More Jaguars spotted in Argentina’s Iberá Park. @rewild partner – @rewilding_argentina has confirmed the sighting of a new Jaguar cub with the help of remote cameras. This brings the park’s Jaguar population up to at least 17 individuals.
In just over two years, Corrientes province went from having no Jaguars to becoming the region in the Argentine Gran Chaco with the largest Jaguar population. With the help of Rewilding Argentina, an offspring of @tompkins_conservation, this species is beginning to thrive again.
The return of Jaguars as a top predator is key to restoring ecological interactions for a healthy ecosystem, making the #Iberá ecosystem more complete and functional.
Video by @sebanavajas_ph
@parquesnacionalesar @gobiernocorrientes @parqueiberacorrientes
#Rewilding #Jaguar #Yaguareté #Jaguars #Iberá #Corrientes
The largest concentration of seahorses in the world is now protected.
Thanks to the hard work of @rewild partner @bahamasnationaltrust, Sweetings Pond in Eleuthera has been officially declared a national park. This special place is a natural treasure that has experienced an increased need for protection over the past decades due to the growing influx of tourism, and development activities encroaching on the habitat. The Bahamas National Trust has worked tirelessly to ensure that Sweetings Pond gained protection to become Seahorse National Park, forever protecting the home of the densest population of seahorses in the world, and an array of incredible native biodiversity.
To learn more about #SeahorseNationalPark follow @bahamasnationaltrust.
Photo by @shanegrossphoto
A group of conservation organizations including the @UtahRiversCouncil, @sierraclub, @utahphysicians, @americanbirdconservancy, and @centerforbiodiv are calling on the Utah government to do more to prevent the Great Salt Lake from drying up as the result of upstream water diversions.
According to a recent @sltrib story, the Great Salt Lake supports more than 10 million migrating birds that are in jeopardy of a massive die-off, along with brine shrimp and other wildlife that depends on the lake. Even more, as the lakebed dries, it turns into a toxic dust that could potentially poison the millions of people who live along the Wasatch Front if nothing is done.
“Every Utahn should be very worried about Utah’s failure to restore the Great Salt Lake,” said Zach Frankel, executive director of Utah Rivers Council. “We have the tools available to us to raise the Great Salt Lake’s water levels. But we’re failing to hold our elected and appointed officials accountable for even establishing so much as a goal to raise the lake.”
Visit the link in bio to sign the petition from @sierraclubutah to ask Utah’s political leaders to set an example by protecting and restoring the largest saline ecosystem in the Western Hemisphere.
Jaguars are returning to Iberá Park in Argentina. @rewild partner and offspring of @tompkins_conservation, @rewilding_argentina, is leading the world’s first breeding and reintroduction project to restore Jaguars to a region they had once been wiped out.
After their disappearance from the Corrientes Province of Argentina 70 years ago, Jaguars are now returning with the help of Rewilding Argentina. These rewilding efforts were originally driven by the late Doug Tompkins and his vision to restore ecosystems throughout Argentina and Chile.
The return of Jaguars is key to keeping Iberá resilient and healthy in our planet’s fight against #ClimateChange and biodiversity loss. Once fully restored, Jaguars can fulfill their ecological role as a top predator, making the #Iberá ecosystem more complete and functional.
#RewildingArgentina #TompkinsConservation #Rewilding
It was an honor for my organization @rewild to support and attend the Indigenous meeting in Brazil to celebrate Kayapo Indigenous leader Chief Raoni Metuktire and his incredible leadership in guarding the Amazon rainforest and protecting Indigenous rights.
We join the more than 800 people who attended the event—including representatives from about 50 Indigenous groups—in calling for national leaders to follow the leadership of Indigenous peoples in safeguarding the Amazon and our planet’s other biodiverse ecosystems.
“Only one word can define the meeting called by Chief Raoni in the Xingu last week: HISTORIC,” says Rodrigo Medeiros, Re:wild’s senior Brazil associate. “With the planet increasingly threatened by the climate and biodiversity crises, with less time left for effective action, we all need to join hands with Indigenous communities in calling for rapid action to protect the forests and their territories. This fight is everyone’s fight, for all life on Earth, and for our shared planet.”
Read more from @guardian by visiting the link in bio.
Photograph: Kamikia Kisedje
Repost from @nytimes To prevent the extinction of the northern bald ibis, Johannes Fritz came up with a plan — and learned to fly.
To survive the European winter, the northern bald ibis — which had once disappeared entirely from the wild on the continent — needs to migrate south for the winter, over the Alps, before the mountains become impassable. Fritz, an Austrian biologist, has spent his career reintroducing the birds into the wild, and an essential part of their education has been teaching the young the migration path they will follow as adults. He modified an ultralight aircraft so it would cruise at speeds slow enough for his winged students to keep up. In 2004, three years after some initially bumpy experiments, Fritz led the first flock from Austria to Italy, and has since led 15 such migrations. Over that time, he has rewilded 277 young ibises, many of which then started to pass the route on to their own young.
However, the route Fritz originally taught the ibises is no longer viable. With climate change warming the area where the birds summer — by Lake Constance in Germany and Austria — they now start their migration at the end of October instead of the end of September, as they had done just a decade ago. They are now reaching the mountains too late to make it over the peaks, locking them in an icy death trap.
Photos by @ninareeg
Repost from @nytimes To prevent the extinction of the northern bald ibis, Johannes Fritz came up with a plan — and learned to fly.
To survive the European winter, the northern bald ibis — which had once disappeared entirely from the wild on the continent — needs to migrate south for the winter, over the Alps, before the mountains become impassable. Fritz, an Austrian biologist, has spent his career reintroducing the birds into the wild, and an essential part of their education has been teaching the young the migration path they will follow as adults. He modified an ultralight aircraft so it would cruise at speeds slow enough for his winged students to keep up. In 2004, three years after some initially bumpy experiments, Fritz led the first flock from Austria to Italy, and has since led 15 such migrations. Over that time, he has rewilded 277 young ibises, many of which then started to pass the route on to their own young.
However, the route Fritz originally taught the ibises is no longer viable. With climate change warming the area where the birds summer — by Lake Constance in Germany and Austria — they now start their migration at the end of October instead of the end of September, as they had done just a decade ago. They are now reaching the mountains too late to make it over the peaks, locking them in an icy death trap.
Photos by @ninareeg
Repost from @nytimes To prevent the extinction of the northern bald ibis, Johannes Fritz came up with a plan — and learned to fly.
To survive the European winter, the northern bald ibis — which had once disappeared entirely from the wild on the continent — needs to migrate south for the winter, over the Alps, before the mountains become impassable. Fritz, an Austrian biologist, has spent his career reintroducing the birds into the wild, and an essential part of their education has been teaching the young the migration path they will follow as adults. He modified an ultralight aircraft so it would cruise at speeds slow enough for his winged students to keep up. In 2004, three years after some initially bumpy experiments, Fritz led the first flock from Austria to Italy, and has since led 15 such migrations. Over that time, he has rewilded 277 young ibises, many of which then started to pass the route on to their own young.
However, the route Fritz originally taught the ibises is no longer viable. With climate change warming the area where the birds summer — by Lake Constance in Germany and Austria — they now start their migration at the end of October instead of the end of September, as they had done just a decade ago. They are now reaching the mountains too late to make it over the peaks, locking them in an icy death trap.
Photos by @ninareeg
Repost from @nytimes To prevent the extinction of the northern bald ibis, Johannes Fritz came up with a plan — and learned to fly.
To survive the European winter, the northern bald ibis — which had once disappeared entirely from the wild on the continent — needs to migrate south for the winter, over the Alps, before the mountains become impassable. Fritz, an Austrian biologist, has spent his career reintroducing the birds into the wild, and an essential part of their education has been teaching the young the migration path they will follow as adults. He modified an ultralight aircraft so it would cruise at speeds slow enough for his winged students to keep up. In 2004, three years after some initially bumpy experiments, Fritz led the first flock from Austria to Italy, and has since led 15 such migrations. Over that time, he has rewilded 277 young ibises, many of which then started to pass the route on to their own young.
However, the route Fritz originally taught the ibises is no longer viable. With climate change warming the area where the birds summer — by Lake Constance in Germany and Austria — they now start their migration at the end of October instead of the end of September, as they had done just a decade ago. They are now reaching the mountains too late to make it over the peaks, locking them in an icy death trap.
Photos by @ninareeg
Repost from @nytimes To prevent the extinction of the northern bald ibis, Johannes Fritz came up with a plan — and learned to fly.
To survive the European winter, the northern bald ibis — which had once disappeared entirely from the wild on the continent — needs to migrate south for the winter, over the Alps, before the mountains become impassable. Fritz, an Austrian biologist, has spent his career reintroducing the birds into the wild, and an essential part of their education has been teaching the young the migration path they will follow as adults. He modified an ultralight aircraft so it would cruise at speeds slow enough for his winged students to keep up. In 2004, three years after some initially bumpy experiments, Fritz led the first flock from Austria to Italy, and has since led 15 such migrations. Over that time, he has rewilded 277 young ibises, many of which then started to pass the route on to their own young.
However, the route Fritz originally taught the ibises is no longer viable. With climate change warming the area where the birds summer — by Lake Constance in Germany and Austria — they now start their migration at the end of October instead of the end of September, as they had done just a decade ago. They are now reaching the mountains too late to make it over the peaks, locking them in an icy death trap.
Photos by @ninareeg
Repost from @nytimes To prevent the extinction of the northern bald ibis, Johannes Fritz came up with a plan — and learned to fly.
To survive the European winter, the northern bald ibis — which had once disappeared entirely from the wild on the continent — needs to migrate south for the winter, over the Alps, before the mountains become impassable. Fritz, an Austrian biologist, has spent his career reintroducing the birds into the wild, and an essential part of their education has been teaching the young the migration path they will follow as adults. He modified an ultralight aircraft so it would cruise at speeds slow enough for his winged students to keep up. In 2004, three years after some initially bumpy experiments, Fritz led the first flock from Austria to Italy, and has since led 15 such migrations. Over that time, he has rewilded 277 young ibises, many of which then started to pass the route on to their own young.
However, the route Fritz originally taught the ibises is no longer viable. With climate change warming the area where the birds summer — by Lake Constance in Germany and Austria — they now start their migration at the end of October instead of the end of September, as they had done just a decade ago. They are now reaching the mountains too late to make it over the peaks, locking them in an icy death trap.
Photos by @ninareeg
Repost from @nowthisearth
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In the first 8 months of 2023, there has been 48% less deforestation in the Amazon compared to the same time period last year, based on satellite data gathered by Brazil’s space research agency INPE. The data also showed that there’s been approx 66% less deforestation this month, making it the region’s least destructive August since 2018.
President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva said he aims to end deforestation in the Amazon completely by 2030. Since taking office, he has tightened regulations and demarcated Indigenous land to help slow the rate of deforestation.
The South Island Kōkako is one of the world’s 25 most wanted lost species according to the Search for Lost Species led by @rewild. The last confirmed sighting was in 1967 and the only officially accepted sighting since then was in 2007, when the New Zealand Department of Conservation changed the status from Extinct to Data Deficient.
The South Island Kōkako Charitable Trust has been leading a search effort to find this unique bird. Several expeditions have ventured into New Zealand’s Abel Tasman National Park this year. The search teams were able to capture recordings from unidentified birds in April and May—and the distinct and haunting calls sound similar to a Kōkako. The recordings are being analyzed to try and determine which species made them by bioacoustics experts at Victoria University of Wellington (NZ). The South Island Kōkako Charitable Trust is also working with partners including the University of Otago’s Gemmell Lab (@universityofotago) and Wilderlab to develop environmental DNA sampling methods to detect Kōkako.
The search for the South Island Kōkako is supported by @allbirds.
📷: @rowannicholson
#LostSpecies #SearchforLostSpecies #SouthIslandKokako #Kokako #LostBirds #SearchforLostBirds
Repost from @postclimate
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Turtle hatchlings have legal rights in Panama. A law passed by the country’s National Assembly earlier this year guarantees sea turtles the right to thrive in a healthy environment, a protection until now typically reserved for humans.
Panama is part of a growing list of countries and communities around the world latching on to the Rights of Nature movement, which seeks to grant wildlife a similar legal status to that of individuals and companies.
Advocates of wild animals are hailing it as an essential tool to combat the biodiversity crisis.
Unlike more traditional animal protections, which usually kick in when a species is threatened or endangered, rights of nature laws are meant to prevent that from happening.
Marine conservation biologist Callie Veelenturf, who helped draft Panama’s new turtle protections, said they give “any member of the public of Panama the opportunity to be the voice of nature in the court system, and advocate for nature’s rights on her behalf.”
Repost from @postclimate
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Turtle hatchlings have legal rights in Panama. A law passed by the country’s National Assembly earlier this year guarantees sea turtles the right to thrive in a healthy environment, a protection until now typically reserved for humans.
Panama is part of a growing list of countries and communities around the world latching on to the Rights of Nature movement, which seeks to grant wildlife a similar legal status to that of individuals and companies.
Advocates of wild animals are hailing it as an essential tool to combat the biodiversity crisis.
Unlike more traditional animal protections, which usually kick in when a species is threatened or endangered, rights of nature laws are meant to prevent that from happening.
Marine conservation biologist Callie Veelenturf, who helped draft Panama’s new turtle protections, said they give “any member of the public of Panama the opportunity to be the voice of nature in the court system, and advocate for nature’s rights on her behalf.”
Repost from @postclimate
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Turtle hatchlings have legal rights in Panama. A law passed by the country’s National Assembly earlier this year guarantees sea turtles the right to thrive in a healthy environment, a protection until now typically reserved for humans.
Panama is part of a growing list of countries and communities around the world latching on to the Rights of Nature movement, which seeks to grant wildlife a similar legal status to that of individuals and companies.
Advocates of wild animals are hailing it as an essential tool to combat the biodiversity crisis.
Unlike more traditional animal protections, which usually kick in when a species is threatened or endangered, rights of nature laws are meant to prevent that from happening.
Marine conservation biologist Callie Veelenturf, who helped draft Panama’s new turtle protections, said they give “any member of the public of Panama the opportunity to be the voice of nature in the court system, and advocate for nature’s rights on her behalf.”
Repost from @postclimate
•
Turtle hatchlings have legal rights in Panama. A law passed by the country’s National Assembly earlier this year guarantees sea turtles the right to thrive in a healthy environment, a protection until now typically reserved for humans.
Panama is part of a growing list of countries and communities around the world latching on to the Rights of Nature movement, which seeks to grant wildlife a similar legal status to that of individuals and companies.
Advocates of wild animals are hailing it as an essential tool to combat the biodiversity crisis.
Unlike more traditional animal protections, which usually kick in when a species is threatened or endangered, rights of nature laws are meant to prevent that from happening.
Marine conservation biologist Callie Veelenturf, who helped draft Panama’s new turtle protections, said they give “any member of the public of Panama the opportunity to be the voice of nature in the court system, and advocate for nature’s rights on her behalf.”
Ecuadorians have made history in voting YES to people and planet and NO to Big Oil in one of the most biodiverse places on Earth, home to more species of trees in a single hectare than in the Continental US and Canada combined.
In a historic referendum on Sunday, nearly 60% of Ecuadorians cast their votes in favor of safeguarding a vital portion of Yasuní National Park in the Amazon rainforest by keeping crude oil in the ground.
Thanks in large part to the unwavering dedication of grassroots and Indigenous activists, this moment signifies the power of the people in choosing people and planet over profit.
#YasuníVictory #SíAlYasuní #YesToYasuní
FOUND: The Pernambuco Holly (Ilex Sapiiformis), one of the world’s top 25 most wanted lost species, has been rediscovered in Brazil’s Atlantic Forest. It’s the 9th lost species to be rediscovered on @rewild’s Search for Lost Species most wanted list. It had not had a documented sighting in 186 years.
Ecologist Gustavo Martinelli led an expedition team that scoured the collections of botanical gardens and universities throughout Brazil, hoping to find any overlooked or unidentified specimens tucked away that could help a field search. They discovered two plants collected 45 years apart and one of the plants pointed them to the metropolitan region of Recife.
In a small patch of forest the expedition team found four individual trees. The area was once dense Atlantic tropical forest, but is now mostly urban areas interspersed with sugarcane plantations. Much of Brazil’s southeastern Atlantic forest has been destroyed and less than 5% remains intact. The forest that does remain is very fragmented.
The search for more Pernambuco Holly trees isn’t over. Working with Jardim Botânico de Recife and other local partners the expedition team is hoping to find more trees, collect their seeds and germinate them.
#LostSpecies
What was once a barren ‘moonscape’ has now been rejuvenated as a gem of the Caribbean. The Redonda Ecosystem Reserve, part of Antigua and Barbuda, covers almost 75,000 acres (30,000 hectares) of land and sea that has now been granted protected area status.
The new designation is the result of the ongoing efforts of the government of Antigua and Barbuda, particularly the Department of Environment (DoE) @do_environ and local and international conservation NGOs, including the @eagantigua (EAG), @faunafloraint and @rewild.
This now lush wildlife sanctuary protects the entire island, its surrounding seagrass meadows and coral reefs. The Redonda Ecosystem Reserve is home to at least 30 globally threatened and near-threatened species, along with globally important seabird colonies.
Congratulations to everyone who has made this happen and who continue to work together on a range of actions to support Redonda’s biodiversity, including monitoring the recovery of native species and the marine environment, and planning the reintroduction of native species that cannot find their own way back to the island, such as iguanas and Burrowing Owls. #RewildTheCaribbean
In a historic decision, this week the Brazilian Supreme Court ruled that efforts to strip back Indigenous land rights (which could result in an unprecedented wave of industrial cattle production, mining, and logging on their territory) is unconstitutional. This decision helps guarantee the rights of Indigenous peoples to their ancestral territories, which is critical not only to their well-being, but also to the wildlife and ecosystems that they safeguard. The ruling comes out even as Congress is considering a catastrophic bill to limit Indigenous lands to those that were occupied in 1988, when Brazil passed its constitution.
Congratulations to everyone who made this important victory possible.
@guajajarasonia, Minister of Indigenous Peoples of Brazil, shared her thoughts yesterday from #ClimateWeek.
Read more at the #Linkinbio
Fifty years after a tiny fish called the Pearl Darter disappeared from the Pearl River, which runs from central Mississippi into southeast Louisiana, wildlife conservationists have returned the species to its wild home. According to @apnews, “oil and gas development, agricultural runoff, urban pollution, and dam construction” all led to the extirpation of the species from the Pearl River. Thanks to the 1972 federal Clean Water Act, the fish now has a chance to thrive here again.
Freshwater fish are facing some of the highest extinction rates of any group of animals on Earth and play essential roles in the functioning of aquatic ecosystems, so it is vital that they are a priority for conservation action. That’s why freshwater fish conservation is one of the priorities for my organization, @rewild, which, in partnership with @synchearth, is building a global network (@shoal_org) of conservation implementers and donors to save at least 1,000 species of threatened freshwater fish.
Link in bio to learn more.
Eastern Lowland Gorillas (also known as Grauer’s Gorillas) are found only in the remote rainforests of eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo. In the last 20 years, they have suffered a catastrophic population decline of around 80%. Today fewer than 7,000 remain. But there is hope – through @GRACEGorillas, Congolese communities are leading conservation efforts to save gorillas and primary tropical forests in the heart of the Congo Basin.
Located in eastern DRC, GRACE Gorillas runs the only sanctuary in the world for Eastern Lowland Gorillas. In a sprawling natural forest habitat, gorillas orphaned by the illegal wildlife trade get a second chance at life, with a long-term goal of rewilding.
Outside of the sanctuary, GRACE Gorillas leads gorilla monitoring efforts in the nearby Tayna Nature Reserve – a biodiversity hotspot critical to mitigating climate change. They engage with local communities in conservation education, forest protection, and sustainable livelihood programs.
GRACE Gorillas champions community-led conservation in eastern DRC. Their work is building a brighter future for Critically Endangered Eastern Lowland Gorillas and the Congolese communities charged with protecting them. Follow @GRACEGorillas and partner @Rewild to join the effort to save this iconic species.
The work of Re:wild and partners in conserving Eastern Lowland Gorillas is supported in part by the European Union and other generous donors.
Video: @bobbyneptune
Repost from @nowthisearth
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A new analysis published in the journal Water Resources Research found that the Colorado River system lost 40 trillion liters (10 trillion gallons) of water between 2000 and 2021 as the result of the human-caused climate crisis dating back to the 1880s.
Due to higher temperatures, the snowpack that feeds the system is drying up. Under present-day weather conditions, the Colorado River basin has approx 10% less water available than it would in a world without greenhouse gas emissions.
The Colorado River Basin provides water to more than 40 million people. Although recent winter storms across the West replenished many reservoirs, from 2000 to 2021, the region had been in the worst ‘mega drought’ in at least 1,200 years. Arizona, California, and Nevada reached an agreement in May to stop using as much of the river’s water.
‘Going into the future, we may get some natural variability, wet or dry swings, but this study highlights that there’s been a decreasing trend in runoff,’ said Benjamin Bass, lead author of the study, to the Guardian. ‘In the long run, that’s likely to continue if greenhouse gas emissions are not reduced.’
