Secret mission saves Australia's 'dinosaur trees' from bush fires
A secret operation by specialist firefighters has saved the world's last stand of Wollemi pines, a prehistoric species known as "dinosaur trees," from Australia's unprecedented bush fires, officials said. Fewer than 200 of the trees exist in the wild, hidden in a gorge in the ...
Species-saving Galapagos giant tortoise Diego to be freed on native isle after 80 years abroad
Job done, the prolific Galapagos giant tortoise Diego is being released back into the wild after being credited by authorities with almost single-handedly saving his species from extinction. The 100-year-old tortoise, who was recruited along with 14 other adults for a captive breeding program, will ...
Fears raised that koala populations may never recover after Australian fires
Austin, a koala, sits quietly atop his "gunyah" — or shelter — built from tree branches and bark in his enclosure at the Port Macquarie Koala Hospital. Sue Ashton, president of the privately run clinic, says the fact Austin has climbed to the top of ...
Botswana bans pro hunting pair after killing of research elephant
Botswana's government has revoked the licenses of two professional hunters who shot dead a research elephant and then destroyed its collar to try to hide the evidence. In a statement late on Saturday, the environment and tourism ministry said that professional hunters Michael Lee Potter ...
With a population under a dozen, Okinawa dugongs labeled 'critically endangered' by IUCN
The International Union for Conservation of Nature has updated its Red List of Threatened Species, moving the dugong that dwell in waters off Okinawa Prefecture to the critically endangered category and putting it a step away from extinction. The organization warned that the number of ...
Alpine ecosystems at risk in 10 prefectures from climate change, researchers warn
Alpine animals and plants in 10 of Japan's 47 prefectures, such as Hokkaido, are likely to lose habitats within the country by the end of the 21st century as global warming worsens, a Japanese research team reported Wednesday. As temperatures in their living environments gradually ...
One-third of tropical plants in Africa threatened with extinction, study estimates
A third of the species of tropical plants in Africa are potentially threatened with extinction, according to a preliminary estimate published Wednesday by the journal Science Advances. The most authoritative list of threatened species is the famous "Red List" maintained by the International Union for ...
Stray and domestic cats prey on endangered species on Tokunoshima island
A team of researchers have found that stray and free-roaming domestic cats fed by humans are preying on rare species on Tokunoshima island in Kagoshima Prefecture. "We hope people will know that feeding promotes the population growth of cats and affects the natural environment," said ...
Fishing vessels pushing vaquita porpoise off Mexico to extinction: U.N. treaty chief
A rare species of porpoise is facing imminent extinction as fishing vessels appear to be flouting an international ban on them entering its last sanctuary, off the coast of Mexico, the head of a U.N. treaty said. There are thought to be fewer than 30 ...
The world's oldest captive white rhino, South African-born Sana, has died at the age of 55, the French zoo that she called home for the last 26 years said Thursday. Born in 1964 in the Umfolozi National Park in South Africa's eastern KwaZulu-Natal province, the ...
A DNA test has revealed that a stray dog found in the yard of a home on Australia's east coast is a rare purebred dingo, rather than an abandoned puppy as rescuers first thought. Found in the back garden on a house in Wandiligong, 330 ...
Amid boom in Japan, ban on trading endangered otters set to take effect
Amid booming demand for them as pets in Japan, a ban on the international commercial trade of endangered otters found in Southeast Asia will take effect later this month to protect the animals, which are affected by habitat loss and smuggling. Conservation groups have identified ...
