Botswana, Long an Elephant Refuge, Faces Poaching Threat
Botswana, long viewed as a rare refuge for African elephants, is coming under increasing threat from poachers.
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Environmentalists Intervene in Challenge of NY Ivory Ban
A federal judge ushered several environmental-advocacy and animal-rights groups into the ring Monday for a challenge of New York’s ban on ivory sales.
Read moreBollywood Star Salman Khan Gets 5 Years for Poaching Deer
Bollywood star Salman Khan was convicted Thursday of poaching rare deer in a wildlife preserve two decades ago and sentenced to five years in prison, with the trial judge describing him as a “habitual offender.”
Read moreTanzania to Auction 3 Tons of Hippo Teeth, Despite Criticism
Authorities in Tanzania plan an auction of 3.5 tons of hippo teeth next week, drawing criticism from conservation groups who say the sale could encourage increased killing of the vulnerable species for its body parts.
Read moreAfrican Elephant, Hippo, Rhino Populations Shrink in Wartime
War is hell for wildlife, too. A new study finds that wartime is the biggest threat to Africa’s elephants, rhinos, hippos and other large animals.
Read moreUS Drops Import Ban on African Elephant Trophies
Entrusting hunters with the survival of the threatened African elephant, U.S. wildlife regulators removed an Obama-era restriction on the importation of elephant trophies from Zimbabwe and Zambia.
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Market for Illegal Elephant Ivory Surges in Laos, Study Says
The illegal sale of African ivory in Laos is surging even as neighboring China phases out its own legal ivory market, highlighting the challenge of curbing wildlife trafficking across porous borders, a conservation group said Thursday.
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Ivory Sellers Face Criminal Charges Under New California Law
California filed criminal charges Wednesday against three sellers of ivory merchandise – a first under a new state law barring the sale of such products, according to prosecutors.
Read moreSouth African Rhino Breeder Readies Online Auction of Horns
Lawyers for a rhino breeder in South Africa say bidding will start Wednesday in an online auction of 264 rhino horns after a court ordered the government to hand over a permit allowing the sale to proceed.
Read moreNew York City Crushes Ton of Ivory in Central Park
Gathering inside Manhattan’s Central Park, New York’s Department of Environmental Conservation crushed more than a ton of ivory from the largest seizure in the state’s history at a Thursday morning ceremony.
Read morePolice Patrol for Poachers as Animals Flee Flooding in India
Police are patrolling for poachers as rhinoceros, deer and wild buffalo move to higher ground to escape floods devastating parts of northeast India, including a famed wildlife preserve.
Read moreSouth Africa Reports Drop in Rhinos Killed by Poachers
South Africa says poachers killed 1,054 rhinos in the country last year, a 10.3 percent drop from 2015.
Read moreGabon’s Forest Elephant Population Plunges 80 Percent in a Decade
Forest elephants living in a Central African “sanctuary” are being picked off rapidly by illegal poachers, and the population has dropped by more than 80 percent in a decade.
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Interior Department Touts Anti-Poaching Efforts
The Department of the Interior touted progress by the United States in addressing the crisis of wildlife poaching – a threat that, combined with climate change and habitat loss, is projected to cut two-thirds of vertebrate populations by 2020 from the previous half-century.
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