Wildlife Conservation and Protection

• A new study has discovered a novel social unit among sarus cranes, where these formerly monogamous birds now form trios to raise their chicks.
• Study authors note that these breeding trios were most observed in more degraded habitats.
• The highly territorial cranes may be forced to change their mating behaviours to increase offspring’s chances of survival as habitat loss in India is on the rise.

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• Sri Lanka’s isolation during past glacial cycles resulted in the evolution of unique species, but ongoing human-induced climate change now poses a major threat to their survival.
• Using species distribution models, researchers have discovered that montane amphibians and reptiles that are particularly restricted to narrow ecological niches with limited mobility are particularly vulnerable to rising temperatures.
• Species with direct development, like many Pseudophilautus frogs, which bypass the tadpole stage, are especially sensitive to microclimate changes.
• Of the 34 amphibian species confirmed extinct worldwide, 21 were endemic to Sri Lanka, underscoring the island’s fragility and the urgent need for targeted conservation efforts.

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• Climate change is threatening the effectiveness of protected areas (PAs) in safeguarding wildlife, ecosystem services and livelihoods, with scientists now calling for the incorporation of “climate-smart” approaches into the planning of new and existing PAs.
• Key approaches to developing a network of climate-smart PAs include protecting climate refugia, building connectivity, identifying species’ future habitats and areas that promote natural adaptation. These approaches rely on science-based spatial models and prioritization assessments.
• For example, the Climate Adaptation and Protected Areas (CAPA) initiative supports conservationists, local communities and authorities in implementing adaptation measures in and around PAs across Africa, Fiji and Belize.
• Experts emphasize that climate-smart conservation plans must address immediate local needs, engage diverse stakeholders through transboundary collaboration, and rapidly expand across freshwater and marine ecosystems, especially in the Global South.

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Scientists monitoring the world's largest penguin species used satellites to assess sixteen colonies in the Antarctic Peninsula, Weddell Sea and Bellingshausen Sea, representing nearly a third of the global emperor penguin population.

What they found was "probably about 50-percent worse" than even the most pessimistic estimate of current populations using computer modelling, said Peter Fretwell, who tracks wildlife from space at the British Antarctic Survey (BAS).

Researchers know that climate change is driving the losses but the speed of the declines is a particular cause for alarm.

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• Local conservationists across Africa face threats, isolation and underfunding, as illustrated by Nigerian conservationist Itakwu Innocent, who survived an assassination attempt and has endured years of violence and ostracism for protecting wildlife and opposing poaching in his community.
• Women and young scientists in particular face systemic barriers in conservation, including gender bias and limited access to funding and recognition, despite taking leadership roles and driving grassroots initiatives in places like Kenya, Uganda and Nigeria.
• Funding disparities and broken promises by international NGOs have undermined trust in conservation efforts, making it harder for local scientists like Owan Kenneth to gain community support without financial incentives.
• Despite these challenges, recognition and success stories are emerging, with initiatives like fellowships and community-led reforms helping figures such as Adekambi Cole, Bashiru Koroma and Asuquo Nsa Ani make tangible conservation gains and inspire others.

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• In April, researchers found individuals of a critically endangered chameleon species in southwestern Madagascar.
• Furcifer belalandaensis had not previously been recorded outside of a tiny area threatened by deforestation for charcoal and agriculture, and by the development of a major mining project.
• Researchers working to improve knowledge of the Belalanda chameleon’s distribution were excited to find three of the rare reptile five kilometers (three miles) away, in the PK32-Ranobe protected area.
• But Ranobe’s forests are also under pressure; captive breeding and revising the protected area’s management plan are among of the conservation measures being considered to ensure the species’ survival.

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• The Brazilian environmental agency, IBAMA, approved a license to blast a natural rock barrier on the Tocantins River in Pará state to enable boats to pass during the dry season, as part of wider efforts to build a massive waterway for commodities.
• Federal prosecutors requested the suspension of the license due to missing studies and other issues.
• A federal court stated that the proposed blasting will have a limited and controlled impact, asserting there are no Indigenous, Quilombola (Afro-Brazilian) or riverine communities living in that section of the Tocantins River — a claim that advocates say is inaccurate.
• Rock removal will impact endangered fish, Amazon turtles and the Araguaia river dolphin, which is found only in this region and feeds on fish that spawn in Pedral do Lourenço.

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• In a landmark judgment, Sri Lanka’s Supreme Court recently ended a 15-year legal battle over plans to upgrade a road through Wilpattu National Park, making conservationists heave a sigh of relief.
• The court ruling follows an election pledge by Anura Kumara Dissanayake during the presidential race to reopen the road, which drew sharp criticism from environmentalists.
• The proposed road would have reduced travel time but fragmented critical habitats besides increasing the threat of roadkill due to speeding vehicles.
• The ruling highlights the judiciary’s crucial role in upholding environmental protections, especially when political leaders push development agendas that threaten ecologically sensitive areas.

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• Indonesia, home to critically endangered orangutans, elephants, tigers and rhinos, has gone nearly two decades without official updates on the populations of some key species.
• Under the previous forestry minister, population surveys and conservation plans were shelved or retracted, and relationships with conservation organizations were often tense.
• Under new leadership, the ministry has signaled that initiating wildlife surveys and publishing population and habitat viability analyses (PHVAs) are key priorities, and surveys of several key species are already underway.
• While welcoming pro-science statements from environment authorities, conservationists caution that data remain alarmingly deficient for many species, and that updating surveys is time-consuming and expensive — a particular concern given recent cuts to the ministry’s budget.

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• Indigenous residents of Churchill in Canada’s Manitoba province have coexisted with polar bears for thousands of years, emphasizing respect for the animals and staying out of their way.
• The province-run Polar Bear Alert Program also aims to keep the community safe from overly curious or dangerous bears, but some of its practices have been called into question by locals.
• Churchill’s tourism industry drives the local economy and is also the source of most problematic human-bear interactions.
• As climate change causes bears to spend more time on land, Churchill leaders are working with local and regional stakeholders to improve human-polar bear coexistence.

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• Guinea-Bissau is home to around 5% of critically endangered western chimpanzees, who face numerous threats including habitat loss, disease and illegal trade.
• A recent study found numerous chimps held in private residences and hotels, often taken from the wild as infants and held in poor conditions.
• The study’s authors recommend revising laws and penalties regulating hunting or keeping chimpanzees captive, training for officials responsible for enforcement, and a public awareness campaign about the dangers of keeping wild animals.

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• Drifting fish aggregating devices (dFADs) are floating rafts with underwater netting used by fishing vessels to attract tuna.
• A recent study estimated that between 2007 and 2021, 1.41 million dFADs drifted through 37% of the world’s oceans, stranding in 104 maritime jurisdictions and often polluting sensitive marine habitats.
• Strandings were most frequent in the Indian and Pacific oceans, with the Seychelles, Somalia and French Polynesia accounting for 43% of cases; ecosystem damage and cleanup costs fall on local communities.

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Seaspiracy

• Recent sightings of golden jackals (Canis aureus naria) in Sri Lanka’s capital city underscore the significance of urban wetlands as sanctuaries for wildlife amid rapid urbanization.
• The jackals in Sri Lanka belong to a distinct subspecies, Canis aureus naria, have recorded a sharp population decline due to multiple reasons ranging from habitat loss to roadkills and diseases transmitted by stray dogs.
• In the global context, golden jackals are expanding their range into Northern Europe, driven by many factors including climate and landscape changes.
• With growing global conservation interest, initiatives like World Jackal Day, observed on April 19, aim to raise awareness and foster scientific collaboration for the species’ protection.

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• A new analysis of more than 70,000 wild animal species reveals that climate change is now the third-greatest threat to the planet’s wildlife, following overexploitation and habitat degradation.
• The study found that nearly 5% of the assessed species are threatened by climate change, with ocean invertebrates being particularly vulnerable to climate change-related threats, such as extreme temperatures, floods, droughts, storms and ocean acidification.
• The study warns that some animal populations, both on land and at sea, have already begun to collapse due to climate change-related events, and it’s now necessary to monitor mass die-offs to understand the impacts of climate change and predict future impacts.

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Important Correction

“Fossil fuels are the main driver of the climate crisis,” Wolf said. “Rapidly phasing out fossil fuels is essential if we’re going to prevent mass extinctions of animals and plants and maintain healthy wildlife populations and ecosystems with all the benefits they provide.”

This is dangerously incorrect. To "rapidly" phase out fossil fuels and not address the other factors contributing to the climate crisis would be suicidal for life on Earth.

The aquifer under Fish Lake Valley feeding the groundwater-dependent ecosystem is heavily over-appropriated, meaning more water is taken out of it than goes into it each year. One acre foot of water is the equivalent to 325,850 gallons, or enough to supply two to three homes for a year, and the basin has a perennial yield of just 30,000 acre feet, according to state documents. But more than that is pumped out each year, and even more water is allocated on paper than what is currently taken.

The basin’s over-appropriation is somewhere between 150 to 250 percent. The aquifer’s water level has dropped two feet a year, the overuse drawing it down 75 feet since the 1960s.

Nearly all of that groundwater has gone to agriculture in the region, most of which is used to grow alfalfa, the water-intensive crop that primarily feeds cattle in the beef and dairy industries.

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