General Aug 11, 2020
Beetlemania: Japanese collectors pay high prices for big bugs
by Andrew McKirdy
The nation's love of stag and rhinoceros beetles has flourished during the pandemic, with families driving demand.
World Sep 25, 2018
Scientists voice opposition to weakening of U.S. Endangered Species Act
Thousands of scientists joined Monday to accuse the Trump administration of trying to erode the Endangered Species Act in favor of commercial interests with a plan to revamp regulations that have formed a bedrock of U.S. wildlife protection for over 40 years. The extraordinary critique ...
Asia Pacific Aug 20, 2018
Malaysia seizes rhino horns worth $12 million in largest such haul
Malaysia has seized rhinoceros horns worth nearly $12 million bound for Vietnam, the Southeast Asian nation's largest haul of such contraband, officials said on Monday. Wildlife experts say Malaysia is a major transit point for the illegal trafficking of endangered species to other Asian countries. Officials ...
National Aug 23, 2017
Goshawks taken off scarce species list as population recovers
Japan is set to remove goshawks from its scarce species list after a government subcommittee approved the move Wednesday following an increase in their population. Goshawks, whose numbers were estimated at 9,000 in a survey conducted by the Environment Ministry at the turn of the ...
National / Science & Health Aug 18, 2017
Kyoto University experts detect large mammal species in Cambodia during camera trap study
Experts from Kyoto University and the Wildlife Conservation Society have conducted a camera trap survey that detected a multitude of large mammal species in a protected area of northern Cambodia, the WSC said Thursday. "The results confirm the continued occurrence of large mammals such as ...
National / Media | MEDIA MIX Dec 3, 2016
How Japanese media have failed endangered species
by Philip Brasor
In October, a new documentary produced by Leonardo DiCaprio premiered on Netflix. "The Ivory Game" is a dramatic study of the illegal trade in elephant tusks that includes conservationists battling poachers, investigative journalists following the money trail and black market merchants in China. Experts say ...
Commentary / World Oct 6, 2016
Achieving a virtuous cycle for conservation
by Arancha Gonzalez
A virtuous cycle, whereby local producers have a direct interest in protecting wildlife because they are benefiting from its legal trade is the best long-term solution to the problem of sustainability.
National / Science & Health | NATURAL SELECTIONS Nov 15, 2014
Eels face the slippery slope to extinction
by Rowan Hooper
Last week I was crossing the River Thames on the way to work in London, and I happened to see a cormorant emerge from the water with a thrashing eel in its mouth. The bird juggled the fish, skillfully managing to position it so ...
Commentary / World Nov 11, 2014
China flouts efforts to protect world's wildlife
by Adam Minter
It would be nice to believe China's rhetoric that it cooperates with other countries in protecting wildlife. Yet, for two decades at least, Chinese consumer demand has been directly linked to the precipitous decline of wildlife populations around the globe.
Environment | WILD WATCH Nov 8, 2014
Hanging around the threat of extinction
by Mark Brazil
Night falls; stars are showing; yet I'm still perspiring. We set off in darkness into a night filled with hope. Our goal is to see one of the rarest creatures on Earth, a species once considered extinct, and for which even now fate hangs ...
Environment | OLD NIC'S NOTEBOOK Nov 1, 2014
What's 'weasely' about wonderful weasels?
by C.W. Nicol
One of the mammals we're most likely to see in our Afan woods up here in Kurohime in the Nagano Prefecture hills is the Japanese weasel (Mustela itatsi). These wonderful little animals, known as itachi in Japanese, are master hunters that can run, climb ...
Environment | OUR PLANET EARTH Oct 25, 2014
Understanding the complex web of life
by Stephen Hesse
"Biodiversity provides the foundation on which all life depends, including human societies," writes Nik Sekhran in the opening pages of "Biodiversity for Sustainable Development," a captivating book released earlier this month by the United Nations Development Programme. "Ecosystems and biodiversity provide our food, water, fuel, ...