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INTERPOL recently executed the largest-ever edition of its annual series of coordinated of raids to dismantle criminal shipments and networks of trafficked and poached wildlife. Called Operation Thunder, some 30,000 live animals were seized in 4,620 raids across 134 countries, 30% more than last year. INTERPOL identified 1,100 suspects and issued 69 notices of criminal activity to participating nations’ police forces. Operation Thunder took place between September 15th and October 15th.

Wildlife poachers can now be located and arrested across the central African forests thanks to state-of-the-art AI listening technology. A network of microphones has been deployed across the rainforests to detect gunshots from illegal poaching of elephants and other animals, and American scientists are using AI to ensure the network can distinguish gunshots over the din of the jungle environment. The web of acoustic sensors was deployed in Gabon, Congo, and Cameroon, creating the possibility of real-time alerts to the sounds of gun-based poaching.

New research identifies 10,443 critically endangered species worldwide, with effective protection strategies available if funding and political will follow. More than 1,500 species, or 15% of the critically endangered species, are estimated to have fewer than 50 mature individuals remaining in the wild. Just 16 countries hold more than half of all critically endangered species, with concentrations across the Caribbean islands, Atlantic coastal regions of South America, the Mediterranean, Cameroon, Lake Victoria, Madagascar and Southeast Asia.

The Congo rainforest is home to one of Africa's least-known and most threatened monkeys: the golden-bellied mangabey. Golden-bellied mangabeys form extraordinarily large troops of dozens of individuals, and field observations reveal a complex social structure reminiscent of that of humans. The species faces significant threats from habitat loss, hunting and illegal trade, with experts pushing for stronger legal protections, including an upgrade from CITES Appendix II to Appendix I listing.

Bulk shipments by sea accounted for most of the illegal wildlife parts seized by authorities around the world in 2022. The data, from U.S.-based nonprofit C4ADS, also show that seizures of elephant ivory, rhino horn and pangolin scales haven’t yet returned to pre-pandemic levels. However, the decline isn’t uniform across all countries, with China's late reopening from the pandemic this year indicating there might be an increase in trafficking in 2023, especially of ivory. C4ADS has called on law enforcement officials to focus on investigating…