endangered species
Trump Officials Weaken Protections for Animals Near Extinction
The Trump administration is scaling back the US government’s latitude to protect species nearing extinction, as world scientists warn that a biodiversity crisis will soon put humanity at risk. More than 1,600 species are considered officially at risk in the…
Why Forest Elephant Extinction Will Make Climate Change Much Worse
Forest elephant extinction would exacerbate climate change. That’s according to a new study in Nature Geoscience which links feeding by elephants with an increase in the amount of carbon that forests are able to store. The bad news is that…
Koalas Should Be Given Endangered Listing, Environment Groups Say
Koala populations on the Australian east coast have diminished to the extent the species should now be considered “endangered”, environment groups have said, amid concern that existing protection measures have failed to halt the creeping loss of critical habitat. In…
Hong Kong Is at the Heart of Global Wildlife Trafficking
Hong Kong is a small autonomous territory with fewer than 7.5 million residents. Yet this bustling urban center in southeastern China is at the very center of the global wildlife trafficking trade, according to local experts. “Hong Kong’s illegal wildlife…
We Are Eating Large Wild Animals into Extinction
Much of the planet’s megafauna is being driven extinct because of the usual causes: habitat loss and rampant poaching for body parts like horns, bones and tusks. But there is another reason large vertebrates are going extinct: people keep on…
Russian Military Responding to Polar Bear Invasion in Arctic Town
The Russian military is taking measures to protect the residents of a remote Arctic settlement from a mass of polar bears, German press agency DPA reported. The move comes after regional authorities declared a state of emergency over the weekend…
These Are the Most Endangered Species in the World
As 2018 ended, it brought to light the reality that some animals — after existing on Earth for millions of years — are gone for good. At the end of last year, scientists announced that three bird species went extinct,…