The remaining populations are threatened by a lack of genetic diversity, which makes them less likely to bounce back from new pressures such as climate change.
Australia has one of the worst track records in the world for species extinctions. The federal government’s proposed changes could weaken our already inadequate environment law.
Tassie devils are notorious scavengers, eating everything from echidnas to stranded whales. Understanding how their teeth wear down can help us feed and protect captive populations.
For phascogales, tree hollows are getting harder to find. I venture into forests and study how well artificial hollows made with chainsaws can replace them.
Traffic at the south entrance to Yellowstone National Park on Aug. 20, 2015.
Neal Herbert, NPS/Flickr
It’s hard to preserve national parks “unimpaired,” as US law directs, when they’re overrun with tourists who stray off paths, strew trash and harass wildlife. A parks scholar calls for crowd control.
Willow invasion on Happy Valley Creek in north east Victoria.
Author provided; Happy Valley Creek, Victoria
Timber company VicForests won its appeal last week and logging is set to resume. Let’s take a look at the dramatic implications for wildlife and the law.
Caley’s grevillea (Grevillea caleyi) occurs in Sydney. It needs fire to germinate but burns are hard to carry out near urban areas.
Tony Auld
Many threatened plant species aren’t being targeted for conservation. Identifying which are closest to being lost forever is the first step to protect them.
AAP Image/Department of Sustainability and Environment /Tim Arch
One mammal, the long-tailed planigale, can weigh less than a 10-cent coin. But it’s ferocious, bringing down far larger prey with persistent, savage biting to the head and neck
The bulloak jewel (Hypochrysops piceatus)
Michael Braby
Yellow crazy ants are one of the world’s worst invasive species. And it turns out they have unique systems of reproduction that make life in the queendom more complicated than we realised.
Victoria’s plan has flaws, but it’s still likely to bring the feral horse problem under control, and will do a lot better than the very low benchmark set by NSW.
An African forest elephant (Loxodonta cyclotis) in Odzala-Kokoua National Park, Republic of the Congo.
Nicolas Deloche/Godong/Universal Images Group via Getty Images
A new review of the status of African elephants finds scientific grounds for dividing them into two species, and reports that both have suffered drastic population declines since 1990.
Community scientists have been photographing animals and plants in the months after the Black Summer fires. Each observation is a story of survival against the odds, or of tragedy.
A big coral bommie in the lagoon at Norfolk Island.
John Turbull
Debates centred on the role of recreational hunting in supporting nature conservation and local people’s livelihoods are among the most polarising in conservation today.
An adult fairy tern feeding a chick.
Claire Greenwell
Researcher and photographer Claire Greenwell explains why people are the biggest threat to nesting shorebirds, and the simple ways you can help keep them safe next time you’re at the beach.
Researchers strapped tracking devices to 20 powerful owls in Melbourne and learned these apex predators are increasingly choosing to sleep in urban areas, from backyard trees to golf courses.
Iconic ecosystems, from coral reefs to Tasmania’s ancient forests, are collapsing across the continent and into Antarctica. It’s not too late to act — in fact, our lives depend on it.