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A thick-thumbed bat, a color-changing lizard, and a Muppet-looking orchid are just a few of the 380 new-to-science species found and described in the Greater Mekong region of Southeast Asia between 2021 and 2022.

In a report released this week by WWF, researchers highlight the remarkable diversity in this underexplored hotbed of life. The report documents the collaborative efforts of hundreds of scientists who ventured into Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar, Thailand and Vietnam to survey the biodiversity there in what is sometimes called the Indo-Burma hotspot. They identified 290 plant, 19 fish, 24 amphibian, 46 reptile and one mammal species.

“These remarkable species may be new to science but they have survived and evolved in the Greater Mekong region for millions of years, reminding us humans that they were there a very long time before our species moved into this region,” said K. Yoganand, WWF-Greater Mekong regional wildlife lead. “We have an obligation to do everything to stop their extinction and protect their habitats, and help their recovery.”

The report highlights several notable new species, including the Cambodian blue-crested agama (Calotes mystaceus), an aggressive lizard known for changing color to defend itself against predators.

A field survey team in Phnom Samkos, Cambodia. Image © Gábor Csorba.

The Suzhen’s krait (Bungarus suzhenae), an extremely venomous snake named after Bai Su Zhen, a snake goddess from a popular traditional Chinese myth, the Legend of White Snake, was described in 2021.

Another find is the Hayes’ thick-thumbed myotis (Myotis hayesi), a bat with unique fleshy thumbs that distinguish it as a separate species. A preserved specimen of the bat had been stored in a Hungarian museum for 20 years before its identification.

The report also mentions Khoi’s mossy frog (Theloderma khoii), so named for its mossy-green skin that allows it to blend in with lichens and moss. Additionally, scientists described the miniature orchid Dendrobium fuscifaucium, which displays vibrant pink and bright yellow colors reminiscent of the Muppets who sang the song “Mah na mah na.”

However, many of these newly described species already face the threat of extinction due to human activity, prompting WWF to call for increased protection of their habitats by regional governments.

For instance, Cleyera bokorensis, an evergreen shrub, is threatened by the development of a Cambodian casino. Likewise, the Thai crocodile newt (Tylototriton thaiorum) in Vietnam is threatened by agricultural encroachment, logging, and its use in traditional medicine.

“To reverse the rapid biodiversity loss in the region, more concerted, science based, and urgent efforts need to be made, and conservation measures need more attention from governments, NGOs and the public,” said Truong Q. Nguyen, one of the report authors from the Institute of Ecology and Biological Resources at the Vietnam Academy of Science and Technology.

A Khoi’s mossy frog (Theloderma khoii). Image © Nguyen Thien TAO.

Nguyen emphasized the need for immediate action and the adoption of advanced technologies like bioacoustics and genetic sequencing to learn what lives in this biodiversity hotspot.

The Greater Mekong region is a vast area that straddles six countries in Asia: China, Myanmar, Laos, Thailand, Cambodia and Vietnam. The region covers an area of 81 million hectares (200 million acres), an area roughly the size of Texas and Arkansas.

The Mekong River is at the heart of the region, stretching some 4,900 kilometers (3,000 miles) from the Tibetan Plateau to the South China Sea. The Mekong River is the largest inland fishery in the world, providing a livelihood for millions of people and accounting for up to 25% of the global freshwater catch.

The region is home to iconic animals such as Asian elephants (Elephas maximus), tigers (Panthera tigris), Sunda pangolins (Manis javanica) and giant freshwater stingrays (Urogymnus polylepis). Since 1997, the total number of plants, fish, amphibians, reptiles, birds and mammals described in the Greater Mekong region has reached 3,389 species.

The rapid social and economic development in the Greater Mekong region poses significant challenges for conservation efforts. The most urgent threats to the region’s wildlife and habitats include the construction of hydropower dams, climate change, illegal wildlife trade, and loss of natural habitats.

“While the Mekong region is a global biodiversity hotspot, it is also experiencing a vast array of threats,” Nilanga Jayasinghe, WWF-US Asian species manager, said in a statement. “We must continue to invest in the protection and conservation of nature, so these magnificent species don’t disappear before we know of their existence.”

This article by Liz Kimbrough was first published by Mongabay.com on 24 May 2023. Lead Image: Calotes goetzi, an agamid lizard found in the Greater Mekong region. Image © Henrik Bringsoe.

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In the Alps and Apennines of southern Europe, nearly all the longhorn beetles are moving uphill, and way up at the peaks, the isolation of a brown butterfly with orange-tipped wings is pushing it towards extinction. This is a snapshot of a global trend. With temperatures rising and pressure on biodiversity growing, insects vital to our ecosystems are not only moving north and south, but up.

Research shows many animals are making similar moves, but insects’ high levels of mobility and short generation times allow them to respond quickly to change, meaning the uphill momentum can be rapid. Bumblebees in the Pyrenees have moved upwards on average by more than a metre a year, with some species making significantly greater journeys. Moths on Borneo’s Mount Kinabalu have followed suit.

All of this makes them a useful indicator of the speed of global heating and ecological impacts at higher altitudes – often biodiversity hotspots and havens for endemic species. To try to grasp the implications, scientists are filling their backpacks and lacing up their walking boots.

“If you want to track climate change on a mountain, you go a few metres. To do that with latitude, but on a flat basis, you have to move many kilometres,” says Prof Jane Hill from York University, who has spent years studying insects at elevation in the UK and the tropics.

Up and away: geometrid moths such as Plutodes flavescens are ascending the slopes of Mount Kinabalu, Borneo. Photograph: Biosphoto/Alamy

While the broader altitude shift is disquieting in itself, studies have also shown that reproduction and development can be hit as insects move upwards. Other possible effects are simply unknown. What is undoubtedly true is that they are not uniformly distributed, and in general, the greatest existential threat does not face those making initial forays up from the lowlands.

For species long adapted to the cooler air of higher slopes, there are fixed limits to how far they can move to find conditions conducive to survival. And yet well over half of the mountain-dwelling insects that have been studied are shifting upwards.

An upland insect close to Hill’s heart is the mountain ringlet (Erebia epiphron), a priority species in the UK biodiversity action plan. After colonising the UK following the last ice age, this dark brown butterfly with orange “eyespots” on its wings has retreated northwards and upwards to the point it now only exists at high altitudes in Scotland and the Lake District. This isolation has made the populations genetically distinct.

“It’s not a butterfly you work on if you don’t like climbing a lot of mountains,” says Hill. “But the outcome is fabulous because you’re up on the tops of these hills with beautiful clear views, because of course the butterflies only fly when the weather’s pretty good.”

A lot of species are being lost regardless of climate. But the evidence is that climate is adding to that pressure

Dr David Roy, Centre for Ecology and Hydrology

Without a reversal of prevailing trends or some creative intervention, such scenes are likely to become ever rarer. “The work we’ve done comes from the perspective of conserving their unique genetic diversity. Projections for climate change suggest that at the end of the next few decades, populations will disappear and we’ll potentially lose that,” she says.

The mountain ringlet is not the only threatened Erebia butterfly. The likes of the Scotch argus (Erebia aethiops), also in Britain, and the dewy ringlet (Erebia pandrose)in Italy and elsewhere are also feeling the thermal and genetic squeeze. Local extinctions of these specialists have long been occurring, with global heating a significant cause. Whether this leads to a more general disappearance rests on what happens now.

In ecology, finding the “smoking gun” to neatly explain any phenomenon is generally elusive, and so it is here. Uphill movements are associated with factors beyond climate; the package of “stressors” synonymous with the so-called “insect apocalypse”. For Dr David Roy of the Centre for Ecology and Hydrology, the UK illustrates this well.

“If you think about upland species in England, they would typically be hanging on in habitats like heathland or wetland. These habitats are being built on for houses, or they’re being farmed, or they’re being made more intensive. So a lot of those sorts of species are being lost anyway, regardless of climate. But I think the evidence is that climate is adding to that pressure.”

Loss of ice and snow is synonymous with global heating, and its impact can be felt by upland insects that both develop on land and in water.

Mountain retreat: longhorn beetles such as Rosalia alpina feed on decaying wood. If global heating causes their food source to disappear, they will have to move. Photograph: Biosphoto/Alamy

There have been some dire habitat loss predictions for aquatic insects at elevation because of glaciers melting, which affects the temperature and flow of rivers and streams. With these species tending to spend the vast majority of their lives in water as juveniles, it’s hardly a surprise that 51% of high-altitude freshwater species are now classed as “highly vulnerable”.

For terrestrial mountain species, snow cover can act as a buffer against extremes. If it melts, there’s a chance that things will get much more difficult for those whose development relies on snow as an insulating “blanket” to protect them at their most fragile.

“One thing that people don’t think about as much is context: how the environment or the climate has different effects at the egg stage or the larval stages of insects,” says Prof Christy McCain, who runs Colorado University’s Mountain Lab. “We tend to always measure the adults and in summer, but that might not be the most critical time for effects of climate change, and particularly on mountains where it gets incredibly cold and dry.”

For some insects, it might be a case of the bigger and more mobile they are, the better their chances of survival

McCain believes that the way data has been collected historically is hampering their understanding, with a glut of museum specimens from low elevations, and far fewer from higher up. And while numerous studies have looked at butterflies and moths, many other groups have been neglected.

“There’s definitely a bias towards certain charismatic species. The rest of the insects, they’re just so diverse and we know so little about them,” she says.

To illustrate her point, she refers to research on carrion beetles by a student at her lab. It has shown that climate tolerance may well be an inherited characteristic in this vital group of insects, which have a major hand in decomposition and live in microhabitats that could provide some protection against the extremes. The simple fact that insects such as these have been around since the Cretaceous, living through incredible climate changes, may also favour adaptation now.

There is no such thing as a “standard insect” or response to environmental change. For some groups, it might be a case of the bigger and more mobile they are, the better their chances. There is also no generic upland habitat – and this too could prove a saving grace.

Microclimates can have a disproportionate effect at higher altitudes, with landscape features resulting in cooler and warmer patches. In some locations, climatic effects may be somewhat cushioned, allowing the most exposed species to hang on.

“In areas such as the Pyrenees, there’s quite widespread abandonment of traditional farming in montane habitats, essentially because it’s hard work. Young people are moving out into the cities, and the older generation who used to farm these places are either not here any longer or have given up,” says Roy.

Carrion beetles such as Necrophila americana may show resilience to the climate crisis. Photograph: Danita Delimont/Alamy

“Some of those habitats are actually becoming more wooded, and this may be having the effect of cooling those environments at the same time as the climate is warming, and that might buffer against the loss of some of these species.”

Because of their enormous biomass contribution to ecosystems, changes in range and behaviour in social insects such as ants, termites and bees are an area ripe for study, says Dr Tom Rhys Bishop from Cardiff University.

His work is serving to underline the nuance at the heart of discussions around climate, habitat loss and biodiversity. In the tropics, ground-nesting ant species seem to be less at risk from rising temperatures than those that nest in tree canopies or leaf litter, quite simply because in response to the change, they can simply dig their nests deeper. Ants have shown an ability to adapt to both warm and cold conditions.

The huge impact of ant colonies on ecosystems could neatly serve to shed light on another important consideration: just what impact new arrivals at higher elevations have on those already there.

As things stand, the picture is not clearcut. In the Appalachian mountains, Aphaenogaster rudis, a traditionally low-elevation ant species, is displacing the closely related but cold-adapted species Aphaenogaster picea as it shifts upwards. In South Africa, a focus area for Bishop, similar phenomena have yet to be seen. There remain vast unknowns about such interactions, as well as much more fundamental matters.

“With climate change, things are going to get on average hotter, but also drier. That’s a major stress. But we have very little information on how lots of organisms respond to desiccation and aridity. So I’d say more information on physiological tolerances and performances is key,” says Bishop.

For social insects such as ants, bees and termites, a full understanding of the state of play across any range shift is all about the numbers.

On a wing and a prayer: the UK’s Scotch argus butterfly population is threatened by the climate crisis. Photograph: Mark Hicken/Alamy

“It’s hard to find out, for example, how many new ant queens initiated colonies. That’s quite a different, practical problem to saying how many new elephant calves were born this year in Kruger National Park, where we can see all the elephants, tag them and follow them,” he says. “Getting a handle on these population level questions is really important for understanding climate change responses, yet we are almost completely blind within ants and all other social insects as to what those patterns might be.”

Tracking ants isn’t the only logistical problem faced by those collecting the data to fill considerable knowledge gaps. The mere fact that mountains can be remote and difficult to access is a fundamental barrier, albeit one that could be overcome with a mix of “citizen science” data from those visiting mountainous regions, and automated approaches.

“We’ve sort of gone from saying, ‘Insects have shown us some really important things about how humans are altering the landscapes’, to now thinking, ‘Right, now that they are shifting and showing these changes, and that climate change is being detrimental for many species, how can we go about thinking about how to conserve them?’” says Hill.

One of the more radical proposals is to assist genetically isolated species at the limits of their range in finding suitable homes. This might mean introducing species to unoccupied areas of suitable climate to preserve their DNA, or else moving them to areas with existing populations, which could improve genetic diversity as well as their capacity to adapt to further change.

While the underlying logic of such a plan seems sound, the idea of humans moving insects from one place to another tends to raise concerns that such intervention will have unintended effects on ecosystems. Hill is undeterred.

“I think we could bring together those with knowledge of how you can successfully do it, then draw up good guidelines,” she says.

Assuming the risks are judged to be low, it would then be a question of what appetite conservation organisations have for investing in the idea. It’s relatively easy to garner support for projects protecting the habitats of easily recognisable insects that provide clear benefits such as pollination in the lowlands. For that biodiversity which is “out of sight, out of mind” for many, a stronger case may have to be made.

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On 7 May, I tweeted that swifts had appeared in the skies over the shed where I write on the same day in 2022, and predicted, if they kept to their schedule, they would leave overnight on 7 August. My excitement was short-lived. I’ve seen no more than three or four breeding pairs over the village of Blockley, Gloucestershire, whereas last year I estimated 16 to 20 pairs and an end of season exodus of between 50 and 60 birds.

My figures are hardly scientific, but they suggest a decline of between 75% and 85% on last year, an acceleration in an established trend that shows a loss of 60% of swift numbers since 1995.

In 20 years, flying insects have declined in Britain by 60%. Worldwide, 33% of all insects are at risk of extinction

Last year, I saw something miraculous when returning from a walk at dusk. The village swifts were gathered in a screaming mob. With each pass over the church and the green, they rose higher and higher. At length, I realised they were aiming for a wave of birds flying at great altitude. Binoculars confirmed hundreds of swifts heading south-west.

The disappearance of swifts from our skies is one of the saddest prospects of this epoch of casual extermination. At a minimum, we should recognise what’s happening, and understand that a creature that can fly 1m kilometres in its lifetime and takes our imaginations with its soaring flight is about to join other rare but once common species – the cuckoo, curlew, lapwing, sparrow, numerous migrating warblers, and even the starling.

It’s not as if there aren’t numerous swift groups around the country trying to support the bird with breeding boxes, and inserting swift bricks into walls. Yet these are useless without abundant supplies of insects, and that is where the crisis mostly lies. In the past 20 years, flying insects have declined in Britain by 60%. Worldwide, with current rates of decline, 33% of all insects are at risk of extinction.

I am haunted by a little pink notebook, containing the tiny drawings of my ancestor Anne Porter from 1800 onwards. Between the pages of her view of a watermill, from the 1820s, is a butterfly, perfectly preserved. It is a Scotch argus. This is the only one I have seen, for they are rare and almost gone in England. Between other pages are tiny thunderbugs, or thrips, which hatched in July in their billions but no longer trouble us today.

What haunts me is the unthreatened profusion of bugs in Anne’s lifetime compared with their scarcity today. Go out into the countryside, local park or waste land and you will see far fewer insects than five or 10 years ago. The bugs that smeared your windscreen are almost gone.

So, what do we do? We start by recognising what’s happening on our watch. We put up boxes. We allow our lawns to grow out until July and see wildflowers take hold. We stop using garden pesticides, felling trees and clearing insect habitat. We compel water companies to stop polluting. We form groups and interrogate local farmers about the pesticides they’re using. We show our children, maybe with a cheap magnifying glass, the wonder of a bronze beetle or a red soldier beetle crawling across the lace work of a hemlock flower. Nature is not something separate. It’s not a resource. It is us, our world. Concentrate!

Henry Porter is a writer and journalist specialising in liberty and civil rights

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Conservationists say forest areas that include 41,000 hectares of nationally important koala habitat have been identified for potential logging on the north coast of New South Wales in the region’s 12-month logging plan.

The analysis, by the North East Forest Alliance, comes as pressure grows on the NSW government to cease logging of native forests after the Victorian government announced logging in its native forests would end in December, six years earlier than planned.

“Both the NSW and commonwealth governments have got to stop logging in areas they have identified as the most important koala habitat,” Dailan Pugh, the president of the North East Forest Alliance, said.

Pugh analysed a supplementary report to the national koala recovery plan that identified areas of habitat that were considered of national importance. The threat status of koala populations in NSW and Queensland was upgraded to endangered in 2022 in recognition of the species’ continued decline due to land clearing and catastrophic bushfires.

Pugh said 41,000 hectares of nationally important koala habitat was found in compartments identified for potential logging on the north coast, including areas of the proposed great koala national park and large areas of forest outside it such as Double Duke state forest.

He said about 9,000 hectares of this were in areas where there was active logging.

“These areas continue to be logged despite being identified as the most important koala habitat we know of,” he said.

The analysis also references a 2017 report by the NSW environment department that identified “koala hubs” – significant areas of koala habitat – in the state and notes state governments had not acted since that time to protect these areas.

The Greens MLC Sue Higginson, who has attended forest protests in northern NSW, called on the “NSW and federal Labor governments to act immediately to protect the 40,000 hectares of nationally important koala habitat”.

She said the Victorian government had set an example to follow.

“Koalas are listed as threatened with extinction at both the state and federal level and without intervention will be extinct in NSW by 2050,” she said.

“The NSW government has all of the tools and information that they need to end native forest logging now, at a very minimum they need to work with their federal colleagues to protect vital koala habitat from profitless logging.”

Guardian Australia revealed this week that the Perrottet government found native logging could be ended in NSW without costing the budget.

The new NSW environment minister Penny Sharpe said Labor had committed to no logging moratoriums before the election and “I stand by that promise”.

“The government wants to create the Great Koala national park as soon as possible. During the election we laid out a process for its creation.”

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“As the process is being established, the [Environment Protection Authority] is engaging with Forestry Corporation of NSW to encourage them to take a precautionary approach to conducting forestry operations in areas with highly suitable koala habitat.”

Federal environment minister Tanya Plibersek said regional forest agreements would have to comply with new national environmental standards being developed as part of broader reforms to national environmental laws.

“We are committed to reforming Australia’s environment laws. These laws are broken,” she said, adding native forests were valuable for their carbon storage and habitats.

“Endangered animals like koalas, Leadbeater’s possums and greater gliders are all affected by native logging,” she said.

“We also know there are economic benefits from protecting native forests. It can increase carbon storage and water production, allow for co-management with First Nations and create jobs through feral animal control and forest restoration.”

A spokesperson for the NSW forestry corporation said its operations went through detailed planning processes, including ecological surveys and mapping “to identify and protect environmental features”.

“Each year around one per cent of the areas available for timber production are harvested and regrown, which in a normal year is about 10,000 hectares on the north coast including native forests and hardwood timber plantations,” they said.

“Operations in native forests are always selective, thousands of habitat and feed trees are protected throughout operations specifically for koalas, and every tree harvested is regrown.”

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Every year we wait and wonder. Will they come back? Will they reunite and mate? Will the chicks survive? This agonising starts in late March as we scan the skies above the loch for the return of the ospreys from Africa. One normally arrives in late March or early April, usually the male, with a mate soon after. For 14 years, the female was the beloved “Green DY”, known by her plastic leg ring, which successfully fledged chicks in all but one year of her tenure. That was 2012, when she was defeated by torrential rain.

But last year she never appeared, and there was a sigh of loss across the internet. A new female came, however, partnering with DY’s old mate, and produced three chicks. The same pair are back, proving nature’s cycles of renewal, given a chance. Persecuted to extinction in Britain by 1916, ospreys returned to Speyside in the Cairngorms in 1954 and, gradually, to other sites across the UK. A pair built the nest here in Badenoch exactly 30 years ago, and it has yielded 59 young. This is especially impressive when most years the happy couple must endure winter’s departing kick of a snowstorm in April.

The male will be sentry, fighting off predators. Photograph: Adrian Samuels

On this late May day, however, the loch is balmy and languid. The trees are finally opened to green, the shores skirted with long, lush grasses and the breeze merely a warm breath across the sluggish water. The female is hunkered well down in the nest, a sure sign of incubating eggs. Only her head is visible, turning sharply to and fro, golden eyes surveying the land. The male sits on his customary perch on a neighbouring dead larch, watching her. His high-pitched chip-chip-chip-chip-chiprings out across the loch, echoing on the hills around.

He will deliver fish to her and the chicks until they learn to fly in late July, and will add to the nest, skydancing above it with twigs in his talons. Throughout, he will be sentry, fighting off predators – often other ospreys – until the female leaves and he follows soon after in early September.

The chicks are the last to go, by some miracle finding their way to west Africa, too. In about three years, some will return. We will be here, waiting and wondering.

Country diary is on Twitter at @gdncountrydiary

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On a rainy spring morning, huddled under the shelter of an ancient cedar, Jared Hobbs hoots, whoops and squawks. In years past, he could lure curious owls by drawing on his extensive repertoire. Among them are the whoo whoo whoo whooo territorial calls, alarm barks and a simple “helicopter” breeding call that coo coo coo coos into the air.

The calls bounce through the thick stand of trees and dissolve into the vast British Columbia rainforest.

Hobbs doesn’t wait for a response. Only one spotted owl remains in the Canadian wild, less than two kilometres from where he stands. Her precise location in the misty forest is a closely guarded secret and her lonely presence has become a symbol of the country’s inability to save a species on the verge of destruction.

The silence of the woods is familiar for the veteran biologist. For nearly three decades, Hobbs has watched the collapse of the species. He has tagged and tracked dozens of young owls who represented the hope of recovery. He has fed them mice in a futile effort to stave off death. His truck tyres have been slashed and the remains of a murdered spotted owl was once left on a tree stump as a threat.

“When I drive the highways and backroads here in their former range, all I see are ghosts,” he says. “The owls we’ve lost, I know their stories. And those stories are gone.”

For decades, the Canadian government and the province of British Columbia have fretted over the owls’ “catastrophic population decline”. The country’s environment minister has warned it faces “imminent threats to its survival” and a number of management plans have been drawn up, revised and reassessed amid community and scientific consultations.

The most recent identifies more than 300,000 hectares (740,000 acres) of protected habitat, but critics say is “completely watered down” and falls short because it withholds key areas from protection and still permits logging in old growth forests. Portions of old growth forest have been designated “future critical habitat” but only the designation “core critical habitat” triggers federal protections.

• Old-growth forrest in Fraser River canyon, east of Vancouver, British Columbia, where the last known wild-born northern spotted owl in Canada is believed to live. Photograph: Jesse Winter/The Guardian

The cascade of failures, and the news this month that two more owls have died, raises the uncomfortable possibility that it might be too late for the northern spotted owl.

Owls have long represented the mystical and supernatural elements of human experience. They are harbingers of death, protectors and conduits to the spirit world. Even the way they move silently through a forest can feel otherworldly. Their keen, piercing eyesight is bettered only by their hearing, allowing them to experience the world on a seemingly different plane of existence.

“They’re ‘gifted with the extension of the senses we have lost or never attained, living by voices we shall never hear’ when they move through their environment,” says Hobbs, quoting the naturalist Henry Beston. “I tell people that when you get close to an owl, you need to be calm because it is, quite literally, listening to the beating of your heart … to discern your intent.”

Called skelúleʔ in the the Nlaka’pamux language, legends of the spotted owl’s fearsome nature loomed over James Hobart as a child, when his family would spend summers deep in the forest.

“My mom, she’d tell us stories about them, how they’d grab us if we didn’t behave or if we were out too late,” remembers Hobart, now chief of the Spô’zêm First Nation. “When you hear the owls, you better be inside … I remember the owls and I remember the fear.”

It has been decades since he heard the haunting barks and trills of the diminutive owl, but with the terror gone, they remind him of the warm summer nights of his youth.

“When I tell my own kids that story, it feels different. Because they’ve never heard the sounds of the owl at night. I don’t know if they ever will.”

The Spô’zêm First Nation, which occupies the lower swaths of the Fraser Canyon, has become a leading force in the last-ditch fight to save the owl, joining environmental groups to protest against the logging of old growth forest within their territory.

Last summer, the community released three male owls into the wild, an event marked by prayer and ceremony. The birds, raised nearby at the Northern Spotted Owl Breeding Program (NSOBP) in Langley, carried a heavy burden as they disappeared into the woods. The First Nation, and the province, hoped that by joining the one lone female, whose mate had recently died, the young owls could be a turning point in recovery efforts.

Tragedy first struck in the autumn, when one of the males was hit by a slow-moving train. He survived, but had to be brought back to the breeding facility to recover. Then, this month, it was announced that the two remaining reintroduced owls had been found dead, the tragedy highlighting the fragile nature of reintroducing captive animals into a hostile environment.

Hobart says efforts to bring back the owls will be redoubled, with plans to release more in the coming years. In a news release, he pledged to investigate if anything could have been done to prevent the grim outcome. “We took on this challenge together, and we will continue to keep on the intended path of repopulation of skelúleʔ,” he says.

For thousands of years, northern spotted owls, a subspecies of the spotted owl, lived in southern British Columbia, their range extending through Washington, Oregon and into northern California. In Canada, as many as 1,000 owls probably once lived in the cathedral-like forests. But generations of industrial development and logging have fractured the landscape and gutted their habitat.

When Hobbs began working for the provincial government as a species-at-risk biologist in the 1990s, there were an estimated 40 breeding pairs, but the numbers kept dropping. Through his fieldwork, he noticed the adult owls were living into old age but the juvenile owls were dying before they could acquire a territory of their own and produce young.

Spotted owls require as much as 3,000 hectares (7,400 acres) of forest to hunt and survive, says Hobbs, because their diet is largely limited to just two species of small rodent. For generations, the productive old-growth forests offered a haven for the birds. But logging irrevocably changed the makeup of the forests, swapping thick stands of diverse trees with young, fast growing replacements that resemble a monoculture farm.

In recent years, when the young owls left the nest to seek out new food sources and establish their own territories, they had to negotiate a patchwork of forest broken up by cleared areas or development. They were forced to fly further and further, a distance far greater than their small bodies could tolerate. Locked in a vicious cycle of desperation, the young owls began to starve.

Chief Hobart remembers how the owls weren’t just an evil spectre, but a source of inspiration for his artist mother, Hrome’tik’inquakoen, who recreated the owls in vibrant yellows, oranges and greens.

Because Hobart’s ancestors couldn’t study the depths of the powerful Fraser River, which produced a needed bounty of salmon, nor could they scale the giant trees to study the crown canopy of the forest, they relied on certain animals to serve as messengers for the state of the ecosystem.

“If you wanted to know if the rivers were healthy, you looked at the salmon. And if you wanted to know if the forests were healthy, you looked at the spotted owls,” says Hobart. “They were messengers.”

Biologists call this an indicator species, meaning it functions as a barometer for the broader health of an ecosystem. In the case of the spotted owl, the fate of old-growth is linked to the decline of the bird. They are also an umbrella species: a creature selected for preservation because their recovery inadvertently helps myriad other plants and animals.

Alongside Indigenous oral history, American biologists uncovered the link between northern spotted owls and old-growth forests in the 1980s. For decades, owls in the region attracted little research interest. Most of the effort was instead focused on the fauna that were hunted for food, says Aaron Scott, host of the Timber Wars podcast.

“After all this time bushwhacking through the woods and following it, we finally realised the owl lived in old-growth. It depends on these forests to survive,” says Scott. “For environmentalists worried about old-growth logging, they were like ‘This could be kind of our silver bullet’.”

The discovery came amid a fierce battle, four decades ago, over the future of the region’s forests and the owl quickly became a tool for activists who rushed to file lawsuits, calling on the courts to halt logging to protect nesting sites.

Frustrated loggers, whose job prospects were already dwindling amid the mechanisation of the industry, began shooting the birds. “I love spotted owls … fried,” became a popular catchphrase. Another slogan declared: “Save the trees, wipe your ass with an owl.”

Susan Jane Brown, a senior lawyer with the Western Environmental Law Center in Washington state, has spent the past two decades fighting for the spotted owl and says a deep “emotional trauma” remains for everyone who was part of “the war in the woods”.

I think the spotted owl is going to go extinct in my lifetime. For someone who has spent their entire career trying to conserve the species, that’s a failure

Susan Jane Brown

Despite some decisive wins in protecting the forest, the prospects for the northern spotted owl in the US are also dire. As few as 3,000 remain in the Pacific Northwest, down from more than 15,000 in the 1990s, according to estimates from the US Forest Service. Environmental advocates see a bleak future for a species where the birthrate is collapsing in some areas by as much as 9% every year.

A larger, more opportunistic owl has spread aggressively across the region in recent decades. Barred owls, originally from eastern North America, consume a wider range of prey and are more adaptable to changing ecosystems than spotted owls, easily outcompeting them for increasingly scarce resources. Officials in the Pacific Northwest, as well as Canada, have approved widespread culls of the barred owl, killing the invader in order to give the spotted owls a chance to fight back. But experts worry the efforts are too late.

“I think the spotted owl is going to go extinct in my lifetime. And for someone who has spent their entire career trying to conserve the species, that’s a failure,” says Brown. “We spent billions and billions of dollars fighting over the owl and trying to conserve its habitat – in court and in Congress. And at the end of the day, you mean that none of that works?”

Earlier this year, Canada’s environment minister, Steven Guilbeault, warned an emergency order was needed to stem the owl’s rapid decline and the “imminent threats to its survival”. Emergency orders, a powerful tool within Canada’s endangered species legislation, have been used only three times in the country’s history, and grant the federal government jurisdiction over decisions typically reserved for a province. In this case, it would permit the federal government to dictate which forests are off limits to logging. The forestry industry, however, remains dominant in British Columbia, contributing nearly C$2bn to provincial government revenues and making up nearly one-third of the regional economy.

• Canada’s environment minister, Steven Guilbeault, has threatened to wield an emergency order to protect the owl. Photograph: Canadian Press/Shutterstock

Guilbeault, a former environmental activist, has said old-growth logging must stop within the Spô’zêm Nation territory, including the Spuzzum and Utzlius watersheds, as well as a further 2,500 hectares (6,200 acres) of forest habitat at risk. The British Columbia government deferred logging in those areas after the minister’s comments.

In early April, Guilbeault told the Guardian he hadn’t yet recommended the emergency order, hopeful he could negotiate a deal with the province to protect key habitat areas.

And yet in the time since he first suggested the order was imminent, two of the owls have died, highlighting their vulnerability and the precariousness of any recovery effort. When British Columbia released its plan for the spotted owl’s recovery in 2006, it hoped to have 250 mature owls in the wild, enough for a “self-sustaining” population. Today, there is just one.

“Our endangered species laws have been interpreted in a way that allows the province and the federal government to deflect responsibility back on to the other,” says Charlotte Dawe of the Wilderness Committee, an advocacy group that successfully fought, alongside EcoJustice, to have the federal environment minister threaten an emergency order. “And so the province goes on logging like it is business as usual.”

Geoff Senichenko, a mapper with the Wilderness Committee, points to the logging in owl habitat that was needed to allow the federally owned TransMountain pipeline expansions to go ahead. “Is this the project that will kill them off? No. But it’s yet another instance of habitat disappearing and so, in a way, it’s death by a thousand cut down trees.” He and others call it the “talk and log” strategy.

For advocacy groups, the inability of the British Columbia and Canadian governments to reverse the decline reflects a failure and weakness of the laws meant to protect endangered species. Canada’s environment commissioner agrees, suggesting in a scathing report that the federal government has abandoned its efforts, leaving grassroots organisations to fight for the province’s wildlife.

It was in 2007 that the world’s only captive breeding programme for the northern spotted owl was established as a way to increase numbers. Run largely on donations, the NSOBP hopes to one day release hundreds of owls into the wild. Currently, there are nearly 20 birds that could soon be ready.

• Jasmine McCulligh, Northern Spotted Owl Breeding Program facility coordinator, with one of the owls in her care. Photograph: Courtesy of BC government

On its website, the breeding facility points to the success of the California condor recovery programme, which brought a population of 22 wild birds to more than 330 in the wild. But the recent deaths of the two owls have been a blow to the breeding centre’s efforts.

“We spent countless hours nurturing these owls, from their first heartbeats to their first flights. It was an exciting and rewarding moment to finally see three of them released into the wild last summer,” Jasmine McCulligh, facility coordinator at the centre, said in a statement when the deaths were announced, adding “this is clearly not the result we had wished for”.

The federal government has long argued that Canada can be a climate leader. Prime minister Justin Trudeau says he sees no incompatibility between buying a multibillion-dollar pipeline, and Canada’s goal of lowering its emissions. But the plight of the owl, whose survival requires a halt to logging ancient forests, challenges this assumption. There can be owls, or there can be logging in the areas owls require for survival, but biologists agree both cannot exist.

Hobbs, who previously served as a scientific adviser to British Columbia’s spotted owl recovery team, says the current plight is a scathing indictment of the provincial government’s failure to recover the species and the “rapacious commercial greed” of the logging industry, which continues to cut down old-growth forests amid mounting public backlash. “I worked so hard to protect habitat, meanwhile the habitat kept rolling by on the back of the logging trucks every day that I was out there,” he says.

More likely than not, the spotted owl’s eradication is imminent, joining more than 130 other species that have disappeared from the Canadian wild.

Hope remains faint. The last ribbons of old-growth near the border could serve as a corridor, linking the lone female in Canada to the northernmost owls in the US. But each tree that gets cut down, and each day she remains alone in the woods, pushes her and the species towards oblivion.

“You will never, ever hear me say that it is not biologically or technically feasible to recover the species,” says Hobbs. “But every time you log old-growth forests, you reset the clock a few hundred years. We – and the owls – just need the passage of time.”

Find more age of extinction coverage here, and follow biodiversity reporters Phoebe Weston and Patrick Greenfield on Twitter for all the latest news and features

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New video and photographs purporting to show ivory-billed woodpeckers flying in a Louisiana forest were published by researchers on Thursday, as government officials said they will make a final decision this year on whether the birds are extinct.

The images — grainy and taken from a distance by drones and trail cameras — offer tantalizing hints the large woodpecker may yet exist almost 80 years after the last agreed-upon sightings, in Louisiana.

Several experts said it adds to prior indications of their survival. They called on the government to drop the pending proposal to write off the so-called Lord God Bird — a nickname derived from the exclamation some viewers made upon seeing one.

But others dismissed the new research as inconclusive, including a scientist who said some of the footage clearly depicts another type of woodpecker many amateurs mistake for the ivory-billed.

The peer-reviewed research in the journal Ecology and Evolution comes from a group that’s spent more than a decade searching for the woodpeckers at an undisclosed site.

It includes drone video from as recently as October that shows a pair of birds with black-and-white coloring on the wings that researchers say helps distinguish them as ivory-billed woodpeckers.

“The last time a pair of birds was photographed would have been in the 1930s, so it’s really extraordinary on that level,” said Mark Michaels with Project Principalis, which sponsored the work and said it was being shared with federal wildlife officials.

The researchers also collected audio recordings of the woodpeckers and most of the search team had some kind of direct encounter, either seeing or hearing them, said Michaels and lead study author Steven Latta with the independent National Aviary in Pittsburgh.

An ivory-billed woodpecker would seem hard to miss with a 30-inch wingspan and a call reminiscent of a bulb bicycle horn. However, the bird’s preferred habitat is dense woodlands that can be hard for people to navigate. Many of those areas were logged early last century and the most recent agreed-upon sighting was in 1944.

There have been multiple reported sightings over decades. None fully resolved doubt, and federal officials said in 2021 there was “no objective evidence” of the bird’s continued existence.

After Project Principalis released early results of its work last year, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service delayed the pending extinction declaration so it could take more public comment.

Federal officials want photos or videos all experts can agree on. Wildlife service spokesperson Christine Schuldheisz said the agency would “receive information on any species at any time.”

One of the study’s co-authors works at the wildlife service. A disclaimer said the research does not necessarily represent the agency’s views.

Millions of dollars have been spent on prior search efforts.

Cornell University Professor John Fitzpatrick, who was involved in a years-long search launched two decades ago in Arkansas, said the latest videos and photos when added to prior sightings provide sufficient cause to drop the extinction proposal.

“The region they are working in is highly likely to be able support ivory-billed,” he said.

This article was first published by Fox News on 18 May 2023. Lead Image: Video footage purports to show the ivory-billed woodpecker, believed extinct, alive in the wild. (AP Photo/Haven Daley, File).

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Sub-Saharan Africa, known for its diverse wildlife and stunning landscapes, is home to one of the world’s most iconic and majestic creatures—the lion. However, the king of the savannah is facing grave challenges that threaten its very existence. Lions in this region are being targeted by poachers and herders, resulting in devastating consequences for their populations.

Lions as Targets: Poachers and Herders

In a tragic incident that unfolded in Kenya recently, one of the country’s oldest wild lions, Loonkiito, met a heartbreaking end. The 19-year-old male lion was speared by herders defending their livestock, adding to the tally of 10 big cats killed in just one week. Loonkiito, described as frail by the Kenya Wildlife Service (KWS), ventured out of the Amboseli National Park in search of food and fell victim to the conflict between lions and herders. The incident underscores the persistent struggle between these magnificent predators and human communities.

The decline in lion populations is primarily attributed to habitat loss, human-wildlife conflict, poaching, and illegal wildlife trade. Phot: PEXELS

The Perils Faced by Lions

The primary reason for the targeting of lions by poachers and herders is the clash between humans and wildlife, NBC reports. Villagers living near nature reserves often bear the brunt of livestock losses and pet attacks, which they attribute to lions and other predators. This friction is particularly prominent in areas such as the Amboseli National Park, a significant tourist destination and home to a diverse range of wildlife, according to News 18. The rising number of lion killings near such nature reserves has become a cause for alarm among conservationists and government officials in Kenya, where tourism plays a vital role in the economy.

The unfortunate reality is that some local communities perceive lions as a threat to their economic well-being, prompting retaliatory actions to protect livestock, reports The Dodo.

This clash between humans and lions underscores the urgent need for sustainable solutions that address the concerns of local communities while ensuring the conservation of these magnificent animals, according to The Conversation. Balancing the socio-economic needs of the people with the preservation of lion populations requires a comprehensive approach that integrates effective wildlife management practices, community engagement, and education about the intrinsic value of these apex predators.

The Impact of Drought and Human-Wildlife Conflict

The severe drought conditions in sub-Saharan Africa have amplified the challenges faced by both humans and wildlife. As water and vegetation become scarce, the struggle for survival intensifies. In this desperate quest for resources, the competition between lions and herders becomes even more pronounced. The scarcity of food and water pushes lions to venture closer to human settlements in search of prey, which inadvertently puts them on a collision course with herders seeking to protect their valuable livestock, shows a study in Nature.

The devastating effects of the drought have left herders grappling with immense economic losses. With reduced access to water and grazing lands, their livestock’s vulnerability increases, making them more determined to defend their livelihoods at any cost. This desperation and sense of urgency have created a volatile situation where conflicts between humans and lions escalate, often resulting in tragic outcomes for these majestic felines, WRAL reports.

Lions are apex predators, meaning they have no natural predators in their habitats.
PHOTO: PEXELS

How Long Do Lions Have Left

Male lions rarely survive past 15 years in the wild, with their counterparts in captivity sometimes living up to 30 years, Wildlife Trip reports. As the number of lion killings continues to rise, concerns about the long-term survival of lions in sub-Saharan Africa become more pressing. If the current trend persists, it could push these magnificent creatures closer to the brink of extinction. The loss of mature male lions, like Loonkiito, who play a crucial role in maintaining the social dynamics within prides and passing on their genes, further compounds the threats faced by the lion population.

The diminishing lion population not only affects the ecological balance but also has broader implications for the cultural and economic value of these regions. Lions are not only apex predators but also cultural symbols deeply rooted in the heritage and identity of local communities. Their presence in wildlife reserves attracts tourists from around the world, contributing significantly to the economies of countries like Kenya. The potential extinction of lions would not only result in an irreplaceable loss of biodiversity but also undermine the tourism industry, livelihoods, and the overall well-being of the local communities.

Lions play a crucial role in maintaining the balance of ecosystems by controlling herbivore populations and preventing overgrazing. PHOTO: PEXELS

A Call for Compassion and Action

It is crucial for us, as concerned global citizens, to recognize the significance of lions in the rich tapestry of African wildlife. The plight of lions in sub-Saharan Africa is not a battle that can be fought by conservationists alone; it requires a collective effort involving governments, communities, and individuals who value the incredible biodiversity of our planet.

Compassion lies at the heart of the needed response to this crisis. It is essential that we empathize with the challenges faced by local communities living in close proximity to lion habitats. Understanding their concerns and providing sustainable solutions that address their needs while safeguarding the lion population is key to fostering a harmonious relationship between humans and wildlife.

Education and awareness play a vital role in changing perceptions and behaviors, too. By educating communities about the ecological importance of lions and the economic benefits of wildlife tourism, we can foster a sense of stewardship and pride in protecting these magnificent creatures. It is crucial to highlight the interconnectedness of all living beings and emphasize that the well-being of lions is intricately linked to the health of ecosystems as a whole.

Male lions are easily distinguishable by their impressive manes, which serve as a visual indicator of their strength and dominance. PHOTO: PEXELS

Furthermore, innovative approaches to mitigate human-wildlife conflicts can be explored. Implementing effective livestock management practices, such as the use of predator-proof enclosures and the promotion of alternative livelihoods, can reduce confrontations between herders and lions, reports Mongabay. These strategies not only protect the economic interests of local communities but also alleviate the pressure on lion populations.

Law enforcement efforts could be intensified to combat poaching and illegal wildlife trade, which are significant contributors to the decline of lion populations. Strengthening legislation and enforcing strict penalties for those involved in these illicit activities will act as a deterrent and disrupt the illegal networks that drive the exploitation of these majestic creatures.

Collaboration among governments, conservation organizations, and local communities is essential for the success of conservation initiatives. By fostering partnerships and sharing resources, we can amplify our collective impact and work towards creating a future where lions can thrive in their natural habitats.

Help us protect lions from extinction! PHOTO: PEXELS

Finally, supporting responsible tourism is crucial in protecting lions and their ecosystems. Travelers have a responsibility to choose tour operators and destinations that prioritize sustainable practices and contribute to local conservation efforts. By opting for ethical wildlife tourism experiences that respect animal welfare and promote conservation, we can help generate economic benefits for local communities while safeguarding the natural heritage of sub-Saharan Africa.

The plight of lions in sub-Saharan Africa demands urgent attention and action. Their survival hangs in the balance and it is our collective responsibility to ensure that these iconic creatures continue to roam the African savannahs, inspiring awe and playing a vital role in maintaining the delicate balance of nature.

Take the pledge and help secure a future where lions can thrive, reminding the world that their majestic presence is an irreplaceable part of our shared heritage.

This article by Matthew Russell was first published by The Animal Rescue Site. Lead Image: PHOTO: PEXELS – LIONS HAVE WELL-DEVELOPED SOCIAL BONDS AND ENGAGE IN VARIOUS FORMS OF SOCIAL BEHAVIOR, INCLUDING GROOMING, RUBBING, AND PLAYFUL INTERACTIONS.

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Support ‘Fighting for Wildlife’ by donating as little as $1 – It only takes a minute. Thank you.

Fighting for Wildlife supports approved wildlife conservation organizations, which spend at least 80 percent of the money they raise on actual fieldwork, rather than administration and fundraising. When making a donation you can designate for which type of initiative it should be used – wildlife, oceans, forests or climate.

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Scientists have discovered more than 5,000 new species living on the seabed in an untouched area of the Pacific Ocean that has been identified as a future hotspot for deep-sea mining, according to a review of the environmental surveys done in the area.

It is the first time the previously unknown biodiversity of the Clarion-Clipperton Zone (CCZ), a mineral-rich area of the ocean floor that spans 1.7m sq miles between Hawaii and Mexico in the Pacific, has been comprehensively documented. The research will be critical to assessing the risk of extinction of the species, given contracts for deep-sea mining in the near-pristine area appear imminent.

Bolosominae stet is a type of sponge, believed to be new to science. Photograph: NOOA

Most of the animals identified by researchers exploring the zone are new to science, and almost all are unique to the region: only six, including a carnivorous sponge and a sea cucumber, have been seen elsewhere.

Contracts for mining exploration in the CCZ have been granted to 17 deep-sea mining contractors in an area covering 745,000 sq miles. The companies, backed by countries including the UK, US and China, want to exploit minerals including cobalt, manganese and nickel, in part to sell to the alternative energy sector.

In July the International Seabed Authority, a quasi-UN body based in Jamaica that regulates deep-sea mining, will begin accepting exploitation applications from these companies.

To better understand the impact of mining this fragile ecosystem and its newly discovered inhabitants, an international team of scientists has built the first “CCZ checklist” by compiling all the records from expeditions to the region. Published in the journal Current Biology, it includes 5,578 different species, of which an estimated 88% to 92% had never before been seen.

“We share this planet with all this amazing biodiversity and we have a responsibility to understand it and protect it,” said Muriel Rabone, the paper’s lead author, a deep-sea ecologist at the Natural History Museum (NHM).

An anemone. Photograph: Smartex Project/NERC

To study and collect specimens from the ocean floor, biologists have joined research cruises in the Pacific that send remote-controlled vehicles to traverse the seabed 4,000 to 6,000 metres below.

Dr Adrian Glover, a deep-sea biologist at the NHM and senior author of the study,who has taken partin several expeditions to the CCZ, most recently on the UK’s Smartex expedition, described it as an “incredible privilege”.The expedition, funded through the Natural Environment Research Council and others, is backed by UK Seabed Resources (UKSR), a deep-sea mining company that operates the UK’s exploration area.The NHM has previously worked with UKSR and Deep Green, now the Metals Company, another mining firm, as a contractor in the area to provide baseline biodiversity data. It insists all data gathered is open-access in peer-reviewed literature.

A seastar. Photograph: Smartex Project/NERC

The scientists watch operations by video link direct from the boat, as new species are gathered by remote operating vehicles in the darkness below.

The seabed, Glover said, is an “amazing place” where, despite the extreme cold and dark, life thrives. “One of the characteristics of the abyssal plane is the lack of food, but life has a way of persisting down there,” he said. “It’s a mystery.”

One of the deep-sea animals discovered was nicknamed the “gummy squirrel”, because of its huge tail and jelly-like appearance, he said. There are also glass sponges, some of which look like vases. The most common categories of creatures in the CCZ are arthropods, worms, members of the spider family and echinoderms, which include spiny invertebrates such as sea urchins and sponges.

With approval for deep-sea mining looming, Glover said he believed it was “imperative that we work with the companies looking to mine these resources to ensure any such activity is done in a way that limits its impact upon the natural world”.

Asked about other scientists, including Sir David Attenborough, calling for a moratorium on deep-sea mining because of the irreversible damage they say it will do to ecosystems, Glover said he believed his role was to inform.

The gummy squirrel at 5,100 metres depth in the western CCZ. Photograph: NOAA Office of Ocean Exploration and Research

“Our role as scientists is not to decide if it can go ahead – it is to provide the data,” he said. “Everyone who lives on this planet should be concerned about using it in a sustainable way. There is a big discussion on the horizon and it is incredibly important to engage the public to find out what path people want to pursue. You have regulators, the governments and the public, who will listen and read the information, the pros and cons.

“In some ways I see it as very positive that we can come up with a regulatory structure before mining takes place. [In] other large industries, such as oil and gas, the regulations came later.”

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