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		<title>Conservation news</title>
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		<link>https://news.mongabay.com/list/wildlife-rescues/</link>
		<description>Environmental science and conservation news</description>
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	<url>https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2020/05/16160320/cropped-mongabay_icon-32x32.png</url>
	<title>News on Wildlife Rescues</title>
	<link>https://news.mongabay.com/list/wildlife-rescues/</link>
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				<item>
					<title>Volunteers play crucial role in Bangladesh’s wildlife crime control efforts</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/07/volunteers-play-crucial-role-in-bangladeshs-wildlife-crime-control-efforts/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/07/volunteers-play-crucial-role-in-bangladeshs-wildlife-crime-control-efforts/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>24 Jul 2026 07:46:16 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Sadiqur Rahman]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Abu Siddique]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2026/07/24073508/8-Forest-Department-officials-along-with-local-volunteers-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=324467</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Asia, Bangladesh, and South Asia]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Animals, Conservation, Crime, Environment, Environmental Law, Governance, Poaching, Trapping, Wildlife, Wildlife Rescues, Wildlife Trade, and Wildlife Trafficking]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[A handful of animal lovers, mostly representing the youth community, spread across Bangladesh, have become crucial arsenals of the Forest Department’s wildlife crime control efforts. Despite not being assigned by the state, like the responsibilities a crime control force shoulders, the animal lovers help the Forest Department trace stressed wildlife in traps, cages or enclosures [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[A handful of animal lovers, mostly representing the youth community, spread across Bangladesh, have become crucial arsenals of the Forest Department’s wildlife crime control efforts. Despite not being assigned by the state, like the responsibilities a crime control force shoulders, the animal lovers help the Forest Department trace stressed wildlife in traps, cages or enclosures of poachers and smugglers. Primarily, they share intel information about any potential wildlife crime. Often, they join the wildlife inspectors of the department, act as undercover buyers, reach the crime scene, and help arrest the criminals. All things they do are under life threats — voluntarily. The Forest Department’s Wildlife Crime Control Unit (WCCU), established in 2012, conducted more than 3,000 raids against wildlife criminals between July 2012 and March 2026. Almost all raids were planned with volunteers’ tip-offs. Chief conservator of forests, Md Amir Hosain Chowdhury, told Mongabay: “Volunteers are our crucial partners [in wildlife conservation].” The government of Bangladesh has also recognized the collaboration between the WCCU and the volunteers. The WCCU and wildlife photographer and conservationist Faisal Bin Azad, better known as Adnan Azad, were honored with the National Wildlife Conservation Awards 2026 on July 9. Azad is one of the pioneers in non-government campaigns for nature conservation and was one of the original volunteers with WCCU. Local volunteers and Forest Department officers pose for photographs with an administration officia after two pooches were detained while possessing a macaque illegally. Image by Siddiqur Rahman Rabbi. The Forest Department on Nov. 6, 2025,&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2026/07/volunteers-play-crucial-role-in-bangladeshs-wildlife-crime-control-efforts/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
										<wfw:commentRss>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/07/volunteers-play-crucial-role-in-bangladeshs-wildlife-crime-control-efforts/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-324467</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>Sitesh Ranjan Deb turned a hunter’s knowledge to saving wildlife</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/07/sitesh-ranjan-deb-turned-a-hunters-knowledge-to-saving-wildlife/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/07/sitesh-ranjan-deb-turned-a-hunters-knowledge-to-saving-wildlife/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>15 Jul 2026 18:06:17 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Rhett Ayers Butler]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Rhett Butler]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2026/07/15180210/Sitesh-Ranjan-Deb-header-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=323630</guid>

											<reporting-project>
							<![CDATA[Founder's briefs]]>
						</reporting-project>
					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Bangladesh]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Animals, Conservation, Obituary, Wildlife, Wildlife Rehabilitation, and Wildlife Rescues]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[The bear came out of the forest with enough force to kill him. It mauled the hunter badly and cost him an eye. He spent three months in a hospital recovering. There, he began asking himself questions that had not troubled him much before. Why was he hunting? Why was he killing? Hunting had come [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[The bear came out of the forest with enough force to kill him. It mauled the hunter badly and cost him an eye. He spent three months in a hospital recovering. There, he began asking himself questions that had not troubled him much before. Why was he hunting? Why was he killing? Hunting had come to him through his family. His father and grandfather were known around Sreemangal, in northeastern Bangladesh, for killing leopards, wild boars, and other animals that threatened people or crops. As a boy, he accompanied his father into the forest. After his father died, he continued hunting. He became a gunsmith and a guide, familiar with animal tracks, forest paths, and the habits of creatures that most people encountered only by accident. Sitesh Ranjon Deb holds a pair of jungle cats in his house in Sreemangol, Bangladesh. Image via Agence France-Presse (AFP) After the bear attack, Sitesh Ranjan Deb, who died on July 14th, gave up hunting. He began capturing injured animals, removing snakes from houses, treating wildlife recovered from traffickers, and returning animals to the forest. The grounds of his home became a treatment center. It eventually developed into the Bangladesh Wildlife Service Foundation, one of the country’s best-known privately established wildlife-rescue institutions. The center remained closely tied to his household. Its patients occupied bedrooms, courtyards, cages, and improvised treatment spaces. Jungle-cat cubs, pythons, slow lorises, monkeys, birds, and other animals passed through. Those requiring constant attention stayed close to the family. Deb kept photographs&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2026/07/sitesh-ranjan-deb-turned-a-hunters-knowledge-to-saving-wildlife/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
										<wfw:commentRss>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/07/sitesh-ranjan-deb-turned-a-hunters-knowledge-to-saving-wildlife/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-323630</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>Laos’s illegal wildlife shops keep growing despite enforcement, investigators find</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/07/laoss-illegal-wildlife-shops-keep-growing-despite-enforcement-investigators-find/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/07/laoss-illegal-wildlife-shops-keep-growing-despite-enforcement-investigators-find/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>15 Jul 2026 01:34:22 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Gerald Flynn]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Philip Jacobson]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2026/07/14121851/baby-pagolin-in-market-768x512.png" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=323316</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Asia, China, Laos, and Southeast Asia]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Animals, Bears, Biodiversity, Business, Conservation, Crime, Critically Endangered Species, Endangered Species, Environment, Environmental Law, Governance, Illegal Trade, Ivory, Law Enforcement, Monkeys, Organized Crime, Pangolins, Poaching, Rhinos, Tigers, Tourism, Trade, Traditional Chinese Medicine, trafficking, Wildlife, Wildlife consumption, Wildlife Rescues, Wildlife Trade, Wildlife Trafficking, and Zoonotic Diseases]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[BANGKOK — Schemes funneling Chinese tour groups through illegal wildlife shopping sites in Laos appear to be persisting and even expanding in spite of some law enforcement action by authorities, Mongabay has learned. In July 2025, a joint Mongabay investigation identified up to 21 illegal wildlife shopping sites embedded in package tours catering to Chinese [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[BANGKOK — Schemes funneling Chinese tour groups through illegal wildlife shopping sites in Laos appear to be persisting and even expanding in spite of some law enforcement action by authorities, Mongabay has learned. In July 2025, a joint Mongabay investigation identified up to 21 illegal wildlife shopping sites embedded in package tours catering to Chinese nationals in the Laotian cites of Luang Prabang and Vientiane. Typically masquerading as cultural centers, restaurants, jewelry stores and the like, or as stores embedded in such venues, the shopping sites typically only showcase their products to Chinese-language tours run by Chinese and Laotian operators, while barring entry to anyone else. Since then, the number of these shops appears to have nearly doubled, according to multiple groups investigating these operations on the ground. Mongabay has seen evidence suggesting that as many as 35 shops are now operating in Luang Prabang and Vientiane, with 22 in the former and the rest in the latter. When Mongabay asked the Laotian Department of Forestry about the first 21 shops in mid-2025, a spokesperson suggested that at least some of them were not registered as retail shops and that they would investigate. Since then, authorities have made seizures of suspected illegal wildlife products at several shopping sites in Vientiane and Luang Prabang, including of nearly 50 kilograms (110 pounds) during inspections of 17 unnamed locations In November and December, and of more than 57 kg (126 lbs) at an unnamed location on June 13, according to local media reports.&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2026/07/laoss-illegal-wildlife-shops-keep-growing-despite-enforcement-investigators-find/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
										<wfw:commentRss>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/07/laoss-illegal-wildlife-shops-keep-growing-despite-enforcement-investigators-find/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-323316</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>Conserving Sierra Leone’s western chimpanzees: Interview with Tacugama’s Willie Tucker</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/07/conserving-sierra-leones-western-chimpanzees-interview-with-tacugamas-willie-tucker/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/07/conserving-sierra-leones-western-chimpanzees-interview-with-tacugamas-willie-tucker/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>10 Jul 2026 19:24:13 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Patricia Sia Ngevao]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Karen Coates]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2026/07/10170639/Photo-30-06-2026-17-59-04-2-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=323105</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Africa, Sierra Leone, and West Africa]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Animals, Apes, Chimpanzees, Conservation, Critically Endangered Species, Endangered Species, Environment, Fellows, Great Apes, Interviews, Interviews with conservation players, Mammals, Mongabay.org, Primates, Wildlife, Wildlife Rehabilitation, and Wildlife Rescues]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[In Sierra Leone, the critically endangered western chimpanzee (Pan troglodytes verus) faces growing threats from habitat loss, deforestation, illegal wildlife trade and expanding human activity. For the past 30 years, Tacugama Chimpanzee Sanctuary has worked to rescue, rehabilitate and protect chimpanzees affected by these challenges. Few people have witnessed the sanctuary’s journey as closely as [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[In Sierra Leone, the critically endangered western chimpanzee (Pan troglodytes verus) faces growing threats from habitat loss, deforestation, illegal wildlife trade and expanding human activity. For the past 30 years, Tacugama Chimpanzee Sanctuary has worked to rescue, rehabilitate and protect chimpanzees affected by these challenges. Few people have witnessed the sanctuary’s journey as closely as Willie Tucker, the conservancy’s camp supervisor, popularly known as “Pa Willie.” His conservation career began in 1990 when he studied wildlife management in Tanzania before joining Sierra Leone&#8217;s Wildlife Division. It was there that he met Bala Amarasekaran, Tacugama’s founder, who was caring for rescued chimpanzees and seeking to establish a rehabilitation center. Pa Willie was among the small team that helped turn that vision into reality. After identifying a suitable forest reserve outside Sierra Leone’s capital, Freetown, and securing support from the European Union, Tacugama Chimpanzee Sanctuary officially opened in October 1995. Today, as camp supervisor, Pa Willie remains a central figure in the sanctuary’s work. Over the years, he has helped rescue and care for hundreds of chimpanzees while witnessing the growing threats facing the species. His story reflects both a lifelong commitment to conservation and the remarkable growth of Sierra Leone&#8217;s leading chimpanzee sanctuary. Willie Tucker, Tacugama Chimpanzee Sanctuary&#8217;s camp supervisor, popularly known as “Pa Willie.” Image by Patricia Sia Ngevao. Mongabay spoke with Pa Willie in June about his conservation journey, the early days of Tacugama and the challenges facing western chimpanzees in Sierra Leone. This interview has been edited for&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2026/07/conserving-sierra-leones-western-chimpanzees-interview-with-tacugamas-willie-tucker/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
										<wfw:commentRss>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/07/conserving-sierra-leones-western-chimpanzees-interview-with-tacugamas-willie-tucker/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-323105</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>Bangladesh gets ready for its first release of tiger rescued from poachers’ trap</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/07/bangladesh-gets-ready-for-its-first-release-of-tiger-rescued-from-poachers-trap/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/07/bangladesh-gets-ready-for-its-first-release-of-tiger-rescued-from-poachers-trap/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>10 Jul 2026 09:00:12 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Abu Siddique]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Abu Siddique]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2026/07/10084029/upscalemedia-transformed-768x512.jpeg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=323027</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Asia, Bangladesh, and South Asia]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Animals, Big Cats, Biodiversity, Cats, Conservation, Crime, Endangered Species, Environment, Hope and optimism, Mangroves, Monitoring, Poaching, Tigers, Trapping, Wildlife, Wildlife Rehabilitation, and Wildlife Rescues]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[In a first, Bangladesh is preparing to release a tiger back into the wild after it was rescued from a poacher’s trap and provided with medical treatment. On Jan. 4 this year, the Forest Department rescued the female tiger (Panthera tigris), estimated to be around 10 years old, from the Chandpai and Sarankhola forest range [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[In a first, Bangladesh is preparing to release a tiger back into the wild after it was rescued from a poacher’s trap and provided with medical treatment. On Jan. 4 this year, the Forest Department rescued the female tiger (Panthera tigris), estimated to be around 10 years old, from the Chandpai and Sarankhola forest range in the Sundarbans East division. The critically injured tiger was taken to the Khulna Wildlife Rescue and Rehabilitation Center, a facility of the Bangladesh Forest Department, for treatment. “We rescued the tiger from a snare set for deer poaching. After receiving adequate care, the tiger is now ready to return to the wild. We are planning to release her in a few days,” said Md Rezaul Karim Chowdhury, divisional forest officer, Sundarbans East division. According to the latest tiger census, conducted in 2024, Bangladesh is home to 125 globally endangered Bengal tigers living in the Sundarbans mangrove forest. The rescued tiger&#8217;s left foreleg, which was caught in the snare, was severely injured. Image courtesy of the Bangladesh Forest Department. Covering 6,017 square kilometers (2,323 square miles), the mangrove forest is administratively divided into Sundarbans East and Sundarbans West. It is also divided into three blocks — Chandpai-Sarankhola, Khulna and Satkhira. As per the census, the highest number of Bengal tigers is found in the Chandpai-Sarankhola block. “This indicates that the density of other wildlife, including deer and wild boars, is also higher in this block because the forest’s top predators are more concentrated here,” Chowdhury&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2026/07/bangladesh-gets-ready-for-its-first-release-of-tiger-rescued-from-poachers-trap/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
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					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-323027</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>Crackdown on snares in Sumatra as elephant, sun bear and tiger rescued</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/06/crackdown-on-snares-in-sumatra-as-elephant-sun-bear-and-tiger-rescued/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/06/crackdown-on-snares-in-sumatra-as-elephant-sun-bear-and-tiger-rescued/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>25 Jun 2026 13:00:11 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Jaka Hendra BaittriVinolia]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Mongabay Editor]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2026/06/25125105/Sumatran-tiger-snare-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=321801</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Asia, Indonesia, Southeast Asia, and West Sumatra]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Conservation, Crime, Endangered Species, Environment, Environmental Law, Illegal Trade, Law, Law Enforcement, Poaching, Snares, Wildlife, Wildlife Rescues, Wildlife Trade, and Wildlife Trafficking]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[PADANG, Indonesia — Authorities in a stronghold for Sumatran tigers have warned the public against using snares to trap wild boar following the dramatic rescue of an 11-month old female tiger cub last month. While it is not illegal to set a snare for the purpose of trapping wild boar or animals that are not [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[PADANG, Indonesia — Authorities in a stronghold for Sumatran tigers have warned the public against using snares to trap wild boar following the dramatic rescue of an 11-month old female tiger cub last month. While it is not illegal to set a snare for the purpose of trapping wild boar or animals that are not protected by law, the West Sumatra government said any protected species caught in a snare will now lead to criminal liability. The new clarification was set out in a letter issued in late May by the West Sumatra province office of Indonesia’s conservation agency, the BKSDA. It cites a 2024 amendment to Indonesia’s 1990 conservation law governing the protection of wildlife. “The situation has become dangerous because people are setting these snares,” explained Rizaldi, a conservation scientist at Andalas University in Padang, the capital of West Sumatra province. The evacuation of a Sumatran tiger trapped in a wild boar snare in Pasaman. Image courtesy of BKSDA West Sumatra. Renewed attention on snares The recent crackdown on snares was sparked after a Sumatran tiger (Panthera tigris sumatrae) was discovered in a wild boar snare in Padang Mantiggi Utara village located in West Sumatra’s Pasaman district. Officials from the West Sumatra BKSDA, the conservation agency, arrived at the scene at around 13:30 on May 21, where they found a young female tiger in distress and pain. A snare was wrapped around the animal’s neck, trunk and right foreleg, in about five loops. “She struggled for a while&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2026/06/crackdown-on-snares-in-sumatra-as-elephant-sun-bear-and-tiger-rescued/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
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					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-321801</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>Experts caution Nepal’s plan to open doors to private zoos</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/04/experts-caution-nepals-plan-to-open-doors-to-private-zoos/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/04/experts-caution-nepals-plan-to-open-doors-to-private-zoos/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>30 Apr 2026 15:17:21 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Deepak Adhikari]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Abhaya Raj Joshi]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2026/04/30145802/481768235_1086437106855534_3058871533111109011_n-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=318492</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Asia, Nepal, and South Asia]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Animal Welfare, Animals, Biodiversity, Business, Conservation, Controversial, Environment, Environmental Law, Governance, Wildlife, Wildlife Rescues, and Zoos]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[KATHMANDU — Nepal has proposed legalizing private zoos, wildlife rescue centers and hospitals, but experts warn weak safeguards could fuel wildlife capture and undermine conservation efforts. Officials say the move could improve infrastructure and raise awareness, but critics warn it lacks clarity on oversight, enforcement and animal welfare standards. “There are so-called mini zoos in [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[KATHMANDU — Nepal has proposed legalizing private zoos, wildlife rescue centers and hospitals, but experts warn weak safeguards could fuel wildlife capture and undermine conservation efforts. Officials say the move could improve infrastructure and raise awareness, but critics warn it lacks clarity on oversight, enforcement and animal welfare standards. “There are so-called mini zoos in Nepal, but many function more like killing centers,” said Dibya Raj Dahal, president of Kathmandu-based NGO Small Mammals Conservation and Research Foundation (SMCRF). “Small wild animals are captured from the wild and sold to these facilities under the guise of rescue. In reality, it is extraction,” he said, adding that many animals die in captivity. Nepal’s only federal government-recognized and functional zoo, the Central Zoo in Kathmandu, was established in 1932 as a private collection. The zoo, which opened its doors to the public in 1956, was managed by the government until 1995 when it was handed over to the National Trust for Nature Conservation (NTNC), a semi-governmental nonprofit. Although different “mini zoos” have been set up in different parts of the country, their legal status has been dubious and their treatment of animals criticized by conservationists. In response, the government had been saying it plans to introduce new guidelines for the establishment and running of different categories of zoos across the country. Dahal said that despite its gaps, the draft was an improvement on the current regulatory vacuum. “It is a positive step, but the draft remains incomplete.” The guidelines also come as the&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2026/04/experts-caution-nepals-plan-to-open-doors-to-private-zoos/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
										<wfw:commentRss>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/04/experts-caution-nepals-plan-to-open-doors-to-private-zoos/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-318492</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>Open-air markets: hotspots for a lethal virus infecting macaws and parrots</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/03/open-air-markets-hotspots-for-a-lethal-virus-infecting-macaws-and-parrots/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/03/open-air-markets-hotspots-for-a-lethal-virus-infecting-macaws-and-parrots/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>27 Mar 2026 18:05:00 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Fernanda Wenzel]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Sharon Guynup]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2026/03/27001508/1.-Daiane_cortes_ibama-768x512.jpeg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=316394</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Atlantic Forest, Brazil, Latin America, and South America]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Animals, Birds, Conservation, Crime, Diseases, Environment, Health, Parrots, Wildlife, Wildlife Rehabilitation, Wildlife Rescues, Wildlife Trade, and Wildlife Trafficking]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[In October 2025, environmental officers arrived unannounced at the Parangaba Fair that takes place every Sunday in Fortaleza, in northeastern Brazil. The market, also known as the Bird Fair, had a reputation for illegally selling small birds, parrots and macaws. During that Sunday’s operation, agents seized 271 birds and transported them in groups to the [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[In October 2025, environmental officers arrived unannounced at the Parangaba Fair that takes place every Sunday in Fortaleza, in northeastern Brazil. The market, also known as the Bird Fair, had a reputation for illegally selling small birds, parrots and macaws. During that Sunday’s operation, agents seized 271 birds and transported them in groups to the Wildlife Screening Center (CETAS) in Fortaleza. There, confiscated wildlife is rehabilitated for possible reintroduction to the wild. These rescue and rehab centers are managed by Brazil&#8217;s federal environmental agency, IBAMA. Within days, some small, multicolored African lovebirds, from the genus Agapornis began to sicken — and die. Targeted by the pet trade, these parrots sometimes carry circovirus, a genus of viruses that afflict a wide range of birds. It was a growing crisis.“The [seized] birds kept arriving and tests were being conducted, and then they started coming back positive,” said Fernanda Gaia, IBAMA&#8217;s environmental analyst at the center. The diagnosis triggered a red alert: the hundreds of birds housed at CETAS were at risk. Staff isolated the sick birds. IBAMA agents seize birds sold illegally at the Parangaba Fair in Fortaleza. Image courtesy of Daiane Cortes/IBAMA. Then, in January 2026, there was another scare. Two turquoise-fronted Amazon parrots (Amazona aestiva) were diagnosed with avian polyomavirus. This disease, first discovered in Canada and the U.S. in the 1980s, acts much like circovirus. To prevent further infections, IBAMA closed the Fortaleza CETAS to new bird arrivals for 90 days. “With the detection in more species, both with&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2026/03/open-air-markets-hotspots-for-a-lethal-virus-infecting-macaws-and-parrots/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
										<wfw:commentRss>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/03/open-air-markets-hotspots-for-a-lethal-virus-infecting-macaws-and-parrots/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-316394</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>In Laos, ancestral spirits are helping save one of the world&#8217;s rarest crocodiles</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/03/in-laos-ancestral-spirits-are-helping-save-one-of-the-worlds-rarest-crocodiles/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/03/in-laos-ancestral-spirits-are-helping-save-one-of-the-worlds-rarest-crocodiles/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>25 Mar 2026 13:36:10 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Liz Kimbrough]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Isabel Esterman]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2026/03/24223626/Monks-at-Crocodile-release--768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=316206</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Asia, Laos, and Southeast Asia]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Animals, Biodiversity, Charismatic Animals, Conservation, Critically Endangered Species, Endangered Species, Environment, Forests, Green, Happy-upbeat Environmental, Herps, Indigenous Peoples, Tropical Forests, Water, Wetlands, Wildlife, and Wildlife Rescues]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[When village conservation teams find a Siamese crocodile nest in the Xe Champhone wetlands of central Laos, they move fast, collecting eggs within 24 hours before poachers, predators or floods can reach them. But before they touch the eggs, there’s a ritual, and offerings are made to the spirits. With the spirits appeased, villagers carry [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[When village conservation teams find a Siamese crocodile nest in the Xe Champhone wetlands of central Laos, they move fast, collecting eggs within 24 hours before poachers, predators or floods can reach them. But before they touch the eggs, there’s a ritual, and offerings are made to the spirits. With the spirits appeased, villagers carry the eggs to hatch in the village, where the baby crocs&#8217; chances of hatching are nearly five times higher than in the wild. Oudomxay Thongsavath, program manager at Wildlife Conservation Society and a native of the region, has been involved with the program since its start. He told Mongabay that locals make an offering and explain to the spirits, “We collect the egg, we incubate it in the village, and we return your children back to your area … Please take care of them. Make sure they are safe in the future when they go back to their habitat.&#8221; Fewer than 1,000 though Siamese crocodiles (Crocodylus siamensis) are estimated to survive on Earth.  Photo courtesy of WCS Of the world&#8217;s 27 crocodilian species, the Siamese crocodile (Crocodylus siamensis) is among just four classified as critically endangered. Fewer than 1,000 are thought to survive on Earth. Locals say that to harm a Siamese crocodile is to risk illness, misfortune or death. Not because the crocodiles are particularly dangerous (as crocodiles go), but because these scaly beings are the living embodiment of their ancestors. That spiritual connection to crocodiles, upheld for generations in a landscape stripped of&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2026/03/in-laos-ancestral-spirits-are-helping-save-one-of-the-worlds-rarest-crocodiles/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
										<wfw:commentRss>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/03/in-laos-ancestral-spirits-are-helping-save-one-of-the-worlds-rarest-crocodiles/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-316206</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>Proboscis monkey found in Thailand adds to evidence of cross-border illegal trade</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/03/proboscis-monkey-found-in-thailand-adds-to-evidence-of-cross-border-illegal-trade/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/03/proboscis-monkey-found-in-thailand-adds-to-evidence-of-cross-border-illegal-trade/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>20 Mar 2026 19:58:06 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Ana Norman Bermúdez]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Isabel Esterman]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2026/03/20193246/proboscis-6-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=316064</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Asia, Southeast Asia, and Thailand]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Animals, Biodiversity, Endangered Species, Mammals, Monkeys, Pet Trade, Primates, Wildlife Rescues, Wildlife Trafficking, and Zoos]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[RATCHABURI, Thailand — On Jan. 6, residents of Samut Sakhon province, central Thailand, found an injured monkey near a railway track. Pot-bellied with reddish-brown fur and a prominent, upturned nose, it was unlike other monkeys typically seen in the area. After calling a wildlife hotline, they took the animal to a nearby clinic. &#8220;That&#8217;s when [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[RATCHABURI, Thailand — On Jan. 6, residents of Samut Sakhon province, central Thailand, found an injured monkey near a railway track. Pot-bellied with reddish-brown fur and a prominent, upturned nose, it was unlike other monkeys typically seen in the area. After calling a wildlife hotline, they took the animal to a nearby clinic. &#8220;That&#8217;s when they realized that this was a foreign monkey,&#8221; says Kanpicha Han-Asa, a veterinarian with Thailand’s Department of National Parks, Wildlife and Plant Conservation (DNP) at the Ban Pong wildlife rescue center, where the monkey was later transferred for rehabilitation. The rescued proboscis monkey at Thailand&#8217;s Ban Pong wildlife rescue center, where it is recovering from its injuries. Image by Ana Norman Bermúdez for Mongabay. Proboscis monkeys (Nasalis larvatus), also known as long-nosed monkeys for their distinctive large noses, are an endangered species endemic to Borneo. The wildlife center in Ban Pong regularly receives animals intercepted from the illegal trade, including nonnative species, but this is the first proboscis monkey the team has handled. &#8220;We haven&#8217;t seen or heard about cases involving this species before,&#8221; says Krishnapong Oncharoen, head of the wildlife protection unit at the center. After receiving the monkey, officers checked for any permits linked to the species. Proboscis monkeys are listed under Appendix I of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES), meaning international trade is banned, except for very specific noncommercial purposes, such as conservation breeding or research. &#8220;If you want to bring them into the country, you must have&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2026/03/proboscis-monkey-found-in-thailand-adds-to-evidence-of-cross-border-illegal-trade/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
										<wfw:commentRss>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/03/proboscis-monkey-found-in-thailand-adds-to-evidence-of-cross-border-illegal-trade/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-316064</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>Out of captivity, into conflict: slow lorises struggle to survive after release</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/02/out-of-captivity-into-conflict-slow-lorises-struggle-to-survive-after-release/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/02/out-of-captivity-into-conflict-slow-lorises-struggle-to-survive-after-release/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>26 Feb 2026 15:07:35 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Carolyn Cowan]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Isabel Esterman]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2026/02/26101245/Nishat-one-of-the-two-Bengal-slow-lorises-Nycticebus-bengalensis-to-survive-being-released.-Image-courtesy-of-Marcel-Stawinoga-scaled-e1772101486176-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=314846</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Asia, Bangladesh, South Asia, and Southeast Asia]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Animal Behavior, Animals, Biodiversity, Conflict, Conservation, Endangered Species, Environment, Forests, Habitat Loss, Illegal Trade, Mammals, Pet Trade, Primates, Rainforests, Reintroductions, Research, Rewilding, Slow Loris, Social Media, Wildlife, Wildlife Rehabilitation, Wildlife Rescues, and Wildlife Trade]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[Wildlife releases are usually joyous events. Uplifting scenes of animals cautiously nosing the air as they take their first tentative steps into freedom warm our hearts. However, new research suggests the wild can be a “death trap,” especially if the released individuals lack the essential skills to find food and integrate with wild populations, or [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[Wildlife releases are usually joyous events. Uplifting scenes of animals cautiously nosing the air as they take their first tentative steps into freedom warm our hearts. However, new research suggests the wild can be a “death trap,” especially if the released individuals lack the essential skills to find food and integrate with wild populations, or are set free into unsuitable habitat. The new study, published in Global Ecology and Conservation, follows the fate of nine Bengal slow lorises (Nycticebus bengalensis) released into a forest reserve in Bangladesh. The researchers found only two of the nine survived beyond six months. Several died within days or weeks. Slow lorises, with their wide eyes and plump bodies, are one of the world’s most trafficked primates. Despite their venomous bite that can prove fatal to people and their nocturnal habits, they’re highly sought after in the pet trade and for use as tourist photo props — a demand fueled by ill-informed social media videos displaying them in domestic settings or captivity. All nine slow loris species, which range across South and Southeast Asia, are also threatened by deforestation and poachers who kill them for use in traditional medicines. A 2010 study found lorises were the most in-demand animal in traditional medicine stores in Cambodia. Tragically, these pressures act in synergy. Habitat loss pushes lorises closer to forest edges and humans, who at best mistakenly think them lost and take them into captivity with a view to relocating them to a habitat that’s more “wild.”&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2026/02/out-of-captivity-into-conflict-slow-lorises-struggle-to-survive-after-release/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
										<wfw:commentRss>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/02/out-of-captivity-into-conflict-slow-lorises-struggle-to-survive-after-release/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-314846</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>Guanacos’ return to Gran Chaco restirs debate around wildlife translocations</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/02/guanacos-return-to-gran-chaco-restirs-debate-around-wildlife-translocations/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/02/guanacos-return-to-gran-chaco-restirs-debate-around-wildlife-translocations/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>12 Feb 2026 17:28:28 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Mark Hillsdon]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Alexandra Popescu]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2026/02/12164447/guanaco-2-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=314209</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Argentina, Latin America, and South America]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Animals, Biodiversity, Conservation, Endangered Species, Protected Areas, Research, Saving Species From Extinction, Solutions, Species, Species recovery, Wildlife, Wildlife Rehabilitation, and Wildlife Rescues]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[After a 3,200-kilometer (2,000-mile) journey from Patagonia National Park to El Impenetrable National Park and a year spent adapting to their new environment, five guanacos, South America’s largest camelids, have been released into the wild. The guanacos (Lama guanicoe) are being reintroduced to boost the regional population across the Dry Chaco ecosystem in El Impenetrable [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[After a 3,200-kilometer (2,000-mile) journey from Patagonia National Park to El Impenetrable National Park and a year spent adapting to their new environment, five guanacos, South America’s largest camelids, have been released into the wild. The guanacos (Lama guanicoe) are being reintroduced to boost the regional population across the Dry Chaco ecosystem in El Impenetrable and are meant to play an important role in helping the park’s grasslands recover after decades of overgrazing by cattle. But although Rewilding Argentina, the wildlife conservation NGO that led the effort, labels this initiative a success, some Argentinian academics argue that translocations like these risk mixing guanaco populations with different genetic makeup and could be more harmful than good. The guanaco’s population is estimated at around 1.5-2.2 million across the continent’s southern and western grasslands. Between 81 to 86% of guanacos are found in Argentina, 14- 18% in Chile, while a small relict population inhabits northern Peru. However, the last recorded sighting of a guanaco in Argentina’s Chaco province was in 1913; hunting and the loss of grasslands to livestock farming have led to the species&#8217; local extinction, with only fragmented populations surviving on the border between Paraguay and Bolivia. The translocation of three females, a male and a juvenile guanaco was completed by Rewilding Argentina in coordination with Argentina’s National Parks Administration and the provinces of Chaco and Santa Cruz. The animals came from Patagonia, which, according to research, is home to around 90% of the guanacos in Argentina. The guanaco (Lama guanicoe)&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2026/02/guanacos-return-to-gran-chaco-restirs-debate-around-wildlife-translocations/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
										<wfw:commentRss>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/02/guanacos-return-to-gran-chaco-restirs-debate-around-wildlife-translocations/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-314209</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>The Turtle Bank: The last of these Asian turtle species find refuge in the Carolina pines</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/01/the-turtle-bank-the-last-of-these-asian-turtle-species-find-refuge-in-the-carolina-pines/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/01/the-turtle-bank-the-last-of-these-asian-turtle-species-find-refuge-in-the-carolina-pines/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>28 Jan 2026 16:55:57 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Liz Kimbrough]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Glenn Scherer]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2026/01/28053204/Rote-Island-snake-necked-turtles-Chelodina-mccordi-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=313417</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Asia and Southeast Asia]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Biodiversity, Captive Breeding, Critically Endangered Species, Endangered Species, Extreme Weather, Global Environmental Crisis, Habitat Loss, Herps, Impact Of Climate Change, Species Discovery, Traditional Medicine, Tropical Deforestation, Turtles, Turtles And Tortoises, Wildlife, Wildlife Rehabilitation, Wildlife Rescues, Wildlife Trafficking, and Zoos]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[Deep in the coastal woods of South Carolina, behind high fences, guard dogs, and security cameras, is a group of people who know more about turtles than you. Posters and paintings of turtles and tortoises are plastered on every wall in the moss-green classroom where they meet. A turtle-themed library occupies one corner, complete with [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[Deep in the coastal woods of South Carolina, behind high fences, guard dogs, and security cameras, is a group of people who know more about turtles than you. Posters and paintings of turtles and tortoises are plastered on every wall in the moss-green classroom where they meet. A turtle-themed library occupies one corner, complete with ceramic turtle decor. Looking around, I count dozens of turtle shirts, turtle hats and turtle stickers on water bottles and laptops. There are more than a few turtle tattoos. This is the Turtle Survival Center in Cross, South Carolina, USA, and it&#8217;s hosting the third annual “Turtle School” (officially the “Chelonian Biology, Conservation, and Management Course”). Imagine Hogwarts, but for turtle nerds. Course participants watch a plumbing presentation during the 2025 Chelonian Biology, Conservation, and Management Course at the Turtle Survival Center in South Carolina. Photo by Liz Kimbrough for Mongabay. Cris Hagen, Turtle Survival Alliance&#8217;s director of animal management and collections sports a turtle tattoo on his ring finger. Photo by Liz Kimbrough for Mongabay. In September 2025, 16 participants from three countries traveled to the Deep South for a weeklong crash course. Most are specialists from prominent zoos across the U.S. But there&#8217;s also a vet from Argentina, a glass artist focused on sea turtle conservation and Madeline Tesolin, a T-shirt seller at concerts from Ontario, Canada, who also drives injured turtles to vets in her spare time. Over the seven-day intensive, they&#8217;ll learn from turtle and tortoise conservation celebrities how to care&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2026/01/the-turtle-bank-the-last-of-these-asian-turtle-species-find-refuge-in-the-carolina-pines/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
										<wfw:commentRss>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/01/the-turtle-bank-the-last-of-these-asian-turtle-species-find-refuge-in-the-carolina-pines/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-313417</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>Jean Beasley, who turned her young daughter’s dying wish into a mission to save sea turtles, has died</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2025/12/jean-beasley-who-turned-her-young-daughters-dying-wish-into-a-mission-to-save-sea-turtles-has-died/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2025/12/jean-beasley-who-turned-her-young-daughters-dying-wish-into-a-mission-to-save-sea-turtles-has-died/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>03 Dec 2025 18:43:56 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Rhett Ayers Butler]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Rhett Butler]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2025/12/03183312/Jean-Beasley-photo_credit-KEN_BLEVINS_STARNEWS-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=310550</guid>

											<reporting-project>
							<![CDATA[Founder's briefs]]>
						</reporting-project>
					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Atlantic Ocean, North America, and United States]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Animal Welfare, Animals, Biodiversity, Conservation, Endangered Species, Environment, Green, Happy-upbeat Environmental, Herps, Hope and optimism, Obituary, Oceans, Pollution, Reptiles, Sea Turtles, Turtles And Tortoises, and Wildlife Rescues]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[On the beaches of Topsail Island in North Carolina, the sight of a sea turtle crawling ashore has long signaled both urgency and hope. For many years, a woman with a clipboard and a watchful eye was often there to note every track and nest. What brought her there was grief. In 1991 her daughter, [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[On the beaches of Topsail Island in North Carolina, the sight of a sea turtle crawling ashore has long signaled both urgency and hope. For many years, a woman with a clipboard and a watchful eye was often there to note every track and nest. What brought her there was grief. In 1991 her daughter, Karen, died of leukemia at the age of 29. She had made a final request of her mother that was simple and precise: “Do something good for sea turtles.” It was a young woman’s hope that the creatures she had come to love would somehow be cared for. The family had shared many late nights walking those beaches together, looking after nests and guiding hatchlings toward the water. After Karen’s death, Jean Beasley returned to that work not as a hobby but as a promise. She never framed it as sacrifice. “I loved every minute of what I did,” she said late in life. “Whether it was sea turtles or what it might be, I loved every minute of the teaching. I loved every minute of that old rotten building that we were in and trying to look after animals in.” There were challenges, she added, but “who hasn’t liked a good challenge?” Saving a single turtle mattered. But inspiring a child to love the ocean, and act accordingly, could mean saving thousands. Jean Beasley with the Karen Beasley Sea Turtle Rescue and Rehabilitation Center in Topsail Beach, N.C. releasing a juvenile loggerhead sea turtle&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2025/12/jean-beasley-who-turned-her-young-daughters-dying-wish-into-a-mission-to-save-sea-turtles-has-died/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
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					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-310550</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>Artificial incubation gives Colombia’s threatened Andean condor a new lifeline</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2025/12/artificial-incubation-gives-colombias-threatened-andean-condor-a-new-lifeline/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2025/12/artificial-incubation-gives-colombias-threatened-andean-condor-a-new-lifeline/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>02 Dec 2025 12:23:02 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Christina Noriega]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Alexandra Popescu]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2025/12/02111525/Banner-Martin-Brogger-aaMIA_3117-Andean-Condor-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=310429</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Colombia, Latin America, and South America]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Birds, Captive Breeding, Conservation, Conservation Solutions, Endangered Species, Happy-upbeat Environmental, Invasive Species, Raptors, Saving Species From Extinction, Solutions, Threatened species, Wildlife, Wildlife Rehabilitation, and Wildlife Rescues]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[In an isolated backroom of a nature reserve near Bogotá, Colombia’s capital, Wayra, a recently hatched condor chick, is a symbol of hope for Fernando Castro, a wildlife specialist. Castro, 33, says he sees in the small fluff of gray down the future of the Andean condor (Vultur gryphus) in Colombia. Wayra is the latest [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[In an isolated backroom of a nature reserve near Bogotá, Colombia’s capital, Wayra, a recently hatched condor chick, is a symbol of hope for Fernando Castro, a wildlife specialist. Castro, 33, says he sees in the small fluff of gray down the future of the Andean condor (Vultur gryphus) in Colombia. Wayra is the latest Andean condor chick hatched through an artificial incubation program run by the Jaime Duque Park Foundation, a Colombian nonprofit working to conserve the species. At Jaime Duque Park, a theme park a 30-minute drive from Bogotá, which includes two nature reserves, conservationists are working to breed the species at a faster pace than would happen naturally, in a bid to give the Americas’ largest flying bird a better chance at recovery. Over the past two centuries, Andean condor populations have been steadily declining across the seven countries they inhabit: Argentina, Bolivia, Chile, Colombia, Ecuador, Peru and Venezuela. The population plunged in the 20th century as people settling in the Andean highlands killed the scavenging birds because of the mistaken belief that they were to blame for livestock deaths. Habitat loss and lead contamination from ammunition left in animal carcasses further devastated the species. Today, the Andean condor is classified on the IUCN Red List as vulnerable to extinction. The IUCN assessment, carried out in 2020, estimates there are about 6,700 individual condors remaining across the species’ range. But their situation varies across countries. In Venezuela, the species is believed to have gone locally extinct, and&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2025/12/artificial-incubation-gives-colombias-threatened-andean-condor-a-new-lifeline/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
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					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-310429</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>Study unveils mystery of monkey yodeling — and why humans can&#8217;t compete</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2025/05/study-unveils-mystery-of-monkey-yodeling-and-why-humans-cant-compete/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2025/05/study-unveils-mystery-of-monkey-yodeling-and-why-humans-cant-compete/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>16 May 2025 14:11:36 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Liz Kimbrough]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Liz Kimbrough]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2025/05/16135413/Screenshot-2025-05-16-at-8.50.57-AM-768x512.png" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=299192</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Amazon, Bolivia, Latin America, and South America]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Animal Behavior, Animals, Biodiversity, Charismatic Animals, Environment, Forests, Happy-upbeat Environmental, Mammals, Monkeys, Rainforests, Research, Wildlife, and Wildlife Rescues]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[Deep in the rainforest, the monkeys are yodeling. Their wild calls echo across the foliage, sending signals of sex and survival. For decades, scientists have studied why they make these sounds, but are just beginning to understand how. A new study asks how monkeys make calls with abrupt frequency jumps, which sound like human yodeling. [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[Deep in the rainforest, the monkeys are yodeling. Their wild calls echo across the foliage, sending signals of sex and survival. For decades, scientists have studied why they make these sounds, but are just beginning to understand how. A new study asks how monkeys make calls with abrupt frequency jumps, which sound like human yodeling. Scientists were curious about the role of vocal membranes, thin ribbons of tissue that sit above monkeys’ vocal folds. Humans have vocal folds (vocal cords), but monkeys have both folds and membranes. &#8220;We knew about these vocal membranes,” Jacob Dunn, an evolutionary biologist at Anglia Ruskin University in the U.K., who co-authored the study, told Mongabay. “We knew that they were in all the primates that we studied, but nobody had really studied their actual function.&#8221; To answer this question, researchers used a combination of acoustic recordings, electroglottographs (EGGs) — which measure contact area between vocal folds during use — and modeling. They confirmed that voice production in monkeys from the Americas is made possible by two sets of vocal structures, allowing the monkeys to jump back and forth between frequencies. Vocal folds produce low-frequency sounds, and vocal membranes create higher tones. Switching between the two produces an effect similar to yodeling. However, monkeys have a much wider range and can oscillate between notes much more rapidly than human yodelers, who rely solely on vocal cords. A tufted capuchin (Sapajus apella), found in the Neotropics, is among the yodeling monkey species. Image courtesy of Joan&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2025/05/study-unveils-mystery-of-monkey-yodeling-and-why-humans-cant-compete/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
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					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
					<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2025/05/16133221/A-tufted-capuchin-call-in-real-time-and-slowed-down-with-Dr-Christian-Herbst-explaining-the-frequency-jumps-made-during-the-call.wav" length="1891768" type="audio/wav" />
					<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-299192</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>Bangladesh cracks down on illegal wildlife captivity — but what happens after?</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2025/05/bangladesh-cracks-down-on-illegal-wildlife-captivity-but-what-happens-after/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2025/05/bangladesh-cracks-down-on-illegal-wildlife-captivity-but-what-happens-after/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>06 May 2025 13:29:11 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Abu SiddiqueSadiqur Rahman]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Abu Siddique]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2025/05/06131358/rescued-wildlife-1-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=298682</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Asia, Bangladesh, and South Asia]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Animal Welfare, Animals, Conservation, Crime, Critically Endangered Species, Endangered Species, Environment, Environmental Law, Illegal Trade, Wildlife, Wildlife consumption, Wildlife Rehabilitation, Wildlife Rescues, Wildlife Trade, Wildlife Trafficking, and Zoos]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[Last month, 48 animals — including endangered species like Asian black bears (Ursus thibetanus), lesser adjutant storks (Leptoptilos javanicus) and Bengal slow lorises (Nycticebus bengalensis) — were found to be kept captive, all in a debilitated condition, at an illegally established mini zoo in Mymensingh in north-central Bangladesh. On April 8, the Forest Department’s Wildlife [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[Last month, 48 animals — including endangered species like Asian black bears (Ursus thibetanus), lesser adjutant storks (Leptoptilos javanicus) and Bengal slow lorises (Nycticebus bengalensis) — were found to be kept captive, all in a debilitated condition, at an illegally established mini zoo in Mymensingh in north-central Bangladesh. On April 8, the Forest Department’s Wildlife Crime Control Unit (WCCU) team and a few local volunteers, led by wildlife inspector Nargis Sultana, rescued the animals from the mini zoo, located about 124 kilometers (77 miles) north of Bangladesh’s capital city, Dhaka. Nargis briefed Mongabay on the condition in which she found the captive animals. One of the bears, she said, suffered from severe injuries while the other animals were served rotten feed, and their accommodations were uncomfortably congested. “Those animals, suspected to be collected from poachers, were [brought to] the menagerie more than a decade ago when they were young. They have grown up, but their cages were never [changed to larger ones],” Nargis told Mongabay. Since its inception in 2012, the WCCU has stepped up efforts to rescue wildlife from poachers and traffickers, backed by the Wildlife (Conservation and Protection) Law and aided by committed forest officials and volunteers. Corrupt political influence had long shielded illegal menageries in Bangladesh, but the situation has changed after the fall of the authoritarian regime in August 2024. Since then, the Forest Department has rescued wildlife by busting several illegal menageries in districts far from their natural habitats. While wildlife conservationists commend WCCU&#8217;s rescue&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2025/05/bangladesh-cracks-down-on-illegal-wildlife-captivity-but-what-happens-after/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
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					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-298682</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>Wave of arrests as Madagascar shuts down tortoise trafficking network</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2025/02/wave-of-arrests-as-madagascar-shuts-down-tortoise-trafficking-network/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2025/02/wave-of-arrests-as-madagascar-shuts-down-tortoise-trafficking-network/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>17 Feb 2025 11:49:10 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Rivonala Razafison]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Terna Gyuse]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2025/02/17114018/image-19583610710_385115e288_o-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=294534</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Africa, Madagascar, and Southern Africa]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Animal Welfare, Conservation, Crime, Critically Endangered Species, Endangered Species, Environment, Environmental Law, Governance, Illegal Trade, Law Enforcement, Mammals, Pet Trade, Reptiles, Social Justice, Turtles And Tortoises, Wildlife, Wildlife Rescues, Wildlife Trade, and Wildlife Trafficking]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[ANTANANARIVO — Authorities in Madagascar have arrested 19 people on suspicion of trafficking tortoises, part of intensifying efforts in the country to crack down on the illegal wildlife trade. The arrests during the week of Jan. 20 stemmed from the December 2024 apprehension of a Tanzanian national found to be transporting 800 tortoises in the [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[ANTANANARIVO — Authorities in Madagascar have arrested 19 people on suspicion of trafficking tortoises, part of intensifying efforts in the country to crack down on the illegal wildlife trade. The arrests during the week of Jan. 20 stemmed from the December 2024 apprehension of a Tanzanian national found to be transporting 800 tortoises in the northwestern coastal town of Mahajanga. This arrest prompted a major investigation in regions all around the country, including the capital, Antananarivo. Thirteen men, including the Tanzanian, Joseph Yonas Linonoka, and six women are being held in Antananarivo, according to a Jan. 25 Facebook post from the Ministry for the Environment and Sustainable Development (MEDD). “Thanks to international cooperation, four Chinese smuggling accomplices have also been arrested in Tanzania,” the post read. A radiated tortoise at the Antsokay Arboretum, Toliara, Madagascar. Image by Bernard Dupont via Flickr (CC BY-SA 2.0). The foiled trafficking operation had targeted more than 2,700 tortoises native to Madagascar, MEDD officials said. According to information provided by the ministry, the network links poachers who capture the tortoises from the wild habitat, with others who take care of temporary storage and local transport of the animals. Other intermediaries are then responsible for arranging for their export. On Jan. 14, three Chinese citizens bound for Shanghai via Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, were arrested at Antananarivo airport with 105 baby radiated tortoises (Astrochelys radiata) in their suitcases. That same day, ministry officials seized 134 tortoises from three other foreign nationals at the airport in a separate&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2025/02/wave-of-arrests-as-madagascar-shuts-down-tortoise-trafficking-network/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
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					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-294534</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>Nearly 20,000 animals seized in global wildlife trafficking crackdown</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2025/02/nearly-20000-animals-seized-in-global-wildlife-trafficking-crackdown/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2025/02/nearly-20000-animals-seized-in-global-wildlife-trafficking-crackdown/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>10 Feb 2025 09:54:49 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Mongabay.com]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Daniel]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2025/02/10065544/Lion-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=294154</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Global]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Animal Welfare, Animals, Biodiversity, Birds, Conservation, Crime, Endangered Species, Environment, Environmental Law, Illegal Trade, Mammals, Organized Crime, Reptiles, Wildlife, Wildlife Rescues, Wildlife Trade, and Wildlife Trafficking]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[Big cats, birds, primates and pangolins were among the nearly 20,000 threatened or protected animals rescued in a recent global operation against wildlife and forestry traffickers. Led by Interpol and the World Customs Organization (WCO), the campaign, called Operation Thunder 2024, involved police, customs, border patrol, forestry and wildlife officials from 138 countries and regions. [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[Big cats, birds, primates and pangolins were among the nearly 20,000 threatened or protected animals rescued in a recent global operation against wildlife and forestry traffickers. Led by Interpol and the World Customs Organization (WCO), the campaign, called Operation Thunder 2024, involved police, customs, border patrol, forestry and wildlife officials from 138 countries and regions. Six transnational criminal networks suspected of trafficking animals and plants protected by the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES) were identified, with 365 arrests made, the agencies announced on Feb. 4. The live animals seized were 12,427 birds, 5,877 turtles, 1,731 other reptiles, 33 primates, 18 big cats and 12 pangolins. Significant seizures included 6,500 songbirds discovered in Turkey during a vehicle inspection at the Syrian border, and 5,193 red-eared ornamental slider turtles hidden in passenger suitcases arriving from Malaysia at India’s Chennai International Airport. U.S. authorities discovered 1 metric ton of sea cucumbers, considered a delicacy, smuggled from Nicaragua. Australia and the U.K. reported seizures of bear bile, an ingredient in traditional medicine that’s collected using a tube or catheter inserted into the animal’s gallbladder. Such species are trafficked to meet market demands for food, supposed health benefits, pets or “luxury” items, according to Interpol and the WCO. “Organized crime networks are profiting from the demand for rare plants and animals, exploiting nature to fuel human greed,” said Interpol secretary-general Valdecy Urquiza. “This has far-reaching consequences: it drives biodiversity loss, destroys communities, contributes to climate change and&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2025/02/nearly-20000-animals-seized-in-global-wildlife-trafficking-crackdown/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
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					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-294154</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>Report reveals staggering levels of wildlife trafficking in Hispanic America</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2025/02/report-reveals-staggering-levels-of-wildlife-trafficking-in-hispanic-america/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2025/02/report-reveals-staggering-levels-of-wildlife-trafficking-in-hispanic-america/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>07 Feb 2025 13:18:34 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Spoorthy Raman]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Alexandra Popescu]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2025/02/07121009/Yucatan_black_howler_Alouatta_pigra_with_baby_Peten-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=294106</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Central America, Latin America, and South America]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Animal Welfare, Animals, Birds, Conservation, Crime, Freshwater, Illegal Trade, Poaching, Sea Turtles, Turtles, Wildlife, Wildlife Rescues, Wildlife Trade, and Wildlife Trafficking]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[From the glacial fjords of Chilean Patagonia to the beaches and mountains of Baja California, Hispanic America, representing Spanish-speaking countries in South and Central America and the Caribbean, is a biodiversity treasure trove. These include colorful macaws, showy iguanas, gaudy poison frogs and charismatic cats — animals so beautiful that people want to own them [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[From the glacial fjords of Chilean Patagonia to the beaches and mountains of Baja California, Hispanic America, representing Spanish-speaking countries in South and Central America and the Caribbean, is a biodiversity treasure trove. These include colorful macaws, showy iguanas, gaudy poison frogs and charismatic cats — animals so beautiful that people want to own them as pets. A recent report throws light on what this desire for exotic pets means for biodiversity in Hispanic America, where wildlife numbers are already nosediving due to large-scale deforestation and planned infrastructure projects. The report, published by the International Fund for Animal Welfare (IFAW), examines seizure and poaching incidents in Hispanic America over a six-year period and provides the first region-wide analysis of illegal wildlife trafficking, a key contributor to biodiversity loss. Most of the trafficked animals supplied the global demand for wild pets. With detailed analyses of wildlife crimes in 18 countries, the report gives a “whole picture” of the region,” says Polen Cisneros, project manager for the wildlife crime program at IFAW. “My idea was to have the first report that had all the baseline information, which people can easily access online and read about it, so we are more informed of what&#8217;s actually happening in the region.” Green iguanas (Iguana iguana), trafficked for the exotic pet trade, are the most seized lizards in Hispanic America. In countries like Thailand, they have become an invasive species. Image credits: Aatu Dorochenko &#8211; CC BY-SA 4.0. Cisneros and her team scoured through media reports,&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2025/02/report-reveals-staggering-levels-of-wildlife-trafficking-in-hispanic-america/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
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					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-294106</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>No signs of slowdown in wildlife trafficking in 2024 as demand persists</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2024/12/no-signs-of-slowdown-in-wildlife-trafficking-in-2024-as-demand-persists/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2024/12/no-signs-of-slowdown-in-wildlife-trafficking-in-2024-as-demand-persists/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>25 Dec 2024 12:40:58 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Keith Anthony Fabro]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Keith Anthony Fabro]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2023/12/26163811/finned-sharks-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=292323</guid>

											<reporting-project>
							<![CDATA[Illegal Wildlife Trade]]>
						</reporting-project>
					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[China]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Biodiversity, Crime, Endangered Species, Global Environmental Crisis, Indigenous Peoples, Poaching, Rewilding, Wildlife consumption, Wildlife Rescues, Wildlife Trade, and Wildlife Trafficking]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[Wildlife trafficking remains a pressing threat to the survival of countless species, with sharks, pangolins, rhinos, birds, big cats and others among the hardest hit. Mongabay’s extensive reporting aligns with the 2024 U.N. Office on Drugs and Crime’s (UNODC) World Wildlife Crime Report, which highlights these species as prime targets of a $20 billion per [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[Wildlife trafficking remains a pressing threat to the survival of countless species, with sharks, pangolins, rhinos, birds, big cats and others among the hardest hit. Mongabay’s extensive reporting aligns with the 2024 U.N. Office on Drugs and Crime’s (UNODC) World Wildlife Crime Report, which highlights these species as prime targets of a $20 billion per year illegal trade. The UNODC report finds that despite some progress, “wildlife trafficking overall has not been significantly reduced in two decades,” and now affects more than 4,000 animal and plant species from 162 countries and territories. Our yearlong coverage confirms this, showing that trafficking continues in both well-regulated and poorly regulated countries, reflecting systemic weaknesses that traffickers exploit. Mongabay also continued to spotlight the wildlife trade on social media, which continues despite pledges by platforms to ban it.  However, not all is bleak. Our coverage showcased some positive developments, including local leaders and Indigenous communities working alongside scientists to restore species populations heavily impacted by poaching and trade. There have also been discoveries of species in severely poached areas, offering hope for their survival.  Here’s a lookback at the key investigations and stories that defined Mongabay&#8217;s coverage of wildlife trafficking in 2024. Transnational wildlife crime networks In 2024, Mongabay’s reporting focused on the growing transnational and organized nature of wildlife crime networks. Fueled by money and influence, these syndicates target species such as sharks, rhinos, birds, big cats, primates and more, while also engaging in other criminal activities. Shark and ray bones being dried&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2024/12/no-signs-of-slowdown-in-wildlife-trafficking-in-2024-as-demand-persists/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
										<wfw:commentRss>https://news.mongabay.com/2024/12/no-signs-of-slowdown-in-wildlife-trafficking-in-2024-as-demand-persists/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-292323</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>Illegal cockfighting threatens endangered sea turtles across Central America</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2024/12/illegal-cockfighting-threatens-endangered-sea-turtles-across-central-america/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2024/12/illegal-cockfighting-threatens-endangered-sea-turtles-across-central-america/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>13 Dec 2024 18:05:01 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Tina Deines]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Alexandra Popescu]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2022/04/06112525/hawksbill-sea-turtle-2-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=291591</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Central America, Costa Rica, and Latin America]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Animal Rights, Animal Welfare, Animals, Biodiversity, Conservation, Crime, Endangered Species, Law Enforcement, Marine, Sea Turtles, Turtles, Wildlife, Wildlife consumption, Wildlife Rescues, Wildlife Trade, and Wildlife Trafficking]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[Cockfighting has been illegal in Costa Rica for more than a century, but this violent tradition persists underground across the country. To make the birds deadlier, their owners often tie razor-sharp blades to their legs, known as gaffs or cockspurs. Aside from the roosters, which get seriously injured or killed during fights, another species has [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[Cockfighting has been illegal in Costa Rica for more than a century, but this violent tradition persists underground across the country. To make the birds deadlier, their owners often tie razor-sharp blades to their legs, known as gaffs or cockspurs. Aside from the roosters, which get seriously injured or killed during fights, another species has become an unlikely victim of the cockspur trade: the hawksbill sea turtle (Eretmochelys imbricata), a critically endangered species whose shell is often used to make these deadly implements. Hawksbills have long been targeted for their black-and-brown mottled shells, used in jewelry, combs and other decorations going back to ancient Rome. The species was also historically hunted for its meat as far back as the fifth century B.C.E. in China. Maike Heidemeyer, a Costa Rica-based marine biologist and head of biodiversity and community for the nonprofit conservation group Natural Capital Reserve, first noticed tortoiseshell spurs at holiday markets about two decades ago after moving to the country from Germany. The spurs were openly displayed, mixed in with other hawksbill-shell products like bracelets and trinkets. Though she says these types of bold exhibitions of hawksbill products have tapered off in recent years, demand remains, despite the nationwide ban on cockfighting. The critically endangered hawksbills (Eretmochelys imbricata) are found in tropical and subtropical waters in the Atlantic, Indian and Pacific oceans where they prefer coral reefs. Image by Kanenori via Pixabay. “There are associations, groups that openly defend their right to fight cocks, even in Costa Rica,” says&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2024/12/illegal-cockfighting-threatens-endangered-sea-turtles-across-central-america/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
										<wfw:commentRss>https://news.mongabay.com/2024/12/illegal-cockfighting-threatens-endangered-sea-turtles-across-central-america/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-291591</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>At Mexico’s school for jaguars, big cats learn skills to return to the wild</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2024/10/at-mexicos-school-for-jaguars-big-cats-learn-skills-to-return-to-the-wild/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2024/10/at-mexicos-school-for-jaguars-big-cats-learn-skills-to-return-to-the-wild/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>21 Oct 2024 08:34:53 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Juan Mayorga]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Alexandra Popescu]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2024/10/21082712/Juntas-scaled-1-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=289023</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Latin America, Mexico, and North America]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Animal Behavior, Animals, Big Cats, Biodiversity, Conservation, Conservation Solutions, Jaguars, Mammals, Solutions, Wildlife, and Wildlife Rescues]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[In the grasslands of Yagul, in the central valleys of southern Mexico’s Oaxaca state, a jaguar makes its way through the bushes. It stops suddenly, lowering its head and sharpening its gaze, stalking. With its eyes on its target, it stealthily pounces on it. Just a short run and a jump before the jaguar’s prey [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[In the grasslands of Yagul, in the central valleys of southern Mexico’s Oaxaca state, a jaguar makes its way through the bushes. It stops suddenly, lowering its head and sharpening its gaze, stalking. With its eyes on its target, it stealthily pounces on it. Just a short run and a jump before the jaguar’s prey is in its jaws. It sounds like a hunting scene from the wild, but this one is an exercise planned by a team of biologists, veterinarians and ethnologists. The prey isn’t a live animal, but a jute sack stuffed with chicken meat, strung from the end of a pole. &nbsp; The exercise is meant to encourage the jaguar to relearn behavior from its former life in the wild: using its sense of smell to locate its target, its claws and muscles to climb the pole, and its bite and weight to break the rope that ties the chicken-stuffed bag together. Only in this way can it access its prize. “This type of exercise keeps the jaguars active and reduces the impact of captivity and a sedentary lifestyle, which can cause stress and obesity,” says Víctor Rosas Cosío, a jaguar expert and project director of the Yaguar Xoo sanctuary, located 35 kilometers (22 miles) from the city of Oaxaca, the state capital. A jaguar hunts a rabbit in the sanctuary. Image courtesy of Andrea Reyes/Jaguars in the Wild Foundation. For now, the sole aim of the exercise is to keep Balam healthy. This young jaguar (Panthera&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2024/10/at-mexicos-school-for-jaguars-big-cats-learn-skills-to-return-to-the-wild/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
										<wfw:commentRss>https://news.mongabay.com/2024/10/at-mexicos-school-for-jaguars-big-cats-learn-skills-to-return-to-the-wild/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-289023</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>From prison psychologist to wildlife whisperer: Interview with Susan Eirich</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2024/09/from-prison-psychologist-to-wildlife-whisperer-interview-with-susan-eirich/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2024/09/from-prison-psychologist-to-wildlife-whisperer-interview-with-susan-eirich/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>18 Sep 2024 14:54:34 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Liz Kimbrough]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Liz Kimbrough]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2024/09/11172430/Screenshot-2024-09-11-at-12.23.59-PM-768x512.png" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=287276</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[United States]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Animal Intelligence, Animals, Biodiversity, Charismatic Animals, Conservation, Environment, Green, Happy-upbeat Environmental, Mammals, Pet Trade, Wildlife, Wildlife Corridors, Wildlife Rehabilitation, and Wildlife Rescues]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[Ramble Bear, a 23-year-old rescued Hokkaido brown bear, acts more like a poodle than a predator. He blinks and licks my hand through the protective fence, very demure. His tongue is surprisingly soft. “He’s a big show off,” Susan B. Eirich, licensed psychologist, biologist, and founder of Earthfire Institute Wildlife Sanctuary &#38; Retreat Center, tells [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[Ramble Bear, a 23-year-old rescued Hokkaido brown bear, acts more like a poodle than a predator. He blinks and licks my hand through the protective fence, very demure. His tongue is surprisingly soft. “He’s a big show off,” Susan B. Eirich, licensed psychologist, biologist, and founder of Earthfire Institute Wildlife Sanctuary &amp; Retreat Center, tells me during my visit to the center just west of Grand Teton National Park in the U.S. state of Idaho. Eirich has a biology degree, but after getting a Ph.D. in psychology decided to work with people in maximum-security prisons. Then, in the late 1990s, her life took an unexpected turn when she was invited to help raise seven wolf puppies rescued from a movie set. “When you get an offer like that, you drop everything,” Eirich says. “Holding those puppies close to your heart while you&#8217;re feeding them and feeling their heart beating and feeling their vitality — I just fell hopelessly, totally, completely in love.” Susan Eirich with the foundling wolf pups that inspired the Earthfire Institute. Photo courtesy of Earthfire Institute. That love was a catalyst for action, and in 2000, Eirich and her late partner, Jean Simpson, who was a professional wild animal trainer, founded the Earthfire Institute. The now 165-acre (67-hectare) property connects to the Yellowstone-to-Yukon migration corridor, protecting critical habitat for the biodiversity in the region. Eirich has shared this wildlife sanctuary with bears, bison, bobcats, chickens, cougars, coyotes, deer, donkeys, foxes, horses, lynx, porcupines, raccoons, skunks, squirrels, turkeys,&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2024/09/from-prison-psychologist-to-wildlife-whisperer-interview-with-susan-eirich/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
										<wfw:commentRss>https://news.mongabay.com/2024/09/from-prison-psychologist-to-wildlife-whisperer-interview-with-susan-eirich/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-287276</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>From selfies to treetops: Thai NGOs rescue and release captive gibbons</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2024/08/from-selfies-to-treetops-thai-ngos-rescue-and-release-captive-gibbons/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2024/08/from-selfies-to-treetops-thai-ngos-rescue-and-release-captive-gibbons/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>09 Aug 2024 04:40:54 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Ana Norman Bermúdez]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Isabel Esterman]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2024/08/08190511/WFFT-10-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=285889</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Asia, Southeast Asia, and Thailand]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Animals, Apes, Biodiversity, Conservation, Endangered Species, Environment, Ex-situ Conservation, Gibbons, Mammals, Rehabilitation, Wildlife, Wildlife Rehabilitation, Wildlife Rescues, and Wildlife Trade]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[PHUKET, Thailand — The air is thick and sticky in the forest surrounding the Gibbon Rehabilitation Project center. Thanaphat Payakkaporn, head of the project, bends down to pick up the discarded shells of langsat fruits, a sign that wild gibbons have been in the area. As a series of loud, melodic whoops echo through the [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[PHUKET, Thailand — The air is thick and sticky in the forest surrounding the Gibbon Rehabilitation Project center. Thanaphat Payakkaporn, head of the project, bends down to pick up the discarded shells of langsat fruits, a sign that wild gibbons have been in the area. As a series of loud, melodic whoops echo through the jungle, Thanaphat  looks up at the canopy and smiles. “Bo’s son comes to visit him sometimes,” he says. Bo is a 37-year-old white-handed gibbon (Hylobates lar), rescued in 1993 after being captured and kept as a pet for five years. He’s one of around 400 gibbons that the GRP, led by Thanaphat, has rescued and rehabilitated. At least 100 have been successfully released in the provinces of Chiang Mai and Phuket, where wild gibbon populations had previously been decimated by poachers. Bo’s son is one of these gibbons, but Bo himself has proved difficult to release. Despite seven attempts, he keeps returning to the center or venturing out of the forest in search of humans. He’s now a permanent resident at the rehabilitation center. Thanaphat Payakkaporn, head of the Gibbon Rehabilitation Project, uses a rope-assisted mechanism to feed the gibbons at the project&#8217;s rehabilitation center in Phuket. Image by Ana Norman Bermúdez for Mongabay. Thailand is home to four gibbon species: white-handed or lar; black-handed or agile (Hylobates agilis), pileated (Hylobates pileatus) and siamang (Symphalangus syndactylus), all now listed as endangered due to rampant poaching and habitat fragmentation in the latter half of the 20th&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2024/08/from-selfies-to-treetops-thai-ngos-rescue-and-release-captive-gibbons/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
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					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-285889</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>Shooting of Philippine eagle renews calls to boost enforcement, wildlife protection</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2024/07/shooting-of-philippine-eagle-renews-calls-to-boost-enforcement-wildlife-protection/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2024/07/shooting-of-philippine-eagle-renews-calls-to-boost-enforcement-wildlife-protection/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>29 Jul 2024 20:22:26 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Jhesset O. Enano]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Isabel Esterman]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2024/07/29201137/The-lifeless-gaze-of-Philippine-eagle-Mangayon-768x512.jpeg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=285302</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Asia, Philippines, and Southeast Asia]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Animals, Biodiversity, Birds, Conservation, Endangered Species, Environment, Environmental Law, Governance, Hunting, Raptors, Wildlife, and Wildlife Rescues]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[MANILA — Calls for greater protection of threatened wildlife in the Philippines have intensified following the fatal shooting of a critically endangered Philippine eagle, the national bird, earlier this month. Wildlife experts said stronger enforcement of the country’s wildlife law is needed to further prevent the persecution of the iconic apex predator. Current estimates indicate [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[MANILA — Calls for greater protection of threatened wildlife in the Philippines have intensified following the fatal shooting of a critically endangered Philippine eagle, the national bird, earlier this month. Wildlife experts said stronger enforcement of the country’s wildlife law is needed to further prevent the persecution of the iconic apex predator. Current estimates indicate only 392 breeding pairs of Philippine eagles (Pithecophaga jefferyi) remain in the wild. The Philippine Eagle Foundation (PEF), a rescue and rehabilitation center, reported the death of the eagle “Mangayon,” named after the village where it was found, on July 8. The case is the first recorded death by gunshot wound by the foundation in the past five years. More recent eagle deaths were mainly due to disease. PEF senior animal keeper Dominic Tadena assessing the unresponsive PE Mangayon. Image courtesy of the Philippine Eagle Foundation. The raptor was reportedly found injured by a member of an Indigenous group in the mountains of Davao de Oro province in the southern Philippines. On the same night of its rescue, Mangayon was pronounced dead due to severe blood loss and possibly infection. Jayson Ibañez, the PEF research and conservation director, noted that Mangayon was at least 3 to 4 years old, and was dehydrated but otherwise healthy. The bones of his left wing, however, were shattered, presumably by a marble, commonly used as a projectile in improvised guns in the country. “A marble will not penetrate the body, but it will shatter the immediate surface,” Ibañez told&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2024/07/shooting-of-philippine-eagle-renews-calls-to-boost-enforcement-wildlife-protection/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
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					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-285302</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>Madagascar lemurs, tortoises seized in Thai bust reveal reach of wildlife trafficking</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2024/06/madagascar-lemurs-tortoises-seized-in-thai-bust-reveal-reach-of-wildlife-trafficking/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2024/06/madagascar-lemurs-tortoises-seized-in-thai-bust-reveal-reach-of-wildlife-trafficking/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>28 Jun 2024 06:12:36 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Carolyn Cowan]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Christophe Assogba]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2024/06/28040804/CBL_RAB-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=283834</guid>

											<reporting-project>
							<![CDATA[Illegal Wildlife Trade]]>
						</reporting-project>
					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Africa, Asia, Madagascar, Southeast Asia, and Thailand]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Animal Welfare, Conservation, Corruption, Crime, Critically Endangered Species, Endangered Species, Environment, Environmental Law, Governance, Illegal Trade, Law Enforcement, Lemurs, Mammals, Pet Trade, Reptiles, Social Justice, Turtles And Tortoises, Wildlife, Wildlife Rescues, Wildlife Trade, and Wildlife Trafficking]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[In May, authorities in southern Thailand arrested six people for illegally transporting 48 lemurs and more than 1,200 critically endangered tortoises, all of which had reportedly been obtained from the wild in Madagascar. The seizure is the latest in a string of illegal wildlife trade busts in Thailand. Red pandas (Ailurus fulgens), monitor lizards, snakes [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[In May, authorities in southern Thailand arrested six people for illegally transporting 48 lemurs and more than 1,200 critically endangered tortoises, all of which had reportedly been obtained from the wild in Madagascar. The seizure is the latest in a string of illegal wildlife trade busts in Thailand. Red pandas (Ailurus fulgens), monitor lizards, snakes and parrots have been uncovered in similar incidents in the country in recent months, for instance. However, the recent seizure of so many critically endangered animals from Madagascar has alarmed experts, who say the latest bust underscores the global reach of wildlife trafficking networks using Thailand as a transshipment hub for illegally sourced wild animals and plants. “The quantity seized points strongly towards the existence of an organized network of traffickers, and the use of the sea route to move the animals out of the national territory,”   Simon Rafanomezantsoa, lead of WWF Madagascar’s antitrafficking team, said in a statement. Authorities discovered the animals caged and boxed in cramped conditions in six pickup trucks in Chumphon province on May 1. The authorities were acting on intelligence from an international investigation operating in the country to clamp down on cross-border organized wildlife crime. In total, authorities uncovered 1,234 tortoises: 357 radiated tortoises (Astrochelys radiata) and 877 spider tortoises (Pyxis arachnoides), both of which are listed as critically endangered on the IUCN Red List. Among the lemurs were 16 ring-tailed lemurs (Lemur catta) and 32 common brown lemurs (Eulemur fulvus), listed respectively as endangered and vulnerable on the&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2024/06/madagascar-lemurs-tortoises-seized-in-thai-bust-reveal-reach-of-wildlife-trafficking/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
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					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-283834</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>In Peru, conservationists and authorities struggle to get turtle eggs off the menu</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2024/03/in-peru-conservationists-and-authorities-struggle-to-get-turtle-eggs-off-the-menu/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2024/03/in-peru-conservationists-and-authorities-struggle-to-get-turtle-eggs-off-the-menu/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>18 Mar 2024 11:12:24 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Ryan Biller]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Alexandra Popescu]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Amazon]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2024/03/18110510/DSC_4008-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=279712</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Amazon, Latin America, Peru, and South America]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Animals, Biodiversity, Conservation, Crime, Endangered Species, Food, Freshwater, Illegal Trade, Law, Law Enforcement, Mammals, Poaching, trafficking, Wildlife, Wildlife consumption, Wildlife Rescues, Wildlife Trade, and Wildlife Trafficking]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[IQUITOS, Peru — &#8220;Oh, they&#8217;re so delicious,&#8221; said Soledad Coronil, an elderly local woman, as she enjoyed a boiled tortoise egg earlier this year. &#8220;You have to open the shell and dig out the insides, either with your hand or with a spoon. I like to add a bit of salt, too.&#8221; Coronil&#8217;s meal, which [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[IQUITOS, Peru — &#8220;Oh, they&#8217;re so delicious,&#8221; said Soledad Coronil, an elderly local woman, as she enjoyed a boiled tortoise egg earlier this year. &#8220;You have to open the shell and dig out the insides, either with your hand or with a spoon. I like to add a bit of salt, too.&#8221; Coronil&#8217;s meal, which came from a yellow-footed tortoise (Chelonoidis denticulata) is not uncommon in a country that serves bull testicles, llama jerky and guinea pig. In the Peruvian Amazon, turtle eggs are a cherished — and illegal — delicacy. And the only way to get them is via illegal poachers. Peruvian authorities have grappled with the ongoing and brazen issue for decades, unable to effectively curb the illicit trade. Factors such as corruption, being stretched too thin and other more pressing forms of crime have all played a role. Soledad Coronil enjoying a turtle egg at Belén market. Image by Ryan Biller. Turtle eggs are a culinary staple in Iquitos, the Peruvian Amazon&#8217;s unofficial capital, with dishes such as &#8220;river turtle in ginger on rice&#8221; or &#8220;turtle eggs with garlic sauce&#8221; frequently present on the city’s restaurant menus. Between 2015 and 2020, two of the nine most-trafficked species in Peru were turtles: the yellow-spotted Amazon river turtle (Podocnemis unifilis), locally known as taricaya, and the yellow-footed tortoise. Both species, listed as vulnerable on the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species, can be found, butchered but still writhing, in Belén, Iquitos&#8217; notorious wet market. At the headwaters of the&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2024/03/in-peru-conservationists-and-authorities-struggle-to-get-turtle-eggs-off-the-menu/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
										<wfw:commentRss>https://news.mongabay.com/2024/03/in-peru-conservationists-and-authorities-struggle-to-get-turtle-eggs-off-the-menu/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-279712</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>Peru’s illegal pet monkey trade is also an infection superhighway</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2024/03/perus-illegal-pet-monkey-trade-is-also-an-infection-superhighway/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2024/03/perus-illegal-pet-monkey-trade-is-also-an-infection-superhighway/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>14 Mar 2024 13:20:58 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Carla Ruas]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Alexandra Popescu]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2024/03/14120209/7-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=279817</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Atlantic Forest, Latin America, Peru, and South America]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Animals, Biodiversity, Conservation, Diseases, Endangered Species, Environment, Forests, Illegal Trade, Law Enforcement, Mammals, Monkeys, Research, Tropical Forests, Wildlife, Wildlife consumption, Wildlife Rescues, Wildlife Trade, Wildlife Trafficking, and Zoonotic Diseases]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[At Belén Market in the northeastern Peruvian city of Iquitos, monkeys illegally captured from the Amazon Rainforest are sold as pets right next to fruits and vegetables. The primates are kept in tight cages and in close contact with other animals, people and trash — ideal conditions for picking up and spreading diseases. But markets [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[At Belén Market in the northeastern Peruvian city of Iquitos, monkeys illegally captured from the Amazon Rainforest are sold as pets right next to fruits and vegetables. The primates are kept in tight cages and in close contact with other animals, people and trash — ideal conditions for picking up and spreading diseases. But markets like Belén are only the beginning, according to a recent paper published in PLOS ONE. The monkeys continue to transmit viruses, parasites and bacteria all along the trafficking route, even as they reach their final destinations in households, or rescue centers and zoos if local authorities seize them. Scientists estimate hundreds of thousands of primates are captured and trafficked annually in Peru. While some are traded for food, artifacts and remedies, most are sold alive and locally as pets. According to a recent survey by World Animal Protection, 40% of Peruvians living in cities have admitted to purchasing wild animals as pets. When local authorities confiscate trafficked monkeys, they take them to zoos and rescue centers. Image courtesy of Patricia Mendoza /Neotropical Primate Conservation–Peru. The most popular trafficked species are tamarins (from the genera Saguinus and Leontocebus) and squirrel monkeys (Saimiri), which sell for as little as $10. At the other end of the scale, species like Goeldi’s monkey (Callimico goeldii) are sought-after on the international black market and can cost up to $900. For the recent study, researchers tested 388 monkeys that had been illegal trafficked in nine Peruvian cities, and found a total of&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2024/03/perus-illegal-pet-monkey-trade-is-also-an-infection-superhighway/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
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					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-279817</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>Impunity for Cambodia&#8217;s exotic pet owners as trade outpaces legislation</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2024/03/impunity-for-cambodias-exotic-pet-owners-as-trade-outpaces-legislation/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2024/03/impunity-for-cambodias-exotic-pet-owners-as-trade-outpaces-legislation/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>07 Mar 2024 03:00:03 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Gerald FlynnNehru Pry]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Isabel Esterman]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2024/03/06130345/Pig-tailed-macaque-1.png-768x512.jpeg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=279552</guid>

											<reporting-project>
							<![CDATA[Illegal Wildlife Trade]]>
						</reporting-project>
					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Asia, Atlantic Forest, Cambodia, and Southeast Asia]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Animal Welfare, Animals, Apes, Birds, Captive Breeding, Charismatic Animals, Conservation, Corruption, Crime, Diseases, Endangered Species, Environment, Environmental Law, Governance, Illegal Trade, Journalism, Law, Law Enforcement, Mammals, Species, Wildlife, Wildlife Rangers, Wildlife Rescues, Wildlife Trade, Wildlife Trafficking, Zoonotic Diseases, and Zoos]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[PURSAT, Cambodia — On the outskirts of the western Cambodian city of Pursat, some 180 kilometers, or 110 miles, north of Phnom Penh, tourists and travelers stream out of minivans parked in the forecourt of a PTT gas station. The Cambodian subsidiary of Thailand’s state-owned oil and gas conglomerate, PTT stands out as one of [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[PURSAT, Cambodia — On the outskirts of the western Cambodian city of Pursat, some 180 kilometers, or 110 miles, north of Phnom Penh, tourists and travelers stream out of minivans parked in the forecourt of a PTT gas station. The Cambodian subsidiary of Thailand’s state-owned oil and gas conglomerate, PTT stands out as one of the country’s more modern gas station chains, sporting retail outlets popular in Thailand such as Café Amazon and 7-Eleven. But the PTT in Pursat’s Prey Nhy commune boasts a number of unique Thai imports that draw more attention than the markedly clean toilets. When reporters visited the PTT gas station in mid-February 2024, a blue and yellow macaw (Ara ararauna) and what experts have suggested could be a salmon-crested cockatoo (Cacatua moluccensis) were seen chained to a metal frame surrounding a tree in the center of the forecourt. Curious tourists leaned in to pet the birds. Tucked away, around the corner and behind a noodle shop inside the PTT forecourt, sat a series of cages filled with animals and a large printed banner that read “Beware of animal bites. We are not responsible.” Here, reporters found nonnative species including two more likely salmon-crested cockatoos, two common marmosets (Callithrix jacchus), two Indian peafowls (Pavo cristatus), a golden pheasant (Chrysolophus pictus), three endangered sun parakeets (Aratinga solstitialis), and one as-yet-unidentified green bird that has been suggested to be a green-cheeked parakeet (Pyrrhura molinae). Meanwhile native species identified at the PTT gas station included a juvenile pig-tailed macaque&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2024/03/impunity-for-cambodias-exotic-pet-owners-as-trade-outpaces-legislation/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
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					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-279552</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>Maluku farmer turns guardian of eastern Indonesia’s threatened parrots</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2024/02/maluku-farmer-turns-guardian-of-eastern-indonesias-threatened-parrots/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2024/02/maluku-farmer-turns-guardian-of-eastern-indonesias-threatened-parrots/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>27 Feb 2024 15:06:07 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Mahmud Ichi]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Philip Jacobson]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2024/02/23101341/Lorius_garrulus_-captive-8a_2-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=279133</guid>

											<reporting-project>
							<![CDATA[Wild Bird Trade]]>
						</reporting-project>
					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Asia, Indonesia, Java, Maluku, and Southeast Asia]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Animals, Biodiversity, Birds, Conservation, Crime, Endangered Species, Environment, Wildlife, Wildlife Rehabilitation, Wildlife Rescues, and Wildlife Trafficking]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[HALMAHERA, Indonesia — Most days, Jamal Adam watches over the 10 aviaries in Ake Tajawe Lolobata National Park with veterinarians and support staff. But during the holidays this past December, the 60-year-old farmer was in charge of the ambitious conservation work. “We rely on instinct and a love of birds,” Jamal told Mongabay Indonesia, as [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[HALMAHERA, Indonesia — Most days, Jamal Adam watches over the 10 aviaries in Ake Tajawe Lolobata National Park with veterinarians and support staff. But during the holidays this past December, the 60-year-old farmer was in charge of the ambitious conservation work. “We rely on instinct and a love of birds,” Jamal told Mongabay Indonesia, as birdsong whistled in the background. “We’ve been nursing and looking after these birds for several years.” Five years ago, Jamal was earning a living as a local farmer and casual laborer here on the west of the Halmahera mainland, not far from a clutch of volcanic islands rising out of the Maluku Sea in eastern Indonesia. At first, he had only a cursory understanding about birds. But an instinctive love for wildlife prompted him to sign up as a voluntary forest ranger in his spare time. He then gave environmental talks in schools and worked as a guide in the national park. Jamal feeds two chattering lories at the rehabilitation center. Image courtesy of Jamal Adam. In 2019, when local authorities opened eastern Indonesia’s largest sanctuary for parrots and other birds near Jamal’s home, they recruited Jamal to join the project. Since then, Jamal has worked on a team of five to rehabilitate and release birds seized from the pet trade, affected by habitat loss, or injured by predators. The sanctuary has released more than 100 parrots since it opened five years ago. Parrots are among the world’s most at-risk order of birds, with almost&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2024/02/maluku-farmer-turns-guardian-of-eastern-indonesias-threatened-parrots/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
										<wfw:commentRss>https://news.mongabay.com/2024/02/maluku-farmer-turns-guardian-of-eastern-indonesias-threatened-parrots/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-279133</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>Conservationists look to defy gloomy outlook for Borneo’s sun bears</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2023/10/conservationists-look-to-defy-gloomy-outlook-for-borneos-sun-bears/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2023/10/conservationists-look-to-defy-gloomy-outlook-for-borneos-sun-bears/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>31 Oct 2023 13:08:51 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Carolyn Cowan]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Isabel Esterman]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2023/10/31114315/Banner-2-1-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=274826</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Asia, Borneo, Malaysia, and Southeast Asia]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Animals, Bears, Biodiversity, Conservation, Conservation Technology, Deforestation, Ecotourism, Education, Endangered Species, Environment, Extinction, Forests, GPS, Green, Habitat Degradation, Habitat Loss, Mammals, Palm Oil, Pet Trade, Poaching, Rainforests, Rehabilitation, Reintroductions, Research, Snares, Sun Bears, Tracking, Traditional People, Tropical Forests, Wildlife, Wildlife Rehabilitation, Wildlife Rescues, Wildlife Trade, Wildlife Trafficking, and Wildtech]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[SABAH, Malaysia — The 3-year-old sun bear sits teddy bear-like in a secluded grassy glade in its rainforest enclosure. Its soft, densely furred belly vibrates as it sucks on one of its front paws, emitting a series of strange, guttural whimpers. Its head downturned, the young bear looks up at us shyly with deep brown [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[SABAH, Malaysia — The 3-year-old sun bear sits teddy bear-like in a secluded grassy glade in its rainforest enclosure. Its soft, densely furred belly vibrates as it sucks on one of its front paws, emitting a series of strange, guttural whimpers. Its head downturned, the young bear looks up at us shyly with deep brown eyes, penetrating our human instinct to care for the vulnerable. “This is a rather sad behavior,” Siew Te Wong, CEO and founder of the Bornean Sun Bear Conservation Centre (BSBCC), tells Mongabay during a visit to the pioneering rescue and education facility in the Malaysian state of Sabah. Wong says the bear, named Kipaku, was brought to the center as an orphaned cub, and what we’re witnessing is the little bear’s trauma response. “As with all infant mammals, this bear has an urge to suckle,” Wong says. “But he has no mother; his mother was brutally killed by poachers, so he’s had no opportunity to suckle … in the end, he’s developed this self-soothing behavior.” Like Kipaku, most of the 44 sun bears (Helarctos malayanus) Wong and his colleagues currently care for at the BSBCC were brought to them as orphaned cubs illegally taken from the wild and subsequently confiscated by authorities. One of the goals of the BSBCC is to return some of the rescued bears back into the wild to bolster flagging local populations. Since it was launched in 2008, the center has rewilded 12 bears into remote forest reserves in Sabah. But&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2023/10/conservationists-look-to-defy-gloomy-outlook-for-borneos-sun-bears/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
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					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-274826</doi>				</item>
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