Hunting
In Patagonia, a puma’s life is decided by political borders
“As a boy, my father killed pumas,” says Vincente Navarra, whose family has been raising sheep against the backdrop of Argentina’s Patagonian wilderness for generations. Navarra, a 71-year-old rancher who raises livestock on Patagonia’s Chilean side was the first in his family to cross the border to produce wool there. Not many people can endure […]
Andean eagles have managed to adapt to fragmenting habitats — for now
Even the greatest, most mobile predators aren’t immune to the shrinking of South America’s forests. The endangered black-and-chestnut eagle (Spizaetus isidori), one of the largest raptors on the continent, has been forced to change its behavior to survive in increasingly fragmented habitats and growing threats from humans. A new study in Global Ecology and Conservation […]
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 […]
Miners, drug traffickers and loggers: Is Costa Rica’s Corcovado National Park on the verge of collapse?
News articles and opinion pieces have popped up in the pages of different Costa Rican newspapers over the past several years, warning of the imminent collapse of Corcovado National Park, one of the country’s most treasured protected areas. The park is in “agonizing” condition and “on a downward spiral,” some of the opinion pieces said. […]
Afro-Colombian community safeguards pristine oceans with new protected area
An Afro-Colombian community on the southwest coast of Colombia has helped establish a new marine protected area that will create more sustainable fishing and hunting practices while ensuring that one of the country’s most undisturbed ecosystems withstands outside threats of deforestation and pollution long into the future. The Isla Ají marine protected area, which covers […]
A shot to the gut: American eagles poisoned by lead from bullets
Eagles, regarded by some as a symbol for American freedom, are being poisoned by lead from ammunition. Scientists sampled the blood from 1,210 living and dead bald eagles (Haliaeetus leucocephalus) and golden eagles (Aquila chrysaetos) across 38 U.S. states over eight years. Nearly half of all the sampled birds showed evidence of repeated lead exposure, according to […]
Death threats and friction with military force Guatemalan rangers to flee
Northern Guatemala is covered in more than 3,000 square miles of rainforest. Some parts of it have been burned down by cattle ranchers and drug traffickers. Other parts remain pristine, with unexcavated Mayan pyramids hidden deep under the foliage. For the park rangers who work there, patrolling such a huge area can be dangerous and […]
Camera trap study shows conservation efforts ‘are working’ on Costa Rica’s Osa Peninsula: Video
After she collected a set of camera traps from the ridgeline above Corcovado National Park, conservation biologist Eleanor Flatt said that scientists, staff, and tourists all huddled around her computer at the Punta Marenco Lodge to see what images were captured. Camera traps, remote cameras triggered by motion, can be set off by something as […]
Meet Magali, the conservation warrior rescuing Peru’s rainforest animals: Video
In the dark, early morning hours, Magali Salinas trails a troop of howler monkeys through the Amazon rainforest. Magali is particularly invested in this troop. She rehabilitated each monkey, brought them together and released them into the wild. Now, she watches and waits. “I care for them as if they were my own children,” Magali […]