When researchers mapped almost 100,000 square kilometers of South Africa, or nearly 40,000 square miles, they only found 83 mature adults. They called their project the Free-Roaming Cheetah Census, and it’s the most comprehensive survey of cheetahs ever conducted in the region. The cheetahs that inhabit the unprotected areas here move naturally across borders, going between South Africa, Botswana, Namibia, and Zimbabwe. But farming, construction, development, and fences are making it harder for them to move around. Cheetahs need vast connected landscapes to survive. If they don’t mix with other cheetah groups, their genetic pool can be lost. There’s another big challenge for these animals: farmers. They sometimes kill cheetahs, because they believe cheetahs kill their livestock. But the researchers found that cheetahs hunt mostly wild prey. The species is currently listed as vulnerable, but the census suggests they should be reclassified as endangered in South Africa.This article was originally published on Mongabay
Paraguay has provided updated information to the United Nations about the Chaco Biosphere Reserve, a protected area where deforestation from farming and cattle ranching threatens the survival of Indigenous communities. The country had until the end of September to respond to a UNESCO request to provide updated management plans and zoning, which critics say are only selectively enforced. There was no automatic consequence for not meeting the deadline, but UNESCO officials said they’re monitoring the site to ensure it doesn’t lose its designation. “We aim to provide member-states with the necessary technical support and opportunities to complete or improve their documentation, with the ultimate objective of ensuring strong and functional biosphere reserves,” a UNESCO official wrote in an email to Mongabay in September. The biosphere reserve covers approximately 7.5 million hectares (18.5 million acres) of the Gran Chaco, one of the largest tropical dry forests in the world. Millions of hectares of the biome have been deforested, most of it for farming and cattle ranching, over the last two decades. Much of the region is the ancestral territory of the Indigenous Ayoreo. The Ayoreo-Totobiegosode continue to live in voluntary isolation, making them especially vulnerable to outside disease where farms and ranches are expanding. They’re the last uncontacted Indigenous group in South America outside of the Amazon Rainforest. The biosphere reserve was established in 2001 and then expanded in 2011, partly due to the presence of Indigenous groups living in voluntary isolation. In 2005, it was included in UNESCO’s Man and…This article was originally published on Mongabay
Since Sept. 23, a group of rural producers has maintained a blockade on the road to the Paquiçamba Indigenous Land in the Volta Grande do Xingu region of Brazil’s Pará state. The blockade is supported by local politicians and aims to prevent government officials from physically demarcating the land traditionally occupied by the Juruna (Yudjá) Indigenous people. The protestors want to prevent the Indigenous Affairs Agency (Funai) from entering the area to physically mark the boundaries of the Paquiçamba. It’s a required step before the Indigenous territory can be officially approved by the president and formally registered. Paquiçamba is directly affected by the Belo Monte hydroelectric project and such federal demarcation of Indigenous land in the area was one of the conditions required for the project to receive environmental licensing. “The blockades have delayed the completion of physical demarcation work, which includes georeferencing, the placement of boundary markers on the Indigenous Land, and the installation of signage,” a Funai spokesperson told Mongabay over email. “Given this situation, Funai is seeking legal measures to guarantee the continuation of the work, access to the border areas of the Indigenous Land, and the safety and integrity of the teams responsible for the activities.” Even with support from the National Public Security Force, the spokesperson said clashes broke out between the blockaders and federal agents, interrupting their work. Ya Juruna, an Indigenous person from Paquiçamba, told Mongabay over WhatsApp messages that the protesters are trying to block her community from receiving legal rights to…This article was originally published on Mongabay
Wind energy is a valuable tool for addressing the climate crisis, but wind turbines can be deadly for birds. A recent study found that a low-tech, relatively inexpensive fix can dramatically reduce bird collisions with turbines: A can of paint. When wind turbines rotate their massive white blades can become a transparent blur, making them difficult to discern for birds, a phenomenon known as a motion smear or motion blur. Breaking up that blur, by painting one blade a different color, can theoretically make the turbine more visible to birds so they can navigate around the deadly blades. Researchers recently reported results from a long-term experiment that did exactly that: Between 2020 and 2021, Acciona Energía, owner of El Ruedo wind farm in Cadiz, Spain, painted one of three rotor blades black on four of its turbines. Another 16 turbines had all white blades and served as controls. Every day, from 2012 to 2024 (before and after the turbines were painted), they looked for dead birds under all 20 wind turbines and recorded their data. The researchers found that annual bird fatality rates dropped by nearly 74% for the painted turbines compared to the controls. The Spanish study joins others that have found similar results. A study in Norway found a more than 70% drop in annual bird fatalities after turbines had one of their blades painted black, while a South African study found bird deaths decreased by 83% after painting one of the three blades red. However, a study…This article was originally published on Mongabay
COLOMBO –- Wildlife enthusiast Pathum Bandara watched Kavantissa, believed to be Sri Lanka’s tallest living tusker, moving gently through the landscape on Sept. 20 around Galgamuwa in the island’s northwestern dry zone, a well-known human-elephant conflict zone. The following day, Bandara noticed that the elephant was limping. A closer look revealed a gunshot wound on his right foreleg, close to the knee. The discovery was alarming because an untreated gunshot wound could become infected and cause severe trauma, potentially threatening an elephant’s ability to walk, feed and survive. The Department of Wildlife Conservation (DWC) dispatched a team to treat the elephant. DWC’s veterinary surgeon Isuru Hewakottage said Kavantissa was sedated to enable the cleaning and treatment of the wound. He received several rounds of powerful antibiotics and remains under observation. Following treatment, Kavantissa has begun moving between small forest patches, sometimes crossing human settlements and the well-known elephant passage near Galgamuwa. The tusker appeared to be recovering but became aggressive after the gunshot injury, sometimes even chasing villagers and wildlife officers, exposing the tusker to renewed threats including the possibility of being fired at, Bandara told Mongabay. Iconic tusker Kavantissa, left, with Sankha, a young elephant, photographed in 2022. Sankha had a mobility restriction caused by a previous gunshot injury and died after falling into a pit. Image courtesy of Pathum Bandara. Bandara recalls the plight of another young tusker once closely associated with Kavantissa. Sankha, a young tusker, was about half Kavantissa’s age and was often seen together during…This article was originally published on Mongabay
Willan Gualinga first stepped onto a stage in his home community of Sarayaku, in the Ecuadorian Amazon, in the province of Pastaza. He recalls his hands sweating, his body trembling, and his mouth freezing up as words crowded his mind. Three years after that debut, he performed the same song at the Rizoma 2026 Festival in the Amazonian city of Puyo. This time, he was no longer in front of dozens of people. He was seeing thousands chanting his lyrics in his Indigenous Kichwa language. On this occasion, his body moved with the rhythm and with the strength his message demanded: “Allpamanda kawsay manda jatarishun,” or “Let us rise up for the land and for life.” That was the title of his first track and the phrase he shouted at the top of his lungs throughout his performance. The song draws on elders’ stories about the origins of Sarayaku (his traditional territory) and, like his other compositions, spotlights the threats facing his people. “Through music we can transmit the knowledge of our ancestors and, above all, defend the territory,” said Gualinga, a 23-year-old artist known on stage as “Taki Supay.” Like him, a new generation of Amazonian artists is using rap to bring attention to the threats facing Indigenous peoples and nationalities across the Ecuadorian Amazon — and to show why the rainforest must be protected. “Rap is talking about what you feel, what is happening, and our struggle,” Misael Elías Criollo Grefa, better known as Misa17, said. He is…This article was originally published on Mongabay
HANOI, Vietnam (AP) — Heavy rains lashed much of central Vietnam on Friday and caused flooding in parts of the historic city of Hue, a day after floods and landslides hit the coastal port city of Danang. Troops were mobilized and amphibious armored vehicles readied for rescue operations, state media reported. More rainfall was forecast through Sunday morning and authorities warned that continued downpours could trigger flash floods and landslides in mountainous areas and flooding in low-lying communities. In Hue, the country’s former imperial capital known for its centuries-old palaces, rainfall over the past three days exceeded 800 millimeters (31.5 inches), increasing the risk of flash floods and landslides. The rain was heaviest in coastal lowlands and hilly areas in the city’s south. In Danang, residential areas and streets were inundated on Thursday, with water levels more than waist-high in some areas, exceeding 1 meter (3.3 feet). Rescue teams helped evacuate children and move residents’ belongings to safety. A man remained missing after a boat carrying him and his wife capsized on the Truong Giang River on Wednesday afternoon, state media reported. The couple were returning home after cutting grass when their boat overturned. The woman, who could not swim, clung to a sack of grass and was swept nearly 300 meters (yards) downstream before residents rescued her. Her husband was carried away by the current. The military deployed nearly 130 troops in Danang and more rescue teams were formed. Amphibious armored vehicles were readied in case conditions worsen, state…This article was originally published on Mongabay
Lawmakers in Suriname are calling for a formal investigation into mining activity that allegedly uses heavily restricted chemicals like cyanide, and risks creating runoff and pollution in the surrounding ecosystem. On Sept. 19, two members of the National Assembly, Rabindre Parmessar and Michael Marengo, visited an area in Pelin Bergi, near Kwakoegron, in northern Suriname, and said they discovered “substantial” mining activity that raised legal questions about permitting. Now, the two lawmakers are calling on President Jennifer Geerlings-Simons to launch an immediate investigation and temporarily halt all mining activity in the area. “The situation on-site raises fundamental questions about the nature, duration, permitting, oversight and the fiscal and environmental controls on these activities,” the lawmakers said in a letter, reviewed by Mongabay, to the president’s office last month. It added, “[It’s] necessary to establish how activities of this scale have been able to take place over an extended period and to what extent the state’s interests and revenues have been protected in the process.” The lawmakers, who traveled with a group of local journalists and an environmental activist, observed “deep excavations” at the site and materials being transported to processing locations. There were also indications of cyanide use via heap leaching, a process in which the chemical is sprayed onto rock to dissolve gold, making it easier to collect smaller particles. The import and use of cyanide is heavily restricted in Suriname. Geerlings-Simons is trying to phase out imports and implement a registry system for the chemical, which is still…This article was originally published on Mongabay
This article is from Food for Feed, a series investigating the global fishmeal industry. It is produced by the Outlaw Ocean Project, a news organization based in Washington, D.C., and excerpted by Mongabay. On Jan. 8, 1966, a South African ship caught fire at sea. At port in Bristol, in the U.K., firefighters pried open the smoking container, and the conflagration spread and burned for five days. A little over a month later, on Feb. 11, a Liberian steamship caught fire near Rotterdam. The blaze spread and ignited a storage area with barrels of petrol, raging for several days, before melting the deck and mast, and eventually sinking the vessel. Then, on March 19 that same year, a Danish ship caught fire off Long Beach, California, injuring three firefighters and killing a longshoreman, and causing more than $1 million in estimated damages. These were far from isolated incidents. Fishmeal powder is known for spontaneously combusting as it decays and oxidizes. From the 1950s through the 1970s, fishmeal cargo ignited at least 90 fires on ships and in plants around the world, according to a review of historical news coverage by the Outlaw Ocean Project, a news organization based in Washington, D.C. The culprit in each fire was fishmeal, a dark-yellow powder made by drying and pulverizing fish. More than half of the seafood consumed around the world is from aquafarms. Fishmeal or fish is crucial for farm-raised salmon, shrimp, tilapia, and other species. Fishmeal. Image by Phu Thinh Co via…This article was originally published on Mongabay
This article is from Food for Feed, a series investigating the global fishmeal industry. It is produced by the Outlaw Ocean Project, a news organization based in Washington, D.C., and excerpted by Mongabay. In late August 2025, a company named Marine Impex Pvt. Ltd. contacted the city council of Cuncolim, a city in southern India, to propose constructing a new fishmeal processing plant. Each month, the 1.6-hectare (4-acre) facility would process at least 2,400 metric tons of fishmeal, a protein-rich, dark-yellow powder made by pulverizing and cooking wild-caught fish, which is used as feed for farm-raised seafood like shrimp, salmon, and tuna. The proposal sparked outrage. In media coverage, local environmental advocates and politicians voiced strong objections. “If this project is allowed, it is as if we have killed the people of Cuncolim,” said city councilor Landry Mascarenhas. State lawmaker Elvis Gomes drafted a letter to the governor of Goa state, where Cuncolim is located, asking him to intervene and explained that the stench from existing plants chokes “the lungs with such foul air that the effect of it pervades for a prolonged period.” He added, “It is simply beyond a normal human’s capacity to endure.” The outcry in Cuncolim cast a spotlight on a powerful industry with a history of wrongdoing. Between 2018 and 2024, at least 30 Indian fishmeal plants were involved in a range of environmental violations and other legal infractions, such as dumping waste into waterways and boreholes, evading taxes, using illegal timber to fuel boilers,…This article was originally published on Mongabay
This article is from Food for Feed, a series investigating the global fishmeal industry. It is produced by the Outlaw Ocean Project, a news organization based in Washington, D.C., and excerpted by Mongabay. On Aug. 20, 2022, at least 50 protesters poured into the streets of Cayar, Senegal, demanding the closure of a nearby fishmeal factory, Touba Protéine Marine. Marching from the coastal town’s fishing wharf to the plant, they hoisted signs reading “Cayar is sick” and “Our water is contaminated.” In a video that spread widely on Facebook, demonstrators chanted, “Time to respect our Cayar.” Their grievances were many. Protesters said the Senegalese government had broken its pledge not to authorize any new fishmeal plants — factories that produce a lucrative dark-yellow powder by cooking and pulverizing fish. Touba Protéine Marine, they said, had been built less than a third of a mile from homes, triggering health problems and violating local zoning laws, according to government documents and satellite imagery. The stench, residents said, made daily life unbearable. “Harsh reality of the Global South,” wrote Serigne Mbaye, one of the demonstrators, in a Facebook post sharing the protest video. The plant, owned until 2022 by the Spanish company Barna, was said to process whole fish. Elsewhere in the world, fishmeal is typically produced from bycatch and undesired parts of fish. The use of whole fish is legal, according to Fatou Diouf, a director in Senegal’s Ministry of Fisheries, in a written response to questions. “There is no law prohibiting…This article was originally published on Mongabay
Paul Spong’s life has been entwined with whales for nearly six decades. In the 1960s, Spong, who hails from Aotearoa New Zealand, moved to the U.S. to study physiological psychology at the Brain Research Institute at the University of California, Los Angeles. Then, in 1967, he entered the world of cetaceans when the Vancouver Aquarium in Canada hired him to study the behavior of a once-wild orca (Orcinus orca) named Skana, who’d been captured from Puget Sound that same year. While conducting behavioral, visual and auditory experiments on Skana, Spong quickly noticed the orca’s high intelligence and self-awareness, and advocated for her release. But the aquarium, which didn’t renew Spong’s contract, held onto Skana until her death in 1980. After his experience with Skana, Spong decided to investigate orcas in their natural habitat. In 1970, he landed on Hanson Island, off the northeastern coast of Vancouver Island, in British Columbia, Canada, with a tent and hydrophone, intending to study the local whales over the Northern Hemisphere summer. But his project stretched out longer than a single season, and by the late 1970s, Spong had founded a permanent research facility on Hanson Island, known today as the OrcaLab. Spong and his wife, whale researcher Helena Symonds, now serve as co-directors of the organization. Northern resident orcas near Hanson Island in British Columbia. Image courtesy of OrcaLab. Spong and Symonds made a conscious decision to take a hands-off approach, only observing the orcas using land-based hydrophones and cameras, rather than tracking them…This article was originally published on Mongabay
A chance sighting of photos on Instagram, then a five-day expedition, including a last-minute, late-night detour in a Colombian rainforest — that’s what it took for researchers to confirm a new-to-science species of giant water lily. The plant has such large leaves the researchers could also spot it from space, according to a new study. The saga started in 2021, when giant-water-lily expert Carlos Magdalena came across photos posted by Jeremiah Harris on Instagram. In the photos, Harris, who runs a carnivorous-plant nursery in the U.S., was swimming next to giant water lily leaves in Colombia’s Inírida River. Harris had labelled the plant a wild individual of Victoria amazonica, but Magdalena knew that no known species of South American giant water lilies from the genus Victoria had previously been reported from the Orinoco Basin, of which the Inírida River is a tributary. “So the moment I saw the picture on Instagram with a geolocation on Inírida I realized it was remarkable,” Magdalena, a botanical and scientific research horticulturist at Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, U.K., told Mongabay by email. Intrigued, Magdalena turned to satellite imagery. Giant water lilies have massive, circular leaves, more than 3 meters (10 feet) in diameter, and Magdalena spotted several Victoria floating pads in the Inírida and nearby lakes. This confirmed there were more Victoria water lilies in that river system. Magdalena then formed a team with researchers, as well as with Nilo Rodríguez, Jaime Hernández, and Gustavo Melo, members of the Río Atabapo, Caranacoa-Yurí-Laguna Morocoto, and…This article was originally published on Mongabay
Where are ecosystems still left standing? Where should conservation be focused? A new tool is attempting to answer these questions and serve as a watchdog for conservation and land protection initiatives around the world. Global Safety Net v3 (GSN3) is a geospatial data platform that uses satellite imagery, artificial intelligence, and mapping techniques to understand the extent of landscapes around the world, and how they’re faring. “We’re interested in how much nature is left, and how well cared for and conserved it is,” Karl Burkart, director of the GSN3 initiative at the Nature Data Lab, a U.S.-based research organization, told Mongabay in a video interview. At the 2022 summit of the U.N. Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD), 196 countries from around the world adopted the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework. The highlight of the agreement was the “30×30” goal: to protect 30% of the world’s lands and oceans by 2030. Against the backdrop of this agreement, it’s become crucial for conservation scientists and organizations to keep track of how countries are faring and if designated protected areas are indeed based on scientific and conservation priorities. “We want to make sure that the 30% is the land that’s most critical for ecosystems, that’s essential for communities and livelihoods, and also for biodiversity,” Burkart said. In the backdrop of a global agreement to protect 30% of the Earth’s land and water by 2030, Karl Burkart (pictured above) said it’s important to ensure that the 30% protected is the land that’s most critical for…This article was originally published on Mongabay
A new-to-science species of egg-eating snake has been documented in the forested mountains of southern Ethiopia, according to a recent study. The snake, which has an ink-black body, bluish skin between its scales, and stark-white throat and belly, has been named the white-throated egg-eater (Dasypeltis albigularis). It’s nonvenomous, feeding entirely on bird eggs, which it cracks using specially adapted vertebrae in its throat before swallowing, the authors say. Arthur Tiutenko of Germany’s University of Erlangen-Nuremberg, and his colleagues, first encountered a population of this snake in 2019 in the Harenna Forest, in the Bale Mountains. They collected a young female for identification and initially thought it was an African egg-eating snake (Dasypeltis atra), a similar black, nonvenomous species. But the team also noticed the juvenile had some unusual scales and coloration that differed from the known D. atra. These observations prompted captive-breeding trials, where the researchers mated the female with a male African egg-eating snake, and saw that their offspring showed a mix of traits from both parents. Further genetic analysis and examination of more individuals seen on future field trips confirmed the snake in the Harenna Forest was indeed new to science. “In the case of D. albigularis, it was a classic discovery, like in previous centuries, when one encounters an animal in a place previously not visited by researchers and recognizes it as something new,” Tiutenko told Mongabay by email. To formally describe a new species, researchers would typically have to deposit a dead, preserved physical specimen, known as…This article was originally published on Mongabay
Construction of a power plant that will burn waste to generate electricity at a landfill near Bangladesh’s capital faces strong opposition from nearby communities, who say they fear severe health risks posed by toxic air pollution, reports contributor Eyamin Sajid for Mongabay. The $467 million project is being overseen by the municipal authority Dhaka North City Corporation, and is owned by the China Machinery Engineering Corporation (CMEC), backed by Chinese-headquartered multilateral lenders. It’s designed to incinerate up to 3,000 metric tons of municipal waste daily, tackling the capital’s escalating garbage crisis while also generating up to 42.5 megawatts of electricity. The project is slated for completion in December 2028. Densely populated communities, including several schools, sit less than a mile from the location of the power plant. Local farmers told Mongabay that unmanaged trash fires at the dumpsite already disrupt their work and well-being. “We can’t breathe when waste is burned in the dumping station,” said Md Naim, who grows rice and vegetables nearby. “Our nose closes with ashes, and we feel a headache from the smoke while working on the field.” According to the environmental impact assessment for the project, the incinerator will produce 74.8 metric tons of fly ash daily, enough to get airborne. An analysis by environmental groups indicates the plant will generate 73,576 metric tons of solid waste annually, along with 39.56 metric tons of toxic substances, including dioxins, furans, and heavy metals. “If the power plant is built and run regularly, local residents, especially children…This article was originally published on Mongabay
Wildfires in West Kalimantan, Indonesia, are leaving wildlife without fresh water as ponds turn brackish and forest pools dry up, driving animals into villages and toward the coast. Residents and conservation groups are responding by providing water, rescuing affected animals and treating them as smoke and fires continue to affect their habitat. Preliminary findings by NGO Yayasan Planet Indonesia recorded at least 16 dead animals, including silvered langurs (Trachypithecus cristatus), long-tailed macaques (Macaca fascicularis) and proboscis monkeys (Nasalis larvatus, an endangered primate found only on Borneo), from early August through late September amid an intense fire season in coastal Kubu Raya, a district in West Kalimantan. That compares to 13 dead non-fish animals recorded during nearly six years of SMART patrols — a system for monitoring wildlife and threats in the forest — in the area, from September 2020 through June 2026, with most deaths attributed to natural causes or left unexplained. As freshwater pools dried up and village ponds turned brackish, Planet Indonesia found dehydrated wildlife moving closer to homes and the coast in search of water. “We have never had findings like this before,” said Adam Miller, co-founder of Planet Indonesia, in a statement sent to Mongabay. The NGO has worked alongside the village institutions in Kubu Raya since 2017. “When the mangroves lose their fresh water, the animals die,” Miller said. A long-tailed macaque found dead on Sept. 14 by SMART patrol team. Image courtesy of Yayasan Planet Indonesia. On Sept. 20, a patrol found a silvered…This article was originally published on Mongabay
Happy World Octopus Day! Every Oct 8, the world celebrates one of the more unusual creatures of the sea. Octopuses are well-known for their eight legs and ability to squirt ink when frightened. They’ve also been known to use tools, a sign of intelligence, and can shape-shift to mimic the colors and texture of their surroundings, an effective way to disappear from both predators and prey. Mongabay has reported on several octopus discoveries this year, including: Ancient octopus were apex predators Modern colossal squid are believed to be the largest invertebrates in the sea, but Mongabay’s Shanna Hanbury recently reported on an even larger ancient octopus species whose fossils were described by Japanese researchers in April 2026. The Japanese team found a fossilized jawbone from the now-extinct Nanaimoteuthis haggarti. Based on its jaw size, researchers suggest the octopus may have reached 6.6 to 18.6 meters (22 to 61 feet) in length. On the higher end, that’s around two-thirds the size of an adult blue whale, the largest animal to ever exist. “It suggests that it may have been among the largest invertebrates ever known,” study co-author Yasuhiro Iba, a paleontologist at Hokkaido University in Japan, told Mongabay by email. They were likely gigantic predators that roamed the late Cretaceous seas between 100 million to 72 million years ago. A rare look at baby octopuses From long dead octopus to newly born, Hanbury also reported on baby Argentine octopuses and a rare photo of them. Patagonian octopus eggs in Puerto Lobos Protected…This article was originally published on Mongabay
In Africa, high-quality seeds can produce improved crops with enhanced nutrition, pest-resistance, and drought tolerance. However, such seeds for maize, vegetables, and cereal crops can be indistinguishable from counterfeit, or “fake” seeds. That’s creating a massive potential for fraud in seed quality that can potentially deprive farmers of access to climate-resilient seeds while putting their harvests and incomes at risk. A group of researchers analyzed the efforts of 50 African countries to combat counterfeit seeds. They found a wide range of penalties for selling them across different governments, and concluded that a significant gap exists between government policy commitments and implementation, largely due to limited capacity. Study lead author Ed Mabaya, a professor of global development at Cornell University in the U.S., told Mongabay, “For most smallholder farmers in Africa, planting happens once a season, often timed to the first rains. A farmer who buys counterfeit seed usually finds out only after planting, when the seed fails to germinate or the crop grows poorly. By then it is usually too late to replant, so the loss is not a slightly smaller harvest but potentially the whole season’s food and income.” That can lead to food insecurity for the individual farmer and local markets more broadly. Counterfeiters can dye or repackage grain and sell it as branded, certified seed, Mabaya said. “The problem arises because certified seed looks exactly like ordinary grain but sells for a much higher price, in some cases several times more for hybrid maize. That price gap…This article was originally published on Mongabay
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