Author Archives: Rachel Nuwer
Conservationists struggle to repair cracks in Kenya’s most secure rhino sanctuary
When a gram of rhino horn fetches more than its weight in gold or cocaine, how do you protect the animals from poaching? This is the question staff at the Lewa Wildlife Conservancy—a 62,000-acre wildlife sanctuary in northern Kenya—is currently grappling with. The facility is widely regarded as one of the safest havens for rhinos [...]
Not a Normal Killing
Reeking of infection, the elephant stumbled into the Tanzanian camp where Thomas Appleby works as a safari manager. Its back legs festered with gangrene radiating from the open, pungent wounds that the animal had evidently endured for at least two long weeks. Ivory poachers had shot the elephant in both legs, but it had probably [...]
Plumes and Pathogens: Human fascination with birds can jeopardize our health
The hunter is in luck. Caught in his snare trap—a homemade contraption fashioned from bamboo twigs and some rope—is a greater coucal, its neck tightly lassoed. About the size of a Chihuahua, coucals often make their home around forest fringes surrounding farmland in southern Vietnam, and their haunting, deep call is sometimes associated with omens [...]
Irish horn gangs, “shaving alive technology,” and unanswered questions: Rhino conservationists are worried
Conservationists were left feeling unsettled about the future of rhinos after the CITES’ (Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species) meeting in Geneva last week. During a special panel on rhinoceros, the CITES Secretariat failed to produce any tangible recommendations, despite the rhino situation being described as “almost out of control” by one delegation. China, [...]
China condones tiger extinction by legalizing skin trade, then refuses to answer for it
A woman shrieks in horrific glee as the 400-pound tiger lunges at the helplessly dangling chicken. Onlookers goad on the poultry-wielding man as he torturously teases the huge beasts with their ruffled, terrified prey. The tigers—at least 20 of them—throw themselves at the flimsy fence, attempting to snatch the live snack. At last, to [...]