Facebook: Online shop of horrors for threatened Malaysian wildlife
Facebook is being used as a market place for people illegally buying and selling endangered, threatened and iconic Malaysian animals, according to a new report just released by TRAFFIC, an organisation that monitors wildlife trading networks and seeks to highlight and help abolish unethical practises. The report, Trading Faces: A Rapid Assessment on the use … Continued
Astronaut returns to Earth younger and taller than twin brother
If Albert Einstein is correct—and let’s face it, recent discoveries have proved that he has been right about pretty much everything so far—Scott Kelly is now slightly younger than his identical twin Mark. Not because he was born six minutes later (because, of course, identical twins are conceived at precisely the same time, regardless of … Continued
Supercute quoll leads bid to reintroduce threatened species to mainland Australia
Australia is famous for its fabulous menagerie of fantastic fauna, including many species that are unique to the great southern continent and have little respect for the rules of nature that apply elsewhere (yes, platypus, you egg-laying mammal, we are talking about you). Beyond the headline-hogging predators of the spider, snake, shark and crocodile worlds, … Continued
Reefscapers: Architects of evolution in the garden of Atlantis
Reefs right around the world are in strife—we all know this. Between warming waters, rising acidification, coral bleaching, yellow-blotch disease, over-fishing, climate-change and El Niño triggered mega-storms, oil spills, crown-of-thorn starfish invasions, sewage dumps and clumsy clod-footed tourists, life has never been harder if you happen to be part of a naturally occurring colony of … Continued
Spider sex: A scary world of bondage and cannibalism
Contrary to popular belief, being a spiderman sucks. Not only is your prospective mate often many times bigger than you, but after sex there’s a fair chance she’s going to kill and eat you. Being on the wrong end of an act of post-coitus cannibalisation is a genuine concern for many male arachnids, with their … Continued
Koala chlamydia crisis leads scientists to consider a cull of the cuddly animals
It’s been a grim month for Australia’s koala population, with scientists Down Under stating that around half of the country’s entire population is now suffering from a nasty and highly virulent strain of chlamydia, and one expert even suggesting that the only way to save the iconic animal might be to start killing them. The … Continued
Long live the king: Steps to curtail trophy hunting after Cecil’s death won't yet save Africa’s lions
While legions of people right across the world were outraged by the slaughter of Cecil the lion at the hands of dentist Walter Palmer in July 2015, many also hoped that the international attention would translate into positive change and a brighter future for Africa’s imperilled lions. In the wake of ‘Cecil-gate’, the US and … Continued
Will this zebra-sock-wearing giraffe survive the pushmi-pullyu politics of Central Africa long enough to reveal its secrets?
Like a character dreamt up for a Dr Doolittle spin-off film by an over-caffeinated CGI artist, the okapi resembles the result of a drunken night of ill-advised passion between a zebra and a giraffe. Yet this idiosyncratic animal’s predicament is anything but amusing. The rare and intriguing mammal from the deepest darkest forests of the … Continued
Why I like birds, by Commander Holly
This is Holly Conrad, aka Commander Holly. She makes monsters, does cosplay, games, and generally saves the galaxy. She’s a prolific YouTuber, Instagrammer and Twitterer, and also a big-time bird lover. At Love Nature we have to admit we didn’t know all that much about the hobby of bird fancying until we met Holly, so to keep our viewers in … Continued
Deadly toxic toads invade Madagascar
Madagascar is being invaded by a species of toxic toad that’s placing the African island’s unique native fauna in massive danger, also posing a significant threat to human health and even the nation’s economy, a new scientific study has revealed. The Asian toad (Duttaphrynus melanostictus), also known as the the Javanese, black-spectacled or black-spined toad, is … Continued
Britain's Wildlife Crime Unit facing extinction, but YOU can help save it
The agency tasked with combatting crimes such as illegal hunting and cruel sports in the UK is under severe threat of imminent closure, and time is fast running out to save it—but you can help. Since it was established in 2006, the National Wildlife Crime Unit (NWCU) has been investigating countryside criminality including deer poaching, … Continued
Hairy panic hits Australia
A small town in Australia is being invaded by hairy panic, and the authorities are at a loss to know what to do about it. Thankfully, this hirsute horror show has nothing to do with an influx of bearded hipsters on fixies, although it’s feared that it might cause an outbreak of yellow bighead disease, … Continued
Iceberg apocalypse for Adélie penguins
News reports emerged this week suggesting that as many as 140,000 Adélie penguins may have died on Cape Denison in Antarctica, after an iceberg the size of Rome slammed into the coast and blocked their access to the sea. According to the journal Antarctic Science, the snappily named B09B iceberg, which measures 1,120 sq miles … Continued
Maimed by a ghost, this turtle is getting a false flipper
Ossy the turtle might be missing a limb, but she is one of the fortunate ones—few animals that feel the clinging grasp of a ghost net live long enough for their tale to be told. Ossy got lucky, and this is her story. Just over two years ago, this olive ridley turtle was found in … Continued
Protestors cry fowl as Goa labels peacocks 'vermin'
The southern Indian state of Goa has controversially reclassified India’s national bird, the peacock, as vermin, in a move that paves the way for a potential cull of the spectacular species. The country’s most popular holiday destination has already ruffled feathers and shaken fronds this month by relegating its iconic coconut trees, from actual trees … Continued
The dark and depressing world of British poaching
The word poaching normally conjures up images of trophy hunters stalking lions in Africa or the illegal trade in elephant ivory and tiger skins. But what many people don’t realise is that poaching—the illegal shooting, trapping or capturing of wild or semi-wild animals—also takes place on British soil. Wildlife crime In the UK, poaching is … Continued
Tracing the death trail of Europe's beaching sperm whales
In its element, the open ocean, the sperm whale is an incredible force of nature. A highly evolved, supremely specialised survivalist, these magnificent mammals don’t do tourist-pleasing tricks on the surface for boats, à la humpbacks, but they are capable of diving for up to 45 minutes on a single breath, to depths of two … Continued
Migrating songbirds sex up their repertoire overseas
Some 65 per cent of male European songbirds who leave their northern homes to seek the sun during the winter, spend the off season stretching their vocal chords and rehearsing how to hit the high notes. That might be considered a bit strange when they could be conserving precious energy instead, before a long flight home and busy … Continued
Bees on the pill: Anarchy in the hive
It’s well known that, in the complex dynamics of a bee hive or an ant nest, female workers sacrifice their capability to have offspring in order to help the queen (their mother) reproduce, and it’s only when the big mumma dies that another bee or ant steps up to become the royal mother, almost magically … Continued
Chasing swans from Russia to England, on a paramotor
An intrepid conservationist is so concerned about the drastic drop in the population of a species of swan, she’s preparing to follow them as they migrate from the Russian Arctic to England, travelling through the air for 4,500 miles and crossing some of the most extreme terrain on the planet while, hanging from a flimsy … Continued
A spider named Cash (not Sue)
A newly discovered species of spider has just been named after Johnny Cash. The tarantula, which you can now call Aphonopelma johnnycashi (anything but Sue), lives in the foothills of Folsom Prison in California, where Cash famously recorded a live album while playing a series of concerts for inmates in the late 1960s. But that’s … Continued
The police raptors destroying drones
We’ve seen hawks hired to keep pigeons away from Wimbledon during the tennis, vultures tasked with finding thermals for paragliders and falcons employed by many seaside towns to scare seagulls away from chip shops, but police in the Netherlands this week started using raptors, mankind’s BFF (best feathered friends), for a whole new purpose: to … Continued
Game on for Melbourne Zoo's Xbox orangutans
Six orangutans at Melbourne Zoo in Australia have received a late Christmas present—their very own customised Xbox. The idea came about after researchers from the University of Melbourne’s Microsoft Research Centre for Social Natural User Interfaces (SocialNUI) discovered keepers had been using digital tablets loaded with art and music-based games as part of an enrichment … Continued
Crossing the mighty Atlantic Ocean, in a pedalo
Two men have just set off on an eccentric and ambitious adventure that, if it proves successful, will see them become the first people to use a combination of wind, oar and extreme pedal power to cross the Atlantic. And yes, we did mean pedal power. Because Anthony Ward-Thomas and James Ketchell are undertaking the … Continued
Researchers revive Antarctic moss piglets frozen after a three-decade long nap, and they’re really, really cute
Cryobiology, the study of biological materials that undergo moderate hypothermia to deep-freeze conditions, has long been considered a potential route to human immortality, but some microorganisms are already masters of the trick. In the spring of 2014 scientists with Japan’s National Institute of Polar Research decided to test the limits of frozen-life, resuscitating three microscopic … Continued
Astonishing new discovery points to oceans beneath the Earth
As we all remember from school, some 71 per cent of the surface of the globe is covered by water. But what if all that H2O was just the tip of the unfrozen iceberg? Imagine if, deep within our planet, just as much water again was sloshing around in a giant subterranean ocean. It’s enough … Continued