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Mongabay Environmental News •

Birds, bugs and butterflies netted in global seizures by Interpol

In a single month this year, nearly 30,000 live animals, were seized in a coordinated global crackdown on the illegal trade in wildlife and plants. Known as Operation Thunder and coordinated by Interpol and the World Customs Organization (WCO), it also confiscated tens of thousands of body parts from endangered species, and high-value plants and timber. The operation, conducted every year, aims to identify, disrupt and dismantle the criminal networks behind such environmental crime, an industry...
Mongabay Environmental News •

Countries overwhelmingly support bid to bar Galápagos iguanas from international trade

Four species of iguanas from the Galápagos Islands have received the highest protection against international commercial trade at the ongoing summit of CITES, the global wildlife trade convention, in Samarkand, Uzbekistan.

The Galápagos land iguana (Conolophus subcristatus), Galápagos pink land iguana (C. marthae), Barrington land iguana (C. pallidus) and marine iguana (Amblyrhynchus cristatus) are found only on the islands that inspired Darwin’s theory of evolution. All are threatened by clima...
Mongabay Environmental News •

Peregrine falcons retain trade protections, despite downlisting bid by Canada and US

The U.S. and Canada have failed in their bid to loosen restrictions on the international trade in peregrine falcons, with delegates to CITES, the global wildlife trade convention, voting against it at an summit underway in Samarkand, Uzbekistan.

The two countries had submitted a joint proposal to move peregrine falcons (Falco peregrinus) from CITES Appendix I, which bans all commercial international trade and affords the highest protections, to Appendix II, which allows regulated commercial tra...
Mongabay Environmental News •

African forest hornbills gain new protections from unsustainable trade

Negotiators discussing wildlife trade rules have agreed overwhelmingly to back a proposal that regulates the currently unrestricted trade in all seven species of African forest hornbills.

Eight West and Central African countries had tabled the proposal at the ongoing summit of CITES, the global wildlife trade convention, taking place in Samarkand, Uzbekistan. It calls for listing the seven species, from the genera Ceratogymna and Bycanistes, in CITES Appendix II, which would allow the commercia...
Mongabay Environmental News •

Already disappearing, Southeast Asia’s striped rabbits now caught in global pet trade

In the remote rainforest of Sumatra, Indonesia, and the Annamite Mountains straddling Vietnam and Laos, two species of nocturnal rabbits live elusive lives. These species, both of which have distinctive black stripes coloring their fur, are each known to occur in only a single habitat: the Sumatran striped rabbit (Nesolagus netscheri) is found only in the western and southern parts of the island, and the Annamite striped rabbit (Nesolagus timminsi) saunters the Annamites.

Both species are threa...
Mongabay Environmental News •

Scientists slam Canada-US proposal to lower trade protections for peregrine falcons

The crow-sized, slate-blue-backed peregrine falcon, with its bright yellow feet, soars across the skies from Greenland’s Arctic tundra to the steppe plains of Patagonia in South America. Falco peregrinus is one of the most widespread birds on the planet, with 19 subspecies that call coasts, mountains, deserts and river valleys home.

These eye-catching raptors are best known for their hunting skills. They can dive at lightning speeds of 320 kilometers per hour (200 miles per hour) — more than th...
Mongabay Environmental News •

Massive turtle bust in Mexico reveals ‘Wild West’ of wildlife trafficking

In undercover raids carried out in late September, Mexican authorities discovered 2,339 wild-caught turtles crammed into bins in five locations in Jalisco and Baja California states. Along with the live reptiles, they found a massive stash of other illegal wildlife products that are coveted as delicacies in East Asia: 1,569 kilograms (3,459 pounds) of sea cucumbers, 1,188 kg (2,619 lbs) of shark fins, and 39 kg (86 lbs) of totoaba swim bladders. The seized goods were valued at 134 million pesos...
Mongabay Environmental News •

AI system eavesdrops on elephants to prevent deadly encounters in India

When elephant biologist Seema Lokhandwala, with the Elephants Acoustic Project, visited a village near Balipara in India’s Assam state, as part of her fieldwork in December 2015, she witnessed firsthand what it takes to live alongside elephants.

After night fell, a herd of 150 elephants — “I counted them,” she says — devoured all of the freshly harvested rice stacked outside a woman’s house. Her entire year’s harvest, gone in minutes. Then, the giants ravaged her kitchen looking for salt, a min...
Mongabay Environmental News •

Sun, sand and skulls: Bali tourism trade peddles threatened primate skulls

Charmed by the picturesque beaches and enchanting temple complexes, millions of tourists flock each year to the tiny Indonesian island of Bali to experience its unique culture and art. When they leave, many take home a piece of Bali in the form of souvenirs, such as carvings, pottery or textiles. Unbeknown to them, some may even be committing a crime if they pick up primate skulls — a commodity openly sold in Bali’s curio shops, despite it being illegal.

A recent study, published in the journal...
Mongabay Environmental News •

Rhino poachers imprisoned in back-to-back South Africa sentencing

A South African court in January sentenced four poachers to several years in prison for two separate crimes committed in Kruger National Park (KNP).

The Skukuza Regional Court, which in the past has boasted a near-100% conviction rate and under whose jurisdiction KNP falls, held two South African citizens, Sam Khosa and Solly Selahle, and a Mozambican named Oddis Maluleke, guilty of poaching a rhino and taking its horns in February 2019.

Khosa and Maluleke were handed a 22-year prison term and...
Mongabay Environmental News •

Report reveals staggering levels of wildlife trafficking in Hispanic America

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 wil...
Mongabay Environmental News •

Vietnam and China partner on wildlife-friendly traditional medicine practices

Vietnam and China, the two largest markets for traditional medicine (TM) that uses wild plants and animals, announced a new partnership in January to adopt practices that protect wildlife while preserving the countries’ cultural heritage.

The first-of-its-kind agreement involved leading TM associations from Vietnam and China — the Vietnam Oriental Traditional Medicine Association (VOTMA) and the China Association of Traditional Chinese Medicine (CATCM) — along with researchers, policymakers and...
Mongabay Environmental News •

Camera traps capture first glimpse of genetically distinct chimps in southwestern Nigeria

In a win for Nigeria’s only Indigenous grassroots conservation organization, camera traps installed in Ise Conservation Area have captured the first known video of a resident Nigeria-Cameroon chimpanzee.

The individual, seen swinging between tree branches and feeding on figs, is a mature male in his prime, said Rachel Ashegbofe Ikemeh, founder director of the South-West/Niger Delta Forest Project (SWNDF). “We are able to show the world these chimps for the very first time.”


Camera traps at I...
Mongabay Environmental News •

Increase in gibbon trafficking into India has conservationists worried

With oversized and inquisitive eyes, an infant-like expressive face, and a palette of thick, furry coats ranging from beige to black, gibbons tick all the right boxes to be called “cute” and “cuddly.” But their endearing appearance is now costing these native Asian apes their lives and a future in the wild, thanks to people wanting them as pets.

This surging demand in the exotic pet trade, especially from countries where gibbons aren’t native, is thrusting them into the illegal wildlife trade....
Mongabay Environmental News •

Record seizure highlights scale of wild bird egg theft in UK

Police in the U.K. recently announced the seizure of more than 5,000 eggs belonging to several wild bird species, following nationwide raids in November 2024. While no arrests have been made in this case, the investigations are continuing.

The seizure, the largest of its kind in U.K. history, was part of an international crackdown on the illegal trade in wild bird eggs, called Operation Pulka, that originated in Norway in June 2023. As part of it, authorities in other countries have so far arre...
Mongabay Environmental News •

Five-month-old male gorilla, victim of illegal wildlife trade, seized in Istanbul

On Dec. 22, 2024, Turkish customs officers conducting a random search of a plane’s cargo hold found a surprise stowaway inside a small wooden crate with holes: a malnourished baby gorilla dressed in a soiled T-shirt.

The Turkish Airlines flight was headed from Nigeria to Thailand and was transiting via Istanbul, authorities told local media. The baby gorilla, transported without necessary permits, is one among many wildlife seized in recent months in Istanbul, a major air-transit hub.

After it...
Mongabay Environmental News •

Indonesia’s voracious songbird trade laps up rare and poisonous pitohuis

Among New Guinea’s rainforest inhabitants is a group of birds called pitohuis, chatty songbirds that stand out for their loud, attractive songs. But there’s more to these birds than their songs: their poison.

Pitohuis are among the few poisonous birds on the planet. Their skin and feathers contain potent neurotoxins, which help them fight off parasites such as lice, ticks and fleas, and predators, including humans. When humans handle these birds, the neurotoxins irritate the nasal passage and c...
Mongabay Environmental News •

Atlantic puffins are perilously attracted to artificial light, new study shows

As the long summer days of August turn into nights, a few dozen volunteers gather in the small community of Witless Bay, a tiny town on the Atlantic coast about a half-hour’s drive south of St. John’s, capital of the Canadian province of Newfoundland and Labrador. After a briefing by a coordinator from conservation NGO the Canadian Parks and Wilderness Society (CPAWS), the volunteers don reflective vests, grab butterfly nets and flashlights, and place plastic crates in their cars. They then set...
Mongabay Environmental News •

New evidence spells massive trouble for world’s sharks, rays and chimaeras

Evolution has perfected the world’s sharks and rays for more than 420 million years. Unlike the ammonites or pterosaurs that they once shared the oceans with, sharks and rays persevered through five mass extinctions. But now, their resilience has been put to test by a human folly: overfishing. In 2023, the Java stingaree (Urolophus javanicus) became the first marine fish on record to have gone extinct because of humans. If our current fishing trends continue, it won’t be the last, scientists war...
Mongabay Environmental News •

Nigerian authorities seize 2 metric tons of pangolin scales, arrest 1 suspect

On Dec. 5, Nigerian authorities seized more than 2 metric tons of pangolin scales in yet another effort to clamp down on the country’s booming transnational wildlife trade.

Acting on intelligence provided by the Wildlife Justice Commission (WJC), an international NGO fighting organized wildlife crime, the Kano-Jigawa command of the Nigeria Customs Services (NCS) also arrested one person, suspected to be a broker. The seizures and the arrest were made in two warehouses in Mubi, a town in Adamawa...
Mongabay Environmental News •

Hundreds of whales to be harpooned as Iceland issues new hunting licenses

On Dec. 6, Iceland’s caretaker government announced it had issued five-year licenses to hunt fin and minke whales in Icelandic waters. It granted the fin whale hunting license to Hvalur hf., the country’s only remaining fin-whaling company, run by billionaire Kristján Loftsson, and the minke-hunting permit to a ship owned by Tjaldtangi ehf., a whaling company that was previously licensed to hunt minke whales.

The licenses were issued by Iceland’s caretaker prime minister, who also serves as the...
Mongabay Environmental News •

With Turkmenistan set to join CITES, wildlife trade regulation in Central Asia gets a boost

Turkmenistan is set to join the global wildlife trade convention as of January, in a move that could bolster conservation efforts in Central Asia. This makes Turkmenistan the 185th party to the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES), and the last country in Central Asia to join.

“Turkmenistan is ready for active cooperation within the framework of CITES at both the regional and international levels,” Babanyyazov Charygeldi, the minister of enviro...
Mongabay Environmental News •

Satellite data show bursts of deforestation continue in Indonesian national park

When the Indonesian government established Tesso Nilo National Park in 2004 on a former logging concession, little could it have known that the legacy of logging and deforestation would continue years after granting it official protection. The park, which was expanded in 2009, now covers more than 80,000 hectares of land in Sumatra’s Riau province, and is one of the last tracts of lowland forest blocks that remains on the island.

Tesso Nilo National Park is home to nearly 3% of the world’s mamm...
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