The WildLife Radio
The WildLife: CITES Secretary-General John Scanlon
John Scanlon, Secretary-General of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES), reflects on the 40th anniversary of CITES, provides an overview of what to look for at the 16th Conference of Parties, and discusses species-specific issues, with an emphasis on elephants, rhinos and sharks.
Read MoreThe WildLife: A Lifetime with Elephants, Iain Douglas-Hamilton
At age 23, Iain Douglas-Hamilton pioneered the first in-depth scientific study of elephant social behavior in Tanzania’s Lake Manyara National Park. During the 1970s he investigated the status of elephants throughout Africa and was the first to alert the world to the ivory poaching holocaust. He and his wife have co-authored two award-winning books…
Read MoreThe WildLife: Celia’s Campaign Against Elephant Ivory Trade, Celia Ho
Fourteen-year-old Celia Ho from Hong Kong recently launched a campaign to stop the ivory trade after becoming inspired by Bryan Christy’s “Blood Ivory” article in National Geographic magazine. Her young voice represents a new hope for elephants that is increasing throughout Asia while her story illustrates how one person can make a difference.
Read MoreRhino death toll in South Africa in January hits 57
South Africa reported that January’s rhino death toll hit 57. Kruger National Park is a key locus, with 42 rhinos, or 10% of the total killed in that park for 2012, killed there in this single month. SANParks attributes the increased poaching to the recent floods in the Kruger National Park, thick vegetation, two…
Read MoreTop Kenyan Official links Somali gangs and corrupt rangers to rise in elephant poaching
Kenya lost 375 elephants and 20 rhinos to poaching in 2012 compared to 289 elephants and 29 rhinos in 2011. In mid-January 2013, 11 elephants were killed for their tusks in Tsavo National Park by a gang of 10 poachers. Around the same time, two tonnes of ivory (638 pieces) of ivory estimated to…
Read MoreThe WildLife: Carbofuran impacts and forensic considerations, Ngaio Richards
Carbofuran was developed in the 1960s to replace more persistent pesticides such as DDT. Since then it has repeatedly been implicated in the mass mortality of nontarget wildlife, especially avian species. Conservationists worldwide have sought to regulate or ban the use of carbofuran for decades. However, this controversial product remains registered for use in…
Read MoreThe WildLife: Rhino DNA Index System & Role in Anti-Poaching Efforts, Cindy Harper
The Rhino DNA Index System (RhODIS) is a secure database containing DNA profile data of individual rhinoceros. The extraction method has been optimized and is now used to individually identify rhinoceros horns from stockpiles and to link recovered horns to poaching cases. The information contained in this database has assisted in a number of…
Read MoreInjured Bald Eagle Gets New Prosthetic Beak
Heartwarming story of rehabilitation of an injured bald eagle, named Beauty. Beauty was found around a garbage dump in Alaska with part of her beak shot off. With the help of an Idaho-based raptor specialist and a kinetic engineer, Beauty just recently received a prosthetic beak — the first-ever of its kind. Amazing! For…
Read MoreUS Government pledges to fight Wildlife Trafficking, Remarks by Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton
The U.S. will intensify its efforts to combat the illegal wildlife trade, Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton said at an event on “Wildlife Trafficking and Conservation: A Call to Action” held on November 8, 2012. “Over the past few years wildlife trafficking has…
Read MoreMilitarization of Elephant Poaching
This interview in Yale360 with Jeffrey Gettleman talks about his recent report in The New York Times that brutal armed groups in Africa (including African armies) are slaughtering thousands of elephants for their ivory tusks in order to sustain their militia and conflicts. In it, he raises the question of whether the United States should be…
Read MoreCaptive tiger permits used to launder tigers in Thailand?
Are permits for captive tigers being used to launder tigers from Thailand to Viet Nam? That’s the question being asked following a raid by Thai authorities on an apartment outside Bangkok that led to the confiscation of four adult tigers and two cubs. The large cats had been kept in poor conditions: small rooftop…
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