Major implications for ivory trafficking as research reveals that only three cartels control most illegal trade, according to research.
Tag Archives: research
Opinion: The untold story behind hunting in Botswana
Hunting in Botswana: Human-wildlife conflict scientist takes a deeper look at whether the historic hunting ban was good or bad for elephants and people.
Taita Hills: The cloud forest in a fragmented landscape
Kenya’s Taita Hills is a dense cloud forest teeming with wildlife. While that may sound like paradise, the forest is threatened by habitat loss and fragmentation – which is raising concerns amongst researchers.
Research reveals why zebras got their stripes
Why do zebras have stripes? A study takes a step closer to answering this puzzling question and to understanding how stripes actually work.
Gorillas, chimps and lemurs among species in danger of imminent mass extinction
The majority of primate species, including chimpanzees, gorillas and lemurs, are on the brink of extinction, and scientists fear that without a concerted global effort they will soon be gone for good.
Should businesses pay to use animals in their logos and marketing efforts?
Many charismatic species such as elephants, lions, tigers and pandas face the threat of extinction, despite being held up as the poster characters for conservation.
Africa comes out tops in megafauna conservation survey
Safari tourism instrumental as African countries dominate as best worldwide in large mammal conservation, according to study.
Hunting causes life-threatening build-up of toxic lead in vultures
Research in Botswana has revealed that fragments of lead from recreational hunter ammunition are finding their way into vulture bloodstreams, and represent a significant threat to these critically endangered scavengers.
5 Facts you did not know about African wild dogs
Many will know that Africa’s wild dogs (Lycaon pictus) require vast areas to roam, hunt cooperatively to run down their prey and regurgitate food for pups and other pack members. But there are other remarkable facts about these beautiful animals that perhaps you didn’t know.
Research: Are there too many elephants in Botswana?
Botswana’s researchers contribute to the debate surrounding large elephant populations and their impact on the environment in southern Africa.
17 Elephant facts you need to know
The African elephant (Loxodonta africana) is the largest land mammal in the world and one of nature’s great ecosystem engineers, being a major contributor to maintaining the balance between wooded and grass ecosystems. Here are 17 fascinating facts that you need to know.
Can elephants run, or do they just walk faster?
A fascinating study has revealed that although elephants can move at considerable pace, there is a question as to whether they can run.
7 Consequences of replacing wildlife with livestock
Seven interesting findings based around the impact on ecological processes and ecosystems of the ongoing extinction of native African herbivore species and the increase in livestock populations.
Kalahari lions: Research sheds light on population
Research has revealed that the Kgalagadi Transfrontier Park (KTP) straddling South Africa and Botswana is a stronghold for African lions.
Niassa suffers forest loss, but able to support elephants and lions
A recent study states that Niassa National Reserve in Mozambique still has the potential to support tens of thousands of elephants and 1,000 lions, as the vast majority of the ecosystem is intact.
Japan’s ivory market must close down, according to study
With China announcing that it would shut down all ivory trade by the end of this year, concerns have been raised that Japan’s failure to prevent illegal ivory exports will undermine China’s prospective ban and the efforts to end the global trafficking of elephant tusks.
Bees protect large trees from elephant impact
A study has found that hanging beehives containing African honeybees from the branches of marula trees protects these trees against elephant impact because the elephants avoid those trees.
Trophy hunting may cause extinction in a changing environment
Trophy hunting and other activities involving the targeting of high-quality male animals could lead to the extinction of certain species faced with changing environmental conditions, according to new research.
Bamboo lemurs on the brink, driven by climate change
What do China’s giant pandas and Madagascan bamboo lemurs have in common, aside from their precarious conservation status?
Rhino horn: Recipes for disaster
In the middle of the sixth mass extinction, when 50% of the living species are at risk of extinction due to the ever growing, destructive human hands, the six rhinoceros species are at the tip of the pyramid, among the most endangered species on Earth.
Drongo mimics alarm calls to steal food
Drongo mimics alarm calls to keep stealing food from other species, finds UCT biologist.
