After years of steady decline, monarch butterfly populations are rising once more
The number of monarch butterflies doing their annual migration through California reached record lows last year, but according to several volunteer counts, there are significantly more butterflies this year. The Xerces Society’s Western Monarch Count Resource Center, which provides daily Read More...
Hawaii’s state bird no longer endangered thanks to rigorous conservation efforts
The population of the majestic Hawaiian Goose numbered 25,000 on the islands in 1778 when Captain Cook arrived, but soon those numbers were decimated by human-introduced animals like the mongoose until there were just 30 left in 1952. Known locally as the nēnē, the goose was listed as an Read More...
Hurrah! The Mexican wolf has been removed from extinct species list
Conservation efforts to protect the lobo mexicano in Mexico and the United States are paying off. The Mexican wolf, which has been on the extinct species list for years, has been taken off the list thanks to conservation and breeding efforts that began in the late 1970s when former wolf trapper Roy Read More...
Scientists have photographed a mouse deer for the first time in nearly 30 years
In a testament to the Earth’s ability to continually surprise us, scientists in Vietnam have successfully photographed a species not seen for nearly 30 years. That species is known as the mouse deer, a rabbit-sized animal that despite the name, is neither mouse nor deer. Instead, its the Read More...
Russia has finally released the last beluga whales from its “whale jail”
Russia’s notorious “whale jail” is no more. In November of 2018, conservationists shared drone footage of a huge whale enclosure in Russia’s Far East coast. An estimated 10 orcas and 87 beluga whales were once held at the facility, which consisted of cramped, ice-covered enclosures in a Read More...
Could fake rhino horns help stop the poaching of endangered rhinos?
Despite stronger anti-poaching teams and bans on the trade of rhino horn, this illegal business still continues to this day. In search of a new way to protect endangered rhinos from poaching, scientists have found a way to make a fake rhino horn that looks and feels just like the real one using Read More...
Dogs are helping conservationists preserve endangered species
Dogs and their sensitive noses are known for finding people during search and rescue efforts, sniffing out drugs and even diseases like cancer. Something they're lesser known for is their ability to act as a radar for finding endangered animals. To do that, dogs are being trained to identify the Read More...
Southwest Atlantic humpback whales have returned from the brink of extinction
In the late 1920s, humpback whales in the southwest Atlantic became so rare that whaling ships could only find and catch a few dozen individuals per year. It was estimated that some 27,000 humpbacks frequented the southwest Atlantic at the start of the 20th century, but due to intensive commercial Read More...
How land protection can actually promote employment—especially in rural areas
There’s a debate about whether or not land conservation can also help local economies. On the one hand, some worry that land protection inhibits economic growth by restricting local resource use or building opportunities. On the other hand, there are those who say land protection can support Read More...
Norway to pay Gabon to protect its tropical rainforests
As part of a 10-year deal announced on Sunday (Sept. 22), Norway will pay $150 million to the African nation of Gabon to battle deforestation and reduce greenhouse gas emissions. This is a huge deal considering Gabon is home to the second-largest tropical rainforest in the world, a thriving home to Read More...