A hunger for shark fin soup — a brothy, gelatinous dish that’s considered a delicacy in East Asia — is responsible for the deaths of about 73 million sharks each year. It was previously believed that many of these sharks were being caught in international waters, beyond the authority of any individual country, but a […]
Tag: mongabay
Planned road projects threaten Sumatran rhino habitat, experts say
BANDA ACEH, Indonesia — Conservationists are calling for a Sumatran rhino habitat at the northern tip of the Indonesian island to be fully protected from planned road-construction projects. Officials in the province of Aceh have allocated 2.4 trillion rupiah ($164 million) for the development of 12 roads across the province through 2022. Governor Nova Iriansyah […]
In Uganda, safeguarding chimpanzees against the scourge of snaring
KANYAWARA, Uganda — As they hack their way with pangas through the dense and prickly undergrowth, a palpable sense of tension grips the camo-clad patrol party navigating the rainforest of Kibale National Park. An hour and a half into their hike, they hastily change course and flee to higher ground, keeping upwind of the forest […]
At-risk Cerrado mammals need fully-protected parks to survive: Researchers
Each April for six consecutive years, Guilherme Braga Ferreira and three other researchers set out on a half-year journey, methodically installing remote camera traps across 386 square miles of the Brazilian Cerrado savanna. Their goal: to photograph maned wolves, giant anteaters, pumas, tapirs and other Neotropical mammals, residents of the world’s most biodiverse grasslands. The […]
Does trophy hunting hurt giraffe populations? A planned lawsuit says it does
Skinned, stuffed and tanned, wild giraffes are up for sale at dozens of stores across the United States. While importing and selling wild giraffes and giraffe products, such as giraffe rugs and taxidermied trophies, is legal in the U.S., conservationists and animal welfare advocates say these practices are nudging the species closer toward extinction. On […]
China still making pangolin-based treatments despite banning use of scales, report says
Pangolin scales — armor-like, keratin-based plates that cover a pangolin’s body — are still being used in medicines sold and produced by Chinese companies, a new report has found. This is being done despite the Chinese government banning pangolin scales from the official list of approved ingredients in traditional Chinese medicine (TCM), and even giving […]
Two new Javan rhino calves are spotted in the species’ last holdout
JAKARTA — Conservationists in Indonesia have reported the presence of two newborn Javan rhinoceros calves in the only place on Earth where the critically endangered species is still found, bringing its total population to 74. The calves — a female and a male that conservation officials have named Helen and Luther — were spotted with […]
‘We are all ecstatic’: Rescued wild pangolin gives birth to healthy pup
Ally arrived at the veterinary hospital the way most rescued pangolins do: underweight, dehydrated and suffering from pneumonia. But a routine ultrasound revealed that Ally wasn’t a typical patient — she was also pregnant. In April, officials working for the South African Police Service’s Endangered Species Unit managed to rescue Ally, a wild Temminck’s pangolin […]