Wildlife

War Extinctions

A new study shows armed conflicts in Africa’s Sahara and Sahel regions are resulting in a sharp decline of species such as the African elephant and dorcas gazelle.

The study, led by researchers at Portugal’s University of Porto, found that the proliferation of firearms, over-exploitation of natural resources and human intrusion into previously isolated areas have resulted in the extinction or near-extinction of 12 out of the 14 large animal species in the region.

The study also found that oil drilling has led to the progressive extinction of the addax, a type of antelope.

Rodent Free Island

The world’s most ambitious project to eradicate invasive species has left the sub-Antarctic island of South Georgia free of rats and mice for probably the first time in nearly 250 years.

The rodents were inadvertently introduced by sealers and whalers who stopped there. The pests have since ravaged the British territory’s native species, especially birds that lay their eggs on the ground or in burrows.

But a $15 million project to poison or trap the rodents over the past decade has apparently eradicated every single one from the 100-mile-long island.

Sniffer dogs like this one were unable to detect any more rats on South Georgia Island.