We speak with two Indigenous leaders and scientists on this episode -- Stephanie Thorassie of the Seal River Watershed Alliance in Manitoba, and Angela Waupochick, a researcher of forested wetlands for Menominee Tribal Enterprises in Wisconsin -- about their projects and how bioacoustics techniques are aiding them.
We hear sound clips of bears and birds shared by Waupochick and also Jeff Wells of the National Audubon Society, which partners with the Seal River Watershed Alliance to study the region’s importance to wildlife toward establishing a new, 12-million-acre Indigenous Protected Area.
Further reading:
• ”Indigenous-managed lands found to harbor more biodiversity than protected areas”
• Canada working towards new future for Indigenous-led conservation (Indigenous Protected Areas)
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Researchers analyzed spotted skunk DNA and found that rather than the four skunk species previously recognized by science, there are actually seven.
Referred to as the “acrobats of the skunk world” these small carnivores use impressive handstands to warn predators that a noxious spray is coming their way.
The plains spotted skunk (included among them) is in significant decline, but figuring out the different species lineages may inform and aid conservation efforts.
This episode features the popular article, "In search of the 'forest ghost,' South America's cryptic giant armadillo," by Liz Kimbrough:
https://news.mongabay.com/2021/09/pepe-le-new-meet-the-acrobatic-spotted-skunks-of-north-america/
Please invite your friends to subscribe to the Mongabay Newscast wherever they get podcasts, or download our free app in the Apple App Store or in the Google Store to have access to our latest episodes at your fingertips.
If you enjoy this series, please visit www.patreon.com/mongabay to pledge a dollar or more to keep the show growing, Mongabay is a nonprofit media outlet and all support helps!
See all our latest news from nature's frontline at Mongabay's homepage: news.mongabay.com or find us on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram by searching for @mongabay.
Photo Credit: Western spotted skunk (Spilogale gracilis). Image by Robby Heischman courtesy of the Field Museum.
Liz Kimbrough is a staff writer for Mongabay. Find her on Twitter: @lizkimbrough_
The world economy demands clean energy and cheap commodities and these are being extracted at a furious rate in the Democratic Republic of the Congo.
So the DRC is benefiting from all this activity, right?
Though extremely rich in natural resources, thanks to political instability plus a centuries-long legacy of commercial and colonial resource extraction, the value mainly accrues to the country's east and west, where corporations and governments benefit the most.
Joining the show to discuss are Anuradha Mittal, executive director of the Oakland Institute, who describes how Western investors like university pension funds and corporations profit from oil palm plantations where human rights violations and environmental abuses are common.
Then Christian-Geraud Neema Byamungu, a Congolese researcher who focuses on natural resource governance, tells us about how the growing demand for cobalt to make electric-car batteries has led to increased mining, the Chinese companies that dominate the DRC's mines, and why the contracts between those companies and the DRC are being called into question.
Further reading:
• ”As energy needs drive demand for minerals, forests face greater threats”
• ”Pension and endowment funds linked to conflict-plagued oil palm in DRC”
Please invite your friends to subscribe to the Mongabay Newscast wherever they get podcasts, or download our free app in the Apple App Store or in the Google Store to get access to our latest episodes at your fingertips.
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Since 2010, the Giant Armadillo Project has been researching the world’s largest armadillo, an animal that despite its size and range across almost every country in South America, is one of the world’s least recognized animals.
These researchers have made key findings, like the fact that their burrows, which can be up to 5 meters long, serve as shelter for at least 70 other species, including birds, reptiles and mammals.
The species is categorized as vulnerable to extinction, especially due to the advance of agribusiness.
This episode features the popular article, "In search of the 'forest ghost,' South America's cryptic giant armadillo," by Suzana Camargo:
Please invite your friends to subscribe to the Mongabay Newscast wherever they get podcasts, or download our free app in the Apple App Store or in the Google Store to have access to our latest episodes at your fingertips.
If you enjoy this series, please visit www.patreon.com/mongabay to pledge a dollar or more to keep the show growing, Mongabay is a nonprofit media outlet and all support helps!
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Photo Credit: Peering inside a giant armadillo burrow, image courtesy of the Giant Armadillo Project.