In the past, wildlife vigilantes have illegally moved Tasmanian devils off the island — an illegal practice known as “covert rewilding”. They may well might try again.
Given the scale of the problem, five years was never enough time to turn things around. Clearly, we must reflect honestly on our successes and failures so far.
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.
Whooping cranes were hunted extensively through the early 1900s, and by 1941, only 22 remained. They breed in Wood Buffalo National Park, in Alberta.
(Shutterstock)
Palm oil is responsible for widespread deforestation and labor abuses, but it’s also cheap and incredibly useful. That’s why many advocates call for reforming the industry, not replacing it.
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.
Yellow-eyed penguins are endemic to New Zealand.
Michael Smith ITWP/Shutterstock
Saving our threatened species shouldn’t be seen as a cost, but rather a very savvy investment to ensure the support systems sustaining life on Earth remain intact.
Scientists have been trying to pinpoint the exact causes of the declines in some wild Pacific salmon populations for decades.
(Amy Romer)
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.
Kemp’s ridley sea turtles are an endangered species that live and nest in the Gulf of Mexico.
National Park Service/WikimediaCommons
For the endangered Kemp’s ridley sea turtle, every individual matters. A team of veterinarians and biologists has formed a network along the Gulf Coast to save injured sea turtles and the species.
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.
A tiger crosses a road in India’s Ranthambore National Park.
Aditya Singh/AFP via Getty Images
An infrastructure boom threatens endangered tigers across Asia. Scientists want to know more about how tigers behave near roads so they can design wildlife-friendly transportation networks.
Looking for bits of DNA at the University of Florida.
David Duffy
As sea levels rise along the Atlantic coast, saltwater is intruding inland, killing trees and turning coastal forests into marshes. Should scientists try to slow the process, or work with it?
Australia is considering removing humpback whales from the threatened species list after their numbers rebounded in recent decades. But the mammals face new threats.
African forest elephant in the Odzala-Kokoua National Park, Republic of the Congo.
Photo by: Education Images/Universal Images Group via Getty Images