When most people hear terms like poaching, wildlife trafficking or illegal wildlife trade, they probably think of threatened species such as elephants, rhinos, tigers or sharks. Geographically, wildlife crime may feel like a problem confined to southern Africa or southeast and East Asia. Of course, these species have long been heavily trafficked, and those regions […]
Tag: endangered species
More than half of world’s bird species in decline, as leaders meet on extinction crisis
More than half of all bird species are in decline, according to a new global assessment, with deforestation driving sharp falls in populations across the planet. On the eve of a key biodiversity summit in the UAE, scientists have issued a fresh warning about the health of bird populations, with 61% of assessed species now […]
North Korea’s hidden wildlife trade: new research reveals state involvement
North Korea is notorious for its illicit trade in weapons and narcotics. But a new investigation that I conducted with colleagues in the UK and Norway reveals a new concern: the illegal trade in wildlife, including species supposedly protected by North Korea’s own laws. Based on interviews with North Korean refugees (also referred to as […]
Smithsonian Scientists Are Giving Endangered Species A Second Chance
According to CBS News, the Smithsonian Conservation Biology Institute (SCBI) in Virginia is quietly working to pull species back from the brink of extinction. On its 32,000-acre campus in the foothills of the Blue Ridge Mountains, more than 20 at-risk species — from red pandas to maned wolves and even Mongolia’s Przewalski’s horse — are […]
Endangered Species Day Comes as Wildlife Face a New Crisis
May 16 is Endangered Species Day, founded to honor the incredible biodiversity that the Endangered Species Act (ESA) has helped conserve for more than half a century. Thanks to the ESA, sea otters still splash along the Pacific coastline, grizzly bears roam the Northern Rockies, and California condors once again soar over the Southwest. Since […]
Trump officials are trying to yank this animal’s last shot at survival
The bird above is not your typical charismatic species. It’s no bald eagle, no peregrine falcon. It’s a groundbird known as the lesser prairie-chicken that lives in the southern Great Plains. It’s not even the greater prairie-chicken, another, related avian species, that’s a bit larger. Today, however, this bird is very much worth paying attention […]
Destroying endangered species’ habitat wouldn’t count as ‘harm’ under proposed Trump rule
The Trump administration is proposing to significantly limit the Endangered Species Act’s power to preserve crucial habitats by changing the definition of one word: harm. On Wednesday, the administration proposed a rule change that would essentially prohibit only actions that directly hurt or kill actual animals, not the habitats they rely on. If finalized, the […]
Georgia Man Fined for Massive Illegal Bird Collection Highlighting Threats to Wildlife
A Georgia orthopedic surgeon was sentenced after amassing one of the largest private collections of illegal bird specimens and rare eggs ever seized in the United States. According to The New York Times reporter Santul Nerkar, John Waldrop was given three years probation and fined $900,000 for conspiracy and violating the Endangered Species Act. Investigators […]