Hedgehogs more friend than foe

September 13, 2022

A study published in Nature Communications 2021, based on machine learning algorithms, suggested that European hedgehogs are likely to become hosts of novel coronaviruses. This conclusion was widely reported in the media, often in an alarmist style that raised public anxiety about hedgehogs. Considering conservation concern about the decline of hedgehogs, and indeed the ... Read full story

South East Asia’s Hotspots of Biodiversity

September 5, 2022

Southeast Asia is one of the most biodiverse regions on Earth, but its unique biodiversity is severely endangered by direct and indirect anthropogenic threats, such as poaching, deforestation and land degradation. In order to preserve the species of the region, conservation efforts have to be focused towards those areas that, more than others, host the ... Read full story

See you later, alligator? The irreplaceable roles of crocodilians are at risk of being lost

August 5, 2022

From miniature alligators with habitat-helping burrowing abilities, to specially adapted fish-eaters who can indicate how healthy a river is; a new study from WildCRU, ZSL, EDGE and the Gharial Ecology Project shows what the world is set to lose if crocodilians are not urgently protected. Creating shelter for other animals through unique burrow systems and ... Read full story

Hope for the Tigers of Dong Phayayen-Khao Yai Forest Complex in Thailand

September 9, 2022

Across South East Asia, the endangered Indochinese tiger has been vanishing. Yet in Thailand’s, Dong Phayayen-Khao Yai Forest Complex, researchers from the University of Oxford’s Wildlife Conservation Research Unit (WildCRU) and collaborators with the Freeland Foundation and Thai government, have documented a tale of hope. WildCRU’s Eric Ash analyzed data from camera trapping studies ... Read full story

Julian Robertson, a colossus of cat conservation

August 30, 2022

David Macdonald writes: I am very sad to mark the death of Julian Robertson, the kindly colossus behind the Robertson Foundation whose support has been crucial  to the WildCRU’s work on cat conservation globally (as it has been also to the work of our close colleagues at Panthera, see https://panthera.org/newsroom/statement-panthera-life-and-legacy-philanthropist-and-tiger-conservation-champion-julian). Julian Robertson was not ... Read full story

Celebrating the Laikipia Lion Rangers and Tusk’s Wildlife Ranger Challenge

August 4, 2022

WildCRU's Director, Amy Dickman, is joint CEO of Lion Landscapes, a conservation organistation addressing key challenges facing carnivore conservation today. Their collaborative and adaptive approach strengthens conservation efforts to secure important landscapes for viable populations of large carnivores. On World Ranger Day, the 31st July, Lion Landscapes published the following blog post celebrating the ... Read full story