Giraffes’ future is much less secure than many people had imagined.
Craig Fraser/Shutterstock
Are giraffes really facing extinction? The decline of these beloved animals - and many others – has been hidden in plain sight as Africa builds ever more roads, railways and cities.
Bearded dragons can be genetically male but look like and function as females.
Arthur Georges, Institute for Applied Ecology, University of Canberra
We are only just starting to appreciate the full sexual diversity of animals.
The unassuming dusky hopping mouse.
Ben Moore
Australia’s arid grasslands are being invaded - by native shrubs and trees.
Traditional hunting poses no threat to dugongs.
Flickr
The real threats to dugongs and turtles are not being addressed.
Red crabs migrate across Christmas Island in their thousands each year.
Ian Usher/Wikimedia
In the coming weeks, Parks Australia will release a 2mm wasp on Christmas Island to control the island’s yellow crazy ant infestation.
Ship strikes can be deadly, as shown by this blue whale off the US northwest.
Craig Hayslip/Oregon State Univ./Flickr/Wikimedia Commons
Ships in Australian waters are getting bigger and more numerous all the time. We need a plan to help them avoid crashing into whales and other large sea creatures.
These orange-bellied parrot chicks are the species’ last chance.
Mark Holdsworth and Friends of the OBP
Researchers are planning to monitor orange-bellied parrot nests all summer to make sure they raise chicks successfully.
Devils released back onto the Tasmanian mainland in the next step to fight the deadly DFTD disease.
Wildlife Management Branch, Department of Primary Industries, Parks, Water and Environment
Some animals bred in captivity often lack the skills needed to survive in the wild. But the Tasmanian devil is showing it’s a natural born killer.
The great grey owl is imperiled by intensive logging of northern-hemisphere forests.
Copyright Ondrej Prosicky/Shutterstock.
The jury is in and the debate is over: Earth’s sixth great extinction has arrived.
Rainforests sustain stunning numbers of insect species, such as this Horny Devil Katydid from Ecuador.
Copy Morley Read/Shutterstock.
The organisms that we’re now discovering are often more hidden and more difficult to catch than ever before.
auntspray / shutterstock
Is an extinct animal really gone forever?
Steve Parsons/PA
Good zoos should be treated like they treat their animals. That means not beating them over the odd mishap.
Not your average starling.
Nathan Rupert/Flickr
Metallic starlings – not the kind that live in your roof – breed in huge colonies that draw thousands of animals.
Giant otters were prized for their dense fur.
ostill / shutterstock
Land animals were able to find refuge in the depths of the forest. But aquatic species weren’t so lucky.
Cheetahs have extraordinarily low genetic diversity, placing them at risk.
Copyright Amy Nichole Harris/Shutterstock
Wildlife in wilderness areas have more genetic diversity, which is better for their survival.
White sharks are one of the species targeted in shark programs, but are also threatened.
White shark image from www.shutterstock.com
Queensland premier Annastacia Palaszczuk has offered to extend the state’s shark netting and drum lines into New South Wales.
Eastern quolls face an uphill battle to recover after climate change drove wild populations closer to extinction.
Bronwyn Fancourt
Half of Tasmania’s eastern quolls – Australia’s last population – have disappeared in the past 10 years.
Native bees are just some of the wildlife found in your backyard.
MirandaKate/Flickr
Whether you live in an urban apartment or a rural homestead, your outdoor area is more than just a private space. It’s a thriving ecosystem.
White rhinos are threatened by poaching.
Jason Gilchrist
The CITES conference on international wildlife trade could determine whether these animals have a viable future.
Crocodiles are protected in Australia, but it wasn’t always so.
from www.shutterstock.com
Should shooting crocs be allowed for elite hunters?