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Reporting on our catastrophic species loss, and ways to tackle the biodiversity crisis

The age of extinction is supported by

The age of extinction is supported by

The age of extinction

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  • A rat

    Climate crisis
    ‘Perfect rat storm’: urban rodent numbers soar as the climate heats, study finds

    Sharp rise in population in 11 of 16 cities expected to continue as rising temperatures make it easier for the animals to breed, say researchers
  • Amazonian royal flycatcher, a bird with with a striking red crest

    Conservation
    In the most untouched, pristine parts of the Amazon, birds are dying. Scientists may finally know why

    Populations have been falling for decades, even in tracts of forest undamaged by humans. Experts have spent two decades trying to understand what is going on
  • Chickens outdoors on grass, with a coop in the background

    Bird flu
    Human case of avian flu detected in England as virus spreads among birds

    Second human case of H5N1 bird flu caught on farm in West Midlands but risk to public remains very low, says UKHSA
  • A white stork returns on its nest, as viewed through the window of a disintegrating shed in Tyurkmen, Bulgaria. Photograph: Malkolm Boothroyd

    The great abandonment: what happens to the natural world when people disappear? – podcast

    Across the globe, vast swathes of land are being left to be reclaimed by nature. To see what could be coming, look to Bulgaria. By Tess McClure. Read by Sara Lynam
    • A young Maasai man leans against a sign in a savannah saying 'Nashulai Maasai conservancy – conserve wildlife, preserve culture, reverse poverty'

      Wildlife conservation
      Can communities living side by side with wildlife beat Africa’s national parks at conservation?

    • Drone image of orcas attacking a great white shark

      South Africa
      ‘Awe-inspiring and harrowing’: how two orcas with a taste for liver decimated the great white shark capital of the world

    • Juan Guillermo Garcés, 74, sitting among lush greenery in the Rio Claro nature reserve

      Colombia
      ‘I felt death in the flames’: how lighting a forest fire inspired one man to transform barren ranches into rainforest

    • A river and tributaries in flooded marsh land seen from the air

      Carbon emissions
      A third of the Arctic’s vast carbon sink now a source of emissions, study reveals

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Cop16

  • Hundreds of people sit at desks looking towards the stage, were a row of people sit behind microphone in front of a screen showing them in closeup ad the Cop16 logo.

    Biodiversity summit
    Meat, oil and pesticide industry lobbyists turned out in record numbers at Cop16

  • Tree-planting at Great Avon Wood, in the west of England.

    Conservation
    Global biodiversity offsetting doesn’t work – keep schemes local, say experts

    • An indigenous representative speaks at the Cop16 summit

      Nature negotiations
      Cop16 ends in disarray and indecision despite biodiversity breakthroughs

    • Colombian president Gustavo Petro speaks at the 2024 United Nations Biodiversity Conference in Cali, Colombia

      Science Weekly
      Love motels and gridlocked talks: all the news from Cop16 – podcast

    • Two men wearing black Greenpeace t-shirts hold a sign saying 'Rich countries: break the piggy bank and pay the $20 billion by 2025' while standing next to a model of a piggy bank.

      Conservation funding
      The world needs $700bn a year to restore nature. But where is the money coming from?

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Explore

  • Farmer Ruairidh Mackay at Stronmagachan Farm at Inveraray with the remains of lambs he believes have been killed by white tailed eagles. Farmers and crofters say their lambs are being taken by white-tailed eagles / sea eagles. Ecologists and conservationists consider this conflict broadly, and how conflicts between large predators & people is being managed and resolved. Argyll, Scotland UK 09/08/2024 © COPYRIGHT PHOTO BY MURDO MACLEOD All Rights Reserved Tel + 44 131 669 9659 Mobile +44 7831 504 531 Email: m@murdophoto.com STANDARD TERMS AND CONDITIONS APPLY See details at http://www.murdophoto.com/T%26Cs.html No syndication, no redistribution. A22U4Y, sgealbadh, A22R4S

    ‘I’m used to people thinking I’m lying’: are Scotland’s sea eagles killing hundreds of lambs?

    • A pair of young toucans in a box, seen from above, victims of wildlife trafficking.

      ‘It shouldn’t be that easy’: inside the illegal wildlife trade booming on social media

    • An aerial view of farms amid forest

      Drugs, hormones and excrement: the polluting pig mega-farms supplying pork to the world

    • Closeup shot of an old Elephant in the Masai Mara<br>"Closeup portrait shot of a old single male Elephant in the green plains of Masai Mara.Shot in wildlife in Masai Mara National Park, Kenya."

      Saving ‘old and wise’ animals vital for species’ survival, say scientists

    • Aerial photo of green vegetation being eaten into as gullies form a serrated edge at the coastline

      ‘The land is tearing itself apart’: life on a collapsing Arctic isle

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Explainers

  • Researchers investigate the spread of bird flu, on Beak Island in Antarctica, March 2, 2024 in this handout image. Ben Wallis/Handout via REUTERS THIS IMAGE HAS BEEN SUPPLIED BY A THIRD PARTY NO RESALES. NO ARCHIVES

    Explainer
    Forgotten epidemic: with over 280 million birds dead how is the avian flu outbreak evolving?

  • The biggest threats to our natural world

    The five biggest threats to our natural world … and how we can stop them

  • The biodiversity crisis in numbers - a visual guide

  • An abstract collage of news images from the 2023 global climate crisis

    10 ways the climate crisis and nature loss are linked

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Wild world

  • A white stork returns on its nest, as viewed through the window of a disintegrating shed in Tyurkmen, Bulgaria

    The great abandonment: what happens to the natural world when people disappear?

    The long read: Across the globe, vast swathes of land are being left to be reclaimed by nature. To see what could be coming, look to Bulgaria
  • Grass mixed with purple, white and yellow flowers can be seen with cars, traffic lights and a high rise shop or office building in the background

    Patches of wildflowers in cities can be just as good for insects as natural meadows – study

  • Four burrowing owls on a lawn in a wealthy Florida beach community with a convertible car driving by in the background.

    Crabs, cockatoos and ringtail possums: the wild things thriving in our cities

  • A kākā at Zealandia ecosanctuary, Wellington, New Zealand.

    Penguins in the pond, kiwi in the back yard: how a city brought back its birds

  • A line of people walk along the edge of a filed thickly planted with sunflowers. People can be seen among the flowers taking pictures.

    Nature’s ghosts: how reviving medieval farming offers wildlife an unexpected haven

  • A black bird with a teddy boy-style quiff and a long wattle that hangs below its feet, sitting on a branch

    ‘More profitable than farming’: how Ecuador’s birding boom is benefiting wildlife

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Nature heroes

  • Robert Ballard speaking at a conference in California.

    I discovered the wreck of the Titanic – but seeing these vents in the sea floor was far more exciting

  • Heather Middleton looking for fossils on a rocky beach

    I discovered ...
    Thousands of fossils after retiring. Now I’m nearly 80 and still going strong

  • Prof Andrew Cunningham inside a lab at London Zoo wearing a lab coat and glasses

    I discovered ...
    Why seemingly healthy amphibians were being wiped out

  • Paul Hebert standing in front of a white sheet and holding a UV light in his back yard in Ontario, Canada, 21 February 2024

    I discovered …
    A way to identify the millions of species on Earth after a lightbulb moment in the supermarket

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Pictures

  • The spectacular rocky seascape on the trail from Arenas Blancas to Arco de la Tosca on El Hierro.

    ‘We’re an evolving laboratory’: the island on a quest to be self-sufficient in energy

  • Marcela Villafañe with a drone

    Forest keepers: Arhuaco balance modern and ancient ways – photo essay

    As leaders gather in Colombia for the global Cop16 nature summit, photographer Dougie Wallace captures the Indigenous Arhuaco, who are deeply involved in protecting the country’s biodiversity - and who have produced the region’s first Indigenous film-maker
  • Two men capture a pink dolphin in a net

    The race to find out what killed hundreds of pink dolphins in the Amazon – in pictures

    Scientists are trying to establish whether global heating caused the deaths of the rare river dolphins last year, before temperatures start to rise again
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