There were times this spring when it seemed not much was going on. One day blended into another and lockdown began to feel like a period of torpor or, perhaps even, hibernation. For the greater good, many of us had our movements restricted, and our favourite spots felt quite distant. As one of the fortunate …

The words we choose are important. Do we talk about ‘climate change’ or a ‘climate emergency’? Do we face a ‘loss of biodiversity’ or an ‘extinction crisis’ (or even an ‘insect apocalypse’)? It depends on our audience. So, as conservationists, who should we be talking to? Environmental change impacts us at a societal level—affecting human …

Travelling to the Great Gobi Whilst we’ve been staying close to home, life has begun to slowly return to normal in other countries. Our Conservation Partner, Bayara, has been in contact from her home in Mongolia, where the government reacted quickly with a strict lockdown. With fewer than 200 cases of Covid-19 reported and no …

Arnaud Desbiez and his team are working in the Pantanal region, Brazil, to protect giant anteaters from habitat degradation and fragmentation as part of the Anteaters & Highways project. Giant anteaters are classified as vulnerable to extinction. Our colleague, Arnaud, sent us this recent wonderful and rarely seen footage. We’ve heard of many animal species …

Since spring 2016, 184 red squirrels have been released into the wilds of the Scottish Highlands. Becky Priestley and Alan McDonnell, from Trees for Life, have been spearheading a mission to return reds to the north and establish a stronghold for them. Further south, and in England and Wales, our native red squirrels are not …

Creating a future for Siamese crocodiles In 2000, Siamese crocodiles, thought to be extinct, were rediscovered in the wild in Cambodia by a team from Fauna & Flora International (FFI). Found in the Cardamom Mountains, one of the last intact rainforests of Southeast Asia, there are estimated to be just 250 adults in the wild. …

Surveying the elusive mountain hares Having completed all his field work for his PhD researching a small population of mountain hares in the Peak District, we caught up with Carlos Bedson of Manchester Metropolitan University to find out how his work is progressing. Carlos has now gathered sightings of mountain hares over several years. This …

Their value to wildlife As a conservation charity, our primary interest in hedgerows lies in their remarkable capacity for nurturing wildlife. To bats, birds, bees, butterflies, hedgehogs, dormice and thousands of other species alike, hedgerows play a crucial role. They provide home, food, shelter and safe passage across the countryside. Their enormous value to wildlife, …

Hibernation strategy There are three main strategies that animals use to help them get through the winter months. They migrate and move away from harsh weather; they adapt by growing thicker fur and storing food, or they hibernate. Hibernation is often referred to as a ‘sleep’ but it’s a very special type of sleep. The …

We’ve been funding Mohammad Farhadinia and his team in Iran since 2013. Their work has been a pioneering effort to understand conservation needs of Persian leopards, to apply novel and practical solutions to resolve the conservation problems and to raise the awareness for leopard conservation in Iran, and abroad. Face to face In mid-December 2019, …

How wild are wildcats? Our wildlife faces many different threats which all come with their particular challenges. Hybridisation between a wild animal – particularly one which has very few individuals left – and a domestic animal can be really problematic to deal with. Are the wildcats in the wild, really wild? Are there any true …

Danai Kontou, one of our PTES interns, is studying kelp in UK waters. Kelp are considered the forests of the ocean and provide an important habitat for many other species, forming an important part of the ocean’s biodiversity. Sadly, it is suffering a worldwide decline, as it’s vulnerable to climate change, ocean warming and acidification. …