How new is the first ‘new-to-science’ cat discovered in more than 100 years? (September 25, 2026)
https://news.mongabay.com/short-article/2026/09/how-new-is-the-first-new-to-science-cat-discovered-in-more-than-100-years/
Scientists have described a species of tiger cat that was previously unknown to science. From Bolivia’s Yungas cloud forests, it is the first discovery of a living novel cat species in more than 100 years. The tilcayo (Leopardus tilcayo) takes its species name from the name locals already had for it. Paola Nogales-Ascarrunz, a National […]
NGOs call on Vantara to end all wild animal imports permanently (September 25, 2026)
https://news.mongabay.com/2026/09/ngos-call-on-vantara-to-end-all-wild-animal-imports-permanently/
- In a letter, 27 leading global wildlife conservation and animal welfare organizations have urged Vantara, a private zoo in India funded by Reliance Industries’ nonprofit, to permanently end all wild animal imports into its facilities.
- The letter comes after Vantara announced a self-imposed one-year moratorium, which runs through June 2027, on all animal imports to its facilities as it improves its “due diligence” by appointing a governing council and stricter oversight.
- The announcement came amid allegations of illegal wildlife trade linked to Vantara — and a CITES Secretariat investigation into its 60,000 live animal imports over the past two years.
- The coalition of NGOs call for Vantara to address compliance concerns of animals already under its care, be transparent about future acquisitions and prioritize conservation of wildlife in their native habitats.
To tackle environmental crime, track profits through the whole supply chain (commentary) (September 25, 2026)
https://news.mongabay.com/2026/09/to-tackle-environmental-crime-track-profits-through-the-whole-supply-chain-commentary/
- The world has spent a decade trying to put a price on nature, yet the criminal economy has been putting a price on it for much longer.
- Land grabbing, illegal logging, illicit gold mining and wildlife trafficking are extremely lucrative and have become a serious drag on both sustainable development and climate action, a new op-ed argues, and its drivers must be addressed from where extraction begins all the way to corporate offices.
- “The world is still working out how much a standing forest is worth. Criminal markets settled on a price for a felled one long ago,” the authors write.
- This article is a commentary. The views expressed are those of the authors, not necessarily of Mongabay.
Farmers in South Africa’s Limpopo face unpredictable rainfall, uncertain futures (September 25, 2026)
https://news.mongabay.com/2026/09/farmers-in-south-africas-limpopo-face-unpredictable-rainfall-uncertain-futures/
- In South Africa’s Malala Drift, near Musina in Limpopo province, farmers say rainfall has become increasingly unreliable, forcing some to abandon their crops.
- New research also documents increased rainfall variability in recent years, along with rising temperatures, drought, crop failures, livestock deaths and food insecurity.
- Some farmers say that when the river level falls, they hire an excavation company to dig into the riverbed.
Cheetah cubs at Prague Zoo are doing well after a period of strong storms and their mother’s illness (September 25, 2026)
https://news.mongabay.com/short-article/2026/09/cheetah-cubs-at-prague-zoo-are-doing-well-after-a-period-of-strong-storms-and-their-mothers-illness/
PRAGUE (AP) — Five cheetah cubs had to survive a weather scare and the illness of their mother after their birth at the Prague Zoo. But they are doing well now, the zoo said on Friday. The zoo said the quintuplets — four males and one female — that were born on June 18 had […]
Scientists clone Southern Africa’s wild fruit trees as forests disappear (September 25, 2026)
https://news.mongabay.com/2026/09/scientists-clone-southern-africas-wild-fruit-trees-as-forests-disappear/
- Researchers at gene banks scattered across Southern Africa have spent decades collecting and duplicating specimens of valuable wild fruit trees.
- Among the species cloned by researchers from the Landscape Alliance is the wild loquat — an evergreen tree that produces large quantities of highly sought-after berries that provide income and nourishment for millions of people.
- Alice Muchugi and her colleagues are skilled practitioners of “air layering,” which ingeniously spurs a branch to produce roots, hugely reducing the time needed to establish a new, mature, fruit-bearing tree.
- Planting and preserving prolific indigenous fruit trees protects both the biodiversity of miombo woodlands and an important alternative food source for communities who live in them.
Global coral reefs get less time to recover as oceans heat up, report finds (September 25, 2026)
https://news.mongabay.com/2026/09/global-coral-reefs-get-less-time-to-recover-as-oceans-heat-up-report-finds/
- The largest global coral reef assessment finds that average hard coral cover has declined 9.5% relative to a three-decade reference period spanning 1980-2009.
- A fourth global bleaching event in 2023-2025 drove a record 8.9% one-year loss, though its full effects are not captured in this analysis, which ends in 2024.
- Reefs can recover after bleaching events, but increasingly frequent marine heat waves are shortening their recovery window.
- Scientists say local management can strengthen reef resilience, but rapid greenhouse gas emission cuts remain essential to prevent further widespread losses.
Bangladesh’s Rohingya refugee camps become increasingly vulnerable to landslides (September 25, 2026)
https://news.mongabay.com/2026/09/bangladeshs-rohingya-refugee-camps-become-increasingly-vulnerable-to-landslides/
- Amid recurring landslides, a growing number of Rohingya refugees in Bangladesh are being forced to adapt to increasingly limited camp space.
- The refugee management authorities warn that expansions of Rohingya camps will accelerate further destruction of forests and biodiversity.
- A study recommends protection of the vulnerable hill slopes, but authorities cite fund shortages as a major obstacle.
Plastic and rubber litter found in remote submarine canyon off Argentina’s coast (September 25, 2026)
https://news.mongabay.com/short-article/2026/09/plastic-and-rubber-litter-found-in-remote-submarine-canyon-off-argentinas-coast/
Plastic waste has been found in the most remote places — including, now, a deep-sea canyon off the coast of Argentina, according to a recent study. “The very first item spotted was a plastic bag entangled on the seafloor,” said Diego Urteaga, study co-author and a marine biologist at Argentina’s Bernardino Rivadavia Museum of Natural […]
Fossil fuel subsidies are the ‘worst energy policy in the world,’ researchers say (September 25, 2026)
https://news.mongabay.com/short-article/2026/09/fossil-fuel-subsidies-are-the-worst-energy-policy-in-the-world-researchers-say/
In an editorial in Science, U.S.-based energy policy experts Paasha Mahdavi and Michael Ross argue that governments creating consumer fossil fuel subsidies in response to rising energy prices is the “worst energy policy in the world.” Mahdavi, an associate professor at the University of California, Santa Barbara, in the U.S., and Ross, a professor at […]
Chocolate giant lobbied U.S. and EU officials over deforestation laws, says report (September 25, 2026)
https://news.mongabay.com/short-article/2026/09/chocolate-giant-lobbied-u-s-and-eu-officials-over-deforestation-laws-says-report/
Food conglomerate Mondelēz International, the owner of chocolate brands Cadbury, Milka, Toblerone and Oreo, has allegedly engaged in an extensive lobbying campaign to weaken and delay enforcement of the European Union Deforestation Regulation (EUDR), according to new analysis by environmental watchdog Global Witness. Under the EUDR, companies selling to the EU must show their forest […]
Pakistan expands protected habitat for Indus River dolphin as recovery offers hope (September 24, 2026)
https://news.mongabay.com/2026/09/pakistan-expands-protected-habitat-for-indus-river-dolphin-as-recovery-offers-hope/
- Pakistan has established the Punjnad Indus River Dolphin Sanctuary in Punjab, which connects with an existing reserve in Sindh to form a continuous 400-kilometer protected river corridor.
- A 2025 abundance study reveals the endangered Indus River dolphin metapopulation has rebounded to an estimated 1,987 individuals, marking a 19.4% increase between 2011 and 2017.
- Despite this encouraging recovery, nearly 99% of the population is confined to a 690-kilometer stretch of the river and remains highly vulnerable to fatal gillnet entanglements and habitat fragmentation from irrigation barrages.
- Wildlife officials and conservationists stress that long-term survival for the endemic bhulan, as it is locally known, will require cross-provincial coordination, ecological modifications to barrage operations and community-led sustainable fishing practices.
A new cat species was just discovered. Several more may follow (September 24, 2026)
https://news.mongabay.com/2026/09/a-new-cat-species-was-just-discovered-several-more-may-follow/
- The recent description of the tilcayo (Leopardus tilcayo) from Bolivia comes amid a broader reassessment of wild cat taxonomy, with genetic research suggesting that several additional species may be waiting to be recognized
- Brazilian biologist Tadeu Gomes de Oliveira says the number of recognized tiger-cat species could increase from three to six or even seven, while new research is also raising questions about the taxonomy of margays and other small cats.
- These distinctions can have direct conservation consequences: Oliveira estimates that no more than about 200 munoai pampas cats remain and argues that recognizing the population as a distinct species could help unlock targeted protection and funding.
- In September 2026, Panthera board chair Jon Ayers interviewed Oliveira about the changing taxonomy of small cats, emerging genetic research, threatened populations, and plans for a global monitoring program for small wild cats.
Anthrax suspected in 46 hippo deaths in Zambia amid potential spillover to humans (September 24, 2026)
https://news.mongabay.com/short-article/2026/09/anthrax-suspected-in-46-hippo-deaths-in-zambia-amid-potential-spillover-to-humans/
Zambia is investigating wildlife deaths and human exposure linked to an anthrax outbreak in the northern province of Muchinga, where several hippos have died since the outbreak was reported on Aug. 31. While other wildlife deaths have also been reported, hippos (Hippopotamus amphibius) are the species with the clearest laboratory evidence of anthrax, according to […]
Peru faces hearing over threats to uncontacted Indigenous groups in the Amazon (September 24, 2026)
https://news.mongabay.com/short-article/2026/09/peru-faces-hearing-over-threats-to-uncontacted-indigenous-groups-in-the-amazon/
A public hearing this week by the Inter-American Court of Human Rights will assess claims that the Peruvian state violated the rights of the Indigenous Mashco Piro, Yora, and Amahuaca peoples, who live on ancestral territory in the Amazon Rainforest. The court will hold a hearing on Sept. 24 and 25 in Montevideo, Uruguay, about […]
Ugandans plant trees near national park to keep people out of gorillas’ habitat (September 24, 2026)
https://news.mongabay.com/short-article/2026/09/ugandans-plant-trees-near-national-park-to-keep-people-out-of-gorillas-habitat/
BWINDI, Uganda (AP) — In the tangled greenery of a Ugandan national park, mountain gorillas sit among the leaves, calmly carrying on as tourists trek into their forest home. Many gorilla families are used to people, but while their population grows, the forest available to them does not. Communities have planted trees for medicine, firewood […]
Brazil’s tropical forest fund races to raise $2.7 billion before deadline (September 24, 2026)
https://news.mongabay.com/2026/09/brazils-tropical-forest-fund-races-to-raise-2-7-billion-before-deadline/
- The Tropical Forest Forever Facility (TFFF) aims to reach $10 billion in sponsor capital by the end of 2026, a step toward a larger $25 billion fundraising goal.
- If the target is not reached, the initiative could lose a $3 billion pledge made by Norway.
- Reports state that some countries are waiting for the results of the Brazilian presidential elections in October before pledging funds.
Ebola, twins and women-led conservation: Reporting on gorillas for World Gorilla Day (September 24, 2026)
https://news.mongabay.com/short-article/2026/09/ebola-twins-and-women-led-conservation-reporting-on-gorillas-for-world-gorilla-day/
Gorillas are among humans’ closest relatives, with a common ancestor dating back around 8 to 10 million years. Both species of gorilla alive today are on the edge of extinction: The eastern gorilla (Gorilla beringei) is listed as endangered on the IUCN Red List, while the western gorilla (Gorilla gorilla) is critically endangered. In its […]
In Nepal, women seek ownership rights to the lands they tend (September 24, 2026)
https://news.mongabay.com/2026/09/in-nepal-women-seek-ownership-rights-to-the-lands-they-tend/
- In Nepal, the law has eliminated gender discrimination when it comes to property rights, but cultural norms still interfere with land ownership.
- Many of the country’s agricultural workers are women, yet they do not own the land they work.
- Research shows that globally, women’s access to secure land tenure is linked to higher agricultural productivity, lower food insecurity, reduced poverty and slower environmental degradation.
- While some women in Nepal say the lack of land ownership is not a problem for them, others do not recognize the legal rights they have; experts say education is key.
New report reveals the environmental cost of USAID’s destruction (September 24, 2026)
https://news.mongabay.com/2026/09/new-report-reveals-the-environmental-cost-of-usaids-destruction/
- The consultancy firm One Earth Partners has published an analysis of the environmental consequences of USAID’s closure.
- One Earth Partners was founded by Monica Bansal and Hadas Kushnir, two former senior employees at the U.S. international development agency.
- The report is based on interviews with 150 people in five countries who were familiar with USAID’s conservation and environmental work.
- It finds that a large number of projects in fragile ecosystems have stalled or collapsed, and is accompanied by a list of 100 that are looking for new funders.