Forty two species recommended for addition to the Convention on the Conservation of Migratory Species of Wild Animals.

Parties to the Convention on the Conservation of Migratory Species of Wild Animals have recommended that 42 additional species be included on Appendix I and/or II of the convention, ahead of the next UN Conference to Advance Global Conservation of Migratory Wildlife and Their Habitats, to be held in Campo Grande, Brazil, on 23-29 March 2026, according to a press release issued on 18 December 2025.

In order to be listed as under Appendix I of the convention, a species must be migratory, or wide ranging, and officially determined to be endangered. To be listed under Appendix II, it must be established that international cooperation is needed to protect that species. Countries which are parties to the convention are obliged to prioritise protecting these animals, conserving or restoring the places where they live, mitigating obstacles to migration and controlling other factors that might endanger them.

Two species of terrestrial Mammal are proposed for inclusion. The Striped Hyena, Hyaena hyaena, a wide ranging species found across much of Africa and Asia. This species now has a global population of less than 10 000 mature individuals, and its habitat is highly fragmented, and shrinking in many places, due to agriculture, urbanisation and infrastructure development, as well as declines in many large carnivore species, which reduce the availability of the carrion which forms an important part of the species diet, and conflicts with Humans driven by shifting livestock farming practices, hunting, and the illegal wildlife trade. 

The current global distribution of the Striped Hyena, Hyaena hyaena. ICUN Red List of Threatened Species.

Also proposed is the addition of Cheetah, Acinonyx jubatus, populations in Zimbabwe to Appendix I of the convention; Cheetahs were also found across much of Africa and Asia, and is threatened by habitat fragmentation and loss, as well as hunting and capture for the illegal wildlife trade. The species is currently protected under the convention across its range, with the exception of Botswana, Namibia, and Zimbabwe, where it had been thought to be faring better. However, the Zimbabwean population has undergone a 90% decrease in population in 15 years, and the Government of Zimbabwe has proposed that its Cheetah population be added to the convention.

A Cheetah imaged by a camera-trap set by the Painted Dog Research Trust in Zimbabwe. Sibanda (2023).

A single species of aquatic Mammal, the Giant Otter, Pteronura brasiliensis, has also been proposed for inclusion on the list. This species is found in lowland wetlands and coastal regions of much of South America, but is threatened by habitat loss across much of its range, and is believed to have suffered a 50% population loss in the 25 years to 2014, with predictions suggesting that it will continue to decline at the same rate. 

A Giant Otter, Pteronura brasiliensis, foragingin the Piquiri River in Mato Grosso State, Brazil. Bernard Dupont/Convention on the Conservation of Migratory Species.

Thirty two new species of Birds have been proposed for inclusion on Appendixes I and/or II of the Convention. The most notable of these is the  Snowy Owl, Bubo scandiacus, a charismatic species commonly represented in popular culture, which is estimated to have lost a third of its population in the last three decades, and which has was declared regionally extinct in Sweden by BirdLife International this year.

A Snowy Owl, Bubo scandiacus, in flight. Bert de Tilly/Convention on the Conservation of Migratory Species.

The other Bird species proposed are the Flesh-footed Shearwater, Ardenna carneipes, the Hudsonian Whimbrel, Numenius phaeopus hudsonicus, the Hudsonian Godwit, Limosa haemastica, the Lesser Yellowlegs, Tringa flavipes, the Iberá Seedeater, Sporophila iberaensis, and all 25 species of Gadfly Petrels, Pterodroma spp. and Pseudobulweria spp.

A Lesser Yellowlegs, Tringa flavipes. Convention on the Conservation of Migratory Species.

Eight species of Shark and Fish are also proposed for inclusion on Appendixes I and/or II of the Convention. These are the Pelagic Thresher Shark, Alopias pelagicus, the Bigeye Thresher Shark, Alopias superciliosus, the Common Thresher Shark, Alopias vulpinus, the Patagonian Narrownose Smoothhound, Mustelus schmitti, the Scalloped Hammerhead Shark, Sphyrna lewini, the Great Hammerhead Shark, Sphyrna mokarran, the Angular Angelshark, Squatina guggenheim, and the Spotted Sorubim, Pseudoplatystoma corruscans, a migratory Catfish from the rivers of tropical South America, threatened by overfishing and habitat fragmentation.

Two Thresher Sharks over a Coral reef off the island of Malapascua in the Philippines. Dani Escayola/Ocean Image Bank/Convention on the Conservation of Migratory Species.

The Great Hammerhead Shark is typical of the Shark species proposed for protection under the Convention. It is found in coastal tropical and subtropical water around the world, but has been heavily overfished for the value of its meat, and in particular its fins, and even when not actively targeted by fishermen, is a common bycatch from other fisheries. As a top predator, its disappearance can trigger a cascade of ecological effects, profoundly altering the ecosystems where it is lost.

One taxon has also been proposed for removal from Appendix I of the convention, the Bukhara Deer, Cervus elaphus yarkandensis, a subspecies of Red Deer, which was reduced to about 400 species in 1999, but which has since undergone a significant recovery due to conservation efforts, and is no longer considered to be threatened.

A group of Bukhara Deer. Natalya Marmazinskaya/Convention on the Conservation of Migratory Species.

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Archaeologists uncover ritually buried Red Deer from Bronze Age England.

Archaeologists carrying out exploratory work ahead of the construction of a new water supply network in the east of England have uncovered what appears to be a pair of ritually buried Red Deer at Navenby in Lincolnshire, according to a press release issued by Anglian Water on 9 August 2023. The Deer, which are thought to have been buried about 4000 years ago, were accompanied by pottery associated with the Bell Beaker Culture, a Bronze Age European Culture with appeared about 4800 years ago in Iberia, and spread across Europe and parts of North Africa, reaching Britain about 4450 years ago. The Deer show no signs of butchery (the removal of meat for consumption, which leaves cut marks upon the bones), and were therefore presumably intact when buried, although it is possible that they were ritually sacrificed for some purpose.

Remnants of two Red Deer found in a Bronze Age burrial at Navenby in Lincolnshire, England. Anglian Water.

Other than the burred Deer, no further traces of Bronze Age activity were found at Navenby, although the archaeologists did uncover a small Iron Age settlement, comprising two roundhouses and five smaller structures, which may have been grain stores, as well as the burial of three cremated and one uncremated individuals, which may date from the Roman period.

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Tracking the feeding habits of Dholes in the Ujung Kulon National Park, southwestern Java.

Dholes, or Asian Wild Dogs, Cuon alpinus, were once found across a wide swath of South, Central, East, and Southeast Asia, from Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Nepal, and Pakistan north to Kazakhstan, and east to China, the Korean Peninsula, and the Russian Far East, and south to Cambodia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, Thailand, Vietnam, and the Indonesian islands of Java and Sumatra. However, habitat fragmentation across this range has badly impacted the species, and Dholes are now thought to occupy less than 25% of their former range, and are considered to be Endangered under the terms of the International Union for the Conservation of Nature’s Red List of Threatened Species.

In Indonesia Dholes are protected by law, and are thought to have a widespread but fragmented distribution. A limited number of studies have been carried out on the distribution and habits of Dholes, and while potential prey species have been identified in two national parks where they are known to occur (Baluran National Park and Ujung Kulon National Park, both on the island of Java), but direct evidence of prey selection or feeding has been sparse.

In a paper published in the Journal of Threatened Taxa on 26 December 2021, Dede Aulia Rahman of the Department of Forest Resources Conservation and Ecotourism at Bogor Agricultural University, and Mochamad Syamsudin, Asep Yayus Firdaus, Herry Trisna Afriandi, and Anggodo of the Ujung Kulon National Park, present the results of a camera-trap experiment intended to reveal the hunting preferences of Dholes in the Ujung Kulon National Park.

Rahman et al. divided the park into 329 one kilometre square grid sections, and placed camera traps in 108 of these, positioned so that each was at least 300-500 m from the next. These were left in place from January to December 2013, being checked every 28-30 days to ensure they were functioning, and repositioning if they had sighted no Animals after two or three checks.

The first Dhole predation event was recorded on 28 May 2013, when a pack of 15 adult Dholes was seen to attack a Banteng, Bos javanicus, calf, which was accompanied by three adult females, between 7.43 and 7.57 am. 

 

Photographs of predation on a young Banteng by a pack of Dholes on 28 May 2013: (1) A Dhole bites the neck of a young Banteng. (2)–(4) An adult female Banteng tries to protect the young Banteng. (5) Several members of the Dhole pack try to separate the young Banteng from an adult female Banteng. (6)–(7) Dholes kill a young Banteng on the far side of picture. (8) Adult female Bantengs come back to try and save the young Banteng. (9) The process of predation by Dholes is complete which is marked by several pack members resting. Rahman et al. (2021).

A second predation attempt was recorded on 24 September 2013, between 5.00 and 5.12 pm, when a group of six adult Dholes attempted to predate another young Banteng, again accompanied by three adult females.

 

Photographs of predation on a young Banteng by a pack of Dholes on 24 September 2013: (1) Young Banteng accompanied by three adult females. (2) One individual Dhole starts attacking the Banteng. (3)–(5) An adult female Banteng tries to protect the young Banteng. (6)–(8) Three Dholes are moving forward and attacking Banteng on the far side of picture. (9) Another individual Dhole running moving forward on the same side. Rahman et al. (2021).

In addition to these attacks on Bateng, five adult Dhole were observed chasing a Java Mouse-deer, Tragulus javanicus, on 18 April 2013, two adult Dholes were seen attacking a Wild Pig on 15 October 2013, and three adult Dholes were observed following an adult male Javan Rhinoceros, Rhinoceros sondaicus, on 31 July 2013.

 

(1)–(3) a Java Mouse-deer being chased by five adult Dholes. (4)–(6) Wild Pig attacked by two adult Dholes. (7)–(9) An adult male Javan Rhinoceros followed by three Dholes. Rahman et al. (2021).

The captured images show clear evidence of Dholes targeting Banteng, a type of wild Cattle, in the Ujung Kulon National Park. Although they appear to specialise in taking young members of the herd, Bateng might at first seem like quite a large prey item for a small Canid, but this is not out of keeping with the prey preferences observed for the species elsewhere. In India Dholes have been shown to mostly predate Chital Deer, Axis axis, and Sambar Deer, Rusa unicolor, both medium sized Deer, but will occasionaly hunt Gaur, Bos gaurus, the largest extant Bovid species. In Cambodia, Dholes primarily hunt Muntjac Deer, Muntiacus spp., but alto hunt Banteng, which make up about 18% of their diet. Finally, analysis of droppings left by Dholes in the Baluran National Park, East Java, has suggested that their diet there included Banteng and Water Buffalo, Bubalus bubalis.

Dholes are variable in their approach to hunting, and will hunt on their own, in pairs, or in packs of varying size, with larger groups tending to tackle larger prey. This is roughly in line with Rahman et al.'s findings, with one attack on a Bantang being carried out by 15 Dholes. However, observed hunts by Dholes on Cattle and other large prey in other areas have typically involved the pack attempting to spook and then chase the herd, separating calves from the adults in the confusion, whereas both attacks observed in the Ujung Kulon National Park began with a direct attack on calves that were close to adults.

Rahman et al. do not believe that the Dholes observed following a Rhinoceros were engaged in a hunting attmept, reasoning that at 1000-2000 kg such an Animal is likely to be considerably outside of their range, and that a group of three is probably to small would be too small for the attmept if they were to make it. Rather, they suggest, the Dholes may have been escorting the Rhinoceros away from a den site in order to ensure the safety of their young.

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Opossum seen grooming Deer for Ticks in Vermont.

The Vermont Wildlife Coalition has released a camera-trap photograph in which as Virginia Opossum, Didelphis virginiana, can be seen removing Ticks from the face of a Deer, which has apparently approached the Marsupial for this service. Virginia Opossums are known to be major consumers of Ticks, and therefore thought to be a significant control of Tick-borne diseases such as Lyme disease, which they usually acquire by visiting Tick-infested areas of woodland and then picking off any Ticks that attempt to attach to them, but this is thought to be the first time another animal has been seen approaching an Opossum for grooming, a form of behaviour more associated with marine organisms such as Cleaner Fish.

A Virginia Opossum, Didelphis virginiana, grooming a Deer in a forest in Vermont. Vermont Wildlife Coalition.

Virginia Opossums are North America's only native Marsupial, and, unlike many Marsupials, are extremely adaptable in their habits, rapidly taking to new environments and food sources when these become available. They were confined to the southwestern United States, Mexico, and Central America as far as Costa Rica, until the early twentieth century, since when they have colonised much of the rest of the United Stares and southern Canada, spreading through man-made habitats, such as farms and gardens, into areas such as the forests of New England where they were not previously found.

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Muntiacus gigas: A new specimen of the Giant Muntjac from the Early Holocene of northern Vietnam.

Muntjacs, Muntiacus spp., are small solitary Deer found across South, Southeast, and East Asia, though with their earliest fossils found in the Miocene of Central Europe. The genus currently contains about a dozen species, with several having only been described in the last few decades. The living Giant Muntjac was first described from northern Vietnam as Megamuntiacus vuquangensis, in 1994, being placed in a separate genus on account of its larger size, though this was later considered to be erroneous, as the species is not sufficiently genetically distinct to justify this. It was then realised that the species was identical to one described from Hemudu, a Middle Holocene (6000-7000 years old) Neolithic site in Zhejiang Province in eastern China, as Muntiacus gigas, in 1990, and then thought to represent an extinct Muntjac species. Since the Chinese specimen was named first, this name takes precedence, and is considered the valid name for the species. The species is currently confined to the Annamite Mountains of Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia, with this range inferred mostly from hunting trophies in museum collections, and is currently considered to be Critically Endangered under the terms of the International Union for the Conservation of Nature's Red List of Threatened Species, with a high likelyhood of going extinct within the next 20 years. However, the presence of the species in the Middle Holocene of eastern China suggests that the species once had a much greater range.

In a paper published in the journal Royal Society Open Science on 13 March 2019, Christopher Stimpson of the School of Natural and Built Environment at Queen’s University Belfast, Benjamin Utting of the Department of Archaeology at the University of Cambridge, Shawn O’Donnell, also of the School of Natural and Built Environment at Queen’s University Belfast, Nguyen Huong of the Institute of Archaeology at the Vietnam Academy of Social Sciences, Thorsten Kahlert, again of the School of Natural and Built Environment at Queen’s University Belfast, Bui Manh of the Department of Tourism of Ninh Bình Province, Vietnam, Pham Khanh of the Tràng An Landscape Complex Management Board, and Ryan Rabett, once again of the School of Natural and Built Environment at Queen’s University Belfast, describe a new specimen of Muntiacus gigas from an Early Holocene archaeological site in the Tràng An World Heritage Area in Ninh Binh Province, northern Vietnam.

The Tràng An World Heritage Area lies on the southern margin of the Red River Delta in Ninh Binh Province, northern Vietnam, and comprises a karstified (eroded) limestone massif covered by forest that rises from the coastal plain. The Hang Boi Cave Complex is an archaeological site within this area, comprising a series of interconnecting caverns with a southeast-facing entrance, which shows signs of having been inhabited during the Late Pleistocene and Early Holocene,

The specimen in the study (HBC-27587) comes from a midden pile at the entrance to the cave, comprising largely Mollusc shells, but also bones from other Mammals, Birds and Turtles. The specimen is a partial mandible (jaw bone) identified on the basis of bone and tooth anatomy as belonging to Muntiacus gigas. The specimen has been dated to between 11 100 and 11 400 years old.

Specimen HBC-27587 shown in lateral (b), medial (c), dorsal (d ) views and occlusal surfaces of m2 and m3 (e). All scale bars ¼ 20 mm. Stimpson et al. (2019).

The presence of Muntiacus gigas in the Early Holocene of northern Vietnam is not surprising, given that the species is known to have ranged as far as eastern China in the past. However the environment at Hang Boi is very different to that occupied by the species today, suggesting that it has altered its habits in response to Human pressure; modern Giant Muntjacs are found in dense forests in the Annamite Mountains, sometimes at 1200 m above sealevel. However the Tràng An specimen, while it may have been carried a short distance by Humans before being deposited, appears to have lived in a very different environment, on a lowland plane at most 200 m above sealevel, which is interpreted as having been covered by an open Oak woodland during the early Holocene.

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Assessing the impact of large animal carcasses on plant biodiversity, using data from a Norwegian Reindeer herd killed by lightning.

A total of 323 Reindeer, Rangifer tarandus, were killed by a lightning strike during a thunder storm on the Hardanangervidda National Park on Friday 26 August 2016. The Reindeer migrate across the park, which is a mountainous plateau, at this time of year, and are believed to have huddled together during the storm, an action which helps to protect the younger members of the herd (which included 70 calves) from the worst of the elements, but which makes them particularly vulnerable to (rare) lightning strikes. While tragic for the Reindeer, this event provided a unique opportunity to study the impact of large cadavers on a (nutrient poor) tundra environment.

Reindeer killed by lightning on the Hardangervidda Plateau on 26 August 2016. Håvard Kjøntvedt/Norwegian Environment Agency.

In a paper published in the journal Biology Letters on 15 August 2018, Sam Steyaert of the Department of Natural Sciences and Environmental Health at the University of South-Eastern Norway, and the Faculty of Environmental Sciences and Natural Resource Management at the Norwegian University of Life Sciences, Shane Frank, also of the Department of Natural Sciences and Environmental Health at the University of South-Eastern Norway, Stefano Puliti, also of the Faculty of Environmental Sciences and Natural Resource Management at the Norwegian University of Life Sciences, and of the Norwegian Institute of Bioeconomy Research, Rudy Badia, again of the Faculty of Environmental Sciences and Natural Resource Management at the Norwegian University of Life Sciences, Mie Arnberg, again of the Department of Natural Sciences and Environmental Health at the University of South-Eastern Norway, Jack Beardsley of the Surveying and Spatial Sciences Group at the University of Tasmania, Asle Økelsrud, once again of the Department of Natural Sciences and Environmental Health at the University of South-Eastern Norway, and Rakel Blaalid of the Norwegian Institute for Nature Research, describe the results of a study which monitored the site of the 2016 mass Reindeer site for seeds introduced by scavengers, as a way of demonstrating that endozoochory (seed dispersal via ingestion by vertebrate animals) provides a viable means for plants to reach a new nutrient source within an otherwise nutrient poor environment.

The vegetation at the sire of the study was dominated by Dwarf Birch, Betula nana, as well as Heathers, Grasses, and an understory of Mosses and Lichens. A range of Mammals and Birds were seen scavenging at the site, including Corvids (Raven, Corvus corax, and Hooded Crow, Corvus cornix), Golden Eagle (Aquila chrysaetos), Foxes (Red Fox, Vulpes vulpes, and Arctic Fox, Vulpes lagopus), Wolverine (Gulo gulo) and several Rodents (Arvicolidae). In addition a number of small Birds were observed feeding on Blowflies (Calliphoridae) attracted to the carrion.

Steyaert et al. searched the site for feces of mesopredators, Birds and Rodents, finding a particular corelation between Bird feces and carcass density (i.e. there was more Bird erces in areas where the carcasses were most dense). They then examined the Bird feces for seeds of the Crowberry, Empetrum nigrum, keystone species of the alpine tundra with predominantly vegetative reproduction, finding 87.5% of the feces sampled contained viable seeds.

The Crowberry, Empetrum nigrum, an Arctic keystone species shown to be distributed to sites with carrion by scavenging Birds. Wikimedia Commons.

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