Happy Nirvana

Photo: Naskrecki/iLCP

The pink-eyed leaf katydid shown here — found in the forest canopy of Papua New Guinea — is just one of the many brand-new additions to the animal kingdom this week: Scientists discovered more than 200 undiscovered species in that region; the Census of Marine Life reports 750,000 species of marine life that remain unknown in the ocean; and one very adorable baby tiger joined her mother at the Frankfurt Zoo.

We’ve got this and more in our Best Animal Photos of the Week slideshow.

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A map turtle ready for release into the wild. Photo via U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service

Maybe it’s the shell. Turtles are tough when it comes to oil spills. While most birds covered in crude don’t survive, turtles seem to be doing pretty good following the Enbridge oil spill in July near Marshall, Michigan…. Read the full story on TreeHugger
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Image credit: Wikimedia Commons

Frogs around the world have been plagued by Chytridiomycosis, but in the UK, the common frog, Rana temporaria, is facing another threat: The emerging Ranavirus…. Read the full story on TreeHugger
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Photo: Greg du Toit

Water is one of the world’s most essential elements — and not just for humans, as this collection of images by photographer Greg du Toit proves. He spent months hiding by the lakes, rivers, and water holes of Africa to capture close-ups of wildlife quenching their thirst with the country’s water supply — and the stunning images are an important reminder that we’re not the only ones who rely on H20.

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Photo: Piotr Naskrecki, Conservation International

When it comes to finding fascinating species previously unknown to science, it turns out that forests of Papua New Guinea are a darn good place to look. Researchers have recently disclosed their discoveries from a two-month long expedition to the country last year, in which they happened upon over two hundred species never before recorded — like the tube-nosed fruit bat pictured… Read the full story on TreeHugger
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When birds, like the dodo, go extinct, it may be a sign of a much more widespread problem. Image credit: Wikimedia Commons

“Every 20 minutes,” the saying goes, “we lose an animal species.” In reality, however, it is difficult to collect the data that details this trend—and motivates policy makers to take action.

Now, researchers believe they have found a way to estimate ecosystem-wide rates of loss based on one easily observed group of animals: birds…. Read the full story on TreeHugger
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Photo via Edward Farrell

The starry smooth-hound shark is considered an abundant species off the Irish coast, and they were thought to grow and reproduce quickly. However, new research shows that they actually take twice as long to mature as previously thought, and produce just one pup every two years. Knowing this, along with the fact that they’re a sought-after species on the European continent, means conservationists have a new species to worry about. … Read the full story on TreeHugger
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Screen grab from Vimeo. The Nature Conservancy/Ravenswood Media.

The Nature Conservancy has finally closed on a “Big UP Deal” that took 10 years and $58 million, and will protect and limit development on 271,000 acres in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula. If you’re unfamiliar with the UP, it includes some of the last untouched places on Earth, and faces threats from sulfide mining…. Read the full story on TreeHugger
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BIGNONA, Senegal — I was eager to post this earlier, but when you’re in Casamance, in southern Senegal, you’ve a catalog of good excuses.

There are the obvious ones: jet lag, culture shock, the intense heat. And then the roads are broken, their poorly-laid asphalt so riddled with holes and cracks that the dirt along the sides is often preferable. Power outages seem to always happen just when you need to charge your batteries, which turns out to be very often. Internet access is broadband, but that disappears with the power. And because of occasional violence by a small indep… Read the full story on TreeHugger
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Image credit: jurvetson/Flickr

Wolf culls, the logic goes, are acceptable because they have a compensatory impact on the population. Thus, when a hunter takes a wolf in season, he or she is simply exchanging a natural death for death at the hands of humans. Those that remain, the argument then goes, benefit from being part of a smaller population with the same number of resources.

The only problem, new research suggests, is that Read the full story on TreeHugger
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