On Rábida Island in the Galápagos, where red-tinged beaches meet ancient lava formations, Mares’s leaf-toed gecko (Phyllodactylus maresi) is back. Once thought extinct on this island, a genetically distinct population…
ANTANANARIVO — For more than six decades, the International Primatological Society (IPS) has brought scientists, conservationists and educators from around the world together every two years to exchange ideas and…
On July 17, 2025, Royal Manas National Park, Bhutan’s oldest protected area, posted on its Facebook page: “Wild Friends Aren’t Always Friendly.” The message referred to a midnight incident in…
Parrots of the Amazona genus are among the most trafficked birds in Colombia. With their distinctive feathers, these parrots are relatively easy to identify by authorities after they have been…
On the moonlit beaches of Terengganu state, on Malaysia’s east coast, green sea turtles have been returning for generations to lay their eggs. For just as long, people have collected,…
Extinction is an overwhelming concept, difficult to grasp in its enormity and finality. Thousands of species are barreling toward that grim fate, unless we help. A comprehensive new study provides…
Despite being the world’s most heavily trafficked mammal — more than elephants, rhinos and tigers combined — pangolins remain virtually unknown to the public. These shy, scaly creatures are primarily…
Before pivoting her focus to the Arctic, Alysa McCall worked extensively in the grassland ecosystem. There, the interventions required for ecosystem restoration and wildlife protection were much less complicated. You…
When it comes to sleeping, few animals are as fastidious as orangutans. Each evening, as twilight approaches, the tree-dwelling great apes meticulously weave a cup-shaped nest out of branches, twigs…
"I was making a joke and in my head I said, 'I smell a threadsnake,'" Justin Springer, Caribbean program officer for the NGO Re:wild, recalled. "I just had a feeling,…
JAKARTA — Kasman Amir grew up in a fishing family in a small coastal village on Kabaena Island in eastern Indonesia. The family home sat on stilts above the water,…
LUANG PRABANG, Laos — “No coffee, no coffee,” repeated the security guard. His smile stood in stark contrast to his faded camouflage fatigues and the machine gun slung over his…
Conservationists snapped images of two small wildcat species in Pakistan earlier this year: an Asiatic caracal (Caracal caracal schimitzi) and a sand cat (Felis margarita) — both which are incredibly…
COLOMBO — Bhathiya is a tusker whose towering presence once symbolized the majestic beauty of Sri Lanka’s wild elephants (Elephas maximus). But his life took a tragic turn when he…
As Africa’s environment ministers meet this week in Nairobi, Kenya, for the 20th African Ministerial Conference on the Environment (AMCEN), the Global Environment Facility (GEF)is touting its decades of support…
With its long, pendulous nose, characteristic pot belly and large size, the odd-looking, leaf-eating proboscis monkey (Nasalis larvatus) may not feature on the list of the world’s cutest animals. Yet,…
In 1996, when herpetologist Rafe Brown accompanied a few biologists to the Philippine island of Mindanao to study frogs, they heard a cacophony near their campsite. In a puddle that…
While supporting conservation research in Mexico’s Sierra Madre Occidental with teams from the U.S.-based Columbia University and San Diego Zoo Global, I assisted in work involving the endangered thick-billed parrot.…
Many conservationists dedicated to protecting the endangered Andean cat have never seen one in the wild, with the species known to science by just a few photos until the late…
In 2013, when Sandra Altherr, co-founder of the German NGO Pro Wildlife, began looking into the reptile trade in Europe, she wondered why people paid thousands of euros for little-known…
From pollinating plants to dispersing seeds, birds play a variety of crucial roles that help to keep ecosystems in balance. But when we degrade and fragment their habitats, some species…
TAPLEJUNG, Nepal — In the misty hills of eastern Nepal near the border with India, 48-year-old farmer Surya Bhattarai patrols the steep slopes of Sudap Community Forest in Taplejung district.…
A new study has shown the first habitat suitability model for the endangered bear cuscus in Indonesia’s South Sulawesi, showing its limited and fragmented range, much of which is threatened…
Pacing paw-to-paw, the fishing cat hisses. About twice the size of a domestic cat, its grey-green eyes fix on the keeper who carries a tub of tilapia on the other…
From Shakespeare’s plays to William Wordsworth’s poetry to J.R.R Tolkien's fantasy realms, Britain’s lush green forests are described as a paradise of trees. Thousands of species have called these oak,…
KATHMANDU — Nepal has launched a species action plan focused exclusively on conserving the endangered dhole (Cuon alpinus), also known as the Asiatic wild dog. The new 262.9 million rupee…
ADDIS ABABA — Local leaders at Ethiopia’s largest community conservation area are working to become financially self-sufficient and continue protecting land and wildlife independently, following the abrupt cut of funding…
COLOMBO — Sri Lanka’s largest protected area, the Wilpattu National Park, recognized as one of the best places in the country to observe leopards in the wild, has long been…
The Maya Golden Landscape in southern Belize is a patchwork of protected areas, agricultural lands and small communities, part of the greater Maya Forest, the second-largest tropical forest in the…
Leopards — solitary, enigmatic, nocturnal predators with golden fur splashed with dark rosette spots — have the widest range of any big cat. They’re found in a variety of habitats…
Isangi, Lulingu, Mapendo and Ndjingala: these are the names of four Grauer’s gorillas (Gorilla beringei graueri) that conservationists reintroduced to the wild in October 2024. After years in a sanctuary,…
"We were amazed when we first noticed this behavior," said Michael Weiss, research director at the Center for Whale Research in the U.S. state of Washington. What started as a…
