Talking Tigers: Part 4 of a 12-part series India’s tigers have been in the crosshairs for centuries, with elite safaris dating back to the early 16th century. They rose out of Mughal Emperor Jalal-ud-Din Muhammad Akbar’s passion for big game: He began a tradition of royal hunting, or shikar, that was carried on by Mughal rulers until the dynasty...
There’s simply no way other way to begin this story: The future for Africa’s forest elephant (Loxodonata cyclotis) is exceedingly dire. The battle to protect this “hidden elephant” from unremitting slaughter is being lost to a more aggressive and merciless demand for the animals’ ivory. Or as Richard Ruggiero, Africa branch chief at the US...
Talking Tigers: Part 2 of a 12-part series In December 2013 at the Tadoba Tiger Reserve in India, we finally got the word: Three confiscated steel-jawed poacher’s traps would be brought to the Forest Department office at one o’clock, and we’d been granted permission to film them. We grabbed our equipment and jumped in the...
By Laura Parker President Obama’s new national strategy to combat illegal wildlife trafficking around the globe is intended to be far more sweeping than curbing the poaching of African elephants. It is also aimed at combating organized crime in unstable African countries. Read the full story on our daily news page....
By Dr. Susan Lieberman Much of the world’s wildlife is in crisis and one of the primary threats to many species is poaching and the illegal trafficking of their parts and products. This wildlife crime has escalated dramatically in recent years for multiple reasons, some of which have increasingly drawn press attention. The international trade...
When the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi, Russia, kick off with the opening ceremony this Friday, a leopard, a hare, and a polar bear will be among those gathering with athletes, dignitaries, and journalists. But fear not, these four-legged animals are Sochi’s official mascots. Leopards, hares, and polar bears are found in Russia, and each...
Every week, embark with host Boyd Matson on an exploration of the latest discoveries and interviews with some of the most fascinating people on the planet, on National Geographic Weekend. Please check listings near you to find the best way to listen to National Geographic Weekend on radio, or listen below! Hour 1 – Alex Honnold has made a name for himself...
By Trevor Jones and Katarzyna Nowak Earlier this month, international media ran with a major prediction released by the International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN) that “one-fifth of Africa’s elephants could be wiped out in the next ten years, at current poaching levels.” This is a damaging underestimate that undercuts the seriousness of...
Every week, embark with host Boyd Matson on an exploration of the latest discoveries and interviews with some of the most fascinating people on the planet, on National Geographic Weekend. Please check listings near you to find the best way to listen to National Geographic Weekend on radio, or listen below! Hour 1 Sarah and Eric McNair-Landry are a sibling duo who have crossed...
The news only gets worse for Rhinos. South Africa has announced 688 rhinos have already been killed by poachers this year, surpassing last year’s record total of 668. Armed rangers and strict anti-poaching laws seem to have little effect due to the high price of rhino horn on the black market. At Royal Malewane Game...
The ongoing slaughter of Africa’s elephants has left tens of thousands of elephants dead. Teased out of these numbers are entire families: mothers, aunts, sisters, cousins, fathers, and brothers. Some of them, of course, are babies. In some instances, in fact, it’s the babies the poachers have specifically targeted. The 2012 poaching rampage inside Bouba...
The ongoing slaughter of Africa’s elephants has left tens of thousands of elephants dead. Teased out of these numbers are entire families: mothers, aunts, sisters, cousins, fathers, and brothers. Some of them, of course, are babies. In some instances, in fact, it’s the babies the poachers have specifically targeted. The 2012 poaching rampage inside Bouba...
Every week, embark with host Boyd Matson on an exploration of the latest discoveries and interviews with some of the most fascinating people on the planet, on National Geographic Weekend. Please check listings near you to find the best way to listen to National Geographic Weekend, or listen below! Hour 1 This summer, an all-woman team adventured 4,400 kilometers primarily by river,...
The ongoing slaughter of Africa’s elephants is at record levels. The situation has gotten out of hand in many countries, especially those lacking the resources to fight the increase in demand for ivory from the Far East. With wildlife authorities struggling to save the remaining tuskers, there has been little attention paid to the other...
The ongoing slaughter of Africa’s elephants is at record levels. The situation has gotten out of hand in many countries, especially those lacking the resources to fight the increase in demand for ivory from the Far East. With wildlife authorities struggling to save the remaining tuskers, there has been little attention paid to the other...