by on 15 March 2021Wild pigs have reputation as a destructive lot. Farmers and scientists alike know that, when they’re too numerous, their constant rooting and wallowing can run roughshod over crops and regenerating ecosystems. The predators that hunt them may have disappeared, or logging or agriculture may have degraded the forest, allowing pig populations to mushroom.But such destructive tendencies also might be a boon to the overall health of forests in the right circumstances, according to recent research. A , published in the journal  Proceedings of the Royal Society B:...…by on 15 March 2021Wild pigs have reputation as a destructive lot. Farmers and scientists alike know that, when they’re too numerous, their constant rooting and wallowing can run roughshod over crops and regenerating ecosystems. The predators that hunt them may have disappeared, or logging or agriculture may have degraded the forest, allowing pig populations to mushroom.But such destructive tendencies also might be a boon to the overall health of forests in the right circumstances, according to recent research. A , published in the journal  Proceedings of the Royal Society B:...WW…

by on 10 December 2020The bison circled four times around the holding pen, before the lead animals took them into the 3,400-hectare (8,500-acre) pasture, their new home on the Rosebud Indian Reservation in the U.S. state of South Dakota. The thunder of 400 hooves as they crossed through the gate gave way to the whir of cameras and ululations from the crowd, perhaps 20 people gathered to see the return of the bison.Out in their new pasture, the animals loped, moving in unison as if one organism. Then, they slowed and wheeled to the left against a backdrop of a few lonely trees on a blanket...…by on 10 December 2020The bison circled four times around the holding pen, before the lead animals took them into the 3,400-hectare (8,500-acre) pasture, their new home on the Rosebud Indian Reservation in the U.S. state of South Dakota. The thunder of 400 hooves as they crossed through the gate gave way to the whir of cameras and ululations from the crowd, perhaps 20 people gathered to see the return of the bison.Out in their new pasture, the animals loped, moving in unison as if one organism. Then, they slowed and wheeled to the left against a backdrop of a few lonely trees on a blanket...WW…