Wildlife & land conservation

Monarch butterfly

Eastern monarch butterfly population nearly doubles in 2025

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The population of eastern monarch butterflies – which migrate from Canada and the US to Mexico during the winter – has nearly doubled over the last year, according to a recent report commissioned in Mexico, generating optimism among nature preservationists. The growth in numbers for the orange-and-black butterflies follows years of ongoing conservation efforts – and perhaps provides a sliver of optimism after otherwise discouraging long-term trends for the species.

Silhouette of baobob trees

Seeds of 19 African tree species added to Svalbard Global Seed Vault

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Norway is home to the Svalbard Global Seed Vault, a vast collection intended to secure the world’s vital genetic heritage against any eventuality. The vault currently holds duplicates of 1.3 million seed samples from nearly every corner of the world. Recently, the World Agroforestry Center deposited new seeds to the vault representing tree species of special value to communities across Africa. The 19 species represented included 13 native to Africa and six others that have found a place in the economies and ecologies of the continent.

Radiated tortoise

Wave of arrests as Madagascar shuts down tortoise trafficking network

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A crackdown on the illegal trade in Malagasy tortoises has led to a series of recent arrests. Following the arrest of a Tanzanian national with 800 tortoises in December 2024, officials said a major investigation had uncovered a major international trafficking network that led to the arrests of more than 20 people in Madagascar and Tanzania. Wildlife trade monitoring watchdog TRAFFIC says more than 30,000 trafficked radiated tortoises were seized between 2000 and 2021.

Two lions

Nearly 20,000 animals seized in global wildlife trafficking crackdown

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Big cats, birds, primates, and pangolins were among the nearly 20,000 animals rescued in a recent global operation against wildlife and forestry traffickers. Led by Interpol and the World Customs Organization, the campaign involved police, customs, border patrol, forestry, and wildlife officials from 138 countries. Six transnational criminal networks suspected of trafficking animals and plants were identified, with 365 arrests made.

New Zealand's Taranaki Mounga

New Zealand mountain granted same legal rights as a person

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Taranaki Mounga, the second-highest mountain on New Zealand’s North Island, and its surrounding peaks have been granted legal personhood, becoming the country’s third natural feature to gain the same rights, duties, and protections as individuals. The mountain region is of considerable cultural significance to Taranaki Māori and its designation of legal personhood is a long-awaited acknowledgment of their relationship to it. The mountain will also now be solely referred to officially by its Māori name, laying to rest its former colonial name, Mount Egmont.

Rainforest canopy

The Democratic Republic of Congo to create the Earth’s largest protected tropical forest reserve

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An area covering the size of France will now be protected through partnerships with communities that integrates conservation and restoration with green economic development. This forms the world’s largest protected forest area and consists of a network of economic hubs built on sustainable agricultural production and powered by renewable energy derived from the hydropower potential of the Congo River. The initiative aims to create 500,000 new jobs and transfer a million tons of food annually to Kinshasa, Africa’s largest city.

Sea turtle swimming

Ecuador’s coastal ecosystems have rights, constitutional court rules

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The Constitutional Court of Ecuador has determined that coastal marine ecosystems have rights of nature, including the right to “integral respect for its existence and for the maintenance and regeneration of its life cycles, structure, functions, and evolutionary processes,” per Chapter 7, Articles 71 to 74 in the country’s constitution. This is not the first time that Ecuador has established legal rights for nature. In fact, Ecuador was the first country in the world to establish that nature held legal rights, Earth.org reported.

Crane bird in the snow

Critically endangered Siberian crane populations have increased by nearly 50% over last decade

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The Siberian crane, known for its extremely long and arduous annual journeys, is one of the world’s rarest cranes. Its western and central populations are nearly extinct today. Most Siberian cranes that remain belong to the eastern population, which migrates between northeastern Russia and China. By 2012, researchers estimated there were around 3,500-4,000 individuals left in this eastern population. The latest bird counts from Russia and China suggest their numbers have nearly doubled to 7,000 individuals thanks to concerted habitat protection efforts.

Snow leopard

Kazakhstan’s snow leopard population reaches near-historic levels

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The snow leopard population in Kazakhstan has rebounded to near-historic levels, with an estimated 152 to 189 individuals now residing in the country. This marks a significant achievement in conservation efforts, as such numbers were last observed in the 1980s. Since 2018, Kazakhstan has implemented a snow leopard conservation project under the United Nations Development Program (UNDP). UNDP initiatives have improved protection in 14 natural areas across the country through the use of advanced technologies, including camera traps, drones, and thermal imaging devices. As a result, the snow leopard population has increased by more than 26% since 2019.

Onager

Asiatic wild asses return to Saudi Arabia after 100 years

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It’s been a century since an onager or Asiatic wild ass was last seen in Saudi Arabia. But in April this year, seven onagers were relocated from neighboring Jordan into one of Saudi Arabia’s nature reserves. One of the onagers has even birthed a female foal since then. Saudi Arabia was historically home to the Syrian wild ass , an onager subspecies that was hunted into extinction in the 1920s. But with the Syrian onager gone forever, it’s closest living relative, the Persian onager from Jordan, “was deemed the best alternative sub-species with which to re-populate the Middle East.”