The birds of South Georgia are finally safe from marauding rats
Invasive rats have cut a swathe through the birds living on the island of South Georgia, but a decade-long project has now eradicated every last rat
Cute but dim quolls have been taught to stop eating toxic toads
Northern quolls are an endangered species thanks to an epidemic of poisonous cane toads in Australia, but now some of them have been trained to steer clear
Worst mass extinctions may have been caused by rising mountains
A pair of mass extinctions struck in quick succession just before the dinosaur era, and the birth of a mountain range in South Africa may have been partly to blame
In 30 years Asian-Pacific fish will be gone, and then we’re next
An assessment of Earth’s biodiversity predicts catastrophic losses within decades, with severe knock-on effects for human civilisation like shortages of food
The worst mass extinction may have begun with mass sterilisation
There seems to have been a surge in ultraviolet radiation during the Permian extinction 252 million years ago, and it might have left plants infertile rather than kill them
Rare wooden tools show that Neanderthals got creative with fire
Wooden tools are hardly ever preserved, but a cache found in Italy suggests Neanderthals made them with fire and used them to dig up foods like tubers
Chimps are now dying of the common cold and they are all at risk
The deaths of five Ugandan chimpanzees have been traced to a human cold virus, and DNA tests suggest all African chimps are vulnerable
Hardy Antarctic tardigrades may be threatened by climate change
Tardigrades can famously survive almost anything, including being sent into space, but the Antarctic species could face problems as a result of climate change
This is the oldest fossil of a plesiosaur from the dinosaur era
A nearly complete skeleton of an early long-necked plesiosaur has been found in a clay pit in Germany, and reveals they survived a mass extinction
Africa’s giraffes are being slaughtered by Joseph Kony’s army
Elephants, giraffes, giant elands and chimpanzees are being decimated by poachers linked to violent militias in a lawless region of central Africa