Alan McElligott
@amcell.bsky.social
Associate Prof, Animal Behaviour & Welfare-Hong Kong https://www.alanmcelligott.co.uk/ Animal behaviour, cognition, welfare; research ethics & integrity; environment; science; higher education; Diversity Equity Inclusion (DEI) advocate. 🌈🇮🇪 he/him 🐂 🐃🐐🐥 🦆
A new satellite for #wildlife monitoring – a research project by the Max Planck Institute of Animal Behavior – aims to combat #poaching in Africa. www.bbc.com/future/artic... @mpi-animalbehav.bsky.social
We can now track animal panic from space. Here's why it matters
The new Icarus satellite is tracking signals hidden in animal behaviour – which could save the lives of cheetahs, rhinos and elephants.
bbc.com
What makes a coffee landscape full of birds? Is it how farms are managed, or how much forest is left around them? Read our latest paper in @jappliedecology.bsky.social and find out! And stay tuned for more news. besjournals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/... @selvaorgco.bsky.social
The first white-tailed eagle to fledge in Dorset for more than 240 years has gone missing on the North York Moors “The disappearance is being treated as suspicious” “Birds of prey regularly go missing in areas associated with game shooting” www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...
Rare white-tailed eagle disappearance investigated by police
The satellite-tagged bird, part of a breeding programme, lost contact in the North York Moors.
bbc.co.uk
NEW PAPER, JUST OUT! 👀 Insects from the '70s and '80s were already collecting microplastic, decades before the term microplastic even existed. 🤯 A thread on the surprising history of this pollutant and the incredible insect larvae that helped us uncover it. 🐛 Let's dive in! 🧵👇 1/x
Albania's 'Flamingo Revolution' holds important lessons for anyone involved in the conservation of nature Legal protection of the Vjosa-Narta Wetlands didn't protect them, but taking to the streets might Formal conservation mechanisms are vital, but it's often social movements that *defend* nature
The Major Oak has died. Last year I had the chance to inspect this phenomenon up close. Despite our ingenious efforts, we cannot rebuild ancient oaks and the habitat they provide to other species www.noemamag.com/how-to-build...
How To Build A Thousand-Year-Old Tree | NOEMA
A set of experimental techniques and technologies that might seem harmful to trees is actually helping ancient forests survive.
noemamag.com
My first publication! Grateful to have had the opportunity to work on this with such an amazing and global team – and good fun to work the on the press and social media releases.
FitzPatrick Institute of African Ornithology@africanornithology.bsky.social · 2mo ago🐜🐟🐦🐬👩🔬 What does it take for completely different species to work together? A global team of researchers explores the communication behind remarkable cross-species partnerships in a new review in Animal Behaviour. 📄 doi.org/10.1016/j.an... #AfricanOrnithology
This story has just won the Flora & Fauna category at the 68th Southern California Journalism Awards. Thank you to everyone @noemamag.com and @lapressclub.bsky.social. And, most importantly, to everyone who told me how oaks live and die
Matthew Ponsford@interspecies.agency · 2mo agoThe Major Oak has died. Last year I had the chance to inspect this phenomenon up close. Despite our ingenious efforts, we cannot rebuild ancient oaks and the habitat they provide to other species www.noemamag.com/how-to-build...
New story from @kevinrennie.bsky.social about the Brewarrina fish traps #Australia: "It has been suggested that these fish traps may be the oldest human construction in the world, dating back thousands of years." globalvoices.org/2026/07/14/a...
Australia’s Brewarrina fish traps may be the oldest human construction in the world
They remain a remarkable example of Aboriginal innovation... and form one part of a growing body of work that challenges how hunter-gatherer Australian societies have long been perceived.
globalvoices.org
New piece about a recent paper available from the Conversation: theconversation.com/unhoused-peo... @theconversation.com
Unhoused people and wildlife are increasingly coming into contact. Here’s what can be done to protect them
Unhoused people face the risk of contracting disease from wild animals, while animals can be displaced by human presence.
theconversation.com
Matthew Ponsford@interspecies.agency · 2w ago"On the high-altitude plains of Tibet, ringed by snowy mountains and buffeted by harsh winds, scientists are hard at work creating horned, fluffy clones. These are Tibetan yaks, designed and cloned in secretive labs more than 4,000 meters above sea level..." 🇨🇳🧪 edition.cnn.com/2026/07/25/c...
"On the high-altitude plains of Tibet, ringed by snowy mountains and buffeted by harsh winds, scientists are hard at work creating horned, fluffy clones. These are Tibetan yaks, designed and cloned in secretive labs more than 4,000 meters above sea level..." 🇨🇳🧪 edition.cnn.com/2026/07/25/c...
What’s horned, fluffy, and ethically dubious? Yak clones | CNN
On the high-altitude plains of Tibet, ringed by snowy mountains and buffeted by harsh winds, scientists are hard at work creating horned, fluffy clones.
edition.cnn.com
Last year I had the chance to visit Vacaresti, one of the strangest “natural” environments on planet Earth. It’s a place that forces us to ask how we care for the new ecosystems we are making www.bloomberg.com/news/feature...
Inside Bucharest’s Accidental Urban Wilderness
In Romania’s capital, a failed communist-era megaproject has become a template for a new generation of “natural parks” that offer room for wildlife and people.
bloomberg.com
Water Buffalo Commons, Istanbul, Turkey: www.youtube.com/watch?v=_os0...
CLIMAVORE x Jameel: Water Buffalo Commons
YouTube video by Royal College of Art
youtube.com
besjournals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/... Alpine Ibex is one of the last migratory ungulate on Europe outside Scandinavia. But we lack information about its migration. Now we know the factors driving migration phenology and the level of plasticity! Together with many partners that we thank
It's time to go—Drivers and plasticity of migration phenology in a short‐distance migratory ungulate
In thishis study, we reveal how vegetation phenology and snow dynamics drive the timing of migration in a short-distance migratory ungulate inhabiting the Alps. Differences appeared between sexes, su...
besjournals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com
zslpublications.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.... New paper out! Thanks Maureen and CEFS Team for thinking about me for this one.
Born in heterogenous landscapes: birth timing, body mass and early development of roe deer fawns in contrasting habitats
Roe deer (Capreolus capreolus) is a synanthropic species which has colonized agricultural landscapes across Europe over the past decades, seemingly thanks to the benefits of agricultural subsidies wh...
zslpublications.onlinelibrary.wiley.com
Conservation of Hartmann's Mountain Zebra and their Nama Karoo Habitat in Namibia: www.rufford.org/projects/mor...
Morris Gosling - Conservation of Hartmann's Mountain Zebra and their Nama Karoo Habitat in Namibia - The Rufford Foundation
rufford.org
Alan McElligott@amcell.bsky.social · 2d agoI was very saddened to hear of the recent passing of Prof. Morris Gosling - a mentor, supporter and friend, and an amazing scientist. He will be deeply missed. www.ncl.ac.uk/nes/people/p...
BS ethics statements that are almost meaningless due to vagueness: "The procedures for data collection and analysis adhered to all regulatory and ethical standards." 🙄
The success of Denmark's "pig election" offers a case study for advocates elsewhere.
How Denmark’s ‘Pig Election’ Rewrote Factory Farm Politics
Could animal welfare and clean water motivate American voters?
buff.ly
A disturbing new investigation reveals how easy it is for farms to subvert organic rules — and hide animal cruelty. @kennytorrella.bsky.social reports for @vox.com:
Costco’s organic chicken isn’t what it seems
A disturbing new investigation reveals how easy it is for farms to subvert organic rules — and hide animal cruelty.
buff.ly
Extreme heat has changed what it takes to produce a glass of milk.
Heat Stress Hits Dairy Quality as Well as Quantity, Study Finds
Extreme heat has changed what it takes to produce a glass of milk.
buff.ly
Egg companies that received hundreds of millions of dollars in bird flu payments are ordered to settle for a fraction of the price. buff.ly/6U6nicx
The Nation’s ‘Egg Mafia’ Made Billions. Their Fines Over Price Fixing Are a Drop in the Bucket.
Egg companies that received hundreds of millions of dollars in bird flu payments are ordered to settle for a fraction of the price.
sentientmedia.org
A new wave of AI tools promises to change the way farm animal pain is detected, using cameras, microphones and machine learning to spot suffering before a human could. @epayne.bsky.social reports: buff.ly/zddjDoV
AI Is Coming to Factory Farms. Will It Help the Animals or Just the Industry?
New technology can detect pain in farm animals, but critics say it may do more to bolster the system than improve it.
sentientmedia.org
The much anticipated Livestock Strategy makes mention of climate goals, but it’s aimed primarily at protecting the livelihoods of those in the livestock industry. buff.ly/1sBHqw3
Is the EU About To Give the Meat Industry a Pass on Methane Emissions?
Calling it “biogenic methane” is a red flag for climate scientists.
sentientmedia.org
Critics argue that producing fishmeal requires harvesting enormous numbers of forage fish, which can ripple through entire ecosystems, adding pressure to oceans already stressed by climate change. buff.ly/KDsGeJX
Fishmeal Feeds Livestock Farming — Sometimes at the Expense of Marine Ecosystems
Some pig and poultry farmers incorporate tiny fish into feed because of the nutritional benefits, but critics warn that overextraction of these fish could disrupt the marine food web.
sentientmedia.org
A growing body of research scrutinizes how the meat industry can shape scientific research. buff.ly/fj2eFqL
Part of ‘the Family’: When the Beef Industry Mentors Climate Scientists
A growing body of research scrutinizes how the meat industry can shape scientific research.
sentientmedia.org
Extreme heat has changed what it takes to produce a glass of milk. buff.ly/PuEFiHM
Heat Stress Hits Dairy Quality as Well as Quantity, Study Finds
Extreme heat has changed what it takes to produce a glass of milk.
sentientmedia.org
A new report argues that focusing solely on climate emissions can result in breeding programs that increase animal suffering. buff.ly/C0H3szf
Breeding Climate-Friendly Livestock May Come at the Expense of Farm Animal Welfare
A new report argues that focusing solely on climate emissions can result in breeding programs that increase animal suffering.
sentientmedia.org
Twilight zone fish help regulate carbon and are critical to the food web. Yet they are being caught in massive amounts, and scientists say the impact is unknown. buff.ly/E9l7yIY
Fishing in the Deep Ocean’s Data-Blind Spot
Twilight zone fish help regulate carbon and are critical to the food web. Yet they are being caught in massive amounts, and scientists say the impact is unknown.
sentientmedia.org
“It’s literally the largest meatpacker in the world, pretending to be a small, upstart, quality-first sort of socially-minded company, and it’s tough to see how farms like mine beat them at that game,” says farmer Garth Brown. buff.ly/MQjY881
When Your “Local” Meat Market is Actually Owned by JBS
Wild Fork Foods, owned by the largest meatpacker in the world, is the latest manifestation of industry consolidation.
sentientmedia.org