National Geographic
National Geographic: How World’s Largest Legal Ivory Market Fuels Demand for Illegal Ivory
New report shows that limited oversight of Hong Kong’s ivory traders allows laundering of illegal ivory through legal markets. By Laurel Neme, for National Geographic PUBLISHED October 22, 2015 A new report by WildAid, an international nongovernmental organization that aims to eliminate illegal wildlife trade, together with undercover video by independent investigators provided to WildAid and WWF-Hong Kong,…
Read MoreNational Geographic: Ripple Effect: Saving Elephants One Kid at a Time
Children’s voices can be extremely powerful—a fact readily apparent on a recent Sunday when more than 325 people—most of them children—participated in Vermont’s first kid-driven Global March for Elephants and Rhinos. The event was initiated by 12-year-old Taegen Yardley, who organized a network of youngsters from across the state. Student “champions” at more than…
Read MoreNational Geographic: Undercover Video Confirms Hong Kong’s Retail Market Is “Front” for Smuggled Ivory
September 25, 2015 By Laurel Neme and Maraya Cornell Hong Kong’s retail ivory market acts as both a cover for smuggled ivory and an incentive. A new report, The Hard Truth, released September 7 by World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF)–Hong Kong, reveals how fundamental flaws in the existing regulatory system help fuel the…
Read MoreNational Geographic: East African Smugglers Push Ivory Out of the Continent
Posted by Laurel Neme in A Voice for Elephants on September 18, 2015 Elephant poaching and ivory trafficking in East Africa is driven not only by foreign consumers but also by African nationals who actively “push” ivory to these markets. A recent report, Pushing Ivory Out of Africa: A Criminal Intelligence of Elephant Poaching and Ivory Trafficking in East Africa,…
Read MoreNational Geographic: Elephant Killings in Chad’s Signature Park Cause Alarm
After three years of zero poaching in Zakouma National Park, killing of two female elephants shows no population is safe. By Laurel Neme, for National Geographic PUBLISHED September 01, 2015 A routine aerial surveillance flight over the western part of Chad’s Zakouma National Park has uncovered the deaths of two female elephants and their calves…
Read MoreNational Geographic: Two Nations Show Good News, Bad News for Africa’s Elephants
Visits to Gabon and Tanzania show the head of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service that commitment from the top makes all the difference. By Laurel Neme, National Geographic PUBLISHED June 28, 2015 Gabon and Tanzania are both high-stakes countries for elephants and other endangered species, but…
Read MoreNational Geographic: Speaking up for Elephants: Reflections on Vermont’s Ivory Sales Ban Hearing
Posted by Laurel Neme in A Voice for Elephants on April 17, 2015 “In a world where everything feels like it is moving at the speed of light, slowing down and watching an elephant in its natural habitat is calming and shows us the importance of paying attention to the natural world.” That opinion…
Read MoreNational Geographic: Citizens Spur States to Ban Trade in Ivory and Rhino Horn
From Vermont to California, grassroots efforts drive state actions to protect elephants and rhinos. By Laurel Neme, for National Geographic PUBLISHED April 06, 2015 SHELBURNE, Vermont—”When you think things need to change, you have the power to make it happen,” Ashley McAvey, homegrown elephant activist and mother of two, told students recently at Endeavour…
Read MoreNational Geographic: Ethiopia Burns Entire 6.1-Ton Ivory Stockpile
Posted by Laurel Neme in A Voice for Elephants on March 20, 2015 ADDIS ABABA, Ethiopia – At a ceremony today in the capital, Ethiopia burned its entire 6.1-ton ivory stockpile. The event was held at the Gulele Botanical Garden, close to the headquarters of the Ethiopian Wildlife Conservation Authority (EWCA), where the ivory had been stored.…
Read MoreNational Geographic: Will Mobilization of Military Forces Stop Elephant Poaching in Cameroon
Posted by Laurel Neme in A Voice for Elephants on February 14, 2015 Ten elephant carcasses discovered in mid-January in and around Cameroon’s Bouba Ndjida National Park are raising fears that poachers may again be targeting the park. But information remains sketchy. According to the Cameroon Tribune, a government newspaper, the military made several patrols following reports of gunfire…
Read MoreNational Geographic: Circus Lions Rescued in Peru, Headed for New Home in Colorado
Twenty-one circus lions and ten monkeys await transfer to a Colorado sanctuary early next year. Photograph by Animal Defenders International Laurel Neme for National Geographic Published November 26, 2014 By early next year Jan Creamer, co-founder and president of Animal Defenders International (ADI), intends to see 30 lions rescued from circuses in Peru and Colombia running…
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