Wildlife Extra, the web's wildlife magazine.
Sumatran elephants edging closer to extinction
WWF is calling for an immediate moratorium on habitat conversion in Sumatra in order to protect the future of the country's elephants. The Sumatran elephant has been uplisted from ‘endangered' to ‘critically endangered' after losing nearly 70 per cent of its habitat and half its population in one generation.
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Other news
'Extinct' monkey rediscovered in BorneoAn international team of scientists has found one of the rarest and least known primates in Borneo, Miller's Grizzled Langur; a species which was believed to be extinct or on the verge of extinction.
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Albino bat photoA white, probably albino (we are debating whether it is albino or leucistic) bat photographed by Doug Mackenzie Dodds
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80 percent decline in Caribou blamed on big industryThe world's largest reindeer herd has plummeted in size, with local indigenous people blaming the spread of massive industrial projects in the area. The George River herd, which once numbered 8-900,000 animals, stands today at just 74,000 - a drop of up to 92 percent.
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Possibly the largest haul of ivory ever found, 15 tonnes, seized in MalaysiaAfter the recent spate of ivory seizures in Asia - We might have hoped that the situation would improve - However the latest seizure is the largest we can remember, and is possibly the largest ever. It dwarfs all the other seizures, and in fact probably contains as much ivory as has been seized all year in the Far East.
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Persian leopard photographed in Afghanistan Recent camera trap images from the rocky terrain of Afghanistan's central highlands have revealed a surprise: a Persian leopard, an apex predator long thought to have disappeared from the region.
And in Siberia, Snow leopards have been photographed for the first time
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Winners of The UK Wildlife Photography Awards 2011The Wildlife Extra UK Wildlife Photography Competition 2011 has been won by Peter Denness with his stunning image of a hare. We don't usually go for black and white images, but Peter's hare was just too good.
CATEGORY WINNERS
- Agnieszka Dymek - Bugs
- Peter Denness - Mammals
- Howard Booty - Birds
- Matthew Oxley - Reptile, Amphibian & Marine Life
- Martin Sothcott - Landscapes
- Lisa Clyma - Under 16s
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33 rhino horns and a quantity of ivory seized in Hong KongHong Kong Customs have seized 33 rhino horns, 758 ivory chopsticks and 127 ivory bracelets that were concealed inside a container shipped to Hong Kong South Africa.
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Vast turtle slaughter in BangladeshThe Kali Puja Festival is a Hindu festival that has become a major concern to conservation of turtles, and it happens in the world's largest river delta. Hundreds of thousands of turtles are slaughtered in a totally unsustainable and uncontrolled fashion.
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Veolia Environnement Wildlife Photographer of the Year winners 2012.The winners of the internationally respected Veolia Environnement Wildlife Photographer of the Year Competition 2011 have been announced. Young Wildlife Photographer of The Year - 10 Years and Under winner. Alien - By Hui Yu Kim (Malaysia)/ Veolia Environnement Wildlife Photographer of the Year 2011.
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New species of antelope discovered in West AfricaIt is a very small antelope, measuring no more than around 40 cm at the shoulder and weighing four to six kilograms. It belongs to the duiker subfamily of antelopes. The Afrikaans name, 'duiker', meaning 'diver', comes from the habit these timid animals have of diving into the vegetation at the slightest sign of danger.
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White Humpback whale calf off QueenslandA white Humpback whale calf, probably just a few weeks old, was spotted and photographed in the Whitsunday Islands off Australia's Queensland Coast. The calf was probably born in northern Great Barrier Reef waters and is just a couple of weeks old.
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Wolf caught on camera trap in Belgium - VideoAfter some sheep were killed near the Belgian town of Gedinne in July, a TV camera crew set up a camera trap to see if, as suspected, a lynx had killed the sheep. Much to their, and everyone else's, surprise, what they caught on camera was not a lynx, but appeared to be a wolf.
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Scientists discover new species of monkey in Amazon A new species of monkey has been found in Brazil, in an area that lies within an area known as ‘Deforestation Crescent' which is overrun with illegal loggers and occupied by huge cattle farms.
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Huge new wasp discovered in SulawesiThe jaw-dropping, shiny black wasp appears to be the "Komodo dragon" of the wasp family - It's huge. The male measures about two-and-a-half-inches long and its jaws are so large that they wrap up either side of the head when closed. When the jaws are open they are actually longer than the male's front legs.
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Thriving Snow leopard population discovered in AfghanistanThe Wildlife Conservation Society has discovered a surprisingly healthy population of rare snow leopards living in the mountainous reaches of north-eastern Afghanistan's Wakhan Corridor, according to a new study.
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Kruger rhino massacre continuesSouth Africa has lost at least 193 rhinos during the first six months of 2011 with Kruger National Park continuing to be hardest hit. The world famous safari destination has already lost 126 rhinos to poaching this year in addition to 146 killed there in 2010.
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Tanzania Government ditches Serengeti HighwayThe proposed asphalt road which would have bisected the Serengeti National Park, jeopardising the world's last great mammal migration, will not now be built, the Tanzanian Ministry of Natural Resources and Tourism has announced at the UNESCO World Heritage Committee meeting.
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Albino Humpback spotted off QueenslandMigaloo -A Humpback whale that is bigger than a truck and iridescent white - has returned to Queensland's waters. He has joined a record number of Humpbacks making their annual migration to the warm Reef water from Antarctica.
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Leatherback turtle seen off ScotlandDuring a routine cetacean research survey, researchers and volunteers from the Hebridean Whale and Dolphin Trust were treated to an unusual encounter between Skye and Harris when they spotted a massive Leatherback turtle, measuring about 1.5 metres.
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21 Fin whales spotted in Irish SeaOne of the largest ever known gatherings of Fin whales in British waters has recently been observed in the Celtic Deep, 50-70 nautical miles off the coasts of north Cornwall and south west Pembrokeshire.
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Largest ever attempt to remove mink from Scotland is underway The largest ever initiative to remove breeding American mink from north Scotland is now underway, covering 20,000 square kilometres, from rural Tayside across Aberdeenshire, Moray, the Cairngorms and the Highlands.
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Rutland osprey missing - feared shot Staff from Anglian Water and the Rutland Osprey Project fear an osprey has been shot in Rutland. The missing bird was the first to return to the site from its African wintering grounds after being released in Rutland, as part of the Rutland Osprey Project.
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8 lions poisoned in Kenya - Leakey speaks outConservationists have warned that Kenya's lion population is in danger of becoming extinct within a few years if nothing is done to stem a wave of poisonings that have already left at least eight of the charismatic predators dead in recent weeks.
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African lions probably 2 distinct speciesSurprisingly, lions from West and Central Africa seemed to be more related to lions from the Asiatic subspecies than to their counterparts in East and Southern Africa.
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Tanzania pressing ahead with Serengeti Highway and Lake Natron soda plantDespite the German government offering to fund a study into an alternative route for the Serengeti Highway, the Tanzanian Government seems to be pressing ahead with its plans, as well as fast tracking the development of the soda ash plant at Lake Natron, the only breeding site for Greater flamingo in East Africa.
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Lake Eyre floods for the third year in a row.For the third year in a row, floodwaters are filling the once dormant Lake Eyre in South Australia, on an even bigger scale than in 2009 and 2010.
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Extraordinary 26 year old osprey has returned to Loch of the Lowes for 21st yearThe Scottish Wildlife Trust has confirmed that the osprey thought to be oldest breeding female of its kind ever recorded in the UK (Or probably anywhere) has returned for the 21st consecutive year to the Loch of the Lowes Wildlife Reserve in Perthshire.
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The very worst kind of conservationA charity called Songbird Survival (SS) has launched an appeal for £88,000 that will ‘examine the impact of corvid removal on farmland songbird productivity.' In other words, they apparently want to kill as many corvids as possible in the hope that this will boost songbird numbers.
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Cryptic new wolf species identified in north AfricaNew molecular evidence reveals a new species of grey wolf living in Africa. Formerly confused with golden jackals, and thought to be an Egyptian subspecies of jackal, the new African wolf shows that members of the grey wolf lineage reached Africa about 3 million years ago, before they spread throughout the northern hemisphere.
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Rhino poaching in South Africa reaches all-time high A total of 333 rhinos were illegally killed in South Africa in 2010, including ten critically endangered black rhinos, according to national park officials. The yearly total is the highest ever experienced in South Africa and nearly three times the 2009 figure when 122 rhinos were killed in the country. An additional five rhinos have been lost to poaching since the New Year.
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New species of lemur discovered in Madagascar A species of fork-marked lemur believed to be new to science has been discovered in the dry forests of Madagascar.
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New population of Critically Endangered Gharials found on the GangesA new population of Critically Endangered Gharial has been found on the Ganges in an area where they have not been know for more than 40 years.
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Feral cats kill 480 million birds in US every year - Responsible for 33 extinctionsFeral cats in the USA are devastating wildlife and costing the economy as much as $17 billion.
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Extinct Tasmanian tiger caught on video?Murray Mcallister has been running expeditions to search for live Tasmanian Tigers since 1998. he also records sightings from around Australia. Murray now claims to have shot a video of a Thylacine, and has released a short clip on Youtube.
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New Critically Endangered carnivorous mammal discovered in Madagascar - First in 24 years A new species of small carnivore, Durrell's Vontsira has been identified in the marshes of the Lake Alaotra wetlands in central eastern Madagascar weighs just over half a kilogram and belongs to a family. It is likely to be one of the most threatened carnivores in the world.
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Incredible array of new species found in remote Papua New Guinea An orange spider, a jabbing spiny-legged katydid, a white-tailed mouse and a minute long-nosed frog are among an amazing 200 new species of plants and animals discovered during just two months of deep rainforest exploration in a small portion of Papua New Guinea's remote forest-cloaked mountains last year.
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New gibbon species discovered in IndochinaScientists from the German Primate Center (DPZ) in Göttingen have identified a new species of gibbon: the northern buffed-cheeked gibbon, Nomascus annamensis.
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Saola caught alive in Laos, first sighting for 11 yearsFor the first time in more than ten years, there has been a confirmed sighting of one of the rarest and most enigmatic animals in the world, the Saola (Pseudoryx nghetinhensis) from the Annamite Mountains of Laos and Vietnam.
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Extraordinary mutation of Thompson's gazelle - or fake?If it was April 1st, we wouldn't have been surprised by this story, but in August? These images appear to show a Thompson's gazelle that has been bred by crossing a gazelle with a goat or even a Scottie dog. We were immediately suspicious of the authenticity of the pictures as they seem just to extraordinary.
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World’s biggest freshwater fish threatened by dams on MekongWild populations of the iconic Mekong giant catfish will be driven to extinction if hydropower dams planned for the Mekong River go ahead, says a new report by WWF.
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Worst year on record for bird poisoning in Scotland – 20092009 marked the highest number of confirmed poisoning incidents discovered in a single year in Scotland in the past two decades, according to an annual report by RSPB Scotland.
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First ever pictures of ‘missing’ mammal One of the rarest and most threatened primates in the world, the Horton Plains slender loris, so mysterious it was once thought to be extinct, has been has been caught on camera for the first time.
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Pine Marten rediscovered in England! Conservationists are ecstatic at the news that England's rarest mammal, the pine marten, has been found in the Cheviot Hills in Northumberland.
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Purple herons breed for the first time in the UKThe first purple herons ever to breed successfully in the UK have hatched their chicks on the RSPB's Dungeness Nature Reserve in Kent. It is not yet known how many chicks have hatched and confirmation will only be possible when the young fledge in a few weeks time.
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Four Great bustard chicks hatch in the wild in the UKOne of the most spectacular birds on the planet, the Great Bustard looks set to consolidate its return to the UK with the news that four chicks hatched so far this year and that there are 4 confirmed nests.
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12,000 critically endangered Saiga antelope found dead in KazakhstanNearly 12,000 Critically Endangered Saiga antelopes have been found dead in the Ural population in western Kazakhstan.
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Extreme weather behind the deaths of four Mountain gorillas in Rwanda?Four highly endangered mountain gorillas have died - three of them infants. It is thought they could be victims of the extreme weather conditions from which the area has been suffering.
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New species of pigeon, spike-nosed frogs and world’s smallest wallaby found in New GuineaThe array of new species includes several new mammals, a reptile, an amphibian, no fewer than twelve insects.
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Critically Endangered Javan rhino killed in Vietnam A Javan rhino has been found dead in Vietnam's Cat Tien National, further endangering the population of one of the world's rarest large mammals. It is now uncertain how many, if any, Javan rhinos are left in Vietnam, WWF said.
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First wild born cheetah for 40 years in Arabia The last known Arabian cheetah was shot in Saudi Arabia in 1950, though they may have hung on in Oman until around 1970. Now 4 cubs have been born in the wild in a nature reserve on an island off the coast of the United Arab Emirates.
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Millions of sea turtles are killed as ‘collateral damage’ in the race for fish Millions of sea turtles have become the unintended victims of a failure to properly manage the worlds' fisheries, with more and more of their habitats clogged with hooks and nets.
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Chinese bulk carrier runs aground on the Great Barrier Reef – Oil leakingA Chinese-registered coal carrier ran aground 38 nautical miles east of Great Keppel Island on the 3rd April. The vessel was in a restricted zone of the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park, approximately 13 nautical miles off its set course and well outside the authorised shipping corridor.
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Elephant ivory imports allowed into the USA - Rednecks versus villagersWildlife Extra was under the misapprehension that it was illegal to import ivory into the USA. Given the very recent decision by CITES to prevent Tanzania and Zambia from down listing the elephants to appendix 2, Wildlife Extra is speechless to discover that it is perfectly legal to kill wild elephants in some parts of Africa, including Tanzania, and then import the tusks, skin and other disgusting mementos into the USA.
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Whale shark butchered for its fins in the PhilippinesAn 18-foot long Whale shark has been mutilated in the Philippines by having its fins cut off for the shark fin trade. The shark was left to die by the so called fishermen who butchered it.
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Wildlife photographer of the year winner disqualifiedIn response to a lot of disquiet about the winning image of the 2009 Wildlife Photographer of the Year, The judging panel was reconvened; they concluded that it was likely that the wolf featured in the image was an animal model that can be hired for photographic purposes and, as a result, that the image had been entered in breach of Rule 10 of the Competition.
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Sea Shepherd vessel sinks after 'collision' with Japanese whaling shipThe Sea Shepherd Society claims that the Japanese security ship Shonan Maru No. 2 deliberately rammed the Ady Gil and caused catastrophic damage to the Sea Shepherd catamaran.
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Wildlife trade raping Africa – Hundreds of species for sale on the internetWe were recently approached by a Tanzanian wildlife dealer, offering us an eye-wateringly wide range of species. Although it is not currently legal to import wild birds into the UK (This was not implemented with any thought for wildlife, but because of bird flu.), it is still legal in many countries.
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Madagascar Pochard - The world’s rarest ducklings hatched in captive breeding programmeA complicated and challenging mission to a remote lake in Madagascar has resulted in a huge step being taken in efforts to save the world's rarest duck from extinction.
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Desperate year for Northern bald ibis as birds are shot and electrocutedOne of the last remaining wild birds in the Middle East has been shot by a hunter in Saudi Arabia.
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Giant rat and new marsupial amongst 40 new species discovered in Papua New GuineaA new species of giant rat is one of 40 new species discovered on a recent expedition to a remote rainforest in Papua New Guinea.
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33,000 sharks, 2000 dolphins & 2000 turtles killed to boost beach tourism in South AfricaIt is difficult to believe in this day in age, with all that we know about sharks' plummeting populations, their critical role in ocean ecosystems and the minimal risk they pose to humans, that the archaic and destructive practice of installing shark nets for "bather protection" still exists.
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Scotland welcomes back the beaver – Wildlife Extra questions the costMarking the first formal reintroduction of a native mammal species into the wild in the UK, three beaver families have now been released at carefully selected sites in Knapdale Forest, Mid-Argyll.
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Lost and abandoned fishing nets, crab pots and marine debris killing marine wildlife and choking the oceans. The total input of marine litter into the oceans per year has been estimated at approximately 6.4 million tonnes annually, of which nearly 5.6 million tonnes (88 percent) comes from merchant shipping.
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Rare Megamouth shark found in PhilippinesSo rare are these sharks (only 41 have ever been recorded) that each of them is designated with a number.
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Popular wildlife articles
World's rarest cockatoo rediscovered in Indonesia90 years after it was first discovered, Abbott's Lesser Sulphur-crested Cockatoo has been rediscovered in Indonesia
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Legendary deer rediscovered in Sumatran national parkThe Sumatran muntjac, a 'lost' species of deer, has been rediscovered in the remote mountains of western Sumatra, Indonesia, nearly a century after it was last recorded.
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Mud, Man-eaters and Mangroves: Fighting to save the Sundarbans TigersThere is only one place on earth where wild tigers live in a mangrove swamp. At 10,000km2 the Indian and Bangladeshi Sundarbans is the biggest and most bio-diverse mangrove forest in the world, and home to the tiger.
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Blue whales sighted off Irish coastBlue whales have been seen off the south west coast of Ireland for the first time in recorded history.
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Springwatch factor hatching a new generation of wildlife enthusiasts
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Guide to wildlife watching in New Zealand
Health benefits of cycling
New species discoveries.
Leucistic, white and albino animals and birds.
Swimming with Orca (Killer whales).
Whales and dolphins of Oman.
Wildlife book reviews.
Nature reserves guide to England, Scotland, Wales & Ireland.
New species recently discoveredNew species are still being discovered at a remarkable rate, and in remarkable places.
Click here to see the latest newly discovered species.
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Yangtse River dolphin declared extinctAfter an exhaustive search, the Baiji has been declared extinct. However just two weeks later a Baiji has been sighted, and filmed.
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Amazing Specimen Of World's Largest Squid Caught In New ZealandA Colossal squid, thought to be the largest largest invertebrate ever seen, has been caught by an NZ fishing boat.
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Spate of Blue whale deaths off CaliforniaSeptember 2007. Three Blue whales found dead in 2 weeks off California.
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BBC Wildlife Magazine
This is not the website for the BBC Wildlife Magazine. If you are looking for the website of the BBC Wildlife, please click here.
Wildlife Exhibition
2011 sees the launch of a new wildlife exhibition on October 14 & 15 2011, To find out more click WildlifeXpo.
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Vast herds of wildlife found in Southern SudanAn aerial survey of southern Sudan has found herds of antelope that may be larger than those of the Serengeti.
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West African black rhino thought to be extinctRecent surveys in West Africa failed to find any trace of the Western Black rhino across its former range. Further more only 4 Northern White rhino could be found and it will almost certainly disappear in the near future.
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Laotian rock rat rediscovered after 11 million years.The Laotian Rock rat was rediscovered being sold as bush meat in a market. Now living specimens have been filmed and photographed.
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Most searched for nature reserves
Darwin, morals, altruism, violence and chimpanzees – An essay by Daniel Beaton
Between 5 and 8 million years ago, somewhere within the African continent lived an animal that was an ancestor to both modern humans and the chimpanzee, or rather chimpanzees - as we must not forget the bonobo.
Click here to read Daniel's essay
Between 5 and 8 million years ago, somewhere within the African continent lived an animal that was an ancestor to both modern humans and the chimpanzee, or rather chimpanzees - as we must not forget the bonobo.
Click here to read Daniel's essay
People in Wildife
- Dr Jonathan Baillie, global authority on the status and trends of threatened species:
- Austin Stevens - Snakeman
- Chris Bakkes talks about Rhino poaching, hunting & good news from Namibia
- An interview with Ginny Busch, President of the SeaWorld & Busch Gardens Conservation Fund in the UK.
- Andy Fisher, head of the Met Police wildlife crime investigation unit.
- David Mayer - Wildlife artist
- Colin Woolf - Wildlife artist
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Garden plant list for wildlife.The RSPB and RHS have got together to create a list of plants recommended for wildlife gardening. The list advises you on which plants to use, which soils they can grow in, what wildlife they attract and when.
See the full list.
See the full list.
England nature
Read about the nature of England, and see a guide to nature reserves in England.
Click here to see more about English Nature
