Bats Magazine: Backyard “BATIVISTS”

BCI Intern Sophia Seufert inspires young bat lovers with video series   By Laurel Neme, Published in BATS Magazine “Anyone can be a backyard ‘bativist’,” says Sophia Seufert, BCI intern and Brandeis University junior. Seufert spent her summer creating a series of videos for BCI to help young people connect with bats and create “bativists”—that…

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National Geographic: Why Has This Rhino Poaching Trial Been Delayed 17 Times?

As poaching in South Africa’s KwaZulu-Natal province rises, conservationists say more should be done. By Laurel Neme PUBLISHED November 13, 2017 It’s been one delay after another in the case against South African alleged rhino poaching kingpin Dumisani Gwala and his two co-accused. The reported reasons run the gamut—changes in venue, changes in magistrates, changes in defense…

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The Revelator: Living on the Edge with Lions – Shivani Bhalla

Ewaso Lions founder Shivani Bhalla aims to help people learn to live with local predators. Wildlife September 5, 2017 – by Laurel Neme As a young girl, Shivani Bhalla — a fourth-generation Kenyan— admired the large lion prides she saw on family safaris. But when she moved to Samburu in the north in 2002, those big…

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Mongabay.com: Innovative technology creates safe haven for rhinos

28 November 2016 / Laurel Neme Unveiled last week, the new system integrates a set of technologies — Wi-Fi, thermal cameras, biometrics, closed-circuit televisions, and sensors — to create a security network across an entire game reserve. The new technology system — called Connected Conservation — is a joint initiative between two international technology companies: Dimension Data…

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National Geographic: Justice for Rhinos–When Will it Come?

Nothing prepared me for the venom in his eyes. While not directed at me, nobody in the courtroom could escape the anger seeping from his pores. Through a twist of fate, I was in KwaZulu-Natal (KZN), a province on the eastern coast of South Africa, on September 19, the day the trial of a suspected…

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National Geographic: Rescued Circus Lions Airlifted to Safety in Africa

First posted on 2016-06-27     Wildlife Watch Rescued Circus Lions Airlifted to Safety in Africa Lions rescued from circuses in Peru and Colombia are set to arrive back home in Africa. By Laurel Neme PUBLISHED April 28, 2016   This lion and 23 others removed from circuses in Peru are being airlifted to South Africa, where a…

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Huffington Post: How Legal Markets Fuel Ivory Smuggling in Hong Kong

Posted: 10/27/2015  Hong Kong’s legal ivory market fuels ivory smuggling and elephant poaching says 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, the report, Illusion of Control, released Oct 23 in Hong Kong, reveals that ivory traders…

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