Poaching – Page 7 – See Animals Wild

April 2, 2021July 1, 2022

What to do about the wild animal market in China

The Coronavirus is thought to have emerged in one of the wet markets of Wuhan, China. Much of what went on in these markets was never fully legal. Indeed this $13 billion a year trade has often operated in the grey areas of the law.

However, it has become clear that these are actually rather dangerous. It is one thing to enter a wild area to see the animals that live there. However it is something quite different to go in and kill animals to eat. These wild areas often harbour odd viruses or bacteria and by taking animals alive or dead out of these ecosystems you bring out these threats so that we can contract the illness.

March 31, 2021March 23, 2021

Paris agreement for nature?

At the beginning of January an new agreement was signed by 50 countries who pledged to protect 30% of the earths land and oceans. The intention of this agreement is to stem the flow of extinctions that human activity has been causing for the last few centuries.

The hope is that this agreement can form the basis of a larger agreement at the UN, building on the early commitments from nations such as Nigeria Pakistan Costa Rica Canada and many more.

March 24, 2021March 23, 2021

It would appear the 8th great ape the Tapanuli Orangutan is closer to extinction than we thought

A study has been examining the range of the Tapanuli orangutan and has concluded that they are currently found in only 2.5% of their historic range, having lost the rest of their range to hunting and habitat loss.

March 24, 2021July 1, 2022

The Rwandan president Paul Kagame intends to make conservation his countries next battle

In many parts of the world, conservation is an afterthought. After looking after your human population, if there is any money left then alright do conservation but not before. However, this does not work. There are many positive benefits of wildlife , and if these are not allowed to thrive it will damage the local people – by thinking of this last you end up damaging the local people.

Countries such as Rwanda are also heavily dependent on the money that tourism brings to their country.

This new aim, is to grow the economy and improve the lives of Rwandans while at the same time protecting the natural environment and keep as much forest standing as is possible.

Currently, Rwanda gets 15.1% percent of GDP from tourism, however back in the year 2000, this was just 4.7%. That gives an annual growth of this sector at more than 7%, far above all other areas. #

Importantly, tourism is a great leveller. Anyone who lives around wilderness can set up their own business. As a result, this can be a way to lift poorly served communities out of poverty.

I hope in the future that this site can assist in that process.

March 23, 2021March 23, 2021

Nigeria is becoming the clearing house for poached animals from throughout west Africa: they must stop it

Between 2015 and 2019 30 tonnes of ivory and 167 tonnes of pangolin scales were seized. This equates to roughly 4400 elephants dead, and 167,000 pangolins. As in other places, the illegal wildlife trade tends to bring in crime, with the same gangs handling humans drugs minerals and weapons..

March 20, 2021March 23, 2021

Lion population expected to half in the wild during the next 15-20 years

While increasing amounts of land is given to wildlife in southern Africa and the lion population grows, unfortunately in east and central Africa the opposite is happening.

Unfortunately in west and central Africa, the lions (many of these lions are orphaned relict populations of the Asiatic lion, and therefore highly important) tend to live in fragmented and small groups cut off from others of their kind. If humans can reconnect these populations then the dramatic decline that is expected in this region, could be halted.

March 9, 2021July 1, 2022

Further threat for Nairobi national park

The first national park to be formed in Kenya would appear to be under threat. Consisting of only 45 square miles, it is unique around the world as the wilderness comes deep into the city, allowing you to view many wild species with skyscrapers as a backdrop.

There are few places in the world where you can see wild lions against a city backdrop

Wildlife populations have crashed in the last 70 or so years. In the past huge migrations would bring 30,000 wildebeest to visit each year, and animals such as zebra have had population falls of approaching 50% in just 9 years.

February 7, 2021July 1, 2022

Perhaps one good thing come out of the epidemic-Chinese people are finally prepared to change behaviour towards wild animals

Unfortunately as the wealth of the Chinese middle class has grown, these several 100,000,000 extra people have wanted the traditional medicines that supposedly there ruling ancestors once enjoyed. The start of the epidemic that we are just starting to recover from, was caused by poaching of wild animals. It is likely that there are many more forms of bacteria and virus living deep in rainforests and other wildernesses around the world. Might the risk of a further outbreak, finally force the Chinese government to halt the insane poaching that its people have caused around the world?

In order to deliver these raw materials for so called chinese medicine (I say so called, as no scientific study has been able to show a link between any of these treatments and a change in human conditions) animals have to be hunted. These animals are protected, and so this demand drive poaching that can locally eliminate these animals from ecosystems.

February 5, 2021July 1, 2022

The virungas national park continues to be dangerous for rangers

6 more rangers have been killed in the Virunga national park on the border between the DRC Uganda and Rwanda. Likely, currently one of the most dangerous places to try to protect wildlife – many rangers have been killed over the years. Lying where 3 countries meet; Democratic republic of the Congo, Rwanda and Burundi, there has been regular flare ups, of fighting. Also militia groups have regularly taken refuge in this huge wilderness, hunting all wildlife for food.

February 4, 2021July 1, 2022

Elephant counting from space

For the first time the population of elephants in addo elephant park in South Africa has been counted from space using computer learning.

Counting elephants from space is increasingly possible. Why is this good? it can be done cheaply, and therefore can be done regularly. This allows remote reserve poaching epidemics to be noticed early. As elephants are often the first animal to be targeted, automated satellite counts could give early warning about parks in danger.

The satellite images now taken are detailed enough to show each individual elephant has a separate grey blob. Then by using computer learning, a program can be taught to count these accurately.