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Right whales have a longer lifespan than scientists thought

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Sunday, January 5, 2025

This is a Southern right whale in waters off South Australia in 2006. Scientists recently found that Southern right whales have a median lifespan of around 74 years. But they can live up to 130 years of age, twice as long as scientists thought. Image via robdownunder/ Flickr (CC BY-NC-ND 2.0). Southern right whales live long lives. These sea mammals, which live in the Southern Ocean, have a median lifespan of about 74 years. But some individuals reach 130 years, much longer than previously estimated. North Atlantic right whales face human-induced threats. They have a much shorter median lifespan of 22 years, primarily due to ship strikes, fishing gear entanglement and environmental changes. Whale lifespan data is helpful for conservation efforts. Understanding whale longevity and population dynamics helps shape policies to promote recovery and protect their cultural knowledge passed through older individuals. Right whales can live as long as 130 years Right whales are a docile, migratory whale species that use filters in their mouths to catch small crustaceans in the ocean. The right whales that live in the North Atlantic only have a median lifespan of 22 years, due to human activities in their waters. Meanwhile, right whales in the Southern Ocean have a lifespan of around 74 years. But the University of Alaska Fairbanks said on December 20, 2024, that Southern right whales can live up to 130 years of age, twice as long as they thought. Right whales are a type of baleen whale. The filter in their mouths is called a baleen plate. The scientists published their study in the peer-reviewed journal Science Advances on December 20, 2024. The 2025 EarthSky Lunar Calendar is now available! A unique and beautiful poster-sized calendar. Get yours today! Photographs identify and track right whales For the past 40 years, researchers have been studying and photographing individual right whales. South African scientists have been monitoring Southern right whales (Eubalaena australis). Meanwhile, North American scientists have been collecting data on the critically endangered North Atlantic right whales (Eubalaena glacialis). Both species are closely related and have similar life histories. Each whale has a unique pattern of thickened skin on the head, called callosities. So you can identify individuals by their unique callosity head pattern. Researchers have been identifying individual right whales in the photographs and tracking them from one year to the next. Just as important, they have taken note of which whales stopped appearing in photos over subsequent years, presumably due to death. The head of a North Atlantic right whale, showing thickened skin on the head, or callosities. These markings are like a unique fingerprint to each whale. Image via Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission, NOAA Research Permit # 775-1875/ Flickr (CC BY-NC-ND 2.0) Survivorship curves In this new study, scientists conducted a mathematical analysis of right whale sighting records based on those 40 years of photographs, concentrating on female whales. (They first identified them as females by the presence of a calf.) The researchers used this data to construct survivorship curves. This is a graph that displays projected life expectancies, showing the proportion of a population that survives to each age. (Insurance companies use a similar technique to calculate human life expectancies.) This graph shows survivorship curves for female right whales. The curves are based on 40 years of photographic identifications. Here, scientists were able to mathematically project a very long lifespan for Southern right whales. In contrast, the blue curve for North Atlantic right whales shows significantly shorter lifespans due to human-caused activities such as net entanglements and ship collisions. The light dotted line shows how humans compare on the survivorship curves (using data from the Social Security Administration). Figure via Greg Breed/ The Conversation. Used with permission. Different life expectancies for different populations Scientists once thought the longest-living Southern right whales were 70 to 75 years old. But the new research indicates their median lifespan is about 74 years. Moreover, a few individuals can be 130 years of age, while the oldest ones could reach the ripe old age of 150 years. In contrast, their data also showed the median lifespan of North Atlantic right whales was only 22 years, with a few individuals making it to 45 years. Greg Breed, of the University of Alaska Fairbanks, said that Northern Atlantic right whales’ significantly shorter lifespans were due to human activities: North Atlantic whales have unusually short lifespans compared to other whales, but this isn’t because of intrinsic differences in biology, and they should live much longer. They’re frequently tangled in fishing gear or struck by ships, and they suffer from starvation, potentially linked to environmental changes we don’t fully understand. A Southern right whale and calf. Image via Els Vermeulen/ University of Alaska Fairbanks. Baleen whale lifespans may have been underestimated According to Breed, there had long been a lack of information about the ages of whales, leading to underestimates about their lifespans. He said: We didn’t know how to age baleen whales until 1955, which was the very end of industrial whaling. By the time we figured it out, there weren’t many old whales left to study. So, we just assumed they didn’t live that long. Current data on longevity, the scientists proposed, have been skewed by the absence of older whales decimated during industrial whaling. That industry ended just 60 years ago for most whale species. By then, many populations were less than 10% of their original size. Whale lifespan studies help guide conservation policies For most marine mammal species, an understanding of a population’s characteristics, such as lifespan, is essential for assessing how they are threatened by human activities. That, in turn, helps cooperating governments shape policy to aid in their conservation. Breed said: To attain healthy populations that include old animals, recovery might take hundreds of years. For animals that live to be 100 or 130 and only give birth to a surviving calf every 10 years or so, slow recovery is to be expected. He added that older whales are critically important to a healthy population: There’s a growing recognition that recovery isn’t just about biomass or the number of individuals. It’s about the knowledge these animals pass along to the next generation. That knowledge isn’t just genetic, it’s cultural and behavioral. Older individuals teach survival skills. Younger animals learn by observing and copying the strategies of the older ones. Breed and his colleagues are expanding their research to other whale species to learn more about their lifespans. And they hope to better understand how whaling has impacted elder individuals and the recovery trends that lie ahead. Bottom line: Right whales in the Southern Ocean have a median lifespan of around 74 years. And they can live up to 130 years of age, twice as long as scientists thought. Source: Extreme longevity may be the rule not the exception in Balaenid whales Source: Whales can live way longer than scientists had thought, with potential lifespans as much as double previous estimate Via University of Alaska Fairbanks Read more: ‘Listening’ to save the North Atlantic right whaleThe post Right whales have a longer lifespan than scientists thought first appeared on EarthSky.

Right whales in the Southern Ocean have a median lifespan of around 74 years. And they can live for up to 130 years, twice as long as scientists thought. The post Right whales have a longer lifespan than scientists thought first appeared on EarthSky.

A large, long black animal with a tail, a right whale, in blue ocean water. A bit of a cliff in the foreground.
This is a Southern right whale in waters off South Australia in 2006. Scientists recently found that Southern right whales have a median lifespan of around 74 years. But they can live up to 130 years of age, twice as long as scientists thought. Image via robdownunder/ Flickr (CC BY-NC-ND 2.0).
  • Southern right whales live long lives. These sea mammals, which live in the Southern Ocean, have a median lifespan of about 74 years. But some individuals reach 130 years, much longer than previously estimated.
  • North Atlantic right whales face human-induced threats. They have a much shorter median lifespan of 22 years, primarily due to ship strikes, fishing gear entanglement and environmental changes.
  • Whale lifespan data is helpful for conservation efforts. Understanding whale longevity and population dynamics helps shape policies to promote recovery and protect their cultural knowledge passed through older individuals.

Right whales can live as long as 130 years

Right whales are a docile, migratory whale species that use filters in their mouths to catch small crustaceans in the ocean. The right whales that live in the North Atlantic only have a median lifespan of 22 years, due to human activities in their waters. Meanwhile, right whales in the Southern Ocean have a lifespan of around 74 years. But the University of Alaska Fairbanks said on December 20, 2024, that Southern right whales can live up to 130 years of age, twice as long as they thought.

Right whales are a type of baleen whale. The filter in their mouths is called a baleen plate.

The scientists published their study in the peer-reviewed journal Science Advances on December 20, 2024.

The 2025 EarthSky Lunar Calendar is now available! A unique and beautiful poster-sized calendar. Get yours today!

Photographs identify and track right whales

For the past 40 years, researchers have been studying and photographing individual right whales. South African scientists have been monitoring Southern right whales (Eubalaena australis). Meanwhile, North American scientists have been collecting data on the critically endangered North Atlantic right whales (Eubalaena glacialis). Both species are closely related and have similar life histories.

Each whale has a unique pattern of thickened skin on the head, called callosities. So you can identify individuals by their unique callosity head pattern.

Researchers have been identifying individual right whales in the photographs and tracking them from one year to the next. Just as important, they have taken note of which whales stopped appearing in photos over subsequent years, presumably due to death.

The head of a black right whale with white markings on it. It is half submerged in blue ocean water.
The head of a North Atlantic right whale, showing thickened skin on the head, or callosities. These markings are like a unique fingerprint to each whale. Image via Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission, NOAA Research Permit # 775-1875/ Flickr (CC BY-NC-ND 2.0)

Survivorship curves

In this new study, scientists conducted a mathematical analysis of right whale sighting records based on those 40 years of photographs, concentrating on female whales. (They first identified them as females by the presence of a calf.)

The researchers used this data to construct survivorship curves. This is a graph that displays projected life expectancies, showing the proportion of a population that survives to each age. (Insurance companies use a similar technique to calculate human life expectancies.)

A graph showing three curves, one in blue for North Atlantic right whales, red for Southern right whales, and black thin dashes for humans. The left axis is labeled “Percent alive” and the bottom axis is labeled “Age.” The blue curve is steep and ends around age 50, while the red curve extends past 130 years. The human curve ends around 100 years.
This graph shows survivorship curves for female right whales. The curves are based on 40 years of photographic identifications. Here, scientists were able to mathematically project a very long lifespan for Southern right whales. In contrast, the blue curve for North Atlantic right whales shows significantly shorter lifespans due to human-caused activities such as net entanglements and ship collisions. The light dotted line shows how humans compare on the survivorship curves (using data from the Social Security Administration). Figure via Greg Breed/ The Conversation. Used with permission.

Different life expectancies for different populations

Scientists once thought the longest-living Southern right whales were 70 to 75 years old. But the new research indicates their median lifespan is about 74 years. Moreover, a few individuals can be 130 years of age, while the oldest ones could reach the ripe old age of 150 years.

In contrast, their data also showed the median lifespan of North Atlantic right whales was only 22 years, with a few individuals making it to 45 years.

Greg Breed, of the University of Alaska Fairbanks, said that Northern Atlantic right whales’ significantly shorter lifespans were due to human activities:

North Atlantic whales have unusually short lifespans compared to other whales, but this isn’t because of intrinsic differences in biology, and they should live much longer. They’re frequently tangled in fishing gear or struck by ships, and they suffer from starvation, potentially linked to environmental changes we don’t fully understand.

A large long black animal with a tail and a few light-colored markings on the head. Next to her is a much smaller animal, her calf. They are in blue ocean water.
A Southern right whale and calf. Image via Els Vermeulen/ University of Alaska Fairbanks.

Baleen whale lifespans may have been underestimated

According to Breed, there had long been a lack of information about the ages of whales, leading to underestimates about their lifespans. He said:

We didn’t know how to age baleen whales until 1955, which was the very end of industrial whaling. By the time we figured it out, there weren’t many old whales left to study. So, we just assumed they didn’t live that long.

Current data on longevity, the scientists proposed, have been skewed by the absence of older whales decimated during industrial whaling. That industry ended just 60 years ago for most whale species. By then, many populations were less than 10% of their original size.

Whale lifespan studies help guide conservation policies

For most marine mammal species, an understanding of a population’s characteristics, such as lifespan, is essential for assessing how they are threatened by human activities. That, in turn, helps cooperating governments shape policy to aid in their conservation.

Breed said:

To attain healthy populations that include old animals, recovery might take hundreds of years. For animals that live to be 100 or 130 and only give birth to a surviving calf every 10 years or so, slow recovery is to be expected.

He added that older whales are critically important to a healthy population:

There’s a growing recognition that recovery isn’t just about biomass or the number of individuals. It’s about the knowledge these animals pass along to the next generation.

That knowledge isn’t just genetic, it’s cultural and behavioral. Older individuals teach survival skills. Younger animals learn by observing and copying the strategies of the older ones.

Breed and his colleagues are expanding their research to other whale species to learn more about their lifespans. And they hope to better understand how whaling has impacted elder individuals and the recovery trends that lie ahead.

Bottom line: Right whales in the Southern Ocean have a median lifespan of around 74 years. And they can live up to 130 years of age, twice as long as scientists thought.

Source: Extreme longevity may be the rule not the exception in Balaenid whales

Source: Whales can live way longer than scientists had thought, with potential lifespans as much as double previous estimate

Via University of Alaska Fairbanks

Read more: ‘Listening’ to save the North Atlantic right whale

The post Right whales have a longer lifespan than scientists thought first appeared on EarthSky.

Read the full story here.
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Lifesize herd of puppet animals begins climate action journey from Africa to Arctic Circle

The Herds project from the team behind Little Amal will travel 20,000km taking its message on environmental crisis across the worldHundreds of life-size animal puppets have begun a 20,000km (12,400 mile) journey from central Africa to the Arctic Circle as part of an ambitious project created by the team behind Little Amal, the giant puppet of a Syrian girl that travelled across the world.The public art initiative called The Herds, which has already visited Kinshasa and Lagos, will travel to 20 cities over four months to raise awareness of the climate crisis. Continue reading...

Hundreds of life-size animal puppets have begun a 20,000km (12,400 mile) journey from central Africa to the Arctic Circle as part of an ambitious project created by the team behind Little Amal, the giant puppet of a Syrian girl that travelled across the world.The public art initiative called The Herds, which has already visited Kinshasa and Lagos, will travel to 20 cities over four months to raise awareness of the climate crisis.It is the second major project from The Walk Productions, which introduced Little Amal, a 12-foot puppet, to the world in Gaziantep, near the Turkey-Syria border, in 2021. The award-winning project, co-founded by the Palestinian playwright and director Amir Nizar Zuabi, reached 2 million people in 17 countries as she travelled from Turkey to the UK.The Herds’ journey began in Kinshasa’s Botanical Gardens on 10 April, kicking off four days of events. It moved on to Lagos, Nigeria, the following week, where up to 5,000 people attended events performed by more than 60 puppeteers.On Friday the streets of Dakar in Senegal will be filled with more than 40 puppet zebras, wildebeest, monkeys, giraffes and baboons as they run through Médina, one of the busiest neighbourhoods, where they will encounter a creation by Fabrice Monteiro, a Belgium-born artist who lives in Senegal, and is known for his large-scale sculptures. On Saturday the puppets will be part of an event in the fishing village of Ngor.The Herds’ 20,000km journey began in Kinshasa, the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Photograph: Berclaire/walk productionsThe first set of animal puppets was created by Ukwanda Puppetry and Designs Art Collective in Cape Town using recycled materials, but in each location local volunteers are taught how to make their own animals using prototypes provided by Ukwanda. The project has already attracted huge interest from people keen to get involved. In Dakar more than 300 artists applied for 80 roles as artists and puppet guides. About 2,000 people will be trained to make the puppets over the duration of the project.“The idea is that we’re migrating with an ever-evolving, growing group of animals,” Zuabi told the Guardian last year.Zuabi has spoken of The Herds as a continuation of Little Amal’s journey, which was inspired by refugees, who often cite climate disaster as a trigger for forced migration. The Herds will put the environmental emergency centre stage, and will encourage communities to launch their own events to discuss the significance of the project and get involved in climate activism.The puppets are created with recycled materials and local volunteers are taught how to make them in each location. Photograph: Ant Strack“The idea is to put in front of people that there is an emergency – not with scientific facts, but with emotions,” said The Herds’ Senegal producer, Sarah Desbois.She expects thousands of people to view the four events being staged over the weekend. “We don’t have a tradition of puppetry in Senegal. As soon as the project started, when people were shown pictures of the puppets, they were going crazy.”Little Amal, the puppet of a Syrian girl that has become a symbol of human rights, in Santiago, Chile on 3 January. Photograph: Anadolu/Getty ImagesGrowing as it moves, The Herds will make its way from Dakar to Morocco, then into Europe, including London and Paris, arriving in the Arctic Circle in early August.

Dead, sick pelicans turning up along Oregon coast

So far, no signs of bird flu but wildlife officials continue to test the birds.

Sick and dead pelicans are turning up on Oregon’s coast and state wildlife officials say they don’t yet know why. The Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife says it has collected several dead brown pelican carcasses for testing. Lab results from two pelicans found in Newport have come back negative for highly pathogenic avian influenza, also known as bird flu, the agency said. Avian influenza was detected in Oregon last fall and earlier this year in both domestic animals and wildlife – but not brown pelicans. Additional test results are pending to determine if another disease or domoic acid toxicity caused by harmful algal blooms may be involved, officials said. In recent months, domoic acid toxicity has sickened or killed dozens of brown pelicans and numerous other wildlife in California. The sport harvest for razor clams is currently closed in Oregon – from Cascade Head to the California border – due to high levels of domoic acid detected last fall.Brown pelicans – easily recognized by their large size, massive bill and brownish plumage – breed in Southern California and migrate north along the Oregon coast in spring. Younger birds sometimes rest on the journey and may just be tired, not sick, officials said. If you find a sick, resting or dead pelican, leave it alone and keep dogs leashed and away from wildlife. State wildlife biologists along the coast are aware of the situation and the public doesn’t need to report sick, resting or dead pelicans. — Gosia Wozniacka covers environmental justice, climate change, the clean energy transition and other environmental issues. Reach her at gwozniacka@oregonian.com or 971-421-3154.Our journalism needs your support. Subscribe today to OregonLive.com.

50-Million-Year-Old Footprints Open a 'Rare Window' Into the Behaviors of Extinct Animals That Once Roamed in Oregon

Scientists revisited tracks made by a shorebird, a lizard, a cat-like predator and some sort of large herbivore at what is now John Day Fossil Beds National Monument

50-Million-Year-Old Footprints Open a ‘Rare Window’ Into the Behaviors of Extinct Animals That Once Roamed in Oregon Scientists revisited tracks made by a shorebird, a lizard, a cat-like predator and some sort of large herbivore at what is now John Day Fossil Beds National Monument Sarah Kuta - Daily Correspondent April 24, 2025 4:59 p.m. Researchers took a closer look at fossilized footprints—including these cat-like tracks—found at John Day Fossil Beds National Monument in Oregon. National Park Service Between 29 million and 50 million years ago, Oregon was teeming with life. Shorebirds searched for food in shallow water, lizards dashed along lake beds and saber-toothed predators prowled the landscape. Now, scientists are learning more about these prehistoric creatures by studying their fossilized footprints. They describe some of these tracks, discovered at John Day Fossil Beds National Monument, in a paper published earlier this year in the journal Palaeontologia Electronica. John Day Fossil Beds National Monument is a nearly 14,000-acre, federally protected area in central and eastern Oregon. It’s a well-known site for “body fossils,” like teeth and bones. But, more recently, paleontologists have been focusing their attention on “trace fossils”—indirect evidence of animals, like worm burrows, footprints, beak marks and impressions of claws. Both are useful for understanding the extinct creatures that once roamed the environment, though they provide different kinds of information about the past. “Body fossils tell us a lot about the structure of an organism, but a trace fossil … tells us a lot about behaviors,” says lead author Conner Bennett, an Earth and environmental scientist at Utah Tech University, to Crystal Ligori, host of Oregon Public Broadcasting’s “All Things Considered.” Oregon's prehistoric shorebirds probed for food the same way modern shorebirds do, according to the researchers. Bennett et al., Palaeontologia Electronica, 2025 For the study, scientists revisited fossilized footprints discovered at the national monument decades ago. Some specimens had sat in museum storage since the 1980s. They analyzed the tracks using a technique known as photogrammetry, which involved taking thousands of photographs to produce 3D models. These models allowed researchers to piece together some long-gone scenes. Small footprints and beak marks were discovered near invertebrate trails, suggesting that ancient shorebirds were pecking around in search of a meal between 39 million and 50 million years ago. This prehistoric behavior is “strikingly similar” to that of today’s shorebirds, according to a statement from the National Park Service. “It’s fascinating,” says Bennett in the statement. “That is an incredibly long time for a species to exhibit the same foraging patterns as its ancestors.” Photogrammetry techniques allowed the researchers to make 3D models of the tracks. Bennett et al., Palaeontologia Electronica, 2025 Researchers also analyzed a footprint with splayed toes and claws. This rare fossil was likely made by a running lizard around 50 million years ago, according to the team. It’s one of the few known reptile tracks in North America from that period. An illustration of a nimravid, an extinct, cat-like predator NPS / Mural by Roger Witter They also found evidence of a cat-like predator dating to roughly 29 million years ago. A set of paw prints, discovered in a layer of volcanic ash, likely belonged to a bobcat-sized, saber-toothed predator resembling a cat—possibly a nimravid of the genus Hoplophoneus. Since researchers didn’t find any claw marks on the paw prints, they suspect the creature had retractable claws, just like modern cats do. A set of three-toed, rounded hoofprints indicate some sort of large herbivore was roaming around 29 million years ago, probably an ancient tapir or rhinoceros ancestor. Together, the fossil tracks open “a rare window into ancient ecosystems,” says study co-author Nicholas Famoso, paleontology program manager at the national monument, in the statement. “They add behavioral context to the body fossils we’ve collected over the years and help us better understand the climate and environmental conditions of prehistoric Oregon,” he adds. Get the latest stories in your inbox every weekday.

Two teens and 5,000 ants: how a smuggling bust shed new light on a booming trade

Two Belgian 19-year-olds have pleaded guilty to wildlife piracy – part of a growing trend of trafficking ‘less conspicuous’ creatures for sale as exotic petsPoaching busts are familiar territory for the officers of Kenya Wildlife Service (KWS), an armed force tasked with protecting the country’s iconic creatures. But what awaited guards when they descended in early April on a guesthouse in the west of the country was both larger and smaller in scale than the smuggling operations they typically encounter. There were more than 5,000 smuggled animals, caged in their own enclosures. Each one, however, was about the size of a little fingernail: 18-25mm.The cargo, which two Belgian teenagers had apparently intended to ship to exotic pet markets in Europe and Asia, was ants. Their enclosures were a mixture of test tubes and syringes containing cotton wool – environments that authorities say would keep the insects alive for weeks. Continue reading...

Poaching busts are familiar territory for the officers of Kenya Wildlife Service (KWS), an armed force tasked with protecting the country’s iconic creatures. But what awaited guards when they descended in early April on a guesthouse in the west of the country was both larger and smaller in scale than the smuggling operations they typically encounter. There were more than 5,000 smuggled animals, caged in their own enclosures. Each one, however, was about the size of a little fingernail: 18-25mm.The samples of garden ants presented to the court. Photograph: Monicah Mwangi/ReutersThe cargo, which two Belgian teenagers had apparently intended to ship to exotic pet markets in Europe and Asia, was ants. Their enclosures were a mixture of test tubes and syringes containing cotton wool – environments that authorities say would keep the insects alive for weeks.“We did not come here to break any laws. By accident and stupidity we did,” says Lornoy David, one of the Belgian smugglers.David and Seppe Lodewijckx, both 19 years old, pleaded guilty after being charged last week with wildlife piracy, alongside two other men in a separate case who were caught smuggling 400 ants. The cases have shed new light on booming global ant trade – and what authorities say is a growing trend of trafficking “less conspicuous” creatures.These crimes represent “a shift in trafficking trends – from iconic large mammals to lesser-known yet ecologically critical species”, says a KWS statement.The unusual case has also trained a spotlight on the niche world of ant-keeping and collecting – a hobby that has boomed over the past decade. The seized species include Messor cephalotes, a large red harvester ant native to east Africa. Queens of the species grow to about 20-24mm long, and the ant sales website Ants R Us describes them as “many people’s dream species”, selling them for £99 per colony. The ants are prized by collectors for their unique behaviours and complex colony-building skills, “traits that make them popular in exotic pet circles, where they are kept in specialised habitats known as formicariums”, KWS says.Lornoy David and Seppe Lodewijckx during the hearing. Photograph: Monicah Mwangi/ReutersOne online ant vendor, who asked not to be named, says the market is thriving, and there has been a growth in ant-keeping shows, where enthusiasts meet to compare housing and species details. “Sales volumes have grown almost every year. There are more ant vendors than before, and prices have become more competitive,” he says. “In today’s world, where most people live fast-paced, tech-driven lives, many are disconnected from themselves and their environment. Watching ants in a formicarium can be surprisingly therapeutic,” he says.David and Lodewijckx will remain in custody until the court considers a pre-sentencing report on 23 April. The ant seller says theirs is a “landmark case in the field”. “People travelling to other countries specifically to collect ants and then returning with them is virtually unheard of,” he says.A formicarium at a pet shop in Singapore. Photograph: Roslan Rahman/AFP/Getty ImagesScientists have raised concerns that the burgeoning trade in exotic ants could pose a significant biodiversity risk. “Ants are traded as pets across the globe, but if introduced outside of their native ranges they could become invasive with dire environmental and economic consequences,” researchers conclude in a 2023 paper tracking the ant trade across China. “The most sought-after ants have higher invasive potential,” they write.Removing ants from their ecosystems could also be damaging. Illegal exportation “not only undermines Kenya’s sovereign rights over its biodiversity but also deprives local communities and research institutions of potential ecological and economic benefits”, says KWS. Dino Martins, an entomologist and evolutionary biologist in Kenya, says harvester ants are among the most important insects on the African savannah, and any trade in them is bound to have negative consequences for the ecology of the grasslands.A Kenyan official arranges the containers of ants at the court. Photograph: Kenya Wildlife Service/AP“Harvester ants are seed collectors, and they gather [the seeds] as food for themselves, storing these in their nests. A single large harvester ant colony can collect several kilos of seeds of various grasses a year. In the process of collecting grass seeds, the ants ‘drop’ a number … dispersing them through the grasslands,” says Martins.The insects also serve as food for various other species including aardvarks, pangolins and aardwolves.Martins says he is surprised to see that smugglers feeding the global “pet” trade are training their sights on Kenya, since “ants are among the most common and widespread of insects”.“Insect trade can actually be done more sustainably, through controlled rearing of the insects. This can support livelihoods in rural communities such as the Kipepeo Project which rears butterflies in Kenya,” he says. Locally, the main threats to ants come not from the illegal trade but poisoning from pesticides, habitat destruction and invasive species, says Martins.Philip Muruthi, a vice-president for conservation at the African Wildlife Foundation in Nairobi, says ants enrich soils, enabling germination and providing food for other species.“When you see a healthy forest … you don’t think about what is making it healthy. It is the relationships all the way from the bacteria to the ants to the bigger things,” he says.

Belgian Teenagers Found With 5,000 Ants to Be Sentenced in 2 Weeks

Two Belgian teenagers who were found with thousands of ants valued at $9,200 and allegedly destined for European and Asian markets will be sentenced in two weeks

NAIROBI, Kenya (AP) — Two Belgian teenagers who were found with thousands of ants valued at $9,200 and allegedly destined for European and Asian markets will be sentenced in two weeks, a Kenyan magistrate said Wednesday.Magistrate Njeri Thuku, sitting at the court in Kenya’s main airport, said she would not rush the case but would take time to review environmental impact and psychological reports filed in court before passing sentence on May 7.Belgian nationals Lornoy David and Seppe Lodewijckx, both 19 years old, were arrested on April 5 with 5,000 ants at a guest house. They were charged on April 15 with violating wildlife conservation laws.The teens have told the magistrate that they didn’t know that keeping the ants was illegal and were just having fun.The Kenya Wildlife Service had said the case represented “a shift in trafficking trends — from iconic large mammals to lesser-known yet ecologically critical species.”Kenya has in the past fought against the trafficking of body parts of larger wild animals such as elephants, rhinos and pangolins among others.The Belgian teens had entered the country on a tourist visa and were staying in a guest house in the western town of Naivasha, popular among tourists for its animal parks and lakes.Their lawyer, Halima Nyakinyua Magairo, told The Associated Press on Wednesday that her clients did not know what they were doing was illegal. She said she hoped the Belgian embassy in Kenya could “support them more in this judicial process.”In a separate but related case, Kenyan Dennis Ng’ang’a and Vietnamese Duh Hung Nguyen were charged after they were found in possession of 400 ants in their apartment in the capital, Nairobi.KWS had said all four suspects were involved in trafficking the ants to markets in Europe and Asia, and that the species included messor cephalotes, a distinctive, large and red-colored harvester ant native to East Africa.The ants are bought by people who keep them as pets and observe them in their colonies. Several websites in Europe have listed different species of ants for sale at varied prices.The 5,400 ants found with the four men are valued at 1.2 million Kenyan shillings ($9,200), according to KWS.Copyright 2025 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.Photos You Should See - Feb. 2025

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