How are rhinos faring around the world? As per new findings, it’s a “mixed bag.” According to a report published by the nonprofit International Rhino Foundation, the number of Javan…
For local communities in Brunei, the longest bridge in Southeast Asia does more than connect remote eastern areas to the country’s urban capital; it also opens up access to rainforests…
Endangered shark meat and heavy metals found in Brazil’s public food trigger a reckoning.
Galápagos iguanas look like prehistoric animals: Their scaly skin resembles volcanic rock, their backs are ridged with a row of spikes, and they have extremely long, curved claws. They use…
The tree with deep red wood and yellow flowers that gave Brazil its name is disappearing. Native to the Atlantic Rainforest and exclusive to Brazilian soil, the number of Paubrasilia…
At the end of 2025, representatives from 185 countries will convene in Uzbekistan to discuss the fate of sharks, African hornbills, hyenas, vultures, palm trees and other threatened species. The…
“Most people have a turtle story, whether that's seeing a turtle at an aquarium, having a turtle as a pet as a kid, or they helped one cross the road,…
New charges have been filed in what may be Argentina’s largest-ever illegal hunting and wildlife trafficking case. Key defendant Carlos Pablo Escontrela attempted to flee the country, and as a…
Parrots of the Amazona genus are among the most trafficked birds in Colombia. With their distinctive feathers, these parrots are relatively easy to identify by authorities after they have been…
KATHMANDU — Wildlife trafficking for the illegal pet trade in Nepal has made a significant shift online, according to recent research that attributes the trend to the rapid penetration of…
On the moonlit beaches of Terengganu state, on Malaysia’s east coast, green sea turtles have been returning for generations to lay their eggs. For just as long, people have collected,…
Despite being the world’s most heavily trafficked mammal — more than elephants, rhinos and tigers combined — pangolins remain virtually unknown to the public. These shy, scaly creatures are primarily…
LUANG PRABANG, Laos — “No coffee, no coffee,” repeated the security guard. His smile stood in stark contrast to his faded camouflage fatigues and the machine gun slung over his…
With its long, pendulous nose, characteristic pot belly and large size, the odd-looking, leaf-eating proboscis monkey (Nasalis larvatus) may not feature on the list of the world’s cutest animals. Yet,…
For more than three decades, Mark Erdmann has worked where many only dream of diving—on the reefs and in the tangled mangroves of Indonesia’s farthest reaches. A marine biologist by…
In 2013, when Sandra Altherr, co-founder of the German NGO Pro Wildlife, began looking into the reptile trade in Europe, she wondered why people paid thousands of euros for little-known…
Few conservationists have shaped the public conversation around wildlife protection quite like Peter Knights. Best known for co-founding WildAid and helping to redefine conservation as a communications challenge as much…
In 2019, customs officers at a post office in the Philippine capital Manila unwrapped what looked like an ordinary parcel from Poland. Inside, they found 757 live tarantulas stuffed inside…
Leopards — solitary, enigmatic, nocturnal predators with golden fur splashed with dark rosette spots — have the widest range of any big cat. They’re found in a variety of habitats…
The European Union remains a major hub for global wildlife trafficking, with nearly 5,200 seizures reported in 2023. The confiscations mostly involved critically endangered European eels (Anguilla anguilla), timber and…
A recent report surveying seizures of pangolin scales and elephant ivory over the past decade has found a sharp decline following the COVID-19 pandemic. Using data from media reports, public…
The wildlife trade, both legal and illegal, depletes biodiversity, with research indicating it results in a staggering two-thirds decline in the populations of some traded species. Which is why, when…
LILONGWE — In 2021, Malawian authorities found Lin Yunhua and 14 other members of an international trafficking syndicate in possession of pangolin scales, rhino horns, and elephant and hippo ivory.…
A glut of social media videos featuring captive Asian small-clawed otters in the mid-2000s led to what wildlife trade experts term “the pet otter boom.” Demand for the species exploded,…
In 2019, Malawi registered a massive win in the fight against the illegal wildlife trade. Intelligence-driven operations culminated in the arrest of more than a dozen members of the Chinese-led…
Although a superpower, the U.S. is under constant invasion — we’re not talking humans here but meek-looking plants and animals that have caused ecological havoc. Take, for instance, the tiny,…
Wildlife conservation activists have welcomed an update to China’s list of officially sanctioned medicines, which drops 13 traditional formulas containing pangolin parts. The move offers the world’s most trafficked mammal…
Earlier this year, the vulture conservation organization Vulpro hailed the return of Cape vultures to a farm in South Africa’s Eastern Cape province, near Mountain Zebra National Park. That marked…
ASAHAN, Indonesia – On Nov. 11, 2024, Alfi Simatupang, a police officer in Asahan district on the Indonesian island of Sumatra, was arrested along with two soldiers and a civilian…
JOHANNESBURG — South Africa is a hub for the international pet trade, with thousands of animals exported each year. Many of these are exotic birds and mammals like parrots and…
As apex predators, lions (Panthera leo) roam the African savanna, and occasionally even the rainforests, as the only social big cats. A small, isolated population of Asiatic lions (Panthera leo…
Last month, 48 animals — including endangered species like Asian black bears (Ursus thibetanus), lesser adjutant storks (Leptoptilos javanicus) and Bengal slow lorises (Nycticebus bengalensis) — were found to be…
