European WILDLIFE

Yesterday, the European Environment Agency published its preliminary data on the last year’s greenhouse gas emissions. It shows that emissions in the 27 EU countries decreased by 1.5 percent. At the same time, the agency admitted that this was partly due to the economic crisis.

However, emissions have been reduced for the fourth consecutive year. Under the Kyoto Protocol, the original 15 EU countries were to reduce their emissions by 8 percent between 2008 and …

The invasive Lasius neglectus ant species has begun to threaten Great Britain. The ant forms colonies up to 100 times larger than the original ants, and often destroys power lines.

While the Lasius neglectus ant looks similar to the ordinary black garden ant, the number of ants working together in their colonies tends to be 10 to 100 times greater than normal. At the same time, these ants are attracted by electric current and form …

Central Europe’s nature has lost dozens of its insect species in recent decades. This is shown by the recently published Red List of Invertebrates of the Czech Republic. Of 161 butterfly species, 17 species have died out in the Czech Republic. Regarding bees and their relatives, 146 of their have species died out, i.e. 17 percent. Forty one wasp species died out, i.e. 20 percent. The situation of the rare Meloe beetle is even worse. …

Climate change increase the seawater acidity, and this could endanger the existence of numerous species living in the oceans, from clams to coral. Such seawater composition changes could be irreversible for millennia, states an appeal from academics from 70 countries.

This joint appeal was addressed by representatives of 70 national academic institutions to government delegations that are to discuss climate change in Bonn, Germany, until 12 June. The document calls on governments to step up …

Bear in the Beskydy Mountains in the northeast part of the Czech Republic have long been victims to poachers. Years of suspicion by nature conservationists have now been confirmed by the discovered remains of an illegally hunted bear.

People found pieces of a brown bear’s body in a sack in a local river. The poachers who killed the rare and strictly protected beast walked away with meat, the pelt, skull, and claws. They threw away …