Can you believe that until now there were more genomes sequenced for the woolly mammoth than for living African elephants?
Today, we bring you the first genomic, continent-scale analyses of 232 high-quality genomes of both species, the savanna and forest elephant.
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
Posts by Aidan Branney, M.Sc.
Studies reveal that the giant otter population decreased by 50% over the past 25 years as their habitat disappears and fragments and growing pollution fouls rivers.
#endangeredspecies #otters π¦¦
news.mongabay.com/2026/04/gian...
New ocelot paper π¨π¨π¨
Here we investigate the effects of different lure types and whether they can increase the chance of catching ocelots and other carnivores in the south Texas region.
Hope you can give it a read: wildlife.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/...
Caught this cutie today in the bush. A bay spotted bush snake π
New ocelot paper investigating factors that drove home range size in endangered ocelot populations in Texas! Hope you can give it a read: www.nature.com/articles/s41...
Lions across Africa are under threat from habitat loss, poaching, and wildlife trade.
A continent-wide survey of 132 lion subpopulations was conducted in collaboration with landscape managers and lion researchers to determine perceived threat severity.
[1/2] @biology.ox.ac.uk
Image showing Hobson Lab logo (with parakeets, a social network, and R code), two Monk Parakeets, and several individually-marked parakeets with the text "Now recruiting PhD students!!"
**PhD POSITIONS** I am recruiting 1-2 PhD students to work on sociality and cognition in Monk Parakeets, starting Fall 2026. Full ad is here: hobsonresearch.com/index.php/20... (please help spread the word!)
Another successful round of giraffe captures for the GECP. We tagged 8 female giraffes and are currently monitoring them with solar powered tail tags.
Such a beautiful lioness came by the waterhole today π¦
After weeks of patience a lioness finally decided to come take a drink from the waterhole.
I've argued that bioinvasions should be treated w/ the same precautionary approach applied to natural disasters (redpath-staff.mcgill.ca/ricciardi/Ri...). Society invests in plans for extreme hazards that may never happen, b/c their occurrence is unacceptable. Invasions should be treated similarly.π§΅
Insane close encounter with bush elephants at the watering hole
Another successful round of captures pictured animals were handled under professional veterinary care and captured with all proper regulatory permits for Etosha National Park. #carnivores #lions #hyenas #wildliferesearch #predators #africanwildlife
Work made possible by the Namibian Ministry of Environment, Forestry and Tourism, the Etosha Ecological Institute, the University Namibiaβs School of Veterinary Science, the Warnell School of Forestry and Natural Resources, and the Savannah River Ecology Laboratory.
Using the GPS collars deployed it will allow for the furthering of conservation efforts within the park but it will also allow for my colleagues and me to analyze spatial and movement patterns of prides and clans within the park as well.
I was on GPS collaring and measuring duty and these measures are often great ways to monitor growth and individual health across time. The canines of lions and hyenas are truly impressive to behold in hand.
Another successful round of captures for the Greater Etosha Carnivore Program. We were able to successfully GPS collar and collect data from seven lions (Panthera leo) and three spotted hyena (Crocuta crocuta).
Such a phenomenal evening aiding in the recollaring effort for this lioness: XPL139 with the Lion Ranger Program in NorthWestern Namibia.
With a fresh collar on her, the Lion Rangers will be able to continue monitoring her movements and potential conflict with livestock owners in the Kunene. π¦
Elephant encounter in the Kunene region. Such wondrous creatures
π some terrified KFC workers
If you clicked on the note this event happened over a decade ago and served as an important reference. Condor numbers have gone up since the time of that event.
If only it were that simple, pumas are hungry predators and easier prey is quite compelling
Thankfully pumas are not endangered in the state of CA but they are a species of conservation concern which does create a management conundrum with CA condors in the mix haha
New note on a puma preying on California condors in Southern California. Hope you can give it a read: doi.org/10.1002/ecs2...
Woah! Such an important study published in Nature today! Quick thread with some of their key figures!
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So many tracks out in the bush of the Kunene region in Namibia ! Lots of sign of lion (Panthera leo), spotted hyena (Crocutta crocutta), and African leopard (Panthera pardus pardus). Really cool to see how they move on the landscape.