Manila, Philippines | AFP | Facebook has emerged as the top site for wildlife trafficking in the Philippines, a watchdog said Friday, with thousands of endangered crocodiles, snakes and turtles illegally traded in just three months. Monitoring network TRAFFIC said Facebook had not done enough to shut down the trade, …
Read More »Africa poaching now a war, task force warns
Pretoria, South Africa | AFP | The fight against poaching must be treated as a war, Africa’s leading anti-poaching coalition said Thursday, as it called for the illicit wildlife trade to be monitored like global conflicts. Enact, an EU-funded anti-poaching analytical taskforce that includes Interpol, called for the expansion of a …
Read More »Size key to top speed in animals: study
Paris, France | AFP | It’s not quite E=mc2, but scientists unveiled Monday a simple, powerful formula that explains why some animals run, fly and swim faster than all others. Call it the “speed rule”: strength alone does not determine top velocity because land mammals, birds and fish can only accelerate …
Read More »Malaysia seizes 300kg of pangolin scales
Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia | AFP | Malaysian customs officers have seized almost 300 kilograms of pangolin scales being smuggled through the main airport, officials said on Tuesday. The 288-kilogram (635 pound) haul was found at Kuala Lumpur International Airport last Friday in 12 boxes labelled as oyster shells on the …
Read More »Cuddles and Kalashnikovs: Protecting DR Congo’s mountain gorillas
Rumangabo, DR Congo | AFP | A powerful combination of love and guns is helping rebuild an endangered gorilla community in the jungles of war-torn eastern Democratic Republic of Congo. Threatened with extinction, some of the world’s last remaining mountain gorillas live on either side of the border between Rwanda …
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