Five orangutans found in India face long road back home to Indonesia (September 18, 2026)
https://news.mongabay.com/2026/09/five-orangutans-found-in-india-face-long-road-back-home-to-indonesia/
- On Sept. 8, five infant orangutans were found in an Indian forest, thousands of kilometers from their native range, raising questions about where they came from, how they got there, and who moved them.
- The Sumatran (Pongo abelii) and Tapanuli orangutans (Pongo tapanuliensis) are both found only in Indonesia, on the island of Sumatra.
- The Bornean orangutan (Pongo pygmaeus) is found only in Indonesian and Malaysian Borneo; the island is shared between the two countries and Brunei.
- The government of Indonesia has engaged its counterparts in India in a bid to identify the animals and return them to Indonesia.
Global ocean breaks records with 100 days of heat as El Niño adds new threat (September 18, 2026)
https://news.mongabay.com/2026/09/global-ocean-breaks-records-with-100-days-of-heat-as-el-nino-adds-new-threat/
- Data indicates that the global ocean sustained 100 consecutive days of record heat between June 2 and Sept. 10, and the high sea surface temperatures don’t give any indications of dropping in the near future.
- Experts attribute this episode to climate change, which they say the current El Niño weather pattern is amplifying.
- The record-breaking ocean heat has drawn concerns from experts about the effects on marine ecosystems, global weather patterns, and economies that depend on the ocean.
At 86, Sri Lanka’s ‘father of herpetology’ inspires a new conservation generation (September 18, 2026)
https://news.mongabay.com/short-article/2026/09/at-86-sri-lankas-father-of-herpetology-inspires-a-new-conservation-generation/
Anslem de Silva is widely regarded as the father of modern herpetology in Sri Lanka. He has spent more than six decades documenting the island’s rich reptile and amphibian diversity while mentoring generations of researchers. De Silva spoke with Mongabay contributor Malaka Rodrigo as he, at 86 years old, prepares to host the first World […]
US move to loosen restrictions on fishing could harm vital ecosystems, experts warn (September 18, 2026)
https://news.mongabay.com/2026/09/us-move-to-loosen-restrictions-on-fishing-could-harm-vital-ecosystems-experts-warn/
- The U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) Fisheries published a list of 34 priorities in early September that outline its intention to loosen restrictions on domestic fishing.
- The list includes walking back restrictions on fishing near protected species, removing fishing restrictions at marine national monuments and weakening NOAA Fisheries’ national standards, the regulatory guidelines that have shaped the agency since its inception.
- What NOAA Fisheries is proposing to strip back are “the absolute basics of conserving a healthy ocean ecosystem,” Andrea Treece, deputy managing attorney for the Oceans Program at the San Francisco-based NGO Earthjustice, told Mongabay.
- The agency’s priorities list also emphasizes updating fisheries monitoring technology and data-sharing methods, and including fishers in planning and decision-making.
Now exempt from EU deforestation rules, leather industry moves to repair reputation (September 18, 2026)
https://news.mongabay.com/2026/09/now-exempt-from-eu-deforestation-rules-leather-industry-moves-to-repair-reputation/
- In July, the European Commission confirmed leather’s exclusion from the EU Deforestation Regulation (EUDR) — this week, the change became official.
- The leather sector’s EUDR exemption is a victory for an industry that has lobbied hard for its removal, but challenges remain ahead of the deforestation regulation’s 2030 review, when policymakers will reassess whether hides should comply with deforestation rules.
- The industry is now seeking to rebuild its reputation through science, voluntary standards and stronger supply chain traceability, executives attending the Sustainable Leather Forum in Paris said, but traceability remains one of the sector’s biggest obstacles.
- Leather representatives maintain that hides’ low economic value means leather should not be held responsible for the environmental impacts of cattle production, but environmental group Earthsight has called the argument “misleading.”
Tapanuli orangutans face mining, landslides, and fire threats — with no recovery plan (September 18, 2026)
https://news.mongabay.com/2026/09/tapanuli-orangutans-face-mining-landslides-and-fire-threats-with-no-recovery-plan/
- In late 2025, extreme rainfall associated with Cyclone Senyar wiped out swaths of North Sumatra’s Batang Toru ecosystem, home to the largest known population of Tapanuli orangutans.
- Nearly a year later, there are is still no coordinated recovery strategy for the critically endangered ape, and its habitat faces multiple threats.
- Satellite footage from June this year shows new ground disturbances in the area; plans to expand a gold mine are proceeding even as an environmental audit of the mine is underway; and meteorologists warn that Indonesia faces an unusually severe fire season.
Mekong’s Irrawaddy dolphins find cautious hope amid a river in crisis (September 17, 2026)
https://news.mongabay.com/2026/09/mekongs-irrawaddy-dolphins-find-cautious-hope-amid-a-river-in-crisis/
- Irrawaddy dolphins, the Mekong River’s sole cetaceans, are viewed as sacred animals by Mekong communities, and are also an important source of tourism revenue.
- The species’ population has dropped steeply since the 1990s, due to hunting, entanglement in fishing gear and habitat degradation.
- The Anlong Chheu Teal pool, along the Laos-Cambodia border stands as a cautionary tale: The pool’s last dolphin died in 2022, and tourism subsequently cratered.
- Six calves were confirmed to be born this year in Cambodia, increasing the population to 118 and bringing hope that the species can rebound if dolphins and their habitats are protected
Heavy rain and floods in northern Vietnam submerge homes and disrupt economy (September 17, 2026)
https://news.mongabay.com/short-article/2026/09/heavy-rain-and-floods-in-northern-vietnam-submerge-homes-and-disrupt-economy/
HANOI, Vietnam (AP) — Heavy rain caused flooding across parts of northern Vietnam on Thursday, disrupting travel, inundating homes and pushing several rivers above dangerous levels, authorities and state media said. Rain has fallen across northern and north-central Vietnam this week, with some areas receiving more than 50 centimeters (19.7 inches), according to the disaster […]
India’s tiger success brings a new challenge: Living alongside the big cats (September 17, 2026)
https://news.mongabay.com/2026/09/indias-tiger-success-brings-a-new-challenge-living-alongside-the-big-cats/
- As tiger populations in India grow and disperse beyond protected areas, encounters with people are increasing, prompting repeated capture and relocation operations by the forest department.
- High density doesn’t necessarily mean India has too many tigers. Experts caution that a region’s carrying capacity is influenced by available habitat and prey, the human population and other factors.
- While some landscapes support large tiger populations, potential habitat is relatively empty in other areas. Distribution and landscape management are top challenges, conservationists say.
- With around 30% of India’s tigers living outside its 58 tiger reserves, a landscape-scale management that maintains and reconnects wildlife corridors is crucial to keep both people and tigers safe, as well as careful monitoring of dispersing tigers, and better management of human-wildlife conflict.
Community-based conservation is a good climate investment in Brazil & beyond (commentary) (September 17, 2026)
https://news.mongabay.com/2026/09/community-based-conservation-is-a-good-climate-investment-in-brazil-beyond-commentary/
- In Brazil, community-based land management of collective territories has produced striking results for conservation.
- The social situation of these communities is less encouraging, though, with nearly half of households living a precarious existence, suggesting income-transfer programs linked to conservation, like the Tropical Forests Forever Facility (TFFF), could make a difference — if implemented well.
- “Community-based conservation, with its proven effectiveness, would be a compelling focus [for] this type of investment, especially in Brazil,” a new op-ed argues.
- This article is a commentary. The views expressed are those of the authors, not necessarily of Mongabay.
As drought shrinks Sri Lanka’s water holes, poisoning poses threat to wildlife (September 17, 2026)
https://news.mongabay.com/2026/09/as-drought-shrinks-sri-lankas-water-holes-poisoning-poses-threat-to-wildlife/
- Sri Lanka will keep the two most visited sections of Yala National Park closed from Sept. 14 to Oct. 15 as drought conditions and extreme heat intensify pressure on wildlife.
- Wildlife officers are supplying water to animals as natural water sources have largely dried up but concentrating thirsty wild animals around remaining water holes could spark new conservation risks.
- Poachers have previously poisoned water holes during droughts to kill deer and other animals for meat, with similar incidents reported in and around several protected areas across Sri Lanka.
- The crisis highlights how climate-driven water shortages expose wildlife to an array of fresh threats.
World’s smallest crocodile in high demand for bushmeat trade in Nigeria (September 17, 2026)
https://news.mongabay.com/2026/09/worlds-smallest-crocodile-in-high-demand-for-bushmeat-trade-in-nigeria/
- The African dwarf crocodile is found in dense swamps and flooded forests across large parts of West and Central Africa.
- Experts say these reptiles, which are widely hunted and sold, are under pressure from overexploitation and loss of habitat.
- A recently published study set out to assess how many of the reptiles were sold in three bushmeat markets in the Niger Delta.
A giant anteater’s return in Argentina offers a case for letting nature restore itself (September 17, 2026)
https://news.mongabay.com/2026/09/a-giant-anteaters-return-in-argentina-offers-a-case-for-letting-nature-restore-itself/
- The return of a giant anteater to the protected area in the humid Gran Chaco in Argentina has given researchers hope that ecosystem restoration could help restore biodiversity in an area threatened by habitat loss and agriculture.
- Passive restoration in the area meant removing pressures on the landscape from livestock, dogs, hunting, and fishing, which allowed the natural vegetation to recover.
- Experts say it’s too early to say if the anteater’s return is the start of the species’ recovery or just a one-off, and call for continuous monitoring.
Rescuers race against time as fires ravage orangutan habitat inside Indonesian oil palm concession (September 17, 2026)
https://news.mongabay.com/2026/09/rescuers-race-against-time-as-fires-ravage-orangutan-habitat-inside-indonesian-oil-palm-concession/
- Conservationists are racing to rescue orangutans from fire-affected habitat inside an Indonesian oil palm concession.
- Some orangutans have been brought to safety, while others are believed to remain in the area.
- First Resources, which owns the concession, says it enforces a strict “zero-burning policy” across all planting activities.
- Another, larger conservation area that once supported an estimated 200 orangutans has also been affected by fire.
Exotic pet trade poses rising zoonotic disease risks in India (September 17, 2026)
https://news.mongabay.com/short-article/2026/09/exotic-pet-trade-poses-rising-zoonotic-disease-risks-in-india/
In India, the exotic pet trade is increasing the risk of zoonotic disease spillovers, as close contact with imported wild animals creates repeated opportunities for dangerous pathogens to jump to humans and vice versa, reports Mongabay India’s Arathi Menon. Dr. Rina Dev, an avian and exotic animal veterinarian in Mumbai who treats imported and seized […]
Displaced by typhoons, Taiwan’s Bunun Indigenous people struggle to preserve heritage (September 17, 2026)
https://news.mongabay.com/short-article/2026/09/displaced-by-typhoons-taiwans-bunun-indigenous-people-struggle-to-preserve-heritage/
Wild grass now grows around the abandoned wooden houses of Tengjhih, a high-mountain hamlet in southern Taiwan, once a key settlement of the Bunun Indigenous people. Now, little remains except for the memories it holds. Around 150 Bunun Indigenous residents of Tengjhih were permanently resettled in lowland areas after the deadly Typhoon Morakot in 2009 […]
In Southeast Asia, residents grapple with life under Indonesia’s wildfire haze (September 17, 2026)
https://news.mongabay.com/2026/09/in-southeast-asia-residents-grapple-with-life-under-indonesias-wildfire-haze/
- Air quality in cities and districts across Southeast Asia has reached hazardous levels in recent weeks owing to transboundary haze from wildfires in Indonesia.
- The pollution has limited outdoor activities, caused or contributed to health issues and forced children to stay home from school.
- Mongabay talked with residents in Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore and the Philippines to find out how the transboundary haze and wildfires are affecting their daily lives.
‘Don’t shoot. Listen’: The AI-aided quest to understand Yellowstone’s wolves (September 16, 2026)
https://news.mongabay.com/2026/09/dont-shoot-listen-the-ai-aided-quest-to-understand-yellowstones-wolves/
- Wolf howls have mystified listeners for ages, prompting a range of questions. For more than three decades, wildlife biologists, using traditional research methods, have sought answers from the wolf packs of Yellowstone National Park, among the most studied on Earth.
- Jeff Reed, a native Montanan, linguist and computer engineer, has joined the Yellowstone researchers in a quest to decode what he calls “wolfish” by deploying the latest technology. Reed’s bioacoustic listening devices collect massive amounts of ambient sound annually from the vast Yellowstone soundscape.
- Using large-language models and artificial intelligence, Reed has isolated more than 8,000 hours of continuous wolf vocalizations, the largest database of its kind in the world. Through repetitive analysis, Reed has identified a range of distinct wolf calls, possibly signifying specific meanings or emotions.
- Reed’s pioneering technology is already in use to eavesdrop on wolf packs in Italy, and it has potential utility for wildlife research and conservation worldwide. Longtime Mongabay contributor Justin Catanoso field-reported this story from Yellowstone National Park in Wyoming and Emigrant, Montana.
Bolivia’s mining law overhaul raises environmental and community concerns (September 16, 2026)
https://news.mongabay.com/short-article/2026/09/bolivias-mining-law-overhaul-raises-environmental-and-community-concerns/
Bolivia recently began overhauling one of its principal mining laws, with the goal of modernizing the industry and improving oversight. Civil society and Indigenous groups have raised concerns about the process, but officials say the new mining code will promote economic development and include environmental protections. “We want a mining code that responds to the […]
EU plans new firefighting fleet after deadly summer heat wave (September 16, 2026)
https://news.mongabay.com/short-article/2026/09/eu-plans-new-firefighting-fleet-after-deadly-summer-heat-wave/
BRUSSELS (AP) — A scorching summer that dried up rivers and killed tens of thousands across the European Union from Portugal to Hungary has shown that the bloc needs to develop new tools to meet a worsening climate, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said Wednesday. She said that this instability led her to […]