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

1. Lynx, Wild Horses and Vultures Return to Eastern Spain in Latest Rewilding Project

” Black vultures, lynx and wild horses are among the animals being reintroduced to eastern Spain with the launch of a rewilding project spanning 850,000 hectares (2.1m acres) in the Iberian highlands east of Madrid. ”

2. The Galapagos penguin, one of the world’s rarest, sees a glimmer of hope

” Today, at least 84 of the 120 nests that Boersma, a biologist at the University of Washington in Seattle, and colleagues have scoured from the black rock at the world’s Equator are still usable. And a recent census reveals a quarter of the endangered species are juveniles.”

3. Enigmatic binturong photographed in Nepal for the first time

” “I am very glad that we persisted and that we have photographic evidence of its existence,” Shah, also a co-author of the recent study documenting the discovery in Parshyang, tells Mongabay. That the animal, considered primarily a resident of East and Southeast Asia, was found in the Chitwan-Annapurna Landscape (CHAL) in western Nepal has left conservationists surprised. “

4. Critically Endangered Gigantes Limestone Frog Successfully Bred For First Time In Captivity

” The critically endangered Gigantes limestone frog, an amphibian species native to the Philippines, was successfully captive bred by Project Palaka, marking the first instance in which the frog has been captive bred.”

5. Greenland shark, world’s longest-living vertebrate, gets long-awaited protection

” In September, the Northwest Atlantic Fisheries Organization (NAFO), an intergovernmental organization that manages fisheries, prohibited the retention of Greenland sharks in international waters. This ban would apply to the intentional catching of Greenland sharks as well as the retention of the species as bycatch. “

6. Gough Island demonstrates that island restoration and invasive predator eradication can work

” Breeding success of Tristan’s Albatross is 75.5% in 2022, double the 2004 average”

7. Juvenile endangered seahorses have been released again in man-made ‘seahorse hotels’

” Juvenile endangered White’s seahorses (Hippocampus whitei) have been released back into the wild this week at 15 ‘seahorse hotels’ in Botany Bay, Sydney. This is the third successful release of seahorses bred and raised by experts from SEA LIFE Sydney Aquarium, in a three-year ongoing collaboration to help recover the species’ declining population. “

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