Tag Archives: Conservation

Kinshasa, DR Congo | AFP | Eighteen employees of a gorilla sanctuary in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo have been abducted by a militia group, sources said on Wednesday. An official with an NGO said the abduction took place on Monday in the area of Nzovu, which lies in the …

Nairobi, Kenya | AFP |  A world-renowned ivory investigator whose detailed reports contributed to the fight against elephant poaching and the illegal wildlife trade, was killed at his home in Kenya, police said Monday. Esmond Martin, 75, died after being stabbed at his house in the Nairobi suburb of Langata …

Johannesburg, South Africa | AFP | The number of rhinos killed for their horns by poachers in South Africa dipped in 2017, but more than 1,000 were still slaughtered, the government said on Thursday. South Africa is battling a scourge of rhino poaching fuelled by insatiable demand for their horn …

Beijing, China | AFP | Nearly 12 tonnes of smuggled pangolin scales have been confiscated by Chinese officials — the country’s largest-ever seizure of the endangered mammal’s prized parts as it seeks to curb illegal trafficking. The pangolin, whose brown scales have earned it the nickname “scaly anteater”, is the most …

Abidjan, Ivory Coast | AFP | Two tusks and 46 elephant tails have been seized in Ivory Coast, activists said Tuesday, adding that a customs officer acting as an accomplice to traffickers was among four arrested. “Two impressive tusks of 1.6 metres each” were seized by a specialist unit from …

Liwonde, Malawi | AFP | Under a scorching sun, a team of British soldiers and Malawian rangers sheltered under a tree ready to pounce on their prey: poachers. The combined force, armed with rifles and handcuffs, did not encounter any poachers as it patrolled the 530 square kilometre (240 square mile) …

Gaborone, Botswana | AFP | Nine elephants were electrocuted in a freak accident in Botswana after one of them knocked into an electricity pole and the high-voltage power line fell on them, a local official said Tuesday. The herd is believed to have broken out of the northeastern Makgadikgadi Pans Game …

Montreal, Canada | AFP | Half of the vertebrate populations in Canada are in staggering decline, despite the country’s vast outback, according to a WWF report Thursday that highlighted threats to beluga whales and caribou. The World Wildlife Fund in its Living Planet Report pointed to 451 shrinking animal populations out …

PICTORIAL #KwitaIzina2017: Kwita Izina, gorilla-naming celebration Kigali, RWANDA | RDB | Thousands came together in Musanze District- Kinigi to celebrate Rwanda‘s success in conserving mountain gorillas at the 13th Kwita Izina ceremony on September 1. This year, 19 baby gorillas were named under the theme “Conservation and sustainable tourism – a foundation for future generations” adding to the 239 …

  Kwita Izina ceremony set for September 1 Kigali, Rwanda | GORILLAFUND.ORG |  Naming infant mountain gorillas has become an important annual nationwide tradition in Rwanda since 2004. The naming ceremony, called Kwita Izina and organized by the Rwandan Development Board, is based on a historic Rwandan cultural practice for naming …