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, partially webbed toes, and a long bushy tail that often drags on the forest floor. In Spanish, it’s sometimes called perro fantasma, or ghost dog, a name that reflects how rarely even field biologists encounter it. A long-running camera-trap study has now brought the species into sharper focus, reports Iván Paredes Tamayo. Over more than two decades, researchers recorded the short-eared dog in Bolivia’s lowland Amazonian forests, in piedmont forests near the Andes, and in large protected and Indigenous-managed landscapes. The results suggest the animal may be present in more places than earlier records showed. That is useful evidence, although it doesn’t make the species common. It remains scarce, elusive, and closely linked to well-preserved forest. For conservation groups, land managers, and funders, the findings suggest the short-eared dog depends on large, connected areas of habitat. Small forest fragments are unlikely to provide what it needs. Its presence can help identify places where forests are still functioning well, especially where protected areas and Indigenous territories keep intact habitat at scale. The finding also shows why long-term monitoring matters. Rare species are easy to miss in short surveys. A camera trap may sit for months without recording one. A study that runs across years, landscapes, and management types can reveal patterns that would otherwise remain hidden. The short-eared dog will probably never…This article was originally published on Mongabay

From human-elephant coexistence to an alternative conservation model from the Democratic Republic of Congo, from teen innovators in Kenya to Guinea’s complicated experience with mining, the stories that attracted the most readers in the first five months of 2026 reflect the richness of Mongabay’s Africa coverage on World Environment Day, June 5, 2026. They also showcase the talents of a diverse reporting team and a strong and growing network of resident contributors. Electric fences help farmers and elephants coexist in Zambian borderlands: Contributor Ryan Truscott reports from eastern Zambia on an initiative aimed at protecting farmland from elephants, even as the pachyderms are forced into narrower corridors as habitats shrink. A unique clearing in Central Africa draws elephants from the dense forests: Mongabay Africa’s program director David Akana takes readers to the forest clearing of Dzanga Bai in the Central African Republic. A place where the naturally elusive forest elephants gather, sometimes in the hundreds, forming a “village of elephants.” Descendants of people pushed out for DRC national park lead forest conservation efforts:  Contributor Jérémie Kyaswekera brings a story of hope from the DRC, where descendants of  families that had to leave the forests of what is today an area in and around Maiko National Park are leading efforts to protect biodiversity through local conservation efforts. Teen innovators in Kenya turn farm waste into award-winning vehicle exhaust filter: Kenya-based contributor Mary Mwendwa teamed up with Mongabay Africa editor Malavika Vyawahare to profile young innovators who developed an exhaust filtration system…This article was originally published on Mongabay

More than a decade ago, conservationists began working to preserve a unique population of desert pampas cats that has adapted to the mangroves of Peru’s northern coast. This small, isolated population roams the San Pedro de Vice dry mangroves, a Ramsar Site and South America’s southernmost mangrove ecosystem. “This is a very unique population, because as far as we know, [it] is the only Pampas cat population that lives in a mangrove [habitat],” Alvaro Garcia, co-coordinator of the Pampas Cat Working Group and the Peruvian Desert Cat Project, told Mongabay in an email. The desert pampas cat (Leopardus garleppi), distinctive for its broad face, ranges along a relatively thin band snaking southward from Colombia through Peru and Bolivia, to northern Chile and Argentina. The species is acclimated to dry conditions, so inhabits deserts, grasslands and dry forests, and isn’t found living in mangroves anywhere else aside from this region of Peru. Dry mangrove forests, also called scrub or dwarf mangrove forests, grow in highly saline soils in upper intertidal zones, so lack regular daily flushing by ocean tides. At first, it was thought the dry mangrove-acclimated cats were faring well: “[I]n the mangrove [habitat], we put cameras out for a week, and we got tons of photos,” whereas in other parts of the felid’s range, conservationists barely capture one desert pampas cat image per month, said Cindy Hurtado, co-coordinator of the Pampas Cat Working Group and the Peruvian Desert Cat Project. Based on the photos, the research team assumed the…This article was originally published on Mongabay

JUNEAU, Alaska (AP) — The Trump administration’s push to expand oil and gas development in Alaska faces a new test Friday. That’s when the latest lease sale is set for the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge. A coalition of conservation groups sent a letter to oil company leaders ahead of the sale, urging them to stay away and citing risks such as ongoing litigation around the leasing program. Opponents of drilling in the refuge have pointed to a lack of major industry interest in prior lease sales. But supporters of drilling see the refuge’s coastal plain as a potential untapped resource that could boost oil production and generate new revenue. Banner image: FILE – The Kaktovik Lagoon and the Brooks Range mountains of the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge are seen in Kaktovik, Alaska, Oct. 15, 2024. Image by Lindsey Wasson via Associated Press.This article was originally published on Mongabay

SARLAHI, Nepal — Dhruba Prasai, a farmer from Sarlahi district in Nepal’s southern plains, says he’s exhausted from lack of sleep. Every year, nilgai antelopes, wild boars, deer and Asian elephants raid his fields, and if left unguarded at night, they not only feed on standing crops, but also stored harvest. “There is a forest to the west, and our fields are right next to it,” Prasai tells Mongabay. “The nilgai eat the maize, and the deer can’t even stand the sight of wheat and oat grass, they eat it all. If people stay up at night to guard the fields, they run away; otherwise, they come and destroy everything.” Farmers such as Prasai across Madhesh province, considered the country’s breadbasket because of its fertile land, are struggling with growing crop losses from wildlife, but complex procedures and policy gaps make access to relief, which is already limited, difficult. From mid-July 2024 to mid-July 2025, 14,821 cases of ‘human wildlife conflict’ were reported in Madhesh, according to government figures. A total of 134 people and 457 animals lost their lives. Last year, a wild boar ate three tand (storage racks) of maize stored in Prasai’s house. Although forest authorities told him to get a recommendation letter from the local municipal ward office to apply for relief, he didn’t do it. “I haven’t done it; we simply don’t have the time,” he says. Even those who did fill out the forms around the same time have yet to receive relief, he…This article was originally published on Mongabay

In April this year, two Bryde’s whales washed-up dead-on Dyer Island, a small nature reserve located a few kilometers off the coast of Gansbaai in South Africa’s Western Cape province. Both whales carried severe injuries; their vertebrae had been shattered. “It was very clear that it was [vessel] strikes, because both those whales were snapped in half, and you can also see the propeller marks,” Loraine Shuttleworth, head of research at the Dyer Island Conservation Trust, told Mongabay. Two whale strandings linked to ship strikes in one month alone is an unusually high number, Shuttleworth said. A new risk assessment has linked the increase in risk of ships striking whales to the rerouting of maritime traffic around South African coast. Due to the Houthi rebels attacks on ships traversing the Red Sea, which started in 2023, and the more recent fallout from the blockade of the Strait of Hormuz, many cargo companies have rerouted their vessels around the Cape of Good Hope. With greater shipping traffic comes a growing threat to marine species inhabiting the region: collisions with large, fast-moving vessels. Between December 2023 and December 2024, the number of large vessels traveling through South African waters at average speeds above 15 knots (28 kilometers per hour) has quadrupled, satellite data show. The scale of the increased maritime traffic struck scientist Els Vermeulen from the University of Pretoria’s Mammal Research Institute Whale Unit, on a flight into Cape Town in 2025. “It was a beautiful day, and there were just…This article was originally published on Mongabay

While on a deep-sea expedition in the Galapagos in 2015, scientists found a golf-ball sized, short-armed blue octopus. In a recent study, they confirmed that it’s new to science. The newly described octopus, named Microeledone galapagensis, was first sighted with a remotely operated vehicle (ROV) near an underwater mountain, roughly 1,773 meters (5,800 feet) below the Pacific Ocean surface close to Darwin Island.   Expedition researchers from the Charles Darwin Foundation and the Galápagos National Park Directorate collected it with their ROV. They saw two more octopus individuals on video. The body of the collected specimen was preserved and sent to octopus expert Janet Voight at the Field Museum in Chicago, Illinois, U.S.  Voight and colleagues at the museum scanned the octopus using computed tomography (CT) to create a 3D model of the individual. The researchers then used the CT model to examine its internal organs and mouth parts.    “When you describe a new species of octopus, you have to look at all the parts, including the mouth, the beak, and the teeth. And to see those things, you have to cut the specimen open. We only had the one specimen, so I didn’t want to take it apart,” Voight said in a press release.   A comparison of the blue octopus’ parts with those from other octopus species revealed that it was a new-to-science species. Unlike many octopuses, Microeledone galapagensis is small, squat, and has short, stubby arms with few arm suckers. “One of the interesting questions about…This article was originally published on Mongabay

Across the small islands of eastern Indonesia that lie within the Wallacea region, one of the world’s richest marine biodiversity regions, coastal communities are reviving ancient customary systems to safeguard marine ecosystems from destructive fishing and habitat loss. This movement is the centerpiece of Jejak Wallacea, a recent documentary highlighting how local empowerment can succeed where top-down conservation often fails, reports Mongabay’s Hans Nicholas Jong. The film features initiatives across four provinces: East Nusa Tenggara, South Sulawesi, Southeast Sulawesi and Central Sulawesi. These communities have turned to locally rooted methods of reverse biodiversity loss, such as seasonal fishing closures, customary sanctions and mangrove restoration. In Solor, East Nusa Tenggara, residents established traditionally protected marine areas that they refer to as “marine granaries” (kebang lewa lolon) to restore coral reefs and created turtle hatcheries. They are also moving away from harmful blast fishing. “What we chose was conservation, but based on local wisdom,” Vero Lamahoda, director of the local foundation Yayasan Tanah Ile Boleng that is supporting the communities in the transition, said in the documentary. In Southeast Sulawesi, the village of Wabula employs a customary system called Kaombo, which regulates access to traditionally protected areas like seagrass beds and mangroves. Violators face customary fines or rituals like Kaleo Leo, where suspects are dunked into the sea, and the individual who surfaces first is considered the guilty party. Similarly, communities on Langkai and Lanjukang islands in South Sulawesi utilize periodic closures of marine areas for octopus fishing to allow populations to…This article was originally published on Mongabay

Severed tissue from a cold-water sea cucumber can survive, heal, and even move independently for years in natural seawater, researchers recently found. Some animals have the ability to regenerate tissues and body parts. Certain lizards can regrow their tails, for example. Some sea stars and sea cucumbers, including Psolus fabricii that live in the cold waters of the Atlantic and Arctic oceans, can regrow their severed arms or halves. However, researchers in the study showed that the discarded parts of a sea cucumber, instead of dying, can also remain viable for long periods of time. “It’s like a lizard that loses its tail,” study co-author Rachel Sipler from Memorial University of Newfoundland in Canada, said in a statement. “We know some lizards can grow new tails; we’re talking about whether the tail can grow a new lizard.” Sipler and her colleagues removed parts of tentacles, feet and the main body from three Psolus fabricii individuals and placed them in natural seawater in the laboratory. The tissues showed active immune responses, cell diversification, and the ability to absorb nutrients (amino acids) dissolved in the seawater. Even when the researchers stopped the experiments after three years, the tissues continued to survive. “We haven’t grown a new, complete sea cucumber yet, but we are seeing pretty stunning growth and diversification of cells literally years after this tissue was removed,” Sipler said in the statement. Cell lines that are “immortal” and can perpetuate indefinitely are crucial for biomedical research. However, most such “immortal” cell…This article was originally published on Mongabay

BANGKOK — Seven hundred days after activists from the environmental group Mother Nature Cambodia were imprisoned on charges widely regarded as retaliatory for their activism, 73 international and Cambodian civil society organizations have renewed calls for their unconditional release. After a trial lasting just over a month, 10 activists from Mother Nature Cambodia were sentenced on July 2, 2024, to between six and eight years in prison. Only five of the defendants attended the hearings, which saw Long Kuntha, 28, Ly Chandaravuth, 26, Phuon Keoraksmey, 25, and Thun Ratha, 34, each sentenced to six years behind bars for plotting against the government; fellow activist Yim Leanghy, 36, received an eight-year sentence for both plotting against the government and insulting the king. The five activists who did not attend the trial were sentenced in absentia. The appeals hearing for all 10 convicted activists was slated to take place on June 2, but has been postponed indefinitely by the Phnom Penh Court of Appeals. “The MNC5 are incarcerated in prisons in overcrowded and harsh living conditions, separated from each other and spread out all across Cambodia, hundreds of kilometers away from their families and legal counsel,” wrote the 73 NGOs in an open letter addressed to Prime Minister Hun Manet. “The … NGOs who have signed this letter sincerely request you take immediate action to ensure the unjust convictions of these five activists are reversed either prior to or at their upcoming appeals court hearing in Phnom Penh, and that their freedom…This article was originally published on Mongabay

Tshopo province in the Democratic Republic of the Congo granted 31 community forest land titles to farmers in May, bringing a total of more than a million hectares of forest in Tshopo under the legal stewardship of local Indigenous peoples. Bantu and Indigenous Mbuti communities have lived in the province for generations, but without official title or control of their own lands and under the ever-present threat of extractive and development projects without their consent. Community Forestry Lands (CFLCs) include community environmental management plans. They also offer legal tenure that’s meant to ensure any development on those forest lands requires the free and informed consent of the communities holding the tenure rights. According to the deforestation-tracking platform Global Forest Watch, Tshopo province lost roughly 46% of its total tree cover between 2002 and 2025, largely driven by timber harvesting, charcoal production and mining. These activities degrade the ecosystem and destabilize the livelihoods and food systems of indigenous peoples. “[E]xtreme poverty is gaining ground among indigenous peoples and local communities, for whom the forest is more of a habitat than a source of vital goods and services,” Alphonse Maindo, director of the environmental NGO Tropenbos DRC that helped the communities obtain CFLCs, told Mongabay’s Didier Makal. The recently granted community forest concessions in Tshopo, when added to other such community management areas, means nearly 6.3 million hectares (15.5 million acres) of secured land in the DRC. That’s an area roughly the size of Togo. Some local residents are planning to start beekeeping and cocoa…This article was originally published on Mongabay