Animal poaching and smuggling
Andrea Cattabriga, President of the Association for Biodiversity and Conservation, walks amongst his homegrown rare cacti at his greenhouse in San Lazzaro di Savena, Italy, Saturday, June 5, 2021. Cattabriga, a top expect on rare cacti, was called by the Carabinieri Military Police in February 2020 as a consultant to examine thousands of cacti stolen from from the Atacama Desert in Chile, confiscated when police conducted a massive cactus bust at a greenhouse along the Adriatic Coast in Italy. (AP Photo/Trisha Thomas)
Rare poached cacti found in Italy sent home to native Chile

By Trisha Thomas Jun. 18, 2021 07:00 AM EDT

FILE - In this Wednesday, March 8, 2017 file photo, three rhinos line up at the Welgevonden Game Reserve in the Limpopo province, South Africa. South Africa's government has announced the number of rhinos killed in the country's national parks dropped by 33% last year, with COVID-19 restrictions helping by reducing movements around the country, the country’s environmental ministry announced Monday Feb. 1, 2021. (AP Photo/Renee Graham, File)
South Africa's virus lockdown helps reduce rhino poaching

By Mogomotsi Magome Feb. 01, 2021 12:40 PM EST

FILE - In this Oct. 14, 2013, file photo, a moose cools off in the Chain Lakes area along the Trail of the Coeur d'Alenes in Idaho. Hunting license sales in Idaho are up as more residents seek a way to safely get out of the house without contracting COVID-19. Wildlife officials say that has led to inexperienced hunters misidentifying and killing moose and a grizzly bear, and that in northern Idaho blatant poaching has increased. “Hunting is that outdoor activity that follows all the COVID recommendations and gets people outside,” Idaho Department of Fish and Game Enforcement Chief Greg Wooten said Friday, Nov. 20, 2020. (AP Photo/Carey J. Williams, File)
Hunting in Idaho increases as people seek refuge from virus

By Keith Ridler Nov. 20, 2020 05:28 PM EST

Editorial Roundup:

By The Associated Press Oct. 26, 2020 10:00 AM EDT
McCook Gazette. October 20, 2020 Public support key to success of new directed measures Officials hoped lifting most...

FILE - In this Sunday, Dec. 20, 2015 file photo, rhinos walk in the Hluhluwe Game Reserve in South Africa. South Africa’s anti-COVID-19 lockdown is credited with helping to achieve a dramatic drop in rhino killings, but as the country opens up experts warn there is a risk of a resurgence of poaching of one of Earth’s most endangered mammals. Redoubled efforts are critical to prevent a resurgence of killings of the country’s rhinoceros, South African officials and wildlife activists say, as World Rhino Day is marked Tuesday, Sept. 22, 2020. (AP Photo/Schalk van Zuydam, File)
South Africa's rhino poaching drops during virus lockdown

By Andrew Meldrum Sep. 22, 2020 05:44 AM EDT

Kenyan all-female wildlife ranger team breaks down barriers

By Tom Odula Aug. 14, 2020 03:36 AM EDT
KAJIADO, Kenya (AP) — On the sweeping plains at the foot of Mount Kilimanjaro, a group of female wildlife rangers is making history by defying patriarchal...

A Fully grown Gorilla holding baby in Bwindi National Park Uganda, Tuesday Aug.4.2020. Two new baby gorillas have been spotted in a national park where a beloved primate named Rafiki was killed in June, a Ugandan wildlife official said Tuesday, saying the additions are part of a baby boom in the forested protected area popular with tourists. For us it's a sign of relief. We lost one. We got two. But, of course, losing one is bad enough," said Bashir Hangi, a spokesman for the Uganda Wildlife Authority, talking about the loss of Rafiki.(AP Photo/Uganda Wildlife Authority)
Uganda reports 2 new gorilla babies in Bwindi national park

By Rodney Muhumuza Aug. 04, 2020 10:43 AM EDT

Man who killed Uganda gorilla Rafiki gets 11 years in jail

By Rodney Muhumuza Jul. 30, 2020 01:00 PM EDT
KAMPALA, Uganda (AP) — A man who pleaded guilty to killing a beloved mountain gorilla in a popular national park has been sentenced to 11 years in prison over...

In this supplied photo a dead elephant lies in the bush in the Okavango Delta, Botswana, Monday May 25, 2020. Botswana says it is investigating a staggeringly high number of elephant carcasses, with 275 found in the popular Okavango Delta area of the southern African nation in recent weeks. (Photo via AP)
Botswana investigates 'mysterious deaths' of 275 elephants

By Sello Motseta Jul. 03, 2020 04:22 AM EDT

This March 2011 photo provided by the Wildlife Trust of India shows a tiger skin which was seized when it was being delivered to a suspected buyer in a hotel in Nagpur, Maharashtra, India. Since the country announced its 2020 COVID-19 lockdown, at least four tigers and six leopards have been killed by poachers, Wildlife Protection Society of India said. (WTI via AP)
Coronavirus lockdowns increase poaching in Asia, Africa

By Aniruddha Ghosal And Michael Casey Jun. 22, 2020 12:27 AM EDT

This image released by National Geographic shows Dr. Jane Goodall walking along the beach of Africa's Lake Tanganyika in National Geographic's "Jane Goodall: The Hope," premiering April 22 on National Geographic and Nat Geo Wild and streaming on Disney Plus and Hulu. (Michael Haertlein/National Geographic via AP)
Jane Goodall talks coronavirus impact, Nat Geo documentary

By Jonathan Landrum Jr. Apr. 20, 2020 02:44 PM EDT