Thai Elephants' New Threat: Poachers After Their Meat

Ivory seizures represent at least 2.5K dead

(NEWSER) - This year will ring out as one of the deadliest for elephants since ivory sales were banned more than two decades ago. Officials seized tusks from a record 2,500 elephants, and while some of those could be from long-dead animals, the news still isn't good. "As most large-scale ivory seizures fail to result in any arrests, I fear the criminals are winning," says an expert from wildlife trade monitor TRAFFIC. Most experts look directly to the East in laying the blame. More»

Another rhino species at the point of no return, IUCN says

(NEWSER) - The western black rhino, one of four subspecies of black rhino, is now a thing of the past, according to the International Union for Conservation of Nature's "Red List." The group has declared the black rhino species native to West Africa extinct and says another rhino species, Central Africa's northern white rhino, is "possibly extinct in the wild," the BBC reports. The two species were found in areas where poachers were active and protection minimal. More»

Wounded animal attacks veteran conservationist Steve Kok

(NEWSER) - Veteran Zimbabwe conservationist Steve Kok has been killed by a wounded buffalo he had spent days tracking. The buffalo—one of the most aggressive creatures in the African bush—had partially severed its leg in a poacher's trap and surrounding communities had been warned the animal was highly dangerous, the AP reports. More»

Illegal hunting could kill off African population in 15 years

(NEWSER) - Within 15 years, African elephants could be extinct as a consequence of rampant ivory poaching, conservation experts say. Africa's elephant population numbers just 600,000, and that number appears to be dwindling by about 38,000 a year. That’s faster than the birth rate. One animal welfare group is urging countries to crack down on the ivory trade to slow the die-off. More»

(NEWSER) - A nearly perfectly preserved 37,000-year-old baby mammoth is giving up tantalizing secrets about her species, scientists report. The creature, dubbed Lyuba by researchers, still sports clumps of hair and eyelashes, according to the Telegraph. Scientists have been able to examine stomach contents and the mineral makeup of the bones and teeth in the animal, found 2 years ago by reindeer herders in Siberia. More»