A recently published study on Kanzi the bonobo found that he was able to track the location of people familiar to him, even when they were out of sight and could recognize the individual voices of his caretakers, a skill that has never before been tested in bonobos. Similar abilities to track groupmates have been observed in vervet and howler monkeys, but only one other great ape is known to share the bonobos’ tracking ability: humans. by Bobby Bascomb
Conservation news
Bonobos keep track of groupmates even when they can’t see them, study finds
Bonobos can track groupmates even when out of sight, a new study finds. Kanzi, a famously intelligent bonobo who died in March 2025, identified fam...
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While Indonesia’s courts have fined plantation companies more than $21 trillion rupiah ($1.3 billion) for forest and peatland fires, almost none of that money has been collected. This fuels a cycle of impunity where fires continue to flare up in concessions already found guilty by court. Indonesia’s enforcement gaps also allow repeat offenders to continue operating unchecked, profiting from the very land they were banned from using. by Hans Nicholas Jong
Conservation news
How Indonesian companies dodge fines for forest & peatland fires
JAKARTA — Indonesia’s courts have ordered plantation companies to pay more than 21 trillion rupiah ($1.3 billion), an amount 28 times the envir...
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For a long time, manta rays were considered a single species. In 1868, Australian Museum director Gerard Krefft suggested a second species, though, it was only in 2009 that a paper confirmed the reef manta ray as a valid species distinct from the giant oceanic manta ray. A recent study has now confirmed - there’s a third species of manta ray gracefully gliding through the seas. by Shreya Dasgupta
Conservation news
Third manta ray species confirmed in western Atlantic
There’s a third species of manta ray gracefully gliding through the seas, a recent study has confirmed. Researchers have named the newly describe...
 #news #oceans #mantaray #newspecies
In Sri Lanka, volunteers and researchers survey owls at night along set routes to mark the International Owl Day. But what takes more effort is the public educational events to challenge deep-rooted superstitions about owls, which are generally viewed as a bad omen. This leads to persecution and eviction from nesting sites, even though species like barn owls provide valuable rodent control, hence being particularly useful in urban settings. by Malaka Rodrigo
Conservation news
With nocturnal surveys and awareness building, Sri Lanka steps up to protect its owls
COLOMBO — As darkness settled over Colombo on Aug. 3, a small group of young men, led by a zoology professor, slipped quietly into Sri Lanka’s ...
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The lion, with its majestic mane and the loudest growl of all the big cats, is today a vulnerable species with decreasing populations in extremely fragmented habitats. It once ranged widely throughout Africa and Eurasia; today, it’s restricted to parts of sub-Saharan Africa and one small area in western India. For #WorldLionDay on Aug. 10, Mongabay looks back at some of our coverage this year of the challenges that Panthera leo faces. Compiled by Kristine Sabillo
Conservation news
World lion day: Why is the king of the savanna declining?
The lion, with its majestic mane and the loudest growl of all the big cats, is today a vulnerable species with decreasing populations in extremely ...
In 2024, the Sri Lankan government revoked the protected status of an ecologically important mangrove forest. Environmental groups challenged the decision in court, calling for reinstatement of its former conservation status. On July 26 this year, to mark World Mangrove Day, Sri Lanka declared several new mangrove areas protected, reinforcing its global recognition as the Commonwealth mangrove “champion.” by Malaka Rodrigo
Conservation news
Sri Lanka plans restoring revoked protection for an important mangrove patch in the island’s North
Mannar, SRI LANKA — The Vidattaltivu Nature Reserve, nestled along Sri Lanka’s northwestern coast in the Mannar district, is home to one of the...
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Ecuador’s Antisana páramo, southeast of Quito, was degraded for centuries by cattle ranches. In 2010, the Quito Water Conservation Fund and the Quito’s water utility secured funding to buy one of the most heavily impacted properties. Once non-native livestock were removed and restoration began, native vegetation, wetlands and species like deer, rabbits and foxes returned. by Ana Cristina Alvarado
Conservation news
Restoration brings back fresh water, wildlife to degraded páramos in Ecuador
When the sheep were removed, the páramo — high-altitude ecosystems in the Andes — started to heal. Without their waste, water quality improved...
 #news #restoration #conservation #environment #nature
Brazil, the world’s top importer of shark meat, is feeding much of it to preschoolers, hospital patients and more via government procurements, Mongabay has found. This influx of shark meat into public buildings is exposing infants and other vulnerable groups to high levels of mercury and arsenic, which accumulate in sharks. by Philip Jacobson, Karla Mendes and Kuang Keng Keuk Ser
Conservation news
That ‘fish’ on the menu? In Brazil’s schools and prisons, it’s often shark
Brazil, the world’s top importer of shark meat, is feeding much of it to preschoolers, hospital patients, military staff, public workers and more...
 * This story was supported by the Pulitzer Center’s Ocean Reporting Network.
They are not yet gone. But for thousands of species, the Earth is already holding its breath. A new review published in Nature Reviews Earth & Environment confirms what conservationists have long suspected: more than 10,000 species now sit on the precipice, listed on the IUCN, the global wildlife conservation authority, as critically endangered (CR) — the final designation before vanishing from the wild entirely. Founder's Brief by Rhett A. Butler
Conservation news
Requiem for the nearly lost
Founder’s Briefs: An occasional series where Mongabay founder Rhett Ayers Butler shares analysis, perspectives and story summaries. They are ...
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Investments made in the Guianas, including Venezuela as a bordering and Amazonian country, are not in line with the federal model of countries such as Brazil. In Venezuela, which is seen today as a failed state, military rule was declared in several states. In Suriname & Guyana, despite centralization in their limited territories, the national government can generate policies and provide basic services through local jurisdictions. by Timothy J. Killeen
Conservation news
Centralized governance in the Guianas and economic legacy
Venezuela has a long history of federal government, and twelve of its 22 constitutions have included the word ‘Federal’ in the title, including...
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