Direct killing by humans pushing Earth’s biggest animals toward extinction – “70% of megafauna species are decreasing and 59% are threatened with extinction”

By Steve Lundeberg30 January 2019 CORVALLIS, Oregon (OSU) – One hundred forty-three species of large animals are decreasing in number and 171 are under threat of extinction, according to new research that suggests humans’ meat consumption habits are primarily to blame. Findings published today in Conservation Letters involved an analysis of 292 species of “megafauna” […]

World on track to lose two-thirds of wild animals by 2020, major report warns

By Damian Carrington 26 October 2016 (The Guardian) – The number of wild animals living on Earth is set to fall by two-thirds by 2020, according to a new report, part of a mass extinction that is destroying the natural world upon which humanity depends.The analysis, the most comprehensive to date, indicates that animal populations […]

China legalizes use of tiger bone and rhino horn for “traditional” medicine – “This is a devastating blow to our ongoing work to save species from cruel exploitation and extinction, and we implore the Chinese government to reconsider”

30 October 2018 (Mongabay) – China has legalized the “controlled” use of rhino horn and tiger bone for medical use and cultural purposes in the country, the government announced on 29 October 2018.Rhino horn and tiger bone for medical purposes can only be obtained from farmed rhinos and tigers, the announcement said, while powdered forms […]

Spike in whale deaths off New England coast in September 2018 – “We’re definitely seeing more whale mortalities than we have in the past and it’s definitely concerning”

By Andres Picon 17 September 2018 (The Boston Globe) – At least four whales, including one that washed up in New Hampshire on Monday, have been reported dead around the Northeast since 9 September 2018, adding to the unusual mortality event that researchers say is affecting several whale species. “We’re definitely seeing more whale mortalities […]

U.S. judge orders federal protection restored to Yellowstone grizzlies after Trump administration tries to strip endangered species listing

By Laura Zuckerman 24 September 2018 PINEDALE, Wyoming (Reuters) – A federal judge on Monday ordered Endangered Species Act protections restored to grizzlies in and around Yellowstone National Park, halting plans for the first licensed trophy hunts of the bears in the region in more than 40 years. U.S. District Judge Dana Christensen in Missoula, […]

Nearly 90 elephants slaughtered near Botswana wildlife sanctuary – “All of them had their skulls chopped to remove their tusks”

By Alastair Leithead 3 September 2018 NAIROBI (BBC News) – Carcases of nearly 90 elephants have been found near a famous wildlife sanctuary in Botswana, conservationists say. Elephants Without Borders, which is conducting an aerial survey, said the scale of poaching deaths is the largest seen in Africa. The spike coincides with Botswana’s anti-poaching unit […]

Why poison is a growing threat to Africa’s wildlife – Deadly chemicals are now a weapon of choice for those who see lions, elephants, and other wild animals as threats to livestock and property

By Edwin Dobb 4 August 2018 (National Geographic) – Two male lions had been killing cattle and goats for weeks. The Maasai herdsmen in Kenya’s Osewan region had seen enough.Solve the problem by Christmas, the Maasai told the Kenya Wildlife Service in late December last year, or we’ll solve it for you. “We know how […]

Russia security service demands endangered species protection for brown bears after poaching reduces population by 36 percent in 2 years – WWF and Russian Ministry of Nature dispute numbers

25 July 2018 (The Siberian Times) – The brown bears are one of Russia’s great symbols but they are under great threat, according to the FSB, the Federal Security Service. The agency is calling for the bears to be labelled a strategically important resource and given far greater protection under the law. Between 2015 and […]

Lions attack sole rhino survivor of bungled Kenya park relocation

By Tiisetso Motsoeneng; Editing by Kevin Liffey and Andrew Heavens 26 July 2018 NAIROBI (Reuters) – The only rhino to survive a bungled relocation to a Kenyan wildlife park has been attacked by lions, tourism minister Najib Balala said on Thursday. Ten out of 11 black rhinos being moved by the state wildlife service last […]

Record flooding affects 16 million in Nepal, Bangladesh, and India – “This is fast becoming one of the most serious humanitarian crises this region has seen in many years”

18 August 2017 (Hindustan Times) – A humanitarian crisis is unfolding across large areas of South Asia, with more than 16 million people affected by monsoon floods in Nepal, Bangladesh and India, the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies said in statement in Kathmandu on Friday.  “This is fast becoming one of […]

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