Elephant deaths rise in Tanzania after shoot-to-kill poachers policy is dropped

Elephant deaths rise in Tanzania after shoot-to-kill poachers policy is dropped

Elephant deaths in Tanzania have risen dramatically since the government abandoned a shoot-to-kill policy against poachers, officials admit. Lazaro Nyalandu, the deputy minister of natural resources and tourism, said 60 elephants were “butchered” in November and December, compared with two in October. Soldiers, police, game rangers and forestry officers had been involved in a month-long […]

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Scientists identify 137 protected areas most important for preserving biodiversity

Scientists identify 137 protected areas most important for preserving biodiversity

Want to save the world’s biodiversity from mass extinction? Then make certain to safeguard the 74 sites identified today in a new study in Science. Evaluating 173,000 terrestrial protected areas, scientists pulled out the most important ones for global biodiversity based on the number of threatened mammals, birds, and amphibians found in the parks. In […]

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Execute elephant poachers on the spot, Tanzanian minister urges

Execute elephant poachers on the spot, Tanzanian minister urges

A government minister in Tanzania has called for a “shoot-to-kill” policy against poachers in a radical measure to curb the mass slaughter of elephants. Khamis Kagasheki’s proposal for perpetrators of the illicit ivory trade to be executed “on the spot” divided opinion, with some conservationists backing it as a necessary deterrent but others warning that […]

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Safeguarding nine priority areas could protect all of Tanzania’s primates

Safeguarding nine priority areas could protect all of Tanzania’s primates

Researchers at the Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS) have recently developed a list of “Priority Primate Areas” to save Tanzania’s many primate species from extinction. A hub of unique and endangered primates, Tanzania is widely considered to be the most important mainland country for primate diversity in Africa. Approximately a third of the 27 primate species […]

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Costa Rica Update

Costa Rica Update

My second tour complete, so naturally, lots of editing waiting on the hard drives. Both of the 2013 tours were very successful, wonderful guests, amazing nature to see and photograph. This most recent trip was exceptional as we were able to stand in a farmers field and watch Quetzals with their nest. A tree line […]

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