Environment & Wildlife | Bellingcat's Online Investigation Toolkit

You can find a full list of environmental tools reviewed by our experienced Toolkit Maintainers here in the Bellingcat Toolkit: bellingcat.gitbook.io/toolkit/cate...

Gibraltar’s monkeys eat mud ‘to avoid upset stomachs from tourist junk food’ Macaques have learned to eat soil to avert gut irritation caused by salty and sugary snacks, researchers believe Troops of monkeys living on the Rock of Gibraltar have learned to eat soil in what scientists believe is an effort to settle their stomachs after all the junk food they receive – and sometimes steal – from crowds of tourists. Researchers spotted the intentional mud eating, known as geophagy, while observing groups of Barbary macaques in the territory. Monkeys that had the most contact with tourists ate the most soil and consumption peaked in the holiday season, they found. Continue reading...

Gibraltar’s monkeys eat mud ‘to avoid upset stomachs from tourist junk food’

Earth Day is missing half the picture.
Most life is hidden beneath our feet.

Fungal networks sustain ecosystems, feed plants, and store carbon.
No underground = no life above.
Protect what remains unseen 💚

#UnderEarthDay

@spun.earth

Amsterdam to ban outdoor advertising of meat, fossil fuel and flights from May 2026.

Likened to tobacco ads, stripping ads from billboards and bus stops aims to strip credibility from the industry.

Who's next and when will online bans kick in too?

Sadly, I was the only one working on animal-related topics. Still, it was exciting to learn which themes are currently popular among young media and communication researchers 😊

My first conference presentation in Ukrainian 🇺🇦

I presented my research on how animals are covered in two popular Ukrainian media outlets, analyzing which animal orders are mentioned most often and what kinds of recommendations for interacting with them are given.

Make this April 22 #UnderEarthDay

How can you help? See: buff.ly/msi7bbR

Share video
Download logo
Post on April 22
Use #UnderEarthDay
Tag @spun.earth

A global call to protect life belowground and conserve the underground fungal networks that sustain life aboveground.

🎵 Cosmo Sheldrake

"all animals, human and nonhuman alike, need a healthy ecosystem in which to live, and none of us want to suffer" (Morales 2025: 142)

Happy #Caturday 🐈

#wildlife #WildlifeCrossings

More photos of wildlife crossings in comments. Great idea!

A newly recognized pollutant is widely present in the atmosphere A new study shows that a specific type of silicone, the so-called methylsiloxanes, is widely present in the atmosphere across diverse environments. Also, concentrations appear to be much higher than e...

How little we understand about the damage we are doing on this #PoisonedPlanet

phys.org/news/2026-04...

An insightful article on defining ecocide as part of Russia’s environmental crimes in the Russo-Ukrainian war (2014–present). If you’re interested in the topic of ecocide, I highly recommend reading: journals.leedstrinity.ac.uk/index.php/ij...

"Nature itself should be the subject of legal protection, and ecocide should be framed as a crime against nature, in parallel with crimes against humanity, rather than being subsumed under existing legal classifications" — Kateryna Minakova

I’ve just read an article saying that fishing nets are dangerous for “fish and animals” 🫤

Remember: fish are animals 🐟

Calling all social science researchers! 📢 Our 5th annual Fauna Connections symposium is set for Sept 10th, 2026. We’re seeking presentation abstracts focused on research syntheses to support animal advocates worldwide.

Apply by May 29th!
faunalytics.org/fauna-connections

I really liked this article! I wish more media would write about such important topics 🌱

I really appreciate it when media brings attention to important issues. Thanks, @theguardian.com 😊

Happy to have discovered Fungal Diversity Survey 🌱

‘Without them there is no life’: the race to understand the mysterious world of fungi Amid growing evidence of fungi’s key role in ecosystems and storing carbon, mycologists seek greater recognition of the need to preserve ‘funga’ as much as flora and fauna

Love this article!

🍄 “Fungi are some of the most important things in the world. They feed 90% of terrestrial plants. Without them, there is no life on the Earth”
— Anna Ralaiveloarisoa

Italy Implements a New Labor Leave that Allows Workers to Care for Sick Pets - Italy Italy has implemented a new labor policy that allows employees to request leave to care for their sick pets. In specific cases, the leave will be paid.

Italy has become the first in the world to legally recognize that caring for a domestic animal can justify an authorized absence, in some cases, a paid one.

We were just given a tour of the Klementinum Library in Prague. I can’t think of a more stunning example of the romance of knowledge. Also saw some of Tycho Brahe’s astronomical books with his scribbles and corrections in the margin. The birth of modern science :-) Prof Brian Cox

The pet I’ll never forget: Chilly, the kitten I saved from freezing to death I found Chilly literally frozen to the spot beneath a Detroit dock, warmed her up and took her home. She’s now part of the family

The pet I’ll never forget: Chilly, the kitten I saved from freezing to death

It suggests that certain assumptions are so deeply ingrained that, even when we know the correct approach, we may still act otherwise unintentionally 🥲

I genuinely appreciated these recommendations, and initially I did not notice the cover image. However, when I returned to the email to cite it in my work, I was surprised to notice the monkey in a dress.

A newsletter on ethical reporting about animals warns against romanticizing the exploitation of wildlife through “cute” imagery, and then puts a monkey in a dress on the cover.

After analyzing thousands of news articles on animals and the environment, one thing stands out: we produce an enormous amount of information, yet only a fraction of it is genuinely useful 🫤

If you're interested in animal or environmental protection, I highly recommend subscribing to Faunalytics’ newsletter to stay up to date: faunalytics.org

Important question, but I don’t have a full answer. It’s a complex issue. I focus on small steps, like following the article’s tips to make my environment insect-friendly. Studying media representations of animals and the environment, I found it worth sharing, even if it doesn’t solve the problem.