Was Lonesome George Not Really the Last of his Species?
The sad death of conservation icon Lonesome George this past June in the Galápagos Islands marked the long-dreaded extinction of the Pinta Island tortoise ( Chelonoidis nigra abingdoni )...
Extinction Countdown
News and research about endangered species from around the world
Last 22 Gobi Bears Endangered by Climate Change in Mongolia
Even as the ice-dwelling polar bear is threatened by climate change, so, too, is another bear that lives in a completely different habitat. In this case it's the critically endangered Gobi bear ( Ursus arctos gobiensis ), the only bear species that has adapted to desert life...
Controversial Toronto Zoo Penguins Not Gay after All?
What a difference a year makes. Last November, two male African penguins ( Spheniscus demersus ) living at the Toronto Zoo made worldwide headlines after they took more interest in each other than in members of the opposite sex...
Brazil Plans to Clone Its Endangered Species
If scientists in Brazil have their way, the populations of eight endangered species could soon expand through a mass effort to clone them. The project is spearheaded by the Brasilia Zoological Garden in partnership with Embrapa, the Brazilian government's agricultural research agency.The scientists have already spent the past two years collecting 420 genetic samples for the species—mostly from dead specimens found in the Cerrado savanna region—and are now waiting for legal authorization to start the cloning...
Last 500 Ethiopian Wolves Endangered by Lack of Genetic Diversity
The last wolves in Africa face a difficult road if they are going to survive. Just 500 Ethiopian wolves ( Canis simensis ) remain in the mountains of the country for which they are named...
Amazing: Rarest Whale Seen for First Time in History, but Not at Sea
In another example of how little we know about the natural world, scientists recently got their first up-close glimpse at the rare and elusive spade-toothed beaked whale ( Mesoplodon traversii )...
9 New Tree-Loving and Endangered Tarantula Species Discovered in Brazil
Nine new species of colorful, arboreal tarantulas have been discovered in central and eastern Brazil, an area where only seven tarantula species had previously been known.
New Lizard Discovered in Australia and Threatened by Incoming Housing Development
A tiny new lizard species has been discovered in Western Australia, and just in time: its only known habitat is already being destroyed.The six-centimeter-long coastal plains skink ( Ctenotus ora ) lives in the sand dunes of the Swan Coastal Plain, which starts about 70 kilometers south of Perth...
Habitat Loss, Misinformation Spur Chimpanzee Aggression
As tens of thousands of refugees crowd into the area around Virunga National Park in the warn-torn Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), the animals that already lived there are getting squeezed out their native habitats...
Female Komodo Dragons Die Young, Housework to Blame
An eight-year study of Komodo dragons ( Varanus komodoensis ) has revealed some interesting differences between the genders in the world's largest lizard species.
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