The Mojave Desert may look like a flat, brown stretch of nothing between Los Angeles and Las Vegas. But threading through its rocky mountain ranges is an intricate network of wildlife movement that has sustained desert species for thousands of years. Now, scientists and advocates say a solar project approved by the state of California […]
Tag: Rhino
Chinese court cases reveal most trafficked rhino horns come from Southern Africa
Rhinoceroses, one of the largest groups of animals on the planet, are fighting a battle for survival because of a prized body part: their horn, which they use to defend territories, assert dominance and protect their young. But people use this keratinous horn as medicine, adornment and decoration. In traditional Chinese medicine, it’s believed to […]
‘Ridiculous’ plan developed at Florida zoo saves wild rhino’s eyesight in Africa
WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. (AP) — Corralling a wild rhinoceros into a small chute to give it eyedrops might seem like a crazy plan. But if it’s crazy and it works, then it’s not crazy. Animal behaviorists partnering with the Palm Beach Zoo & Conservation Society in Florida traveled to Africa in August to help an endangered […]
Climate change threatens unique ‘Samburu Special 5’ wildlife in arid East Africa
In the dry regions of East Africa lives a group of animals unlike any others. Known as the Samburu Special Five to safari operators in Kenya, they are the dry-adapted reticulated giraffe (Giraffa reticulata), Grévy’s zebra (Equus grevyi), beisa oryx (Oryx beisa), gerenuk (Litocranius walleri) and Somali ostrich (Struthio molybdophanes). But they are increasingly imperiled […]
Tracking rhino horn trade: Interview with International Rhino Foundation’s Nina Fascione
How are rhinos faring around the world? As per new findings, it’s a “mixed bag.” According to a report published by the nonprofit International Rhino Foundation, the number of Javan rhinos, on the Indonesian island of the same name, have plummeted as a result of poaching. On the other hand, the numbers of black rhinos […]
Rhino horn trafficking: Conservationist John Hume among six accused in Pretoria court
Well-known nature conservationist John Hume, 83, is among six people accused of running a rhino horn smuggling syndicate. The accused, Hume, Clive Melville, Izak Du Toit, Elizabeth van Niekerk, Mattheus Poggenpoel, and Johannes Hennop appeared in the Pretoria Magistrate’s Court on Tuesday. According to the National Prosecuting Authority, Hume was granted R100,000 bail. “Melville and […]
More than 10,000 species on brink of extinction need urgent action: Study
Extinction is an overwhelming concept, difficult to grasp in its enormity and finality. Thousands of species are barreling toward that grim fate, unless we help. A comprehensive new study provides the clearest picture yet of Earth’s most imperiled species, and offers evidence that conservation can work. The study published in Nature Reviews Biodiversity found that […]
Rhino horns made radioactive to foil traffickers in South African project
A South African university has launched an anti-poaching campaign to inject the horns of rhinoceroses with radioactive isotopes that it says are harmless for the animals but can be detected by customs agents. Under the collaborative project involving the University of the Witwatersrand, nuclear energy officials and conservationists, five rhinos were injected in what the […]