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wildlife

02/27/2020 / By Michael Alexander

Honey supply chain COLLAPSES as China’s beekeepers locked down due to coronavirus pandemic

The ongoing COVID-19 outbreak has claimed another victim — the honey industry. Travel restrictions have been enacted across China, as a preventive measure against the spread of the new, dreaded disease. The restrictions, which some have decried as “hardcore,” include sealing off roads and implementing approval systems for interregional transportation. Other containment measures include shutting down public […]

02/24/2020 / By Michael Alexander

Worst extinction since the dinosaurs: Total biomass of flying insects down by a staggering 76%, warn German researchers

We are in the middle of an extinction phase. The animals in danger of extermination? Flying insects. This is according to entomology enthusiast Martin Sorg, president of the Amateur Entomology Society of Krefeld, who, over the last 37 years, collected 80 million insects from the German countryside. And while the Society’s collection is considered a […]

02/20/2020 / By Arsenio Toledo

China to implement PERMANENT ban on wildlife trade in the wake of coronavirus outbreak

On the 30th of January, China imposed a temporary ban on the wildlife trade in response to the growing threat posed by the coronavirus, which at the time had already killed several hundred people, according to official estimates, and was caused by an unsanitary food market in Wuhan, which sold different species of animals, including bats, wolves, […]

02/04/2020 / By Michael Alexander

No pain, no gain: Research suggests naked mole rat gene holds the secret to pain tolerance

Perhaps due to its lackluster appearance – wrinkly, with a body reminiscent of a pale, leathery sausage – the naked mole rat is the last animal you’d think to possess abilities akin to superpowers. But they do. Known for its long lifespan, relative immunity to most cancers, ability to survive more than 18 minutes without […]

11/20/2019 / By Grace Olson

Even birds get something out of organic animal farms, says research

Organic farms not only produce healthy foods – they increase bird populations as well, a recent study finds. Researchers from the University of Helsinki in Finland found that organic animal farms are the most effective measures to reverse the decreasing bird numbers in Europe. The study, which was published in PLOS ONE, highlighted the importance of birds on […]

10/17/2019 / By Vicki Batts

Study: U.K. rivers are filled with fish that are coked up, high on party drugs, and loaded with pesticides

Are your fish on drugs? New research from King’s College London confirms that river-dwelling wildlife in the U.K. are being poisoned with a laundry list of drugs and chemicals — ranging from cocaine to pesticides. The findings have left scientists in absolute shock and dismay, even though similarly grim scenarios have already played out in […]

08/19/2019 / By Edsel Cook

This killer flesh-eating fungus has wiped out 90 amphibian species and scientists say it isn’t done

The last five decades saw hundreds of species of frogs, toads, and other amphibians suffer drastic drops in numbers. Close to a hundred species have gone extinct. Researchers attributed the widespread declines and extinction to a ravenous fungal disease called chytridiomycosis. Chytridiomycosis eats the moist skin of amphibians, leaving the animals vulnerable. It wiped out 90 […]

08/12/2019 / By Edsel Cook

If great white sharks can’t escape heavy metals poisoning, where does that leave the rest of us?

The great white sharks in South African waters have been found to contain high levels of arsenic, lead, and mercury in their blood. While the sharks might shrug off the deadly effects of the heavy metals, the presence of the toxins suggest that their prey were badly contaminated – and humans also rely on some of […]

06/08/2019 / By Edsel Cook

Let wild animals be: Reducing contact can greatly reduce risk of disease

A new French study recommended that human populations reduce their interaction with wild animals, especially primates like apes and monkeys. Reducing contact with animals decreases the risk of contracting a zoonotic disease that might develop into an epidemic. One of the perils to human health comes from disease-causing microbes that usually live in animals but are capable of infecting humans. Primates, […]

02/23/2019 / By Edsel Cook

Ecologists warn that water-dwelling creatures are being inundated with antidepressants from human waste that gets flushed out to waterways

Australian researchers warned that Melbourne’s waterways contain high levels of dozens of different pharmaceutical drugs. These chemical antibiotics, antidepressants, and painkillers have not just contaminated the water itself, but have also tainted the local aquatic animals. According to their survey of creeks in Victoria, animals in the most heavily contaminated creek could accidentally ingest up […]

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