Why do the monkeys in Vietnam look so… odd? “The odd-nosed group” — that’s what scientists have called a group of primates found across Asia that share a common ancestry. Scientists think Vietnam’s monkeys—like the red-shanked douc and the Tonkin snub-nosed monkeys—developed their unique, flat or non-existent noses to adapt to the cold of high-elevation forestsThis article was originally published on Mongabay

Legal courtrooms are becoming a new battleground in the fight to save whales. In New Zealand, the proposed Tohorā Oranga Bill could recognize whales as legal persons — building on Pacific Indigenous efforts like He Whakaputanga Moana. This push to obtain legal rights for whales is part of the fast-growing ‘Rights of Nature’ movement. But at the same time, weakened protections under the Endangered Species Act threaten the last 51 Rice whales in the Gulf of Mexico. Join Conservation Entangled host Izzy Sasada as she explores how courtrooms are becoming a new frontier in deciding the fate of whales.This article was originally published on Mongabay