Floodplain restoration project on Germany’s Elbe starts second phase

Aerial view of the Elbe River near Magdeburg

May 16, 2026 – The project to restore part of the Elbe River floodplain has moved from planning into implementation in a second phase that will include hydrological engineering to reconnect cut-off river arms to the main channel, according to Germany’s Federal Ministry for the Environment and the Federal Agency for Nature Conservation. A former arm of the Elbe known as the Alte Elbe bei Bösewig is among the sites targeted for reconnection over the next decade, the ministry said…

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Missing lynx spotted in Germany’s Thuringian Forest with cub in tow

May 7, 2026 – A missing female Eurasian lynx that had been released in central Germany’s Thuringian Forest in 2024 was captured on wildlife cameras with at least one cub in tow, conservation group BUND Thüringen said on Thursday. The lynx, named Vreni, was released in August 2024, and conservationists lost track of the feline soon after because of a technical defect with her GPS emitter, BUND Thüringen said. After no sign of life for about one and a half…

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‘Fern hobbit’ moth now considered established exotic in Belgium

Photo of golden-brown fern moth

May 6, 2026 – The golden-brown fern moth, a native of New Zealand and Australia, appears to have become an established exotic in Belgium, nature conservation group Natuurpunt said. The moth, whose Dutch name `varenhobbit’ translates as fern hobbit, is not expected to be a pest species that behaves in an invasive way, the organisation said in a report on Wednesday. The golden-brown fern moth, or Musitoma nitidalis, was first observed in Belgium in the autumn of 2023 in the…

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Scotland releases rare moth eggs to establish new population

Photo of dark bordered beauty moth

May 6, 2026 – Three British wildlife charities released 4,000 eggs of the dark bordered beauty moth in Scotland’s Cairngorms National Park in a bid to establish a new population of the rare species, which is currently restricted in the United Kingdom to three known sites. The release is ten times larger than a previous introduction in the park in 2025, the Royal Zoological Society of Scotland (RZSS) said in a statement on Wednesday. The eggs were released by a…

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Golden jackals settle in Germany’s Schleswig-Holstein for the first time

Photo of a golden jackal.

May 4, 2026 – Golden jackals have settled in the northern German state of Schleswig-Holstein for the first time, according to Germany’s DBBW, the Federal Documentation and Consultation Centre on Wolves. A territorial pair of golden jackals was identified in the district of Plön in eastern Schleswig-Holstein by their characteristic howling, with nine documented sound recordings over about two weeks, DBBW said in a statement on April 20. Golden jackals have relatively small territories of two to ten square kilometers,…

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Netherlands adds North Sea dune area as 22nd national park

Photo of beach and dunes.

May 4, 2026 – The Netherlands added a dune area on the North Sea coast west of The Hague and Leiden as the country’s twenty-second national park in April. The area is “exceptionally rich” in biodiversity, with more than 7,000 plant and animal species, according to the Dutch National Parks Partnership. The new national park covers a strip of coast from Hoek van Holland north of the Rhine estuary to the town of Hillegom in the country’s dune and bulb…

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