Wondering what went right this week in the conservation world? We’ve got you covered with our Conservation Optimism Round-Up! Each week we are collating stories of optimism from around the globe so that you never miss your dose of Monday Motivation.

1. Rescued endangered Loa water frogs produced 200 offspring in a Chilean zoo

“Conservationists in Chile are celebrating after a group of critically endangered Loa water frogs produced 200 offspring in Santiago zoo.”

2. Back from the Brink project improved our understanding of the shrill carder bee in the UK

“This Back from the Brink project, led by the Bumblebee Conservation Trust and Buglife, ran from 2017 – 2020 and focused on two of the last strongholds of the bee, in Somerset and the Thames Gateway.”

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Looking back today at one of our successful projects that's actually now finished - saving this little fuzzball - the Shrill Carder Bee. 🐝 This Back from the Brink project, led by the Bumblebee Conservation Trust and Buglife, ran from 2017 - 2020 and focused on two of the last strongholds of the bee, in Somerset and the Thames Gateway. The project improved our understanding of the Shrill Carder Bee by working with volunteers to survey new sites and monitor populations on some of their strongholds. To help safeguard the future of the bee, we worked with landowners across 55 sites in Somerset and the Thames Gateway to enhance the flower and nesting resources over 189 ha of habitat- that’s over 260 football pitches! By training land managers and creating case studies of how to manage different sites for the Shrill Carder Bee, we hope that others continue this amazing work. We brought together bumblebee experts from across the country to produce the important ‘Shrill Carder Bee Conservation Strategy 2020-2030’ to help the bee thrive long into the future! This will act as an information source and guide for conservation work in the future, in the hope that we can save this charismatic little creature from extinction in England and Wales. Can't beat a successful wrap up! 📸 Will George . . . . . #tbt #throwbackthursday #bee #bumblebee #bees #rarewildlife #rareinsect #conservation #conservationwork #conservationsuccess #conservationoptimism #ukconservation #ukwildlife #wildlifeonearth #naturelover #insect #naturephotography

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3. Native wildlife is returning to Palmyra Atoll following the eradication of invasive rats and coconut palms

“Looking back on Palmyra’s recent history, Wegmann sees it as a source of hope. Tropical islands may seem fragile, but they can turn out to be surprisingly robust.”

4. Legal victory in the Tongass National Forest in Alaska goes unchallenged by Department of Justice

“The U.S. Department of Justice has decided against appealing the decision by a federal court in June which vacated the U.S. Forest Service’s plan to log a 1.8 million-acre project area on Prince of Wales Island in Southeast Alaska.”

5. Iberian cat claws its way back from brink of extinction

“A 20-year project to reintroduce the species across the peninsula has seen their numbers rise to 855.”

6. Recent study shows that most of the frog species living where the Australian fires were have been accounted for

“Much of the data came from non-scientists, who kindly spent some of their time in lockdown checking in on their amphibian neighbors.”

7. Two new species of long-legged aquatic mouse have been discovered in Africa! ⁠

“After almost a century, scientists have discovered two new species of the mouse, which are closely related to a lost species recorded only once, 93 years ago.”

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🚨 Cute animal alert! Two new species of long-legged aquatic mouse--with water repellent fur--was just discovered in Africa! ⁠ ⁠ After almost a century, scientists have discovered two new species of the mouse, which are closely related to a lost species recorded only once, 93 years ago,⁠ ⁠ “These two groups of mice have been confused with one another for a century. They've been so elusive for so long, they're some of the rarest animals in the world, so it's exciting to finally figure out their family tree,” said Julian Kerbis Peterhans, one of the paper’s authors and a researcher at the Field Museum who’ has studied these rodents for over 30 years. ⁠ ⁠ ⁠ For more info, click the link in our bio. ⁠ ⁠ 📸 Velizar Simeonovski, Field Museum

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