Over the past few months, massive swarms of locusts, one of which occupied an area more than three times the size of New York City, have devoured crops across the Horn of Africa and the Middle East, leaving an estimated 20 million people at risk of famine. The first generation’s eggs are starting to hatch, and now even bigger swarms are forming, threatening countries from the Democratic Republic of Congo to Yemen, Iran, Pakistan and India, “representing an unprecedented threat to food security and livelihoods,” says the U.N.’s Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO).

Look down into the waters of the Venice canals today and there is a surprising sight – not just a clear view of the sandy bed, but shoals of tiny fish, scuttling crabs and multicoloured plant-life. “The water is blue and clear,” said Gloria Beggiato, who owns the celebrated Metropole Hotel a few steps from St Mark’s square and has a view over the Venice lagoon. “It is calm like a pond, because there are no more waves caused by motorised boats transporting day-tripper tourists. And of course, the giant cruise ships have disappeared.”

In 2014, Giles Nicholson was battling the growing year from hell. A mild winter followed by a warm, wet spring had turbocharged a ferocious mass of cow parsley, nettles and dense grass along the hundreds of miles of road his team maintains for Dorset council. Austerity meant there was barely enough money to pay for repeated cuttings to hold back the matted swards. Complaints poured in about messy roadsides.

There are, by some estimates, more than 40 million acres of green lawns in the U.S., making turf grass the largest irrigated crop in the country. A new book suggests that landowners repurpose some of their landscaping for another purpose: creating a “Homegrown National Park,” a connected network of more natural gardens that could help stave off the insect apocalypse and the collapse of broader ecosystems.

Chinook salmon (Oncorhynchus tshawytscha) have been found to contain up to 81 drugs from the contaminated Puget Sound, along the coast of Washington state. During research, drugs including Prozac, Advil, Lipitor and even cocaine were discovered within the salmon’s flesh. Supposedly, these substance levels have rocketed due to high drug use within the local area.

Tropical forests are taking up less carbon dioxide from the air, reducing their ability to act as “carbon sinks” and bringing closer the prospect of accelerating climate breakdown. The Amazon could turn into a source of carbon in the atmosphere, instead of one of the biggest absorbers of the gas, as soon as the next decade, owing to the damage caused by loggers and farming interests and the impacts of the climate crisis, new research has found.

DURHAM, N.C. -- Few singers reach their sunset years with the same voice they had in younger days. Singing sparrows are no different. Duke University-led research reveals that elderly swamp sparrows don’t sound quite like they used to -- nor do they strike the same fear in other males who may be listening in.

They were once military bases at the centre of a 50-year war between the world's two superpowers. They will soon become a haven for rare birds and other animals. The German government has announced plans to convert 62 disused military bases just west of the Iron Curtain into nature reserves for eagles, woodpeckers, bats, and beetles.

Acidity is making shells of crab larvae more vulnerable to predators and limiting effectiveness in supporting muscle growth

The Chinese wildlife trade is mired in long-held beliefs about the benefits of eating exotic and often endangered animals for good health. But the reality stands in stark contrast. The markets in China where live wild animals, including endangered species like pangolins, are bought and sold have often acted as petri dishes for the germination and spread of deadly diseases like Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS) and the deadly bird flu, with each outbreak claiming hundreds of human victims.

It might seem like your new puppy is too scatterbrained to play fetch, but their instinct for the game might lie deep in their canine past. A new study published today in iScience found that wolf pups will pick up and retrieve balls thrown by humans with whom they are unfamiliar — indicating a willingness to play with people, a trait that could be older than domestic dogs themselves.

Missouri deer hunters donated nearly 350,000 pounds of venison to food banks and pantries across the state this season, the Missouri Department of Conservation (MDC) said in a news release. The hunters donated the meat to Missouri's Share the Harvest program, which provides "lean, healthy" venison to help feed hungry Missourians.

Bumblebees are in trouble. The odds of spotting the hardworking pollinators in Europe and America down by more than 30% since the last century. Pesticides, along with the climate crises and declining habitat, have been blamed for their declining numbers. And in a new study published Tuesday, scientists examined exactly how bumblebees are affected by pesticides by scanning bumble bee brains and testing their learning abilities.

Forget dreams of wolves, bears or lynx – the next animal to be restored to the British countryside could be a river bottom-dwelling fish that resembles a giant tadpole. The burbot, much-maligned for its unprepossessing appearance with a fleshy appendage dangling from its chin, was last sighted in British rivers in 1969.

The dung beetle may eat and nest in poop, but its role in nature is anything but humble. These hardshelled scarabs live on every continent except Antarctica, recycling feces and suppressing parasites that could otherwise harm people and animals. Dung beetles also spread both seeds and nutrients into the soil, helping to maintain a healthy ecosystem.

Your pet cat might enjoy a romp in the yard, but local wildlife won’t be so thrilled. Cats kill up to ten times more wildlife than a comparable predator in the wild, according to a new study.

Rising temperatures are affecting ecosystems and wildlife across the globe — even causing some bears to come out of hibernation early. Connecticut's Beardsley Zoo reports that this year it has seen an emergence of its native black bears in early March — almost a month earlier than usual.

The push against single-use plastic has some emotive mascots, including the iconic turtle with a straw in its nose. The working hypothesis about why turtles are so attracted to plastic is that plastic drifting in the ocean can look a lot like jellyfish. But how does that explain turtles caught up in, and eating, other kinds of plastic, like that straw?

Indonesia has promised to stop clearing jungle for plantations. So why are endangered apes still on the front lines of the conservation battle?

Rhino rays and seven species of primates are on the IUCN's Red List