Dr Tom Montgomery

Sharks on brink of extinction caught in tangle nets in protected Irish waters "That the Irish Government still allows this form of destructive fishing throughout Irish coastal waters is an absolute disgrace" www.irishtimes.com/environment/...

#Ocean Does anyone think our commercial fishing practices are sustainable? Fundamental change is inevitable, and like the cop says, we can do it the easy or hard way. It can start now, phased in sensibly, or a bit later, by catastrophic collapse. Our stark choice.

#Antarctica Gentoo penguin chicks getting by with help from their friends. Whilst the parents go out to sea to catch food, they survive by huddling together for warmth and protection from predators.

#Vietnam Delacour's langur: gentle leaf and flower eaters, who regenerate forests by spreading seeds. Critically endangered, only~200 left in the wild. Hunted to brink of extinction for traditional medicine and their habitat destroyed by deforestation and limestone quarrying for cement.

What American tourists don't see on safari - the unimaginable squalor of bushmeat & risk of zoonotic disease. So much talk of national security, but global disease threatens us all - and this U.S. administration is putting everyone in danger. This excellent thread explains why:🧵

#Climate An albatross chick lies dying in wet mud on Bird Island. The tall nest was specially constructed to protect them, but we’ve warmed the world. Winds are now stronger, so the chicks are blown out of their nests. A bird who lives on the wind is now dying by the wind.

#Birds I'm seeing terrible advice all over sm about giving dryer lint to wild birds as nesting material. DON'T do this. It spreads microplastics into the environment, and is harmful to birds. Here's advice from Audubon: Please tell your friends. www.audubon.org/news/what-ne...

#StormÉowyn We can take refuge from extreme weather in our homes, but most wildlife suffers the full force. Seabirds are particularly vulnerable; puffins die in their thousands in powerful storms. A warming world is littered with their battered bodies.

#Brazil A Giant armadillo showing her superb excavating tools. >150 burrows dug each year provide homes & refuge for an astonishing 80 recorded species. Hunted for meat & claws, with shrinking habitat, they are increasingly rare. Their loss to the ecosystem and biodiversity would be incalculable.

#Wildlife A maned wolf drowned in a new soybean irrigation canal in Brazil. Three generations of the family were later found also drowned. Extensive scratch marks were seen where they’d frantically tried to escape, but the slippery plastic canal liner made it impossible.

#Biodiversity #Extinction On the left: the problem. On the right: the solution. When a species is wiped out, they won't care; we are the losers, and we need to start cherishing and protecting our fellow inhabitants of this planet as a priority, not an afterthought. Money won't bring them back.

#Brazil #Ocean Millions of seahorses are not the only casualties of shrimp trawlers; here is another tragic victim: The Groovebelly Stingray (Dasyatis hypostigma). A fascinating species, numbers have plummeted ~ 80% in the past 30 yrs. Industrial bottom trawling is ravaging marine ecosystems.

#Rhino Poachers gunned down 20 dehorned rhinos for their residual stump last month. Two men were shot dead. Dehorning has reduced rhino deaths, but this evil trade, driven by wealthy buyers in Vietnam & China, will not end until the last rhino dies. dailymaverick.co.za/article/2024...

#Birds There used to be millions—now African penguins are on the brink of extinction—and it's all our fault. They could be gone in less than 4,000 days. In this link there's a petition to sign to protect their food sources effectively (takes 5 seconds): birdlife.org/news/2024/11...

#nature A red squirrel's drey. The Eurasian red squirrel (Sciurus vulgaris) often builds their nest in the fork of a tree like this. They don't hibernate, although they may sleep through the very worst weather and juveniles are lucky to survive their first winter.

#Penguins Each African penguin has a unique pattern of black dots within their ventral feathers which remains unchanged throughout their life. A study shows the dots help them identify their mates, and they help us to monitor individuals using AI. sciencedirect.com/science/arti...