Wildlife

Written by: Oliver Withers When asked about illegal activity around the world, areas that most people would consider would include drugs, human trafficking and arms. What may not immediately spring to mind is the illegal trade in wildlife and...

Written by: Kimberly White  Rhino poaching has decreased significantly in South Africa and Namibia.  Rhino poaching in South Africa fell by 53 percent in the first six months of this year.  During the first half of the year, 166 rhinos were...

Written by: Kimberly White  The sport of fox hunting has been relegated to the past in Scotland. The Scottish Government has recently passed legislation limiting hunts to two dogs, effectively ending the use of fox hunting packs. The Hunting with Dogs...

Written by: Kimberly White  INTERPOL and the World Customs Organization (WCO) took on wildlife traffickers last month with Operation Thunderball. Coordinated by INTERPOL’s Environmental Security Programme and the WCO Environment Programme, Operation Thunderball is the third in the series following...

Written by: David Obura A framework to help countries develop national strategies for the conservation and sustainable use of their natural resources is nearing completion. The so-called ‘post-2020’ global biodiversity framework will provide goals and targets to stem and reverse the decline...

Written by: Karla Mendes Brazilian authorities announced the seizure of almost 29 tons of shark fins in June, exposing the extent of what they described as illegal fishing in the country. It was apparently the world’s largest confiscation in history:...

Written by: Tara Lohan In September the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service proposed removing 23 species from the federal list of endangered species — not because they’d rebounded, sadly, but because they are believed to be extinct. News reports about the announcement highlighted...

Written by: Ilona Kater Reindeer are incredibly hardy creatures – they survived the last Ice Age and today live in some of the world’s most inhospitable landscapes. Despite their fine-tuned adaptations to life in the Arctic and after over 600,000 years of...

Courtesy of Landscape News Written by: Augusta Dwyer As they move through the rainforest munching plants and shouldering aside small trees, Africa’s forest elephant might come across as an animal bent on mayhem. In fact, says Fabio Berzaghi, an ecologist...

Written by: Shreya Dasgupta Reindeer and caribou populations have been declining dramatically over the past few decades. But one subspecies of reindeer seems to be doing better, a new study has found. The wild Svalbard reindeer (Rangifer tarandus platyrhynchus), which lives in the harsh archipelago...