Malaysian authorities say they’ve made the largest seizure of elephant ivory and other illegally trafficked wildlife parts in the nation’s history. The Royal Malaysian Customs Department (JKDM) statement said the agency found US$18 million in tusks, rhino horn, pangolin scales and related items while tracking a shipment of timber to…
At least 227 people died last year directly because of their environmental activism, an unfortunate toll that’s hit a new record as climate change impacts increase. That’s according to the Global Witness organization in the UK. The annual report warns that while most deaths still happen in the Americas, there…
A provocative new report from the World Animal Protection organization claims that Ethiopian Airlines, the leading airline on the African continent, is involved in fueling the global wildlife trade. “Between 2016 and 2020, at least 25 different species of wildlife, including reptiles, mammals, invertebrates and amphibians featured in at least…
Some 1,000 Kenyans are suing the British military, after a wildfire back on March 24 destroyed part of a wildlife conservation area and affected people in the surrounding communities. Lawyers for the Kenyans say the British Army Training Unit Kenya (BATUK) started the fire while conducting military training exercises. The…
Authorities in Botswana say that toxic cyanobacteria, a kind of algae found in water sources, is behind the mysterious death of elephant herds earlier this year. Dr. Mmadi Reuben, the principal veterinary officer for the Department of Wildlife & National Parks, said Monday that the laboratory samples of water obtained…
Uganda is celebrating the birth of another baby mountain gorilla, the fifth such arrival for the endangered species in the last six weeks. The latest little gorilla was born to Ruterana, an adult female in the Rushegura family group that lives in the Bwindi forest. It is her third child,…
South African police chief General Khehla Sithole has pledged a comprehensive investigation after the “senseless” killing of decorated anti-poaching officer Lt Col Leroy Brewer. Brewer, 49, was driving to work in Mbombela around 6:30 am on Tuesday, March 17, when he was ambushed and shot by an undetermined number of gunmen…
Lupita Nyong’o has met with plenty of accolades, and now the Kenyan-Mexican actor is receiving a new one for her commitment to wildlife protection. Nyong’o was named this year’s Wildlife Champion on Monday by WildAid, a global conservation organization with a mission to end the illegal wildlife trade and a…
In Geneva, the World Wildlife Conference of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES) wrapped up on Wednesday with the adoption of a number of measures meant to protect wildlife and support global conservation. Among them is the revision of trade rules meant…
At least 164 people across the globe were killed in 2018 while seeking to protect their land, water and other environmental rights, according to a Global Witness report released this week. That works out to more than three people each week, with the greatest losses in the Philippines and the…
It’s been one year since the death of Sudan, the world’s last male northern white rhino. He lived to be 45 before age-related health complications and infections claimed his life at Ol Pejeta, the conservancy in Nanyuki, Kenya, that Sudan called home. He left behind a daughter, Najin, and her…
Sunday is United Nations World Wildlife Day, with much celebration of the elephant and rhino, the parrot and pangolin, and the marine life that is this year’s UN focus. It’s also a day to remember the wildlife defenders who risk and too often lose their lives in the fight against…
The Chinese government distanced itself on Wednesday from the illegal wildlife trafficking of one of its citizens, who was sentenced this week in a Tanzanian court to 15 years in prison for smuggling almost two tons of elephant-tusk ivory. The trafficking involved ivory from at least 430 elephants. The 2015…
Botswana has been named the best African country for safari adventures, narrowly edging out Tanzania for the first time in annual ratings conducted by SafariBookings.com. “Botswana – a study in contrasting landscapes, from the impossibly beautiful Kalahari Desert with its big skies to the watery wonderland of the famous Okavango…
People may think that African wildlife is already facing enough threat from climate change or illegal trafficking, but the continent’s preserves are facing up to USD$2 billion in funding shortfalls that threaten protected areas. That’s according to Peter Lindsey, director of the Lion Recovery Fund and co-author of new research…