Deep in the forests of Madagascar, researchers have discovered seven new species of frogs and named them after characters from Star Trek.

“The calls of the frogs remind us strongly of iconic futuristic sound effects from the franchise,” says at the Natural History Museum of Denmark.

Boophis marojezensis is a small, brownish frog found in Madagascar’s humid forests. It was first described in 1994, but, over time, researchers started to wonder whether this puppy-eyed amphibian was actually more than one species.

To find out, Scherz and his colleagues gathered as much data as possible from different individuals of B. marojezensis collected over three decades. They recorded and analysed the frogs’ calls, compared their physical characteristics and sequenced their DNA.

Their results showed that what was previously thought to be only one frog species is actually eight different ones. Physically, they look almost identical, says Scherz. “The key differences are in the sounds that they make. Their ear-splitting, high-pitched, whistling calls differ both in pitch and in timing of the whistles.” The DNA sequencing also showed genetic differences, confirming they are different species.

Male frogs use their bird-like calls to attract females, and as these newly named species live close to streams, Scherz thinks they evolved their high-pitched whistles to help their songs stand out from the din of flowing water. However, much about these frogs’ lives remains a mystery.

One of the species is named Boophis kirki, in honour of James T. Kirk. The others are named after Jean-Luc Picard, Benjamin Sisko, Kathryn Janeway, Jonathan Archer, Michael Burnham and Christopher Pike.

“We wanted to honour the captains that lead their teams on missions of exploration and discovery,” says Scherz. “It may serve also as a reminder of how much discovery there still is to do here on Earth, before we turn our eyes to the stars.”

The killing of a well-known wild bear named Amarena has shocked Italy and raised fresh doubts about whether humans and large carnivores can coexist peacefully.

At 11pm on 31 August, Amarena was wandering through the streets of San Benedetto Dei Marsi in the Abruzzo region of Italy with her two cubs, when she was shot dead by a man who said he pulled the trigger out of fear.

She was one of around 60 remaining Marsican brown bears (Ursus arctos marsicanus), a subspecies of the Eurasian brown bear classified as critically endangered by the International Union for Conservation of Nature. It is mainly found in the Abruzzo, Lazio and Molise National Park, one of Europe’s wildest areas, around an hour’s drive away from Rome. Poaching and collisions with cars and trains are the leading causes of death for the subspecies.

Typically, only three to four females reproduce each year, having a total of three to 10 newborn cubs. Amarena was one of the most prolific individuals ever known. In 2020, she gave birth to four cubs, an unusually high number.

Marsican bears are often spotted wandering around the small mountain villages in Abruzzo, and they are an attraction for tourists. But for the safety of bears and people, the national park and other institutions have tried unsuccessfully to prevent them from approaching villages.

“The presence of wild animals in villages increases the risk of negative interactions with people and the likelihood of accidents,” says , the co-founder of Salviamo L’Orso, a non-profit organisation working to save the Marsican bear from extinction. “If there are people who lure bears into towns for economic or selfish reasons, efforts by associations and institutions to keep these animals out of towns fail.”

Paula Mayer at ETH Zurich in Switzerland has studied the coexistence of bears and humans in Abruzzo, using a mathematical model to . She found there is wide variation in people’s attitude towards bears, with more positive views in communities that profit from tourism and more hostility in those dependent on subsistence farming. Her research also shows that state investment, such as financial compensation for damage caused by bears, is crucial for fostering positive attitudes towards wildlife.

“In the area where Amarena was killed, the map shows a high probability of coexistence, meaning both threats to bears are low and human tolerance is high,” says Meyer. “However, a model remains a model and can never predict with certainty what will happen in reality.”

The killing of Amarena has taken people by surprise in a region that has been touted as an example of coexistence between humans and large carnivores.

“I believe that some areas of Abruzzo are truly models of coexistence. However, without a change in values, in the sense that the general population accepts wildlife in a shared landscape even if it brings them no instrumental benefit, we will never reach a deeply rooted and sustainable state of coexistence in the social-ecological system,” says Mayer.

“There is a need for the state to recognise the protection of nature and endangered species as a national priority, to invest in a culture of knowledge and respect for biodiversity, in the prevention of conflicts with large carnivores,” says Cipollone.