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Urgent action: Even in protected areas, prey depletion and bushmeat snares pose serious risks. Many African countries have set aside significant protected areas that could support three to four times the current lion population if they were adequately funded and managed. Photo: Supplied

Poaching for body parts poses ‘existential threat’ to lions

Scientists warn that rising demand in Africa and Asia is fuelling targeted poaching and could push some lion populations towards local extinction

  • Sheree Bega
7 min read
LIANJIANG, CHINA – JUNE 09: Aerial view of an abalone aquaculture farm on June 9, 2020 in Lianjiang County, Fujian Province of China. (Photo by Tan Ailong/VCG via Getty Images)

Abalone trafficking fuels crime and coastal poverty in South Africa

Illegal trade has devastated populations, fuelled organised crime, and deepened poverty in coastal communities, while law enforcement struggles to keep pace

  • Sheree Bega
5 min read
Freshwater fish, sharks, rays, endemic plants and iconic mammals are among the country’s fastest-declining species, as invasive species, reduced freshwater flows and pollution intensify. (Wikimedia Commons)

Illegal wildlife trade, habitat loss and climate stress driving rapid biodiversity decline in SA

Freshwater fish, sharks, rays, endemic plants and iconic mammals are among the country’s fastest-declining species, as invasive species, reduced freshwater flows and pollution intensify

  • Sheree Bega
8 min read
Africa’s forest-dwelling hornbills — vital seed-dispersers in the forests of West and Central Africa — have won long-overdue international protection after countries approved a proposal to regulate their global trade. Photo: Frans van Heerden

Africa’s forest hornbills gain global protection as Cites lists species for first time

A coalition of African nations has secured new Cites controls on the international trade of hornbills amid concerns over habitat loss and surging demand for body parts

  • Sheree Bega
4 min read
Tiny stowaways — disease-carrying ticks — can be hidden beneath the armoured scales of pangolins, the world’s most illegally trafficked mammals.

Hidden hitchhikers: Ticks on trafficked pangolins pose health threats

Scientists warn that ticks carried by trafficked pangolins may spread pathogens across continents, affecting people and animals

  • Sheree Bega
3 min read
Photo: Jane Goodall Institute

South Africa’s pangolins face rising threat as illegal trade grows

China has proposed a drastic reduction in the use of pangolin scales for traditional medicine

  • Sheree Bega
7 min read
The cub was kept in a makeshift wire enclosure. (Free Me Wildlife)

Tiger cub kept as a pet in KZN yard is confiscated, moved to Pretoria Zoo

The male cub, weighing just under 17 kilograms, is estimated to be between four and six-months-old

  • Des Erasmus
3 min read