From the Malayan sun bear to a blood python, Malaysians seem to have found a booming marketplace for wild animals on Facebook. Much of this online trade is carried out in closed Facebook groups, and involves live, high-profile and threatened species for which trade is strictly prohibited in Peninsular Malaysia, a five-month investigation by wildlife […]
Tag: traffickers
POLL: Should the ivory trade in South Africa be legalized?
This week, representatives from countries around the world are gathered in Geneva to discuss the wildlife trade. The agenda ranges from rhinos to totoabas, but one of the hottest topics is ivory: Some 30,000 elephants are slaughtered for their tusks each year. One thing that came up at the 66th meeting of the Standing Committee […]
How Black-Market Poison Is Helping Poachers Kill Animals
According to Zimbabwe authorities, poachers have killed a total of 80 elephants by poisoning them with cyanide, a highly toxic industrial chemical, during various incidents in recent months. First, 11 elephants were killed in Hwange National Park and 3 in Matusadona National Park. On October 26, the parks authority announced that another 22 had been […]
Latin American wildlife trafficking takes to the air
Each year millions of travelers stream through the gates of Costa Rica’s Juan Santamaría airport in route to one of the country’s many natural wonders. But often when tourists leave, a piece of the country’s biodiversity goes with them. Turtle shell bracelets, reptile-skin wallets, bird feathers and even live animals have all been snuck out […]
U.S. Steps Up Fight Against Poaching and Wildlife Trafficking
With the slaughter of elephants and rhinos in Africa at record levels, lawmakers in the U.S. are stepping up efforts to save some of the world’s most iconic species. An Obama administration task force is expected to make recommendations on how the federal government do more to fight wildlife trafficking, a trade that largely revolves […]
Seven rhinos killed by poachers in Kenya’s bloodiest week
Gunshots rang out across the wilderness on 23 May when poachers shot to death one rhino in Lake Nakuru National Park. Then three days later on 26 May they struck two sites, Solio Ranch near Nyeri in central Kenya, and at Ngulia Rhino Sanctuary in Tsavo West National Park killing one rhino in each protected […]
Orphaned rhino struggles to survive after mother killed
An Indian rhino calf that lost its mother to poachers is clinging to life with the help of conservationists, according to WWF staff assisting with its care. The two week old male is in critical condition after its mother was gunned down by poachers Tuesday and her horn chopped off. The shocking incident is the […]
Photographers threatening the already-maligned slender loris
Caught in a beam of torchlight, the eyes of the slender loris reflect back a striking glow. In an effort to better understand these shy, nocturnal primates, a team of researchers set out to the Western Ghats of India. The resulting paper: Moolah, Misfortune or Spinsterhood? The Plight of the Slender Loris (Loris lydekkerianus) in […]