Prof Sarah Durant
@sarahdurant.bsky.social
Conservationist and scientist. Project Leader Africa Range-wide Cheetah Conservation Initiative www.cheetahconservationinitiative.com. Hon Prof at UCL. Views my own
Mind blown by this remarkable study of the so-called American "cheetah". So many questions - including why the hell did they eat fish in the Yukon? www.cell.com/current-biol...
Range and diet diversity in the Pleistocene American “cheetah,” Miracinonyx trumani
Cassatt-Johnstone et al. use paleogenomics to show that extinct American cheetahs were most closely related to pumas, not cheetahs. These cats ranged far into the Arctic and exploited aquatic prey, th...
cell.com
In 2019, a Persian leopard named Aren was first spotted in Armenia. Later that year, he was seen again, but he was missing a leg. Rangers believe he stepped on a landmine. Aren's story shows how roads, fences, & landmines fragment the habitat of this endangered species. By @ayleighk.bsky.social.
Endangered Persian leopards persist across borders, despite hunters and landmines
Last September, zoologist and conservationist Bejan Lortkipanidze received a video file from a collaborator, Zurab Gurielidze, the head of Georgia’s Tbilisi Zoo. Gurielidze offered no details, but…
mongabay.cc
@zslofficial.bsky.social is deeply troubled by the detention of renowned Asiatic cheetah conservationists in Tehran, and is calling on authorities to ensure their access to legal counsel, family contact and any medical care they require. Read the full statement below. www.zsl.org/iranian-cons...
ZSL Statement on the Detention of Wildlife Conservationists in Iran | The Zoological Society of London
ZSL Statement on the Detention of Wildlife Conservationists in Iran
zsl.org
Conflict and the environment www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...
Changes in wildlife activity patterns in response to war in Ukraine
Conflict zones are inherently hazardous and inaccessible for researchers, which results in a knowledge gap about the immediate effects of armed conflicts on the environment, particularly wildlife. We ...
science.org
Few people understand the scope of the powers UK governments have granted themselves, to criminalise us as terrorists for expressing an opinion. Fewer still understand how illiberal the Court of Appeal judgement is. But @davidallengreen.bsky.social does.🧵 www.prospectmagazine.co.uk/ideas/law/th...
What the Palestine Action appeal decision tells us about terrorism law
An already broad law is now matched with broad ministerial powers
prospectmagazine.co.uk
New Asiatic cheetahs found in Iran—a rare glimmer of hope for a species on the brink of extinction. But reports that conservationist #ImanMemarian has been arrested by authorities cast a troubling shadow. Our article @nytimes.com 🐆 #AsiaticCheetah
In Iran, Cheetah Sightings Offer Rare Spots of Hope Amid War
nytimes.com
Israeli aircraft reportedly sprayed glyphosate over border farmlands in southern Lebanon & Syria’s Quneitra in Jan–Feb ‘26. Lebanese tests & UNIFIL samples found concentrations 20–30x above normal, killing crops. Israel said it is to deny militants cover. UN warned of humanitarian/environmental harm
A month into the Israeli-US war against #Iran our overview examines which conflict trends pose a threat to the environment and to those who depend on it. ceobs.org/iran-war-env... #IranWar
Iran War: Environmental risk overview as of 27th March - CEOBS
A month into the Israeli-US war against Iran we summarise conflict trends and their potential implications for people and the environment.
ceobs.org
Important update on environmental impacts of Iran War from @ceobs.org. "Environmental costs for Iran and the wider region have been substantial and are continuing to mount". Dominant threat at this point is conflict-linked pollution impacting public health and ecosystems ceobs.org/iran-war-env...
Iran War: Environmental risk overview as of 27th March - CEOBS
A month into the Israeli-US war against Iran we summarise conflict trends and their potential implications for people and the environment.
ceobs.org
Can’t wait to find out the next winner of the FIFA Peace Prize.
You also committed ecocide through widespread destruction of Iranian oil reserves with likely long lasting and widespread consequences for the environment and human health
Ian Dunt@iandunt.bsky.social · 6mo agoSo to summarise: You failed to take out the regime. You failed to destroy nuclear material. You failed to eradicate Iran's retaliatory capacity. You brought chaos to the Middle East. You killed god knows how many people. You destabilised your own economy. All for nothing, but the ego of madman.
“Ecocide” means unlawful or wanton acts committed with knowledge that there is a substantial likelihood of severe and either widespread or long-term damage to the environment being caused by those acts - consensus definition for proposed inclusion of Ecocide as international crime in Rome Statute
Fared Al Mahlool | فريد المحلول@faredalmahlool.bsky.social · 7mo agoMarch 8, 2026 - Tehran at sunrise today. But the sun is hidden behind a sky filled with smoke. After a night of intensive strikes on oil facilities, thick black clouds now hang over the city, turning morning into something that feels like night.
Environmental impacts from bombing Iran’s oil infrastructure likely to be severe and long-term www.theguardian.com/world/2026/m...
Bombing of Iran’s oil infrastructure to have major environmental fallout, experts warn
Monitors admit they are struggling to keep track of the environmental disasters arising from widening war
theguardian.com
They know what they say is untrue, they do not care it is untrue. The media know that what they repeat is untrue, they do not care it is untrue. Their supporters know what they are told is untrue, they do not care it is untrue. Telling the truth is not enough, unless people care about the truth.
It is the source of so many of our evils: the astonishing concentration of wealth in the hands of a very few, and the immense political power that gives them. We cannot solve our problems until we tackle it. This week's column. www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...
At the root of all our problems stands one travesty: politicians’ surrender to the super-rich | George Monbiot
There are many excuses for failing to tax the ultra-wealthy. The truth is that governments don’t tackle the problem because they don’t want to, says Guardian columnist George Monbiot
theguardian.com
This is a fascinating paper that shows that both Acinonyx jubatus hecki (northwestern african cheetah) and A. j. Venaticus (asiatic cheetah) occurred in Saudi Arabia. Only 3 cheetahs analysed, so sample size small, but intriguing that the most recent specimen was venaticus.
Nature Portfolio@natureportfolio.nature.com · 8mo agoA paper in Communications Earth & Environment reports the discovery of seven naturally mummified cheetahs in caves in northern Saudi Arabia that show at least two subspecies of the endangered cats inhabited the Arabian Peninsula before their local extinction. go.nature.com/4sKSbjd 🌍 🧪
The Nobel Prize committee should announce the World Cup winner tomorrow
Today Nov 6 is International Day for Preventing the Exploitation of the Environment in War and Armed Conflict. Given the environmental impacts of recent conflicts in Gaza and Ukraine, we clearly need to do better. joint-research-centre.ec.europa.eu/jrc-news-and...
War worsens climate and environmental challenges in Ukraine
A new study finds reduced greenhouse gas emissions in Ukraine amid war but increased toxic pollution risks.
joint-research-centre.ec.europa.eu
Our paper just published on the relationships between pastoralists and cheetah in the Horn of Africa. More than 60% of respondents reported a cheetah attack in the last year and reported that killing cheetahs was widespread. www.frontiersin.org/journals/con...
Frontiers | Attitudes, norms, and beliefs of pastoralists toward cheetahs in the Horn of Africa
Free-ranging African cheetahs (Acinonyx jubatus) inhabit only 13% of their former range. A subspecies of particular conservation concern is the Northeastern ...
frontiersin.org
Earlier this year, I made two trips to Sudan, where a terrible civil war has displaced 14 million people. The state is absent, international institutions are weak.Outside powers, motivated by greed and nihilism, have stepped into the vacuum www.theatlantic.com/magazine/arc...
This Is What the End of the Liberal World Order Looks Like
In a post-American world, greed and nihilism are destroying Sudan.
theatlantic.com
NEW CHART: Trump's "big beautiful bill" & other efforts to dismantle climate policy means the US will add an extra 7bn tonnes of emissions to the atmosphere from now until 2030, compared to meeting its former climate pledge under the Paris Agreement 🫠 www.carbonbrief.org/...
Another must read for anyone interested in climate litigation - great @granthamlse.bsky.social report. www.lse.ac.uk/granthaminst...
Global trends in climate change litigation: 2025 snapshot - Grantham Research Institute on climate change and the environment
An exploration of key trends and evolutions in global climate change litigation from the calendar year 2024, plus important new developments through to May 2025.
lse.ac.uk
that’s Elon Musk FRS doing his bit for US science, @royalsociety.org
Josh Marshall@joshtpm.bsky.social · last yr.Hearing now that every National Science Foundation grant is having to go through a new “DOGE review”. So existing grants and long term science and technology research having to undergo review by one of Elon’s interns. Huge percentage not passing their muster.
(1/4) It was America and Britain that guaranteed the sovereignty of Ukraine and its borders in return for persuading them to give up their nuclear weapons.
I'm really sorry, but we just need to stop doing this. Your wood-burning hygge leads directly to people's deaths - other people's and perhaps your own. www.theguardian.com/environment/...
Map reveals residential wood-burning hotspots in England and Wales
Researchers analyse energy performance certificate data to identify areas with potentially high particle pollution
theguardian.com
