The California fires in November 2018 were more severe than ever and yet – the amount of forest that was lost in the combined fires makes up only a fraction of Indonesian forest that is burned every year in slash-and-burn practices to clear palm oil plantations. In 2015 alone,the area of Indonesian forest burned was […]
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Twelve rangers killed in latest Virunga Park incident
Twelve rangers and five other people were killed in Virunga National Park in the eastern part of the Democratic Republic of Congo on Friday. It was the latest deadly incident in the park, where more than 150 rangers have been killed since 2006. Virunga, which includes large areas of intact rainforest that are home to […]
Images from a dropped phone reveal the ugly truth behind bonobo trafficking
In the early morning hours of Feb. 23, a gunshot rang out from deep within a Congolese forest. And then another, followed by one last bang. The shots were fired about 10 kilometers (6 miles) outside the village of Mondombe in the Democratic Republic of Congo, where an experienced anti-poaching team from local NGO Conserv […]
Poachers kill 3 near-extinct giant ibises amid pandemic pressure in Cambodia
The giant Ibis, a mega-sized bird that can stand more than a meter (3 feet) tall and weigh more than 4 kilograms (9 pounds), was once thought to be extinct in Cambodia. But in 1993, scientists working with the Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS) rediscovered the birds on the border with Laos, and since then, a […]
Photos of wild tiger cubs in Thailand rekindles hope for species
Camera traps in eastern Thailand’s Dong Phayayen-Khao Yai (DPKY) forest complex have yielded photos of tiger cubs, providing long-awaited evidence that the big cat is breeding in this part of Southeast Asia. Conservationists conducted the camera-trap survey in the Thap Lan-Pang Sida Tiger Conservation Landscape (TCL) of DPKY, where recent reports suggest a small, but […]
Coronavirus is a crisis for South Africa’s captive lions, campaigners warn
Wildlife conservation and animal welfare groups say the COVID-19 pandemic ought to spell the end for one of South Africa’s most controversial businesses: the captive breeding of lions. It is widely accepted that SARS-CoV-2, the coronavirus that has precipitated the global crisis, came from wildlife (bats or pangolins are the most likely sources), and campaign […]
Malaysian authorities seize record 6 tons of African pangolin scales
Customs authorities in Malaysia have made one of their biggest ever seizures of African pangolin scales, recovering 6 tons of the contraband in a container at the country’s busiest port. Officials at Port Klang found the scales hidden beneath 63 sacks of cashew nuts on April 1. The shipment had been labeled as only containing […]
In Sri Lanka, gillnets targeting tuna claim dolphin lives
COLOMBO — For Nilantha Kodithuwakku, a naturalist involved in whale and dolphin-watching operations, it’s always a spectacular scene to witness pods of playful dolphins jumping and spinning in the air. But occasionally the scene he encounters is of dolphin carcasses, either floating or washed ashore, with the tail flukes missing.Charles Anderson, a marine biologist based […]