The South African herd represents up to 15% of Africa’s remaining population. Happily, the new owners are willing to spend huge sums for translocations across the continent Every morning, South African conservationist Donovan Jooste looks out on to grasslands populated with some of the 2,000 southern white rhinos currently in his care. Representing 12-15% of Africa’s remaining white rhino population, there are more of the animals on this farm in the North West province of South Africa than can be found in any single wild location across the continent. “It’s definitely a sight. It’s a unique sc ..read more

Border collie Jessie sniffs out elusive species last seen in 1937 among dunes of South Africa An elusive, iridescent golden mole not recorded since before the second world war has been rediscovered “swimming” in the sand near the coastal town of Port Nolloth in north-west South Africa. The De Winton’s golden mole (Cryptochloris wintoni), previously feared extinct, lives in underground burrows and had not been seen since 1937. It gets its “golden” name from oily secretions that lubricate its fur so it can “swim” through sand dunes. This means it does not create conventional tunnels, making it a ..read more

Hunted almost to extinction for their pelts, the voracious mammals are being reintroduced to their traditional haunts in Haida Gwaii, to the consternation of some fishing communities The group of otters floats between amber stalks of kelp, preening their coats and foraging for urchins. Sheltered in a natural bay off Haida Gwaii, one of the most unforgiving coastlines on the west coast of Canada, the skittish mammals are hidden – from the fast-moving currents, and from groups that have pledged to shoot them on sight. Generations ago, the global frenzy for pelts pushed northern sea otters to ext ..read more

The threatened bird index reveals largest declines in Queensland and South Australia Follow our Australia news live blog for latest updates Get our morning and afternoon news emails, free app or daily news podcast Australia’s populations of threatened and near-threatened bird species have declined by 60% on average in the past 40 years, new research shows. The threatened bird index, which is produced by scientists working with the University of Queensland, reveals some of the largest declines were among species found in South Australia and Queensland ..read more

Fewer than 300 of the endangered carnivores believed to remain in lower 48 states, primarily in fragmented groups at high elevation The North American wolverine, a species from the badger family that resembles a small bear with a bushy tail, will receive government protections under a Biden administration proposal after scientists warned that its harsh, prairie mountain habitat was being threatened by climate change. The proposal by the US Fish and Wildlife Service to grant wolverines, sometimes called “mountain devils”, federal protections under the Endangered Species Act brings a close to 30 ..read more

The climate crisis, invasive species, overexploitation of resources and pollution could break down crucial ecosystems. We asked experts to lay out the risks and offer some solutions The continued destruction of nature across the planet will result in major shocks to food supplies and safe water, the disappearance of unique species and the loss of landscapes central to human culture and leisure by the middle of this century, experts have warned. By 2050, if humanity does not follow through on commitments to tackle the five main drivers of nature loss critical natural systems could break down ju ..read more

The Guardian’s journalism shines a spotlight on the climate crisis and the damage being done to the natural world, holding governments and powerful interests to account – this is how we do it Why the Guardian’s climate and nature journalism is needed now more than ever Guardian environment pledge 2023 What impact does the Guardian have on the natural world? Support impactful environment journalism today The year 2023 will be remembered as a critical year in the escalating extinction, climate and nature emergencies – not least because it looks certain to be the hottest since records began. Th ..read more

We have been measuring our organisation’s biodiversity footprint – here’s how we did it Why the Guardian’s climate and nature journalism is needed now more than ever Guardian environment pledge 2023 Around the world, around the clock: how we report on a world on fire Support impactful environment journalism today Nature provides us with air to breathe, food to eat and water to drink. The metal in your laptop, the wood in your desk, the glass made from sand – they all come from nature. We depend upon these resources and yet, as we extract them, we are destroying places where wildlife lives. T ..read more

Major wildfires in 2014 and 2015 killed a multitudinous number and destroyed vast swaths of their natural territory A rare species of gray squirrel has been placed on the endangered list by wildlife officials in Washington state as escalating climate emergency and land overdevelopment rob the rodents of their habitat. Only three isolated pockets of western gray squirrels survive, the officials say, acknowledging the failure of recovery efforts since unprecedented major wildfires in 2014 and 2015 killed a multitudinous number and destroyed vast swaths of their natural territory ..read more

Historically, it was overfishing that the hurt much-prized fish – but now rising ocean temperatures are inhibiting the fish’s ability to produce codlings at all Guðrún Bjarnadóttir Bech sings to herself while she sorts through baby fish with a pair of tweezers. “Ding! Ding! Ding!” she suddenly bursts out. “That’s a plaice,” she says – her reaction testament to how few she sees. It is 2021 and Bech is working onboard the Jákup Sverri, a Faroese marine research ship that’s trawling for juvenile fish around the Faroe Islands in the north Atlantic to assess the state of populations including haddo ..read more