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The Guardian - Back to homeThe Guardian

Reporting on our catastrophic species loss, and ways to tackle the biodiversity crisis

The age of extinction is supported by

The age of extinction is supported by

The age of extinction

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  • A young black woman with a pangolin sitting on her shoulder smiles at the camera

    Wildlife trafficking
    ‘They are so handsome’: the unusual day in the life of a pangolin carer

    At a wildlife centre in Mozambique, trafficked animals are fed, nursed, taken for walks and eventually released back to the wild. Vet Mércia Ângela describes what it’s like to bond with these rare and charismatic mammals
  • Two donkeys eating something from a pile of rubbish that includes plastic bottles and food wrappers

    Plastic pollution
    Donkeys in Kenya are dying with stomachs full of plastic – and other animals are at risk

    With little grass for grazing on the island of Lamu, donkeys are rummaging through rubbish – and scientists now fear it is a global problem affecting many species
  • A composite of eight photos: a young blonde woman; a beetle; a singer in a winged green costume; a spiky orange sea slug; the former US president Barack Obama; a heart-shaped veined blue plant; Hitler; and a lizard on sand

    Conservation
    What links Lady Gaga, Obama and Hitler? How famous people can give new species a bad name

    Some scientists want to stop naming new species after public figures, especially as it can threaten an animal’s survival, but others say it can be a helpful conservation tool
  • A colleague of Michel Sawan holds a kestrel with a bandaged wing

    Birds
    ‘Massacred for TikTok likes’: is social media feeding the slaughter of 2.6m birds in Lebanon?

    Hunting migratory birds is illegal in the country, but a series of crises means enforcement is derisory and many birds are being shot ‘just for fun’
    • A small dark fox sits in sunlight on an outcrop covered in plants.

      In pictures
      Winning images of the 2024 BigPicture natural world photography competition

    • Two zoo workers stand next to an enclosure with two elephants in it

      Elephants
      First Asian elephant vaccinated in fight against deadly herpes virus

    • Green-and-golden bell frogs peek out of round holes in masonry bricks painted dark grey

      Amphibians
      ‘Frog saunas’ could save species from deadly fungal disease, study finds

    • Black smoke darkens a red sky above a body of water against a black tree line

      Wildfires
      Devastation as world’s biggest wetland burns: ‘those that cannot run don’t stand a chance’

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Explore

  • A white Arctic fox lying in the sun, Norway.

    Eagle attacks, red invaders and a genetic bottleneck: inside the fight to save arctic foxes

    • A shark can be seen underwater, with a boat and divers above

      ‘They’re not like puppy dogs. They should be respected’: how to swim with sharks in British waters

    • A flock of pigeons scrambling over each other

      How do you put pigeons on the pill? Scientists test contraceptives to curb pest numbers

    • People use ropes to climb up the trunk of a giant sequoia against blue sky

      The end of the great northern forests? The tiny tree-killing beetle wreaking havoc on our ancient giants

    • A man in glasses wearing camouflage, with a camera around his neck. He's standing outside in front of some shrubs.

      ‘Sometimes I wonder if I’ll come back’: Palestinian birdwatchers defy danger to scan the skies

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Explainers

  • The biggest threats to our natural world

    The five biggest threats to our natural world … and how we can stop them

  • The biodiversity crisis in numbers - a visual guide

  • An abstract collage of news images from the 2023 global climate crisis

    10 ways the climate crisis and nature loss are linked

  • A bee lands on a purple flower

    Food, soil, water: how the extinction of insects would transform our planet

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Negotiating nature

  • Astrid Schomaker

    Veteran EU official Astrid Schomaker named as new biodiversity chief

    German’s appointment to head Convention on Biological Diversity follows global failure to meet any targets on protecting ecosystems
  • Susana Muhamad, Colombia’s environment minister.

    Colombia vows to put nature at the heart of global environmental negotiations

  • The UN convention on biological diversity, Cop15, was held in Montreal, Canada, a year ago.

    Cop15 a year on: has the world lived up to the promises made in Montreal?

  • Plastic waste and other rubbish washes up on a beach in Koh Samui in the Gulf of Thailand

    Nature at risk of breakdown if Cop15 pledges not met, world leaders warned

  • Marine life swims around an anchored Fish Aggregating Device (FAD) in the Pacific Ocean.

    First Cop15, now the high seas treaty. There is hope for the planet’s future

  • A bonobo ape, a primate unique to Congo and humankind's closest relative, stands in a pond at Lola Ya Bonobo sanctuary just outside the capital Kinshasa, October 31, 2006. Scientifically named Pan paniscus, but more commonly known as pygmy chimpanzees, bonobos share 98.4% of their genetic make-up with humans and are at risk of extinction due to more than a decade of conflict in Central Africa. REUTERS/Finbarr O'Reilly (DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC OF CONGO) - RTR1IVD6

    Overconsumption by the rich must be tackled, says acting UN biodiversity chief

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Nature heroes

  • Robert Ballard speaking at a conference in California.

    I discovered the wreck of the Titanic – but seeing these vents in the sea floor was far more exciting

  • Heather Middleton looking for fossils on a rocky beach

    I discovered ...
    Thousands of fossils after retiring. Now I’m nearly 80 and still going strong

  • Prof Andrew Cunningham inside a lab at London Zoo wearing a lab coat and glasses

    I discovered ...
    Why seemingly healthy amphibians were being wiped out

  • Paul Hebert standing in front of a white sheet and holding a UV light in his back yard in Ontario, Canada, 21 February 2024

    I discovered …
    A way to identify the millions of species on Earth after a lightbulb moment in the supermarket

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Wild world

  • A kākā at Zealandia ecosanctuary, Wellington, New Zealand.

    Penguins in the pond, kiwi in the back yard: how a city brought back its birds

    As nature falls silent in most cities around the world, New Zealand’s capital has been transformed by the sound of native birds returning to the dawn chorus
  • A line of people walk along the edge of a filed thickly planted with sunflowers. People can be seen among the flowers taking pictures.

    Nature’s ghosts: how reviving medieval farming offers wildlife an unexpected haven

  • A black bird with a teddy boy-style quiff and a long wattle that hangs below its feet, sitting on a branch

    ‘More profitable than farming’: how Ecuador’s birding boom is benefiting wildlife

  • Tony Juniper

    Birdsong once signalled the onset of spring on my street – but not this year

    Tony Juniper
  • A group of young spotted hyenas on the road outside Harar

    The hyenas of Harar: how a city fell in love with its bone-crunching carnivores

  • View of rolling green fields on Iford estate from South Downs Way

    UK
    Flowers everywhere? England’s ambitious scheme to restore wildlife hangs in the balance

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Pictures

  • A group of three blue-footed boobies (Sula nebouxii) pictured on the Galápagos Islands

    Female photographers celebrate Jane Goodall’s 90th birthday

  • The operation not only underscores Kenya’s conservation triumph but also signifies a critical step in achieving stable habitats for the survival of the species.

    Cardiac arrests, horns and 1.4 tonnes of muscle: here’s how to move a rhino – in pictures

    The Kenya Wildlife Service has successfully translocated 21 eastern black rhinos to a region where they have not roamed for 50 years. Here’s how they caught, transported and released these critically endangered creatures to their new home
  • A Garrano horse with a GPS tracker in the Cabreira Mountain

    ‘Without a function they’re doomed’: in search of a new job for Portugal’s ancient pony breed

    Known since Palaeolithic times, valued by the Romans and key to Portugal’s empire-building, there are now less than 3,000 Garranos left
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