After a two-hour drive from the airport in Rio de Janeiro, you reach a special park dedicated to a special animal in Brazil’s Atlantic Forest. There, you can take a guided tour through the green and perhaps catch a glimpse of vibrant orange: The pelage or furry coat of one of this region’s most famous resident, the […]
Tag: zoonotic disease
Study investigates how to prevent viral spread from bat guano in Southeast Asia
As humans encroach further into ecosystems, people and wildlife are brought into closer proximity. One potential consequence is an increased risk of pathogens jumping from animals to humans, prompting researchers to explore the dynamics of how viruses circulate in nature and how best to prevent the risk of this transmission. New research from Thailand identified genetic material […]
The Sloth World Tragedy Is a Warning We Cannot Afford to Ignore
When more than fifty wild sloths died in a Florida warehouse before a planned tourist attraction ever opened its doors, the story made headlines for its heartbreak. But scientists, epidemiologists, and veterinary pathologists say the tragedy points to something far larger than one mismanaged business — it reveals a systemic vulnerability at the intersection of […]
It’s ‘whack-a-mole’: Alarming rise in pet trade fuels wildlife trafficking into California
In October, a U.S. Customs and Border Protection officer at California’s Otay Mesa border crossing noticed an odd bulge inside a man’s pants. Jesse Agus Martinez, a U.S. citizen who lives in Tijuana, repeatedly claimed the bump was “pirrin,” a Spanish word for penis. His history of smuggling birds into the U.S. prompted further examination, […]
How Pangolins Became the World’s Most Trafficked Mammal
Pangolins, often described as walking artichokes or modern-day dinosaurs, are extraordinary creatures that have roamed the Earth for millions of years. Despite their unique evolutionary adaptations and gentle nature, these remarkable mammals now face an existential crisis. Each year, tens of thousands of pangolins are poached from the wild, pushing all eight species toward extinction. […]
Petition: Canada Must Ban Cruel and Outdated Ostrich Farming
After an avian flu outbreak at an Ostrich farm in British Columbia, the Canadian government informed the farm that it had to cull the infected ostriches – at least 400 animals in total. But it wasn’t the ostriches’ fault that humans had crammed them in farmed conditions where diseases run rampant. Canadians and Americans alike […]
Urban appetite for lemur meat piles pressure on iconic primates
ANTANANARIVO — Ninety-five percent of lemur species are threatened by habitat loss, hunting and climate change. The direct threat is often understood to result from the actions of poor rural communities, but a forthcoming study has found that thousands of threatened lemurs are being hunted and killed every year to feed a lucrative urban market […]
4 Dominicans are accused of smuggling wildlife and throwing 113 birds overboard to their deaths
SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico– Today a federal grand jury indicted four men from the Dominican Republic who attempted to smuggle hundreds of exotic birds into the Dominican Republic and were interdicted by U.S. Customs and Border Protection and the U.S. Coast Guard. According to court documents, on or about May 3, 2024, defendants Frankluis Carela […]