Frogs are harvested as food by the millions every year. A new study shows that uncontrolled frog hunting could drive some populations to extinction by midcentury.
For decades, the extinction of passenger pigeons has been explained by two theories of human impact. New research shows one of these theories is now more compelling than the other.
Feral horses are destroying what little threatened species habitat was spared from bushfire.
Invasive Species Council
Without an emergency cull of feral horses in Kosciuszko National Park, the land cannot recover from the bushfires – and threatened species are at grave risk of being annihilated.
Glossy black cockatoo populations on Kangaroo Island have been decimated. But a few precious survivors remain.
Flickr
The destruction of recent fires is challenging our belief that with enough time, love and money, every threatened species can be saved. But there is plenty we can, and must, now do.
Spix’s macaw is now extinct in the wild. Conservation programs in Brazil maintain the last 70 or so individuals from this species.
(Shutterstock)
Once you include insects, snails, worms and other small creatures, it’s clear the fires could cause one of the biggest extinction events of the modern era.
Birds are disoriented by smoke and often cannot escape a fire.
James Ross/AAP
Insects are vital to sustaining life on Earth – and their numbers are falling fast. So consider ditching the fly spray and see what you can do to help.
The Tasmanian tiger is among the best known of our extinct species, but researchers have now revealed the extent of the crisis.
TASMANIAN MUSEUM AND ART GALLERY
New research has revealed 100 plant and animal species have become extinct in the past two centuries – a far higher number than previously thought.
Air, water, land and wildlife are tainted with thousands of chemicals that we cannot see, smell or touch — and may not be considered a threat to wildlife.
(Shutterstock)
How do we know that bees were around when dinosaurs still roamed the Earth? The main evidence comes from fossils – the mineralized remains of long-dead organisms.
Matthew Flinders Professor of Global Ecology and Models Theme Leader for the ARC Centre of Excellence for Australian Biodiversity and Heritage, Flinders University