Mane event: 33 lions flown home after rescue from life in the circus
Big cats arrive in South Africa, where sanctuary beckons, after having suffered cruel treatment in Colombia and Peru The roars of lions filled the cargo section of Johannesburg’s main international airport on Saturday evening as 33 lions rescued from South American circuses landed in South Africa. The animals will now be released into a bush […]
Kenya torches stockpile of ivory in bid to protect wild elephants
President Uhuru Kenyatta orders destruction of more than 100 tonnes of tusks in 11 pyres The Kenyan president set fire to a huge stockpile of ivory on Saturday in an effort to show his country’s commitment to saving Africa’s elephants. Uhuru Kenyatta ordered the destruction of more than 100 tonnes of tusks from around 6,700 […]
Humanoid diving robot hunts for sunken treasure in French shipwreck
‘Robo-mermaid’ able to reach depths too dangerous for human divers retrieves vase from wreck of Louis XIV’s flagship Robotics scientists at the US’s Stanford University have achieved a remarkable first: they have successfully sent an automated avatar – which they describe as a robo-mermaid – down to an ancient shipwreck to retrieve a vase from […]
Unchecked pollution and bad food ‘killing thousands in UK’
Government’s failure to tackle health and safety issues, food poisoning and pollution leading to ‘largely avoidable’ deaths, says thinktank Thousands of people are dying each year because of the government’s failure to tackle food poisoning, health and safety breaches and pollution, a thinktank is warning. A new report from the Centre for Crime and Justice […]
Kenya burns largest stockpile of ivory – video
Kenya sets ablaze 100 tonnes of elephant ivory and one tonne of rhino horn, in what is being called the largest stockpile of the material to be destroyed. Led by Kenyan president Uhuru Kenyatta at the Nairobi national park, eleven giant pyres of ivory is set on fire using 20,000 litres of gasoline. The decision […]
Kenya burns largest ever ivory stockpile to highlight elephants' fate
Kenyan president lights pyres in move some fear will drive further poaching by taking 5% of global stock out of circulation More than 100 tonnes of ivory has been set ablaze in Kenya, the largest ever such fire, in an attempt to shock the world into protecting endangered elephants. Eleven giant pyres of tusks from […]
Return of the bison: new American national symbol tells story of strife
Nearly wiped out in a bid to demolish Native American resistance, the bison’s history paints a picture of strife and redemption that mirrors the US’s own The bald eagle may appeal to America’s sense of self – soaring, majestic, hard to tame – but as a national symbol, the more humble bison paints a truer […]
Kenya burns confiscated ivory – in pictures
Kenya has destroyed approximately 105 tonnes of confiscated ivory, almost all of the country’s stockpile, at an event in Nairobi national park attended by several African heads of state and conservationists. The event was intended to send a strong anti-poaching message Continue reading… Source: Guardian Environment
Britain's best places to take off on a butterfly safari
The purple emperor and chequered skipper await, whether you just fancy a flutter or metamorphose into a full-blown spotter The purple emperor butterfly, a rather eccentric 1950s schoolmaster called Ian Heslop once declared, is the ultimate “big game”. A renowned collector, he boasted of catching as many emperors as he had shot elephants (four) but […]
The shame of ivory
Paula Kahumbu: Kenya’s ivory burn will help end demand worldwide by making people ashamed to buy and own ivory We are often told that wildlife conservation should make economic sense, and so it should. In my previous article I outlined some of the economic arguments in favour of burning ivory stockpiles. Wildlife conservation should make […]