Gorillas Prepare to Fly to Cameroon
Johannesburg, South Africa, Nov 30, 2007 (AP) - Four rare gorillas at the center of a five-year international tussle were due to fly from South Africa just after midnight Friday to a wildlife sanctuary in Cameroon. The Western Lowland gorillas, dubbed the Taiping Four — were smuggled as young animals to Taiping Zoo in Malaysia, via South Africa, using forged documents in 2002. The Malaysian government sent them back to South Africa in 2004 and they have since been kept at Pretoria's zoo.  Although the circumstances of the gorillas' capture as infants remain uncertain, they were probably victims of the bush meat trade.

Related Article:

Early Christmas: IFAW Set to Return Four Gorillas to Cameroon
International Fund for Animal Welfare (Nov 28, 2007)

Wildlife terrorists
Adelaide, Australia, Nov 30, 2007 (Adelaide Now) - Organised crime is directing the illegal trade in wildlife, an Interpol expert has told a national conference in Adelaide.  The international police organisation's wildlife manager, Peter Younger, said law enforcers and regulators must work more closely with each other in the face of increasing threats to biosecurity and national economies.  National manager of investigations Richard Janeczko said the connection to Adelaide was interesting because of the "very strong bikie (member of a motorcycle gang) culture" in this state.  "We've found quite often there's a bikie connection to any animals that are dangerous, like snakes and scorpions, things with that macho kind of image," he said. "Whether or not (bikies) are involved in actual smuggling, they usually are the ones that are on the market for (these animals).

Cameroon holds Ghanaians for smuggling 500 parrots
Yaounde, Cameroon, Nov 29, 2007 (Reuters) - Authorities in Cameroon have arrested two Ghanaians for trying to illegally export 500 African Grey parrots out of the central African country to Bahrain, officials said on Tuesday.  The parrots, estimated to be worth $400,000 (194,000 pounds) in all, were thought to have been captured in the rainforest of southeastern Cameroon and would be released back into the wild, according to Ofir Drori, director of the Last Great Ape Organisation conservation group which helped catch the alleged smugglers.

Monkey World's new battlefront
Vietnam, Nov 27, 2007 (Dorset Echo) - For more than 20 years, Monkey World has been reaching out to endangered primates around the globe from their Purbeck base. Now the world-renowned sanctuary is branching out by setting up a new home in the Far East.  Work has started on the Endangered Primate Species Centre (EPSC) on Tien Island in Cat Tien National Park, Vietnam.  The centre is to be a joint collaboration between Monkey World, the Pingtung Rescue Centre in Taiwan and Cat Tien National Park.  Plans for the home were first put in place early last year and despite a slight delay, the new home is due to be completed in March 2008. Lou Matthews, from Monkey World, said: "The new centre will receive confiscated golden-cheeked gibbons, silver langurs, douc langurs and lorises.  "There is an illegal trade in these endangered primates for bush meat and the pet trade."

NYC case highlights African monkey meat ritual
New York, Nov 24, 2007 (AP) - From her baptism in Liberia to Christmas years later in her adopted New York City, Mamie Manneh never lost the longing to celebrate religious rituals by eating monkey meat.  Now, the tribal customs of Manneh and other West African immigrants have become the focus of an unusual criminal case over alleged illegal meat smuggling, and touching on issues of religious freedom, infectious diseases and wildlife preservation.

Anti-Poaching Initiative launched in The Congo by coalition of charities
Republic of Congo, Nov 23, 2007 (Wildlife Extra) - Two leading conservation charities, The Aspinall Foundation and Tusk Trust, have joined forces to establish a fully equipped anti-poaching patrol post in Congo's Lefini Reserve - home to The Aspinall Foundation's world renowned gorilla reintroduction project.  The newly constructed post will play a vital role in the protection of the fifty western lowland gorillas living in the reserve, many orphaned by the bushmeat trade and sold illegally as pets before being rescued and rehabilitated by The Aspinall Foundation.

Terrible Toothache: On the ivory trail
Nov 22, 2007 (Sanctuary Asia) - It will come as no surprise to readers of Sanctuary that the world’s largest terrestrial mammal continues to be besieged from all sides. In addition to threats to its habitat throughout Africa and Asia, smuggling and illicit trade in ivory pose major challenges to law enforcement authorities across the world. Elephant Trade Information System (ETIS) data, presented at the June 2007 CITES (Convention on the International Trade in Endangered Species) conference at The Hague, Netherlands revealed that over 322 tons of illegal ivory has been seized in 12,400 instances from 82 countries between 1989 to March 2007.

Declining Population of Tigers in Sariska
India, Nov 21, 2007 (Press Information Bureau, India) - The Wildlife Institute of India has conducted an assessment of status of tigers in Sariska Tiger Reserve.  This was based on the directives from the Ministry.  It  has been reported that there is no evidence of tigers in the said Tiger Reserve, this has been  The Special Investigation Team of the Central Bureau of Investigation has also reported the disappearance of tigers from Sariska, primarily on account of poaching.

Wildlife conservation campaign launched in China
Beijing, China, Nov 20, 2007 (Traffic International Press Release) - An advertising campaign aimed at changing consumer attitudes about unsustainable wildlife trade was today launched in Beijing. The campaign, consisting of creative print, video and online advertisements, is part of an awareness-raising project between WWF, the conservation organization, TRAFFIC, the wildlife trade monitoring network, and Ogilvy, an advertising agency.

WSPA launches 'Bear Detection' kit to detect bear bile in Asian medicine
China, Nov 20, 2007 (Wildlife Extra) - WSPA (World Society for the Protection of Animals) is helping tackle the ugly world of illegal wildlife trading. WSPA is working to highlight the suffering of bears on bear farms using innovative and ground-breaking tactics. Earlier this year, WSPA launched bear protein detection kits in partnership with Wildlife DNA Services, a specialist wildlife forensics organisation. The kits are currently being trialed by customs and wildlife officers in Australia and Canada and are designed to be very easy to use, working similarly to home pregnancy testing kits.

26 elephants killed in three years
India, Nov 20, 2007 (Express News Service, India) - Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik has said that 26 elephants have been killed by humans during the last three years.  Naveen said that several steps had been initiated by the State Government to prevent killing of elephants by the humans. Anti-poaching squads including two or three Forest Department staff and four to six daily wagers have been engaged for regular patrolling.

An Accidental Beneficiary of Warfare: Wildlife
New York, US, Nov 19, 2007 (New York Times Blog) - There's occasionally an odd upside to brutal human conflict, at least for wildlife. Some pristine places stay that way because they are war zones. This is true in the demilitarized zone dividing the crowded Korean peninsula, where Amur leopards, angora goats and black-faced spoonbills persist only along the 155-mile stretch of mines and barbed wire.  Now it looks as if the latest accidental beneficiary of decades of violence and despotism may be the bonobo, which along with the chimpanzee is the closest species to humans, in genetics if not disposition (bonobos are generally a more peaceful lot).

More work needed to save shark
Australia, Nov 19, 2007 (Australian Broadcasting Corporation) - The New South Wales commercial fishing industry is at risk of losing its export licence if the state government doesn't do more to protect the grey nurse shark.

Taste for exotic posing a danger to rare wildlife
China, Nov 19, 2007 (The Standard) - Growing consumer spending power in south China has been fueling the illegal trade of endangered Southeast Asian pangolins and African ivory, making Hong Kong a crucial strategic hub.  Statistics obtained by The Standard from the Agriculture, Fisheries and Conservation Department show that the amount of imported ivory seized in Hong Kong rocketed from 26.8 kilograms to 4,027.9kg between 2004 and last year, while pangolin seizures jumped from 1,005.5kg, or 939 carcass heads, to 2,037kg, or 6,478 carcass heads, between 2004 and 2006.

Fear for Humpbacks as Japan Whaling Fleet Sets Sail
Tokyo, Japan, Nov 19, 2007 (Reuters) - A Japanese whaling fleet left on Sunday for an expedition that activists say will for the first time target humpbacks, a perennial favourite among whale-watchers. A fleet of ships led by the 8,000-tonne Nisshin Maru left Shimonoseki port in southwestern Japan for the Antarctic Ocean around midday on an outing that operators say is for research purposes.  Environmental activist group Greenpeace said the fleet's mission is to hunt whales for commercial purposes, adding that its Esperanza campaign ship was in waters off Japan, waiting to intercept the fleet in the coming days to demand its return home.

A Taste of Baboon and Monkey Meat, and Maybe of Prison, Too
New York, Nov 17, 2007 (The New York Times) - The market in the United States for bushmeat — that is, the meat of African wild game — is obscured to outsiders and virtually impossible to measure. But most everyone agrees it has grown exponentially in recent decades along with immigration from West Africa, thriving in destination cities like Minneapolis and Atlanta.

Three given jail for wildlife trafficking
New Delhi, Nov 17, 2007 (IANS) - A Delhi court Saturday sentenced two Tibetans and a Nepalese to five years imprisonment and a fine of Rs.10,000 each for trying to smuggle 45 leopard and 15 otter skins to Nepal in 2005.

Man pleads guilty to trafficking tiger skin
Pittsburg, USA, Nov 17, 2007 (Pittsburgh Post-Gazette) - A Greensburg man yesterday pleaded guilty in federal court to offering to sell a tiger skin, a violation of the Endangered Species Act. Barry McMaster, 60, owner of Exotic & Unique Gifts, was arrested in 2004, with his son, Kevin McMaster.  Both were caught as part of a yearlong undercover investigation by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.

Officials Allege Violations at Hunting Ranges
Nov 16, 2007 (Washington Post) - Virginia wildlife officials have joined a multistate investigation into the illegal buying, selling and possession of foxes and coyotes for use on private training preserves where hunters pay to run their foxhounds.

Experts Seek Strategies To Save India's Tigers from Extinction
Washington, US, Nov 16, 2007 (USINFO) - Wildlife experts and government officials from India and the United States met at India's famed Ranthambore tiger reserve in early November to discuss ways to counter the factors driving one of the world's most iconic animals toward extinction. Poaching and shrinking habitat are chief causes of tiger losses. Figures published by the Wildlife Institute of India indicate that the Indian tiger population is dwindling rapidly. There are possibly as few as 1,300, down from an estimated 3,600 five years ago.

Legal query over Japan's whale kill
London, UK, Nov 15, 2007 (The Age)  - Pressure is increasing on Australia to back stronger action against Japan over its Antarctic whaling, with a legal panel advising that a Japanese plan to kill humpback whales breaches international wildlife trade law.

Hard-To-Swallow Hooks Save Turtles in Latin America
Costa Rica, Nov 15, 2007 (Reuters) - Endangered sea turtles accidentally caught by fishermen off Latin American coasts usually die, but innovative hooks that are too big to swallow are increasingly saving the reptiles' lives. The use of circular-shaped hooks lets fishing crews more easily remove hooks from the mouths of loggerhead, leatherback and other turtles caught up in long lines meant to catch fish and prevents them from bleeding to death. Four years ago, the World Wildlife Fund conservation group, or WWF, began encouraging long-line fishermen from Ecuador to Mexico to replace traditional J-shaped hooks, which fish and turtles tend to swallow, with various sizes of circular hooks. Data so far suggests that using circle hooks saves 70 percent to 90 percent of the turtles caught by long-liners and has little effect on catch rates.

Poaching rampant in Indian capital district
Thiruvananthapuram, India, Nov 15, 2007 (The Hindu) - Poachers are threatening wildlife in nearly 800 sq km of forests in the district, according to law enforcers and nature lovers. Last week, the Forest Department arrested eight persons on the charge of poaching from Shanghili forests near Palode. Wildlife enforcers confiscated three country-made guns, including one suited for hunting elephants, from the suspects. They also recovered the remains of a Malabar Hornbill (a highly endangered bird often hunted for its colourful beak) and Sambhar deer.

Uganda: Why Kampala is the Heart of Illegal Ivory Trade
Kampala, Uganda, Nov 14, 2007 (New Vision) - ONLY elephants are supposed to wear ivory, so goes a popular slogan. But Wang Xiuli, a youthful Chinese, disrespected it. She was caught smuggling ivory recently. In the last six years, four large consignments of ivory were intercepted by UWA. However, "There is great suspicion that most traffickers have become smarter and ivory could be getting out of the country undetected," says Opyene.

More bear species threatened with extinction (Includes Video)
Nov 12, 2007 (NewScientist.com) - Only two bear species remain unthreatened by extinction, according to the World Conservation Union. The group has updated its Red List of Endangered Species to reflect the fact that the smallest of all bears and perhaps the most reclusive – the sun bear – is also now "vulnerable" to extinction. Like the Asiatic black bear – another "vulnerable" species – the sun bear is also threatened by the Asian bear trade, which sees the animals trapped, caged and killed for their bile, which contains ursodeoxycholic acid, an anti-inflammatory.

Tailor-made rap for skin dealer
South Africa, Nov 11, 2007 (IOL) - An innovative sentence was handed down in the Ingwavuma Regional Court this week to a man caught in possession of the skins of an inordinately large number of animals, including endangered species. Mlungu Mxegeni Ngubane, a traditional tailor, has been practising his trade since 1964 and is a sought after craftsman.  He was found in possession of 58 leopard head skins; one lion head skin (specially protected game); four nyala; 11 suni; three red duiker; and 14 samango monkey skins (protected game). Also, five hyena head skins; one honey badger; 10 serval; three caracal; a bush-baby; a polecat; and several mongoose skins (indigenous mammal category). Ngubane has to do 2 500 hours community service under the supervision of Simon Dlamini, an employee of Ezemvelo KZN Wildlife.  During this time he will produce traditional garments from confiscated game skins and those as a result of culling. The work will be for the benefit of Ezemvelo and those communities it supports.

A tiger's tale: Into one of the last strongholds of the wild tiger
Bandhavgarh National Park, India, Nov 11, 2007 (San Francisco Chronicle) - At the turn of the 20th century, when Rudyard Kipling wrote "The Jungle Book," between 40,000 and 50,000 of them roamed the countryside, so many that maharajas hunted them from custom-built Rolls-Royces. India banned tiger hunting in 1970, but since then poachers have been slaughtering what tigers the maharajas left behind, snaring or poisoning or even electrocuting them to supply the newly affluent Chinese with the tiger fur, tiger bones, tiger whiskers, tiger hearts, tiger eyeballs, tiger gall bladders and tiger penises used in traditional medicine.  Today no one is sure how many wild tigers remain in India, but most estimates put the total at only 3,000 to 3,500. Some believe it's closer to 1,500.

Thailand saves pangolins bound for China restaurants
Bangkok, Nov 10, 2007 (AFP) — Thai Customs officers said Saturday they have rescued more than 100 pangolins and arrested three men attempting to smuggle the endangered animals to China, where they were destined for the cooking pot.  Customs officers Friday intercepted three pick-up trucks of pangolins, or scaly anteaters, which were to be smuggled across Laos to southwest China.

Thailand saves pangolins bound for China restaurants
Bangkok, 10 Nov 2007 (AFP) — Thai Customs officers said Saturday they have rescued more than 100 pangolins and arrested three men attempting to smuggle the endangered animals to China, where they were destined for the cooking pot.  Customs officers Friday intercepted three pick-up trucks of pangolins, or scaly anteaters, which were to be smuggled across Laos to southwest China.

Bird eggs smuggler arrested at Sydney Airport
Sydney, Australia, Nov 8, 2007 (Australian Customs Service) - Customs Investigators in Sydney have arrested and charged a man with attempting to illegally import 10 bird eggs using a specialised body vest.

New Report Reveals Human Activities Threaten Survival of Sharks Worldwide
Nov 8, 2007 (Press Release) - Sharks have thrived in the world's oceans for more than 400 million years, but a comprehensive new report released today by Oceana and WildAid reveals that the world's shark populations have been devastated by human activities. The new report, entitled "End of the Line," shows how the global demand for shark products, and in particular shark fin soup, has prompted gruesome and wasteful fishing practices that could effectively lead to their extinction.

A copy of the "End of the Line" report is available at http://www.oceana.org/sharks/shark-report.

Tip-off helps police nab poaching suspects
Johannesburg, South Africa, Nov 8, 2007 (IOL) - Ten million rands worth of perlemoen (abalone) was seized from two Chinese nationals on Thursday, Gauteng police said. Spokesperson Lorraine van Emmerik said a task team was set up to investigate the illegal trading of perlemoen in Mulbarton, Johannesburg.

Equatorial Guinea bans hunting and eating monkeys
Malabo, Equatorial Guinea, Nov 7, 2007 (AFP) - Hunting, eating or keeping monkeys in Equatorial Guinea are forbidden as the government is taking pains to prevent the primates from becoming extinct, official media reported Wednesday.

Related news:

"No Hunting of Primates" decree for Equatorial Guinea
Bioko Biodiversity Protection Program

US, India to work together for saving the tiger
New Delhi, India, Nov 7, 2007 (The Hindu) - The US has offered support to protect India's wild tigers through collaborative efforts between the two countries.  Senior officials of the US Embassy in New Delhi and the Bureau of Oceans and International Environment and Scientific Affairs, US, addressed a workshop on wildlife crime prevention in the vicinity of Ranthambhore National Park in Sawai Madhopur district of Rajasthan over the weekend. They said there was an "urgency" to protect "the rest of the tiger population before it is too late".

Palawan council, Katala Foundation convene CITES environment workshop Philippines
Puerto Princesa City, Philippines, Nov 7, 2007 (Philippine Information Agency) - More keen eyes and committed groups and individuals in Palawan will soon be watching over our dwindling wildlife and illegal traders! The Palawan Council for Sustainable Development Staff (PCSDS) and Katala Foundation Inc. (KFI) convenes relevant agencies and organizations all over Palawan to attend the CITES Enforcement Training Workshop starting today until 09 November 2007 at the Legend Hotel. Chris R. Shepherd, Senior Programme Officer of TRAFFIC Southeast Asia (SEA) will conduct the workshop.

Two new trade routes to smuggle tiger skins
New Delhi, India, Nov 7, 2007 (Daily News Analysis) - Even as the preliminary tiger census indicates that tiger population in India has declined, wildlife authorities continue to grapple with concerns of new trade routes for smuggling tiger skins and parts to China. The smugglers are abandoning the established route through India-Nepal-Tibet-China and are plying new passages forged through Ladakh and Mayanmar.  The extent of the problem can be gauged by the fact that in the past twenty months, over twenty tiger skins and parts have been recovered; the number of leopard skins seized is more than 100. Experts however say this does not necessarily mean the animals were actually poached in this period itself, since the smugglers usually contract out the killings to smalltime poachers.

Argentina seizes endangered Philippines corals, seashells
Buenos Aires, Argentina, Nov 7, 2007 (Cyber Diver News Network) - Customs agents in Argentina have seized a valuable, 5-ton shipment of coral and seashells from the Philippines. More than 1,500 pieces of endangered and protected coral and seashells were seized in Buenos Aires. Customs officials said the illegal shipment was listed as "manufactured goods" and was probably headed for the black market in Mar Del Plata, a popular tourist destination 400 kilometers southeast of Buenos Aires on the Atlantic coast.

Primates bidding farewell to planet?
Nov 5, 2007 (The Guardian) - The 25 species most at risk include two of our closest great ape cousins, the Cross River gorilla of Cameroon and Nigeria and the orang-utan from Sumatra. Miss Waldron's colobus also makes it on to the list, although more by hope than expectation. Conservationists declared it officially extinct in 2000, but a photograph taken since then of a similar-looking creature has been tentatively identified by scientists.

Primates in Peril - Russell Mittermeier interview for Living on Earth
Nov 2, 2007 (Living on Earth Radio broadcast) - One in four species of non-human primates are in danger of going extinct, according to a new report released by Conservation International and the World Conservation Union. Host Bruce Gellerman hears the sounds of the Sumatran Orangutan and talks with Russ Mittermeier, president of Conservation International, and chairman of the report.

Wildlife Trafficking News