Welfare news

I'm a wildlife cameraman but 'special' rare sightings can still take me by surprise

BBC · 03/10/2026

Wildlife cameraman Dan Abbot is caught off guard by a humpback whale, a rare sight in Welsh waters.

Newly discovered hair cells on squid may offer clues to understanding hearing loss in humans

Phys.org · 03/10/2026

Scientists have known for years that squid have cells with bundles of tiny, hairlike protrusions on their heads and arms, similar to those buried deep inside the human ear that allow us to hear. Now, researchers at Case Western Reserve University have discovered that these anima…

A short breath extends the mating calls of male tokay geckos

Phys.org · 03/10/2026

Tokay geckos (Gekko gecko), large and mostly nocturnal geckos native to parts of Asia, are among the few nonbird reptiles that make sounds to attract potential mates, defend their territory and signal distress. Male tokay geckos' calls typically begin with quieter rattles, follo…

Satellite data reveal massive scale of routine oil pollution in oceans. See the map

Mongabay · Shanna Hanbury · 02/10/2026

Oil slicks from ships and offshore oil platforms cover nearly 1.6 million square kilometers (618,000 square miles) of the ocean surface each year, an area slightly larger than the nation of Mongolia. The estimate comes from a recent report by Skytruth, a U.S.-based nonprofit tha…

Future of Amazon rainforest policies at stake in Brazilian presidential election

Mongabay · Associated Press · 02/10/2026

SAO PAULO (AP) — Brazil’s upcoming presidential election could reshape the Amazon’s future. Control of the country, which contains about 60% of the rainforest, could pass to Sen. Flávio Bolsonaro, son of former President Jair Bolsonaro. Experts warn a Bolsonaro victory could rev…

Marine biologists discover new plankton off Oregon coast

Phys.org · 02/10/2026

Nearly every morning when she was a doctoral student in the College of Arts and Sciences (CAS), Nicole Nakata, Ph.D. '23 (biology), would cross the street from the Oregon Institute of Marine Biology (OIMB) in Charleston, Ore., to the high-tide line of the Pacific Ocean. Her job…

Mowing less, spraying smarter give pollinators a boost

Phys.org · 02/10/2026

Roadsides may not look like wildlife habitat, but a few simple changes to how they are maintained could turn them into much better places for pollinators. A new uOttawa-led study found that reducing mowing and herbicide use along rural roadsides led to a 45% jump in pollinator n…

American beech trees may carry genetic resistance to deadly leaf disease

Phys.org · 02/10/2026

A study led by scientists at the Holden Arboretum has found evidence that beech leaf disease (BLD) symptom development is genetically controlled, providing the first evidence that some American beech trees may have genetic resistance. This finding supports further investigation…

Computer-designed protein targets immune receptor linked to inflammation at new 'undruggable' site

Phys.org · 02/10/2026

To sense their environment and respond accordingly, cells enlist membrane proteins as communication hubs, receiving molecular messages from outside and triggering responses inside. One of these proteins is Toll-like receptor 4 (TLR4), an immune receptor that plays an essential r…

Vietnam’s fishers face rising costs, declining catches and a contested sea

Mongabay · Minh L Tran · 02/10/2026

QUANG NGAI, Vietnam — When diesel prices in Vietnam hit an all-time high in March, Vo Huu Viet, a fisherman with more than 30 years at sea in Quang Ngai province in Central Vietnam, did something he rarely does. He stayed on shore. “The catch is simply not enough to make up for…

Animals may have evolved vastly earlier than fossil evidence suggests

Phys.org · 02/10/2026

The earliest animals may have evolved hundreds of millions of years before their first unmistakable fossils appear in the fossil record, according to a new study led by the University of Oxford. The findings, published in Science Advances, suggest animals may have originated dee…

Q&A: Why are red squirrels endangered—and can we save them?

Phys.org · 02/10/2026

The red squirrel was once a familiar sight across Britain. Today, it has disappeared from much of its former range. Dr. Kat Hamill, senior lecturer in zoology at Nottingham Trent University, explains what has happened to one of Britain's most recognizable native mammals—and whet…

Probiotics prevented coral bleaching during a Red Sea heat wave: Study

Mongabay · Allessandra DiCorato · 02/10/2026

As a heat wave settled on the Red Sea in 2022, a patch of corals in a reef 15 kilometers (9.3 miles) off the coast of Saudi Arabia reacted differently than other corals. They’d been treated with probiotics, beneficial bacteria isolated from healthy corals, and those treatments p…

Natural-material bricks aim to give urban birds alternatives to nesting with trash

Phys.org · 02/10/2026

It's spring, and Australian birds are building their nests. But with what? Alongside grass and twigs, birds are collecting our trash. In 2023, a global study found litter in the nests of 176 different bird species, with common culprits including cigarette butts, plastic bags and…

Backshall makes nature 'cool' to inspire children

BBC · 02/10/2026

Steve Backshall says growing up with rescue animals helped inspire his passion for nature.

Permafrost, wetland, wildfire and freshwater emissions could amplify climate change by up to 30%, study finds

Mongabay · Liz Kimbrough · 02/10/2026

As frozen ground thaws in the Arctic, dead plants and animals locked in soils for thousands of years start to decay, releasing methane and carbon dioxide. Those gases trap heat from the sun and warm the planet. And the more the planet warms, the more Arctic permafrost thaws. Thi…

A conservation success story for New Zealand's heaviest insect

Phys.org · 02/10/2026

The success of a large-scale recovery program for wētāpunga/Little Barrier giant wētā, New Zealand's heaviest insect, has been officially documented in the New Zealand Journal of Zoology.

How to grow $25K into community-led conservation: Interview with Tanzania’s Mwambao

Mongabay · David Akana · 02/10/2026

UNGUJA, Tanzania — Decades before they would partner to build a marine conservation organization together, Ali Thani and Lorna Slade crossed paths in Tanzania. Years later, Slade returned to the East African country researching tourism for her master’s degree when she became inv…

Birdsong tells only part of a forest's story: Evolutionary trees reveal the rest

Phys.org · 02/10/2026

Birds calling back and forth in the morning make up one of the defining sounds of tropical forests. We're likely to assume that hearing or seeing more types of birds indicates a healthy forest.

The vanishing of aurochs: Genetic evidence reveals multiple stressors at the same time

Phys.org · 02/10/2026

Aurochs, the ancient ancestors of modern cattle, once roamed large parts of Europe, Asia and northern Africa. New research by an international team led by Lund University indicates that multiple factors contributed to their demise in northern Europe—one of the first areas where…

Uganda and NGO to co-manage sector of national park home to tree-climbing lions

Mongabay · Ashoka Mukpo · 02/10/2026

The Uganda Wildlife Authority (UWA) and the Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS) have signed a 10-year agreement to co-manage a portion of Queen Elizabeth National Park, famous for its tree-climbing lions. WCS will take over some day-to-day roles for the Ishasha Sector in the sou…

As Hong Kong heats up, calls grow for tougher rules to protect outdoor workers

Mongabay · June Wong · 02/10/2026

HONG KONG — On a mid-September day, Wong Ping-kuong, 74, and his colleagues worked quickly to spray clean an outdoor staircase and elevator landing. It was only mid-morning, but already hot. The temperature later rose to 31°Celsius (87.8°Fahrenheit). Wong has felt the impact of…

97-million-year-old fossils reveal the earliest known animal “GPS”

ScienceDaily · 02/10/2026

Mysterious 97-million-year-old magnetic fossils may be the oldest evidence of an animal using Earth’s magnetic field like a built-in GPS. Their sophisticated magnetic structure could have helped an unknown ocean creature navigate thousands of kilometers with surprising precision.

Wildlife traffickers are now targeting Indonesia’s critically endangered maleo birds

Mongabay · Spoorthy Raman · 02/10/2026

Maleos, black-and-white birds that stand 60 centimeters (2 feet) tall with a distinctive splash of blue, orange and yellow on their faces, roam Sulawesi’s thick tropical jungles. But when it’s time to lay their eggs, they arrive at communal nesting grounds: Sandy beaches heated…

As fires spread, Indonesia’s rubber growers draw on traditional ways to fight back

Mongabay · Taufik Wijaya · 02/10/2026

PENUKAL ABAB LEMATANG ILIR, Indonesia — Sumanti raced her motorcycle past the rubber trees as flames spread through the dry brush. No one had picked up the phone as the wildfire continued to grow out of control on Sept. 5. “The fire is already approaching our land,” Sumanti, 30,…

Women shoulder the burden of expanding wildfires in rural India

Mongabay · Mongabay.com · 02/10/2026

In the Indian Western Himalayas, women are the primary first responders to escalating forest fires. They risk their physical safety to protect homes and livelihoods despite receiving little formal support or equipment and no pay, reports contributor Swati Thapa for Mongabay. Utt…

Return of swarming moth spectacle has Australia in a flutter

Phys.org · 02/10/2026

Moth swarms so thick they can blot out the stars are fluttering across Australia, heralding a migratory spectacle unseen since the creature's brush with extinction nearly 10 years ago.

Mangroves keep waves at bay. A new study helps scientists predict how

Mongabay · Isabel Gil · 01/10/2026

Existing at the junction of land and sea, mangrove forests have long been heralded for their ecosystem services, including their ability to buffer coastal areas against storm surges and rising seas. Now, new research has found a way to predict just how much mangroves can diminis…

Camelina genome analysis reveals how wild relatives could expand crop breeding options

Phys.org · 01/10/2026

Camelina is a relatively new oilseed gaining interest for its potential use in food, livestock feed and renewable fuel markets. A newly published research paper provides insights into the camelina genome that could give breeders new tools to develop varieties with improved perfo…

Five new species of freshwater mussels in southern US uncovered by researchers

Phys.org · 01/10/2026

A new research paper published in Zootaxa describes five new species of freshwater mussels in the southern U.S., providing the scientific foundation for protecting the most imperiled group of animals in North America.

Yosemite toad killer may be hiding in their own homes

Phys.org · 01/10/2026

UCLA biologists have found the hiding place of a silent killer stalking threatened Yosemite toads: their own burrows. The Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis (Bd) fungus decimating amphibian populations around the world has long been thought to live in and infect the toads through th…

India’s isolated island tribes need autonomy to survive rising threats, says scholar

Mongabay · Mongabay.com · 01/10/2026

Isolated and contacted Indigenous tribes in India’s Andaman and Nicobar Islands face threats from illegal fishing, mega-development projects and misinformed government welfare policies that undermine their self-sufficiency, says Manish Chandi, a former research scholar who has s…

How the biological clock regulates phases of wakefulness

Phys.org · 01/10/2026

The circadian clock is an internal biological system that regulates sleep-wake cycles, as well as many physiological functions such as body temperature and hormone production. In many animals, this clock relies on a network of neurons that generates rhythms of approximately 24 h…

The ocean as a medicine cabinet: Researchers search for useful microbes

Phys.org · 01/10/2026

New medicines, crop protection products and treatments for fish diseases could have their origins on the seabed. That is where project coordinator Gilles van Wezel and project manager Mariana Avalos Garcia, both biologists in Leiden, together with their colleagues, searched for…

A first in Brazil: Black-faced lion tamarins vaccinated

Mongabay · Euan Marshall · 01/10/2026

On a Wednesday in July, deep in a coastal restinga area of Brazil’s Paraná state, muffled footsteps broke through the chirping of manakins. Three field researchers from the conservation NGO Society for Wildlife Research and Environmental Education (SPVS) moved carefully along a…

Wind turbine taller than the Eiffel Tower aims to boost German electricity production

Mongabay · Associated Press · 01/10/2026

SCHIPKAU, Germany (AP) — A wind turbine described by its developer as the world’s tallest now rises 365 meters (1,197 feet) above the sparsely populated landscape of eastern Germany, surpassing the height of the Eiffel Tower. The colossal turbine has been built at an existing wi…

Sea change: WildFin aims to improve fish behavior analysis in the wild

Phys.org · 01/10/2026

In the first year of her doctoral research, Abigail Grassick collected hours of underwater video as she studied fish communities living on bommies—individual clumps of coral—on the seafloor off the coast of Curaçao.

Mass sardine die-off pits survival of South Africa’s penguins against fishers’ livelihoods

Focusing on Wildlife · Supertrooper · 01/10/2026

It began on 28 July, when fishers near Saldanha Bay on the west coast of South Africa reported seeing dead sardines (also known as pilchards) floating at sea. Then, in early August, more dead sardines began washing up on beaches near Cape Town. In the weeks that followed, simila…

US-Argentina initiative aims to boost critical mineral, oil and gas exports

Mongabay · Maxwell Radwin · 01/10/2026

A new initiative between the U.S. and Argentina is meant to bolster investment opportunities and strengthen supply chains for critical minerals that could be used in the clean energy transition, such as copper and lithium. The Andes-Atlantic Corridor, announced Sept. 23, will ma…

Largest-ever jaguar analysis identifies how populations are connected across the Americas

Phys.org · 01/10/2026

An international team of researchers has produced the most comprehensive assessment to date of connectivity across the jaguar's range, identifying key habitats and movement corridors that could help guide conservation efforts for the Americas' largest cat.

Urban environments may be the ultimate training grounds for invasive species

Phys.org · 01/10/2026

As cities grow and urban sprawl expands, could these changing landscapes be giving invasive species a competitive edge? Scientists at the University of Florida Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences (UF/IFAS) say the answer may be yes, according to a new study from the UF/I…

Renewable energy companies fuel Brazilian data center boom, investigation finds

Mongabay · Mongabay.com · 01/10/2026

Renewable energy companies are driving most of Brazil’s plans for new data centers, according to a recent joint analysis by The Intercept Brasil and Mongabay. As of December 2025 there were 68 requests to connect data centers to Brazil’s national power grid with 65% registered b…

Gabon, home to the medicinal plant behind ibogaine, wants a fairer share of its global boom

Mongabay · Molly Helfend · 01/10/2026

LIBREVILLE — In the traditional-medicine corner of La Peyrie Market in Libreville, iboga comes in a repurposed clear rum bottle packed to the neck with pale bark powder, set among tinctures in old plastic bottles. Two men appeared within a minute on this day in July, and once th…

Dolphins keep their social and hunting lives in separate waters, study finds

Mongabay · Abhishyant Kidangoor · 01/10/2026

Dolphins, it turns out, don’t like to mix business and pleasure. Scientists have found that the marine mammals keep their feeding and hunting areas separate from the places where they socialize with one another. A study published in the journal PeerJ details how a team of resear…

Catalog of mitochondria across life's family tree unearths unusual functions

Phys.org · 01/10/2026

A research consortium has generated the broadest look yet at the proteins that make up mitochondria, capturing the organelle's diversity across multiple branches on the tree of complex life. With major contributions from Broad Institute scientists and its Proteomics Platform, th…

A year ago today, Jane Goodall died at 91. Her message is more important than ever

Mongabay · Rhett Ayers Butler · 01/10/2026

This is an abridged version of a piece I wrote shortly after her death a year today. I find it hard to believe Jane Goodall is gone. She was more than an icon to me. She was a friend, a mentor, and someone whose presence felt like both a gift and a lesson. Our […]

Chameleon embryos reveal early developmental feature once thought unique to mammals

Phys.org · 01/10/2026

Before most women know they're pregnant, an embryo has already begun organizing itself into the structures that will shape a developing body. Scientists have few opportunities to study those earliest stages of human development, making many of life's first steps difficult to obs…

This giant stick insect fooled scientists for decades

ScienceDaily · 01/10/2026

Scientists have identified two new species of large Australian stick insects, including one that lays extraordinary “lidded” eggs never before recorded in the group. The discovery also revealed that a familiar stick insect had been misidentified for decades, showing how much bio…

New “plant armor” more than triples strawberry yields

ScienceDaily · 01/10/2026

A new protective fabric boosted strawberry yields by as much as 3.56 times while blocking insects and still allowing sunlight, rain, and airflow to reach the plants. Originally inspired by research on military clothing, Plant Armor could also help farms reduce pesticide and wate…

From ‘community-based’ to ‘community-led conservation’ in Kenya: Interview with Dickson Kaelo

Mongabay · David Akana · 01/10/2026

NEW YORK — Long before Dickson Kaelo became one of the leading voices for community conservancies in Kenya, conservation was something much more personal. He grew up with livestock. His father was a veterinarian. And he knew firsthand the uneasy relationship between pastoralist…

Vantara in talks with Brazil on ‘strategic cooperation’ on threatened species, FOIA documents reveal

Mongabay · Fernanda WenzelSpoorthy Raman · 01/10/2026

Vantara, the billionaire-run Indian private zoo that houses more than 150,000 animals, discussed a “strategic conservation partnership” with authorities in Brazil, the world’s most biodiverse country, according to documents obtained by Mongabay under Brazil’s Freedom of Informat…

Giraldo Alayón García, Cuba’s ‘spider man,’ died on Sept. 24

Mongabay · Rhett Ayers Butler · 01/10/2026

Founder’s Briefs: An occasional series where Mongabay founder Rhett Ayers Butler shares analysis, perspectives and story summaries. For much of the 20th century, Cuba’s spiders and scorpions received limited attention beyond specialist circles. Identifying them required careful…

Rising seas could cost Australia economic losses of $855 billion, study finds

Mongabay · Shreya Dasgupta · 01/10/2026

Rising sea levels due to climate change could damage hundreds of thousands of properties and millions of hectares of land along Australia’s coastline by 2100, according to a recent study. This could cost the country an economic loss of $855 billion, researchers estimate. To calc…

Endangered dolphins survive in a Bangladesh river so polluted it’s ‘not livable’ for fish

Mongabay · Mongabay.com · 01/10/2026

At least 20 endangered Ganges river dolphins still survive in Bangladesh’s extremely polluted Buriganga River, a 12-month study found, reports contributor Md Jahidul Islam for Mongabay. Skirting the southern edge of the country’s capital, Dhaka, the 29-kilometer (18-mile) river…

The rare Bog Grass Moth found in nature reserve for first time

BBC · 01/10/2026

Experts called it a "special surprise" to find an "incredibly sparse moth" in this habitat.

Why do octopuses have three hearts, when humans only have one?

Focusing on Wildlife · Supertrooper · 01/10/2026

Compared to many other animals, octopuses have rather a complicated circulatory system to ensure oxygenated blood reaches the extremities of their multi-limbed body. Why do octopuses have three hearts? Octopuses pump their blood around their circulatory system using three hearts…

Indonesia’s new peatland agency faces questions over what it will do differently

Mongabay · Hans Nicholas Jong · 01/10/2026

JAKARTA — In 2016, following the most devastating land and forest fires in its recorded history the previous year, the Indonesian government set up an agency to restore peatlands, among the worst-hit biomes during the disaster. A decade later, following the most devastating land…

Wildlife tracking to fill gaps in monarch migration research

Phys.org · 01/10/2026

Every fall, monarch butterflies fuel up on nectar from Iowa's fall-blooming wildflowers before embarking on an extraordinary migration from North America to Mexico. But the pathways they take and how their travel is affected by weather and other factors have largely remained a m…

Myanmar’s polluting mines selling to China through Thai companies

Mongabay · Gerald Flynn · 01/10/2026

UMPHANG, Thailand — At 8 a.m. on June 26, at least 13 double-trailer trucks were lined up at the Pheung Khleung border crossing in northern Thailand — one of the few places where minerals can be legally transported overland from Myanmar into Thailand. Tensions were running high…

Bacteria can make plant-based foods healthier for humans and animals

Phys.org · 30/09/2026

New research from the DTU National Food Institute and Aarhus University shows that microorganisms can be used to specifically alter the amino acid composition of plant-based foods, making them more nutritious and therefore healthier.