Living in the 21st century means that we are constantly inundated with global events – the good, the bad, and the ugly. Working in wildlife conservation and animal welfare during a time when resources seem to be fewer and far between, coexistence and cooperation between humans and nonhuman animals seem to be at constant odds, and policy changes seem to be out of our control, can sometimes feel like all we see and hear about are the bad and the ugly.
To help emphasize that good things still happen despite it all, we wanted to share some recent good news confirming that small wins occur every day, often orchestrated by people who care just as much about saving one life as one hundred lives. No matter how gradual or tedious, that is how real change occurs; one step at a time.
1. The Cry Wolf Project
The Cry Wolf Project is a bioacoustics and artificial intelligence project that helps biologists, conservationists, and governments learn more about wolf populations living in and around Yellowstone National Park.
The project has collected the largest database of wild wolf vocalizations in the world by using camouflaged, battery-operated recording devices to capture the sounds of wolves in the wild. Visual diagrams are then created with the sound data, which artificial intelligence (AI) analyzes to determine where the wolves are, how many of them are present, and what they might be communicating. With this new technology, scientists hope to improve census estimates of wildlife. According to one of the lead scientists on this team, because wolves are currently facing potential removal from the federal Endangered Species Act, it is especially important to know more about these packs to protect their populations.
This technology has a greater range than camera traps (with the ability to detect wolves up to six miles away) and provides a low-cost way to count wolf numbers and make wildlife management decisions based on the most accurate data available. The project’s other efforts could help farmers and livestock communities deal with human-wildlife conflict in an ethical manner, too; they could use sound recordings of wolves to help keep them away from their property and animals. Eventually, this technology may be a great resource for law enforcement to better monitor illegal wildlife trade or illegal logging in other protected areas.
2. One of the world’s most endangered whales has demonstrated an upward population trend
The North Atlantic Right Whale Consortium recently released an exciting report before their annual meeting. The population estimate for the right whale was 384 in 2024, an eight-whale increase from the previous year, and has shown “slow growth” overall in the last four years. Senior scientist Heather Pettis, who leads the right whale research program, however, warns that this news should be taken with cautious optimism: “With small population increases year to year, we still need strong protective measures for continued growth. We don’t want to take our foot off the gas when it comes to management and conservation efforts.” Despite having gained protection from whaling in the 1930s, North Atlantic right whales are still extremely susceptible to vessel strike and fishing gear entanglement injuries and deaths.
3. Twenty species move farther away from extinction, according to the International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red List
Thanks to effective conservation measures and reduced threats, the 20 downlisted species include 12 birds: the Rodrigues warbler, Rodrigues fody, olive-sided flycatcher, rustic bunting, Lidth’s jay, Guadalupe junco, Okinawa robin, Alexandrine parakeet, black-faced spoonbill, blue-winged macaw, Amami woodcock, and redwing.
Two species of sea snails (Conus felitae and Conus regonae) have moved from vulnerable to least concern in the latest IUCN assessment, while a species of land snail (Idiomela subplicata) was reclassified from critically endangered to vulnerable. Other species that also moved to a lower threat status include the Shark Bay bandicoot (a marsupial), the roman seabream fish (Chrysoblephus laticeps), the seventy-four seabream, and a marine ray-finned fish (Argyrozona argyrozona).
Lastly, in a huge conservation win, the green sea turtle (Chelonia mydas) has been reclassified from endangered to least concern.
Believing that one person cannot make a difference is false and denies so many the agency and power they have to make lasting, positive change happen; in the wise words of the late Jane Goodall, “cumulatively, wise choices in how we act each day can begin to change the world.” Choose to change it for the better.
Keep Wildlife in the Wild,
Devan
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The Born Free USA Team
Dear Reader,