While in most places, we hear about rhinos and elephants being killed, in North Luangwa National Park in Zambia, one of the most untouched wilderness sanctuaries in Africa, the situation is quite the opposite. This little-known park is home to Zambia’s only black rhino population, which continues to show one of the highest growth rates […]
With fewer than 50 animals in the wild, saola is possibly the most threatened mammal on the planet. Even though it was discovered in 1992, very little is known about it, as no biologist has ever seen it in the wild and there are only a handful of photos of it from camera traps –
How to save saola – an animal that no biologist has ever seen Read More »
The impact of our growing population on nature is such a sensitive topic that nobody really dares talk about it. Better sweep it under the carpet and forget about it, right? Well, not necessarily. If you think it through, the solution is really simple and beautiful: give women full rights, opportunities and access to family-planning
Paul R. Ehrlich: The Most Effective Conservation Strategy? Empower Women Read More »
For 7.8 billion people to live sustainably on the planet, everyone would have to be a vegetarian; never drive a car or fly in an airplane; live in a one-room apartment with minimal electricity and no heat, hot water, washing machine, dryer, or dishwasher; and have only a few sets of clothes and pairs of
Terry Spahr: Talking About Overpopulation Isn’t Sexy, But We Have to Do It Read More »
After the Iran–Iraq War (1980–1988), which severely degraded Iraqi nature, Persian leopards (Panthera pardus tulliana) were thought to be locally extinct. The war left the country with mountains covered with millions of landmines and many species with vastly depleted numbers. So nobody expected this endangered species — the world’s largest leopard — to remain in the
Conservationist Fights for Persian Leopards in Iraqi Kurdistan (Earth Island Journal) Read More »
In 2006, the world’s leading hummingbird photographer, Luis Mazariegos, visited La Mesenia, an isolated village in Colombia’s western Andes. He had no idea that besides taking a picture of the recently rediscovered glittering starfrontlet (Coeligena orina), he would find a place that hosts overwhelming biodiversity. The forests here, spanning altitudes from 1,700 to 3,170 meters
In the Colombian Andes, a forest corridor staves off species extinction (Mongabay) Read More »
Even though the elephant population decline is a gigantic problem – only 415,000 elephants remain compared to 10 million in 1930 – there are ways to protect this iconic species. The nonprofit Save Elephants, in collaboration with EAGLE Network (organizations fighting corruption and wildlife crime), have seen some success protecting elephants in Congo, Cameroon and
Arthur Sniegon: We Can Still Save African Elephants. Here’s How Read More »
When Hurricane Iris hit southern Belize in 2001, the country’s magnificent corals were destroyed. But within 10 years, a radical restoration project brought the reef back to life. Read my story about the amazing work of the Belizean nonprofit Fragments of Hope on BBC Future Planet. Credit: Fragments of HOpe
The long shot that saved Belize’s coral (BBC) Read More »
While in many places, ecosystems and wildlife are under increasing threat and suffering population declines, Vietnam’s Van Long Nature Reserve provides a light in the darkness. The reserve is home to the largest population of Delacour’s langurs (Trachypithecus delacouri), a critically endangered monkey species endemic to the country and numbering fewer than 300 in the
Thriving population of endangered monkeys gives hope to conservationists (Mongabay) Read More »
The illegal trade in pangolins and slow lorises in Indonesia has gained a lot of media attention, yet that has had only a small effect on combating the actual trade itself. In many areas of the country, these two critically endangered species have gone extinct due to a lack of law enforcement and specialized protection.