The population of New Zealand’s endemic wētāpunga – believed to be the world’s heaviest insect – is officially “increasing” thanks to a groundbreaking breeding programme that has overseen the release of 11,000 insects into the wild.

“The future of wētāpunga is looking bright,” said Dr Chris Green, an honorary researcher at the department of conservation, who documented the success of the project for the New Zealand Journal of Zoology. Green co-authored a report released on 2 October that outlines the success of the breeding programme.

“Eleven thousand individuals for release is extraordinary and outstanding.”

A female wētāpunga can weigh as much as a mouse. Its body can grow up to 10cm long (nearly 4in) and its leg span can be as wide as 20cm.

It is the largest of 70 wētā species and was once found across parts of the North Island before predation from introduced species and habitat loss contributed to their decline. By the 1990s, they were considered “endangered” and are now presumed extinct in the wild on New Zealand’s mainland. The insects reside primarily on a smattering of predator-free islands in Auckland’s Hauraki Gulf and off the coast of Northland.

But their fortune is starting to change. Over the past 15 years, tens of thousands of wētāpunga have been bred at Butterfly Creek, a wildlife facility, and Auckland zoo, enabling the release of wētāpunga across new predator-free islands and some mainland reserves north of Auckland.

Butterfly Creek and Auckland zoo established husbandry techniques that, over time, have been scaled up to rear large numbers of wētāpunga in communal creches. The young wētāpunga – or nymphs – are fed a three-part diet of fresh foliage, fish flake protein and leaf litter. The protein is “critical” to the survival of the youngest nymphs, Green said.

Once big enough to protect themselves, the insects are transferred to their new habitat. The efforts have led to 45 separate translocations to wild habitats, which is “a very high number in any recovery of a species”, Green said.

Scientific Name: Dipterocarpus zeylanicus
Family: Dipterocarpaceae
Origin: Endemic to Sri Lanka

Appearance and Characteristics

• A large evergreen rainforest tree endemic to Sri Lanka, belonging to the Dipterocarpaceae family.
• Can grow to approximately 30–40 meters tall, developing a tall, straight trunk and a broad crown.
• Produces small, pale yellowish to creamy flowers in branched clusters.

Fruits and Uses

• Produces distinctive winged fruits, with the enlarged wings helping the seeds disperse by wind.
• The timber is strong and durable and has traditionally been used for construction, furniture, flooring and other wood products.
• Because of its ecological importance and conservation value, environmentalists recommended designating it as a protected species.

Environmental Importance

• It is an important canopy tree of Sri Lanka's lowland wet-zone rainforests contributing significantly to forest structure and habitat formation.
• Its flowers, fruits and foliage contribute to the food resources and habitat available to rainforest wildlife.

I’m looking to spend around 1–3 weeks volunteering with a genuine wildlife conservation organisation in India.
I’m 22, recently graduated in Marketing & Management, and I’m mainly looking for hands-on field experience rather than a tourism/voluntourism programme.
I’d be interested in things like:
Wildlife/biodiversity surveys
Camera trapping
Habitat restoration
Forest conservation
Community-based conservation
Human–wildlife conflict projects
Environmental education
Photography/videography for conservation projects
I’m completely okay with basic accommodation and living conditions. My ideal budget is around ₹10,000–₹20,000 excluding travel to the location, so I’m specifically looking for NGOs/research projects where volunteers aren’t charged huge programme fees.
A few organisations I’ve come across are Satpuda Foundation, Wildlife Trust of India (WTI), and the Wildlife Institute of India (WII), but I’d really appreciate recommendations from people who have actually volunteered with them or similar organisations.
I’m particularly interested in Central India, Rajasthan, Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Karnataka, or anywhere else in India if the experience is genuinely worthwhile.
If you’ve personally done something like this, I’d love to hear:
Where did you volunteer?
What did you actually do day-to-day?
How long did you stay?
Roughly how much did it cost?
Was it genuinely useful/meaningful or more of a tourism experience?
Would you recommend the organisation?
I’m much more interested in doing real work and learning than having a comfortable experience.
Thanks!

"Forests and trees in the world's drylands sustain the livelihoods, food security and cultural identity of more than two billion people, yet they remain insufficiently recognized in global climate, biodiversity and land agendas, according to the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO).

FAO’s Call to Action on Dryland Forests was launched today during a High-level dialogue on Dryland forests for food, nutrition and resilience held as part of the 10th World Forest Week, running alongside the 28th Session of the FAO Committee on Forestry (COFO) at FAO headquarters in Rome. 

The call urges governments, donors and partners to strengthen the sustainable management, restoration and governance of drylands forests; better integrate them into national climate, biodiversity and land priorities; and significantly increase investment in their conservation and sustainable use. It also proposes a new Dryland Forest Support Accelerator as an enabling platform to speed up implementation, mobilize finance, and strengthen country-driven action at scale.

“Dryland forests are central to our lives, and that of future generations,” said FAO Director-General QU Dongyu in a video message. “Yet dryland forests are often underrecognized, under-monitored and under-financed. This must change.”

Brain corals beneath small underwater shades regained color during a punishing Florida Keys summer, while nearby unshaded colonies continued paling. The structures did not cool the sea. Instead, they reduced incoming light, easing a stress that can make heat-related bleaching worse.

The field experiment, led by Karen Neely of Nova Southeastern University, tested two vulnerable Caribbean coral species. Published in Frontiers in Marine Science, it offers evidence for temporary protection of individual colonies. It does not establish a method for protecting entire reefs or preventing deaths during more severe heatwaves.

Both shaded and unshaded corals survived the bleaching stress during the trial. That limits what the results demonstrate, but the color differences were clear. They were greatest during the most thermally stressful periods.

The 2001 Roadless rule protects public lands from future roads being built through them for logging and other purposes. This rule protects roadless public lands across the nation.

The public comment period was supposed to end on the 21st last month - but was extended for 15 days. Today is your last chance to speak up.

Here is the link to the government webpage to submit your comment:

https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/2026/09/11/2026-18648/special-areas-roadless-area-conservation

I am currently a GIS analyst at an archaeology company, experienced in field delineation and survey methods. My degree is in geography with a Focus in earth systems (geoscience), with certifications in GIS and sustainability and my part 104 drone license. I am looking to take a wetland delineation certification course and hopefully pivot to more environmental fields and maybe do work in ecology both terrestrial or aquatic, but i am just stuck on what the right way to do it is. I dont exactly have the means to go back to university for another degree though I can likely afford a myriad of different certifications if its necessary and I am willing to move (based in texas).

I know thats a big jumble of words but I am tired of not working in the field I intended to, what should my course of action be?

I have a few questions:

If there were only 3 Spotted Owls detected in the last survey in this region, how likely is killing many Barred Owls over years going to help recover this species?

How much does devaluing and removing Barred Owls from old growth forest benefit the Spotted Owl for recovery, and how much will it potentially benefit the timber industry?

Is this not a serious ethical matter and potential slippery slope, killing animals as a solution to human driven issues (deforestation, climate) as well as sacrificing one species for another and people being complicit with mass killing?

The Barred Owl is being called invasive, but is this an accurate portrayal when they’ve gradually migrated east to west over the last century?

Anyone else concerned about this direction of conservation?

These animals don’t have a voice or way to protect themselves. It’s up to us humans as stewards of the land to make the best decisions and do the right things.

The science and evidence just doesn’t seem strong enough for many to believe that killing so many Barred Owls will actually save the Spotted Owl. And, for any positive impact, it sounds like it will have to continue as an ongoing war against these owls endlessly.

What are we doing?

Hello everyone,

I am a 21-year-old university student, and I’ve increasingly realized that I want to do something more meaningful with my life than simply following the conventional path of studying, working, and settling down. I have always loved animals, have been vegan for several years, and would really like to contribute to protecting wildlife and nature. Ideally, I would love to do meaningful conservation work, travel, and meet people who share the same passion.

The problem is that I have no practical experience in conservation and don’t really know where to start.

I have a degree in stats. So i am very comfortable with scientific research, data analysis, causal inference, and programming in R or Python. I assume these skills could be useful for conservation research, but I have basically no background in biology, ecology, or conservation or similar.

I’ve tried looking for wildlife conservation opportunities, but most of what I find are commercial “volunteer abroad” programs charging thousands of euros for a few weeks so white europeans can satisfy there white saviorism. I’m not interested in that and I’d much rather find an organization where I can genuinely contribute.

Does somebody got an advice for me?

We talk a lot about success in conservation: a restored lake, a recovering species, a thriving forest, improved access to nature. The word success seems straightforward, but success to whom?

Consider a river where salmon are returning after decades of decline. One person might point to the number of fish reaching spawning grounds. Another might highlight the renewal of relationships among salmon, people, and place. Someone else might think about whether there are enough fish to harvest again. And another might simply notice that eagles have returned or kids are fishing from the bank. These aren’t necessarily competing versions of success. Indeed, they can all be true. And research shows that this matters.

This is one of the reasons we created the Community Notes project at The Nature Record. More than 160 experts have been assembling evidence about nature across the United States: what is changing, why it is changing, why it matters, and what can be done. But there are things a national assessment cannot see very well: a stream behind your house; a prairie your community spent twenty years restoring; a shellfish bed that reopened; birds that returned to your neighborhood; the community that manages a forest for fire resilience; or a park that became a place where people actually want to spend time.

There may never be one version of nature that everyone agrees is ideal. But we can work to become much better at seeing the world through one another’s eyes—and at recognizing the many forms that progress can take.

Tell us what’s working where you live at naturerecord.org/community.