The killing of an alpha elephant bull at Omatjete last week has been highly criticised by Namibian conservation and tourism groups. The elephant, named 'Voortrekker' of the rare Ugab desert-adapted herd, was put down last Tuesday by a government-appointed hunter for N$120 000. To Omatjete's Ohungu Conservancy, who claim to …
Waves and ripples at a distance. A promise of relief for the parched throat. A herd of camels splash and spill water under their hoofs. We reached them after a long drive. But there was not a drop of water. The camels hesitated a moment, then continued their trudge. At …
A sharply divided European Union failed Tuesday to protect the threatened bluefin tuna, as Mediterranean nations refused to back even a temporary ban on catching the fish prized by sushi aficionados. The bloc
"The best thing you could do for the Amazon is to bomb all the roads." That might sound like an eco-terrorist's threat, but they're actually the words of Eneas Salati, one of Brazil's most respected scientists. Thomas Lovejoy, a leading American biologist, is equally emphatic: "Roads are the seeds of …
Florida wildlife officials are considering a ban on possessing several large, nonnative reptile species after a pet Burmese python killed a 2-year-old girl last month. Col. Julie Jones, director of law enforcement for the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission, discussed that option with Gov. Charlie Crist when he visited …
Soft shell turtles are among the most threatened groups of freshwater animals that are in need of urgent conservation attention. In Kerala (South India), two species of freshwater turtles, the Indian black turtle or Indian pond terrapin, Melanochelys trijuga coronata (Schweigger, 1812) and the Indian Flap-shelled turtle Lissemys punctata punctata …
The aims of the UN's initiative to protect the last gorillas are laudable – but they are a distraction from the pressing need for anti-poaching measures. (Editorial)
Polar bear populations in and around Alaska are declining due to continued melting of sea ice and Russian poaching, according to reports released Thursday by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. Fewer polar bears have survived in the southern Beaufort Sea, which extends from northern Alaska to parts of Canada, …
Give forest guards the slip to hunt deer on festival day heavy barricades and forest guards did not deter tribals of Jharkhand from celebrating their annual hunting festival, Sendra. The festival is an old ritual where tribals from the state and bordering areas of Orissa, Bihar and Bengal, join to …
Australia lifted protection levels on Friday for the world's largest surviving marsupial carnivore, the Tasmanian devil, listing the animal as endangered due to a deadly facial tumour outbreak. Devils, the size of a small dog and made famous by the fierce Looney Tunes cartoon character known as "Taz", have been …
European politicians are breathtakingly hypocritical about sealskins ROUGHLY handled, and incompetently stunned, terrified animals may awaken several times before they are slaughtered. Some have their throats slit fully conscious. Europe
A circus elephant has become a poster pachyderm against poaching of his endangered Asian species, capturing the hearts of many Vietnamese after an old wound caused by a trap flared up. The fate of Kham Bun made headlines in Vietnam recently after the Hanoi circus said the elephant, who was …
Russian prosecutors initiated a criminal investigation Tuesday into the use of helicopters to hunt endangered goats by senior officials, a case that has revealed the playtime pleasures of Russia's elite. Seven people died in a helicopter crash in January, including Russian President Dmitry Medvedev's personal envoy to parliament and a …
Jim Corbett is held in great esteem in India as a compassionate man who had exceptional environmental awareness. A closer look however shows that this image is misleading and that he was in fact a fully paid-up imperialist. The continuance of the Corbett myth is indicative of our failure to …
Arunachal Pradesh, being the largest state in Northeast India, has unique biocultural resources. To enhance the sustainability of biocultural resources, a series of village workshops (15) were organized among the Adi community of Arunachal Pradesh. The objective was to explore and understand the dynamics of iocultural knowledge, livelihood, ecosystems and …
Mrs. Hume's Pheasant (Syrmaticus humiae) is a poorly known, but globally threatened bird. It is thinly distributed in the hill tracts of northeastern India, northern and western Myanmar, southwestern China and northern Thailand.
Over-harvesting is changing the very essence of prey species THE average horn length and body mass of the bighorn sheep population in Alberta, Canada, saw almost one fourth reduction in the last 30 years. This damaged the health and viability of these animals, leaving them vulnerable to predators. A review …
The IUCN press release on conservation status of antelopes updated by Antelope Specialist Group (SSC/IUCN)as part of the Global Mammal Assessment. Twenty five of 91 antelope species, or about a quarter have been rated "endangered". A quarter of the world's antelope species is under threat of extinction due to hunting …
