Sumatran tiger arrives at Tacoma captive-breeding program
A known breeding Sumatran tiger (Panthera tigris sondaica) has made its way to Point Defiance Zoo & Aquarium in Tacoma, Washington state, in hopes it will produce more cubs of…
Rare turtles hatch from eggs rescued from flood-prone Nepal riverbank
KATHMANDU — When conservationist Bed Bahadur Khadka roamed the banks of the Rapti River near Chitwan National Park to monitor gharials released from a breeding center in August 2020, he…
Raise-and-release program keeping Nepal’s gharials alive can be improved, study says
KATHMANDU — A spark of good news for the gharial crocodile (Gavialis gangeticus) in Nepal last month shouldn’t obscure the challenges that remain in conserving the critically endangered species, experts…
Return of the king? Pakistan moves to bring gharials from Nepal to its rivers
KATHMANDU — Pakistan is aiming for the return of an apex predator not seen in the country in nearly four decades: the gharial crocodile (Gavialis gangeticus). According to the WWF…
Study casts doubt on sustainability of regulated blood python snakeskin trade
JAKARTA — If you own a luxury fashion item made with snakeskin, there’s a good chance it came from a blood python in Indonesia, where the species isn’t considered threatened.…
Year of the Tiger: Illegal trade thrives amid efforts to save wild tigers
Anything goes in a Laotian “Special Crime Zone,” a haven for illegal wildlife, narcotics and human trafficking. Asia’s wild tigers remain imperiled, say conservationists, as “tiger farming” continues in Asia.
Podcast: She’s here! Rare Sumatran rhino calf born at rhino sanctuary
For this bonus episode of the Mongabay Explores Podcast, we speak with Mongabay senior staff writer for Indonesia Basten Gokkon about the significance of the recent birth of a Sumatran…
It’s a girl: Super rare Sumatran rhino born in captive-breeding center
Indonesia has reported the birth of a new Sumatran rhino calf in a captive-breeding program aimed at saving the critically endangered species from extinction. The female rhino was born March…
New study highlights hidden scale of U.S. illegal tiger trade
When the Netflix documentary series Tiger King aired in 2020, it sparked widespread discussions about the number of captive tigers in the U.S. Subsequently, many people were startled to find…
Greater Mekong primates struggle to cling on amid persistent threats: Report
When scientists described the Popa langur (Trachypithecus popa) as a species new to science in 2020, it was already staring extinction in the face. Fewer than 260 of the fluffy…
Wild release marks return of giant forest tortoises to Bangladesh hills
Bangladesh’s population of one of the world’s largest tortoise species received a boost last month when researchers and villagers released 10 captive-bred juveniles into the evergreen forests of the Chattogram…
Tiger farms doing little to end wild poaching, Vietnam consumer study shows
Acting on a tipoff, Vietnamese police pried open a basement door in Nghe An province and flicked on the light switch. Videos from the August 2021 raid show officers filing…
Indonesia ranks high on legal wildlife trade, but experts warn it masks illegal trade
JAKARTA — A recent analysis of the legal wildlife trade in the last 46 years puts Indonesia, a biodiversity hotspot in Southeast Asia, among the top 10 exporters of live…
Snapshot of hatchlings raises hopes for Siamese crocs in northeast Cambodia
They say you should never smile at a crocodile. But that’s exactly what happened on Sept. 9 when a team of researchers discovered a group of eight Siamese crocodile (Crocodylus…
Low genetic diversity is part of rhinos’ long-term history, study says
Scientists have debated the evolution of the world’s five living rhinoceros species ever since Charles Darwin addressed the question in a treatise in the mid-1800s, predating On the Origin of…
Captive breeding of Sumatran rhinos: Where the program stands today
Indonesia is today home to the last holdout populations of Sumatran rhinos, a species that once ranged across much of southern Asia. Official figures, which paint a more optimistic picture…
‘What’s your real footprint on the animal world?’: Q&A with author Henry Mance
Many of us love animals. At least, we think we do. We may serve our cats gourmet food and let them sleep in our beds. We may buy our dogs…
Philippine forest turtles stand a ‘good chance’ after first wild release
MANILA — The Philippines’ most traded turtle species, and among the world’s rarest, received a bit of a population boost as researchers introduced two juveniles in the wilds of the…
Do we love elephants enough to let them live free? (commentary)
Elephants are always the prime attraction. In zoos, circuses, and safaris, elephants are the number one draw. They make an impression with their playfulness and intelligence, their docile nature despite…
From common to captive, Javan pied starlings succumb to songbird trade
The Javan pied starling (Gracupica jalla) is a captive in its own home. Thousands of these endemic songbirds once congregated in the safety of tall trees to roost after spending…
CSI, but for parrots: Study applies criminological tool CRAAVED to wildlife trade
Parrots, inhabiting pan-tropical and temperate regions across the world, are highly sought after as pets due to their attractive colors, calls and clever nature. But some of the trade in…
South Africa pulls the plug on controversial captive lion industry
The South African government has made a landmark decision to end the nation’s captive lion breeding industry. This includes closing down facilities that offer touristic experiences like canned hunting and…
Sumatran rhinos show low inbreeding — but when it happens, collapse is quick
The outlook is bleak for Sumatran rhinos. Decades of poaching and habitat loss have precipitated a steep population decline. Once found across Southeast Asia, from the Himalayan foothills to the…
Skin in the game? Reptile leather trade embroils conservation authority
Shoes, watches, wallets and bags — anything made from exotic reptile skins — were plucked from the shelves in Selfridges, a high-end department store in the U.K., in February 2019.…
Captive lions kept in ‘stressful conditions’ create perfect recipe for disease, experts say
In 2019, animal welfare inspectors visited Pienika Farm, a captive-lion facility in the North West province of South Africa. They found sick lion after sick lion living in conditions inspectors…
Conservation actions see Iberian lynx claw back from brink of extinction
It’s midday in summer, the mercury climbing above 40° Celsius (104° Fahrenheit), and nature guide Nuno Roxo is leading us on a hike in Guadiana Valley National Park in Portugal.…
Video: Doomed or viable? Sumatran rhino captive breeding faces a dilemma
Conservationists trying to save the Sumatran rhino from extinction face a critical dilemma: In seeking to build a robust captive-breeding program, should the healthiest, most fertile rhinos be left in…
Rarely seen Sumatran rhinos are now even more elusive as threats close in
BANDAR LAMPUNG, Indonesia — A brief clip recorded in October last year by a camera trap deep in the forest of Way Kambas National Park in Sumatra piqued the interest…
Widodo Ramono, the man on a mission to save Sumatran rhinos
Editor's note: Widodo died of COVID-19 on December 24, 2020. BOGOR, Indonesia — Indonesian biologist Widodo Sukohadi Ramono is one of the longest-standing and most influential figures in the country’s…
The rhino in the room: 3D scan brings near-extinct Sumatran species to virtual life
Lured with watermelon, Harapan, a 13-year-old captive Sumatran rhino moseyed into a metal-framed enclosure rigged with 24 cameras. When he stepped in front of the lenses, all of the cameras…
