Endangered Animals News

March 2, 2025

Top Headlines

Bite-Size Clue May Help Rediscover the Missing Desert Rat-Kangaroo

Feb. 25, 2025 — An intriguing native Australian rat-kangaroo, thought to be probably extinct, may still be running around in the inhospitable remote Sturt Stony Desert -- and researchers have discovered new details about its feeding habits that might help to find ...

Koalas' Catch-22

Feb. 27, 2025 — New research highlights the unique dilemma faced by Sydney's koala population. Populations in south-western Sydney are among the very few in New South Wales still free of chlamydia, a highly contagious disease causing infertility that has severely ...

Genomic Tools Provide Clearer View of Health for Endangered Bats

Feb. 26, 2025 — How do wildlife researchers know when an endangered population is sick? They can detect infectious microbes in animal waste, but the presence of a microbe doesn't always equate to impactful symptomatic infections. Researchers used advanced molecular ...

Unexpected Discoveries in Study of Giraffe Gut Flora

Feb. 24, 2025 — The gut bacteria of giraffes are not primarily determined by what they eat, but by the species they belong to. This is shown in a new study in which researchers have analyzed the link between diet and gut flora in three giraffe species in Kenya. The ...

Latest Headlines

updated 6:14pm EST

Underwater Mics and Machine Learning Aid Right Whale Conservation

Feb. 21, 2025 — Using underwater microphones and machine learning (ML), researchers have developed a new method to estimate North Atlantic right whale numbers -- offering a potentially safer and more cost-effective ...

Scientists Call for Efforts to Protect Habitats of Critically Endangered Shark Species

Feb. 20, 2025 — The whitefin swellshark has been assessed by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) as Critically Endangered for a number of years ...

Turtles Change Nesting Patterns in Response to Climate Change

Feb. 20, 2025 — New research shows that turtles are responding to climate change by nesting ...

Urban Environments Promote Adaptation to Multiple Stressors

Feb. 19, 2025 — Animal populations from urban areas show significantly higher resilience to stressful environmental conditions. The mussel and crustacean species studied were able to adapt to disturbed environments, ...

Protected Habitats Aren't Enough to Save Endangered Species, Study Finds

Feb. 13, 2025 — In tropical forests, endangered species inside protected habitats are still in danger from threats from beyond their sanctuaries, according to a new ...

Reintroducing Wolves to Scottish Highlands Could Help Address Climate Emergency

Feb. 17, 2025 — Reintroducing wolves to the Scottish Highlands could lead to an expansion of native woodland which could take in and store one million tons of CO2 ...

Near-Complete Skull Discovery Reveals 'Top Apex', Leopard-Sized 'Fearsome' Carnivore

Feb. 17, 2025 — A rare discovery of a nearly complete skull in the Egyptian desert has led scientists to the 'dream' revelation of a new 30-million-year-old species ...

Where Do Invasive Species Spread and Why? Researchers Take a Novel Approach to Find the Answer

Feb. 12, 2025 — Researchers took a deep dive to understand why certain locations are more susceptible and attractive to invasions by non-native plants or animals, ...

Global Warming and Mass Extinctions: What We Can Learn from Plants from the Last Ice Age

Feb. 12, 2025 — Global warming is producing a rapid loss of plant species -- according to estimates, roughly 600 plant species have died out since 1750 -- twice the ...

Scientists Harness AI to Help Protect Whales, Advancing Ocean Conservation and Planning

Feb. 11, 2025 — Researchers have developed an artificial intelligence (AI) tool that will help predict endangered whale habitat, guiding ships along the Atlantic ...

Reforms Urged to Improve Global Wildlife Trade Regulation

Feb. 4, 2025 — This week, the world's governments are meeting in Geneva for the 78th meeting of the Standing Committee of CITES, the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and ...

The Cost of Preventing Extinction of Australia's Priority Species

Feb. 3, 2025 — A new study has estimated it would cost $15.6 billion per year for 30 years to prevent extinction for 99 of Australia's priority species. The research highlights the urgent need for increased ...

Tigers in the Neighborhood: How India Makes Room for Both Tigers and People

Jan. 31, 2025 — In India, tigers haven't just survived they're making a comeback. Despite a growing population and increasing pressure on their habitats, the number of wild tigers is rising. The reason? ...

Burn Grasslands to Maintain Them: What Is Good for Biodiversity?

Jan. 31, 2025 — As grasslands get abandoned, controlled burning is discussed as a labor-saving method of keeping forests at bay. A research team found that this method results in higher biodiversity and a higher ...

Polar Bear Population Decline the Direct Result of Extended 'Energy Deficit' Due to Lack of Food

Jan. 30, 2025 — Researchers have directly linked population decline in polar bears living in Western Hudson Bay to shrinking sea ice caused by climate ...

Sharks and Rays Benefit from Global Warming, but Not from CO2 in the Oceans

Jan. 30, 2025 — Sharks and rays have populated the world's oceans for around 450 million years, but more than a third of the species living today are severely threatened by overfishing and the loss of their ...

Landmark Genetic Study: Fresh Shoots of Hope on the Tree of Life

Jan. 29, 2025 — In the most comprehensive global analysis of genetic diversity ever undertaken, an international team of scientists has found that the genetic diversity is being lost across the globe but that ...

Protecting the Plains: Conserving Prairie Dogs Will Revitalize North America's Grasslands

Jan. 29, 2025 — Researchers have identified priority areas for conserving the black-tailed prairie dog in the United States. Protecting these regions will also benefit North America's Central Grasslands and the ...

Ecologist's Studies on the Effects of Prey Depletion on Populations of Large African Carnivores

Jan. 28, 2025 — Studies determine how prey density affects African wild dogs and ...

How Tiny Algae Shaped the Evolution of Giant Clams

Jan. 27, 2025 — New research reveals how resident algae altered the genome of these fabled sea creatures, allowing them to access more ...

Botanic Gardens Must Team Up to Save Wild Plants from Extinction

Jan. 27, 2025 — The world's botanic gardens must pull together to protect global plant biodiversity in the face of the extinction crisis, amid restrictions on wild-collecting, say ...

Underwater Mud Volcanos Are a Haven for Marine Organisms

Jan. 27, 2025 — One would think that a volcano was not the most hospitable place for living organisms. However, the Borealis Mud Volcano, at 400 m water depth, acts as a sanctuary for a number of marine ...

Preserving Asian Horseshoe Crab Populations Through Targeted Conservation Strategies

Jan. 27, 2025 — Biologists conduct the first comprehensive population study of all three Asian horseshoe crab species, mapping their population distribution, evolutionary histories and vulnerabilities to climate ...

Stronger Stress Response in Monkeys Helps Them Survive

Jan. 23, 2025 — Researchers used the environmental circumstances and fecal samples collected from the six years prior to the severe El Ni o drought in Costa Rica to study the relationship between the endocrinologic ...

New AI Technology Helps Scientists Detect Which Pollutants in England's Lakes Are Most Harmful to Life, and Identify Species Which Are at Highest Risk

Jan. 22, 2025 — Scientists can now identify the most harmful pollutants present in UK waters that are having the biggest impact on biodiversity thanks to pioneering AI ...

Love Bites? Scientists Identify Pre-Mating Behaviors of Whale Sharks in Coastal Western Australia

Jan. 13, 2025 — Researchers have witnessed behavior in the wild which could reveal critical clues about how the endangered whale shark ...

Ecologists Reveal Key Genetic Insights for the Conservation of Iconic Cockatoo Species

Jan. 13, 2025 — Ecologists have made valuable discoveries that could transform the conservation of two iconic cockatoo species: the Sulphur-crested cockatoos and the critically endangered Yellow-crested cockatoos -- ...

Chimpanzees Are Genetically Adapted to Local Habitats and Infections Such as Malaria

Jan. 9, 2025 — Chimpanzees bear genetic adaptations that help them thrive in their different forest and savannah habitats, some of which may protect against malaria, according to a study by an international ...

Did Prehistoric Kangaroos Run out of Food?

Jan. 9, 2025 — Prehistoric kangaroos in southern Australia had a more general diet than previously assumed, giving rise to new ideas about their survival and resilience to climate change, and the final extinction ...

Urgent Action Needed to Protect the Parma Wallaby

Dec. 27, 2024 — The creation of more fox-free safe havens and greater collaboration between government and landowners is needed to ensure the survival of a species of wallaby, an expert argues. The Parma wallaby, ...