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The illegal ivory trade threatening African Elephants

The illegal ivory trade threatening Africa's elephants

 

   
 

Nairobi's elephant orphanage cares for babies of mothers killed by poachers.

Despite a 23-year ban on international trade in ivory, elephants continue to be shot for their prized tusks, with much of the material ending up on sale in China. The very future of the African elephant, the largest land animal on Earth, could be at risk. Last year saw the highest number of large seizures of illegal ivory for more than two decades. From Kenya to Zambia, African law-enforcement and conservation authorities are facing a continuing battle with the poachers. And it is in the Democratic Republic of Congo, where governance is at its weakest, that the elephant population is being hit hardest, with thousands of elephants killed each year. Conservationists have recorded steep declines in population and fear fewer than 20,000 of the region's forest elephants remain in the Congo basin.  

Threatened Shoebill numbers down to 3000

'Monster' bird reveals dark side

  
 

Shoebill chick is filmed attacking its younger sibling

Aggressive bullying between bizarre-looking shoebill chicks has been filmed for the first time. The encounter was captured at Bangweulu wetlands, near Kasanka, in northern Zambia for the BBC One series Africa. Wildlife filmmakers were surprised to witness an older chick attacking its younger sibling while their mother was foraging away from the nest. The birds are rare subjects for study because their swamp breeding grounds are very difficult to access. The team's aim was to shed light on the species by documenting intimate behaviour of shoebill parents and young at the nest. Siblicide, the phenomenon of offspring killing their siblings, is common among many larger birds.

New Species of Newt discovered in Loas

Should the location of newly discovered species be hidden?

 

The Laotriton laoensis newt

 

Discovering a new species can be the defining moment of a biologist's career, but for some it can also mean exposing rare and vulnerable animals to the dark world of the wildlife pet trade, with catastrophic results. It's a scientific dilemma that has led some conservationists to question whether it would be better to hide their findings from the world. In 1999, herpetologist Bryan Stuart was working in Northern Laos when he stumbled across an eye-catching newt he had never seen before. The creature was prehistoric in its appearance with thick, warty skin and bright, yellow dots all the way down its back. He spotted it in a bottle of alcohol that a Lao colleague had brought back from a wedding in a remote part of the country - the poison from the newt's skin had been used to make a drink with special medicinal properties for a toast to the newlyweds. Stuart went in search of the newt in the wild and three years later he published an article in the Journal of Herpetology, announcing the discovery of the new species, Laotriton laoensis.