The Biodiversity Bulletin
January 2026
Quick Look
Three Andean condor chicks hatch in Colombia as species nears local extinction
Raccoons are becoming domestic animals, but not yet pets
It just got easier to kill coyotes in Michigan year-round
Scientists spot dozens of endangered right whales in Mass. waters
Wolverines are coming back to Colorado, state plan includes roadkill, avalanche chutes
Wolf’s dinner preserved in Siberia for 14,400 years sheds light on woolly rhino
World Economic Forum Global Risks
Orcas blamed for yacht attacks are speaking their own language
A ‘Crikey’ new snake: An insular Lycodon Fitzinger, 1826 (Squamata, Colubridae) from the Nicobar Archipelago, India
Guidelines for Climate Adaptive Forest Restoration and Reforestation Projects
Meta-analysis reveals negative but highly variable impacts of invasive alien species across terrestrial insect orders
A Marxist Theory of Extinction | Salvage
The Institute for Social Ecology’s Mentorship Program is now open for applications
News
Mongabay | Three Andean condor chicks hatch in Colombia as species nears local extinction
Three Andean condor chicks have hatched at a Colombian artificial incubation program. The IUCN Red List classifies Andean condors as vulnerable to extinction, with only 6,700 remaining, and as few as 150 in Colombia and Ecuador. The chicks hatched in July 2024, September 2025, and October 2025. They are expected to be released into the wild this year, and the program director of biodiversity, Fernando Castro, calls them “the salvation of the species.”
Cambridge Day | Raccoons are becoming domestic animals, but not yet pets
Domestication is a process by which animals develop traits that separate them from wild counterparts and ancestors. It’s often characterized by shorter snouts, smaller teeth, and docility around humans. Raccoons seem to be developing some characteristics consistent with domestication. Recent research has found that urban raccoon snouts are roughly 3.5% shorter than rural raccoons. Scientists suggest that this is likely due to differences in diet and biomechanics, and stress that while raccoons may be undergoing a domestication process they are still wild animals that can be dangerous and carry disease.
Bridge Michigan | It just got easier to kill coyotes in Michigan year-round
The Michigan Natural Resources Commission passed an amendment that allows coyotes to be killed on public or private lands for any reason. The policy comes after legal action against the commission for shortening the coyote season in 2024 to protect coyote pups. The coyote management season will now run from March 2 to October 14, while the hunting and trapping season will run October 15 to March 1st, combining to run the entire year. Commissioner John Walters claimed coyotes are overabundant in the state, but the Michigan Department of Natural Resources does not have coyote population estimates.
Boston.com | Scientists spot dozens of endangered right whales in Mass. waters
In early January, researchers observed several dozen North Atlantic right whales off the coast of Massachusetts while conducting aerial surveys. The group were mostly adult male whales, but scientists also identified several reproductively active females. With only about 380 remaining North Atlantic right whales on the planet, the sighting is a significant reminder of their activity in the region during the winter and spring months, and mariners are encouraged to reduce their vessel speeds throughout the season to protect the whales.
Colorado Public Radio | Wolverines are coming back to Colorado, state plan includes roadkill, avalanche chutes
Colorado is developing a plan to return wolverines to the state’s high-alpine biomes. The species was extirpated from Colorado a century ago and the Parks and Wildlife Commission hopes to re-introduce them. The state legislature approved the reintroduction in 2024 and the commission’s plans includes packing in deer and elk carcasses from roadkill in order to encourage the wolverines to remain in their new habitats once reintroduced.
The Guardian | Wolf’s dinner preserved in Siberia for 14,400 years sheds light on woolly rhino
Scientists at the Centre for Paleogenetics in Stockholm obtained a well-preserved sample of organic tissue in the stomach of wolf pup dating back roughly 14,000 years. Researchers identified the sample as belonging to wooly rhino, which went extinct around the same time. They were able to sequence the genome from the sample, shedding new light on the species population dynamics before extinction. “Whatever killed the species was relatively fast”, said one of the authors.
World Economic Forum Global Risks
The World Economic Forum recently ranked biodiversity loss and ecosystem collapse as second-highest longterm global risk. The only higher ranking global risk was extreme weather events exacerbated by climate change.
The Times | Orcas blamed for yacht attacks are speaking their own language
“Scientists studying killer whales linked to hundreds of encounters with boats near Gibraltar have discovered that the pod communicates using a unique dialect”
Research
A ‘Crikey’ new snake: An insular Lycodon Fitzinger, 1826 (Squamata, Colubridae) from the Nicobar Archipelago, India | Evolutionary Systematics | https://doi.org/10.3897/evolsyst.9.170645
Guidelines for Climate Adaptive Forest Restoration and Reforestation Projects | Elsevier | https://doi.org/10.1016/B978-0-443-34086-4.12002-X
Meta-analysis reveals negative but highly variable impacts of invasive alien species across terrestrial insect orders | Nature Communications | https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-025-67925-9
Radical Ecology
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