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 […]
Tag: African elephant
Study warns of ‘biotic annihilation’ driven by hunting, habitat destruction
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. […]
Trump pentagon nominee hunted and killed elephants in Zimbabwe
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. […]
Giraffes are vulnerable to extinction. So why won’t America decide on protecting them until 2025?
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 […]
A taste of honey: how bees mend fences between farmers and elephants
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 […]
‘Filthy bloody business:’ Poachers kill more animals as coronavirus crushes tourism to Africa
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 […]
Petition: Boycott these 10 Worst Zoos for Elephants in North America!
The many heartbreaking ways zoos are causing more harm than good for elephants has been exposed yet again by In Defense of Animals, which recently released its annual list of the 10 Worst Zoos for Elephants in North America. “Our 2019 list of the 10 Worst Zoos for Elephants exposes many tragic examples of how […]
Elephants, lions and leopards: 13 countries where rich people hunt endangered animals
I ran into some Americans having an issue at customs at the airport in Lusaka, Zambia, last summer. Craig and Amy (last names withheld), from Western Michigan, and two friends were in the country to go hunting and were stuck at customs until the rifles and crossbows they brought from home were cleared. “We won […]