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DUBAI, United Arab Emirates, Feb. 10, 2021 /PRNewswire/ The arrest and extradition from Kenya to the United States of an alleged kingpin in the trafficking of millions of dollars worth of poached ivory and rhino horn has been hailed as a major victory in the fight against wildlife crime.
A US investigation led to the extradition of Mansur Mohamed Surur, a Kenyan national, charged as part of a group that allegedly smuggled and transported 10 tons of elephant ivory and 400 pounds of rhinoceros horns – worth nearly $7.5 million – to the US. Kenyan authorities arrested Surur last July and was extradited to the US late last month. According to prosecutors, the items were procured in Uganda, Guinea and Senegal, and were sent to buyers in the United States and Southeast Asia.
Held in early February 2021, the workshop was funded by the Bureau of International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs to counter wildlife trafficking in Kenya.
The monkey squirms while a woman holds it up with one hand and records it without speaking. The TikTok video is brief and has no description; the only audio is the infant animal’s cooing. Other videos posted on related social media channels show young tigers, lions, cheetahs and pumas, but also monkeys, sloths, and meerkats, all recorded and shared without comment.
While still young, these animals make their way to influencers and celebrities who use them as props in their own social media content. Rappers, movie stars, business magnates, TV-presenters, models, vloggers and even a fugitive criminal have all posted images of themselves posing with them. But there’s a problem these same pets can be traced back to a small group of anonymous individuals who may be engaged in illegally leasing out, and perhaps even selling, exotic animals.
Rhino poaching decreases, but Kruger National Park still significantly threatened
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CAPE TOWN, South Africa, Feb. 1, 2021 /PRNewswire/ About 62% of rhinos poached in South Africa in 2020 were killed in the Kruger National Park, show newly released statistics on rhino poaching in South Africa.
Statistics released today by the Department of Environmental Affairs, Forestry and Fisheries (DEA) shows an encouraging decline in rhino poaching - 394 rhinos were poached in 2020, compared to 594 in 2019, a decrease of 33%. Despite this, rhinos in the flagship KNP remain most at risk, with 245 rhinos poached during 2020.
The International Fund for Animal Welfare (IFAW) has applauded the achievement.
By ANDREA SACHS | The Washington Post | Published: January 28, 2021 Happi is an orphaned orangutan in Borneo who loves papaya and building nests with sticks. Dimples is a koala in Australia who lost her mother at a young age but found comfort in the arms of Chris Hemsworth. Batmann is a blind African penguin with oil-slicked feathers who is now living happily ever after with his partner, Penelope, in a South African sanctuary. Though these animals have different backgrounds - and taxonomy - they share a common trait: They are all available for symbolic adoption. Sheltering in place has significantly shrunk our wildlife-viewing opportunities. But you don t need to travel to be part of the larger animal kingdom. Conservation and rescue groups around the world offer sponsorship programs for a variety of species that often serve as mascots of their home countries: lemurs in Madagascar, elephants in Zambia, coqui in Puerto Rico. Your donation will help the organizations with their r