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 […]
‘We’ve got bats’: The community bringing New Zealand’s pekapeka into the spotlight (May 19, 2026)
https://news.mongabay.com/2026/05/weve-got-bats-the-community-bringing-new-zealands-pekapeka-into-the-spotlight/
- Aotearoa New Zealand’s only native land mammals are three bat species — one of which is likely extinct and the other two headed in the same direction due to habitat loss and other threats.
- A community-led bat research group, one of the first in the country, is working to help save the New Zealand long-tailed bat (Chalinolobus tuberculatus) by conducting surveys for bats in and around Franklin county, near Auckland.
- Their research project, called Finding Franklin Bats (FFB), is also aiming to spread local awareness of New Zealand’s bats and their plight by working with landowners and community members.
- Over the past three years, volunteer numbers have swelled from 50 to more than 180, and in 2026 FFB received enough funding to employ seven people, six of them members of local Indigenous communities.
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.
Rising waters and mounting pressures collide on Kenya’s Lake Turkana (May 19, 2026)
https://news.mongabay.com/2026/05/rising-waters-and-mounting-pressures-collide-on-kenyas-lake-turkana/
- Lake Turkana in northern Kenya has risen by as much as 10 meters (33 feet) over the past 15 years, displacing communities, flooding infrastructure and reshaping fisheries in one of the country’s most climate-vulnerable regions.
- Scientists and local residents are still debating the causes of the lake’s expansion, with theories ranging from heavier rainfall linked to climate change, to tectonic and groundwater shifts, while researchers say Ethiopia’s Gibe III Dam upstream has also altered the lake’s ecological dynamics.
- Fishers around the lake say catches have declined sharply in recent years as changing water levels alter breeding grounds and fish distribution, while drought drives more pastoralists to rely on fishing for survival.
- Researchers and local advocates say Lake Turkana suffers from decades of poorly planned development and limited scientific monitoring, though new efforts are underway to improve data collection and guide more sustainable management of the lake and its fisheries.
‘Turkana has always adapted to change’: Interview with environmentalist Ikal Angelei (May 19, 2026)
https://news.mongabay.com/2026/05/turkana-has-always-adapted-to-change-interview-with-environmentalist-ikal-angelei/
- Local livelihoods around Kenya’s Lake Turkana have long shifted between pastoralism, fishing, farming and trade as people adapted to a landscape defined by fluctuation.
- But as the scale and intensity of erratic climate patterns, mounting pressure on its fisheries, and conflict over resources has increased, their space has shrunk.
- The lake has long been a place where the poorest could make a living, but as the economic value of resources here increases, there is a risk that they will be pushed out by those better placed to access infrastructure and opportunities.
Indonesia’s nickel boom linked to rising illness and worker harm, reports find (May 19, 2026)
https://news.mongabay.com/2026/05/indonesias-nickel-boom-linked-to-rising-illness-and-worker-harm-reports-find/
- A newly published report by Indonesia’s human rights commission, Komnas HAM, includes new evidence of environmental and public health harms caused by the nickel mining industry in eastern Indonesia.
- Mongabay Indonesia has previously reported on increases in respiratory disease recorded by health workers in a community alongside the Indonesia Weda Bay Industrial Park in North Maluku province.
- The Komnas HAM human rights report also includes data showing high rates of respiratory disease around the Indonesia Morowali Industrial Park in Central Sulawesi province.
- A separate report published by a labor nonprofit focusing on interviews with workers showed many knew of colleagues who had died suddenly, while reports of suicide were common.
Timor green pigeon could go extinct without immediate action, study finds (May 19, 2026)
https://news.mongabay.com/short-article/2026/05/timor-green-pigeon-could-go-extinct-without-immediate-action-study-finds/
The extremely rare Timor green pigeon has fewer than 500 individuals left in the wild, according to a recent study. Researchers say its extinction risk must be revised from endangered to critically endangered. The fruit-eating Timor green pigeon (Treron psittaceus), known for its distinctive mango-green plumage, is “endemic to Timor, Rote and adjacent satellite islands” […]
Philippine fishing and Indigenous communities wary of clean energy boom in Marcos stronghold (May 18, 2026)
https://news.mongabay.com/2026/05/philippine-fishing-and-indigenous-communities-wary-of-clean-energy-boom-in-marcos-stronghold/
- The Philippines is currently highly dependent on fossil fuels for energy generation, but the government has committed to reaching 50% renewables by 2050.
- The resulting energy boom — especially in Ilocos North, the president’s home province — has seen an influx of foreign investment, but also raised questions about who will bear the costs of the country’s energy transition.
- Fishers in Ilocos Norte say they worry that wind energy projects in their traditional fishing grounds will disrupt marine life and fishing routes.
- Inland, the Masamuyao Isneg Yapayao tribal council is trying to stop the expansion of a solar farm that officials say failed to obtain the tribe’s consent.
Organized crime adds to environmental destruction in the Amazon, report finds (May 18, 2026)
https://news.mongabay.com/short-article/2026/05/organized-crime-adds-to-environmental-destruction-in-the-amazon-report-finds/
A new report by the International Crisis Group finds that organized crime has become a “major obstacle” to protecting the Amazon. Criminal groups often operate across borders and are expanding control over huge swathes of land, which undermines state efforts to combat environmental crimes such as drug trafficking, deforestation and illegal mining. “In Colombia, park […]
Who controls Indian Ocean tuna? (May 18, 2026)
https://news.mongabay.com/specials/2026/05/who-controls-indian-ocean-tuna/
The Indian Ocean hosts one of the world’s largest tuna fisheries, supplying global seafood markets and sustaining livelihoods across dozens of coastal nations. But scientists warn some stocks are under mounting pressure as foreign-owned industrial fleets continue to overfish tuna and coastal countries expand their fisheries — intensifying disputes over how the resource is managed. […]
19,000 Great Pyramids a year: Report flags unsustainable rate of sand mining (May 18, 2026)
https://news.mongabay.com/2026/05/19000-great-pyramids-a-year-report-flags-unsustainable-rate-of-sand-mining/
- A new analysis of global sand extraction indicates the industry is removing roughly 50 billion metric tons a year, a pace that far outstrips natural replenishment.
- Experts say the loss of sand from landscapes, river deltas, and coastal zones threatens ecosystems, livelihoods and many processes on which life depends.
- Although the sand mining industry is operating at unsustainable levels, experts say measures exist to lessen its impact.
- Solutions include coordinated governance, stronger monitoring and long-term, cross-border planning.
Trump called trophy hunting a “horror show,” but permitted 300-plus elephant trophy imports in 2025 (May 18, 2026)
https://news.mongabay.com/2026/05/trump-called-trophy-hunting-a-horror-show-but-permitted-300-plus-elephant-trophy-imports-in-2025/
- More than 300 elephant trophy import permits were issued in 2025 under Donald Trump’s second presidency, the most ever issued under the Trump administration.
- In 2017, after Trump called trophy hunting a “horror show,” his administration convened a pro-hunting board to rework import rules; it dissolved after a lawsuit. Now, Safari Club International has petitioned to dilute protections for elephants in the U.S. to facilitate trophy imports.
- Nearly two-thirds of the imported trophies came from Botswana, which renewed elephant hunting in 2018 after a brief pause.
- Since trophy hunters selectively target “supertuskers” — older males with the largest tusks — conservationists say they are being killed at a rate that raises concerns for the future of endangered savanna elephants.
Nepal’s plan to release blackbucks into tiger country raises red flags (May 18, 2026)
https://news.mongabay.com/2026/05/nepals-plan-to-release-blackbucks-into-tiger-country-raises-red-flags/
- Nepali authorities will relocate 18 blackbucks to an enclosure near Chitwan National Park to establish a new habitat for the critically endangered animals, which in Nepal are currently found only in Bardiya and Shuklaphanta.
- However, Chitwan’s monsoonal climate, competition from other deer species, and the presence of tigers and leopards are likely to increase physiological and behavioral stress for the blackbucks, conservationists warn.
- They’ve also flagged the relocation enclosure’s proximity to a municipal waste dump and a carnival ground, and warned of potential disturbances from tourists.
- Earlier translocations to Shuklaphanta were considered successful, helping to boost Nepal’s blackbuck population, largely in human-managed landscapes; but ecologists say true success will be achieved only when the animals are released into the wild and can sustain a self-sufficient, breeding population.
Jane Goodall’s grandson on hope after loss (May 18, 2026)
https://news.mongabay.com/short-article/2026/05/jane-goodalls-grandson-on-hope-after-loss/
Founder’s Briefs: An occasional series where Mongabay founder Rhett Ayers Butler shares analysis, perspectives and story summaries. Five months after Jane Goodall’s death, her grandson Merlin Van Lawick appeared at the ChangeNOW environmental forum in Paris carrying something both public and personal. He was there not as a substitute for his grandmother, but as someone […]
Fire at WCS Makira Natural Park office allegedly linked to patrol efforts (May 18, 2026)
https://news.mongabay.com/2026/05/fire-at-wcs-makira-natural-park-office-allegedly-linked-to-patrol-efforts/
- An angry crowd allegedly set fire to a site office of the Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS) in Ambinanitelo Maroantsetra, in northeastern Madagascar, on May 4.
- Photos circulating on social media show that the office was destroyed; the staff are believed to be safe.
- Six men were allegedly caught logging in the core of Makira Natural Park, managed by WCS. An environment ministry official suggested that their capture angered nearby residents.
- Local authorities are waiting for tensions to subside before resuming the probe, as they say it might place WCS staff and park personnel at risk.