conservation

A COMPREHENSIVE SERIES OF ARTICLES ON THIS TOPIC

Anja Murray: The return of woodpeckers is a cause for celebration
Anja Murray: The return of woodpeckers is a cause for celebration
True to their exceptional nature, woodpeckers' remarkable comeback gives us a glimpse into the potential for ecological recovery, a nudge to remind us that when woodlands return, their wild residents are often able to recover lost ground too

Mon, 09 Dec, 2024

Elephant Seals Mirounga angustirostris Sparring
Richard Collins: From the brink of extinction, northern elephant seal population rises to 225,000
Experts say the population was likely reduced to fewer than 25 animals at the start of the 20th century. Inbreeding still threatens its survival, but all is not lost

Thu, 10 Oct, 2024

MARINE GROUP RALLY
Anja Murray: What's the delay with the Marine Protected Areas bill?
A recent major study revealed that globally, seabirds have declined overall by 70% in the last 50 years and are currently one of the most threatened groups of birds in the world — so delays in publishing the long-awaited Marine Protected Areas bill are alarming

Wed, 02 Oct, 2024

view from Roys peak at lake Wanaka
New Zealand nearly triples levy on international tourists
New Zealand has struggled with the impact of tourists on the natural environment, with infrastructure stretched by the large numbers

Tue, 03 Sep, 2024

Irish State should declare it is keen to see new nature reserves established — and is open to applications
S Irish State should declare it is keen to see new nature reserves established — and is open to applications
More nature reserves are needed here — on public land as well as privately-owned property, says ecologist Pádraic Fogarty

Mon, 22 Jul, 2024

Big Butterfly Count 2024
Donal Hickey: Why so few butterflies this year?
Most adult butterflies only live for around two weeks anyway and factors such as habitat loss and an increase in wasps and other preying insects may also contribute to a scarcity of butterflies this summer

Thu, 18 Jul, 2024

Why we need to listen to farmers’ perspectives on lynx and wolf reintroductions
Why we need to listen to farmers’ perspectives on lynx and wolf reintroductions
Whether in Monaghan or Malawi, Navan or Nepal, we should listen to and take seriously the perspectives of those who make their living from the land says environmental social scientist, Dr Jonny Hanson

Thu, 20 Jun, 2024

Farmer celebrates after rare barn owls return to his land to raise brood
Farmer celebrates after rare barn owls return to his land to raise brood
A farmer is celebrating after a pair of barn owls returned to his land to raise their brood.

Thu, 06 Jun, 2024

Anja Murray: The many kinds of bog cotton — and the bogs where they live
Anja Murray: The many kinds of bog cotton — and the bogs where they live
Only a tiny proportion of the original raised bogs now remain, as most have been industrially harvested. 53 of the remaining midland raised bogs are legally protected under the Habitats Directive, making restoration is a legal obligation

Wed, 29 May, 2024

European Adder ( Vipera berus )
Richard Collins: Snake tunnel adds up to wildlife win
The genetic diversity of the adder population was being impacted by their fear of crossing a busy road — but a sun-warmed tunnel could be the perfect solution

Thu, 23 May, 2024

Back from the Brink is back this evening with simple solutions and success stories
Back from the Brink is back this evening with simple solutions and success stories
Derek Mooney explains that this is "a story of hope. It celebrates the people who are trying to make a difference in the climate and biodiversity crisis. This environmental disaster can be reversed. It will take all of us to make a difference. The fight isn't over yet, but the clock is ticking".

Sun, 12 May, 2024

Stairway to Heaven trail went down like a lead zeppelin initially but it's a hit now
S Stairway to Heaven trail went down like a lead zeppelin initially but it's a hit now
A well-intentioned attempt to reduce erosion on the mountainside had actually increased it — until measures such as extra carparks were put in place

Mon, 01 Apr, 2024

Anja Murray: Mad about March hares - and the case against coursing
Anja Murray: Mad about March hares - and the case against coursing
Considerable opposition exists to hare coursing today — the idea of catching a wild animal and pitting it against a much larger, specially-bred pursuer, for human entertainment, is repulsive to many

Mon, 25 Mar, 2024

Badger sow and cubs
S Wildlife crime is a real crime and a serious problem
The Wildlife Act dates to 1976 and was last amended in 2000. It’s a weak law that needs updating — something the Government itself has acknowledged

Sun, 24 Mar, 2024

barn swallow flies fast
Donal Hickey: Easy to see why it's called a 'swoop of swallows'
Swallows often nest in sheds, garages, and farm buildings

Thu, 21 Mar, 2024

Conservation and education at a Sligo woodland thanks to a... local shopping centre
Conservation and education at a Sligo woodland thanks to a... local shopping centre
An 88-acre site near the Easkey River includes a bog which will be at the heart of a Hometree biodiversity restoration project to support unique bog species and provide habitats for birds, kingfishers, and otters

Sun, 17 Mar, 2024

American mink, Mustela vison
Anja Murray: Vital invasive mink control for wildlife conservation
Because they are native to north America, mink have no natural predators here and can wreak havoc on ground-nesting birds 

Wed, 13 Mar, 2024

Slaughter of animals for public entertainment — impact still felt to this day
Slaughter of animals for public entertainment — impact still felt to this day
The total number of animals killed during the Colosseum’s 400-year history probably ran to more than a million. And that was just the largest of some 230 amphitheatres scattered throughout the Roman Empire

Thu, 29 Feb, 2024

Protecting nesting birds from flails and fires
Protecting nesting birds from flails and fires
About two-thirds of Ireland's farmland birds nest in hedges, which act as a kind of surrogate habitat for the woodlands that have been cleared from the Irish landscape

Wed, 28 Feb, 2024

Lough Neagh algal blooms
‘Like the flip of a switch, it’s gone’: Has the ecosystem of Ireland's largest lake collapsed?
Lough Neagh’s flies were seen as a nuisance. Now their sudden disappearance is a startling omen for a lake that supplies 40% of Northern Ireland’s water

Sun, 25 Feb, 2024

A,Cirl,Bunting,(emberiza,Cirlus)
Richard Collins: Hand-reared songbirds learn the songs they need to survive
Baby cirl buntings had only heard bird song recordings on a CD — but they managed to learn enough to find mates and defend their territories when they were released

Thu, 22 Feb, 2024

Hen harrier (Circus cyaneus)
Anja Murray: Hen harriers will be extinct here in the next 25 years if we don't change things now
The hen harrier is no longer a common sight here and is one of Ireland’s rarest and most vulnerable birds of prey

Wed, 21 Feb, 2024

Cork barn owl population on the increase
Cork barn owl population on the increase
Barn owls have been recorded in numbers not seen in County Cork in the past 50 years

Wed, 31 Jan, 2024

Conservation rewards system needs to work for farmers if it is to actually work
Conservation rewards system needs to work for farmers if it is to actually work
Increasing numbers of farmers are participating in eco-schemes and this is critical to their success and to repairing the damage done to the Irish countryside in the last 50 years

Thu, 25 Jan, 2024

Donal Hickey: Welcome protection for seabirds but locals need consulting
Donal Hickey: Welcome protection for seabirds but locals need consulting
The seas off Wexford now become our largest Special Protection Area. The 20 species to be protected at the site include some of our rarest and most threatened birds

Thu, 18 Jan, 2024

The return of ospreys to Ireland — and their rightful place in our ecosystems
The return of ospreys to Ireland — and their rightful place in our ecosystems
Once paired up, ospreys stay together for life and also remain loyal to the same nest site each year, so they are portrayed in folklore across the world as an icon of continuity and fidelity

Wed, 10 Jan, 2024

Queen's Belfast squirrel study
Anja Murray: Our rarest native mammal — the pine marten — is making a comeback
This recovery of pine martens is a result of legal protection, a ban on the use of the poison strychnine, and an increase in tree cover across the country

Wed, 03 Jan, 2024

Meet the first baby François’ langur monkey to be born at Fota
Meet the first baby François’ langur monkey to be born at Fota
The little baby is already grabbing snacks at mealtimes and keeping mum and aunty busy — and you could be the one to pick its name

Wed, 27 Dec, 2023

Islands of Ireland: Kerry's muddy Derrymore is very valuable on a global scale
Islands of Ireland: Kerry's muddy Derrymore is very valuable on a global scale
Derrymore Island is a haven for migrating birds and acts as a natural carbon sink. Coastal wetlands outperform even tropical forests for carbon capture

Fri, 08 Dec, 2023

Curlew (Numenius arquata)
Curlew numbers on the rise — thanks to seven years of a conservation programme
It had been feared that the bird was headed for extinction in Ireland but latest figures show that a major conservation effort has had some success

Wed, 29 Nov, 2023

Corncrake, Crex crexx
Ireland's endangered corncrake population grows by 35%
The NPWS says a total of 218 corncrake breeding territories have been recorded in 2023, a 10% increase on the total recorded last year.

Thu, 10 Aug, 2023

Anja Murray: Losing our lakes if we don't take action now
Anja Murray: Losing our lakes if we don't take action now
A combined, community-wide approach at Lough Carra will hopefully show how collaborative conservation actions can be successful

Wed, 12 Jul, 2023

Surfer, scientist, and explorer Easkey Britton on environmental challenges and hope
Surfer, scientist, and explorer Easkey Britton on environmental challenges and hope
The three-day Ardnaculla Summer School, hosted by Hometree in County Clare, takes place from July 7-9

Mon, 26 Jun, 2023

Smart human intervention can bring Europe's wildlife ‘Back from the Brink’
Smart human intervention can bring Europe's wildlife ‘Back from the Brink’
Our planet is paying the price for generations of environmental mismanagement so it's great to hear about some of the ordinary people who are doing extraordinary conservation work

Sun, 04 Jun, 2023

Red Grouse Male with flared red eyebrows stood in blooming purple heather. Facing left.
Donal Hickey: Does hunting birds on a conservation list make sense?
A public consultation on the open seasons order is now underway so you can have your say on this issue — link in this article

Thu, 20 Apr, 2023

Hawksbill Sea Turtle flowing in Indian ocean
United Nations reach landmark accord to protect marine life on the high seas
President Higgins said the agreement was 'a gain for the future of humanity.'

Sun, 05 Mar, 2023

Common eel (Anguilla anguilla)
Anja Murray: Epic eel journey from Sargasso Sea to Ireland — and back again
And their bodies change from transparent to brown to silver to blend in along their journeys

Wed, 08 Feb, 2023

Befriending a wild animal will make you a better human – here’s why
Befriending a wild animal will make you a better human – here’s why
If you return to the same spot often enough, you’ll get to know the regulars

Tue, 07 Feb, 2023

Portrait of an American Mink ((Mustela vison) in the Rain
Richard Collins: New year, new start for Rathlin's ferret-catcher
Ferrets can no longer be tolerated on Rathlin which has important bird communities — ferrets, which were released on the island to control the rabbit population, also take eggs and chicks

Thu, 26 Jan, 2023

Wildlife service investigating fatal poisoning of protected white-tailed eagle in Midlands
Wildlife service investigating fatal poisoning of protected white-tailed eagle in Midlands
The NPWS says it does not know exactly how the white-tailed eagle ingested the toxic substance

Mon, 23 Jan, 2023

Anja Murray: New farm rules pose extinction risk to threatened farmland birds
Anja Murray: New farm rules pose extinction risk to threatened farmland birds
Birds that rely on winter stubble in the fields for food and shelter will suffer as new Government regulations say stubble must be ploughed into the ground

Wed, 18 Jan, 2023

The extraordinary sawshark with a weapon-like snout
The extraordinary sawshark with a weapon-like snout
With the help of fishers in Madagascar and Tanzania, scientists named two new species of rare sixgill sawsharks

Mon, 12 Dec, 2022

Adorable Baby Burro in Custer State Park
World-first donkey IVF treatment: 10 embryos are now frozen in liquid nitrogen
This research could help save endangered donkey varieties — research has shown that donkeys are just as intelligent as dogs and dolphins, with excellent memories and problem-solving abilities

Thu, 01 Dec, 2022

Life after death — for successful genes
Life after death — for successful genes
Dido, the African elephant, and Aura, the Iberian lynx, both have impressive lineages

Thu, 24 Nov, 2022

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