Author: OMN AI

After decades of decline, the endangered capercaillie shows small signs of recovery in Scotland.Numbers at RSPB Abernethy rose from 20 males in 2020 to 30 in 2025.This 50% increase offers a lifeline for a species with only 532 birds left in the wild. The capercaillie lives only in the Caledonian pine forests of the Scottish Highlands.More than 20,000 birds existed in the 1970s.Researchers count males at spring lek sites, where they perform jumps and clicking displays to attract females. Wetter weather, habitat loss, predation, fence collisions and human disturbance drive the decline.Low genetic diversity may also weaken the population. Conservationists…

Southern California has long cherished its wildlife, and few animals captured public affection like P-22, the famous mountain lion who roamed the Hollywood Hills for over a decade before dying in 2023 after a car accident. Protecting the Big Cats The California Fish and Game Commission recently voted to classify mountain lions from the Santa Cruz Mountains to Southern California as threatened under the state’s Endangered Species Act. This designation will offer the cats stronger protections for their habitats. Beth Pratt, regional executive director of the National Wildlife Federation, explained that urban development and freeways have left these lions genetically…

US President Donald Trump framed his sweeping rollback of federal climate policy as a political victory over the Democratic Party’s environmental agenda. Republicans used this message in past elections and could use it again before the crucial midterm elections in November. His announcement at the White House marked one of the most significant moves of his second term in office. Trump said he revoked an Obama-era endangerment finding from 2009 that stated pollution harms public health and the environment. For almost 17 years, the United States used this scientific finding as the legal basis to establish policies that reduced emissions…

Wikie and Keijo, a mother and son orca pair, remain in deteriorating pools at Marineland Antibes after the park closed in January 2025. Born in captivity, they performed for decades before France passed a 2021 law banning cetacean shows. Now, as algae spreads in ageing tanks, the French government, animal welfare groups and the park’s owners all agree the whales must leave. They cannot agree where. In December, ecology minister Mathieu Lefèvre endorsed relocation to the Whale Sanctuary Project in Nova Scotia. The 40-hectare seaside sanctuary aims to offer a more natural environment. Founder Lori Marino says the site would…

Colorado has released its new State Wildlife Action Plan, a decade-long strategy approved by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service in January 2026. The plan guides how the state will protect species and habitats through 2035, shaping priorities for funding, project locations, and conservation responses to threats like drought, development, and climate change. For residents, the plan connects directly to rivers, roads, outdoor spaces, and everyday experiences with nature. Coordinating Conservation Across Species and Habitats The plan identifies at-risk species, priority habitats, and major threats while outlining actions to prevent further declines before emergency measures are needed. Colorado Parks and…

Areas across the UK from Cornwall to County Down recorded their wettest January on record, and heavy rain continued in February. The country experienced intense rainfall in the last week because a blocked weather pattern trapped wet air over the region. A high pressure system over Scandinavia stopped the weather system from moving away and prolonged the downpour. The Met Office estimates that at current warming levels, wet winters like 2023/24 shifted from once every 80 years to once every 20 years. Further warming could make such winters even more common. This shift could seriously affect housing, transport, and food…

A bird that once teetered on the edge of extinction in the United States is now being hailed as a conservation success story. The wood stork, the only native stork species that breeds in the U.S., is set to be removed from the federal endangered and threatened species list after decades of recovery efforts. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) announced that the species has rebounded strongly enough to no longer require federal protection. The change is scheduled to take effect on March 9. A Remarkable Comeback When the wood stork was added to the endangered species list in…

Scientists say the planet is approaching a potential point of no return, where global heating could trigger irreversible climate tipping points. Continued warming may set off cascading feedback loops that push Earth into a far hotter and less stable state known as “hothouse Earth”. Researchers warn that even a 2–3C rise would severely disrupt society, while a hothouse scenario could bring far more extreme and lasting consequences. The assessment, published in One Earth, reviewed evidence on 16 major tipping elements, including the Greenland and Antarctic ice sheets, the Amazon rainforest and the Atlantic meridional overturning circulation. Some systems, such as…

While the eastern states battle bone-chilling cold, the western US experiences the opposite extreme. A record snow drought combined with unprecedented heat is sweeping across the region. Scientists warn that this threatens future water supplies, increases wildfire risks, and damages winter tourism and recreation. Snow cover and depth have dropped to levels not seen in decades, while at least 67 Western weather stations recorded their warmest December through early February on record. Normal snow cover this time of year should reach about 460,000 square miles—roughly the size of California, Utah, Idaho, and Montana—but this year it covers only 155,000 square…

A gray wolf has entered Los Angeles county for the first time in more than 100 years, wildlife officials confirmed. The three-year-old female, known as BEY03F, crossed into the county early on 7 February, marking the southernmost verified gray wolf sighting in modern times. BEY03F was born in Plumas county and belongs to the Beyem Seyo pack. She has travelled nearly the full length of the Sierra Nevada, likely searching for a mate. Officials tracked her movements using a GPS collar fitted in 2025. She has since moved north again, possibly deterred by Interstate 5, where vehicle strikes pose a…