Wildlife helps regulate the climate & this belongs in policy discussions (commentary)

When we talk about climate change and wildlife, most people think about the impact of climate change on animals. We see individual organisms struggling to find food and being…

Island conservationists celebrate 80X increase in nesting loggerhead turtles

Globally, the loggerhead population has decreased by 47% over the past three generations.

After rewilding success, trail cameras captured the return of one of the Pacific Northwest’s most elusive mammals

A rare ringtail was seen passing through a 405-acre property in Ashland, Oregon.

The Secret Language Behind Animal Cooperation Across Species

Scientists are discovering that animals use surprisingly sophisticated communication to form partnerships and cooperate across species boundaries. Animals from different species…

8 Acres of Rewilding Completed Along Santa Monica Coastline: ‘It’s Still Your Beach, Only Better’

A group in Los Angeles is ensuring that the city’s famous beaches retain enough nature to protect wildlife and the city from harsher storms. “Your beach is still your beach, only…

With Plasma, Solar, Magnets, EU Aims to Help Decarbonize Industrial Heat Generation

Most industrial processes need heat, and most heat comes from burning fossil fuels, but armed with €400 million in grants, the European Commission is hoping to change that. The…

Rare Goblin Shark Spotted Alive in Its Natural Habitat for the First Time

Scientists have reported the first-ever live observations of the elusive goblin shark in its natural deep-sea habitat, capturing footage at two remote locations in the Central…

An endangered sea turtle just laid the 300th nest of the season. She's been visiting Florida beaches since 2001

Juno the leatherback sea turtle recently marked a new milestone for her species.

Hope for vultures in Nigeria as some belief-based users adopt plant alternatives

Using plants instead of vulture parts for belief-based practices is helping to tackle poaching of the birds in some regions of Nigeria, say conservationists. Vulture populations…

The world’s largest wildlife overpass was specifically designed to help elk. Three finally braved the six-lane crossing

Colorado leads the nation in wildlife crossings with more than 100 structures.

What Does It Take to Fund a Sustainable Ocean Economy?

Investments in the blue economy are lagging behind despite ocean health underpinning food security, climate resilience, and billion of lives. The post What Does It Take to Fund a…

Scientists May Have Discovered the Origins of the Euphrates River, Which Helped Nurture Some of the Earliest Known Civilizations

The famous waterway began as two rivers, a new study suggests. Tectonic activity around five million years ago probably made them change course and merge, helping to birth the…

‘Rare animals, photography and Instagram’ could help an Ivorian rainforest

DJOUROUTOU, Côte d’Ivoire — After a night of heavy rain, the chimpanzees of Taï Forest, in southwestern Côte d’Ivoire, like to sleep in. Early on a late May morning, chimpanzee…

Researchers have been following this rare 'ghost dog' species for 23 years to better learn how to protect it

The short-eared dogs of the Amazon Basin are notoriously hard to spot in the wild, but new trail camera footage is shedding light on the endangered species.

Old fire hoses become lifelines for Malaysia’s endangered langurs

On Malaysia’s Penang Island, conservationist Yap Jo Leen is turning old fire hoses into lifesaving bridges that help endangered monkeys cross busy roads in residential areas. The…

A tropical permafrost layer in Peru may be one of the world’s largest

Vast permafrost beneath the upper slopes of Peru’s tallest volcano could become a regional water source as glaciers in the Andes retreat.

UK Startup is Making Electricity From Bacteria in the Soil – Maybe Your Garden Will Power Your Home Some Day

British startup Bactery says its battery, powered by bacteria, uses nature’s microbes to generate an unending trickle of power—and by stringing the prototypes together they can…

Newly described Australian ballista spider builds a spring-loaded snare to catch a single ant species

An international team of researchers has discovered a remarkable new spider species in the rainforest of North Queensland that spins an ingenious and powerful spring-actuated…

Study offers first map of Amazon’s climate-resilient upslope corridors

Amazon-based scientists have long known that rapidly rising temperatures mean that places where species live today won’t be where they live tomorrow. For a vast number of species…

An EPIC Journey Through The Ganges | BBC Earth

In the Ganges, giant Asian honeybees feed on the nectar of mangrove flowers, pollinating them in the process, while mudskippers feed on detritus left behind by the receding…

Refreezing the Arctic, tobacco use in India halves, flamingoes make a comeback in Türkiye

In today's edition: Canadian researchers succeed in rethickening melting Arctic ice, India sees the use of tobacco by its adult population drop by 50% in two decades, and over…

Scientists Just Repeated a Nobel Prize-Winning Experiment in a Creature Older Than Jellyfish

A century after one of developmental biology’s most influential experiments, researchers have revisited the concept of the embryonic “organizer” in one of the oldest animal…

Scientists Just Found Something Weird Inside Moss

A surprising discovery inside desert mosses could reshape scientists’ understanding of plant evolution. In some of the driest places on Earth, the ground itself can be alive. What…

Thousands of Flamingo Chicks Hatch in Major Comeback From Climate Disaster in Turkiye (WATCH)

In a triumph for conservation, thousands of flamingo chicks have hatched at one of the world’s key flamingo breeding grounds—a salt lake that had nearly dried up five years ago.…

Spying on rare wombats reveals their elaborate 'underworld'

Nearly three years on from deploying ground-penetrating radar technology to "spy" on the underground lives of one of Australia's most critical endangered species, scientists have…

In 1879 a scientist buried bottles filled with seeds. Every 20 years, one is dug up and studied.

This incredibly long-running experiment will come to an end around 2100. The post In 1879 a scientist buried bottles filled with seeds. Every 20 years, one is dug up and studied.…

World’s Largest ‘Whale Graveyard’ Teems with Deep-Sea Life Including Species Unknown to Science

Chinese scientists have discovered the world’s largest “whale graveyard” in a trench deep below the Indian Ocean—and it teems with life. Bivalves, brittle stars, different kinds…

Mushrooms Used to Clean E. Coli from Rivers and Immediately Implemented in England

An awesome study that could help clean up rivers world-wide at negligible cost leveraged fungi as a pollution control filter. The mushrooms in question were the very delicious and…

Heat pumps offer energy-efficient heating and cooling. Window-mounted units are making them even more affordable

Heating and cooling buildings consumes 35% of all the energy used in the United States each year. Electric-powered heat pumps could be revolutionary.

This Week in Climate News (June 2026, Week 4)

This weekly round-up brings you key climate news from the past seven days, including promising news for coral reefs and what we can expect from El Niño. The post This Week in…

French Polynesia protects 30% of its waters, HPV jab sees “near zero risk” of cervical cancer, drug diversion schemes

In today's edition: the government of French Polynesia announces an expansion of its ocean protections, young women now have "close to zero" risk of death from cervical cancer…

Extraordinary Insect Emergence at Night | BBC Earth

In the forests of Madagascar, mouse lemurs attend a midnight feast as the sugary secretions of flatid bugs attract a swarm of insects. Subscribe: http://bit.ly/BBCEarthSub Sign up…

To help combat illegal fishing, 15 countries commit to sharing fisheries data

Fifteen countries from Africa, Asia, Latin America and Europe adopted the Mombasa Declaration on June 17, 2026. Together, they committed to advance global fisheries transparency…

Arizona is building its 27th wildlife crossing. Altogether, they've reduced collisions by 90%

The new project, over I-17, just south of Flagstaff, is projected to be completed by fall 2026.

No Outstanding Coal Mining Applications Left in the UK After Council Refusal in Carmarthenshire

After a Welsh council rejected plans to dig for 85,000 tons of coal, the UK has no outstanding proposals for coal mining anywhere in the country. Carmarthenshire council turned…

Conservationists 'ecstatic:' Trail cameras spot one of the world's rarest mammals — with a baby in its pouch

Conservationists in Queensland, Australia “turned to mush upon seeing the images.”

A 'walking shark' was seen crawling along the bottom of the seafloor. It's a new species

Researchers were diving in Papua New Guinea when they discovered a strange new species in shallow waters.

Conservationists celebrate birth of baby pancake tortoise, hope for one of the world's most endangered reptiles

The new hatchling, which will be named by the public, is the child of mother and father pancake tortoises Waffle and Maple.

‘State Fairs: Growing American Craft’ Surveys Agriculture, Ingenuity, and Community

From cows sculpted out of butter to seed art and crazy foods, ingenuity is as much a part of the tradition as showcasing time-honored practices. Do stories and artists like this…

Meet ‘Lucy’s hunter’: Scientists discover a 15-foot crocodile that lived alongside early humans in Ethiopia

In the dry storytelling of palaeontology, certain discoveries tend to arrive with a kind of quiet disruption. Not the sort that rewrites textbooks overnight, but one that shifts…

Climate Models May Be Wrong About How Trees Store Carbon

A new study reveals that oak trees can keep photosynthesizing for months after growth ends, challenging assumptions about how effectively forests convert absorbed carbon into…

An experiment gave homeless people a lump sum of cash, no strings. Most went to rent and food.

"I might one day be that important person that has a powerful voice. A seed can grow into an oak tree." The post An experiment gave homeless people a lump sum of cash, no strings.…

French Polynesia expands ocean protections to 30% of its waters

The government of French Polynesia announced it is expanding the extent of ocean where extractive industries like seabed mining and industrial fishing will not be allowed. With…

Octopuses Are So Smart They Are Now Turning Our Trash Into Tools

Someone's thrash is another one's treasure - this old saying has an entirely different meaning for an octopus.

The 'Heaven Sword' of Taiwan: How scientists found East Asia's tallest known tree hidden in ancient forests

For centuries, one of the most extraordinary living giants in Asia stood unnoticed among the remote mountains of Taiwan. Hidden within rugged forests and protected by difficult…

This national park site is training volunteers to become 'sea turtle nest sitters'

As turtle nesting season comes to a head, volunteers are needed to keep the endangered eggs safe.

How a tiny blue gecko became a conservation comeback story

Williams electric blue day gecko is a small Tanzanian reptile whose recovery shows what focused conservation can do, reports Mongabay contributor, Manuel Fonseca. Once heavily…

California’s first eight-hour grid battery just came online

BY THE OPTIMIST DAILY EDITORIAL TEAM The California grid has a timing problem. Solar runs from mid-morning through early evening. Demand peaks later. Batteries have bridged part…

Cellphones Were Created to Untether Us. Then They Got Smart and Evolved Into an Omnipotent Appendage

One device made it possible to hold a telephone, a watch, a calculator, the mailbox, credit cards, a meteorologist, a television, a detailed map of the globe, millions of songs…

Dane deQuilettes

Inventing better materials to improve solar energy

How reflective roof paint is cooling homes across Africa

BY THE OPTIMIST DAILY EDITORIAL TEAM The question seemed reasonable enough: what heat adaptation interventions were already working in Africa’s low-income communities? Lara Dugas,…

Global map of Earth’s mycorrhizal fungal networks could help protect them

Fungi are living below your feet. Roughly 110 quadrillion kilometers of living fungal threads are woven through the world’s soils. Stretched end-to-end they would cover a distance…

‘Lost’ parrot rediscovered on remote Indonesian peak

Following a grueling 14-day trek, a team of mountaineers and conservationists has photographed the elusive blue-fronted lorikeet in the highlands of eastern Indonesia’s Buru…

Wasteful Fisherman Turns into Underwater Garbage Man, Pulls Tons of Tires from Canadian Harbors

From being part of the problem to being part of the solution, a reformed litterer and fisherman now spends his days diving to the bottom of Canada’s harbors on trash clearing…

In Bangladesh, scientists learn what happens after rescued pangolins return to the wild

In a forest reserve in northeastern Bangladesh, two Chinese pangolins rescued from trafficking have been given a second chance at life in the wild. As poaching pushes the…

The quest to reconnect imperiled rainforest in West Africa

NIGRE, Côte d’Ivoire — The village of Nigré in southwestern Côte d’Ivoire sits — like much of this part of West Africa — in a landscape of rice and cassava fields, oil palm…

11,000 jobs, $1.4 billion in savings: what a decade of green banking built in Philadelphia

BY THE OPTIMIST DAILY EDITORIAL TEAM An impressive $14.7 million from the city. $1.3 billion in economic investment returned. $1.4 billion in energy savings. 11,000 jobs created.…

Research reveals honeybees use the same face-reading strategy as humans

BY THE OPTIMIST DAILY EDITORIAL TEAM The human brain contains approximately 86 billion neurons. A honeybee brain contains roughly one million, packed into about one cubic…

The bats that pollinate for tequila: Photo of the week

A Mexican long-tongued bat, featured above, flies into the blooms of an agave plant, a feeding and pollination technique used to reach nectar. The bats (Choeronycteris mexicana)…

What Do Heatwaves Tell Us About Climate Change?

Climate change, caused by greenhouse gases from burning fossil fuels, is poised to make heatwaves longer, more intense, and more frequent. The post What Do Heatwaves Tell Us About…

EV Popularity in China Accounts for 262,000 Fewer Deaths from Air Pollution

More than a quarter million people are still alive thanks to improvements in air quality linked to “new energy” vehicles in the world’s largest auto market. With more than 50% of…

Tony Parkes, the banker who replanted a rainforest

On the far north coast of New South Wales, the old rainforest had mostly disappeared. The Big Scrub once covered about 75,000 hectares of rich basalt country, a lowland…

French Polynesia Protects Biodiverse Ocean Area Twice the Size of Arizona Teeming with Life

The French Polynesian government recently announced it will fully protect 200,000 square miles of ocean, an area about twice as large as Arizona that’s teeming with ocean life.…

Earth's Underground Fungus Network Is So Gigantic That If You Stretched It Out, It Would Reach to Other Star Systems

Scientists have mapped the Earth's entire underground fungal network, revealing it's extensive enough to be measured in light years.

This Week in Climate News (June 2026, Week 2)

This weekly round-up brings you key climate news from the past seven days, including protests in Albania against the construction of a luxury resort in a protected area and new,…

A coyote pup wandered into a cactus and was barbed by hundreds of spikes. Rescuers saved his life

The 3-pound pup was exploring a homeowner’s lawn in Surprise, Arizona, when he got trapped in a cactus’s grip.

Sea turtle makes dramatic recovery after life-threatening boat strike: 'The most severe case that we've ever seen'

“Dark-Blue Yellow” is one of 21 sea turtles recently rescued by The Florida Aquarium Turtle Rehabilitation Center.

Backyard bird rescue

For this writer, an encounter with nature during nesting season brings home lessons of persistence, loyalty, and wonder.

baobab-inspired floating waterfall power plant generates renewable energy off madagascar

Researchers find dramatic restoration on land and sea after island rat removal

When invasive rats are removed from islands, the ecological benefits can ripple across both land and sea more quickly than scientists expected, according to recent research.…

Dog Rescued After Being Swept Out to Sea on Inflatable Kayak Headed Toward Norway

A tour boat joined the search for a dog that had floated three miles out to sea in a kayak. After two hours of searching, they spotted the inflatable boat on the horizon but…

Where Did Earth Get Its Oceans? Maybe It Made Them Itself.

At first, scientists thought Earth’s water came from comets. Then, asteroids. Now, they wonder if Earth’s water is homegrown. The post Where Did Earth Get Its Oceans? Maybe It…

This Week in Science: World's Biggest Scorpion, a Whale Graveyard, And More!

This week in science: A world record, a world first, and much more! We start with a scorpion you absolutely don't want to meet.

Dinner scraps are rebuilding California’s lost oyster reefs

BY THE OPTIMIST DAILY EDITORIAL TEAM What if scraps from a dinner could become a habitat? That’s the basic premise of the Shells for Shorelines program in a meaningful sense: the…

Diver Captures First Underwater Footage of a Great White Shark in the Mediterranean

A team of volunteer divers removing abandoned fishing nets from the Strait of Sicily last month came face-to-face with an adult great white shark. One crew member filmed the…

Indigenous organization buys wetland property in Australia to help conserve it

A large property containing a unique wetland system in Australia’s Murray-Darling Basin was transferred into long-term Indigenous ownership in 2026 for conservation. The…

Scientists Tracked 4,500 Animals During COVID – What They Discovered Was Surprising

New research shows that wildlife reacts differently to human presence than to human-made landscapes. For centuries, people have transformed landscapes, forcing wildlife to adjust…

The Truth About Big Cat Rewilding Programs Around the World

The majestic beauty of big cats has fascinated humans for centuries. From the fierce roar of a lion to the stealthy grace of a leopard,

Inventor’s Microfiber Laundry Filter Is Already Keeping Tons of Fossil-Fuel Fibers Out of the Environment

An English inventor has partnered with home appliance giant Bosch to produce a laundry machine filter for artificial microfibers, the world’s most significant source of…

Songs prep the brains of finches yet to hatch for a hot world

Adult finches make "heat calls" as the temperature rises. Exposure to the song prepares their unhatched young's brains for the heat.

Noble Family Sells ‘Wildlife Wonder of the World’ Bass Rock to Protect 100,000-strong Seabird Population

A globally-important colony for seabirds has been sold to the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds to ensure the 100,000 gannets and 10,000 puffins that live there will…

Colombia traces cattle to combat deforestation, more baguettes through regenerative farming, social forestry

In today's edition: a new law to trace cattle fights deforestation in Colombia, social forestry helps locals protect woodlands in Indonesia, and regenerative farms in France lose…

Climate Change and Time

Although climate discourse has expressed increasing urgency over time, it has retained the same temporal outlooks for climate effects and action.

World’s largest ‘whale graveyard’ found beneath the Indian Ocean: A hidden 5-million-year mystery revealed

Far out in the south-eastern Indian Ocean, a vast and largely unexplored stretch of seafloor is reshaping how scientists understand deep-ocean history. Hidden within the…

Loophole in Endangered Species Act Is Closed to Coal Miners After Court Ruling

As May drew to a close, a US district court issued a ruling that the federal government’s attempts to undercut Endangered Species Act protections for the sake of coal mining were…

Some host cities are aiming to house, not arrest, homeless people ahead of the World Cup

The World Cup is offering the 16 host cities a chance to take action against one of the biggest problems they face — homelessness. Some, like Atlanta and Dallas, have embarked on…

Corporate courage: how cross-sector talent is powering renewables innovation

Clean energy is being reshaped by cross-industry thinkers, from aerospace engineers to banking boffins, and beyond The post Corporate courage: how cross-sector talent is powering…

These birds clack their wing bones together to woo mates at night

During courtship, male scissor-tailed nightjars crack their wings together to make a sharp snapping sound. It's the result of colliding arm bones.

The long and winding road to safe highways: Inside the global movement to reconnect habitat

One of the busiest highways in the western U.S. is I-25, a concrete artery that runs north to south across the state of Colorado, funneling roughly 100,000 cars per day through…

Experience the “Magical Effect” of a Moon Garden With These 7 Flowers That Bloom at Night

Everything feels a little enchanted under the moonlight, and planting your own moon garden full of night-blooming flowers is a wonderful way to conjure up even more of that magic.…

Ancient Maya knowledge helps Guatemalan farmers cut agrochemical use

In the mountain villages of Guatemala’s Western Highlands, farmers are combining ancient Maya knowledge with modern sustainable farming techniques to protect their crops from…

Harbor seals abandon their pups when beach-goers get too close. These mom-shaped pillows help save the babies' lives

A wildlife rescue in the Pacific Northwest has found creative ways to rehab the abandoned pups.

Humpback Whale Stuns Scientists With 15,000 Kilometer Journey Across Oceans

Two humpback whales crossed entire oceans between Australia and Brazil, setting migration records and surprising scientists. Scientists have documented an extraordinary feat of…

Oak Trees Outsmart Caterpillars With a Brilliant Spring Trick

Oak trees fight caterpillars by delaying spring just long enough to leave them hungry. In spring, forests usually burst to life right as insects hatch. Caterpillars, in…

This 'turtle-sniffing dog' searches miles of New York woods to save endangered species

April, the 16-month-old Labrador retriever, is becoming a pro at finding the Eastern box turtle.

Dutch Ocean Cleanup Folks Are Clearing LA’s Rivers of Trash in Time for 2028 Olympics

Seeking to preen and pamper its beaches ahead of the 2028 Summer Olympics, authorities in 2 Los Angeles districts needed to figure out how to get thousands of pounds of trash out…

White roofs cool African homes, parks pay off threefold, street dogs help war trauma survivors

In today's edition: reflective paint protects houses in Africa against heatwaves, city parks offer communities a threefold benefit, and a Philadelphia energy initiative saved…

Endangered California Condor Flies into Oregon for the First Time in 122 Years

Last month, a California condor flew into Oregon before returning after several hundred miles to its home in Redwoods National Park, becoming the first condor recorded in the…

What the platypus can teach us about smarter conservation

Founder’s Briefs: An occasional series where Mongabay founder Rhett Ayers Butler shares analysis, perspectives and story summaries. The platypus offers a useful lesson in…

A Baby Coyote Was Covered Head to Toe in Cactus Spines. Then Rescuers Stepped In

How pigeons find their way home: the answer is a magnetic compass in the liver

BY THE OPTIMIST DAILY EDITORIAL TEAM For decades, researchers looked for the seat of magnetoreception in all the obvious places: the eyes, the inner ear, the beak. A study just…

Scientists Discover Strange New Spider Species That Disguises Itself as a Fungus

Scientists have discovered a new spider species in Ecuador’s Amazon rainforest that uses an unprecedented form of mimicry. Deep in Ecuador’s Amazon rainforest, researchers…

How Croatian sailors who survived two years in Arctic ice helped shape modern climate science

ZAGREB, 6 June 2026 - An exhibition was opened this week at the Croatian Natural History Museum (HPM) about Croatian sailors who survived being trapped in Arctic ice for two years…

Animals have personalities. Here’s what shapes them.

From shelter dogs to stickleback fish, the forces that shape animal personality are surprisingly familiar.

Tiny ‘sesame’ sea slug discovered in Taiwan is first of its genus named in 30 years

Researchers have found a new-to-science species of a tiny sea slug with black and yellow spots resembling “scattered sesame seeds.” Measuring just three millimeters long (0.1…

Ecologist ‘bursts into tears’ seeing endangered gliders using replacement nests

No one knew if this idea would actually work. The post Ecologist ‘bursts into tears’ seeing endangered gliders using replacement nests appeared first on Upworthy .

Man Doubles His Jackpot After Accidentally Buying 2 Winning Lottery Tickets: ‘Best mistake I ever made’

A lucky retiree doubled his money when he accidentally bought two lottery tickets—and won nearly a million dollars. The 65-year-old reckons he pressed the wrong button when…

3 Mule Deer Just Inaugurated California’s Newest Wildlife Crossing Bridge

A California wildlife overpass is already proving popular with the local deer—and it’s not even finished yet. In what is certainly a ringing endorsement of the $20 million bridge,…

World’s mangrove forests are healing, researchers reverse “permanent” nerve damage, India’s $2 vision aids

In today's edition: new data show that the world is gaining more mangrove forest than it's losing, Cambridge scientists uncover the hidden mechanism that blocks nerve repair, and…

The ‘ghost dog’ of the Amazon reveals the value of intact forests

The short-eared dog is one of the Amazon’s least-known carnivores. In Bolivia, it’s also one of the hardest to find. The species has a fox-like snout, small rounded ears,…

White storks: why introducing non-native species in rewilding projects can be a good idea

Introducing white storks to England could help more people engage with nature.

This Week in Climate News (June 2026, Week 1)

This weekly round-up brings you key climate news from the past seven days, including a new report uncovering the full environmental impact of data centers as AI booms and the…

How trade bans and local conservation helped save a dazzling blue gecko

Beauty is a curse — at least for the turquoise dwarf gecko of central Tanzania. Between December 2004 and July 2009, demand for this gecko from collectors in Europe boomed,…

In the Land of Infrastructure Projects, Activists and Nature Lovers Saved Endangered Spoonbill Habitat

Following 25 days of vigorous local campaigning, residents in the supposedly-totalitarian country of China succeeded in halting highway construction that would have plowed through…

After oyster farmers saved a seal pup in need, they followed up by sending her rescue a cooler full of clams and crab: 'It takes a village'

A premature seal pup was found stranded on an island in British Columbia. Then oyster farmers came to her rescue.

A new wildlife overpass connects two of Australia's national parks, saving beloved endangered species

The retrofitted bridge includes features for a wide range of species, from rope crossings for gliding marsupials to vegetated pathways for ground-dwelling animals.

8 Habitat Restoration Efforts Transforming Ecosystems - discoverwildscience

Jan OtteHabitat restoration is a crucial process aimed at revitalizing ecosystems that have been degraded or destroyed due to human activity or natural events. This involves…

10 Activities To Celebrate World Oceans Day on June 8

June 8 is World Oceans Day! We’ve gathered a list of ideas to help you celebrate and protect the world’s oceans...

Because of a Mathematician From Rural Virginia Work on Global Positioning, You Have No Excuse for Getting Lost

Gladys West had an “insatiable thirst for knowledge.” She used computers, radars and satellites to make calculations that led to the GPS technology that allows us to pinpoint any…

The urban cooling gap: why planting design matters as much as canopy count

BY THE OPTIMIST DAILY EDITORIAL TEAM Street trees reduce urban heat. That much is established. What’s less settled is whether they’re enough on their own, or whether the way a…

A secret to making a queen bee may lie in the wax around it

Queen-cell wax helps shape honeybee queen development, challenging the idea that royal jelly alone makes a queen, a new study suggests.

Fixing the Climate Crisis Requires Giving Indigenous Peoples a Seat at the Table

“When people feel that decisions are being made about them, without them, they eventually stop believing in the systems that claim to speak for them,” writes Rich Wilson,…

New records of ‘lost’ bamboo shark confirmed in Madagascar

For nearly 20 years, the blue-spotted bamboo shark, found only in Madagascar, went scientifically undetected and unrecorded. But researchers have now found four new records of the…

Critically-Endangered Red Ruffed Lemur Triplets Born at Wild Georgia Theme Park

A Critically-Endangered lemur couple has welcomed triplets into their lives at a zoo and theme park in Valdosta, Georgia. It’s the third year in a row the resident female has…

Europe removes record number of dams in 2025 to restore rivers, help species

A massive slab of wartime concrete blocked the Pčinja River in Kumanovo, North Macedonia for more than 70 years. A 53-meter-long and 30-meter-wide (174 by 98 feet) structure of…

Iconic Kruger National Park Celebrates 100th Year of Protecting African Wildlife

On Sunday, South African authorities and nature lovers alike celebrated the centenary of Kruger National Park—a 7,500-square-mile paradise of African wildlife, and a cornerstone…

Most wildlife AI focuses on the ground. This model looks up in the trees

When it comes to decoding camera-trap images, artificial intelligence has become all the rage, especially for terrestrial animals, or those that dwell on the ground. But for more…

How Do Pigeons Find Their Way Home? New Research Suggests the Birds' Remarkable Navigational Skills Come From Their Livers

The birds might use the organs' iron-rich immune cells as internal compasses on overcast days, when they must rely on Earth’s magnetic field, instead of the sun’s light cues, for…

Rescuing London’s Precious Building Materials Diverting Them from Dumps for Reuse

A salvage and reuse operation in London is ensuring that every charming bit of wood, brick, glass, porcelain, and steel that has made the city beautiful can continue to do so with…

The European wildcat is back. In some places.

Founder’s Briefs: An occasional series where Mongabay founder Rhett Ayers Butler shares analysis, perspectives and story summaries. The European wildcat is not one conservation…

From pledges to road maps, nations organize around fossil fuel phaseout

A group of 57 nations mostly from the Global South, describing themselves as “coalition of the willing” intent on making the Transition Away From Fossil Fuels, or TAFF, convened…

Ecosystem of Pansies Thrives on Soil Contaminated by Lead Mining–Turning it into Clean Organic Compounds

For areas contaminated by lead and zinc mining across Europe, a class of plants known as “metallophytes” are helping enrich nature while diminishing pollution. The Guardian…

How PFAS regulation cut toxic chemical levels in Canadian wildlife

BY THE OPTIMIST DAILY EDITORIAL TEAM Levels of some of the most toxic PFAS compounds have fallen sharply in Canadian seabird eggs, and the reason isn’t complicated. Regulation…

2026 Sees the Most Right Whale Calves Born in One Season Since 2009

This year’s calving season along the southeast coastline of America has documented the most North Atlantic right whale calves since 2009. Additionally, trends in calf births seem…

Woman Who Helped Rescue an Injured Crow Is Now Receiving Unexpected Gifts From the Sky

New Crocodile Cousin Discovered After 210 Million Years Hidden in Stone

A newly identified prehistoric crocodile relative, Eosphorosuchus lacrimosa, was discovered alongside another croc species in New Mexico fossils dating back 210 million years.…

This Mobile Veterinary Unit Is Standing Between Sumatra’s Elephants and Extinction

Part rescue vehicle, part field hospital, part classroom, the Wildlife Ambulance operates across some of Sumatra’s most remote terrain, reaching elephants and other wildlife that…

'Playful Youngster': See the Rare, Endangered Przewalski's Horse Born at the Bronx Zoo

The foal was born on April 21 and is now romping around with the rest of the herd in the zoo's seasonal Wild Asia Monorail exhibit. It belongs to a species whose members are often…

Asphalt Is the Canvas for This Year's World Street Painting Festival in Joplin, Missouri, Which Honors 100 Years of Route 66

Immersive paintings, which function as massive optical illusions, pay tribute to the "Mother Road" and its influence on American culture

27 Moon Bears rescued from illegal Laos bile farm

In what was described as the largest bear farm rescue in Southeast Asia, authorities in Laos in conjunction with the international NGO Free the Bears freed 27 Asiatic black bears…

In Brazil, a project paying farmers for forests is looking to scale up

Landowner Carlos Roberto Simonetti gets three harvests per year from the corn, soy and cotton plantations on his 17,000-hectare (about 42,000 acres) farm called Fazenda Natureza…

Scientists Discover a Sea Slug Smaller Than a Sesame Seed in Taiwan

A sesame-seed-sized sea slug discovered in Taiwan is revealing a hidden world of tiny ocean life. A newly identified species of sea slug, so small that it is barely larger than a…

3 Teens Win Global Earth Prize for Inventing Tamarind Powder That Easily Removes Microplastics

In mid-May, GNN reported that 3 teens from India had won a major continental science prize for their brilliant use of an ingredient in Indian cuisine as the basis for a…

Greenland sheds new light on underwater carbon sink

New research suggests vast underwater seaweed forests could play a much bigger role in slowing climate change The post Greenland sheds new light on underwater carbon sink appeared…

Why do hurricanes come in seasons?

Hurricane season is shaped by the ingredients needed to produce a tropical cyclone, and this year the Atlantic may be relatively quiet

Curiosity as an Instrument of Love: Thoreau’s Touching Account of 24 Hours with a Tiny Owl – The Marginalian

On a raw October afternoon in 1855, Henry David Thoreau encountered a small screech-owl on a hemlock stump and did something radical: rather than shoot it for study as naturalists…

Incredibly Rare Bongos Caught on Trail Cam in Area They Were Thought to be Extinct

It’s World Bongo Day today, and scientists dedicated to their survival have shared new field camera images that prove these magnificent animals have reappeared in a region where…

Batteries That Use Sodium Instead of Lithium Could Be Low-Cost Rival to Tesla’s

A new study shows that a low-cost sodium-ion battery currently used in cars and large-scale energy storage systems in China matches most performance parameters and production…

Hidden ‘bubble cave’ may help world’s rarest seal steer clear of humans: Study

On the Greek islet of Formicula, researchers have found rare Mediterranean monk seals will take refuge in an air-filled “bubble cave,” according to a recent study. This type of…

Scientists Create “Living Plastic” That Self-Destructs in Just Six Days

Scientists have developed “living plastics” that can be programmed to break themselves down when triggered. Many plastic items are made for one-time use, but the materials can…

How Balcony Solar Can Help Renters and Homeowners Save Money

This article was written by Moncef Krarti, a professor of civil, environmental, and architectural engineering at the University of Colorado Boulder, for The Conversation — a…

A New York Cemetery Was Hiding Over 5 Million Burrowing Bees, One of the World’s Largest Concentrations

At roughly 5.5 million, a colony of ground-nesting bees that scientists discovered under a New York cemetery may be one of the largest bee aggregations ever documented. Subsequent…

Using Colorful Dog Kibble, Artists Turn 'Mona Lisa,' 'The Scream' and 'The Kiss' Into Museum Masterpieces That Man's Best Friend Can Appreciate

Sisters from New Jersey spent two months recreating famous artworks while also making sure their dog didn’t get into the edible art supplies

Scientists Discover Mysterious Creature Living in the Great Salt Lake – and It Exists Nowhere Else on Earth

A tiny worm discovered in the Great Salt Lake could help scientists better understand the origins and resilience of life in extreme environments. Its story remains largely a…

How to help birds in hot weather – 2 things your garden must have to prevent sunstroke and dehydration, according to wildlife experts

If you've been struggling with the recent heat wave, your garden birds definitely are too

Owls Found Thriving in Abandoned Coal Mine as Wildlife Reclaims Industrial Heritage Site

New photos show owls and wildlife reclaiming an abandoned coal mine 50 years after it closed. The Chatterley Whitfield mine in Staffordshire, England, last produced coal in 1976.…

Four Rare Guam Kingfisher Chicks Hatch at Virginia Facility, Making an 'Incredibly Valuable' Addition to the Small Population of Extinct-in-the-Wild Birds

The species, also known as the sihek, was wiped out from its native Guam and kept alive in captivity. Conservationists released some birds on Palmyra Atoll in 2024, and they have…

Fabulous Vietnam Pheasant Not Seen in 20 Years Returns to Wild Thanks to Zoo Coalition

For over 20 years, the forests of central Vietnam have been missing one of their most remarkable inhabitants. Now, an international alliance of conservation organizations,…

All-Electric Truck Completes Milestone Canberra-to-Sydney Haul, Cutting 84% in Fuel Costs

A green-geared milestone was just set in Australia as a company saw its all-electric haul truck go from the capital of Canberra to Sydney on a single charge. Carrying tons of…

What doesn’t kill a soil microbe makes it stronger

Decades of agricultural stress appear to have forged unusually heat-resistant microbial communities. Researchers think cropland soils could be transplanted to restore fragile…

Homing pigeons may use a surprising navigation mechanism

How animals navigate by Earth's magnetic field is hotly debated. New research in pigeons points to iron-laden liver immune cells as the compass.

What happens to the small things when the big things disappear?

A 15-year field experiment in Kenya reveals that dung beetles—and the ecosystem services they provide—collapse when elephants disappear, offering evidence of coextinction in the…

The Amazon’s path from crisis to durability

In the Amazon, a forest can remain on the map while losing much of what makes it function. The Amazon rainforest is often discussed through a few familiar measures: deforestation,…

Huge volcanic eruption offers clues to fighting climate change

The South Pacific blast may have consumed its own methane — but using this idea against the greenhouse gas is controversial.

Why India’s Indigenous Rice Varieties Are Making a Comeback Across Farms and Global Kitchens

Across India, farmers are returning to rice varieties their ancestors cultivated for centuries - not out of nostalgia, but survival. After the Green Revolution replaced more than…

Portland’s billion dollar climate fund, sharp drop in forever chemicals, Virginia bans assault weapons

In today's edition: Portland's mammoth climate fund drives clean energy projects, PFAS levels drop sharply in wildlife, and Virginia becomes the latest US state to officially…

New species of ghost pipefish named after Sesame Street character found in Australia

It’s “hairy,” bright orange or red and “exceptional” at camouflaging. Meet the hairy ghost pipefish, whose recent formal description demonstrates that even well-studied marine…

A modern-day wilderness warrior

There's no perfect billionaire. But Ted Turner was pretty amazing.

Facing Desertification, Man’s Campaign Draws 30,000 Volunteers to Plant 1 Million Trees in his County

From China’s arid Gansu Corridor comes the story of a rural county welcoming thousands of big city volunteers after a viral call for help. Minqin County is on the front line of…

70% Drop in Levels of Forever Chemicals Observed in Seabird Eggs Tracks Regulatory Success

Content of several “forever chemicals” in seabird eggs were found to have sharply decreased over the last 55 years by a team of scientists. While first rising exponentially from…

What We’re Reading: Denver’s Newest Clean Energy Source Will Be Sewage

Welcome back to our weekly behind-the-scenes glimpse at what’s getting our team talking. Tell us what you’ve been reading at info@reasonstobecheerful.world and we just might…

The 'happy face spiders' of Hawaii have a new relative in the Himalayas. They evolved their smiley faces half a world apart

Devi Priyadarshini and Ashirwad Tripathy were on the hunt for Himalayan forest ants. Instead, they discovered an entirely new species.

Scientists Detect an Elusive Giant Squid and Many Other Surprising Marine Animals Near Western Australia Thanks to DNA in the Water

Mucus, feces, skin and other shed tissue allowed researchers to investigate which creatures have been swimming in two deep-sea canyons without having to observe or catch them

A landmark MIT study debunks persistent myths about electric vehicles

Think EVs don't make sense in cold climates, or that a dirty power grid cancels out the benefits? Researchers find the opposite is true—and that EVs cost no more to own than a…

30 Years of Volunteering Has Kept This California Creek Pristine

An important watershed in Oakland is now a thriving Eden of native species thanks to the work of two generations of volunteers. 30 years ago last week, Mr. Michael Thilgen and his…

Asia’s overlooked leopard cat

Founder’s Briefs: An occasional series where Mongabay founder Rhett Ayers Butler shares analysis, perspectives and story summaries. Asia’s mainland leopard cat is easy to…

Scientists Discover 43-Foot Sea Reptile Twice the Size of a Great White Shark

A newly identified mosasaur from Texas suggests that some ancient marine predators were larger, more powerful, and possibly more aggressive than previously recognized. Bite marks,…

Lab-Grown Sunflower Sea Stars Offer Hope for Vanishing Marine Ecosystems

Private and public entities, each contributing their own set of strengths and resources, are collaborating in the recovery of the sunflower sea star. The post Lab-Grown Sunflower…

Polar bears off the ice: Photo of the week

A polar bear, captured above, sits on a grassy expanse on Kolyuchin Island in the Chukotka district of far-eastern Russia. Several bears made themselves at home in the empty…

I’ve Been To Big Bend National Park Nearly 50 Times—And This Is The Prettiest Spot Most Visitors Miss

If you’ve visited Big Bend National Park in Far West Texas, you may have hiked the main attractions. But until you make the trip up Mesa de Anguila, you haven’t seen the prettiest…