News Focus Channel: Wildlife Channel Featured Story TOP

CMS COP14, An Historic Opportunity to Protect the Guanaco Migrations

Wildlife Conservation Society — Mon, 12 Feb 2024 15:05:04 EST

This iconic herbivore of the arid grasslands and the Andes Mountains in the Southern Cone, depends on vast and connected habitats to feed, reproduce, and rest.

Migratory bats can detect the Earth's magnetic field

University of Oldenburg — Tue, 12 Dec 2023 14:05:59 EST

The soprano pipistrelle (Pipistrellus pygmaeus) weighs only a few grams, but it is estimated that members of this small bat species cover thousands of kilometres every year on their nocturnal migrations from north-eastern to south-western Europe.

Case study of rare, endangered tortoise highlights conservation priorities for present, future World Wildlife Days

University of Maryland, College Park — Fri, 03 Mar 2023 12:05:20 EST

Though wildlife trafficking has been effectively disrupted since the first World Wildlife Day--established 50 years ago today via the 1973 Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES) of Wild Fauna and Flora--a newly published case study on one of the world's rarest tortoise species, the ploughshare tortoise, highlights how much room for improvement still exists.

Alaskan island wolves caused a deer population to plummet

Oregon State University — Tue, 24 Jan 2023 14:40:40 EST

Wolves on an Alaskan island caused a deer population to plumet and switched to primarily eating sea otters in just a few years, a finding scientists at Oregon State University and the Alaska Department of Fish and Game believe is the first case of sea otters becoming the primary food source for a land-based predator.

Island tiger snakes' skulls adapt to eat large sea bird chicks

University of Adelaide — Tue, 17 Jan 2023 00:05:25 EST

A study by researchers from the University of Adelaide and other institutions has found that in a population of island tiger snakes the bones in their jaws increase in length after feeding on large prey, while their mainland counterparts show no change.

Study: Over 330 Fish Species - up to 35 New to Science - Found in Bolivian National Park

Wildlife Conservation Society — Wed, 04 Jan 2023 10:05:42 EST

The number of fish species recorded in Madidi National Park and Natural Integrated Management Area (PNANMI), Bolivia has doubled to a staggering 333 species - with as many as 35 species new to science - according of a study conducted as part of the Identidad Madidi expedition led by the Wildlife Conservation Society.

Cheetah marking trees are hotspots for communication also for other species

Forschungsverbund Berlin e.V. — Fri, 02 Dec 2022 11:45:11 EST

Marking trees are important hotspots of communication for cheetahs: Here they exchange information with and about other cheetahs via scent marks, urine and scats.

Bats use death metal "growls" to make social calls

PLOS — Tue, 29 Nov 2022 14:00:00 EST

Bats use distinct structures in the larynx to produce high-frequency echolocation calls and lower-frequency social calls, according to a study.

Emperor penguins granted protections under Endangered Species Act

Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution — Tue, 25 Oct 2022 09:40:52 EST

Today, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) announced that emperor penguins have been listed as a threatened species under the Endangered Species Act (ESA) based on evidence that the animal's sea ice habitat is shrinking and is likely to continue to do so over the next several decades. This listing comes more than one year after a USFWS proposal to list the species, and confirms that the animal is at risk of becoming an endangered species--in danger of extinction--in the foreseeable future if its habitat continues to be destroyed or adversely changed.

FeederWatchers Are More Important than Ever

Cornell University — Tue, 18 Oct 2022 13:35:44 EST

Project FeederWatch is back--with more ways to participate, more time to participate, and more ways to keep track of who is seeing what, where. The expanded 36th season of FeederWatch begins November 1 and ends April 30, 2023.

Clarifying the chaos of narwhal behavior

Hokkaido University — Thu, 22 Sep 2022 16:25:33 EST

Researchers have used the mathematical equations of chaos theory to analyse the data from long-term monitoring of an electronically tagged narwhal.

Scientists find that wolves can show attachment toward humans

Stockholm University — Tue, 20 Sep 2022 11:20:00 EST

When it comes to showing affection towards people, many dogs are naturals. Now comes word reported in the journal Ecology and Evolution on September 20th that the remarkable ability to show attachment behaviour toward human caregivers also exists in wolves.

More than 1.1 million sea turtles poached over last three decades

Arizona State University (ASU) — Wed, 07 Sep 2022 10:50:02 EST

Despite the high number, first global assessment shows illegal exploitation slightly declining.

Venomous! New pit viper discovered in Jiuzhaigou National Nature Reserve, China

Pensoft Publishers — Fri, 22 Jul 2022 14:50:03 EST

Jiuzhaigou National Nature Reserve, a World Heritage Site, lies in the transition zone from the eastern edge of the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau to the Sichuan Basin in Sichuan Province, China, and occupies an area of 651 km2.

After Years of Concern, Monarch Butterflies Are Doing Just Fine, Thank You

University of Delaware — Fri, 10 Jun 2022 15:50:12 EST

Scientists have been warning for quite some time that monarch butterflies were headed for extinction. But to misquote Mark Twain, rumors of their demise were greatly exaggerated. A new study found that growth in the summer population has compensated for losses during the winter.

'Fantastic giant tortoise,' believed extinct, confirmed alive in the Galapagos

Princeton University — Thu, 09 Jun 2022 16:05:35 EST

Princeton geneticist Stephen Gaughran recently confirmed that 'Fernanda' comes from the same species as a tortoise collected from Fernandina Island more than a century ago, and those two are genetically distinct from all other Galapagos tortoises.

Scientists Show that at Least 44 Percent of Earth's Land Requires Conservation to Safeguard Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services

Wildlife Conservation Society — Thu, 02 Jun 2022 15:05:25 EST

New research published in the June 3, 2022 journal Science reveals that 44 percent of Earth's land area - some 64 million square kilometers (24.7 million square miles) requires conservation to safeguard biodiversity.

California Condor Chick Hatches on Live "Condor Cam"

Cornell University — Thu, 19 May 2022 15:50:15 EST

A brand-new endangered California Condor chick hatched on May 14, and viewers can watch live as the little one grows up to become a majestic denizen of the skies.

Study Finds Why Baby Leatherback Marine Turtles Can't 'See the Sea'

Florida Atlantic University — Thu, 19 May 2022 08:30:21 EST

For most sea turtles, the journey to find the ocean from their nests is pretty straightforward. However, leatherback hatchlings more often crawl around in circles trying to find the ocean. Circling delays their entry into the ocean, wastes energy, and places them at greater danger from natural predators. Under different moon phases: bright light during full moon and only starlight under new moon, researchers have a better understanding of why this circling behavior happens and why it is most commonly observed in leatherbacks.

Conservationists Find High DDT and PCB Contamination Risk for Critically Endangered California Coastal Condors

San Diego State University — Wed, 18 May 2022 14:55:26 EST

A new study has found contaminants that were banned decades ago are still imperiling critically endangered California condors.