Most butterflies sport colourful, eye-catching wings. But some species flit about using mostly transparent wings. Researchers have now uncovered the tricks that one of these — the glasswing butterfly (Greta oto) — uses to hide in plain sight. The tricks of their transparency include sparse, spindly scales and a waxy coated membrane. Many thousands of insect species are threatened by large-scale deforestation for agriculture and especially pesticides. Help them to survive and #BoycottPesticides #BoycottPalmOil!
Tag Archives: Animal Biodiversity News
India’s Palm Oil Goals Raise Extinction Fears
A corporate monopoly for control over land and resources for palm oil must be dismantled immediately to give humanity, animals and our natural world a fighting chance for survival and to reverse the climate crisis. In Asia, many indigenous peoples are now joining forces and rising up to resist this corruption and ecocide.
Palm Oil: A Recipe for Disaster in India
Given the widespread destruction of rainforests and native biodiversity caused by oil palm plantations in Southeast Asia, environmental experts and politicians are warning that the move to promote palm oil cultivation in India’s northeastern States and in the Andaman and Nicobar Islands could be disastrous, writes Priscilla Jerbaraj in The Hindu.
Do humans really need other species?
Do humans need other #species? Yes! millions of organisms are needed to keep #ecosystems in balance and ensure everyone can survive. Most importantly, #research shows other species make us happy! Be 🐱🐷🐎🐕🐠 #Vegan for the animals 🍅🥦 #BoycottPalmOil #Boycott4Wildlife
Thousands more species at risk of extinction than currently recorded, suggests new study
New research suggests the #extinction crisis may be even worse than we thought. More than half of species that have so far evaded any official conservation assessment are threatened with extinction. Some species that are not yet classified and are “data deficient” make up around 17% of the nearly 150,000 species currently assessed. according to predictions by researchers from the Norwegian University of Science and Technology. Help them to survive! #BoycottPalmOil #Boycott4Wildlife
Caecilians: Secretive Underground Dwellers
OK, Ok…I know this is quite a scary photo but hear me out. Caecilians are legless, eyeless creatures live secretive, strange lives underground and underwater. Not quite snakes, not quite worms and not quite amphibians either.
Once you know more about them they may still come to you in dreams, but you might just love them too.
They belong to the same group of animals that includes frogs and salamanders. But unlike other amphibians, caecilians lack legs. Some caecilians are as short as a pencil, while others grow as long as a child. Their eyes are tiny and hidden beneath skin and sometimes bone. And they have a pair of tentacles on their face that can sniff out chemicals in the environment.
Climate change is forcing human and non-human beings to become climate refugees
Climate change. Climate denial. Global warming. Call it what you will, the planet is shouting at us. We have ignored the warning signs for decades, but we can no longer ignore what is happening right now.
Back from extinction: a world first effort to return threatened pangolins to the wild
Pangolins are one of the most illegally trafficked animals on the planet and are suspected to be linked to the current coronavirus pandemic. Pangolins are also one of the world’s most threatened species but new efforts are underway to reintroduce pangolins to parts of Africa where the animal has been extinct for decades. Help these remarkable armoured wonders to survive and call out wildlife trafficking when you see it online, also #BoycottPalmOil 🌴🪔🚜🔥☠️⛔️ #Boycott4Wildlife in the supermarket!
Insect decline in the Anthropocene: Death by a thousand cuts
#Insects 🪰🦋🪳🪲🐞🐛💌😻🌿 are the incredible engine room of the planet ensuring ecosystems work. They’re under siege by human-caused #climatechange #deforestation #pollution. Report via @PNASnews. #BoycottPalmOil 🌴⛔️ #Boycott4Wildlife @palmoildetect https://palmoildetectives.com/2022/06/23/insect-decline-in-the-anthropocene-death-by-a-thousand-cuts/
Nigeria’s nature reserves need more help to protect biodiversity
Apart from conserving species, #wetlands help to control floods, replenish groundwater, stabilise shorelines, retain nutrients and purify water. The park will join Nigeria’s protected area of 445 forest reserves, 29 game reserves, 12 strict nature reserves, 11 Ramsar sites, 7 national parks and one biosphere reserve.
Primates are facing an impending extinction crisis – but we know very little about what will actually protect them
From lemurs to orangutans, tarsiers to gorillas, primates are captivating and sometimes unnervingly similar to us. So it’s not surprising that this group of more than 500 species receives a great deal of research and conservation attention. 60% of primates 🦍🦧🐒🐵 are threatened by #extinction 🙊🙈😿 Without direct action, the number of endangered #primates willContinue reading “Primates are facing an impending extinction crisis – but we know very little about what will actually protect them”
Ecocide: why establishing a new international crime would be a step towards interspecies justice
A movement of activists and legal scholars is seeking to make “ecocide” an international crime within the jurisdiction of the International Criminal Court (ICC). The Stop Ecocide Foundation has put together a prestigious international panel of experts that has just proposed a new definition of the term. Protect all animals and go #Vegan #BoycottPalmOil #Boycott4Wildlife
The mimics among us — birds pirate songs for personal profit
From Roman classics to British tabloids, humans have long celebrated the curious and remarkable ability of #birds and other #animals to imitate the sounds of humans and other animals. A recent surge of research is revealing how and why birds use vocal mimicry to further their own interests. Far from being merely a biological curiosity,Continue reading “The mimics among us — birds pirate songs for personal profit”
A fascinating history of warrior turtles: from ancient myths, warships and teenage mutants
Ask anyone the identity of the world’s most famed turtles, and the answer is likely to be those legendary heroes in a half-shell, the Teenage Mutant Ninjas. Since first appearing in comic book form in 1984, the pizza-eating, nunchuk-wielding characters have shown the world the tougher side of turtles. Help them to survive every time you shop and Boycott Seafood, #BoycottPalmOil #Boycott4Wildlife
Deforestation Allows for Deadly Viruses to Jump Species
Many pandemics originate from wildlife that jumps from animal to human. These leaps often happen at the edges of the world’s tropical forests, where #deforestation is increasingly bringing people into contact with animals’ natural habitats. Yellow fever, #malaria, Venezuelan equine encephalitis, #Ebola – all of these pathogens have spilled over from one species to another at the margins of forests. This has many scientists concerned. The next pandemic is likely to originate from either the rainforest, meat or dairy agriculture where humans have most contact with animals.
Bonobo mothers meddle in their sons’ sex lives – making them three times more likely to father children
New research shows that for #bonobos, sex really is often a family affair. What’s more, rather than being an embarrassing hindrance, motherly presence greatly benefits bonobo sons during the deed.
Along with #chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes), bonobos (Pan paniscus) are our closest living relatives. Restricted to a 500,000 km² thickly-forested zone of the #Congo Basin, these endangered great apes were only formally discovered in 1928, which until 2017 made them the most recently-described living great ape species.
Operating in female-led social systems, bonobos are capable of showing a wide range of what were long held as human-specific feelings and emotions, such as sensitivity, patience, compassion, kindness, empathy and altruism. Help them to survive every time you shop #BoycottPalmOil #Boycott4Wildlife
Almost 90% of the world’s animal species will lose some habitat to agriculture by 2050
Scientists know that #biodiversity is declining across much of the world although less universally and dramatically than we feared. We also know that things are likely to get worse in the future, with a combination of #deforestation, #climatechange and overexploitation set to drive species and habitats ever closer to #extinction. Help them every time you shop and be #vegan #BoycottPalmOil #Boycott4Wildlife
Bonobos Can Inspire More Peaceful Democracies
Bonobos can inspire a more peaceful democracy. Primatologists explain the fascinating lives of these mostly peaceful primates. Boycott palm oil when you shop!
Humans and Bonobos Share Contagious Yawn Behaviour
Most of us have experienced the overwhelming urge to yawn in response to another person yawning – but we’re not the only species to do this. Research published in PeerJ shows that bonobos – our closest evolutionary cousins – also experience “yawn contagion”. Similarly to how yawning occurs in human beings, the effects of yawn contagion in bonobos is influenced by the quality of relationships shared between individuals.
The tendency for humans to mirror the behaviours and emotions of another – sometimes referred to as “emotional contagion” – is also thought to reflect our heightened capacity for empathy. Help all non-human primates to survive extinction and be #Vegan #BoycottPalmOil #Boycott4Wildlife.
African Forest Elephants’s Movements Depend on Their Personalities
African forest #elephants roam the dense rainforests of West and Central Africa where they subsist largely on a diet of fruit. They shape forests by dispersing fruit and seeds, browsing, and creating an extensive trail network. But because it’s difficult to track animals in thick forest, little is known about the movements of the AfricanContinue reading “African Forest Elephants’s Movements Depend on Their Personalities”
In the Atlantic Forest, the lowland tapir is at risk of extinction
Lowland tapir populations in the Atlantic Forest in South America are at risk of almost complete disappearance, scientists have estimated. Weighing up to 250 kg, the animal can adapt to most habitats in South America—but its populations continue to decline across their range. Take action for these beautiful irreplaceable animals every time you shop, be #vegan for forests, farmed animals and wild animals and #BoycottPalmOil #Boycott4Wildlife
Meet Chimbu, the blue-eyed, bear-eared tree kangaroo
Tree kangaroos are so unusual that when Europeans first encountered them in Australia in 1872, back on the continent they were sceptical if they were real! Who would believe a #kangaroo could climb a tree? The Goodfellow’s tree kangaroo is an endangered species of the genus dendrolagus living in the Central Cordillera mountain ranges ofContinue reading “Meet Chimbu, the blue-eyed, bear-eared tree kangaroo”
Laughs, Cries and Deception: The Complex Lives of Birds
#Birds can certainly get very angry – and the owner of a galah or corella would be well advised not to get near this bird when the head feathers are raised — but birds can be joyful and playful, can get depressed and, as studies have shown, a neglectful or bare environment can even make them pessimistic.
Birds may feel for others (have empathy) and even console them, may have a sense of justice, may show deep affection for their partner and grieve for their loss. I witnessed the mate of a fatally injured tawny frogmouth not moving from the spot next to their dead partner for three days, and then dying on the fourth. 🌴🩸🧐 Be #vegan for them! ❌ #BoycottPalmOil #Boycott4Wildlife
Species Extinction: just how bad is it and why should we care?
This is arguably society’s biggest challenge, and arguably its biggest failure: the continuing loss of species from Earth. The massive impact we are having on the planet has firmly entrenched us in a period of our history commonly called the Anthropocene.
Background or “normal” rates of extinction vary through time but are typically in the order of one to two species per year. Current rates of extinction, however, are estimated to have reached 1000 to 10,000 times this rate. Help animals to survive when you shop and be #Vegan 🌿🍌🍇 #Boycottpalmoil 🌴🩸🤮☠️#Boycott4Wildlife
For primates, having a mother helps them learn social skills
Wild #bonobos, like other Great #Apes and humans, spend long childhoods with their mothers, learning the social skills they need to function as emotionally stable members of their community. But orphaned bonobos at sanctuaries don’t have that kind of upbringing. Can they still learn the skills they need to get by in bonobo society? A study by Zanna Clay and Frans de Waal in PNAS found that the mother-infant bond is vital in developing healthy social and emotional skills. Help these mighty and intelligent primates when you shop and #BoycottPalmOil #Boycott4Wildlife
What, Why and Where of Black Leopards
Did you know that Black #leopards only differ from other leopards by the colour of their coat, a genetic variation that’s #recessive also known as melanism? One of their threats is #palmoil #deforestation. Help their survival be #vegan #Boycottpalmoil #Boycott4Wildlife in the supermarket
One-fifth of reptiles heading towards extinction
Almost one-fifth of the world’s reptiles are currently threatened with extinction.A recent study assessed 1500 species for extinction risks. From the 19% found to be in danger, 12% were classified as Critically Endangered, 41% as Endangered and 47% Vulnerable. Three of the species listed as being Critically Endangered are believed to be possibly extinct. ThisContinue reading “One-fifth of reptiles heading towards extinction”
What’s my name? How wild parrots identify their young
Ground-breaking research has found that wild parrots teach their chicks unique sound signatures so that they can identify their parents. We are only just scratching the surface of knowledge about these immensely intelligent non-human beings, protect them! Be #Vegan and #BoycottPalmOil #Boycott4Wildlife
We don’t know how many mountain gorillas live in the wild. Here’s why
How important are the mountain #gorillas of Uganda’s Bwindi Impenetrable Forest National Park to global populations? Their importance to the health of the forest is immeasurable and irreplacable! Mountain gorillas are one of the two subspecies of eastern gorillas. They are divided into just two populations: one in the Virunga Massif that spans the borders of Uganda, Rwanda and the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) and one population that lives in the Bwindi Impenetrable National Park in Uganda and the adjacent Sarambwe Nature Reserve in DRC. Help them to survive, be #vegan and #BoycottPalmOil #Boycott4Wildlife
Nature’s Hidden Wealth: Conservation’s Opportunity
Animals and plants constitute a very small part of our native biodiversity (roughly 5%). The vast majority – fungi, bacteria and the enormous diversity of other microscopic organisms, including invertebrates – is a massive, largely unexplored economic resource.
The best known examples of commercial uses for biodiversity are the thousands of drugs secreted by bacteria and fungi. But others are examples of what is known as “bio-inspiration” and “bio-mimicry”, where wild species provide the blueprints for products. The combination of nature and biotechnology can offer us all a tentative reason to hope for the future.
Palm Oil Detectives 