Rhino poaching in South Africa reaches record levels

Figures from the South African government indicate that poaching for rhinoceros has increased substantially in the last year.

A record 668 rhinos were killed for their horns in 2012, up almost 50% on the number for 2011. The majority of the animals were killed in the Kruger national park, the country's biggest wildlife reserve.

Experts say that growing demand for rhino horn in Asia is driving the slaughter.

Rhinos and elephants: the secret lives of Africa's giants

Rhinos and elephants have a range of remarkable behaviours and adaptations, many of which we are only just learning. Emerging through the twilight, a beast lumbers forward, sniffing, snorting, searching for something. One of the largest animals to walk the earth, it is on a surprising mission. This black rhino is embarking on a midnight journey, seeking out other rhinos in the dark to socialise and mate with, sharing some never-before-seen tender moments.

Because despite their size, we are only just beginning to notice some remarkable behaviours and adaptations of elephants and rhinos. These two groups are the largest terrestrial animals. The three species of elephant range from 5.5 tonnes for an average male African bush elephant to 2.7 tonnes for female Asian elephants.

Rhinos, of which there are five species, can exceed 3.5 tonnes. Their size makes them relatively easy to spot and an easy target for poachers, who continue to hunt both groups of large mammal in significant numbers: elephants mainly for ivory in their tusks and rhinos for their horns. They have all been extensively studied by scientists, in the field and also in wildlife parks, breeding centres and zoos. But much about them, and what they get up to, remains a mystery, with many discoveries into their behaviour and adaptations only being made recently. We are still struggling to understand just how unique are different populations of these megafauna.

Rarest dog: Ethiopian wolves are genetically vulnerable

Populations of the world's rarest dog, the Ethiopian wolf, are genetically fragmenting, scientists say.

Fewer than 500 of Africa's only wolf species are thought to survive. Now a 12-year study of Ethiopian wolves living in the Ethiopian highlands has found there is little gene flow between the small remaining populations. That places the wolves at greater risk of extinction from disease, or habitat degradation. In a study published in the journal , Dada Gottelli of the Zoological Society of London and colleagues in Oxford, UK and Berlin, Germany, quantified the genetic diversity, population structure and patterns of gene flow among 72 wild-living Ethiopian wolves.

 
Red dog

Scientists say billions required to meet conservation targets

The most threatened species tend to be relatively cheap to save because of small range sizes.

Reducing the risk of extinction for threatened species and establishing protected areas for nature will cost the world over $76bn dollars annually. Researchers say it is needed to meet globally agreed conservation targets by 2020. The scientists say the daunting number is just a fifth of what the world spends on soft drinks annually. And it amounts to just 1% of the value of ecosystems being lost every year, they report in the journal Science.

“Nature just doesn't do recessions, we're talking about the irreversible loss of unique species and millions of years of evolutionary history” Donal McCarthy RSPB