A major analysis of hundreds of species of animals has revealed the huge toll the world’s booming wildlife trade is taking on the natural world. Without urgent action, the world is facing “rampant trade-induced declines” of mammals, birds and reptiles, the authors of the research said. In places where the wildlife trade is active, species have […]
A British trophy-hunting boss is offering deals to shoot endangered animals which he boasts are “plentiful” during the Covid crisis. Carl Knight, 47, who runs Take Aim Safaris, makes the claim in his grisly sales pitch to 3,000 potential customers, including fellow Britons. He urges clients to travel to South Africa, which is in the grip […]
Two miniature sculptures sold on eBay in December 2020: a tiny egg with a chick hatching through the shell, and an intricately carved man in traditional Japanese dress with a rat perched on his shoulder. The egg sold for $195 and the figure for $1,345. But there’s a problem. Both objects are made from a […]
Humans are driving species to extinction 1,000 times faster than what is considered natural. Now, new research underscores the extent of the planet’s impoverishment. Extinctions don’t just rob the planet of species but also of functional and phylogenetic diversity, the authors of a paper published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences argue. […]
Scott O’Grady, a famous former Air Force officer recently nominated for a top Defense Department role in the Trump administration, hunted and killed two elephants in Zimbabwe in 2014 and lobbied Congress to lift trophy hunting restrictions. The revelations were first reported by independent journalist Yashar Ali but come from congressional testimony by Mr O’Grady. […]
Since the mid-eighties, giraffes have been on a steady decline. Population numbers have dwindled by 40 per cent, leaving around 68,000 mature adults in the wild. To put it in context, there is reportedly one giraffe for every four African elephants, which themselves are considered a vulnerable species. Despite giraffes’ precarious status, dubbed a “silent […]
Watchtowers in trees, tripwire alarms, radio collars, chilli smoke and beehive fences: scientists and conservationists across Asia and Africa are coming up with safe and humane ways to keep elephants at bay and reduce conflict with humans. In early June, the agonising death of a pregnant wild elephant that ate an explosives-filled pineapple in India […]
Ryan Tate is supposed to be in South Africa right now helping to fight off poachers who hack horns off rhinos and kill elephants for their ivory tusks. But since the country announced a national lockdown in March to slow the spread of the coronavirus, Tate is stuck in the U.S. He can’t join his […]