Its recovery in southeast leads to status change to threatened The red-cockaded woodpecker, an iconic bird in southeastern forests, has recovered enough of its population to be downlisted from an endangered species to a threatened one, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service announced Thursday. “The downlisting of the red-cockaded woodpecker marks a significant milestone in our nation’s commitment to preserving biodiversity,” said Interior Secretary Deb Haaland in a statement. At one point in the 1970s, the red-cockaded woodpecker population had dipped as low as 1,470 clusters — or groups of nests, wildlife officials said. Today, there are an estimated 7,800 clusters. “It’s an amazing bird that has an unusual communal nesting structure,” said Will Harlan of the nonprofit Center...
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Seen from the air, they ripple across the landscape — a river of antelope racing across the vast grasslands of South Sudan in what conservationists say is the world’s largest land mammal migration. The country’s first comprehensive aerial wildlife survey, released last week, found about 6 million antelope. The survey over a two-week period last year in two national parks and nearby areas relied on spotters in airplanes, nearly 60,000 photos and tracking more than a hundred collared animals over about 46,000 square miles (120,000 square kilometers). The estimate from the nonprofit African Parks, which conducted the work along with the government, far surpasses other large migratory herds such as the estimated 1.36 million wildebeests surveyed last year in the Serengeti straddling...
Read MoreRoyal Commission for AlUla launches 'Leap of Hope' campaign to strengthen global awareness and action to conserve critically endangered Big Cat species Following the United Nations declaration of the first International Day of the Arabian Leopard, on 10 February the Royal Commission for AlUla (RCU) continues to expand its long-term mission to safeguard the 'Critically Endangered' Big Cat species from the physical world into the virtual. As part of RCU's new 'Leap of Hope' campaign, this year's international edition of the annual call-to-action to conserve Arabian Leopards includes the launch of the 'Quest for Hope' gaming experience on the Roblox and Decentraland online platforms. Named 'Leap of Hope' after the Arabian Leopard's athletic prowess and ability to capture its p...
Read MoreCrucial new data about the numbers of Critically Endangered Kordofan giraffe living within Cameroon’s Bénoué National Park has been released, supporting conservation efforts to save the subspecies from extinction. Researchers from the University of Bristol and Bristol Zoological Society have carried out a three-year study using imagery of giraffe from a variety of sources, including camera traps, to establish how many of the highly threatened mammals remain within the park. Their findings, which have been published in the African Journal of Ecology, present the first reliable estimate of giraffe population size for the region and will help conservationists monitor the threats they are facing. Camera trap image of Kordofan giraffe in Bénoué National Park, Cameroon. Photo credit: B...
Read MoreThe number of endangered elephants, rhinos and other animals in Uganda's reserves is steadily improving, reversing years of declines caused by poachers, traffickers and conflict, a state-run wildlife agency said on Thursday. The population of northern white and eastern black rhinos, that was wiped out in the early 1980s by people hunting for their horns, has grown back to 32 since a charity brought in four in 2005, the Uganda Wildlife Authority said. FILE PHOTO: A ranger stands near the Southern White rhinos as they graze at the Ziwa Rhino Sanctuary in Kiryandongo district, Uganda December 1, 2021. REUTERS/Abubaker Lubowa Thanks to increased conservation efforts, the number of buffalos increased 77% to 44,163 between 1983 and 2021, while elephants surged nearly 300% to 7,975 over...
Read MoreAfrica’s national parks, home to thousands of wildlife species such as lions, elephants and buffaloes, are increasingly threatened by below-average rainfall and new infrastructure projects. A prolonged drought in much of the continent’s east, exacerbated by climate change, and large-scale developments, including oil drilling and livestock grazing, are hampering conservation efforts in protected areas, several environmental experts say. FILE PHOTO: A pair of hippopotamuses cool off in the Nile river near the waterfalls in Murchison Falls National Park, northwest Uganda, on Feb. 21, 2020. (AP Photo) The at-risk parks stretch all the way from Kenya in the east — home to Tsavo and Nairobi national parks — south to the Mkomazi and Serengeti parks in Tanzania, the Quirimbas and Gorongo...
Read MoreA young chimpanzee wrapped his arms around the neck of his rescuer in a brief hug as he was released from a wooden cage to scamper off to play in his spacious new enclosure. The chimp was captured from an illegal owner by staff from Democratic Republic of Congo's nature conservation agency who brought him more than 600 km (373 miles) by road, boat and plane to the Lwiro Primates Rehabilitation Center. The new arrival joined 111 other chimpanzees staying at the centre, a sanctuary for orphaned primates which opened 20 years ago in a village about 40 km north of the provincial capital Bukavu in eastern Congo. Caregiver Bayongwa Mirindi Ephreme feeds small chimpanzees at the Lwiru Primates Rehabilitation Centre, in South Kivu, Democratic Republic of Congo, April 7, 2022. REUTERS/Dja...
Read MoreWhen a dozen suspected Islamist militants from a neighbouring country were spotted riding motorcycles through the W National Park in northern Benin armed with AK-47 assault rifles, park rangers snapped into action. From an operations room at their base, the park director and two senior ranger officers sent anti-poaching units to pursue the men who eventually fled into Nigeria, according to a confidential incident report reviewed by Reuters. They also directed Benin's army and police where to position their forces and deployed an airplane and helicopter belonging to the park as part of a broader operation to surveil and "neutralise" the target, the undated park report said. General view of Pendjari National Park in northern Benin. Marcus Westberg-African Parks/Handout via REUTERS ...
Read MoreA humpback whale, likely lured by a trawling net capturing masses of Antarctic krill, became entangled last month and died in the Southern Ocean. Three dead juveniles were caught in the same company's krill nets last year. Scientists say the humpbacks may have been malnourished while forced to compete for food with a burgeoning industry harvesting the tiny crustaceans - the linchpin in the Antarctic food web - for use in pharmaceuticals and fish feed. The fishing company, Norway's Aker BioMarine, said these were its first cases of whale bycatch in 15 years of harvesting krill in Antarctica, and that it has since reinforced its ships' devices for keeping marine mammals out of its nets. Pål Skogrand, director of Antarctic affairs and sustainability at Aker BioMarine, said the c...
Read MoreOrganisations ask EU to stop Poland building wall on border with Belarus More than 150 non-governmental organisations are asking the European Commission to intervene to halt the construction of a wall on the Polish-Belarusian border running through protected areas, including one of Europe's last primeval forests. Poland started building a 186 km (115.6 mile) metal barrier in January to deter migrants after nearly 40,000 people from the Middle East, Afghanistan and Africa tried to cross from Belarus last year. FILE PHOTO: A herd of bison is seen on the field during migrant crisis on Belarusian Polish border, near Hajnowka, Poland, January 26, 2022. REUTERS/Kacper Pempel The barrier will run through several protected Natura 2000 areas, including the Bialowieza Forest, a UNESCO W...
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