For those of you who are single and ready to mingle, perhaps you’ve tried online dating. One popular dating app, Tinder, currently lists a rather attractive male ISO of his forever mate. He’s big-boned, in his early forties, virtually hairless, loves the outdoors and long walks through grassy savannah areas. Talk about a catch! Oh, […]
Tag: poachers
POLL: Should the sale of rhino horns be legalized?
A top court in South Africa just made it legal to trade in rhino horns within the country. The South African government, in 2009, imposed a moratorium that banned domestic trade in rhino horns. But after years of legal battle between commercial rhino breeders and the government’s Department of Environmental Affairs (DEA), the constitutional court […]
POLL: Should zoos protect rhinos by removing their horns?
A Czech zoo has said it will use a chainsaw to remove the horns from its herd of rare rhinos after a brutal attack last week in a French zoo where poachers shot dead a white rhino and hacked off its horns. “It’s for the sake of rhino safety,” Andrea Jirousova, spokeswoman for the zoo […]
Tracking wildlife for science could actually help poachers
Hackers have infiltrated government websites, invaded corporate databases, and may have even helped to sway the results of the U.S. presidential election. Now researchers warn that cyber criminals might set their sights on another target: animal tracking data. Scientists have long used radio signals to follow tagged animals, glean valuable insights into their behavior, and […]
High price of rhino horn leaves bloody trail across the globe
On the black market it is reputedly worth more than its weight in gold or cocaine, and this week the lure of rhino horn brought the bloody business of poaching to a zoo near Paris. There, in the dead of night, criminals broke in, shot a white rhino called Vince three times in the head […]
Rhino shot dead by poachers at French zoo
Poachers have broken into a French zoo, killing a four-year-old white rhinoceros and sawing off its horn. Keepers found the dead animal, named Vince, in the African enclosure of the zoo at Thoiry, west of Paris, on Tuesday morning. It had been shot in the head and its large horn removed with a chainsaw. The […]
The Spirit of the Steppes: Saving Central Asia’s saiga
In 2015, disease wiped out 200,000+ adult saiga; now a new viral outbreak threatens Mongolia’s entire population. But these steppe antelope are resilient, and could recover, if protected from traffickers. The beauty of the saiga belies first impressions. It may be hard to look beyond the big nose — a bulbous schnozz that looks like […]
POLL: Should Finland’s 235 wolves be culled?
The story of a kill is told in the snow. On the Finnish island of Porosaari, we find the first paw print. “That’s a male,” says Asko Kettunen, retired border guard, hunter and tracker. How can he be sure? “It’s big.” Five ravens rise from dark pines, croaking in the icy silence; they will scavenge […]