Critically Endangered Species
Fears for academic freedom as Indonesia doubles down on scientists’ ban
JAKARTA — Indonesian academics have called out the government for banning five foreign scientists after they questioned official claims of an increase in the country’s orangutan population, warning that the move sets a disturbing precedent for academic freedom. In a statement to the government, scientists grouped under the Academic Freedom Advocacy Team called the ban […]
Tunnel collapse at dam project in orangutan habitat claims yet another life
JAKARTA — A second tunnel collapse this year at a controversial dam construction site in Indonesia has killed another Chinese worker, bringing the toll from the project to 17 in just two years. The worker, identified as Wan Shui, 35, was severely injured in a tunnel cave-in on Nov. 9 and rushed to hospital, where […]
Cambodian mega dam’s resurrection on the Mekong ‘the beginning of the end’
STUNG TRENG, Cambodia — A long-dormant plan to build a mega dam on the mainstream of the Mekong River in Cambodia’s northeastern Stung Treng province appears to have been revived this year, leaving locals immediately downstream of the potential sites worried and experts confounded. First studied in 2007, the 1,400-megawatt hydropower project, known as the […]
An emerald-green hummingbird lost to science reemerges in Colombia
In the mountains of Colombia, an experienced bird-watcher saw an iridescent flash of blue and green. “A hummingbird caught my attention. I got out my binoculars and was shocked to see that it was a Santa Marta sabrewing,” Yurgen Vega said. “This sighting was a complete surprise, but a very welcome one.” This was only […]
‘Protection too small, pressure too high’ for tree species globally, study finds
Trees play a critical role in supporting life on Earth, and over the past few years, everyone from governments to companies to celebrities has been talking about tree planting as a solution to climate change and a boon to biodiversity. But, according to recent research, we could also do a much better job of protecting […]
Raise-and-release program keeping Nepal’s gharials alive can be improved, study says
KATHMANDU — A spark of good news for the gharial crocodile (Gavialis gangeticus) in Nepal last month shouldn’t obscure the challenges that remain in conserving the critically endangered species, experts say. On June 15, just two days before World Crocodile Day, 28 gharial hatchlings were spotted in a tributary of Nepal’s Karnali River — the […]
Return of the king? Pakistan moves to bring gharials from Nepal to its rivers
KATHMANDU — Pakistan is aiming for the return of an apex predator not seen in the country in nearly four decades: the gharial crocodile (Gavialis gangeticus). According to the WWF program in Pakistan, the government there has asked Nepal, which has a long-running program raising the critically endangered reptiles in captivity, to provide hundreds of […]
Winter sanctuary in Nepal proves a killing field for yellow-breasted buntings
KATHMANDU — Ornithologist Hem Bahadur Katwal, who studies farmland birds, says he’s excited about an upcoming trip to visit Nepal’s plains when the monsoon rains end in September. This is the time when the cold starts creeping in over the lands farther north — Russia, Mongolia, China — and thousands of migratory birds flock to […]
First gharial hatchlings spotted in nearly two decades in Nepal’s Karnali River
KATHMANDU — Villagers living near Nepal’s Bardiya National Park have discovered the first successful nesting and breeding site of gharial crocodiles in the park in more than 16 years. They spotted a total of 28 hatchlings in the Geruwa River, one of the tributaries of the Karnali River, the longest in Nepal. The discovery, two […]
Top 15 species discoveries from 2021 (Photos)
With humans sending probes to explore Mars and the sun, one might think we’ve already explored the full extent of our own planet. But scientists say we’ve only begun to find and describe the riches here on Earth. “I think most people believe that we know most species on Earth … but in the best-case […]