It may be one of the slowest-moving conservation projects in history, not just because of the red tape, but due to the animals themselves: 40 red-footed tortoises are being released into El Impenetrable national park in Argentina in the coming weeks after being rescued from the illegal pet trade in Paraguay and transported to Argentina. […]
Tag: Bolivia
Inti Tanager: Colorful New Species of Bird Discovered in South America
Ornithologists have discovered a new genus and species of tanager on the lower slopes of the Andes in southeastern Peru and western Bolivia. Tanagers are a large family, Thraupidae, of more than 370 songbird species restricted almost entirely to the American tropics. It is the second largest family of birds and represents about 4% of […]
Finding fangs: new film exposes illicit trade killing off Bolivia’s iconic jaguar
Elizabeth Unger was a 25-year-old biology graduate working as a PhD research assistant for big cat and climate projects in Latin America when she heard about the Bolivian authorities intercepting dozens of packages containing jaguar fangs sent by Chinese citizens to addresses in China. “I was really blown away as [the story] was completely under […]
The secret bears of Bolivia’s lost dry forests
EL PALMAR, Bolivia — It was worth the journey. After sweating across the scrubby Bolivian mountainsides, stepping into the forest was like entering a different world. Twisted pino de monte pines trailed ghostly green-gray lichens into our faces. Ferns and, much to my surprise, moss sprung from the cracks in the bark and the little […]
Wildlife emergency in Bolivia as fires threaten animal sanctuaries
A ghastly orange grin extends across the treetops in Guarayos, Bolivia, marking a cruel turn of fate for rescued wildlife. On the ground, the air is too smoky to breathe, and hot enough to scorch. The woods are so dry that everything burns. Fire is eating its way through one of the world’s great efforts […]
Bolivia’s jaguar seizures down as suspicions rise over new mafia
In 2016, in the midst of the first investigations into jaguar trafficking in Bolivia, biologist Ángela Núñez received a short audio clip via Whatsapp: “Teeth, tiger”. That was all she could hear and it was enough. The file was sent by an informant close to the Manuripi-Heath Amazon National Wildlife Reserve in Pando who claimed […]
Wildlife for sale: Jaguars are the new trafficking victims in Bolivia
Bolivia introduced a general and indefinite ban on the wildlife trade two decades ago, but this measure has failed to stop the trafficking of wild animals. Birds, monkeys, turtles and reptiles that are in high demand as pets remain particularly vulnerable to wildlife crime. In recent years, jaguars (Panthera onca) have also become victims of […]
Scientists uncover five new species of ‘toupee’ monkeys in the Amazon
While saki monkeys may be characterized by floppy mops of hair that resemble the worst of human toupees, these acrobatic, tree-dwelling primates are essential for dispersing seeds across the vast Amazon landscape as they primarily dine on fruit. After long being neglected by both scientists and conservationists, a massive research effort by one intrepid researcher […]