Mongabay · Page 44

MICHEWENI, Tanzania — Botanists have found a stand of rare trees in Tanzania’s Zanzibar archipelago not known to grow wild anywhere else in Africa. The intsia trees (Intsia bijuga) were found growing within moist coastal forest in the north of Ngezi Forest…

For more than two decades, researchers knew of just a single, male individual of the greater mouse-eared bat that would repeatedly hibernate in an unused railway tunnel in Sussex, U.K. This male bat became known as the “loneliest soul in Britain” since he…

Two dogs specially trained to sniff out truffles have helped researchers identify two new-to-science truffle species in the U.S., according to a recent study. Truffles, synonymous with luxury fine dining, are the fruiting bodies of fungi belonging to the genus…

Authorities in Indonesia have made yet another major seizure of smuggled songbirds, highlighting the persistent pressure from a trade with deep cultural roots in the country. The shipment of 6,860 songbirds from West Nusa Tenggara province was intercepted on…

In 2019, scientists rediscovered a species of miniature deer long lost to science within the dry coastal forests of southern Vietnam’s Nui Chua National Park. A victim of snaring, the silver-backed chevrotain (Tragulus versicolor) hadn’t been seen by…

MOROGORO, Tanzania – Rats have long been misunderstood, often seen as pests rather than pals. However, the African giant pouched rat, the largest in the world, possesses special qualities that have caught the attention of a group of scientists in Tanzania.…

MOROGORO, Tanzania — Often dismissed as pests, rats have long been misunderstood. But the African giant pouched rat (Cricetomys gambianus), the world’s longest, is challenging that perception. With its intelligence and super sense of smell, this species…

Five years ago, the COVID-19 pandemic served as a wake-up call. Since then, health experts worldwide have sat on tenterhooks, hyperaware that pathogens can jump from animals to humans at any moment, bringing the next disruptive global health crisis that kills…

Hundreds of thousands of Atlantic salmon (Salmo salar) died on fish farms in Scotland in the final months of 2024. The mass mortality events took place as a parliamentary committee concluded an inquiry into the industry, saying it was “disappointed” by the…

More than half of the tree cover in Pacific atolls is largely composed of “abandoned and overgrown” colonial-era coconut palm plantations, reveal satellite images in a study published in December 2024. What the study says: While coconut palm is an integral…

Insect conservation NGO the Xerces Society recently petitioned the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency to expand its requirement of data to evaluate pesticides can that hurt bees. Scientists say improving pesticide safety for bees would benefit many other…

Charmed by the picturesque beaches and enchanting temple complexes, millions of tourists flock each year to the tiny Indonesian island of Bali to experience its unique culture and art. When they leave, many take home a piece of Bali in the form of souvenirs,…

KATHMANDU — A brewing controversy over private cable car projects in Nepal’s hills has taken a new turn after the country’s planning commission quietly gave “national priority” status to a venture in the Annapurnas, despite pending legal verdicts and…

Humans like to study themselves in a mirror. But wild baboons, when presented with a mirror, don’t seem to recognize they’re staring at their own selves, a new study has found. For decades, researchers have tried to understand if other animals are…

The bobcat population has rebounded over the past 125 years, making it North America’s most common wildcat: as of 2011, there were an estimated 3.5 million bobcats in the United States alone, a significant increase from the late 1990s. These intelligent…

Japan: Record-breaking snowfall wreaked havoc in northern Japan last week, leaving at least three people dead and 54 injured as of Feb. 10, according to Japan’s Fire and Disaster Management Agency. Among the worst hit regions were Hokkaido, the country’s…

Exports of long-tailed macaques from Cambodia will remain legal pending further review, despite recommendations for a suspension to prevent poaching of the critically endangered monkey from the wild. The proposed suspension had been raised at last week’s…

The indri, a critically endangered lemur only found in Madagascar’s rainforest, might hold clues about the human knack for musicality, a Mongabay video explains. Indris (Indri indri) are one of the largest living lemurs, and among the few primates that sing.…

It’s a proven fact: the relationship between rising global temperatures and the number of climate-related disasters is directly proportional. From 1991 through 2023, each rise of 0.1°C in the average global air temperature led to 360 new records of…

TANJUNG LEIDONG, Indonesia — At around 5:30 a.m., after the tide starts to recede, Zulkifli Dalimunthe rushes to the shore a stone’s throw from his house, where he anchors his small wooden boat. Working by himself, the 40-year-old fisher usually takes his…