Defenders Magazine
Get Defenders Headlines
Get the latest wildlife conservation news and information... right when we post it online.
Defenders Magazine
Wildlife: New Discoveries
Not One but Six
Once thought of as a single species with several sub types, the giraffe may actually be six separate species, according to recent genetic analysis by lead scientist David Brown at the University of California-Los Angeles. With some giraffe populations thought to number only a few hundred individuals, the new information is prompting researchers to step up plans to conserve the world's tallest—but ironically still often overlooked—animal.
Out of the Abyss?
Not quite…but the recent announcement of the discovery of a previously unknown Iberian lynx population has inspired hope for the world's most endangered cat species. Only about 100 adult Iberian lynx in two isolated populations in southern Spain still exist—their numbers decimated by lack of prey, vehicle collisions and habitat destruction. To protect the new individuals, their exact location and numbers are still under wraps.
I Spit in Your Eye
That's exactly what this newly named snake species would try to do if you got too close. Spraying an attacker in the eye gives the nine-foot-long large brown spitting cobra—believed to be the world's largest spitting cobra—the best chance for escape. Found in eastern and northeastern Africa, this serpent is believed to deliver more venom in one bite than any other cobra on the planet.
Learn about what Defenders of Wildlife is doing to save species in other countries.
