An Italian man is facing a hefty fine or possible prison term after the dried head of a critically endangered crocodile was found in his luggage at Turin’s Caselle airport. The man had arrived at the airport in the northern Italian city on a flight from Miami via Istanbul, the Turin unit of Italy’s financial […]
Tag: Chimpanzee
“It thrusts its spear into the cavity, killing or severely wounding any dozing animal inside before pulling out its skewered quarry…”
Did you know there are animals that use weapons to kill? The chimpanzees that live in the savannahs of Senegal are such animals. There is considerably less food available in this arid habitat than in the forests occupied by other populations, so the great apes of the savannah have learned to fashion and use spears to take advantage of […]
“Banishment is basically a death sentence in the Kalahari. It follows a barrage of physical abuse.” Meet the world’s most murderous mammal…
If I asked you to name the world’s most murderous mammal, your answer might be the human male, or perhaps a warring alpha chimpanzee, or even a territorial bull elephant seal. The truth is far more feminine – and cute. The meerkat was unmasked in a scientific study as the most homicidal of over 1,000 mammals. One-in-five […]
Indonesia floods were ‘extinction level’ disturbance for world’s rarest ape
The skull of a Tapanuli orangutan, caked in debris, stares out from a tomb of mud in North Sumatra, killed in catastrophic flooding that swept through Indonesia. The late November floods have been an “extinction-level disturbance” for the world’s rarest great ape, scientists have said, causing catastrophic damage to its habitat and survival prospects. Between […]
An Empire of Nature: African Parks and Rwanda’s Nyungwe Forest
NYUNGWE NATIONAL PARK, Rwanda — It’s a cool morning in the montane rainforest of western Rwanda’s Nyungwe National Park. Sunbeams stream down from the canopy, glowing in the mist. Birdsong pierces the still air. Jacques Habimana, a baby-faced 23-year-old trail guide, stops abruptly, pressing a finger to his lips. He points toward the treetops. A […]
A Troubling Rise in the Grisly Trade of a Spectacular African Bird
In late August the Nigeria Program of the Wildlife Conservation Society received photos of primate and bird parts recently seized by the Nigerian Customs Service in Oron, a small port city in southeastern Nigeria, some 20 miles from the border with Cameroon. The images showed 11 blackened ape heads — a gorilla and 10 chimpanzees […]
Chimps Eating Bat Poop Might Reveal Hidden Risks for Future Pandemics
A strange new behavior among chimpanzees in Uganda is raising red flags for scientists studying how diseases spill over from wildlife to humans. According to Earth.com, researchers observed chimps and other animals in Budongo Forest repeatedly eating bat guano as a replacement for lost mineral sources. For years, chimps relied on Raphia palm trees to […]
Gorilla Body Part Trade Still Thriving in Nigeria Despite Conservation Efforts
A new investigation by Mongabay has revealed that the illegal trade in gorilla and chimpanzee body parts in northeastern Nigeria is far more widespread than previously believed, posing a major threat to some of the world’s rarest great apes. Journalist Orji Sunday spoke directly with hunters, traffickers, and buyers to uncover just how far the […]