Rainforests
Mongabay.com: Tripa’s Trials: protecting key orangutan habitat through the courts
First posted on 2016-04-13 Mongabay Series: Great Apes 13th April 2016 / Laurel A. Neme Prime Sumatran orangutan habitat is under attack by oil palm companies, but conservation NGOs are learning to use the law to halt that destruction. Many developing countries, such as Indonesia, have fairly good environmental laws against deforestation and protecting threatened species, such as orangutans.…
Read MoreMongabay.com: Leuser’s Legacy: how rescued orangutans help assure species survival
30th March 2016 / Laurel A. Neme Mongabay.com Meet two blind orangutans: Leuser and Gober, their offspring, and the people of the SOCP rescue group. Together they’re creating a future for Indonesian orangutans. Agribusiness is rapidly razing the prime forest habitat of Sumatra’s 14,600 remaining orangutans; replacing it with vast stretches of oil palm plantation. The species’…
Read MoreNational Geographic: Happy Ending for Smuggled Pangolins
Wildlife Watch 16 rare scaly anteaters are back in the wild after being rescued from Vietnam’s illegal wildlife trade. By Laurel Neme PUBLISHED March 15, 2016 This story was updated to reflect that the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service today issued a preliminary finding to a scientific petition submitted by conservation groups, saying that Endangered Species Act…
Read MoreHuffington Post: This Elusive Bird Isn’t Safe From Traffickers
03/03/2016 Laurel Neme Freelance Journalist and Author Male Javan banded pitta by Doug Janson via Wikimedia Pittas are a birdwatcher’s prize. Called “jewels of the forest” for their glorious plumage, these shy, secretive birds are almost impossible to spot in the wild. But head to Indonesia’s massive wild bird markets, and they’re a common sight, according…
Read MoreNational Geographic: Brazilian Investigators Cracking the Case of Missing One-of-a-Kind Snake
Search continues for a rare boa constrictor stolen from Brazil to breed for the reptile trade. Laurel Neme for National Geographic Published May 7, 2014 With its abundant rare species and remote locales, Brazil has long been known as an epicenter for wildlife trafficking. But that’s changing, thanks to a group of dedicated investigators…
Read MoreShop so Orangutans don’t Drop
From JeffCorwinConnect.com Laurel NemeJuly 14, 2011 Next time you shop, consider orangutans. While U.S. grocery stores may be physically far from the rainforests of Indonesia and Malaysia, where these endangered primates live, the impact of supermarkets on orangutan survival is not so distant. About one in every ten products on your grocery store shelves…
Read MoreMongabay.com: Cambodia’s Wildlife Pioneer: Saving Species and Places in Southeast Asia’s Last Forest
By Laurel Neme, special to mongabay.comMay 11, 2011 Suwanna Gauntlett has dedicated her life to protecting rainforests and wildlife in some of the world’s most hostile and rugged environments and has set the trend of a new generation of direct action conservationists. She has designed, implemented, and supported bold, front-line conservation programs to save endangered wildlife…
Read MoreMongabay.com: Pet trade, palm oil, and poaching: the challenges of saving the ‘forgotten bear’
By Laurel Neme, special to mongabay.comMarch 20, 2011 This interview originally aired May 17, 2010. It was transcribed by Diane Hannigan. Siew Te Wong is one of the few scientists who study sun bears (Ursus malayanus). He spoke with Laurel Neme on her “The WildLife” radio show and podcast about the interesting biological characteristics of this…
Read MoreMongabay.com: Teaching orangutans to be wild – orangutan rehabilitation
By Laurel Neme, special to mongabay.com December 15, 2010 This interview aired in on April 4, 2010 and November 22, 2010). It was transcribed by Ben Kennedy. Part 2 of 2. Part 1: The problem-solving ape: what makes orangutans special and why they are threatened Michelle Desilets, Executive Director of the Orangutan Land Trust, spoke…
Read MoreAnimal Planet: Busted: Is Brazil’s ‘Jaguar Tony’ a Traitor and Poacher?
Guest Blog for Animal Planet’s “Animals in the News” blog 10/19/2010 Guest blogger Laurel Neme, author of the book Animal Investigators, wildlife conservationist and host of radio show The WildLife, offers insight into how a jaguar poaching ring was recently busted. Twenty years ago Brazil’s most notorious jaguar hunter, Teodoro Antonio Melo Neto, also known as “Tonho da onça”…
Read MoreMongabay.com: Frogs and friends at risk from booming global wildlife trade
By Laurel Neme, special to mongabay.comSeptember 08, 2010 Alejandra Goyenechea, International Counsel at Defenders of Wildlife and Chair of the Species Survival Network’s (SSN) Amphibian Working Group, spoke with Laurel Neme on her “The WildLife” radio show and podcast about the global amphibian trade. This interview originally aired February 8, 2010. Assistance for this article was provided…
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