The Trump administration has removed endangered species protections from the gray wolf, a species once persecuted to near-extinction in the US, in a move that has been condemned as premature by conservationists. The wolves have been provided federal protection for more than 45 years but this is no longer needed according to David Bernhardt, the […]
Tag: poisoning
Grouse moors under fire after golden eagle tag found in Scottish river
The satellite tag from a golden eagle which vanished in suspicious circumstances on a Scottish grouse moor four years ago has been found in a river, wrapped in lead sheeting. The tag was recovered earlier this year from the River Braan in Perthshire in what wildlife crime investigators believe is a breakthrough in their attempts […]
Botswana: Mystery elephant deaths caused by cyanobacteria
Toxins made by microscopic algae in water caused the previously unexplained deaths of hundreds of elephants in Botswana, wildlife officials say. Botswana is home to a third of Africa’s declining elephant population. The alarm was raised when elephant carcasses were spotted in the country’s Okavango Delta between May and June. Officials say a total of […]
An invisible enemy: the battle to save black-footed ferrets from the plague
Every year, from August to November, Travis Livieri becomes nocturnal. The field biologist goes out in his truck in Conata Basin, South Dakota, armed with a spotlight in search of one of the most endangered mammals in North America: the black-footed ferret. When the light catches the reflective green shine of the ferret’s eyes, he […]
A taste of honey: how bees mend fences between farmers and elephants
Watchtowers in trees, tripwire alarms, radio collars, chilli smoke and beehive fences: scientists and conservationists across Asia and Africa are coming up with safe and humane ways to keep elephants at bay and reduce conflict with humans. In early June, the agonising death of a pregnant wild elephant that ate an explosives-filled pineapple in India […]
Call for grouse shooting to be licensed amid rise in bird of prey deaths
Labour has called for grouse shooting to be licensed after a big increase in illegal killings of birds of prey during the coronavirus lockdown, the majority of which, investigators say, are linked to the sport. As the grouse shooting season, known as the Glorious 12th, officially began on Wednesday, the shadow environment secretary, Luke Pollard, […]
Calls for swift action as hundreds of elephants die in Botswana’s Okavango Delta
Nearly 400 elephants have died in Botswana’s Okavango Delta since March, in what wildlife experts say is one of the largest elephant mortality events ever recorded. Conservationists have criticized the government’s handling of the matter and are urging them to speed up investigations. Botwsana’s environment ministry registered the first of these unexplained elephant deaths in […]
Amazon river dolphin risks extinction if Brazil moratorium not renewed
TEFÉ, Amazonas state, Brazil — A pair of pink Amazon river dolphins emerges for just a moment, arcing above the chocolate brown waters inside the Mamirauá Institute for Sustainable Development, a research facility at the tropical heart of the Brazilian Amazon. Powerful jets of water spray out of their blowholes as these freshwater mammals take […]