Simon Hedges
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simonhedges.bsky.social
Simon Hedges
@simonhedges.bsky.social
Conservationist for >30 years most of them spent working on human-wildlife coexistence and focused on elephants (and Banteng, Dhole, et al.) with WCS, IUCN, & CITES/MIKE. Now at ZSL working to maximize impact; views my own, https://linktr.ee/simonhedges1
Pinned
Interested in human-elephant conflict (HEC)? Then see the new paper by Carly Schwarz, Juliana Masseloux, and me on predicting HEC risk, based on work by @zslofficial.bsky.social and others:

doi.org/10.1016/j.ge...

#elephants #conflict #coexistence #risk #modelling
Reposted by Simon Hedges
Here's a bigger one 🍆
🗳️ How young women would vote in #GE2029:

🟢 Grn: 44% (+21)
🔴 Lab: 21% (-21)
🟠 Lib: 19% (+3)
🔵 Con: 8% (+2)
➡️ Ref: 5% (-1)

Via @YouGov, 14 Dec - 9 Jan
(+/- vs GE2024)
February 8, 2026 at 10:49 AM
Reposted by Simon Hedges
It is getting very boring being told that "the youth love reform on tiktok" with absolutely no evidence whatsoever.
🗳️ How young men would vote in #GE2029:

🟢 Grn: 30% (+18)
🔴 Lab: 21% (-19)
🟠 Lib: 17% (+1)
🔵 Con: 12% (+2)
➡️ Ref: 12% (=)

Via @YouGov, 14 Dec - 9 Jan (+/- vs GE2024)
February 8, 2026 at 10:46 AM
Reposted by Simon Hedges
#Bolivia has added nearly a million hectares to its protected areas over the last several months, an effort by local governments to link Indigenous territories with nearby national parks and strengthen #ecological connectivity.
Bolivia Indigenous communities, local gov’ts help protect nearly 1 million hectares
Bolivia has added nearly a million hectares to its protected areas over the last several months, an effort by local governments to link Indigenous territories with nearby national parks and strengthen...
news.mongabay.com
February 6, 2026 at 4:22 PM
Reposted by Simon Hedges
Authorities have crippled what is believed to be the country's largest tortoise smuggling syndicate operating from a rubber plantation here.

Congratulations to the authorities in Malaysia!!

www.nst.com.my/news/regiona...
Major tortoise smuggling syndicate crippled in Perlis plantation raid | New Straits Times
KANGAR: Authorities have crippled what is believed to be the country's largest tortoise smuggling syndicate operating from a rubber plantation here.
www.nst.com.my
February 7, 2026 at 2:25 PM
Reposted by Simon Hedges
Mourn the species declared extinct in 2025 -- then fight like hell to prevent other plants and animals from the same fate. https://therevelator.org/extinct-2025/
Rocket Frog, Damselfish, and Bandicoots: The Species Declared Extinct in 2025 • The Revelator
This year’s list includes a notable extinction caused by climate change — and several caused by introduced predators.
therevelator.org
February 7, 2026 at 8:09 PM
Reposted by Simon Hedges
February 6, 2026 at 11:49 AM
Reposted by Simon Hedges
Young men are the second most liberal group in the country after young women.
The untold story that is told constantly and isn’t really true
February 7, 2026 at 11:44 AM
Reposted by Simon Hedges
Reform-run Kent council accused of fabricating £40m net zero savings

www.theguardian.com/politics/202...
Reform-run Kent council accused of fabricating £40m net zero savings
Exclusive: Disclosures show figures cited by council leader rested on unfunded ideas listed briefly in budget papers
www.theguardian.com
February 7, 2026 at 12:31 PM
Reposted by Simon Hedges
nice write up of my tiger book in Editor's Picks at @airmail.news: "Slaght has a marvelous gift for putting the reader right inside the expeditions....He artfully salts in the region’s history & the fate of other tiger species...an enthralling &, yes, inspiring story:" airmail.news/books/2026/2... 🌍
Editor's Picks
This week, don't miss "Passion and Power" by Harriet Newman Cohen, "Tigers Between Empires" by Jonathan C. Slaght, and "The Radical Fund" by John Fabian Witt.
airmail.news
February 6, 2026 at 1:43 AM
Action demanded to protect dolphins and porpoises
www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...
Cornish charity demands action to protect dolphins and porpoises
Cornwall Wildlife Trust says a growing number of the animals are being caught in fishing nets.
www.bbc.co.uk
February 6, 2026 at 5:14 PM
Reposted by Simon Hedges
No joke: I got angry hate mail today for writing an obituary of a Black woman scientist—because the person felt she did didn’t deserve the recognition.

Which just makes me want to share it again: www.nature.com/articles/d41...
Gladys Mae West obituary: mathematician who pioneered GPS technology
She made key contributions to US cold-war science despite facing huge barriers as a Black woman.
www.nature.com
February 6, 2026 at 9:09 AM
Reposted by Simon Hedges
One of my favorite conservation projects co-led by @zslofficial.bsky.social - bringing back 3 species of Extinct in the Wild pupfish! Glad that @protectspecies.bsky.social at Indianapolis Zoo is involved in this, if only in a small way!!! Love all the pupfish drawings!

www.zsl.org/news-and-eve...
Working in Mexico to Recover Extinct in the Wild Fish | The Zoological Society of London
Bringing pupfish back home
www.zsl.org
February 6, 2026 at 4:50 PM
Reposted by Simon Hedges
I did an interview for BBC Wildlife’s Wild Lives podcast on some of my experiences, including challenges accessing the countryside as a wheelchair user. Big shout out to all the friends, family and passers by who’ve helped me over the years podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/w...
Nature by wheelchair, with Stuart Butchart
Podcast Episode · Wild Lives · 30/01/2026 · 34m
podcasts.apple.com
January 31, 2026 at 7:49 PM
"Without public data, there’s no way of checking whether things are working. Public transparency of data is essential for improving nature markets"

Very useful overview from Sophus zu Ermgassen

#nature #credits

theconversation.com/how-to-make-...
How to make sure the nature credits you buy are real – new research
Four essentials are crucial for establishing scientifically credible nature markets.
theconversation.com
January 30, 2026 at 5:53 PM
Reposted by Simon Hedges
Five people were detained after alleged illegal hunting in Gunung Sanggabuana conservation forest.

Camera traps showing an injured Javan leopard have exposed deeper gaps in how Indonesia protects its last big cats.
Five detained over alleged hunting in Javan leopard habitat
Indonesian authorities have detained five people in connection with the alleged illegal hunting and shooting of an endangered Javan leopard in the Gunung Sanggabuana conservation forest in West Java,…
news.mongabay.com
January 30, 2026 at 3:30 AM
Reposted by Simon Hedges
New book on rewilding!

A curated collection of 27 articles published in British Wildlife over the last 5 yrs

So, accessible & nicely produced for a broad readership

And I’m one of the authors. Cheap at the price (£16.99)!
www.britishwildlife.com/wilding/
wilding - British Wildlife
Wilding for Conservation: An Exploration of Rewilding in Britain The complete collection of articles from British WIldlife‘s acclaimed Wilding for Conservation series – an unflinching appraisal of the...
www.britishwildlife.com
January 29, 2026 at 5:21 PM
Would it be too much for the Quiet Carriages on GWR to also be free from the regular announcements listing every station still to come? We only left Plymouth 5 minutes ago and we've already had every station through to Penzance read out three times at deafening volume! #train #travel
January 29, 2026 at 8:36 PM
Reposted by Simon Hedges
Finding Nemo fan? Revelator: Where turtles go, scientists follow! Sea turtles occupy the entire ocean realm, adolescence, is far from shore (aka ‘lost years’) with little human observation. NOW new tracking tech shows turtles doing things we weren’t expecting” therevelator.org/sea-turtle-m...
Incredible Journeys: Filling in the Blanks of Sea Turtle Migrations • The Revelator
These marine reptiles lead complicated lives, making protecting them a real challenge. But new science has revealed important information.
therevelator.org
January 16, 2026 at 7:34 PM
Reposted by Simon Hedges
[FOUNDER'S BRIEF - @rhettayersbutler.bsky.social]

Glaciers are vital infrastructure — supplying water, food, and energy to nearly half the world. But they’re shrinking fast due to human-driven warming. As loss becomes irreversible, risks spread. Adaptation has limits without deep cuts to emissions.
What can—and cannot—be done to save the world’s glaciers
Glaciers are often treated as scenic features or scientific curiosities. In fact, they are critical infrastructure. Though they cover roughly a tenth of the Earth’s land surface, meltwater from…
news.mongabay.com
January 15, 2026 at 9:02 PM
Reposted by Simon Hedges
British police arrest environmental protesters at nearly three times the global average rate.

Want to get to grips with the UK crackdown on protest? Listen to our episode of the New Economics Podcast, with @akikohart.bsky.social and Audrey Cherryl Mogan. 🎙️

neweconomics.org/2024/05/new-...
December 11, 2024 at 12:32 PM
Reposted by Simon Hedges
Really enjoyable conversation abut sex, biology, bodies, evolution, culture and more with Joy LaClaire at Forthright Radio from Radio Mendocino County Public Broadcasting forthright.media/2025/12/26/a...
Agustín Fuentes SEX IS A SPECTRUM: The Biological Limits of the Binary
This edition of Forthright Radio features Princeton University Anthropology Professor, Agustín Fuentes. His research focuses on the biocultural, delving into the entanglement of biological systems …
forthright.media
December 27, 2025 at 6:54 PM
Reposted by Simon Hedges
The Trump administration have gutted science agencies, terminated research programmes and cancelled billions of dollars in grants to universities

go.nature.com/4pMeAuU
Will US science survive Trump 2.0?
President Donald Trump and his administration have gutted science agencies, terminated research programmes and cancelled billions of dollars in grants to universities. What are the long-term impacts for the United States and the world?
go.nature.com
December 27, 2025 at 4:18 PM