Endangered Animals News

November 20, 2024

Top Headlines

New Model Can Help Understand Coexistence in Nature

Nov. 18, 2024 — Different species of seabirds can coexist on small, isolated islands despite eating the same kind of fish. A researcher has been involved in developing a mathematical model that can be used to better understand how this ecosystem ...

One or Many? Exploring the Population Groups of the Largest Animal on Earth

Nov. 15, 2024 — Hunted nearly to extinction during 20th century whaling, the Antarctic blue whale, the world's largest animal, went from a population size of roughly 200,000 to little more than 300. The most recent estimate in 2004 put Antarctic blue whales at less ...

50 Years of Survey Data Confirm African Elephant Decline

Nov. 11, 2024 — A study found large-scale declines of African elephants in the first continent-wide analysis of population survey data. Over 53 years of surveys, forest elephant populations decreased on average by 90%, and savanna elephant populations fell on ...

Algae Research Provides Insight on Immune Health

Oct. 30, 2024 — Marine animals like jellyfish, corals and sea anemones often live with algae inside their cells in a symbiotic relationship. The animals give the algae nutrients and a place to live; in return, algae give the animals some of the food they make from ...

Latest Headlines

updated 11:17pm EST

Frog Populations Once Decimated by Disease Mount a Major Comeback

Nov. 14, 2024 — Thanks to the consistent and focused efforts of researchers and conservationists to save, then reintroduce, mountain yellow-legged frogs to lakes in Yosemite National Park, their populations are ...

More Than One Third of Vietnam's Mammal Species Are at Risk of Extinction, Study Finds

Nov. 12, 2024 — A recent study highlights that over one-third of Vietnam's 329 mammal species are threatened with ...

Why Langurs Drink Salt Water

Oct. 28, 2024 — A new study shows the remarkable adaptability of the critically endangered Cat Ba langurs. Despite low genetic diversity, the langurs have retained key genetic traits that help them survive in their ...

Giant Clam Declared Critically Endangered After the Latest Assessment

Oct. 28, 2024 — Once abundant, the massive, colorful clam is now locally extinct in many regions, with a critical drop in population due to overfishing and climate ...

Move Along, Moose: Study Reveals the 'Most Canadian' Animals

Oct. 25, 2024 — What is the 'most Canadian' animal? Spoiler: it's not the beaver, or the moose. A new study ranks species of terrestrial vertebrates in Canada by their level of Canadian evolutionary distinctness: ...

New Parasite Discovered Amid Decline of California's Unique Channel Island Fox

Oct. 23, 2024 — In the 1990s, the San Miguel Island fox nearly went extinct, with numbers dropping to just 15. A recovery program increased their population by 2010, ...

Crustacean With Panda-Like Coloring Confirmed to Be a New Species

Oct. 24, 2024 — Decades after it was first found in Japan, a crustacean species with unique black-and-white coloring resembling a panda has been confirmed to be new to ...

Fossils Unveil How Southern Europe's Ecosystem Changed Through Glacial-Interglacial Stages

Oct. 23, 2024 — Fossils from more than 600,000 years ago reveal how Southern Europe's animal community shifted between warm and cold climate fluctuations, according ...

Researcher Works to Preserve the White Shark in the Mediterranean Sea

Oct. 22, 2024 — Biologists are working to save one of the most endangered white shark populations on the planet. The research team located signs of the remaining white sharks in the Sicilian ...

Modern Mass Extinction in an Ecuadorean Cloud Forest Found to Be a Mirage

Oct. 15, 2024 — An international team of botanists finds no proof of extinctions in Centinela, but abundant evidence that Centinela's flora lives on in the scattered remaining fragments of coastal Ecuador's ...

Smaller, More Specific Academic Journals Have More Sway Over Policy

Oct. 18, 2024 — Journals focused on ferns, clams, or coral reefs had proportionally more of their articles cited by the federal government when protecting species than more prominent, higher-impact journals. The ...

Tube Sock-Like Skunk Covers More Ground Than Deer, Impacted by Winter Weather, Study Finds

Oct. 15, 2024 — A study in the Cascade Range in Oregon of a tiny, elusive skunk found the animal can cover more ground than deer and is sensitive to climate change, particularly severe winter ...

Bonobos May Be More Vulnerable Than Previously Thought, Suggests Genetics Study

Oct. 15, 2024 — Bonobos, endangered great apes that are among our closest relatives, might be more vulnerable than previously understood, finds a genetics study that reveals three distinct ...

Adaptability of Trees Persists After Millions of Years of Climate Change

Oct. 14, 2024 — Seven of the most common forest trees in Europe have been shown to be able to shelter their genetic diversity from major shifts in environmental conditions. This is despite their ranges having shrunk ...

Dance, Gibbon, Dance!

Oct. 11, 2024 — Female crested gibbons display jerky, almost geometric patterns of movement. Researchers have studied these conspicuous movements, which are comparable to human dances. They describe the structure of ...

Whale Shark Shipping Collisions May Increase as Oceans Warm

Oct. 7, 2024 — Global warming could increase the threat posed to whale sharks from large ships, according to a new ...

The True Global Impact of Species-Loss Caused by Humans Is Far Greater Than Expected

Oct. 3, 2024 — The extinction of hundreds of bird species caused by humans over the last 130,000 years has led to substantial reductions in avian functional diversity -- a measure of the range of different roles ...

Scientists Use Tiny 'Backpacks' on Turtle Hatchlings to Observe Their Movements

Oct. 2, 2024 — Miniature accelerometers reveal new insights into the elusive period between turtles hatching and emerging above ...

Megadiverse Flowering Plant Family on Isolated Islands

Sep. 30, 2024 — Asteraceae, a family of flowering plants which includes daisies, sunflowers and asters, are the most diverse group of flowering plants in the world. This plant family comprises around 34,000 species, ...

Return of the Elephants Seals: From a Few to Thousands

Sep. 27, 2024 — A new international study has revealed the genetic impact of hunting in northern elephant seals. The research shows that this species narrowly escaped extinction by hunting, resulting in lasting ...

Forest Loss Forces Langur Species to Interbreed

Sep. 27, 2024 — Research shows a threatening development for two endangered primate species in Bangladesh: Phayre's langurs (Trachypithecus phayrei) and capped langurs (Trachypithecus pileatus). In mixed groups ...

Extreme Polar Light Environment of the North and South Poles Sustains Biodiversity

Sep. 23, 2024 — Researchers working in Finland propose that the unique light environment of the Earth's Polar regions creates conditions that result in circumpolar hybrid zones around the North and the South ...

What's for Dinner? Scientists Unearth Key Clues to Cuisine of Resident Killer Whales

Sep. 19, 2024 — Scientists have discovered the cuisine preferences of two resident killer whale populations, also known as orcas: the Alaska residents and the southern residents, which reside primarily in the Salish ...

Even Marine Animals in Untouched Habitats Are at Risk from Human Impacts

Sep. 18, 2024 — Climate change and a range of other human impacts are putting marine animals at risk of extinction -- even those living in almost pristine marine habitats and diverse coastal regions -- reports a new ...

If You Build It, Will They Come? Wildlife Corridors Need Smarter Design

Sep. 18, 2024 — A study reveals that current methods of designing and evaluating wildlife corridors may not be adequate to ensure wildlife protection, and suggests that Best Management Practices should include ...

Scientists Urge New Conservation Approach to Save Vulnerable Species from Climate Change Impacts

Sep. 18, 2024 — A team of scientists alarmed by the loss of biodiversity across the world due to climate change has proposed a new approach to managing vulnerable landscapes, focusing on sites that are least ...

Unravelling an Ancient European Extinction Mystery: Disappearance of Dwarf Megafauna on Palaeolithic Cyprus

Sep. 17, 2024 — Scientists have unravelled a mystery about the disappearance of dwarf hippos and elephants that once roamed the picturesque landscape on the Mediterranean island of Cyprus before palaeolithic humans ...

Highly-Sensitive Beaks Could Help Albatrosses and Penguins Find Their Food

Sep. 17, 2024 — Researchers have discovered that seabirds, including penguins and albatrosses, have highly-sensitive regions in their beaks that could be used to help them find food. This is the first time this ...

New 'Grumpy' Fish Species Discovered in the Red Sea

Sep. 16, 2024 — Scientists have discovered a new species of fish, the 'grumpy dwarfgoby'. Found among coral reefs in the Red Sea, it has large canines and a fierce expression, even though it is only 2 cm ...

How El Nino and Mega Ocean Warming Caused the Greatest-Ever Mass Extinction

Sep. 12, 2024 — Mega ocean warming El Nino events were key in driving the largest extinction of life on planet Earth some 252 million years ago, according to new research. The study has shed new light on why the ...