FLORA FAUNA

5,060 articles

Bangladesh bans cattle painkiller to save vultures
Feb 09, 2021 (AFP)
Like elsewhere in South Asia, vulture numbers have plummeted in Bangladesh, with the population now estimated at just 260 compared to 50,000 in the 1970s. The m...
African coelacanth fish evolved dozens of new genes just 10M years ago
Feb 09, 2021 (UPI)
Scientists were even more surprised to find the species looked almost exactly the same as its earliest relatives. They called the fish a "living fossil." Fast f...
Bolivia probes deaths of 35 endangered condors
Feb 08, 2021 (AFP)
"It is an irreparable injury to our nature and the species," the environment and water ministry said. Deputy environment minister Magin Herrera confirmed 35 dea...
Dire study finds 40% of animals, 34% of plants face extinction
Feb 06, 2021 (UPI)
The Biodiversity in Focus: United States Edition report said 34% of plants and 40% of animals are at risk of extinction. The study is based on 50 years of data ...
World's tiniest reptile found in Madagascar
Feb 05, 2021 (AFP)
Tiny enough to perch comfortably on a fingertip, the ultra-compact chameleon -- dubbed Brookesia nana -- has the same proportions and world-weary expression as ...
Venus flytraps found to produce magnetic fields
Feb 04, 2021 (SPX)
"You could say the investigation is a little like performing an MRI scan in humans," said physicist Anne Fabricant. "The problem is that the magnetic signals in...
Tamed Gabonese monkeys face long journey back to the wild
Feb 04, 2021 (AFP)
Suddenly a man rushed out and yelled: "It's fine. Come and fetch your monkeys!" The owner of two small mandrills had just given way, letting the Save Gabon's Pr...
Albania under fire over airport plans in protected zone
Feb 03, 2021 (AFP)
The Balkan state is collecting tenders for a second international airport near Vlora, a popular beach destination for tourists. The Infrastructure Ministry conf...
Roadsides too noisy for birds to think, crickets to mate
Feb 03, 2021 (AFP)
Vehicle traffic makes it much harder for at least one species of bird to solve problems, and sharply compromises the ability of some crickets to mate, lab exper...
Rhino poaching down a third during lockdown in S.Africa
Feb 01, 2021 (AFP)
But the gains were marginally reversed when movement restrictions were loosened. At least 394 rhinos were slaughtered in 2020, down from the 594 recorded the pr...
Virunga park elephants kill two farmers in DR Congo
Jan 29, 2021 (AFP)
"The Congolese Institute for the Conservation of Nature confirms that two elephants from Virunga National Park (PNVi) yesterday (Thursday) caused the deaths of ...
Nicaragua operation rescues two endangered jaguar cubs
Jan 28, 2021 (AFP)
The poachers -- who had already killed the young cats' mother -- were caught red-handed and agreed to hand the animals over, but under one condition. They deman...
Nigeria seizes pangolin scales bound for Vietnam
Jan 27, 2021 (AFP)
Pangolin scales are traditionally used in China for a range of ailments, including treating blood clots, although there is no scientific evidence they have medi...
Senegal closes bird park after mass pelican deaths
Jan 27, 2021 (AFP)
A patrol in the Djoudj National Bird Sanctuary found "740 juvenile and 10 adult" pelicans dead on January 23, the environment ministry said. The ministry added ...
The surprises of color evolution
Jan 26, 2021 (SPX)
Bees and other insects visit flowers to feed on nectar and pollen. In exchange for these goodies, they assist the reproduction of these plants by pollinating th...
EU chief calls for Paris-style biodiversity pact
Jan 26, 2021 (AFP)
Addressing the World Economic Forum by videolink, von der Leyen said the EU would lobby for such a deal at the COP-15 UN biodiversity summit in Kunming, China e...
Hippos can recognize familiar voices, new study finds
Jan 24, 2021 (UPI)
The study indicates that the giant herbivores can identify each other by their signature, noisy "wheeze honk." When hippos hear a familiar call, they're less li...
A quarter of known bee species haven't been seen in more than 20 years
Jan 22, 2021 (UPI)
According to a new survey, published Friday in the journal One Earth, roughly a quarter of known bee species haven't made an appearance in public records in mor...
Spitting cobras have evolved the same venom three different times
Jan 21, 2021 (UPI)
According to a new survey of spitting cobras, published Thursday in the journal Science, the deadly snakes have evolved the same instantly painful venom on thre...
Butterflies create jet propulsion with a clap of their wings
Jan 20, 2021 (AFP)
Scientists at Lund University in Sweden set out to verify a decades-old theory that insects "clap" their wings together, squeezing out the air between with such...
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