The Conservation Corner with the Watering Hole
Illegal sea turtle trafficking appears to be increasing in Bali and religious ceremonies may be part of the problem, according to a report by Mongabay. Despite laws prohibiting the capturing and trade of wild sea turtles in Indonesia, turtle meat is considered a delicacy, and demand remains strong among many local groups in Bali, where […] More
Predators will start becoming even fiercer as global temperatures rise, says a study that looked at how warmer conditions could affect diversity and competition between species. According to a paper published in Proceedings of the Royal Society B, warmer temperatures could cause ravenous animals to wipe out smaller prey, upsetting the delicate ecological balance of […] More
Image: Wikimedia Commons China recently launched a controversial orca breeding program, sparking criticism from activists who say keeping the animals in captivity is dangerous to their health. Chimelong Group, a leading amusement park operator in China, opened a new center earlier this year at Chimelong Ocean Kingdom, located in the city of Zhuhai. Currently, there […] More
In 2016, World Animal Protection came out with a list of the 10 cruelest wildlife attractions. It came as a shock to those of us that weren’t aware of what was going on behind the scenes; after all, we visit wildlife attractions because we love animals so much. The problem is, it’s hard to tell […] More
The Congo River in Africa is home to some of the largest and most extreme rapids in the world, and scientists say the turbulence is so powerful that it’s forced entirely new fish species to form. According to research published in the journal Molecular Ecology, the rapids essentially cut off populations of fish from each […] More
Are animal lives more important than human ones? One park in India seems to think so. Officials at the Kaziranga National Park in India have been accused of torturing and killing poachers and local villagers in an effort to protect the country’s vulnerable rhinoceros population, according to a report by the BBC. The report, which […] More
The rusty-patched bumblebee was recently the first bee in the Continental United States to be listed as an endangered species, and scientists might have found one reason why: a parasitic fungus is literally making the males too fat to mate. Once ingested, the fungus (Nosema bombi) swells in the bumblebee’s tissues until the bee gets so […] More
Image: Wikimedia Commons There are big, bad things happening on our ice shelves. Emphasis on the big. In 2012, documentarians in Greenland filming the award-winning film “Chasing Ice” witnessed a 75-minute long record-breaking calving event. “Calving” is the term for a huge chunk of ice breaking off an ice sheet. The piece that broke off […] More
Sonograms are just adorable, right? Scientists have upped the cuteness (or maybe creepiness) by capturing the first-ever shark sonogram. Researchers Neil Hammerschlag of the University of Miami and James Sulikowski of the University of New England teamed up to perform an ultrasound on “Emily,” a 12-foot tiger shark who was pregnant with 20 tiny, squirmy, […] More
Image: Mike Pennington One of Alaska’s most abundant species of fish is modifying its breeding patterns as a result of climate change, according to a recent study from the University of Washington. The three-spined stickleback fish — which makes up more than half the fish population in many Northern lakes — are breeding earlier and more often […] More
As if you needed a new reason to love elephants, they may soon be saving human lives. Scientists have replicated a protein found in the blood of elephants that may have cancer-curing properties. At the Huntsman Cancer Institute in Utah, oncologist Doctor Joshua Schiffman has been working with the protein for years. “Elephants almost never […] More
Image: Dr. Vazrick Nazari A biologist recently named a newly-discovered species of moth after President Donald Trump. Neopalpa donaldtrumpi has a cluster of yellow scales on top of its head that bears an uncanny resemblance to its namesake’s distinctive hairdo. The moths are also found in California and parts of Mexico, near where Trump’s […] More
