Mexico rejects ‘Perfect Day’ waterpark on Caribbean coast, citing environmental risks (May 20, 2026)
https://news.mongabay.com/short-article/2026/05/mexico-rejects-perfect-day-waterpark-on-caribbean-coast-citing-environmental-risks/
Environmental authorities in Mexico have rejected the proposal for a large waterpark in the southern state of Quintana Roo, citing risks for coastal ecosystems and local communities. Royal Caribbean’s Perfect Day Mexico would have covered more than 80 hectares (200 acres) in the village of Mahahual with the “ultimate vacation for families,” including pools, restaurants […]
Three baby pumas born in Minnesota, US, is a first in more than 100 years (May 20, 2026)
https://news.mongabay.com/short-article/2026/05/three-baby-pumas-born-in-minnesota-us-is-a-first-in-more-than-100-years/
A female puma with her three kittens spotted on a trail camera in Minnesota marked a historic moment, according to scientists. The sighting in March was the first time in more than a century that pumas have been observed breeding in the state. The recording was the result of an unrelated project with deer. Scientists […]
Humanity’s ancient bond with biodiversity is visible in rock art (analysis) (May 20, 2026)
https://news.mongabay.com/2026/05/humanitys-ancient-bond-with-biodiversity-is-visible-in-rock-art-analysis/
- Modern conservation treats biodiversity as a scientific concept, and while useful, the deeper truth is that for much of human history, it was not an abstraction but rather was immediate, sacred and embedded in daily life.
- Ancient rock art makes this clear, as petroglyphs and panels often depict animals, and in relation to humans. It’s also a global phenomenon, not just an artistic expression centered in Europe.
- “If so many human societies across history understood the natural world as worthy of depiction, reverence and symbolic centrality, what does it say about our own era that we are presiding over its rapid destruction?” a new analysis wonders.
- This article is an analysis. The views expressed are those of the author, not necessarily of Mongabay.
Torrential rain and floods batter China, killing at least 12 and forcing mass evacuations (May 20, 2026)
https://news.mongabay.com/short-article/2026/05/torrential-rain-and-floods-batter-china-killing-at-least-12-and-forcing-mass-evacuations/
BEIJING (AP) — Torrential rain and floods hit parts of China this week, killing at least 12 people and forcing tens of thousands of people to evacuate, state media reported. State broadcaster CCTV reported on Wednesday five deaths and 11 people missing in Shimen County of Hunan province in central China after rain battered the region. A […]
Bangladesh salt farmers struggle as climate shifts disrupt harvests (May 20, 2026)
https://news.mongabay.com/2026/05/bangladesh-salt-farmers-struggle-as-climate-shifts-disrupt-harvests/
- Salt farming is one of the largest seasonal livelihood sources in Bangladesh’s southeastern part. About 40,000 farmers are engaged in salt farming on around 27,520 hectares (68,000 acres) of land across Cox’s Bazar district this year.
- However, in recent years, unpredictable weather — such as increased rainy days and cold waves — has been disrupting salt production, forcing farmers to quit their generational livelihoods.
- Usually, salt production depends on dry weather, strong sunlight and high temperatures to crystallize salty water into salt.
- Experts caution that changing weather patterns could undermine both production stability and economic resilience of salt farming communities without adaptation measures.
Ghost shark, carnivorous sponge among 1,000+ newly discovered marine species (May 20, 2026)
https://news.mongabay.com/short-article/2026/05/ghost-shark-carnivorous-sponge-among-1000-newly-discovered-marine-species/
The third year of a global Ocean Census has revealed 1,121 potentially new-to-science marine species, including a worm that lives inside a “glass castle,” a ghost shark, and a carnivorous sponge. The Ocean Census, launched in April 2023, aims to discover and describe marine life “at speed and at scale” before it is lost. The […]
Communities say sacred groves are shrinking in India’s eastern ghats (May 20, 2026)
https://news.mongabay.com/short-article/2026/05/communities-say-sacred-groves-are-shrinking-in-indias-eastern-ghats/
Sacred groves in the Indian state of Odisha continue to be protected now, as they have for hundreds of years because of cultural and spiritual values associated with them, a recent study has found. However, the forests are decreasing in size, nearly all residents interviewed by researchers said. India is estimated to have roughly 100,000 […]
A fever of mobula rays off Mexico’s coast: Photo of the week (May 20, 2026)
https://news.mongabay.com/short-article/2026/05/a-fever-of-mobula-rays-off-mexicos-coast-photo-of-the-week/
During the mobula ray’s migration season, which runs from late April to July, the marine animals form massive aggregations called fevers. The image above was captured by Mongabay founder and CEO Rhett A. Butler in Baja California, a northwestern state of Mexico. The region is home to at least five species of mobula rays. Mobula […]
Electric fences help farmers and elephants coexist in Zambian borderlands (May 20, 2026)
https://news.mongabay.com/2026/05/electric-fences-help-farmers-and-elephants-coexist-in-zambian-borderlands/
- In 2015, Malawi and Zambia signed a treaty to create a transfrontier conservation area that allows wildlife to cross from Malawi’s Kasungu National Park, to Zambia’s Lukusuzi and Luambe national parks.
- Much of Kasungu’s eastern boundary is fenced, but there’s no fence along its western boundary, located along Zambia’s eastern border.
- This means the elephants can move out of the park into an area of human settlements to reach Lukusuzi. But they also raid farmers’ fields.
- Conservation group IFAW is setting up cluster farms, surrounded by electric wires to prevent the elephants from destroying crops, giving them a chance to cross farmlands to reach secure rangelands in Zambia.
New animals discovered in Cambodian caves (May 20, 2026)
https://news.mongabay.com/short-article/2026/05/new-animals-discovered-in-cambodian-caves/
Scientists have discovered at least 11 new species in Cambodia’s karst ecosystems — dramatic landscapes of caves and rocks that create isolated habitats. These new species, as well as other endangered animals in the region highlight the importance of protecting these rare ecosystems.
In Malaysia, a bridge helps endangered langurs and humans coexist (May 20, 2026)
https://news.mongabay.com/custom-story/2026/05/in-malaysia-a-bridge-helps-endangered-langurs-and-humans-coexist/
In Malaysia’s Penang state, conservationists and residents are collaborating to reduce conflict between humans and endangered dusky langurs displaced by urban development and habitat loss. The Langur Project Penang built a canopy bridge to help langurs safely cross a busy road and access more habitat, reducing time spent in residential areas and lowering complaints from […]
Smallholders are not the weak link in forest protection (commentary) (May 20, 2026)
https://news.mongabay.com/2026/05/smallholders-are-not-the-weak-link-in-forest-protection-commentary/
- Smallholders are often treated as risks in deforestation-free supply chains, writes Aida Greenbury, yet many are also among the people with the strongest reason to keep forests standing.
- Greenbury argues that standards, traceability rules and buyer requirements can push costs onto farmers who lack the maps, documents, legal recognition and market access needed to comply.
- She says forest protection will work only if companies, donors, governments and NGOs make long-term commitments to smallholders, including support for land rights, incentives, better yields and trusted local institutions.
- This article is a commentary. The views expressed are those of the authors, not necessarily of Mongabay.
An Australian icon, the platypus is struggling — and scientists still lack answers (May 20, 2026)
https://news.mongabay.com/2026/05/an-australian-icon-the-platypus-is-struggling-and-scientists-still-lack-answers/
- Australia’s iconic platypus is under threat as climate change hits the country hard. Intense heat and longer droughts are parching waterways that platypuses live in; wildfires are more frequent and heavy rainfall events inundate their burrows.
- Platypuses are elusive animals, primarily active at dawn and dusk, making them difficult to locate and count, which hinders conservation efforts. Researchers are working to improve platypus population data.
- Without comprehensive information on their whereabouts, conservationists can’t intervene early in natural disasters to save platypuses.
- Australia’s intense three-year drought and the following 2019-2020 “Black Summer” bushfires led to new ways to manage wild platypus populations during natural disasters. Now, a new framework outlines ways to save populations in crisis: whether to help animals in situ or deciding to move them.
Texas man convicted of buying eagle parts from a wildlife trafficking ring (May 19, 2026)
https://news.mongabay.com/short-article/2026/05/texas-man-convicted-of-buying-eagle-parts-from-a-wildlife-trafficking-ring/
A man from Humble, Texas, U.S., pled guilty to purchasing tails and sets of feathers from illegally killed bald and golden eagles, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Montana. John Patrick Butler, 71, was sentenced May 5 to five years of probation and ordered to pay $77,500 in restitution. The bald […]
Measures must be taken now to prevent pandemics at the source, says epidemiologist (May 19, 2026)
https://news.mongabay.com/podcast/2026/05/measures-must-be-taken-now-to-prevent-pandemics-at-the-source-says-epidemiologist/
“[The]cruel irony here [is] that the world cannot get its act together to address these threats … people are dying, animals are suffering, we’re losing rainforest … these are all interconnected threats,” Neil Vora tells me on this week’s episode of the Mongabay Newscast, just a day after the World Health Organization (WHO) reported more […]
Senate confirms Trump’s pick to lead federal land agency as drilling and mining expand (May 19, 2026)
https://news.mongabay.com/short-article/2026/05/senate-confirms-trumps-pick-to-lead-federal-land-agency-as-drilling-and-mining-expand/
The U.S. Senate confirmed President Donald Trump’s pick to oversee the management of a quarter-billion acres of public lands on Monday, as the administration pushes ahead with more mining and drilling while reversing conservation plans. Former congressman Steve Pearce will lead the Interior Department’s Bureau of Land Management following Monday’s 46-43 confirmation vote. Pearce’s background as a Republican Party […]
On Southeast Asia’s largest lake, locals wield tech to defend the flooded forest (May 19, 2026)
https://news.mongabay.com/2026/05/on-southeast-asias-largest-lake-locals-wield-tech-to-defend-the-flooded-forest/
- Communities living around Cambodia’s Tonle Sap are using a combination of natural and technological solutions to help protect the lake and its surrounding forests from fires.
- A community savings initiative funds patrol teams, which respond to satellite alerts and have stopped more than 50 wildfires.
- Local residents are also restoring the forest by growing native trees in community nurseries.
- Threatened wildlife are returning as a result of these efforts: the fishing cat has been spotted for the first time in 10 years in the restoration area.
He survived a deadly attack, now he is calling for better working conditions for rangers in DRC (May 19, 2026)
https://news.mongabay.com/2026/05/he-survived-a-deadly-attack-now-he-is-calling-for-better-working-conditions-for-rangers-in-drc/
- The international community has set ambitious goals to protect nature, the latest aiming to conserve 30% of the planet by 2030. Rangers are at the center of this effort. According to the International Ranger Federation, they play a crucial role in protecting protected areas and achieving global conservation targets.
- But in many protected areas, rangers are increasingly exposed to violence, often confronting armed groups with limited support, particularly in unstable regions such as eastern Democratic Republic of Congo.
- For Emmanuel Bahati Lukoo, this reality is not abstract — it is deeply personal. In 2018, he narrowly survived an attack by Mai-Mai fighters (an armed group operating in the DRC). Unlike many rangers who have lost their lives protecting nature in eastern DRC, he survived. More than 100 rangers are believed to have been killed in Virunga National Park over the past decade.
- Seeking to shed light on the realities and working conditions of rangers in the DRC, Bahati recently published a book titled Conservation at the Cost of My Youth: The Survival of a Ranger, in which he recounts the life of a ranger in eastern DRC.
Study gathers over 4,000 photos to find Bolivia’s rarest Amazonian dog (May 19, 2026)
https://news.mongabay.com/2026/05/study-gathers-over-4000-photos-to-find-bolivias-rarest-amazonian-dog/
- A study conducted for more than 20 years with camera-trap surveys in different parts of the Bolivian Amazon has recorded 594 independent events for the short-eared dog in more than 4,600 images.
- This species, popularly known in Bolivia as the ghost dog, is one of the least-known canids in the world. Its survival depends highly on the quality of its natural habitat, according to experts.
- In the Bolivian forests, it can generally be found in protected areas or Indigenous territories, which scientists say underscores the importance of these kinds of areas for biodiversity conservation.
Tiremakers ready to roll with EUDR, but repeated delays frustrate industry (May 19, 2026)
https://news.mongabay.com/2026/05/tiremakers-ready-to-roll-with-eudr-but-repeated-delays-frustrate-industry/
- Tire manufacturers, major consumers of natural rubber, say they’re ready for the implementation of the EU’s antideforestation regulation, or EUDR, and lament its repeated delays.
- Natural rubber supply chains are notoriously complex, with 85% of natural rubber coming from 6 million smallholders, and the rubber passing through numerous intermediaries before being turned into tires.
- Ensuring EUDR compliance throughout natural rubber supply chains remains challenging; European tire industry representatives also point to ongoing problems with the information system and due diligence requirements in downstream supply chains.
- The Global Platform for Sustainable Natural Rubber, made up of industry, civil society and producers, promotes sustainability within the natural rubber supply chain and supports smallholders.