Thirsty camels lay siege to Australian Outback town – ‘a plague of biblical proportions’

Docker River, an Australian Outback town, is under siege from 6,000 wild camels which have laid waste to the area in search of water. By Murray WardropPublished: 4:20PM GMT 26 Nov 2009 Residents in the Northern Territory settlement have been left cowering in their homes after the animals trampled fences, smashed through water mains and […]

In midst of poaching crisis, illegal rhino horn tops gold

By Jeremy Hance, www.mongabay.com, November 25, 2009 Rhino poaching has hit a fifteen-year high, and the rising price for black-market rhino horn is likely the reason why. For the first time in a decade rhino horn is worth more than gold: a kilo of rhino horn is worth approximately 60,000 US dollars while gold is […]

Report shows dramatic decline in Siberian tigers

NEW YORK (November 24, 2009) — The Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS) announced today a report revealing that the last remaining population of Siberian tigers has likely declined significantly due to the rising tide of poaching and habitat loss. WCS says the report will help inform Russian officials of what needs to be done to protect […]

Acid in Arctic waters eating away at shellfish

Greenhouse gas emissions from vehicles, power stations and industries far to the south are putting shellfish in the Arctic Ocean at risk,  an international team reports in the Nov. 20 edition of the journal Science. Acidification may put “some species at risk,” the researchers said, saying this could have a major impact on the entire […]

Global warming a growing threat to Arctic reindeer

  By Staff WritersJarfjord, Norway (AFP) Nov 13, 2009 On Norway’s border with Russia, the consequences of climate change are affecting the reindeer population as rising temperatures hit food stocks and industry growth eats into vital grazing land. “Over the past three years, I’ve had to give some hay to my 800 reindeer during the […]

Russian tigers poached to extinction within 12 years

ScienceDaily (Nov. 18, 2009) — A shocking decline in the Russian Federation’s wild tiger population highlights the importance of eliminating trade in and demand for tiger parts, the International Tiger Coalition (ITC) recently said. The alliance of 40 organizations worldwide issued the statement upon news that Siberian tigers may have suffered a serious drop in […]

Graph of the Day: Trend in Illicit Trade in Ivory, 1992-2009

Cambridge, UK, 10 November 2009—The illicit trade in ivory, which has been increasing in volume since 2004, moved sharply upward in 2009, according to the latest analysis of seizure data in the Elephant Trade Information System (ETIS). ETIS, one of the two monitoring systems for elephants under CITES (the Convention on International Trade in Endangered […]

Illegal ivory trade on the rise as organized crime syndicates in Africa, Asia grow in strength

By Matthew McDermott, New York, NY  on 11.12.09 A couple weeks ago we learned that at present poaching rates Africa’s elephants will all be extinct in just fifteen years. Well, here’s so more on that: The wildlife trade monitoring network TRAFFIC brings word that the illegal ivory trade has increased markedly in the latest analysis, […]

Pesticide killing Kenya lions and birds by the 'truckloads'

By Jeremy Hance, www.mongabay.com, November 10, 2009 On Monday October 26th a three-year-old girl mistakenly ate the pesticide Furadan (also known as carbofuran) in western Kenya. Her father, a teacher at a primary school, said that he had no knowledge of how dangerous the pesticide was, which he had purchased to kill pests in his […]

China ivory demand bodes ill for Africa's elephants

By James Pomfret and Tom Kirkwood GUANGZHOU/NAIROBI (Reuters) – Tucked into a grimy building in Guangzhou, a small band of Chinese master carvers chip away at ivory tusks with chisels, fashioning them into the sorts of intricate carvings that were prized by Chinese emperors. A passion for ivory ornaments such as these is what helped […]

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