Endangered Animals News

September 9, 2016

Not One, but Four Giraffe Species

A Tenth of World's Wilderness Lost Since 1990s

Most Great Apes One Step Away from Extinction

Poaching Is Decimating Madagascar's Sea Turtles

Latest Headlines

updated 1:22am EDT

Historical Coexistence With Dingoes May Explain Bandicoot Avoidance of Domestic Dogs

Sep. 7, 2016 — Domestic dogs and cats were introduced to Tasmania two centuries ago, but bandicoots still fail to recognize these ... read more

Critically Endangered Whales in Russia Recovering

Sep. 6, 2016 — The critically endangered western gray whale population that feeds in Russia's Far East waters is slowly showing signs of recovery, but their numbers and range are still at risk from industry ... read more

European Earthworms Decrease Species Diversity in North America

Sep. 6, 2016 — European earthworms invading the forests of North America are responsible for a decline in species diversity in the forest understory. Scientists have now been able to ... read more

A Nonet of New Plant Species from Africa Emphasizes the Importance of Herbaria in Botany

Aug. 30, 2016 — Some collected 40 years ago, some as far back as a 100, nine new plant species from the custard apple genus Monanthotaxis ... read more

Deadly Duo: Study Reveals Role of Killer Shrimps in the Disappearance of Species in Central European Rivers

Sep. 1, 2016 — Researchers have discovered that the amphipod crustacean, which is native to the Ponto-Caspian region, is not a true ... read more

Habitat Is a Crucial Factor in Survivability of Released Tortoises

Aug. 31, 2016 — A team of wildlife experts has analyzed the effect of habitat quality on the survival and dispersal of released desert tortoises. Juvenile tortoises used in this study originated from eggs produced ... read more

Endangered Right Whale Population Threatened by Entanglements and Dramatically Declining Birth Rate

Sep. 1, 2016 — The most endangered large whale species in the Atlantic is threatened by increasing rates of lethal and debilitating ... read more

First Test of Oral Rabies Vaccine Brings Hope to the World's Rarest Canid

Aug. 31, 2016 — A new study reports on field trials of the oral vaccine SAG2 in Ethiopian wolves, Africa's most threatened carnivore and the world's rarest canid. The trials are the first ever conducted in wild ... read more

Massive Loss of African Savannah Elephants

Aug. 31, 2016 — The results of the first-ever pan-African survey of savanna elephants using standardized data collection and validation methods, has now been announced. The report confirms ... read more

A Lost Century for Forest Elephants

Aug. 30, 2016 — Because forest elephants are one the slowest reproducing mammals in the world, it will take almost a century for them to recover from the intense poaching they have suffered since ... read more

Tiger Sounds Could Help Save Population

London Zoo's Animals Have Annual Weigh in

Expert: S. African Great White Sharks Threatened

Violent Coral Bleaching Caught on Camera

Zolushka Sighting: The Tiger Cinderella Story Continues

Sep. 2, 2016 — Brought into captivity as a nearly starved, 3-month old cub, the tigress that became known as Zolushka (Russian for "Cinderella") flourished in a rehabilitation center designed to prepare ... read more

Species Conservation Profile of a Critically Endangered Endemic for the Azores Spider

Sep. 1, 2016 — Subject to continuing population decline due to various factors, an endemic cave-dwelling spider from the Azores is considered as Critically Endangered. To provide a fast output potentially ... read more

Monkeys in Zoos Have Human Gut Bacteria

Aug. 30, 2016 — Monkeys in captivity lose much of their native gut bacteria diversity and their gut bacteria ends up resembling those of humans, new research shows. The results suggest that switching to a low-fiber, ... read more

Shark Fins and Meat Contain High Levels of Neurotoxins Linked to Alzheimer's Disease

Aug. 29, 2016 — Scientists found high concentrations of toxins linked to neurodegenerative diseases in the fins and muscles of 10 species of sharks. The research team suggests that restricting consumption of sharks ... read more

Discovery of an Ape Virus in an Indonesian Rodent Species

Aug. 26, 2016 — The gibbon ape leukemia virus (GALV) is a medically important tool in cancer therapies. GALV is a retrovirus pathogenic to its host species, the southeast Asian lar gibbon (Hylobates lar) and thought ... read more

A Mammoth Undertaking: Can De-Extinction Be Ecologically Responsible?

Aug. 25, 2016 — Can the woolly mammoth be brought back from the dead? Scientists say it's only a matter of time. A conservation ecologist and colleagues have examined ecologically responsible de-extinction, and ... read more

Endangered Cuban Solenodon Evolved After the Extinction of Dinosaurs

Aug. 24, 2016 — The Caribbean islands form a natural laboratory for the study of evolution due to their unique biological and geological features. There has been heated discussion since the early 20th century on how ... read more

New Study Reveals Adaptations for Snub-Nosed Monkeys

Aug. 23, 2016 — In a heroic effort, researchers have now sequenced, assembled and analyzed the mutations in the genomes of 38 wild snub-nosed monkeys (from genome mapping of 42 individuals: 27 golden, four gray, two ... read more

BPA Can Disrupt Painted Turtles' Brain Development Could Be a Population Health Concern

Aug. 23, 2016 — Often, aquatic environments such as rivers and streams become reservoirs for BPA, affecting turtle habitats. Last year, a team of researchers determined that BPA can disrupt sexual function in ... read more

Warbler Genomes Look to Be 99.97 Percent Alike

Aug. 23, 2016 — New research shows that, genetically speaking, blue-winged and golden-winged warblers are almost identical. Scientists behind the research say the main differences between the two species are in ... read more

New Tiny Species of Extinct Australian Marsupial Lion Named After Sir David Attenborough

Aug. 23, 2016 — The fossil remains of a new tiny species of marsupial lion which prowled the lush rainforests of northern Australia about 18 million years ago have been unearthed in the Riversleigh World Heritage ... read more

Scientists Map Migration Paths of Arctic Breeding Birds

Aug. 22, 2016 — Conservation of intertidal habitat -- 65 percent of which has been lost over the last 50 years -- is critical to the survival of countless birds during migration on the East Asian Australasian ... read more

Logged Rainforests Can Be an 'Ark' for Mammals, Extensive Study Shows

Aug. 22, 2016 — Research reveals that large areas of 'degraded' forest in Southeast Asia can play an important role in conserving mammal ... read more

'Ecosystem Canaries' Provide Early Warning Signs of Catastrophic Changes to Ecosystems

Aug. 18, 2016 — 'Ecosystem canaries' can provide early warning signals of large, potentially catastrophic, changes or tipping points in ecosystems, say researchers. Like canaries that coal miners used to ... read more

Most Island Vertebrate Extinctions Could Be Averted, Concludes New Study

Aug. 18, 2016 — Eight of every ten species extinctions has occurred on islands, and invasive mammals are the leading reason for those losses. Currently, 40 percent of species at risk of global extinction are island ... read more

Small Population Size? It Doesn't Have to Mean That Species Can't Adapt to Environmental Change

Aug. 17, 2016 — Worldwide, there are 16,938 endangered species. From the white rhino to the blue whale, numbers are dwindling in the face of poaching, habitat destruction and climate change. Although the situation ... read more

And One Root Said to the Other Root, 'Don't I Know You from Somewhere?'

Aug. 17, 2016 — Findings show that cycad plants, like other plant species, utilize kin recognition. When planted with non-relatives, Cycas micronesica exhibit competitive growing ... read more

Neonicotinoid Insecticides Linked to Wild Bee Decline Across England

Aug. 16, 2016 — Exposure to neonicotinoid seed treated oilseed rape crops has been linked to long-term population decline of wild bee species across the English countryside, according to ... read more

New Species of Extinct River Dolphin Discovered in Smithsonian Collection

Aug. 16, 2016 — A fossil that has been in the collection of the Smithsonian's National Museum of Natural History since it was discovered in 1951 is today helping scientists piece together the evolutionary ... read more

Elbows of Extinct Marsupial Lion Suggest Unique Hunting Style

Aug. 16, 2016 — Scientists have proposed that the long extinct marsupial lion hunted in a very unique way - by using its teeth to hold prey before dispatching them with its huge ... read more

Friday, September 2, 2016