France has banned the import of lion heads, paws and skins as hunters’ trophies, nearly four months after the killing of Zimbabwe’s most famous lion by an American trophy hunter sparked international outrage. In a letter to the actor and animals rights activist Brigitte Bardot, France’s environment minister, Ségolène Royal, said that she had instructed […]
The first male Pied Kingfisher of the autumn – Sabkhat Al Fasl
As mentioned previously there has been a major arrival of Pied Kingfishers into Eastern Arabia this winter including a minimum of ten birds at Sabkhat Al Fasl. All the birds photographed and the one seen by me have been females with this bias towards females also occurring with Common Kingfishers at this location. On 15 […]
Video: Cancer-free Tasmanian Devils returned to homeland
The Tasmanian devil population has plummeted to around 10,000 from an estimated 250,000 before 1996, when Devil Facial Tumor Disease was first discovered. The disease causes large lumps to form around the animal’s mouth and head, making it hard for it to eat. “Tasmanian Devils in the wild have been absolutely decimated by this disease,” […]
Coludo chico (Lesser-grass Finch) Emberizoides ypiranganus
Hoy durante una jornada de pajareo en la que tuvimos que resignarnos a pegar la vuelta y regresar a Posadas antes que lo habitual, regresando nuevamente por la Ruta provincial 204 a Posadas porque la creciente del Arroyo Garupá y sus afluentes no nos dejó seguir, encontramos a escasos metros del borde del camino a […]
Latin American wildlife trafficking takes to the air
Each year millions of travelers stream through the gates of Costa Rica’s Juan Santamaría airport in route to one of the country’s many natural wonders. But often when tourists leave, a piece of the country’s biodiversity goes with them. Turtle shell bracelets, reptile-skin wallets, bird feathers and even live animals have all been snuck out […]
Birding Antalya, Turkey
A few days ago I returned from Antalya, Turkey. I wasn’t there for fun or birding; it was a work trip. I was unable to go anywhere except walk around the hotel grounds and look for whatever wildlife might appear there. However, the grounds were large and beautiful; there were lots of trees, and the […]
POLL: Is Trophy Hunting Helping Save African Elephants?
African elephants are in trouble. Their numbers have fallen from as many as ten million a hundred years ago to as few as 400,000 today. Recent losses are largely from poaching for the illegal ivory trade (some 30,000 elephants a year), but also because of the shrinking habitat for elephants, as people open up land […]
Video: Polar Bears Feast On Dead Whale in Wild Alaska
These polar bears need the sea to freeze completely, so they have a solid platform from which to hunt seals and right now they’re hungry. Taken from Wild Alaska.