Roman Goergen
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romangoergen.bsky.social
Roman Goergen
@romangoergen.bsky.social
1.8K followers 3.9K following 170 posts
German SCIENCE and NATURE journalist 🧪🌍🇩🇪🗞️ , based in London 🇬🇧. Let's follow each other if you are interested in science, nature, wildlife, conservation and related topics! Previously based in South Africa and Canada.🇿🇦🇨🇦
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romangoergen.bsky.social
🐴🌐 Millions of Africa’s donkeys are slaughtered for hides to supply the ejiao trade in China.🌍 Research shows the loss devastates rural livelihoods & fuels illegal markets🧪 I wrote about this for The Revelator: therevelator.org/skinned-for-...

#Donkeys #WildlifeTrade #Research #animalwelfare #crime
Skinned for Profit: How Global Trade Is Driving Africa’s Donkeys to the Brink • The Revelator
Millions of animals are slaughtered each year for use in traditional Chinese medicine — a trade that’s devastating many African communities.
therevelator.org
September 28, 2025 at 11:23 AM
romangoergen.bsky.social
🐻 Back from Romania’s Carpathians: Foundation Conservation Carpathia works toward a 200–300k ha Făgăraș national park🌍 With partners like The European Nature Trust & Zabola Estate, conservation meets ecotourism—protecting forests while creating new local value🌐. #Rewilding #ecotourism #wildlife
September 21, 2025 at 9:45 AM
romangoergen.bsky.social
🐻 Yesterday we watched bears from the new hide at Zabola Estate in Transylvania🌍 The estate’s trust, Conservation Transylvania, links heritage with wildlife🌐 Together with FCC & TENT, they show how ecotourism can support coexistence in Europe’s last great forests.🧪 #Romania #conservation #wildlife
September 16, 2025 at 5:46 AM
romangoergen.bsky.social
🦇🌍 I usually don’t criticise colleagues – but this BBC New story www.bbc.co.uk/news/article... is so badly done it could be a textbook case in how not to report on #biodiversity 🧪🌐. It’s not about interpretation – it’s just bad craftsmanship: imbalanced, uninformed, and biased. Here’s why 👇
Aberdeen woman forced to share her home with hundreds of bats
An Aberdeen woman says she has been forced to sleep in her car after discovering a colony of the protected animals in her house.
www.bbc.co.uk
July 21, 2025 at 11:18 AM
romangoergen.bsky.social
🦭 Tollwut im Meer🌍 Ich habe für natur über den weltweit ersten dokumentierten Tollwutausbruch bei Meeressäugern berichtet 🌐 über 60 infizierte Kap-Pelzrobben in Südafrika, aggressive Tiere an Stränden, und kaum Impfmöglichkeiten🧪
Seiten 1–4 - Teil 2 folgt👇
#Zoonosen #Meeressäuger #Artenschutz
July 12, 2025 at 1:20 PM
romangoergen.bsky.social
🦭 Rabies has reached the ocean🧪For Resurgence & Ecologist, I reported on the world’s first known outbreak among marine mammals, Cape fur seals off South Africa🌍A rare One Health wake-up call🌐
resurgence.org/magazine/article6499-rabies-at-sea.html
#Wildlife #OneHealth #AnimalHealth #Conservation
Rabies at sea
After detecting a rabies outbreak in marine mammals, scientists are trying to determine whether the virus is now established in South Africa’s Cape fur seals – and, if so, how to stop it from spreadin...
resurgence.org
July 6, 2025 at 3:39 PM
romangoergen.bsky.social
🐺 Poland’s wolves are back, but so is the backlash🌍Scientists warn of fear-driven politics after the Bern Convention downgraded protection🌐No fatal attack since 1948, yet calls for culls. Researchers push back🧪
phys.org/news/2025-07-demonised-scientists-mongering-wolves.html
#Wolves #Conservation
'Demonised': Polish scientists warn of fear mongering about wolves
Scientist Roman Gula showed images of wolves filmed in a nearby forest with hidden cameras to locals in the Polish town of Konskie, assuring them they pose no threat.
phys.org
July 1, 2025 at 11:55 AM
romangoergen.bsky.social
🦉 Fleckenkauz: Schutz in der Sackgasse? 🇺🇸🌎
Ich habe für das Magazin natur über ein Dilemma im US-Artenschutz berichtet:
Der heimische Fleckenkauz verliert seinen Lebensraum – und wird von einem invasiven Verwandten verdrängt.🧪🌐
Hier Seiten 1–4 – Teil 2 folgt 👇
#Eulen #Artenschutz #Natur #Biologie
June 29, 2025 at 11:33 AM
romangoergen.bsky.social
I have just been shortlisted for Germany's prestigious award for science journalism, the 'Georg von Holtzbrinck Preis für Wissenschaftsjournalismus' #WissPreis 🧪This is my second nomination after 2018. #sciencejournalism🌐🌍
June 19, 2025 at 4:00 PM
romangoergen.bsky.social
🦏 Dehorning rhinos works🌍A new study🧪 from Greater Kruger shows a 78% drop in poaching across 8 reserves. But it's no silver bullet — poverty, horn demand & corruption still fuel killings🌐
theconversation.com/dehorning-rh...
#Conservation #Poaching #WildlifeCrime #Africa #Wildlife
Dehorning rhinos tips the balance against poaching – new study
A new Kruger National Park study has conclusively found that dehorning rhino can save most from poachers, but some will still be killed for their stumps.
theconversation.com
June 7, 2025 at 9:02 AM
romangoergen.bsky.social
🌎 A new Trump-era wall in Arizona's San Rafael Valley threatens key wildlife corridors —home to jaguars, ocelots & pronghorns. Few people cross here, but nature does🌐 Conservationists and scientists warn of lasting damage🧪
#Biodiversity #Wildlife #Conservation
www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025...
Trump’s new border wall will threaten wildlife in an area where few people pass
The San Rafael valley in Arizona is home to bears, mountain lions and wolves – now their movement will be restricted
www.theguardian.com
May 19, 2025 at 8:10 AM
romangoergen.bsky.social
🏝️ Can atolls survive sea level rise?🌏 This piece shows how coral, mangroves & seagrass restoration may protect island nations better than concrete. 🌐 Nature-based solutions are gaining ground — but emissions cuts are still key.🧪
e360.yale.edu/features/ato...
#Climate #Atolls #NatureBasedSolutions
How Natural Solutions Can Help Islands Survive Sea Level Rise
Atoll islands with healthy ecosystems are less likely to disappear as oceans rise, research shows. Now, scientists are using nature-based solutions — like restoring coral reefs and native forests — to...
e360.yale.edu
May 13, 2025 at 7:31 AM
romangoergen.bsky.social
🦅 I travelled to Mid-Wales to report on the comeback of red kites. 🌍 Once nearly extinct, they now thrive in Elan Valley. At Gigrin Farm, hundreds gather for daily feedings. Efforts are helping turn the region into a richer place for wildlife. 🌐 🧪
#RedKite #Wales #Conservation #Birdwatching
May 10, 2025 at 8:32 AM
romangoergen.bsky.social
🦈 Offshore wind farms may offer safe zones for sharks & rays.🌍 Dutch researchers found eDNA of 5 species, incl. basking sharks, in turbine areas.🧪 Bans on bottom trawling could help marine life rebound.🌐
#Sharks #eDNA #Marinelife #Conservation #wildlife
oceanographicmagazine.com/news/are-off...
Are offshore wind farms the next safe spaces for sharks and rays? - Oceanographic
New eDNA evidence has confirmed the presence of active shark and rays around Dutch offshore wind farms, posing an exciting new question.
oceanographicmagazine.com
May 9, 2025 at 6:58 AM
romangoergen.bsky.social
Teil 1 🦅 Wales: Rotmilane & Regenwälder 🌍
Ich war für natur in Mittelwales unterwegs – wo einst die letzten britischen Rotmilane lebten, gibt es heute Tausende.
Gigrin-Farm: Täglich bis zu 500 Milane bei der Fütterung.
Hier Seite 1-4, Seite 5-7 in Teil 2 👇
#Reise #Wales #Naturschutz
May 4, 2025 at 4:14 PM
romangoergen.bsky.social
🐢 Turtles vs. Tractors on the Med 🏖️
Beach grooming for Instagram tourism flattens nesting sites, harms coastal ecosystems & limits local access.🌍
A sober look at overtourism’s effects via The Guardian:
www.theguardian.com/environment/...

#Overtourism #SeaTurtles #Mediterranean #Conservation🧪
Sand groomers v turtles: how wildlife is falling foul of the demand for Insta-perfect beaches
From the turtle-nesting beaches of Italy to Greek island bird havens, across the Mediterranean campaigners are fighting to protect habitats from tourists seeking a picture-perfect holiday
www.theguardian.com
May 2, 2025 at 7:28 AM
romangoergen.bsky.social
🌍 Why doesn’t biodiversity increase evenly from garden to continent?
🐸 A new theory explains the 3-phase pattern of species growth with scale — key to predicting loss of biodiversity
700M records, global scope.
Study in Nature Communications.🧪
#Ecology #Biodiversity
phys.org/news/2025-04...
From the front garden to the continent, here's why biodiversity does not increase evenly from small to large
The number of species does not increase evenly when going from local ecosystems to continental scales—a phenomenon ecologists have recognized for decades. Now, an international team of scientists, inc...
phys.org
May 1, 2025 at 7:40 AM
romangoergen.bsky.social
🦍 Gorillas in Congo scratch soil to find truffles, not insects! 🍄 Indigenous researcher Gaston Abea documents gorilla foraging strategies in Nouabalé-Ndoki🌍 A milestone blending traditional knowledge & science.🧪
#Gorilla #Conservation #Primatology #Widlife #Ecology

phys.org/news/2025-04...
Gorillas in Congo's Nouabalé-Ndoki National Park scratch the ground for truffles, not for insects as long assumed
A recently published paper reveals that soil scratching by gorillas in Congo's Nouabalé-Ndoki National Park is a foraging strategy to access a species of deer truffle, identified as Elaphomyces labyri...
phys.org
April 18, 2025 at 8:10 AM
romangoergen.bsky.social
🦪 Can mussels & saltmarsh plants save Italy’s poisoned Mar Piccolo?🌍
Once famed for seafood, now toxic from oil & military waste. Locals & scientists test phytoremediation 🧪 but funding is scarce.

www.bbc.com/future/artic...

#MarPiccolo #Phytoremediation #Mussels #NatureBasedSolutions
Scientists have a plan to save Italy's historic mussel farming sea – using plants
Decades of industrialisation have polluted the waters of Italy's Mar Piccolo and brought mussel farming to its knees. Can plants bring back a traditional way of life?
www.bbc.com
April 15, 2025 at 7:47 AM
romangoergen.bsky.social
🧬 🦍🦧Telomere-to-telomere genomes for 6 ape species now published,🧪: chimp, bonobo, gorilla, 2 orangutans & siamang.🌍🌏 New insights into brain, immunity, speciation & evolution. Based on Nature study, via phys-org
phys.org/news/2025-04...

#Genomics #T2T #Evolution #PrimateGenetics #Wildlife
Six ape species' genomes sequenced telomere-to-telomere, providing open-access reference for human evolution studies
Comprehensive reference genomes have now been assembled for six ape species: siamang (a Southeast Asian gibbon), Sumatran orangutan, Bornean orangutan, gorilla, bonobo, and chimpanzee. Areas of their ...
phys.org
April 10, 2025 at 7:43 AM
romangoergen.bsky.social
Teil 1 🇬🇧 Brexit & Umwelt 🐟
Ich habe im Juni 2024 für natur über den „grünen Brexit“ geschrieben – und wie die Umwelt darunter leidet. 🌍🧪

▪️ Wye River: Schutzgebiet durch Hühnerfarmen belastet.
▪️ EU-Standards werden ausgehöhlt.
#Brexit #Naturschutz #Biodiversität
Hier Seiten 1–4. Seite 5 in Teil 2👇
April 5, 2025 at 3:33 PM
romangoergen.bsky.social
🐭 Ronin, a HeroRAT trained by APOPO, has found 109 landmines in Cambodia🌏more than any rat before.
🕒 He clears an area the size of a tennis court in 30 mins (humans need 4 days) His record-breaking nose just made it into the Guinness Book. www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...
#Wildlife #GuinnessWorldRecord
Ronin the rat sets new landmine-sniffing record
Ronin, a giant African pouched rat, is the first rodent to uncover more than 100 mines in Cambodia.
www.bbc.co.uk
April 5, 2025 at 9:51 AM
romangoergen.bsky.social
🪲 Tiny beetles vs invasive ferns!🌍 In South Africa, water lily weevils are being used to fight salvinia, a fast-spreading plant choking rivers & lakes. A brilliant case of bio-control tackling water crises & biodiversity loss🧪
apnews.com/article/sout...
#InvasiveSpecies
#Biodiversity #EcoSolutions
Scientists hope hungry weevils from Louisiana can tackle South Africa's invasive water plants
South Africa is unleashing weevils imported from the United States in a bid to fight off the sprouting growth of Salvinia minima, an alien species of aquatic plant native to South America that is chok...
apnews.com
March 30, 2025 at 11:11 AM
romangoergen.bsky.social
⚓ Bottom trawling in EU waters causes €330M–€10.8B in annual damage, says new Nature Sustainability study.🧪
Costs include CO₂ release, habitat loss & fishery decline.🌍
Study by Enric Sala et al.
#OceanHealth #BottomTrawling #ClimateAction
www.euronews.com/green/2025/0...
Economic cost of bottom trawling outweighs benefits, study finds
Ocean experts found that the economic costs mostly come from carbon emissions caused by churning up the seabed.
www.euronews.com
March 25, 2025 at 9:24 AM
romangoergen.bsky.social
🐾 Four lynx, one uproar🌍
Part 1/4 🇬🇧 (German original version posted earlier)
In January, 4 Eurasian lynx appeared in the Scottish Highlands – released by unknown actors.
My article (auto translated) investigates what happened and why it matters.🧪
#Lynx #Rewilding #Scotland #WildlifePolitics
Part 2👇
March 23, 2025 at 4:48 PM