The Swiss authorities on Friday defended granting permission for the hunting of three wolves that have killed dozens of sheep after fierce criticism from environmentalists.

More than 800 animal and plant species have gone extinct in the past five centuries with nearly 17,000 now threatened with extinction, the International Union for Conservation of Nature reported on Thursday.

View image 50 million years ago, it hiked all the way from Europe to Australia in search of some warmth ANTS were dominant members of the earth

The Moran community, which is predominant in Tinsukia district, has taken the unique step of declaring the Hollong tree as their traditional tree, a move that is likely to conserve the species from rampant depredation.

Volcanic eruptions drove dinosaurs to extinction HOW did the dinosaurs disappear from the face of this earth? One school of thought blames it on volcanic eruptions from the Deccan Traps of India. Another insists on an asteroid that hit the earth aeons ago. One of the longest running debates in scientific history, freshly found evidence has fuelled it anew. The Chicxulub crater

Environment ministers from major rich and developing nations signed a deal on Friday to try to slow species loss, but failed to make progress in crucial climate change talks despite US pledges of commitment.

Almost every country in the world in 2002 agreed to a "significant reduction" in the rate of biodiversity loss by 2010, but scientists say extinctions are gathering pace.

Even though Sri Lanka is a small island, the diversity of its wildlife is significantly important both in a regional and global scale. Sri Lanka has the highest species density (number of species present per 10,000 sq. km) of flowering plants, amphibians, reptiles and mammals in the Asian region.

A tree that covers a large area of eastern Ethiopia but has only recently been categorized by botanists raises hope for finding new species elsewhere, experts said.

The acacia fumosa tree, which grows in an area the size of the island of Crete, was not "found" for scientific purposes until 2006-7, mostly likely because its main habitat is a war zone.

More of Indonesia's critically endangered orangutans are being caught for the pet trade now than in the 1970s, reflecting the country's weak law enforcement, a wildlife protection group said in a report published on Thursday.

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