The Wildlife Blog
373 rhinos killed so far this year in South Africa alone, yearly death toll likely to surpass 550
The South African government reports 373 rhinos have been killed for their horns so far this year. If this poaching rate of 1.5 rhinos killed per day for the first eight months of 2012 continues, South Africa could lose over 550 rhinos in 2012 — a 25 percent jump from 2011’s record rhino death…
Read MoreOrangutans rescued near industrial timber estates in Indonesia
Three orangutans trapped in an unforested area between industrial timber estates in Kutai Kartanegara, East Kalimantan, were rescued by specially-trained teams from the companies (Sumalindo Hutani Raya and Surya Hutani Jaya) which operate industrial timber estates there. The company planned to release the female orangutan, her baby, and a teenager back into the wild at…
Read MoreIndia’s Prime Minister proposes strengthening wildlife crime fighting
India’s Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on September 5, 2012 said the government would strengthen the country’s Wildlife Protection Act, 1972 and noted a proposal for expanding the number of regional offices, field units and forensic labs of the Wildlife Crime Control Bureau as well as creation of a national database on wildlife crime and…
Read MoreAnimal Planet: Rescued Elephant Orphan Adopted by New Herd
08/22/2012 GUEST POST ALERT:Today’s guest post comes from Wildlife expert Laurel A. Neme, Ph.D., author of Animal Investigators: How the World’s First Wildlife Forensics Lab is Solving Crimes and Saving Endangered Species and a regular contributor to Mongabay.com, where she broke the story on recent poaching of Chad’s elephants. Learn more about Laurel at LaurelNeme.com. Toto Finds a…
Read MoreUpdate on the Chad elephant poaching situation
Update on the Chad elephant situation: On August 15, Chad’s High Administrative Authority informed Stephanie Vergniault, president of the wildlife organization SOS Elephants, that the Chadian army seized 30 tusks from the recent Chari –Baguirmi poaching. With the army in pursuit, the poachers tried to cross the river with them but ultimately abandoned the…
Read MoreDespite more wildlife law enforcement, Asian wildlife traffickers continue their illegal trade
A 10-fold increase in wildlife law enforcement actions has been reported in the past six years in Southeast Asia, yet many wildlife trafficking “kingpins” continue to capitalize on the persistent corruption in the area and avoid arrest. This AP article posted in several spots, including Bloomberg BusinessWeek News, looks at the “Untouchables: Asia’s biggest wildlife…
Read MoreSumatran rhinos survive in northern Sumatra
Another piece of good news – this time related to the Sumatran rhino and reported on Mongabay.com. Using remote camera traps, wildlife rangers confirm the Sumatran rhino (Dicerorhinus sumatrensis) still inhabits the Leuser ecosystem in northern Sumatra, making that forest the only place on the Earth where Sumatran tigers, orangutans, elephants, and rhinos survive in…
Read MoreNew wildlife forensics lab to be commissioned in Kenya to fight wildlife poaching and crime.
Great news! On Monday (13 August, 2012) the Kenya Wildlife Service (KWS) will commission the construction of $700,000 wildlife forensic and genetics laboratory at its headquarters in Nairobi. This new lab will be able to provide legal evidence necessary in courts to convict suspects for wildlife crimes. It will help not only to link…
Read MoreWWF Ousts Spain’s King Juan Carlos after controversial elephant hunt
Spain’s King Juan Carlos Ousted from WWF for Elephant Hunt Debacle (via Annamiticus) King Juan Carlos has been removed from his post as honorary president of WWF-Spain, following his controversial elephant hunt in Botswana. In April 2012, news surfaced about the King’s lavish trip with Rann Safaris in Botswana, where he killed an elephant. Although the controversial…
Read MorePositive News on Mexico’s Parrot Trade
Mexico’s illegal parrot trade has declined due to a number of innovative studies and policies. My article on this positive turn of events was just published in The Wildlife Professional.
Read MoreElephants slaughtered, orphan found in latest Africa poaching
From World News on NBC News: Elephants slaughtered, orphan found in latest Africa poaching By Miguel Llanos, NBC News These elephants are part of the herd that saw more than 30 members slaughtered. The government of Chad said it was searching for poachers who slaughtered part of an elephant herd, while a conservation group…
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