Biodiversity

158 Giant Endangered Tortoises Released on Galápagos Island Where They’d Been Extinct for 180 Years

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Floreana giant tortoises released – © Galápagos Conservancy For the first time in over 180 years, a giant tortoise population is once again walking the landscapes of Floreana Island—launching the largest restoration effort ever undertaken on the Galápagos islands. 158 juvenile giant tortoises of Floreana lineage were released his week into their ancestral habitat, marking … Read more

‘Extinct’ Snail Found in Alleyway Results in Species Pulled Back From the Brink: A ‘Once in a Career’ Moment

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Chester Zoo saves Bermuda snail (Poecilozonites bermudensis) from extinction A button-sized snail once thought extinct has been officially saved after conservationists bred and released more than 100,000 into the wild. The greater Bermuda snail (Poecilozonites bermudensis) was believed to be lost forever until a small surviving population was rediscovered in an alleyway in Bermuda’s capital, … Read more

Numbers of Rare Butterfly Eggs are Best on Record After Hedges are Allowed to Grow Wild

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Brown Hairstreak (Thecla betulae) – by Iain H Leach / Butterfly Conservation Numbers of rare butterfly eggs have skyrocketed in South Wales after landowners let their hedgerows grow wild. Volunteers for the UK nonprofit Butterfly Conservation have counted record tallies of Brown Hairstreak eggs this winter around the Welsh county of Carmarthenshire. The success, they … Read more

New Species Being Discovered Faster Than Ever – At a Rate of Over 16,000 a Year

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New lanternfly discovered in India – SWNS New species are being discovered at a faster rate than ever, suggests a new study—more than 16,000 every year—and the trend shows no sign of slowing. Scientists are predicting that the biodiversity among some groups, such as plants, fungi, arachnids, fish, and amphibians, is richer than previously believed. … Read more