Mantasoa, Madagascar | AFP | Madagascar, renowned for its unique wildlife and vanilla production, has a new claim to fame — the island nation is Africa’s first and only source of caviar. The business is an unlikely project in a country beset by grinding poverty, but its owners are determined …
Read More »’10 steps ahead’: Kenya’s tech war on wildlife poachers
Ol Pejeta, Kenya | AFP | Every morning, at the far perimeter of the wildlife reserve capped by Mount Kenya, a khaki-clad ranger meticulously sweeps the earth of animal footprints, covering their tracks from any poachers. It’s an antiquated approach to outsmarting would-be hunters, but this ranger is not alone. …
Read More »Vietnamese found smuggling ivory granted bail
Kampala, Uganda | THE INDEPENDENT | The Anti-Corruption Court has granted bail to two Vietnamese accused of wildlife trafficking. They are Nguyen Son Dong, 40 the Director of Wisdom Theta Limited and Pham Van Chieu 33 a resident of Ntinda a Kampala Suburb. They are jointly charged with Phung Thi …
Read More »URA smashes million dollar ivory, pangolin smuggling racket
⭕ 3 trucks of smuggled elephant tusks and pangolin scales ⭕ Came through the Elegu One Stop Border Post ⭕ 2 Vietnamese suspects arrested Kampala, Uganda | THE INDEPENDENT | Uganda Revenue Authority (URA) has started reaping from the introduction of Non-intrusive Cargo Inspection (NII) scanning technology that this week, uncovered …
Read More »Parliament asked to hasten enactment of new wildlife law
Kampala, Uganda | THE INDEPENDENT | A cross section of residents in Kasese district has tasked parliament to expedite the enactment of the Uganda Wildlife Bill, which seeks to, among others, provide for compensation for loss occasioned by animals escaping from wildlife protected areas. The bill tabled by Government Chief Whip …
Read More »Butterflies, the unlikely victims of Trump’s border wall
Mission, United States | AFP | In Mission, Texas, the construction of part of a long-promised wall on the border with Mexico to stem the tide of undocumented migrants is already in progress. Among the many who will be affected? Butterflies. Mission, located in the lower Rio Grande Valley, is …
Read More »Lions suspected in drowning of 400 buffaloes in Botswana
Gaborone, Botswana | AFP | More than 400 buffaloes believed to have been chased by lions drowned in a river in northern Bostwana this week, the government said. The mass drowning occurred in Chobe River near the border with Namibia. Early investigations by authorities in both countries “suggest that an …
Read More »A ‘deal for nature’ to rescue wildlife: WWF chief
Paris, France | AFP | The global population of fish, birds, amphibians, reptiles and mammals has declined 60 percent since 1970, according to the WWF’s “Living Planet” report released Tuesday. WWF director general Marco Lambertini tells AFP what went wrong and what’s at stake. – How bad is it? – …
Read More »‘Fighting poverty will check illegal wildlife trade’
London, UK | THE INDEPENDENT | President Yoweri Museveni has said issues of illegal wildlife trade cannot be divorced from poverty and that countries must strive to get their people out of poverty through sustainable tourism, investments, trade and industrialization, adding that the structure of the society in Africa needs …
Read More »Why apes can’t talk
Study suggests they’ve got the voice but not the brains Kampala, Uganda | JACOB DUNN | We all know that parrots can talk. Some people may have even seen elephants, seals, or whales mimicking speech sounds. So why can’t our closest primate relatives speak like us? Our new research suggests …
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