It’s not as sensational as recreating long-dead species, but conserving modern-day fauna is far more pressing
The parable of the Mars mission: we’d rather spend trillions sending ourselves to a yet unlivable planet than look after the one we have. And swiftly on its heels, the parable of the dire wolf. We’d rather resurrect a 12,500-year-old species from the dead than save our existing wild animals. Of course we would. Recycling is boring; doing the very thing 90s science fiction movies warned us not to do is fun.
We are not quite on the verge of bringing back ancient species. But last week the PR campaign for doing so began in earnest. Colossal Biosciences – a company known for trying to revive the dodo, the mammoth and the thylacine – has unveiled three large adorable white puppies, claiming it has created “the world’s first successfully de-extincted animal”: the dire wolf, made famous by Game of Thrones. It invited author George RR Martin to look; he duly burst into tears.
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Breaking Waves: Ocean News
04/12/2025 - 11:30
04/12/2025 - 11:00
The chance of the marine animal’s survival after domoic acid poisoning is 50-50, and this year, the outbreak has sickened hundreds
It was just after 8am on Tuesday, a thick morning fog still clinging to the California coastline, and SeaWorld’s animal rescue team had already made their first save of the day: a hefty, sick-looking sea lion that had been waddling dangerously close to a four-lane highway in downtown San Diego.
Now, in a private area of SeaWorld that few of the theme park’s thousands of daily visitors ever get to see, the rescue team was in full “triage” mode. Half a dozen staff members maneuvered the caged sea lion off the bed of a truck, and grabbed IV bags full of fluids and vitamins.
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04/12/2025 - 06:27
More than 600,000 people a year visit Birling Gap, part of Seven Sisters cliffs, which are vulnerable to coastal erosion
The National Trust has banned coaches from one of Britain’s most popular beauty spots in an attempt to reduce the growing numbers of people visiting the site.
Up to 600,000 people a year visit Birling Gap which is part of the Seven Sisters cliffs in East Sussex on England’s south coast.
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04/11/2025 - 11:19
Mexico’s failure to keep up 81-year-old water-sharing treaty has sparked a diplomatic spat with the US
Mexico will make an immediate water delivery to Texas farmers to help make up its shortfall under a treaty that has strained US relations and prompted tariff threats by Donald Trump, said Mexico’s president, Claudia Sheinbaum, on Friday.
Mexico is looking for alternatives to comply with the 81-year-old water-sharing treaty with the US, Sheinbaum said in her regular news conference. A proposal had already been sent to US officials, she said.
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04/11/2025 - 10:00
Guardian Australia is highlighting the plight of our endangered native species during an election campaign that is ignoring broken environment laws and rapidly declining ecosystems
Explore the series – Last chance: the extinction crisis being ignored this election
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Nearly 2m hectares of forests suitable for endangered koalas have been destroyed since the iconic species was declared a threatened species in 2011, according to analysis for Guardian Australia.
The scale of habitat destruction in Queensland and New South Wales – states in which the koala is formally recognised as being at risk of extinction – has continued despite political promises it would be protected.
Get Guardian Australia environment editor Adam Morton’s Clear Air column as an email
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04/11/2025 - 10:00
While the election is ignoring the issue of Australia’s extinction crisis, volunteers and community groups all around the country are doing their best to save our endangered species. We want to hear about them
Explore the series – Last chance: the extinction crisis being ignored this election
Get Guardian Australia environment editor Adam Morton’s Clear Air column as an email
Australia is in the midst of what experts say is an extinction crisis, but the decline of the country’s unique wildlife and the state of the environment has not been mentioned by the major parties this election campaign.
This week, Guardian Australia launched a new series, Last Chance, to put a spotlight on everyday people standing up for endangered species in their local environment.
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04/11/2025 - 10:00
Maria Matthes, a lifelong koala conservationist, says loss of habitat and the climate crisis have threatened the endangered species in eastern New South Wales. Almost 2m hectares of forests suitable for koalas have been destroyed since 2011. They are one of more than 2,000 Australian species listed as under threat in what scientists are calling an extinction crisis
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04/11/2025 - 09:06
Compromise deal falls far short of carbon levy poor countries were hoping for
Shipping companies will have to pay for the carbon dioxide produced by their vessels for the first time under new rules agreed by the world’s maritime watchdog.
The regulations agreed on Friday fall far short of the levy on CO2 that poor countries were hoping for, which would have funded their efforts to combat the climate crisis.
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04/11/2025 - 07:00
Some farmers recovered from president’s first-term trade war and a fresh one is estimated to cost the state $6bn a year
California’s $59bn agricultural industry is bracing for disruption as Donald Trump’s tariffs continue to spike tensions and trigger economic turmoil with China – one of the state’s biggest buyers.
California is the country’s breadbasket, supplying roughly one-third of US vegetables and 75% of its fruits and nuts. But it also exports much of its produce – close to $24bn worth in 2022. This means farmers in the state could lose out significantly as China imposes retaliatory tariffs on US goods.
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04/11/2025 - 04:49
Five thousand new homes alongside a paradise for newts appears to fly in face of government’s ‘false wedge’
Arriving at the Kidbrooke Village housing development in Greenwich on a morning in early spring, the first thing you notice is the sound of birdsong and the scent of blossom. Geese are gently honking in the distance.
This was once the Ferrier estate, a postwar housing estate that was demolished in 2009 to regenerate the area.
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