The rhino reckoning
The Sumatran rhino captive breeding plan is poised for a re-evaluation — and a relaunch.
Zoos News
The great rhino U-turn
After 17 years, researchers finally unlock the mysteries of Sumatran rhino reproduction
A herd of dead rhinos
Capturing Sumatran rhinos was one thing. Keeping them alive turned out to be another thing entirely.
1984: the meeting that changed everything for Sumatran rhinos
This is the first article in our four-part series “The Rhino Debacle." It’s hardly the most likely place to meet a Sumatran rhino. But as you enter Zimmer Hall at…
How a better understanding of psychopathology in captive primates can aid in conservation efforts
Though it is a highly controversial practice due to the many ethical concerns it raises, the use of nonhuman primates (NHPs), mostly monkeys, as research subjects has led to advances…
Puan, the world’s oldest Sumatran orangutan, dies at 62
JAKARTA — Puan, the world’s oldest living Sumatran orangutan, has died at an Australian zoo after a lifetime spent in service to the conservation of the critically endangered species. Officials…
Venezuela’s hungry hunt wildlife, zoo animals, as economic crisis grows
The humanitarian crisis in Venezuela has become a crisis for wildlife and zoo animals too, as a hungry, desperate population hunts wild species for food.
Pangolins on the brink as Africa-China trafficking persists unabated
The pangolin trade remains brisk, as conservationists scramble to identify populations and lobby for tough protections, while U.S. zoos make a controversial try to raise them.
‘Monumental’ bust in Madagascar triggers effort to save thousands of endangered tortoises
Authorities in Madagascar seized almost 10,000 critically endangered tortoises earlier this month from a house suspected to be a waypoint for funneling them into Asia’s pet trade. The Turtle Survival…
Animal trainers are teaching wildlife to conserve themselves
Chimps have been taught to sound an alarm when poachers approach; polar bears and condors have been trained to avoid towns; and even butterflies can learn new tricks.
‘Photo Ark’ a quest to document global biodiversity: Q&A with photographer Joel Sartore and director Chun-Wei Yi
At turns haunting, humorous or just downright bizarre, the studio portraits of the thousands of animal species that photographer Joel Sartore has collected are more than just a catalog of…
Baby photos of 10 of the world’s rarest turtles from the zoo trying to save them
Everyone loves turtles. Turtles and tortoises are often depicted as tranquil creatures possessing wisdom and longevity. These reptiles are indeed ancient survivors with a fossil record dating back over 200…
U.S. zoos learn how to keep captive pangolins alive, helping wild ones
The Pangolin Consortium is mastering the art of helping pangolins thrive in captivity, which allows researchers to study the animals, aiding in their survival in the wild.
First vaquita ‘rescued’ in bid to save the porpoise from extinction
For the first time, a team of scientists has captured and then released a vaquita (Phocoena sinus), a rare porpoise in the Gulf of California, as part of a project…
Sudden death of juvenile zoo elephant raises anew issues of life in captivity
Staff at Omaha’s Henry Doorly Zoo may never know what, exactly, caused the sudden death of Warren, a young male elephant about eight or nine years old who died recently…
China sends first pandas to Indonesia under captive-breeding agreement
JAKARTA — A panda couple arrived here on Thursday, kicking off a captive breeding program aimed at boosting the species’ population, which is already inching upward thanks to the efforts…
Photos: Bald eagle bird bath
Taking a bath can be one of the more relaxing things in life – even for bald eagles. Pausing briefly to give us a curious look, the eagle dipped its…
Howler monkeys booming in Belize sanctuary 25 years after translocation
The calls of howler monkeys, once wiped out in a Central American forest known as the Cockscomb Basin, now ring out in the canopy, and the scientists responsible couldn’t be…
A Czech zoo is dehorning its rhinos
Earlier this month, poachers broke into a zoo near Paris, shot a 4-year-old male white rhino thrice in his head, and hacked off one of his horns. This is believed…
Controversial policy could spur tiger trade in China
In the next weeks, China’s State Forestry Administration (SFA) will reportedly announce whether tigers will be on a list of endangered species that can be legally farmed, like pigs and…
Poachers kill rhino at French zoo
On Monday night, poachers shot and killed a rhinoceros at a zoo in France. Vince, a four-year-old male southern white rhino, was a resident of the Thoiry Zoo and Wildlife…
The clouded leopard: conserving Asia’s elusive arboreal acrobat
If quizzed on what we know about Asia’s clouded leopard, most of us would be stumped. But ask an expert who works with these wild cats, and you’ll get an…
Conservation’s best kept secret (database)
A small NGO, Species360, manages a database that stores records on thousands of species around the world, with countless potential applications.
‘Racing against time’ to save the taguá and its vanishing Chaco home
Skittering in small clans among the hard-scrabble brush of the Gran Chaco in South America, the taguá looks like a cross between a svelte pig and an over-sized hedgehog. Also…
‘Grandpa’ Pan Pan, world’s oldest male giant panda, dies in China
The world lost yet another celebrity in 2016. On 28 December 2016, Pan Pan, believed to be the world’s oldest male giant panda, died aged 31 at the Dujiangyan base…
Thailand failing to stop illegal trade in apes due to inadequate legislation
Thailand is failing to control illegal trade in apes because of inadequate legislation, according to two new reports by TRAFFIC, the wildlife trade monitoring network. The numbers of apes in Thailand’s…
Discovery of baby Chinese alligators boosts hope for rare species
The world’s most endangered alligator -- the Chinese alligator -- is making a comeback. Scientists have recently photographed baby Chinese alligators swimming in Dongtan Wetland Park in Shanghai. Fewer than 150…
From Indonesia to Ohio: the struggle to breed Sumatran rhinos in captivity
This is Part One of a two-part series about attempts to rescue Sumatran rhinos from the brink of extinction by breeding the critically endangered species in captivity. Read Part Two…
TripAdvisor bans ticket sales to wild animal attractions
Travel website TripAdvisor, and its booking service Viator, will no longer sell tickets to tourism experiences that allow petting or touching of wild animals, the company announced on October 12.…
Man surrenders pet crocodile he raised for 13 years
BINJAI, Indonesia — A man on the Southeast Asian country's main western island of Sumatra said goodbye to his pet crocodile this week, handing it over to authorities after learning…
Manatees to make a comeback in Guadeloupe for the first time in over a century
In the beginning of the 20th century, over-hunting wiped out all west Indian manatees from the waters of the French Caribbean Islands of Guadeloupe located in the eastern Caribbean sea.…
Grim reality behind tiger selfie tourism: speed breeding, cruelty
Getting close up and personal with a tiger can be exciting. But the reality behind tiger tourism is often grim, a new investigation has revealed. The tiger entertainment industry in…
Special series
Forest Trackers
- Narco airstrips beset Indigenous communities in Peruvian Amazon
- 15 illegal narco-trafficking airstrips found near Peru Indigenous communities
- Satellite data show bursts of deforestation continue in Indonesian national park
- Fires rip through Indigenous territories in Brazilian Amazon
Oceans
- Southeast Asia’s fisheries thrive despite decades of overfishing warnings: Study
- Peruvian fishers sue for additional compensation after big December oil spill
- Smuggling networks exploit migrant debt to fuel tiger poaching in Malaysia, study shows
- Community-based conservation cuts thresher shark fishing by 91% in Indonesia: Study
Amazon Conservation
- ‘World’s largest’ carbon credit deal in the Amazon faces bumpy road ahead
- New conservation model calls for protecting Amazon for its archaeological riches
- Brazil dredges Amazon rivers to ease drought isolation, raising environmental concerns
- ‘We need white men on our side to save the Amazon from destruction,’ 92-year-old Indigenous Chief Raoni says
Land rights and extractives
- ‘Colombia’s Amazon peoples provide solutions’: Interview with José Homero Mutumbajoy
- Should mining companies consider no-go zones where isolated Indigenous peoples live? (Commentary)
- Brazil sets a date to remove illegal miners from Munduruku land, more details await
- Peruvian logger loses FSC label after latest clash with isolated Mashco Piro
Endangered Environmentalists
- Environmental & rights activists flee and hide as M23 captures DRC’s cities
- Environmental journalist in Cambodia shot and killed by suspected logger
- Vietnam sentences yet another energy expert over renewables research
- Mother Nature Cambodia activists sentenced to prison — again
Indonesia's Forest Guardians
- On a Borneo mountainside, Indigenous Dayak women hold fire and defend forest
- Fenced in by Sulawesi national park, Indigenous women make forestry breakout
- In Borneo, the ‘Power of Mama’ fight Indonesia’s wildfires with all-woman crew
- Pioneer agroforester Ermi, 73, rolls back the years in Indonesia’s Gorontalo
Conservation Effectiveness
- How effective is the EU’s marquee policy to reduce the illegal timber trade?
- How sharing and learning from failures can transform conservation (commentary)
- Is planting trees as good for the Earth as everyone says?
- Failure in conservation projects: Everyone experiences it, few record it
Southeast Asian infrastructure
- An ‘ocean grab’ for a property megaproject leaves Jakarta fishers grounded
- Study: Indonesia’s new capital city threatens stable proboscis monkey population
- Indonesia’s new capital ‘won’t sacrifice the environment’: Q&A with Nusantara’s Myrna Asnawati Safitri
- Small farmers in limbo as Cambodia wavers on Tonle Sap conservation rules
