Animals 24-7

News & perspective for the humane community

Death of Koko, 46, raises question what will become of her rejected mate Ndume?

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Koko was among the last great apes used in still controversial 1970s language research             WOODSIDE,  California––With Koko deceased,  what now will become of Ndume,  37,  the last and least famous of the three gorillas who once shared the Gorilla Foundation sanctuary and primate language research laboratory in the Santa Cruz Mountains,  south of San […]

Aussie prof challenges “invasion biologists” on their own turf

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Contends “compassionate conservation” is most effective protection of biodiversity             SYDNEY,  Australia––The conservation establishments of both Australia and Israel might like to designate Arian D. Wallach an “invasive species” and slate her for extirpation. Indeed,  Wallach’s arguments could eventually put the entire global industry of exterminating “invasive species” out of business. Like any successful adaptive […]

“Kenya’s wildlife should remain in the wild” –– Sidney Quntai, 57

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Little known outside Kenya, hugely influential within             NAIROBI,  Kenya––Pioneering Kenyan journalist and wildlife advocate Sidney Quntai Tauwo,  57,  died “on the morning of April 20,  2018 after a short illness which he courageously fought,  but lost,”  Africa Network for Animal Welfare senior officer for communications and advocacy Sebastian Mwanza emailed to ANIMALS 24-7 on […]

The poop on live transport, whaling, & Ramadan 2018

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Old ships,  ancient customs             FREMANTLE,  Australia––Seventy thousand Australian sheep aboard the 38-year-old livestock carrier Al Messilah,  or anyhow those who survive the journey,  are due to reach Kuwait on May 14,  2018,  according to VesselFinder.com. The voyage continues a trade that Animals Australia likens to whaling in terms of cruelty and obsolescence,  but which […]

Daphne Sheldrick, 83, showed Kenya that wildlife is worth most when alive

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Known for elephant & rhino rescue,  but contributions were much bigger than that             NAIROBI,  Kenya––The facts of the life of the late Daphne Sheldrick,  who died at age 83 on April 12,  2018 after a long battle with breast cancer,  are much more easily summarized than her legacy to wildlife,  elephants in particular,  and […]

A matriarch remembers, by Daphne Sheldrick,  D.B.E. (1934-2018)

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The first 65 years of the life of the world’s first mom to orphaned elephants in her own words Editors’ note:  Daphne Sheldrick,  83,  founder of the David Sheldrick Wildlife Trust and of the elephant orphanage the trust operates at the edge of Nairobi National Park,  Kenya,  died on April 12,  2018,  after a long battle […]

Yellow fever mosquitoes now killing at 10 times the rate of pit bulls

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Monkey killings contribute to disease outbreak death tolls in Brazil & India             RIO DE JANEIRO,  Brazil;  SINGHUDURG,  India––Panic-driven monkey massacres are contributing to human illness and death,  with yellow fever deaths up 60% since the end of fiscal 2017,  and could help to spark global epidemics,  warn Brazilian health officials. More than 718 Brazilians […]

South Sudan bans hunting; but will the ban last? by Sebastian Mwanza

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Does the history of South Sudan favor the ban? [Sebastian Mwanza is senior officer for communications & advocacy with the Africa Network for Animal Welfare,  based in Nairobi,  Kenya.] On March 6, 2018,  as ANIMALS 24-7 reported,  the world woke up to good tidings from the Xinhua News Agency that South Sudan’s Ministry of Wildlife […]

Two inches of rain means life or death to animals in Kenya

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Flash floods broke devastating drought, but not drought cycle menacing wildlife & livestock             NAIROBI,  Kenya––Just two inches of rain over two days,  about what Seattle gets on average in just two weeks, in mid-March 2018 triggered flash floods killing at least 15 Kenyans,  marooning six tented camps for wildlife tourists in the Maasai Mara […]

South Sudan bans hunting; follows Kenya, with Chinese support

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Kenya banned hunting in 1977             JUBA,  South Sudan––Emulating one of the longtime keys to economic success in neighboring Kenya,  the seven-year-old nation of South Sudan on March 6,  2018 “banned all forms of wildlife hunting,  including commercial trade in wildlife trophies,”  the Xinhua news agency reported. The specific mention of “wildlife trophies” by the […]