#endangered-species

What happened: A study in the journal Endangered Species Research (Nov. 5 issue), led by Zoe Rand of the University of Washington, gives the first population assessment of Antarctic blue whales in more than 20 years. The team estimates about 4,018 whales in 2024, up from roughly 418 after the last reported catch in 1973, with growth of about 4.5% a year. The model puts their pre-whaling population at around 205,900.

Why it matters: The largest animal ever known was hunted down by 99.8%; the study shows protection is working, but the authors say a return to pre-whaling numbers will take more than a century.

How much agreement is there? Broad agreement that the recovery is real and welcome. The uncertainty is in the counting: the estimate's range runs from about 1,900 to 8,400 whales, and Phys.org notes few ship surveys have been done in the Southern Ocean since 2004.

Could someone help? Monitoring is the gap researchers point to: ship surveys are rare and costly, and scientists are working on ways to count whales by listening for them (acoustic monitoring).

What happened: The parliament of New South Wales, Australia, passed legislation on Oct. 23 to create the Great Koala National Park on the state's Mid North Coast. It adds 178,000 hectares of state forest and other public land to existing parks, creating a protected area of 475,000 hectares that Mongabay says is home to 12,000 koalas and more than 100 other threatened species. The Gumbaynggirr and Dunghutti people will help guide its management.

Why it matters: Koalas were declared endangered in NSW in 2022, and a 2020 parliamentary inquiry warned they could disappear from the state by 2050. Most of the added land was earmarked for native timber harvesting.

How much agreement is there? Some disagreement. Conservation groups and WWF-Australia call it a historic win. The fight is over funding: long-term money will come largely from carbon credits sold to emitting industries, which critics including Greens lawmakers and The Australia Institute call flawed offsets. Some also object to motorsport and other recreation allowed in parts of the park.

Could someone help? Local groups are still campaigning to add excluded koala habitat such as Pine Creek, and volunteers can join koala surveys and habitat work in the region.

What happened: The Breekkrans River Restoration Project, about two hours north of Cape Town, has removed invasive spotted bass from 8 km of the upper river, Mongabay reported on Oct. 28. That extended the habitat of the critically endangered doring fiery redfin from 2 km to 10 km. Bass were brought in for angling in the late 1930s and prey on small native fish.

Why it matters: The Breekkrans holds the largest remaining population of the redfin, probably a few hundred adults. Ecologists say all native fish species expanded their range after the bass were removed, and that the method could be used to restore other invaded rivers.

How much agreement is there? Broad agreement. The provincial conservation authority Cape Nature and the researchers report the results; no opposing view is reported.

Could someone help? Anglers can avoid moving fish between waters, and freshwater groups such as the Fynbos Fish Trust, a project partner, support this kind of work.

What happened: New rules published in Mexico's official gazette on Oct. 14 cut the Upper Gulf of California area where gillnets are banned by about 86%. Fishing reopens across roughly 10,000 km² that had been closed since 2020. Mexico's environment ministry, Semarnat, says the change follows a CITES recommendation to focus patrols on the 225 km² "Zero Tolerance Area" where vaquitas are seen most. President Claudia Sheinbaum said long bans have hurt fishing families' well-being.

Why it matters: A 2025 survey estimated only seven to 10 vaquitas remain, down from more than 550 in 1997. Gillnets, including illegal ones set for the totoaba fish, whose swim bladder sells on the black market, are the main thing killing them.

How much agreement is there? Highly contested. Alex Olivera of the Center for Biological Diversity called it "absolutely shocking" and warned it likely means extinction. Baja California's governor called it "great news" for fishing communities. Inside Climate News reports the rules also open a boat corridor through the Zero Tolerance Area, and San Felipe fishermen briefly blockaded the road out of town over it. Researcher Valeria Towns says paying fishermen to stay out is the fairest way to enforce the zone.

Could someone help? Talks on paying fishermen to stay out of the restricted zone are still going on, and that is the approach Towns backs. Refusing totoaba products undercuts the black market that drives the illegal nets.