Colombian and Congolese wildlife guardians were ambushed RONCESVALLES, Colombia; VIRUNGA NATIONAL PARK, Democratic Republic of Congo––Simultaneous sad reminders of the human cost of wildlife conservation came on January 10, 2021 from the Reserva Loros Andinos in southwestern Colombia and Virunga National Park in the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo. The Reserva Loros Andinos and Virunga […]
When parrot “conservation” consisted chiefly of shooting them
Vista Nieve by Melbourne R. Carriker Blue Mantle Press (36901 Marshall Hutts Rd., Rio Hondo-Arroyo City, TX 78583), 2001. 312 pages, paperback. $18.95. Reviewed by Merritt Clifton On July 28, 2002, Colombian ornithologists Jorge Velasquez and Alonso Quevado photographed 14 examples of Fuertes’ parrot among tall trees in an alpine forest near the summit of […]
Killed for freeing parrot, young servant set example of compassion to the world
Murder shocks Pakistan, but U.S. & other nations have much to learn as well KARACHI, Pakistan; PORT OF SPAIN, Trinidad; JENKINTOWN, Pennsylvania–– Zohra Shah, age seven or eight, according to contradictory reports, may have had the chance to make only one moral and ethical decision in her brief lifetime. On May 31, 2020, Zohra […]
Are conservationists becoming an endangered species?
Three alleged murders among five recent deaths of note The butterfly guys OCAMPO, Mexico––Monarch butterfly conservationists Homero Gómez González, 50, and Raúl Hernández Romero, 44, were found dead on January 29, 2020 and February 1, 2020, respectively, at the El Rosario butterfly preserve that they helped to found and develop […]
Vaquita, totoaba: Gunfire on the Sea of Cortez
Alleged poacher tried to recover net confiscated by Sea Shepherd Conservation Society SAN FELIPE, Baja California, Mexico––An alleged poacher and two apparently uninvolved passers-by were reportedly hit by gunfire in a March 28, 2019 confrontation with Mexican marines in San Felipe, Baja California, Mexico. The shooting incident was among the most violent yet in […]
Over-counting jaguars, over-estimating poaching
1964-1966 flood rescue data suggests there were never as many jaguars in Suriname as World Animal Protection claims have been poached PARAMARIBO, Suriname––Claims recently amplified on social media about the alleged extent of jaguar poaching in Suriname appear to have inflated at most a handful of rare, scattered incidents occurring over many years into a […]
Vaquita: Trump’s Trojan Horse in war on Endangered Species Act?
Beware of trade judges bearing gifts! WASHINGTON D.C.––Will U.S. President Donald Trump use the highly endangered vaquita porpoise as the Trojan Horse for his efforts to strip “critical habitat” protections from the Endangered Species Act? Protecting the vaquita as directed on July 26, 2018 by U.S. Court of International Trade judge Gary S. Katzmann would […]
Why has Paul Watson asked 58 groups to drop a boycott of Mexican shrimp?
Alleges boycott jeopardizes anti-poaching work to save the vaquita SAN FELIPE, Mexico––Leading an international boycott of Mexican shrimp called on behalf of the endangered vaquita porpoise, the Animal Welfare Institute, the Natural Resources Defense Council and the Center for Biological Diversity have yet to publish a promised response to a December 3, 2017 appeal […]
Are vaquita captures for breeding or for show? Mexican report raises question
Mexican environment secretary talks tourism SAN FELIPE, Mexico––The first-ever capture of an extremely endangered vaquita porpoise on October 18, 2017 in the Sea of Cortez, disclosed a day later, upstaged statements by Mexican environment secretary Rafael Pacchiano indicating that the capture might have been undertaken less from the hope of saving an endangered animal […]
Delivering vaquita damsels to the ogre: U.S. Navy dolphins sally forth
Sea of Cortez campaign may be more about saving the Navy Marine Mammal Program than saving vaquitas SAN FELIPE, Mexico; SAN DIEGO, California––Purported knights errant sent to save a damsel in distress, the U.S. Navy dolphins Andrea, Fathom, Katrina and Splash on October 5, 2017 arrived in San Felipe, Mexico, on the east coast of Baja California, to […]