Celebrating the ‘gardeners of the forest’ on World Tapir Day (April 27, 2026)
https://news.mongabay.com/short-article/2026/04/celebrating-the-gardeners-of-the-forest-on-world-tapir-day/
Described as “gardeners of the forest,” tapirs help maintain healthy ecosystems by dispersing seeds and landscaping the vegetation. Yet they remain underfunded for research. All four tapir species — the Asian (Malayan) tapir (Tapirus indicus), Baird’s tapir (T. bairdii), the lowland or South American tapir (T. terrestris) and the mountain tapir (T. pinchaque) — are […]
Heat, fires and agribusiness squeeze traditional Amazon açaí harvesters (April 27, 2026)
https://news.mongabay.com/2026/04/heat-fires-and-agribusiness-squeeze-traditional-amazon-acai-harvesters/
- Intensive farming of the popular açaí berry grew by 70% since 2015, while community cooperatives reported losses of 35% or more during recent heat waves and fires.
- Industrial açaí crops often rely on artificial irrigation and nonnative honeybees, adapting the Amazon to intensive methods rather than benefiting from the biome’s own systems.
- Market analysis indicates increasing international demand and rising prices, a trend that pushes for high-yield commercial monocultures over forest-based extraction.
After nearly a century, Taiwan’s legless lizard gets its own identity (April 27, 2026)
https://news.mongabay.com/short-article/2026/04/after-nearly-a-century-taiwans-legless-lizard-gets-its-own-identity/
A new study has cleared up a century’s worth of identity confusion surrounding a secretive, legless lizard found in Taiwan’s forests. Researchers from National Taiwan Normal University confirmed the Formosan legless lizard (Dopasia formosensis) is a distinct species endemic to the island, separate from the more widespread Hart’s glass lizard (D. harti), under which it […]
Endangered civet faces local extinction in Cambodian sanctuary (April 27, 2026)
https://news.mongabay.com/short-article/2026/04/endangered-civet-faces-local-extinction-in-cambodian-sanctuary/
The large-spotted civet is an endangered small carnivore found in pockets of forest across Southeast Asia. Now, a new study suggests the nocturnal mammals are heading toward local extinction in Cambodia’s Srepok Wildlife Sanctuary (SWS), once considered a global stronghold for the species. The study, published in Pacific Conservation Biology, analyzed a decade of camera-trap […]
Peter Raven, botanist and advocate for biodiversity, has died, aged 89 (April 27, 2026)
https://news.mongabay.com/2026/04/peter-raven-botanist-and-advocate-for-biodiversity-has-died-aged-89/
- Peter Raven was one of the most influential botanists of the 20th century, helping to shape modern understanding of biodiversity and coevolution.
- As director of the Missouri Botanical Garden for nearly four decades, he transformed it into a global center for research, conservation, and education.
- He was an early and persistent voice warning that human activity—through habitat loss, consumption, and population growth—was driving a mass loss of species.
- His work combined science and public engagement, emphasizing that understanding the natural world carries an obligation to sustain it.
Don Janssen, wildlife veterinarian who argued that caring for animals begins with people (April 26, 2026)
https://news.mongabay.com/2026/04/don-janssen-wildlife-veterinarian-who-argued-that-caring-for-animals-begins-with-people/
- Don Janssen spent more than three decades at the San Diego Zoo and Safari Park, helping shape modern zoological medicine through clinical work, research, and leadership.
- He came to believe that veterinary care depended as much on trust, relationships, and teamwork as on technical expertise.
- Drawing on his experience, he developed and taught a model of “servant leadership” that emphasized presence, humility, and clarity in times of stress.
- Later in life, a diagnosis of Parkinson’s disease reinforced his view that while circumstances cannot be controlled, one’s response to them can.
As Walk for Peace begins in Sri Lanka, activists call for animal rights (April 26, 2026)
https://news.mongabay.com/2026/04/as-walk-for-peace-begins-in-sri-lanka-activists-call-for-animal-rights/
- Aloka, previously a stray dog in India, has become a global symbol of compassion, accompanying Buddhist monks on their intercontinental Walk for Peace, which is now in Sri Lanka.
- Concerns were expressed over Aloka’s health and safety due to the prevalence of intense heat in Sri Lanka, with unusually high daytime temperatures and humid conditions prompting special care measures including a trailing ambulance and veterinary support throughout the journey.
- With an estimated 2.5 million stray dogs in Sri Lanka, activists critiqued an initial plan to remove street dogs from the walking path to avoid local dogs threatening Aloka’s safety.
- Animal rights advocates are using the moment to call for the long-delayed Animal Welfare Bill, urging stronger legal protections and humane treatment, replacing the country’s outdated laws to protect wild, domestic and stray animals.
How Bangladesh builds houses that stand in extreme floods (April 25, 2026)
https://news.mongabay.com/video/2026/04/how-bangladesh-builds-houses-that-stand-in-extreme-floods/
JAMUNA RIVER, Bangladesh — Bulbul has just married and moved into a small village in northeast Bangladesh, a region battered year after year by severe flooding. During the rainy season, water routinely invades homes, wipes out crops, and turns daily life into a struggle for survival. For families like Bulbul’s, rebuilding after each monsoon has […]
Nan Schaffer, veterinarian who helped unlock the science of rhino reproduction, has died, aged 72 (April 24, 2026)
https://news.mongabay.com/2026/04/nan-schaffer-veterinarian-who-helped-unlock-the-science-of-rhino-reproduction-has-died-aged-72/
- Nan Schaffer, a veterinarian who pioneered the study of rhinoceros reproduction, devoted her career to understanding and overcoming the biological barriers that kept captive rhinos from breeding as wild populations declined.
- Working across zoos and research programs, she developed techniques to manage pregnancies, collect and preserve genetic material, and build the scientific foundation that underpins modern rhino conservation efforts.
- Beyond her scientific work, she was a prominent supporter of LGBTQ+ causes in Chicago, a philanthropist, and a civic figure recognized with induction into the Chicago LGBTQ+ Hall of Fame.
- Guided by a belief that the loss of species would diminish human understanding of the natural world, she argued that extinction was not only a biological crisis but a cultural and moral one, with consequences that extend beyond conservation itself.
AI is a double-edged sword for Indigenous stewardship, say U.N. experts (April 24, 2026)
https://news.mongabay.com/2026/04/ai-is-a-double-edged-sword-for-indigenous-stewardship-say-u-n-experts/
- At the United Nations Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues 25th session, U.N. experts called attention to the opportunities and dangers of AI-centered conservation efforts.
- A study published by former chair of the permanent forum Hindou Oumarou Ibrahim highlighted that AI can positively contribute to the protection of the environment but also impact efforts, due to its high consumption of energy, water and critical minerals.
- AI can support the protection and management of Indigenous peoples’ lands and resources, such as by monitoring the environment to detect deforestation, fires, or illegal extraction.
- Experts warned that to ensure the protection of Indigenous peoples and their territories, governments must prevent all forms of land-grabbing, water exploitation and mining activities related to data centers and energy sources, and respect Indigenous rights, worldviews and aspirations.
NPFC adopts illegal fishing measures — but no Emperor Seamount protections (April 24, 2026)
https://news.mongabay.com/2026/04/npfc-adopts-illegal-fishing-measures-but-no-emperor-seamount-protections/
- The 10th annual meeting of the North Pacific Fisheries Commission (NFPC) took place April 14-17 in Osaka, Japan.
- While the NPFC members enacted new measures to combat illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing, leading NGOs criticized the commission for failing to act on bottom trawling in the Emperor Seamount Chain, a biodiversity-rich volcanic submarine mountain range in the Northwest Pacific.
- Some NPFC members and observers also expressed disappointment about backtracking on stock management and conservation for the Pacific saury, which is targeted by fishing fleets of several member countries.
Investigators eye organized crime links in 3-ton pangolin scale haul at Jakarta port (April 24, 2026)
https://news.mongabay.com/2026/04/investigators-eye-organized-crime-links-in-3-ton-pangolin-scale-haul-at-jakarta-port/
- Customs officers in Jakarta planned to conduct interviews this month in connection with the seizure of more than 3 metric tons of pangolin scales, which inspectors found in a shipping container bound for Cambodia in late February.
- Mongabay Indonesia visited the address registered to the company exporting the container, but it appeared to be a shopfront, while its contact numbers registered in a government database were inactive.
- Indonesian authorities continue to make more pangolin scale seizures: This month, a Navy vessel intercepted a Vietnam-flagged cargo boat off the northwest coast of Java found to be carrying 780 kg (1,720 lbs) of scales.
AI tool tracks spread of illegal gold mining in Amazon protected areas (April 24, 2026)
https://news.mongabay.com/2026/04/ai-tool-tracks-spread-of-illegal-gold-mining-in-amazon-protected-areas/
- Gold mining presumed to be illegal caused 6,000 hectares (more than 14,800 acres) of deforestation in Amazonian protected areas and Indigenous territories during the last three months of 2025, according to a new quarterly report from the Amazon Mining Watch platform.
- New mining scars were identified in all nine Amazonian countries, with Brazil, Peru and Guyana suffering the highest levels of mining-linked deforestation.
- Soaring gold prices are driving this destruction, experts say, and call for more monitoring, law enforcement and coordinated action between countries to tackle the issue.
- Using an AI algorithm that’s constantly being improved, the Amazon Mining Watch platform aims to serve as an early-warning tool for authorities and civil society to identify and address new incidences of illegal gold mining, especially in border areas.
Photos: A shark meat processing village and market in Indonesia’s Lombok (April 24, 2026)
https://news.mongabay.com/custom-story/2026/04/photos-a-shark-meat-processing-village-and-market-in-indonesias-lombok/
Shark meat has quietly surpassed shark fins in international trade volume and value. In East Lombok it sells for as little as 29 cents a skewer. Photojournalist Garry Lolutung documented the shark trade at Lombok’s Tanjung Luar fish market and nearby Rumbuk village, an important shark meat processing center. EAST LOMBOK, Indonesia — Indonesia consistently […]
New ‘cryptic’ gecko species discovered in Vietnam’s imperiled karst forests (April 24, 2026)
https://news.mongabay.com/short-article/2026/04/new-cryptic-gecko-species-discovered-in-vietnams-imperiled-karst-forests/
In the rugged karst forests of northern Vietnam, researchers have identified a new gecko species, Vietnam’s 12th known species of gecko. The discovery highlights how much diversity the often-overlooked landscape holds. Ziegler’s Slender Gecko (Hemiphyllodactylus ziegleri) was discovered during surveys in the Copia Nature Reserve, in Son La province. The species was named in honor […]
Indigenous knowledge helps identify new, highly threatened skink in Australia (April 24, 2026)
https://news.mongabay.com/short-article/2026/04/indigenous-knowledge-helps-identify-new-highly-threatened-skink-in-australia/
Researchers have described a new-to-science species of skink that may be one of Australia’s most threatened reptiles. The small population of the skink, possibly fewer than 20 individuals, lives in a pocket of rocky gorge within the arid Mutawintji National Park in New South Wales state, the researchers report in a new paper. The skink […]
Nepal plans park for ‘problem’ tigers as attacks raise concerns (April 24, 2026)
https://news.mongabay.com/2026/04/nepal-plans-park-for-problem-tigers-as-attacks-raise-concerns/
- Nepal has proposed a 50-hectare tiger park near Chitwan National Park to house “problem” tigers in semi-natural enclosures and fund their upkeep through tourism.
- Rising tiger populations and increasing human-tiger encounters have led to fatalities, costly captivity, and overcrowded, often inadequate holding centers.
- Research shows only a small fraction of tigers cause conflicts, typically injured or old individuals, while most rely on wild prey.
- Critics warn the park may be ethically flawed, financially unstable, and ecologically ineffective, and have suggested alternatives like better conflict management, improved identification protocols, or even euthanasia of high-risk tigers.
Amid conflict and poaching, tech helps boost mountain gorilla numbers (April 23, 2026)
https://news.mongabay.com/2026/04/amid-conflict-and-poaching-tech-helps-boost-mountain-gorilla-numbers/
- Mountain gorillas face serious threats as they lose habitat and are stalked by poachers, but populations have jumped by 73% since 1989, now numbering an estimated 1,063.
- A mobile tool called SMART is helping forest guards and conservationists collect data to better track and protect the apes and other wildlife.
- But budgets are tight; more staff, field equipment and data collection devices are needed, conservation experts say.
- The current security situation across the transborder region between Rwanda, Uganda and the Democratic Republic of Congo is a significant concern, both for forest rangers and gorillas.
Canada offers mines and more in $730b investment bid slammed as unsustainable (April 23, 2026)
https://news.mongabay.com/short-article/2026/04/canada-offers-mines-and-more-in-730b-investment-bid-slammed-as-unsustainable/
Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney has touted his country’s natural resources as the main attraction for securing more than $700 billion in new investments over the next five years — a plan that a mining watchdog has blasted as “robber baron capitalism.” Carney announced in a press release a summit scheduled for Sept. 14-15 in […]
Sweden’s secondhand clothing swaps offer a trendy way to cut environmental waste (April 23, 2026)
https://news.mongabay.com/short-article/2026/04/swedens-secondhand-clothing-swaps-offer-a-trendy-way-to-cut-environmental-waste/
STOCKHOLM (AP) — Alva Palosaari Sundman scoured the racks of secondhand clothes in Stockholm for hours in search of the right pair of preowned jeans. The 24-year-old art student was among hundreds of people attending an annual clothing swap on Sunday at a community center in Sweden’s capital. They exchanged their own clothes to “shop” for others. […]