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 […]
Tag: poaching
Florida Wildlife Authorities Bust Trafficking Ring Smuggling Thousands of Protected Flying Squirrels into South Korea
Seven people have been arrested and charged in a Florida-based flying squirrel trafficking operation after a 19-month investigation that uncovered a global trafficking ring. The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC) found the poachers deployed 10,000 squirrel traps throughout central Florida, capturing as many as 3,600 flying squirrels, a protected species in the state, […]
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 […]
From safaris to slaughter: Butchered for valuable horns, rhinos are among the tragic victims in a new poaching epidemic – as Africa’s deserted game reserves lose the tourist millions that protected its wildlife wonders
When Prince Harry was seeking to impress Meghan Markle in the early days of their courtship, he took her on a surprise trip to Botswana, the African country he used to call his ‘second home’. There they celebrated her 36th birthday in a $2,000-a-night deluxe tent at the Meno a Kwena safari camp on the […]
Wildlife emergency in Bolivia as fires threaten animal sanctuaries
A ghastly orange grin extends across the treetops in Guarayos, Bolivia, marking a cruel turn of fate for rescued wildlife. On the ground, the air is too smoky to breathe, and hot enough to scorch. The woods are so dry that everything burns. Fire is eating its way through one of the world’s great efforts […]
Michigan poacher who killed 18 wolves, bald eagles loses hunting license for life
CHIPPEWA COUNTY, MI – A Michigan man will lose his hunting license for life after he pleaded guilty to numerous wildlife crimes, including poaching 18 gray wolves. Kurt Johnston Duncan, 56, of Pickford was sentenced Tuesday under a plea agreement before Chippewa County District Court Judge Eric Blubaugh. The lifetime ban also prohibits Duncan from […]
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 […]
French couple paid $7,000 for tiger cub they thought was Savannah cat
No wonder they were purr-plexed. A couple in France thought they bought a special kitty — only to discover they had taken a tiger cub home, according to a report. The unidentified couple from Le Havre told police they stumbled across an online ad two years ago for a Savannah cat, which is a cross between […]