CONSERVATION NEWS

For more than 50 years, UNESCO has protected cultural and natural wonders as World Heritage sites due to their “outstanding universal value.” Turns out, there's another big reason these marvels are irreplaceable: their biodiversity.

A new species of snake has been named after Harrison Ford in honor of his decades-long environmental advocacy. Unlike the actor's famously ophidiophobic character Indiana Jones, Ford reportedly likes snakes — and found a quick kinship with this one.

The Indonesian government has granted six species of threatened “walking sharks” the highest level of protection — a move experts hope will lead to the conservation of other sharks, whose numbers have plummeted due largely to the shark fin trade.

In case you missed it: North Atlantic right whales are fast approaching extinction. Each year, this rare species migrates along the eastern coast of the United States. The path leads right whales into a gauntlet of treacherous fishing grounds around New England.

In case you missed it: Increased protections could offer a reprieve for koalas in Australia, the race is on to save vaquitas and the gray wolf is back on the list of animals protected under the Endangered Species Act in the United States.