Articles for tag: wildlife conservation

Urban wildlife conservation

How Women Are Shaping the Future of Urban Wildlife Conservation

Annette Uy

Urban wildlife conservation is an increasingly critical issue as cities continue to expand, encroaching on natural habitats. This expansion poses challenges but also offers unique opportunities for conservation efforts. Historically dominated by male voices, the field of wildlife conservation is now seeing a significant shift. Women are stepping forward as leaders, researchers, educators, and policymakers, ...

whale in the middle of ocean during daytime

7 Misunderstood Animals That Are Secretly Saving the Planet

Suhail Ahmed

They’ve been cast as villains, nuisances, or background extras, yet these species are quietly holding the line for Earth’s life-support systems. The story isn’t about a single hero but a network of animals that keep carbon moving, soils breathing, water flowing, and diseases at bay. As climate shocks stack up and ecosystems wobble, their hidden ...

brown bird on gray metal fence during daytime

Why Vultures Are Nature’s Janitors – and Why We Need Them

Suhail Ahmed

They arrive like quiet rumors on a thermal, drawing spirals in the sky until the ground pulls them down to work. Vultures – maligned, meme-ified, misunderstood – are the most efficient clean-up crew in the animal world, and their shift never ends. When they vanish, rot lingers longer, other scavengers crowd in, and bacteria multiply ...

a porcupine standing on top of a dirt field

10 Reasons Echidnas Deserve Their Own Documentary

Suhail Ahmed

Every so often, a familiar animal turns out to be far stranger than we imagined, and the echidna tops that list. Egg-laying yet warm-blooded, armored yet shy, it’s a living riddle hiding in plain sight across Australia and New Guinea. Scientists keep stumbling on revelations – from bizarre mating strategies to ingenious heat hacks – ...

A vibrant kingfisher captured mid flight creating splashes over clear water.

Breaking Into the Field of Wildlife Photography: How Women Are Telling Stories of Conservation

Annette Uy

Wildlife photography is a fascinating field that combines the art of photography with the science of conservation. Photographers capture the beauty and complexity of wildlife and their habitats, telling compelling stories that raise awareness about environmental issues. In recent years, more women have been breaking into this traditionally male-dominated field, using their unique perspectives to ...

shoreline of Holloman Lake in New Mexico

The Most Contaminated Lake on Earth? Holloman’s Hidden Toxic Crisis

Suhail Ahmed

Holloman Lake used to be an unlikely oasis in the dry Chihuahuan Desert of New Mexico. It was a shimmering mirage for migratory birds, campers, and wildlife. But underneath its calm surface is a nightmare that can’t be seen: the highest levels of “forever chemicals” ever found in a natural ecosystem. What started out as ...

Dire wolf

Dire Wolf Distraction or Conservation Revolution? How Gene Editing Could Save Endangered Species Before They Vanish

Jan Otte

Three genetically modified “dire wolves” produced by biotech company Colasant Biosciences Romulus, Remus, and Khaleesi have drawn worldwide interest. Scientific wonders, these large, white-furred canids resurrected from DNA fragments of a species extinct 12,000 years are. Underneath the show, though, is a crucial question: Should we be resurrecting Ice Age predators when living species are ...

Javan Gibbon

Forest Highways for Gibbons: How Tree Corridors Are Saving an Endangered Primate

Jan Otte

Deep in the misty mountains of Java, Indonesia, a peaceful revolution is under way one that might decide the fate of the Javan gibbon (Hylobates moloch), a primate whose eerie songs once filled the forests but now fade into silence. With just 4,000 wild acrobatic apes left, victims of unrelenting deforestation and human development are ...

Elephant Family

Bangladesh Plans Safe Haven for Trapped Elephants in Northeastern Forests

Jan Otte

A quiet crisis is developing in the densely human-dominated landscapes of northeastern Bangladesh. Once migratory guests from India, an elephant herd finds itself caught and unable to return home because of border fencing. Declaring a new protected area to protect these stranded giants, Bangladesh is acting boldly given human-elephant conflicts are growing. However, can this ...

Pangolin

Wildlife Justice Commission Reveals Lasting Disruption in Global Wildlife Trade

Jan Otte

Once a thriving transnational criminal activity, the illegal wildlife trade has seen an unexpected and steady downturn since the COVID-19 epidemic. Based on a ground-breaking analysis by the Wildlife Justice Commission (WJC), Disruption and Disarray shows that ivory and pangolin scale trafficking has dropped and, shockingly, has stayed that way. But what set off this ...