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Wildlife

The animals that roam free.

"Charismatic mega-fauna" like lions, but also tiny field mice - wildlife comprises all animals that are not domesticated. From the strange to the beautiful, wild mammals, birds and fish can play important roles in the ecosystem. And humans often depend on wildlife to survive.

African forest elephant (Loxodonta cyclotis). Odzala-Kokoua National Park. Cuvette-Ouest Region. Republic of the Congo

Looming mass extinction could be biggest 'since the dinosaurs,' says WWF 29.12.2021

More plants and animals than ever before are on a global list of threatened species, with the World Wildlife Fund Germany warning that more than 1 million species could go extinct within the next decades.
A dead crane lies on the ground at the Hula Lake conservation area in northern Israel, Saturday, Dec. 25, 2021. Bird flu has killed thousands of migratory cranes and threatens other animals in northern Israel amid what authorities say is the deadliest wildlife disaster in the nation's history. (Ayal Margolin/JINIPIX via AP)

Israel: Bird flu kills over 5,000 cranes, forces chicken cull 27.12.2021

The outbreak is being called the deadliest wildlife disaster in the country's history. Authorities are looking to import eggs as the crisis is expected to hit supplies.
Villagers go about their business in a flooded market centre in Kisumu, about 400 kilometres west of the capital Nairobi in Kenya on Saturday, 30 December 2006. Heavy rains continue to cause havoc in Kenya and parts of East Africa. EPA/JACOB WIRE +++(c) dpa - Report+++

World in Progress: Kenya's mysterious rising lakes 15.12.2021

Rising lakes in the East African Rift Valley have swallowed houses, churches, hotels and schools. People had to move away, giraffes and other wildlife were trapped when the water came. How are they coping with the floods?
07.10.2015 Schild, Gletscherstand vom Jahr 2005 am Pasterze Gletscher, hinten Johannisberg, Großglockner, Kaiser-Franz-Josefs-Höhe, Kärnten, Österreich, Europa

Climate change is threatening the world's mountain regions 10.12.2021

Global heating is disrupting mountain ecosystems with consequences for everything from water supplies and agriculture to tourism and wildlife.

Vogelspinne, Freisteller bird spider, cut-out BLWS647674 *** Bird spider, cut out bird spider, cut out BLWS647674 Copyright: xblickwinkel/McPHOTO/A.xSchauhuberx

Colombia: Two Germans apprehended with hundreds of tarantulas 02.12.2021

Airport workers discovered hundreds of tarantulas in a suitcase. Two Germans found carrying the tarantulas and scorpions said they were taking them for academic purposes.
A man living on the shore of Wular Lake returns home with fodder for his cows on Aug. 23, 2017, Jammu and Kashmir state, India. Thomson Reuters Foundation/Athar Parvaiz

Kashmir: Vanishing wetlands threaten wildlife, livelihoods 02.12.2021

Thousands of birds that flock to Indian-administered Kashmir each year are under threat due to shrinking wetlands. Some locals have been trying to restore the region's fading lakes.
The Comedy Wildlife Photography Awards 2021 Philipp Stahr Mannheim Germany Title: Sweet lips are for kissing! Description: This picture was taken at Curaçao, Dutch Caribbean. Usually box fishes are difficult to take pictures of, since they do not have a problem of a diver coming close, but if you show interest, they always turn the back and not the face to you. That’s why I tried to swim 0.5m above the fish and showing no interest at all to him. The same time I had my camera not in front of me, but below at my chest pointing to the bottom. When the right moment had come, I turned the camera 90 degrees to the front and just point and shoot, hoping to have the fish in focus. Never expected to have its beautiful lips that close! Animal: Boxfish Location of shot: Curaçao, Dutch Caribbean

Funny creatures: Comedy Wildlife Photography winners 17.11.2021

The Comedy Wildlife Photography Awards recognize exceptional photos of animals, judged on how funny they are. This year's winners have just been revealed.
November 2017 Reef-friendly sunscreen for sale in a dive center

Corralling corals off the coast of Bonaire 09.11.2021

In the Caribbean, one Dutch governed island is working on strengthening its coral reefs. The reefs provide food and income to local residents and are a refuge for wildlife.

28.07.2021 Entonet, Kenya Team Lioness Rangers Kenya’s first female wildlife rangers unit Copyrightangabe: Thelma Mwadzaya

Kenya's first female wildlife rangers unit 03.11.2021

Team Lioness, created in 2019, is stationed near the community land around Amboseli National Park. Members of the all-female rangers unit are selected based on high school level, fitness and an interest in wildlife conservation.
Living Planet 1. Teaser DW.com Titel: 210318 DW Living Planet Picture Teaser.png

Kenya's rising lakes 28.10.2021

Rising waters in 17 lakes in Kenya - including Lake Baringo and Lake Bogoria - are displacing people and upending ways of life. Not to mention, it's stressing out wildlife like giraffes that have been stuck on a newly created island by the high waters. In this feature, we look at how people and animals are coping in the East African Rift Valley.
With similar boardwalks, also Carrownagappul wants to attract hikers and nature lovers

End of an era: Ireland says goodbye to peat to restore its biodiverse bogs 16.10.2021

Ireland's letting go of peat as an energy source and restoring many of its CO2-storing bogland ecosystems. That's good news for the climate and, against the backdrop of the UN biodiversity conference, for wildlife.
©/MAXPPP - KUNMING, CHINA - OCTOBER 11: A citizen takes photos of a screen advertising the 15th meeting of the Conference of the Parties to the Convention on Biological Diversity (COP15) on October 11, 2021 in Kunming, Yunnan Province of China. (Photo by Li Jiaxian/China News Service)

China: Over 100 nations to adopt 'Kunming Declaration' to boost biodiversity 13.10.2021

Amid an unprecedented extinction event, scientists have warned that protecting biodiversity is essential to protecting human life. However, experts are unsure whether China has the experience to lead a global effort.
A clean-up team works on clearing the oil slicks at the Talbert Channel after a major oil spill off the coast of California has come ashore in Huntington Beach, California, U.S. October 3, 2021. REUTERS/Gene Blevins

Oil spill disasters: Ways to limit environmental damage 06.10.2021

A huge oil spill in California is killing wildlife and threatening protected sites. Cleanup is underway, but officials have warned of "environmental catastrophe." How can we minimize ecological disaster from oil spills?
[28857954] Thai Customs seized tiger skins and bones epa03049714 A Freeland Foundation handout photo shows confiscated smuggling tiger skin on display during a news conference in Bangkok, Thailand, 05 January 2012. A brazen attempt to smuggle four complete tiger skins and bones via common post was foiled by Thai customs in the southern city of Hat Yai. The skins and bones estimated worth 2 million baht (60,000 US dollars or 49,000 euro) on the black market. Poaching and trafficking of tiger meat, bones and skin has been a key cause of a precipitous decline in wild tiger populations in Asia. Numbers are estimated to have fallen to only 3,200 tigers worldwide, from approximately 100,000 a century ago. EPA/FREELAND FOUNDATION HANDOUT EDITORIAL USE ONLY/NO SALES HANDOUT EDITORIAL USE ONLY/NO SALES +++(c) dpa - Bildfunk+++

Making traditional Chinese medicine from lab-grown meat 05.10.2021

Could synthetic tiger claw and bear bile counteract the illegal market for animal products and help protect endangered species?

(c) Henner Frankenfeld / DW Ort: Südafrika / September 2021 The confiscated baby pangolin is recovering well at the Johannesburg Wildlife Veterinary Hospital in the North of Johannesburg, South Africa where it is being given water and is examined after it’s daily walk by one of the clinic’s veterinarians. It soon will be ready for release in the wild

A mission to protect southern Africa's threatened pangolins 29.09.2021

Pangolins, sought after for their meat and scales, are the world's most trafficked mammals. Meet the organizations in Africa trying to safeguard these endangered scaly animals.

A hippo eats leaves in Colombia (produced by DW for Global 3000 tv show) Bilder aus der DW-Sendung Global Ideas

Pablo Escobar's hippos wreak havoc on Colombian wildlife 10.09.2021

Since being introduced three decades ago by the notorious drug lord, the giant animals have multiplied and are threatening local biodiversity.

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