For as long as humans and animals have co-existed, people have utilized them as resources. Animals, and their parts, have been used for a variety of purposes, ranging from basic…
This is the second of a series of two articles examining Western Nghe An Biosphere Reserve, the impetus behind its creation, and the efficacy of its protections. Part 1 can…
Is the great ape trade responsible for the current outbreak of Ebola? The vicious Ebola virus outbreak that has already killed more than 800 people this year, in addition to…
Sankuru Nature Reserve draws ire from some conservationists, other protections planned Bonobos (Pan paniscus) are often touted by scientists as a peace-loving great ape species, opting to solve social conflicts…
The world's worst Ebola outbreak was likely begun by a hunter shooting a fruit bat for their dinner or the market, according to the UN. The outbreak has killed over…
All pangolins now threatened with extinction, and two considered Critically Endangered The tree pangolin (Manis tricuspis) has been upgraded from Near Threatened to Vulnerable by an IUCN Red List update.…
Art-form helping establish new park by acting as communication bridge between conservationists, local people Two years ago, environmental artist Roger Peet set off to the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC)…
This is the third part of a series. Part 1 discusses the formation of Sankuru Nature Reserve and the general state of bonobos. Part II discusses the specific threats faced…
This is the second part of a series, Part 1 of which discusses the formation of Sankuru Nature Reserve and the general state of bonobos. The bonobo (Pan paniscus) is…
Is there hope for Africa’s most threatened ape subspecies? The mountain forests at the Nigeria-Cameroon border are home to one of the rarest and most threatened subspecies of African apes…
Uncovering the reproductive mysteries of the little-known giant armadillo. Arguably the most important moment in any animal's life— whether it be a whale, a human, or a mosquito— is the…
New forestry laws in the works, but may not be enough Oil palm nursery in a Herakles Farm’s concession area. Photo: © Greenpeace/Alex Yallop. The potential for new laws governing…
New research refutes previous findings Barbed-wire snares, spent shotgun shells, the lingering smell of gunpowder, and strips of curing meat: glimpses from a bushmeat hunt. Bushmeat hunting is the illegal…
Hornbills are killed in Indonesia for the traditional Chinese medicine market. Tropical rainforests are the most species-rich ecosystems in the world. Each square kilometer has hundreds of tree species, birds…
Innovation in Tropical Forest Conservation: Q&A with Dr. Chris Golden Members of the MAHERY (Madagascar Health and Environmental Research) team that includes social surveyors, lemur researchers, tenrec researchers, veterinarians and…
The successful end of a monkey hunt by an indigenous tribe in Suriname results in a howler monkey for dinner. Photo by: Rhett A. Butler. The barbecued leg of a…
Over the past 25 years, West Africa's primates have been put at risk due to an escalating bushmeat trade compounded with forest loss from expanding human populations. In fact, many…
Baby orangutans, like this Sumatran orangutan on its mother's back, are often kept illegally in Indonesia. Photo by Rhett A. Butler Indonesia’s Islamic clerics drew praise from conservation groups last…
Scientific American magazine recently ran an article on the rediscovery of the smoothtooth blacktip shark (Carcharhinus leiodon) in a Kuwaiti fish market. Believed extinct for over 100 years, the smoothtooth…
The ring-tailed lemur (Lemur catta), perhaps the most well-known of Madagascar’s endemic animals, is facing a "very high" risk of extinction in the wild. The Madagascar Section of the IUCN…
The thin-spined porcupine, also known as the bristle-spined rat, is a truly distinct animal: a sort of cross between New World porcupines and spiny rats with genetic research showing it…
The survival of primary forests depends on many overlapping interactions. Among these interactions include tropical gardeners, like the bonobo (Pan pansicus) in the Congo Basin, according to a new study…
Only 27.5 percent of potential bonobo habitat is still suitable for the African great ape, according to the most comprehensive study of species' range yet appearing in Biodiversity Conservation. "Bonobos…
The reintroduction of captive gorillas to areas where they have been hunted to extinction appears to working, suggesting a possible new front in efforts to save great apes, finds a…
Gabon has lost most of its big meat-eaters including lions, spotted hyenas, and African wild dogs (although it's still home to a lot of leopards), but a new study focuses…
Everyone knows the tiger, the panda, the blue whale, but what about the other five to thirty million species estimated to inhabit our Earth? Many of these marvelous, stunning, and…
A Ruaha male lion in his prime. Photo © : Sasja van Vechgel. The Serengeti, the Congo, the Okavango Delta: many of Africa's great wildernesses are household names, however on…
The bushmeat markets of Lao PDR (Laos) are filled with racks of wild game harvested both legally and illegally from the surrounding landscapes. While these meat markets certainly provide local…
Warning: some photos may be disturbing or graphic. In a single night in March, a band of heavily-armed, horse-riding poachers slaughtered 89 elephants in southern Chad, thirty of which were…
Demand for scales, meat, and even fetuses of pangolins have pushed all eight species of this unique mammalian order—Pholidota—toward extinction, according to the world's first ever pangolin conference with the…