is also key to finding lost species.

Risks to Myanmar’s last saltwater crocs point to coastal conservation needs
- A new study confirms that Myanmar’s last population of saltwater crocodiles is perilously isolated and that without efforts to connect suitable coastal wetlands, the future of the species is in the country is uncertain.
- Deforestation and conversion of coastal habitats for commercial production, persecution due to conflicts with people, and hunting and wild capture to supply demand for crocodile meat and skin products have all taken their toll on crocodile numbers.
- The researchers recommend conservationists and policymakers in Myanmar focus on reconnecting remaining coastal habitats, including existing coastal protected areas, and identify key crocodile habitat areas and potential movement corridors to aid such conservation action.
- Enhancing coastal habitat connectivity would not only enable crocodile population recovery, it would also reduce pressure on communities coping with negative interactions with crocodiles.

Small, secretive & highly venomous snake seen for first time in Nepal’s hills
- In July 2022, a lesser black krait (Bungarus lividus), a small, secretive and highly venomous snake, was discovered in Dhankuta, Nepal’s eastern hills.
- The snake, previously documented only in Nepal’s plains, was identified by veteran herpetologist Karan Bahadur Shah.
- A study documenting the findings highlights the need for urgent measures, including the establishment of antivenom quick-treatment centers in local hospitals, raising awareness through campaign, and addressing potential human-snake conflicts in the wake of this discovery.

Cambodia sea turtle nests spark hope amid coastal development & species decline
- Conservationists in Cambodia have found nine sea turtle nests on a remote island off the country’s southwest coast, sparking hopes for the critically endangered hawksbill turtle (Eretmochelys imbricata) and endangered green turtle (Chelonia mydas).
- It’s the first time sea turtle nests have been spotted in the country in a decade of species decline.
- Two nests have been excavated to assess hatching success; conservationists estimate the nests could hold as many as 1,000 eggs.
- Globally, sea turtle populations are declining, largely due to hunting for food and the animals’ shells, used in jewelry; other threats to sea turtles include tourism development, pollution and climate change.

Nepal’s gharial population rises, but threats to the crocs persist
- The population of critically endangered gharials in Chitwan National Park, Nepal’s stronghold for these crocodiles, increased by around 11% as of the start of 2024, totaling 265 individuals compared to 239 the previous year.
- While the increase is positive, a recently published study shows the critically endangered crocs are unevenly distributed throughout their range, with threats from fishing, changes in river flow, and infrastructure development deterring them from certain prime habitats.
- The study also flagged the low success rate of a raise-and-release program for captive-bred gharials: 404 gharials have been released under the program, but the overall population has increased by just 80.
- Juveniles released under the captive-breeding program are likely suffering high mortality rates in the wild or getting washed downstream to India; experts say a possible solution is to release them as far upstream as possible.

As Sri Lanka floods swell with climate change, so does human-crocodile conflict
- Sri Lanka is among the countries most vulnerable to climate change, with long drought spells, receiving intense rain during a shorter period with a marked increase in flood events.
- During flooding, crocodiles inhabiting rivers tend to reach land and move closer to human settlements, increasing the risk of encounters with people.
- The Nilwala River flows through southern Sri Lanka and recent flood events have increased croc encounters with humans in the Matara district and escalated threats to human safety, resulting in disaster management responses.
- During recent flooding events, no serious incidents linked to crocodiles were reported, but wildlife officials had to chase crocs away from riverbanks, highlighting the need for an immediate and durable solution for the human-crocodile conflict around the Nilwala River area.

Study: Tiny tortoise may play large role in South Africa’s Karoo landscape
- The diminutive Karoo dwarf tortoise may play a key role in seed dispersal of plant species in its semidesert habitat in South Africa, a new study finds.
- A germination trial showed the tortoises transport seeds to microsites suitable for germination, a potentially vital means for plants to survive drought in the arid Karoo region.
- The dwarf tortoise is highly endangered due to degradation of its habitat and increased predation by ravens and crows accompanying expanded human presence in the Karoo.
- The findings underline the broader ecological roles that small, understudied species play in landscapes.

Photos: Top species discoveries from 2023
- Scientists described a slew of new species this past year, including an electric blue tarantula, two pygmy squid, a silent frog, and some thumb-sized chameleons.
- Experts estimate less than 20% of Earth’s species have been documented by Western science.
- Although a species may be new to science, it may already be well known to local and Indigenous people and have a common name.
- Many new species of plants, fungi, and animals are assessed as Vulnerable or Critically Endangered with extinction as soon as they are found, and many species may go extinct before they are named, experts say.

Could mugger crocodiles be brought back from regional extinction in Bangladesh?
- Once, mugger crocodiles (Crocodylus palustris) were common in Bangladesh’s major rivers, including the Padma, Jamuna, Meghna and most of their tributaries, but the species is thought to have gone extinct in the country due to unchecked poaching for its prized skin.
- Although the IUCN in 2000 declared the mugger regionally extinct in Bangladesh, three adult muggers were recovered from the country’s river and water bodies in only 11 days, Oct. 17-28 this year.
- The crocodiles were taken to the Karamjol Crocodile Breeding Centre in Khulna, and authorities are working on how muggers could be brought back to nature by increasing their population through captive breeding.
- Experts suggest establishing a safe zone for the crocodiles in the upper Padma River.

PFAS ‘forever chemicals’ harming wildlife the world over: Study
- While the health impacts of toxic per- and polyfluoroalkyl chemicals, or PFAS, are well known in humans, a new study reports how they affect a wide range of wildlife species.
- In this survey of published studies, the authors found and mapped wildlife exposures worldwide, including impacts on animal species in remote parts of the planet, including the Arctic.
- Researchers documented serious PFAS-triggered conditions in wildlife, including suppressed immunity, liver damage, developmental and reproductive issues, nervous and endocrine system impacts, gut microbiome/bowel disease and more. PFAS pose yet another threat to already beleaguered global wildlife.
- National governments have done little to restrict use of PFAS or remediate pollution, despite growing evidence of increased harm to both humans and wildlife. The study authors call for immediate action to remediate PFAS-contamination sites and regulate industrial chemicals to help protect threatened and endangered species.

For Vietnam’s rare reptiles, lack of captive populations may spell doom
- As an epicenter of biodiversity, Vietnam hosts a wide array of reptile species. But new research shows that many species that occur nowhere else on the planet are poorly known and lacking protection.
- The researchers also found that many of Vietnam’s rarest species are absent from the world’s zoo collections and conservation breeding programs, risking their disappearance forever should their wild populations collapse.
- They call on conservationists and authorities to focus on conservation measures to protect the country’s most vulnerable reptiles, including establishing assurance populations that could be used in the future to repopulate areas of wild habitat from which they have been lost.

How hot are the desert tortoises getting? iButtons help find the answer
- Researchers are using a button-shaped device to gather data about desert tortoises (Gopherus agassizii) and their habitats in the Mojave Desert in Southern California.
- Using iButtons, the researchers are trying to understand how hot the tortoises get, and the temperatures that they prefer in the burrows where they spend most of their time.
- Identifying the critically endangered species’ temperature preferences is an urgent task: the tortoise faces threats to its survival from various quarters such as rising temperatures, habitat loss, and attacks by predators.
- With this research, scientists say they hope to find habitats that are safer and where the thermal conditions are suitable for the long-term survival of the tortoises.

Newly described gecko from Madagascar a master of disguise
- Madagascar is a hotspot for gecko diversity, and the latest to appear on the tree of life is Uroplatus garamaso.
- U. garamaso, with a length of 8.3-13.9 cm (3.3-5.5 in), is one of the larger leaf-tailed lizards inhabiting the island, but is still a master at hiding in plain sight.
- The gecko’s known range is restricted to the forests in the north of the island: Montagne des Français, Montagne d’Ambre, and Ankarana in the Diana region.

It had to be a snake: New species from Peru named after Harrison Ford
- Scientists have described a new-to-science snake species from Peru’s Otishi National Park and named it after the actor Harrison Ford for his conservation advocacy.
- The pale yellowish-brown snake with black blotches was found in high-elevation wetlands and identified using genetic techniques.
- The team faced risks from illegal drug activity in the remote park area where the snake was found, cutting their survey short.
- Satellite data and imagery show several areas of forest loss throughout the park, which appear to have been caused by natural landslides. Still, some bear the hallmarks of human-caused clearing likely linked to coca cultivation and drug trafficking.

Study reveals turtles’ millennia-old food affair with North African seagrass
- Researchers have traced the 3,000-year-old “food footprints” of endangered green sea turtles around the Mediterranean.
- By comparing turtle bone samples from Bronze and Iron Age archaeological sites to skin samples from turtles they’re tracking by satellite today, they’ve uncovered turtles’ enduring preference for the same sea meadows.
- The findings highlight the importance of protecting these underwater meadows, which face degradation due to conversion, pollution and climate change.

Nepal’s BP Highway threatens endemic, critically endangered lizard
- The dark sitana, a lizard endemic to a town in Nepal, is critically endangered by the loss and degradation of its habitat due to the BP Highway and unplanned urban development.
- Researchers are studying the ecology and threats of the dark sitana and conducting conservation outreach to raise awareness and support for its protection among local communities and stakeholders.
- The dark sitana is understudied and neglected by the government and needs more research and conservation efforts to prevent its extinction, researchers say.

‘What we need to protect and why’: 20-year Amazon research hints at fate of tropics
- In its bold outlines, many informed people understand that climate change is reducing tropical biodiversity and thereby degrading the functionality and ecoservices of tropical forests. But what are the specific mechanisms by which these forests are being diminished over long time frames?
- One project on the slopes of the Peruvian Amazon has tried to make exactly that type of assessment, via a 20-year ongoing research project that meticulously observes a narrow transect of rainforest stretching from the Amazon lowlands near sea level to the Andean highlands above 3,352 meters (11,000 feet).
- The international team conducting this work, the Andes Biodiversity and Ecosystem Research Group (ABERG), is painstakingly observing changes in more than 1,000 tree species, birds, frogs, snakes and more to determine not only how much climate change is affecting them, but untangling how the change process works.
- This type of in-depth research is vital to conserving tropical rainforest diversity, the carbon storage capacity it offers, and its assistance in maintaining long-persisting regional and global precipitation patterns vital to agriculture and other water needs. Mongabay contributor Justin Catanoso traveled to Peru to observe ABERG at work.

Tag team effort brings tech to aid leatherback turtle conservation
- In Puerto Rico, scientists and conservationists are deploying drones and satellite tags to gather data about leatherback sea turtles.
- Leatherback sea turtles, the largest species of turtles in the world, have seen their populations decline due to poaching, habitat loss and bycatch in fishing nets.
- Two teams are now collaborating to use drones to identify nesting sites in Maunabo in Puerto Rico.
- They’re also tagging the animals to understand more about their migration patterns once they leave the nesting beach.

Rattlesnakes can calm down their friends, study shows
- Research reveals that rattlesnakes, like humans, experience stress reduction when in the presence of a companion snake, a phenomenon known as social buffering.
- Stress can lead to hormonal changes, affecting the nervous system, immune response and behavior.
- The study examined 25 wild Southern Pacific rattlesnakes in different scenarios, measuring their heart rate to assess stress levels and social buffering.
- By controlling small mammal populations, rattlesnakes maintain ecosystem balance and also reduce rodent and tick-borne diseases. Yet, they often face threats from humans.

Death of rare male gharial in Nepal highlights conservation crisis
- A male gharial, a critically endangered crocodilian, was found dead in Nepal’s Chitwan National Park, entangled in a fishing net and hook.
- Male gharials are vital for the survival of the species, which has a skewed sex ratio and faces threats from fishing, habitat loss, and poaching.
- Park officials are trying to boost the male population by incubating eggs at a certain temperature, but critics question the effectiveness and sustainability of this approach.

In the Colombian Amazon, Indigenous communities protect the sacred black caiman
- In the Curare-Los Ingleses Indigenous Reserve, two communities are working to protect the black caiman (Melanosuchus niger), a species that has been hunted for decades for its commercially valuable skin.
- After 14 years of fighting to protect the caiman’s habitat, in January 2022, the communities carried out the first-ever survey of the species, recording 123 specimens of various ages.
- Local leaders say the community’s children will soon be able to learn about the caiman not only in a new book with illustrations and information from the conservationists’ work — but also in real life.

Record year for olive ridley turtles in Bangladesh as conservation work pays off
- Bangladesh has recorded the highest number of olive ridley turtle eggs this nesting season, a conservationist group says.
- The species’ main nesting grounds in Bangladesh are the various small islands off the southeastern district of Cox’s Bazar in the Bay of Bengal.
- Extensive conservation action across the area and the awareness programs carried out among local communities are the key reasons behind the success.
- However, the growth of the tourism industry and infrastructure development continue to pose major threats to the turtles and their nesting grounds.

Second chance for Lula as controversial Amazon dam goes up for renewal
- In the biological and cultural hotspot of the Volta Grande in Brazil’s Amazon, Indigenous communities and scientists have teamed up to monitor the impacts of the Belo Monte hydroelectric project, one of the biggest in the world.
- The dam complex has diverted 80% of the Xingu River’s water flow, significantly affecting the aquatic life in the Volta Grande river bend and pushing the entire ecosystem toward collapse, along with the local communities who rely on it.
- The complex’s environmental license, which lasts six years and dictates the amount of water flowing through Belo Monte, is currently up for review by the federal environmental protection agency, IBAMA.
- President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva played a key role in pushing for the construction of Belo Monte, and now, back in power, can influence a new path for the environment and local communities, activists say.

Death of last female Yangtze softshell turtle signals end for ‘god’ turtle
- The last known female Yangtze giant softshell turtle died in April of unknown causes, leaving only two males as the final known living members of a species that has for years been teetering on the brink of extinction.
- “We are devastated,” says the Asian Turtle Program, an NGO working to protect the Yangtze turtle and its habitat.
- The only hope for the species lies in the possibility that a few of these giant creatures may still roam, unknown, in lakes and rivers in Vietnam or Laos.

The Mexican family who gave up fishing to monitor and rescue sea turtles
- The Kino Bay Turtle Group is made up of a family of former fishers from the state of Sonora in northwestern Mexico.
- The group keeps a close watch on sea turtles in the La Cruz Lagoon, a Ramsar site spanning 6,665 hectares (about 16,470 acres), monitoring the animals, rescuing any that become entangled and educating the public about their importance.
- The group has captured and logged data on more than 800 sea turtles; it is now training a team of Indigenous Comcáac youth to form their own turtle group and begin monitoring and conservation work along a 10-kilometer (6-mile) stretch of coast in Sonora.

Resurgence of deadly Russell’s viper prompts Bangladesh to develop antivenom
- Reports of bites from Russell’s viper, the deadliest snake on the Indian subcontinent, have increased in Bangladesh since 2013.
- At least 20 deaths were recorded from 17 of Bangladesh’s 64 districts between 2013 and 2016, all attributed to Russell’s vipers.
- Researchers attribute this to improvements in farming intensification, which means rats — the snake’s prey of choice — are present in crop fields year-round, whereas before they were only there for part of the year.
- Snakebites are a significant cause of illness and mortality in Bangladesh, with an estimated 6,041 deaths annually, but Bangladesh still relies on imported antivenom — although a newly established Venom Research Centre aims to address this shortcoming and boost research on the country’s venomous snakes.

Red coral kukri sightings in Bangladesh prompt call to save rare snake habitat
- The red coral kukri (Oligodon kheriensis) is endemic to a small region of the Himalayan tracts of northern India and Nepal; the snake species was first spotted in Uttar Pradesh in India in 1936.
- For the first time, the rare species was found in Bangladesh on Oct. 27, 2020, while locals were digging soil in a bamboo bush in Panchagarh district; this indicates an expansion of the snake’s distribution range.
- In northern Bangladesh, land use patterns have changed, making forests highly fragmented, indicating that habitat loss, forest degradation and fragmentation are major threats to the species.
- Experts suggest taking immediate conservation measures in the areas where the red coral kukri is found by imposing specific measures to stop the destruction of bamboo bushes and forests.

Scientists make ‘rare’ new identification of snake family: Micrelapidae
- A multinational team of researchers has identified a new family of snakes, Micrelapidae, which live in East Africa and the Middle East.
- These small, rear-fanged venomous snakes are thought to have diverged from the rest of the evolutionary tree 50 million years ago and since evolved separately as a distinct family.
- Kenyan researchers hope the news will aid efforts to raise awareness of snakes and their importance to the ecosystem, as it is common for people in Kenya to fear – and kill – snakes.

Six newly described chameleon species reflect Tanzania’s Eastern Arc Mountains’ fragility and richness
- Six new species of pygmy chameleon have been described from Tanzania’s Eastern Arc Mountains.
- The mountain forests are subject to intense human pressure, threatening the diverse plant and animal species that live in them.
- A recent study using satellite imagery discovered that in one district alone, 27% of its montane forests were lost to small-scale farmers and herders between 2011 and 2017.
- The Tanzanian government is currently working to increase agricultural production in a region that overlaps with the Eastern Arc Mountains, raising fears this will be at a cost to biodiversity.

Newly described DiCaprio’s snake and others threatened by mining in Ecuador and Panama
- Researchers have described five new species of snail-eating snakes from the upper Amazon Rainforest in Ecuador and Colombia and the Chocó-Darién forests of Panama.
- Three of the new species were named by actor Leonardo DiCaprio, conservationist Brian Sheth, and the NGO Nature and Culture International to raise awareness about the threats these snakes face due to mining and deforestation.
- Ecuador and Colombia saw an increase in illegal gold mining along rivers and streams during the COVID-19 pandemic, which may have affected populations of these fragile snakes and has led to conflict and division within communities.
- Snail-eating snakes are arboreal and depend on wet environments to survive, so deforestation and mining pollution, including illegal gold mining, affect both the snakes and the snails and slugs that they rely on for food.

Understanding reptile intelligence can aid conservation and safeguard ecosystems (commentary)
- Reptile intelligence has long been considered inferior to that of birds and mammals. But recent studies in reptile cognition show reptiles have a profound understanding of their environment.
- Reptiles’ understanding of their surroundings and their evolution of learning can play a part in biodiversity conservation and ecosystem service provisioning, especially on agricultural lands.
- This post is a commentary. The views expressed are those of the author, not necessarily Mongabay.

Rumors and misconceptions threaten tokay geckos in Bangladesh
- Widespread misconceptions about the medicinal benefits of tokay geckos are leading to these common nocturnal lizards being hunted across Bangladesh.
- Wildlife traffickers set an exorbitant price on trapped geckos, based on rumors about their international demand. There is no documented evidence that buyers pay a high price for geckos.
- In the last five years, more than 250 geckos were recovered and more than 30 suspected wildlife smugglers arrested. In Bangladesh, a study found that gecko populations are estimated to have declined by 50% due to trade on the international market based on claims that the species holds medicinal qualities.
- Tokay geckos maintain ecosystem balance by preying on invertebrates, including moths, grasshoppers, beetles, termites, crickets, cockroaches, mosquitoes and spiders.

Top 15 species discoveries from 2022 (Photos)
- A resplendent rainbow fish, a frog that looks like chocolate, a Thai tarantula, an anemone that rides on a back of a hermit crab, and the world’s largest waterlily are among the new species named by science in 2022.
- Scientists estimate that only 10% of all the species on the planet have been described. Even among the most well-known group of animals, mammals, scientists think we have only found 80% of species.
- Unfortunately, many new species of plants, fungi, and animals are assessed as Vulnerable or Critically Endangered with extinction.
- Although a species may be new to science, it may already be well known to locals and have a common name. For instance, Indigenous people often know about species long before they are “discovered” by Western Science.

Rare, critically endangered gecko making dramatic recovery in Caribbean
- The Union Island gecko (Gonatodes daudini), known for its jewel-like markings, has seen its population grow from around 10,000 in 2018 to around 18,000 today — an increase of 80%.
- The gecko’s wild population had shrunk to one-fifth its size after becoming a target for exotic pet collectors.
- Fauna & Flora International, Re:Wild and local partners like Union Island Environmental Alliance and St. Vincent and the Grenadines Forestry Department to develop a species recovery plan that included greater protected area management and expansion.

In Nepal, a turtle that rose from the dead makes another grand entrance
- Researchers have discovered a population of black softshell turtles in a wetland in southern Nepal, raising hopes for its conservation.
- The critically endangered species was previously thought to occur in only a handful of ponds in Bangladesh and India, and was so rare that it was briefly declared extinct in the wild in 2002.
- The new discovery adds to other recent findings of the black softshell turtle in the Brahmaputra River that runs through India and Bangladesh.
- Experts say the wetland and river populations are less prone than the pond-confined ones to the threats of fungal infection and inbreeding, and can form the basis of an ecotourism industry benefiting locals.

Heat-sensing drone cameras spy threats to sea turtle nests
- Researchers used heat-detecting cameras mounted on drones to monitor sea turtle nesting on a beach in Costa Rica’s Osa Peninsula.
- Using thermal infrared imagery, researchers detected 20% more turtle nesting activity than on-the-ground patrollers did. The drone imagery also revealed 39 nest predators and other animals, as well as three people, assumed to be poachers, that were not detected by patrollers.
- In Costa Rica, turtle eggs are sold locally and illegally for their alleged aphrodisiac properties. Six out of the seven species of sea turtles are threatened globally, and protecting their eggs is one of the easiest ways to ensure they endure into the future.
- The lead author says these methods are still rather expensive and aren’t a replacement for patrollers but could be an extra tool that they can use to get a big improvement on night patrols, especially on nesting beaches that are dangerous and inaccessible.

Nepal’s mugger crocs face ‘senseless’ turf war over dwindling fish resources
- The decline in fish stocks in Nepal’s Koshi River threatens the mugger crocodile, a species already under pressure from historical poaching and habitat loss.
- A new study shows the crocodiles are increasingly encroaching into community-run fish farms in the buffer zone of the Koshi Tappu Wildlife Reserve in search of food, raising the risk of conflict with humans.
- At the same time, they face competition from gharials, a predominantly pescatarian crocodile that’s being introduced back into the Koshi as part of a government-run conservation program.
- “Making a vulnerable species compete with its critically endangered cousin doesn’t make sense,” says one of the authors of the study.

Rare turtles hatch from eggs rescued from flood-prone Nepal riverbank
- Conservationists in Nepal successfully rescued and hatched hundreds of Indian narrow-headed softshell turtles (Chitra indica) from a riverbank in Chitwan National Park.
- The nesting sites were hit by a flash flood three weeks after the eggs were removed; 375 of the 496 eggs hatched successfully at Chitwan’s gharial breeding center after nearly seven weeks.
- Narrow-headed softshell turtles are an endangered species, threatened by hunting for their meat and consumption of their eggs, as well as degradation of their habitat, but aren’t the subject of any dedicated conservation programs in Nepal.
- Conservationists have called on the government to focus more attention on the species, saying it wouldn’t cost much and would require only the will to act.

Eight new-to-science geckos described from biodiversity haven Madagascar
- Scientists have described eight new-to-science species of geckos from Madagascar, all about the length of your thumb.
- They were elevated to species level following DNA studies of what was, for decades, thought to be a single species group of dwarf gecko, Lygodactylus madagascariensis. They add there could be up to 18 distinct genetic lineages.
- Scientists have found and named at least 150 new-to-science species from Madagascar in the last 30 years, and are still finding more nearly every year. More than 90% of species in Madagascar are endemic, meaning they’re found nowhere else on Earth.
- Given ongoing threats to the forests and ecosystems in Madagascar, scientists say we may not be finding and naming species quickly enough to know what’s being lost.

Human pressures strain Lake Tanganyika’s biodiversity and water quality
- As fishing pressure has increased on Lake Tanganyika, its level has also been rising, inundating shoreline communities.
- Sedimentation as a result of farming, infrastructure projects and deforestation is causing the water level to rise and the lake to expand.
- This has not led to an increase in fish populations, however, and what little data exist suggest that the lake’s overall biodiversity–probably including hippos and Nile crocodiles–is declining.
- An EU-funded plan to coordinate management of the lake by all countries that share it aims to address some of the knowledge gaps, but is itself hobbled by budget constraints.

In Indonesia’s West Sumbawa, tide turns on taste for turtle eggs
- Consumption of turtle eggs is widespread in Indonesia’s West Sumbawa district, where they’re served to guests of honor such as local government officials.
- All seven species of sea turtle are listed as threatened worldwide, with egg poaching a key cause of endangerment.
- West Sumbawa officials have pledged to stamp out poaching and consumption of sea turtle eggs.

In Nepal, endangered tiger kills critically endangered gharial. What does it mean?
- A tiger entered the Kasara gharial breeding center in Chitwan National Park and killed three critically endangered gharials.
- The incident raised concerns that as the tiger population in Nepal increases, the animals could turn to the crocodiles for easy food.
- Conservationists, however, say that is unlikely as tigers have other animals to feed upon.

Gharials, most distinctive of crocs, are most in need of protection, study shows
- Slender-snouted gharials are among the most distinctive of the world’s crocodilians, and thus the most in need of conservation action, a new study suggests.
- The study authors scored all 28 existing crocodilian species from around the world — from the Chinese alligator to the Orinoco crocodile — on their functional distinctiveness and threat ranking to arrive at a metric.
- Known as EcoDGE (ecologically distinct and globally endangered), the metric suggests a third to a half of crocodilian functional diversity could be lost over the next century.
- Conservation scientists say the study highlights a new perspective of identifying the crocodilian species most in need of urgent conservation action.

An elusive lizard thought to live only in India makes an appearance in Nepal
- Researchers have confirmed the presence of the Sikkim grass lizard in eastern Nepal, nearly 100 kilometers from its known range in India’s Sikkim state.
- The species was last year classified as endangered on the IUCN Red List because of its limited distribution and threats to its habitat from farming and a hydropower dam.
- Herpetologists say the discovery should prompt more research into Nepal’s little-studied reptile and amphibian life, with the potential for more species coming to light.

Turtle DNA database traces illegal shell trade to poaching hotspots
- Critically endangered hawksbill turtles have been hunted for their patterned shells for centuries to make tortoiseshell jewelry and decorative curios.
- The exploitation and trade pushed the species to the brink of extinction; despite international bans on killing and trading the turtles and their parts, persistent demand continues to stoke illegal trade.
- Experts say they hope the launch of a new global turtle DNA database coupled with DNA-based wildlife forensics techniques can turn the tables on poachers and illegal traders.
- The new resource, called ShellBank, will enable law enforcement authorities to trace confiscated tortoiseshell products to known turtle breeding locations to help them crack down on poaching and the illegal trade.

Raise-and-release program keeping Nepal’s gharials alive can be improved, study says
- A new study has recommended ways to improve the success rate of a program that releases captive-raised gharial crocodiles into the wild in Nepal.
- The study looked at the growth of gharials released under the program going back 10 years, and identified the first two years in the wild as the most critical for the animals’ chances at surviving.
- It recommended timing the releases with periods when fish are more abundant in rivers, allowing the crocodiles to pack on weight while minimizing their energy expenditure.
- The study authors also call for addressing threats to the critically endangered species from dams, riverbed mining and fishing, and for closer cross-border conservation efforts between Nepal and India, where some of the released gharials have ended up.

Return of the king? Pakistan moves to bring gharials from Nepal to its rivers
- Pakistani officials have requested the transfer of hundreds of gharial crocodiles from Nepal in an effort to reintroduce a species last seen in Pakistan in 1985.
- Wildlife conservation officials in Nepal have confirmed communications on the issue, but say a decision hasn’t been made yet.
- A key obstacle to any future transfer is the concern that Pakistan may not have done enough to change the conditions that led to the gharial’s local extinction there.
- The slender-snouted crocodile once ranged west from Pakistan to Bangladesh in the east, but is now almost entirely restricted to India and Nepal, both of which run captive-breeding programs to boost the species’ population.

First gharial hatchlings spotted in nearly two decades in Nepal’s Karnali River
- Twenty-eight gharial hatchlings have been spotted in a tributary of Nepal’s Karnali River, the first sign of successful nesting in this waterway in at least 16 years.
- The discovery by villagers living near Bardiya National Park came on June 15, two days before World Crocodile Day, and indicates the critically endangered species is on the road to recovery.
- Nepal is home to about 200 breeding gharials, and since 1978 has carried out conservation and breeding programs for the species.

Nepal conservationists work to overturn ‘all snakes are venomous’ mindset
- Snake conservation in Nepal is hampered by both a lack of research and poor awareness among the public and the government about the country’s snake species.
- Only about 20 of the 70-odd snake species found in Nepal are venomous, but deaths from snakebites have fueled perceptions that most are dangerous.
- The government’s approach to the problem is to treat all snakebites as toxic, but conservationists say a better understanding of the snakes involved would be more effective.
- Organizations like the Nepal Toxinology Association use different media such as street plays, social media posts and videos to spread awareness about snake conservation in the country.

Study casts doubt on sustainability of regulated blood python snakeskin trade
- There’s no evidence to show that the trade in blood pythons from Indonesia, coveted for their skins for making luxury fashion items, is sustainable, a new study shows.
- In fact, the evidence indicates that much of the trade, which involves slaughtering and skinning the snakes by the tens of thousands every year, may be illegal.
- The species isn’t considered threatened or protected in Indonesia, the main producer of blood python skins, and exports are governed by CITES, the convention on the international wildlife trade.
- The study’s author calls on the Indonesian government to enforce stricter monitoring and scrutiny of annual harvests, traders to abide by the regulations, and global buyers to shift away from exotic leather and use alternatives.

For 20 years, Comoros had only 1 national park. It’s now creating 5 more
- Comoros, an archipelagic nation in the western Indian Ocean, is dramatically expanding its network of protected areas (PAs) from one to six, including three new marine protected areas (MPAs).
- The idea is to replicate the co-management approach at Mohéli National Park, the country’s first and currently only national park, created in 2001 as an MPA.
- However, Comoros’s experience with Mohéli provided no clear blueprint for supporting communities whose traditional rights are curtailed because of the protected areas, or for sustainably funding for such a vast PA network.

A helping hand for red-footed tortoises making a comeback in Argentina
- Conservationists are releasing red-footed tortoises back into El Impenetrable National Park in Argentina’s Chaco province, in an effort to reintroduce the species to the region.
- The species is so rarely seen in the Gran Chaco region of Argentina that it’s believed to be locally extinct there.
- Red-footed tortoises are under threat due to the illegal pet trade, habitat destruction, and hunting for meat consumption.
- The species is the latest being reintroduced by Rewilding Argentina, which has already brought back species like jaguars and marsh deer to El Impenetrable.

200 mysterious sea turtle deaths: Q&A with Kenyan fisherman and turtle rescuer Daniel Katana
- Near the town of Marereni, smack in the middle of Kenya’s Indian Ocean coastline, a group of local volunteers has been protecting sea turtles and planting mangroves for nearly two decades.
- In the past two years, however, the Marereni Biodiversity Conservancy has documented alarming spikes in sea turtle deaths and in turtles with fibropapilloma tumors, as well as a decline in sea turtle nests.
- While the causes have yet to be determined, conservancy members suspect the sea turtles’ problems may be associated with pollution from nearby salt mines.
- Mongabay interviewed the group’s CEO, Daniel Masha Katana, about how it is responding to the current threats to sea turtles.

Slender-snouted crocodile savior: Q&A with Whitley Award winner Emmanuel Amoah
- Emmanuel Amoah was recently named one of the recipients of this year’s Whitley Awards, known as the “Green Oscars,” for his efforts to conserve the West African slender-snouted crocodile in his native Ghana.
- Through his Threatened Species Conservation Alliance, Amoah works with communities living along the Tano River to protect the critically endangered crocodiles.
- Threats to the species include the clearing of riverside forests where they nest, as well as increasing plastic pollution in the river.
- Mongabay spoke with Amoah about the cultural importance of the species, his plans to ramp up conservation efforts, and why he’s optimistic about the future of the West African slender-snouted crocodile.

Biologist fighting plastic pollution to save sea turtles wins ‘Green Oscar’
- Estrela Matilde, a conservation biologist and executive director of the NGO Fundação Príncipe, has won a Whitley Award, for her work to save sea turtles in the tiny African nation of São Tomé and Príncipe.
- Fundação Príncipe has been working since 2015 to conserve the island of Príncipe’s biodiversity by working with the local community to develop alternative livelihoods that reduce pressure on resources and protect wildlife.
- Matilde’s attention has turned to documenting and tackling plastic pollution after a conservation initiative that put cameras on sea turtles revealed just how much plastic Príncipe’s marine life encounters.
- She plans to use the award money to document via GPS the tides of plastic pollution reaching Príncipe, and to scale up a livelihood project in which local women make trinkets out of the plastic that washes up on the island’s beaches.

‘No’ to corporate-driven tourism development in Komodo National Park (commentary)
- Plans to build tourism resorts inside Indonesia’s Komodo National Park, home to the world’s biggest lizard, have for years faced pushback from local communities.
- Opponents of the projects point to the potential for ecological and social disruptions.
- Instead of tourism based on corporate investment, the government should develop a model of community-based tourism, argues Venansius Haryanto, a researcher at Sunspirit for Justice and Peace, an advocacy group based in Labuan Bajo.
- This article is a commentary. The views expressed are those of the author, not necessarily of Mongabay.

Shell of a comeback: New app, awareness campaigns bring hope for hawksbill turtles
- Hawksbill turtles are due for a status assessment on the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species.
- One of the largest threats to global hawksbill recovery is the continued illegal tortoiseshell trade in Japan, a major consumer, and Indonesia, a top exporter.
- Conservation successes include a dramatic decrease in tortoiseshell sales in Colombia, previously one of the largest shell sellers in the Western Hemisphere.

‘Resilient’ leatherback turtles can survive fishing rope entanglements. Mostly
- Leatherback turtles are highly vulnerable to getting entangled in lobster pot fishing gear off the coast of Massachusetts.
- A new study now shows that they can largely survive these entanglements — if they’re reached by rescuers in time, and their injuries are treatable.
- However, researchers say the lobster fishery must move toward a ropeless model to ensure that leatherbacks, and other marine animals, can survive over the long term.

Record seizures mark Sri Lanka’s rise as a smuggling hub for star tortoises
- The Indian star tortoise is the most smuggled tortoise species in the world, with thousands trafficked annually smuggled out from India, Sri Lanka and Pakistan despite a 2019 total ban on the international trade in the species.
- While India continues to be the main country of origin for wild-caught star tortoises, Sri Lanka has in recent years become both a prominent source country and transit hub for trafficking networks that move the animals to East and Southeast Asia.
- Experts have called for better collaboration between law enforcement authorities in the source countries, particularly India and Sri Lanka, to curb the smuggling, which studies say has thrived due to weak enforcement and corruption.
- Herpetologists also say releasing seized star tortoises from both India and Sri Lanka inside Sri Lankan national parks threatens to wipe out the unique characteristics of the latter population, making them genetically indistinct from their subcontinental cousins.

Indigenous Comcáac turtle group saves sea turtles in Mexico’s Gulf of California
- The Grupo Tortuguero Comcáac, the Sea Turtle Group of the Comcáac people, in El Desemboque de los Seris is fighting to increase the population of sea turtles, a sacred animal, in the Gulf of California.
- In the past five years they have managed to release more than 8,000 olive ridley sea turtles (Lepidochelys olivacea) hatchlings along 14 kilometers (9 miles) of the Mancha Blanca and El Faro beach.
- State funding for the project is limited, however the turtle rescue group does not see this as a stumbling block, at times working 12 hour shifts to guard turtles, monitor the area and manage logistics.

Nepal’s gharials deserve attention and protection (commentary)
- Gharials are one of the world’s largest crocodilians and one of the rarest, having been extirpated from Pakistan, Bangladesh, Myanmar, and Bhutan.
- Their long, thin jaws evolved to help them catch fish in the rivers where they still live.
- With a river diversion project moving forward and with more wildlife tourists pouring into the region, Nepal’s gharials inside Bardia Park are at an important crossroads and need attention, a new commentary argues.
- This article is a commentary. The views expressed are those of the author, not necessarily of Mongabay.

A royal release: Cambodia returns 51 rare turtles to the wild
- Conservation authorities in Cambodia released 51 critically endangered southern river terrapins into the country’s Sre Ambel River last November.
- The program is part of wider efforts to bring back a species that was previously thought to be extinct in Cambodia.
- The terrapin, known locally as the royal turtle, was historically hunted as a delicacy, but is also threatened by habitat loss due to deforestation and sand dredging.
- The latest released batch of 31 females and 20 males have been tagged to keep track of their behavior in the wild.

Colombo’s seagoing crocodiles under pressure after diver’s killing
- A deadly attack at the start of the year has directed public scrutiny at the saltwater crocodiles of Colombo, Sri Lanka’s bustling commercial capital.
- The public and media response to the death of fisherman Somasiri Peries near a popular beach has been to call for the crocodiles to be trapped and moved elsewhere, but leading herpetologists say translocation doesn’t work and isn’t the solution.
- They note that human-crocodile coexistence in Colombo goes back centuries, and that attacks, while always a possibility, are exceedingly rare.
- Instead, they point to the need for a scientific approach to the issue of Colombo’s crocodiles, pointing out that one factor for the thriving population is the “unplanned development” of the city’s water bodies.

Guinea-Bissau turtle hatchery addresses unusual problem of too many eggs
- Five percent of all green sea turtles nest on the beaches of tiny Poilão Island, in the Bijagós Archipelago off Guinea-Bissau, leading to some nests being laid on top of each other.
- Sea turtle monitors are rescuing these “doomed clutches” of eggs and relocating them to less crowded beaches.
- In the future, they hope the sea turtle hatchery will provide educational opportunities that strengthen protection of sea turtles.

‘I feel obligated to protect them’: A lifelong love affair with Guinea-Bissau’s turtles
- Biologist Castro Barbosa has spent his career working to protect the green sea turtles that breed in Guinea-Bissau’s Bjiagós islands.
- The Bijagós are the most important sea turtle breeding grounds in Africa — 5% of the global green turtle population breeds on the island of Poilâo alone.
- Turtles are threatened by accidental capture in fishing nets, hunting, and overharvesting of their eggs, but traditional restriction of access to sacred islands in the Bijagós has protected these breeding grounds.
- Barbosa’s work monitoring turtles and their breeding grounds respects and complements these traditional protections.

Wild release marks return of giant forest tortoises to Bangladesh hills
- Researchers and villagers last month released 10 captive-bred Asian giant tortoises into Bangladesh’s Chattogram Hill Tracts to boost numbers of the threatened species in the wild, once thought to be extinct in the country.
- Asian giant tortoises are critically endangered throughout their range in South and Southeast Asia due to heavy hunting pressure and habitat loss.
- The rewilding of the batch of juvenile tortoises is the first wild release of offspring reared at a dedicated turtle conservation breeding center that was set up in the Chattogram Hills in 2017 to safeguard the future of several rare and threatened species.
- Through tortoise conservation, researchers are working with local hill tribes to monitor local wildlife, curb hunting, and protect community-managed forests.

Top 15 species discoveries from 2021 (Photos)
- Science has only just begun to find and describe all of the species on Earth; by some estimates, only 20% have been described.
- This year, Mongabay reported on newly described species from nearly every continent, including an Ecuadoran ant whose name broke the gender binary, an acrobatic North American skunk, an Australian “killer tobacco,” a fuzzy orange bat from West Africa, tiny screech owls from Brazil, and more.
- Though a species may be new to science, that doesn’t mean it has not yet been found and given a name by local and Indigenous communities.

‘Tis the season’ for cold-stunned sea turtles — and their rescue — on Cape Cod
- As cold weather sets in across New England each year, juvenile sea turtles, drawn to the globally warmed summer waters off Cape Cod, Massachusetts, are cold-stunned. If not rescued they die.
- Trained volunteers have already brought more than 100 turtles to the New England Aquarium Sea Turtle Rescue Center this autumn. The number of cold-stunned turtles at Cape Cod has been rising during the last decade, with some seasons logging more than 1,000 stranded turtles — many of them critically endangered Kemp’s ridleys.
- Globally, most cold-stunning events occur on the U.S. Atlantic and Gulf coasts: especially in Massachusetts, North Carolina, Florida and Texas. Last year, more than 10,000 turtles were stranded in Texas alone. Cold-stun events have also been reported in Uruguay, Spain, Canada, Ireland, Denmark, France, and the UAE.
- On Cape Cod, the animals are stabilized at the New England Aquarium’s Sea Turtle Center, then transported to longer term care facilities across the U.S., often flown there by volunteer pilots working with Turtles Fly Too. As extreme weather events and ocean warming increase due to climate change, experts predict cold-stunning events will increase too.

Galápagos census looks at impacts on turtles during and after COVID lockdown
- The suspension of tourism activities around the world as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic gave researchers the chance to answer an important question: What impact does tourism have on wildlife populations?
- In Ecuador’s famed Galápagos Islands, researchers have for more than a year now been carrying out a turtle census on Tortuga Bay, a beach popular with tourists, but which was off-limits during lockdown.
- With tourists now returning, the researchers have been able to record tangible changes in the number and behavior of the turtles on the beach, although a full analysis is only expected to begin in December.

Technology and tradition team up to watch over a sacred island’s sea turtles
- Uninhabited Poilão Island in Guinea-Bissau is Africa’s most important nesting ground for green sea turtles (Chelonia mydas).
- Local people have long regarded the island as sacred and have limited access to it, which has kept its environment in a near-pristine state.
- The island is now protected as part of a marine national park, a compromise in which local people granted researchers and some other outsiders access to the island in an exchange that included employment monitoring turtles.
- Researchers and local people now work together to study the turtles with the aim of better protecting them.

New Himalayan snake found via Instagram
- Locked down at home during the pandemic last year, a postgraduate student in India’s Himalayan region photographed a snake in his backyard that experts had never before seen.
- Uploaded to Instagram, the picture caught the attention of a herpetologist in another part of the country, who set out to find out more about the snake.
- In a newly published paper, they describe it as a new-to-science species of kukri snake (Oligodon spp.).
- The authors say the discovery points to the hidden wealth of biodiversity in the western Himalayas, and call for more studies in this region.

Straight outta Borneo: New gecko species just dropped
- Scientists have described a new species of bent-toed gecko from Borneo, one of the world’s largest islands.
- The newly identified gecko is easily distinguished by its physical characteristics, but the researchers call for a study into its molecular genes for further confirmation.
- The researchers say their findings also underscore the need to focus more attention on uncovering Borneo’s unknown rich biodiversity.

In a sea of oil palms, even monitor lizards need islands of natural forest
- Forest patches in and around oil palm plantations are crucial for the survival of Asian water monitor lizards, a generalist species that usually thrives in human-impacted landscapes.
- A new study focused on the Kinabatangan floodplain in Malaysian Borneo found significantly more lizards in natural forest near oil palm plantations than in the plantations themselves.
- The researchers suggest lizards are particularly dependent on forest patches for breeding sites and shelter.
- The study adds to a growing body of evidence that demonstrates the vital role of natural forest in and around oil palm plantations and reaffirms the importance of buffer zones and habitat corridors that enable animals to negotiate oil palm-dominated landscapes.

People want to do right by nature. They just need a nudge, study shows
- Subtle messaging and cues can encourage tourists to engage in behaviors that protect the marine ecosystem, a new study says.
- The researchers conducted two field experiments, focusing on plastic bag use and snorkeling behavior, on the Indonesian island of Gili Trawangan, a popular destination for beachgoers.
- Many tourists have the knowledge and responsibility to take environmentally conscious actions, but in practice, they often fail due to contextual obstacles.
- The study authors urged stakeholders in the tourism sector to apply these approaches as a simple effort to reduce local impacts on the environment, particularly marine ecosystems.

Snapshot of hatchlings raises hopes for Siamese crocs in northeast Cambodia
- Researchers have found and photographed eight Siamese crocodile (Crocodylus siamensis) hatchlings in northeastern Cambodia — the first confirmed evidence that the critically endangered species is breeding in this area.
- The new breeding population significantly expands the known breeding range of the species in Cambodia; until now, most breeding was recorded around the Cardamom Mountains landscape in the southwest.
- With fewer than 1,000 adults remaining in the wild globally, the species is on the brink of extinction; threats include habitat loss, hydropower schemes, poaching, and entanglement in fishing gear.
- Wildlife experts say conservation measures, including community engagement, captive breeding and reintroduction programs, will help to ensure Siamese crocodiles’ long-term survival.

Sea turtles: Can these great marine migrators navigate rising human threats?
- Humanity is quickly crossing critical planetary boundaries that threaten sea turtle populations, their ecosystems and, ultimately, the “safe operating space” for human existence.
- Sea turtles have survived millions of years, but marathon migrations put them at increasing risk for the additive impacts of adverse anthropogenic activity on land and at sea, including impacts from biodiversity loss, climate change, ocean acidification, land-use change, pollution (especially plastics), and more.
- The synergistic effects of anthropogenic threats and the return on conservation interventions are largely unknown. But analysts understand that their efforts will need to focus on both nesting beaches and ocean migration routes, while acting on a host of adverse impacts across many of the nine known planetary boundaries.
- Avoiding extinction will require adaptation by turtles and people, and the evolution of new, innovative conservation practices. Key strategies: boosting populations to weather growing threats, rethinking how humanity fishes, studying turtle life cycles (especially at sea), safeguarding habitat, and deeply engaging local communities.

Saving sea turtles in the ‘Anthropause’: Successes and challenges on the beach
- The COVID-19 pandemic has posed tough challenges for sea turtle conservation projects across the planet.
- Conservationists describe how economic issues have put turtles and themselves at risk from poachers, while travel restrictions have crippled operations in Costa Rica and Malaysia.
- The lull in human seashore activities also revealed that tourism pressure affects nesting turtle behavior in the Mediterranean, a study shows.
- In Lebanon, raising awareness has been key to turtle conservation successes despite the country’s economic collapse, conservationists said.

In Sri Lanka, biologists and divers build a Facebook for sea turtles
- An initiative in Sri Lanka stalled by the COVID-19 pandemic is looking to get back on track to identifying individual marine turtles in the island’s waters.
- The Turtle ID project uses photos taken by recreational divers to build up a database of turtles based on their unique facial patterns.
- The initiative was launched in August 2019, but soon came to a halt as dive centers, among other tourism businesses, closed during the lockdown imposed in early 2020.
- There’s now a greater sense of urgency around sea turtle conservation in Sri Lanka, following a high number of turtle deaths linked to the sinking in June of the X-Press Pearl cargo ship that was laden with tons of plastic beads and toxic chemicals.

Color-changing robo-chameleon showcases promising camouflage tech
- A robot modeled on a chameleon and developed by South Korean researchers can change colors to match its surroundings.
- Like real chameleons, the robo-chameleon collects information from its environment in real time, but the way it reproduces the colors on its artificial “skin” is different.
- The researchers say they hope the system will in future be able to read and mimic patterns as well.
- If colors and patterns can both be replicated in real time, it could pave the way for clothing that essentially makes the wearer invisible.

Platform presents unpublished data on Brazilian biodiversity
- Partnership between scientists and journalists translates scientific data into visual information to warn of the importance of preserving Brazil’s biomes.
- Brazil alone accounts for 17% of the entire terrestrial territory of the tropics with a biodiversity that is more abundant than entire continents: over 20% of the freshwater fish on the planet and 17% of all birds are found in Brazil.
- One problem is the lack of investment in research to survey biodiversity, which usually comes at a slower pace than changes in ecosystems – animals and plants are at risk of disappearing before scientists are able to get to know them.

Seagrass-grazing dugongs and green sea turtles supercharge the seeds they eat
- By consuming and pooping seagrass seeds, dugongs and green turtles play a vital role in maintaining vital, carbon-sequestering seagrass meadows, a new study reveals.
- Scientists working in the Great Barrier Reef found that seagrass seeds germinated up to 60% faster after they had passed through the gut of dugongs or green turtles, and also had two to four times greater germination probability.
- The research highlights the mutual relationship between seagrass and marine mega herbivores, and underscores the shared vulnerability if either party is undermined.
- Experts say we must do what we can to protect dugongs, turtles and other grazing marine animals if we wish to protect seagrass ecosystems and their many benefits.

For sea snakes, underwater sex is a washout more often than not
- A sea snake’s senses of sight and smell are greatly diminished underwater, and the added challenge of trying to stay buoyant makes underwater mating no easy feat.
- A new study has identified several distinct features unique to adult male turtelheaded sea snakes thought to help improve their chances of coupling with a female underwater, most notably a high concentration of touch receptors in key spots along the body.
- A previous study found 20 of 31 male turtleheaded snakes lost contact with the female during courtship, often then attempting to mate with nearby objects such as a diver’s fin or sea cucumber.

Rare pygmy chameleon, lost to science, found in dwindling Malawi forest
- The Chapman’s pygmy chameleon, about the length of a golf tee, was first described in 1992 and not seen again in the wild by scientists until 2016.
- An estimated 80% of the rainforests of Malawi Hills, where the chameleons live, have been destroyed over the past 40 years, mostly for agriculture.
- The chameleon is listed as critically endangered and the remaining populations are isolated, leaving them are at risk of losing genetic diversity.
- The researchers are calling for more surveys and monitoring of the chameleon populations as well as conservation action to safeguard what remains of the chameleon’s habitat.

Philippine forest turtles stand a ‘good chance’ after first wild release
- Researchers released a pair of Philippine forest turtles (Siebenrockiella leytensis) on the island of Palawan in February, they announced this month, part of a batch of only 17 to have been successfully bred under human care in the Philippines since 2018.
- After tracking the turtles for three months following the release, the researchers say there are indications the animals can mature and reproduce if released within guarded and protected areas.
- The turtles are notoriously difficult to breed in human care and the conservation group that carried out the breeding program took 10 years before recording its first successful hatchling in 2018.
- Endemic to the Philippines, the forest turtle is threatened by poaching for the exotic pet trade, with wild-caught specimens often passed off as captive-born ones by private traders, despite the great difficulty in breeding this species in captivity.

Deforestation of endangered wildlife habitat continues to surge in southern Myanmar
- The Tanintharyi region of Myanmar is home to unique and endangered species, but its forests are being cleared.
- Tanintharyi’s Kawthoung district lost 14% of its primary forest between 2002 and 2020.
- New satellite data show deforestation activity spiking in many parts of Kawthoung, including in some of the last known habitat of critically endangered Gurney’s pittas.

Hold the scuba: These lizards can breathe underwater
- Researchers recently discovered that several species of semi-aquatic anole lizards can breathe underwater — or rebreathe — for up to 18 minutes.
- They observed that anoles have hydrophobic skin that allows a thin layer of air to form around their bodies when they dive underwater, which they believe aids their rebreathing process.
- When the anoles exhale underwater, a bubble of air forms over their snout and then goes back into their nostrils when they inhale.
- The researchers believe that anoles evolved to rebreathe underwater to avoid predators, although more research is needed to confirm this.

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