Green Options

The northern Madagascar spider tortoise, one of the three subspecies of Pyxis arachnoids, is currently facing a threat to their population brought about by poachers.

The spider tortoise is small compared to other tortoise species, and is characterized by the presence of web-like patterns on adult shells. The northern Madagascar spider tortoise subspecies (P. a. brygooi) can only be found in a narrow strip on the coast. Since they’re endemic and hence, can easily be caught, the subspecies is currently “extinct across 50% of its former historical range.” Senior wildlife biologist at Nautilus Ecology UK, Ryan Walker, conducted this population survey last March, and came to the conclusion that the wild population of the northern Madagascar tortoise has fallen by 90%, mostly due to massive collection for illegal pet trade.

Both economic theory and experimental data concur–increasing the distance traveled to find food incurs “negative fitness consequences”, by decreasing total energy for maintenance, repair and reproduction. Yet, most animals must travel to find food. Individual, small groups, and large herds of eutherian (placental) mammals–like wild buffalo, gazelles, lions, and elephants–often travel great distances to find food. This expenditure of energy, at the apparent risk of biological fitness, has puzzled zoologists for some time.

Giant poisonous jellyfish are poised to assault Japanese waters, experts warn.

Reports of massive bloomings indicate that this season’s Nomura’s jellyfish spawn should be a big one. The good news is that there may not be a nation on Earth more psychologically prepared for the invasion of giant monsters.

Cold-blooded animals have a lifespan which is exponentially related to the temperature of their environment, a new study finds.

That means that as temperatures increase due to global warming, cold-blooded animals around the world will begin dying younger. Given that the vast majority of animals on Earth are cold-blooded, including the likes of amphibians, mollusks, crustaceans and reptiles, global warming could have unexpected, profound impacts on the world’s ecosystems.

Hungry villagers have been caught stealing meat from the nearly extinct lions of Waza National Park.

The villagers likely scare off the lions with sticks or fire shortly after they make a fresh kill. Researchers fear the practice may be more common than previously thought, and it may help explain why lion numbers are plummeting in Cameroon.

Dunham the bottlenose dolphin was attacked by sharks and euthanized this Tuesday just 3 hours after being released from Florida’s Clearwater Marine Aquarium.

Experts nearby monitoring the dolphin said he was attacked by at least two different sharks, and that the wounds were life-threatening. They euthanized him immediately upon arriving at the scene.

Conservationists in Bangladesh are thrilled after the discovery by local villagers of a clouded leopard cub, a species which was previously thought extinct in that country.

This is the first time a clouded leopard has been spotted in Bangladesh in 20 years. The cub, which was captured by the villagers, was seen with a sibling and their mother while they were eating a dead monkey. That means there may be a small but healthy breeding population surviving in the wild.

Plans are underway to move a 48km section of Kruger National Park specifically to allow for trophy hunting.

The new section will be opened as an exclusive private nature reserve where hunters would target animals like elephant and buffalo for contracted killing. “This cannot be disguised as anything but a green light for hunting in Kruger National Park, which makes no ecological, biological, ethical or economic sense,” said Jason Bell-Leask of the International Fund for Animal Welfare.

A remarkable dragonfly migration stretching between 14,000 and 18,000 kilometers has been discovered which spans the Indian Ocean.

The migration is by far the longest known insect migration, dwarfing the 7,000km journey of monarch butterflies. Millions of dragonflies make the epic migration every year, which spans from India to the Maldives, the Seychelles, Mozambique, Uganda and back again.

Perhaps the only thing more amazing than the migration is that it has somehow dodged scientific discovery until now. “This just illustrates how little we still know about the natural world,” said Charles Anderson, discoverer of the mass migration.

A new species of monitor lizard closely related to the Komodo dragon has been discovered by German scientists in Indonesia.

The discovery was made after close examination of the new specimen using morphological characteristics and DNA analysis. Taxonomically classified as Varanus lirungensis, the new species “illustrates the high diversity of monitor lizards in Indonesia,” according to André Koch, who found the lizard.

Select hunters have been given permits in Florida to hunt and kill non-native pythons in the wild.

Experts say the alien constrictors number in the tens of thousands in Everglades National Park, and they are wiping out native endangered species. An official with the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission said the hunt is just the beginning of a much larger eradication program.