Roshni Arora

Oct 21, 2024 | blog.nature.org | Matthew Miller |Justine E Hausheer |Roshni Arora

I raised my binoculars, expecting to get a view of a mule deer. I often spotted them in this little valley, and when I saw the tan form, I knew what it was. Or thought I knew. Because as I focused on the animal, something seemed off. And then it moved. It had a long tail. A mountain lion. While the encounter only lasted seconds – the big cat quickly bounded away – it remains one of my favorite wildlife sightings. I saw this lion in the canyon country of southwestern Idaho.

Sep 19, 2024 | blog.nature.org | Cara Byington |Christine Peterson |Roshni Arora

Yes, you read that right. In the forests of Chile’s Valdivian Coastal Reserve, there is a small mammal known, in English, as the “long-nosed Chilean shrew opossum.” In Spanish, it’s comadrejita trompuda, and to scientists, it’s Rhyncholestes raphanarus. In all languages, this fascinating relict marsupial is the last of its kind—the only known living member of the Rhyncholestes genus of shrew opossum remaining on Earth.

Aug 30, 2024 | blog.nature.org | Cara Byington |Matthew Miller |Roshni Arora

Around the world, natural climate solutions, including agroforests, can help protect biodiversity and contribute to a third of the emissions reductions needed to avoid the worst impacts of climate change. The primary cause of deforestation in the Brazilian Amazon might not be what most people think. It’s not deforestation for crops; it’s land clearing to create pastureland for livestock on family farms.

Jun 24, 2024 | blog.nature.org | Justine E Hausheer |Matthew Miller |Roshni Arora

I saw the reports on the Brisbane birding Facebook group on Monday morning. A handful of endangered swift parrots had turned up near Toowoomba, spotted by a keen-eyed birder in a park on the city’s eastern edge. They were a three-hour drive away; just far enough to make chasing the rarity difficult. If only I hadn’t just returned from a two-week road trip, with birds galore and several long days behind the wheel. If only my inbox weren’t a horror show of post-vacation tasks.

Mar 18, 2024 | blog.nature.org | Justine E Hausheer |Christine Peterson |Roshni Arora

Like many moments in field science, it came down to a lucky accident. A team of scientists and local villagers were conducting a biological survey on Mt. Sasari, a cloud-forest plateau in the Solomon Islands. At the team’s first campsite, a young boy tagging along on the expedition found a baby rat curled up at the base of a flowering Caryota palm. Close examination would reveal that it was a young Isabel giant rat, a species that hasn’t been seen by Western scientists in more than 30 years.