Wildlife

"The komodo dragon, the world’s largest lizard, is threatened with extinction as rising water levels driven by the climate crisis shrink its habitat, according to the latest “red list” update."

"Across the U.S. West this summer, helicopters buzz low, herding thousands of wild horses into gated areas. The roundups, made necessary by the devastating effects of wildfire and drought, show how climate change is endangering the iconic wild horses, livestock and other wildlife, according to ranchers, activists and the U.S. government."

"It was just before sunrise in July when the botanists Naomi Fraga and Maria Jesus threw on backpacks and crunched their way across a brittle alkaline flat in the hottest corner of the Mojave Desert. Their mission: to rescue a tiny plant teetering on the brink of extinction."

"Despite a few high-profile conservation success stories – like the dramatic comeback of bald eagle populations in North America – birds of prey are in decline worldwide."

"‘Eco-friendly’ lights found to be worse than sodium ones – but both contribute to insect decline, says study".

"A morning mist filled the valley near Hatgal, a small village at the southern tip of Lake Khovsgol in north central Mongolia. Glancing at the figures between the fragrant pines and larches, I could hardly distinguish the silhouettes of the reindeer from those of their herders."

"Heads up: There's an unwelcome visitor in Pennsylvania and officials are urging residents to take caution. The spotted lanternfly has been moving in and threatening agriculture and trees, according to the Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture."

"Scientists are now increasingly looking at animal vaccines as a means of saving wild populations of threatened species."

"President Joe Biden’s administration is sticking by the decision under former President Donald Trump to lift protections for gray wolves across most of the U.S. But a top federal wildlife official on Friday told The Associated Press there is growing concern over aggressive wolf hunting seasons adopted for the predators in the western Great Lakes and northern Rocky Mountains."

"Numbers of the country’s carrion-loving birds dropped by over 97% in the 1990s. Now, a successful breeding scheme is giving them a boost".