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In its 2024 annual report, the Elephant-Human Relations Aid (EHRA) organisation says last year was marked by both hardship and meaningful progress in desert-adapted elephant conservation. "It was a year of learning and growth that reinforced our motivation to create lasting impact for elephants and communities we work with,” EHRA's managing director, Rachel Harris, notes in the foreword of the report. She added that the prolonged drought brought new challenges for EHRA: "In response to the drought, the government announced a controversial wildlife cull.

There were 698 lions killed by humans between 1980 and 2018 in the areas surrounding Etosha National Park - an average of 22 lions per year, although researchers say this number is likely an underestimate. A new study found there was no single reason behind the killings.

The global demand for small wildlife, including ants, spiders and scorpions, is increasing. Just this week, a group of Belgians and Vietnamese were sentenced for smuggling ants out of Kenya. Dr Caswell Munyai, a myrmecologist from UKZN has more on this.

Johannesburg - SANParks is welcoming hefty sentences handed to rhino poachers by the Skukuza Regional Court. Four men, including a former field ranger, were arrested in Skukuza in 2019 following a tip-off. Poaching equipment and a set of rhino horns were seized.

Rangers from across the southern African region, including Namibia, have established a new community of practice for monitoring and reporting on elephant mortality. Accurate and consistent data on elephant deaths is crucial for understanding and effectively addressing the threats faced by 'nature's gardeners', which include human-elephant conflict, habitat loss and the illegal killing for ivory. Reliable data allows for informed decision-making and effective conservation measures to ensure the long-term survival of African elephants in their natural habitats.

The Rhino Sanctuary Namibia, located about 60km from Windhoek will officially open its doors this September. Although they have already had guests at the lodge to experience the magnificent surroundings and to pay a visit to the white rhinos roaming the area, they are still busy with some final touches. Manager Stefanus Prinsloo explained that the idea for Rhino Sanctuary Namibia came from the lodge owner, Tom Kjær who wanted to assist in protecting the rhinos against increasing poaching in Namibia.

Four suspected rhino poachers died in two separate incidents in South Africa's internationally renowned Kruger National Park this month (June). The park on South Africa's eastern boundary is bordered by Mozambique and Zimbabwe and for the first time was last year overtaken by KwaZulu-Natal as the apparent venue of choice for armed poachers seeking rhino horn.

Environment and tourism minister Pohamba Shifeta has come out strongly against CITES' decision to ban ivory from being sold on international markets. In an interview with New Era on the sidelines of the just-ended KAZA summit in Livingstone, he said if the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES) refuses member states to sell off ivory stockpiles, they will withdraw their membership. "If CITES refuses, we have some alternatives and plans. We can go for arbitration.

In early May, the environment ministry's forestry directorate raided farms in the Kunene Region where protected mopane trees are being harvested and exported for charcoal and firewood. Trucks carrying loads of wood and charcoal - without permits to do so - have already been seized, the directorate confirmed. An outraged charcoal producer in the Outjo district, who preferred to remain anonymous, claimed a forestry official threatened him and demanded a bribe from him to not stop his charcoal business.

Nationally South Africa lost 259 rhino in the first six months of this year - 10 more than in the corresponding period last year - with concern expressed about the amount of poaching in KwaZulu-Natal and private game reserves. Forestry, Fisheries and Environment Minister Barbara Creecy maintains the "trend" away from what has long been poacher target number one - the Kruger National Park - makes it "important for national government to shift its focus to supporting provincial authorities and private reserves in the war on rhino poaching".

Rhino poaching in South Africa is at a critical level despite a "deafening" silence from official government communications and mainstream media, one of southern Africa’s most dedicated and respected wildlife vets Dr Dave Cooper maintains. Referring to the violent killing of rhino as "murders" rather than the mild, mundane "poaching", he issued a massive cry for action before it's too late, begging the world to wake up, see and stop what is happening in South Africa, according to Rhino Review. His plea comes days after witnessing possibly the "worst…

In January 2021, Nigeria seized pangolin scales and tusks and bones from endangered species hidden in a container of furniture materials. The seized materials are used in traditional Chinese medicine despite having no medicinal value. Studies have suggested that pangolins, the most-smuggled animals in the world, may have been an intermediate host of the coronavirus that was discovered in an outdoor farmers market in Wuhan, China, in late 2019. Customs officials said the contraband consisted of 162 sacks of pangolin scales and 57 sacks of mixed animal parts, including ivory and…

South African National Parks (SANParks) today (10 December) said its Environmental Crime Investigation Unit (ECI) in collaboration with the South African Police Service (SAPS) Directorate of Priority Crime Investigations (DPCI), conducted a series of intelligence driven operations which led to the arrest of eight suspected poachers in October and November in villages adjacent to the Kruger National Park (KNP).

South Africa is no stranger to wildlife crime as shown in Operation Thunder, an Interpol-led effort against environmental crime in the broadest sense of the words. The worldwide enforcement operation against wildlife and timber crime co-ordinated by Interpol and the World Customs Organisation (WCO) disrupted crime networks and saw hundreds of arrests internationally, the France-headquartered policing body said.

Among its many responsibilities as custodian of South Africa's natural heritage, the national conservation agency SANParks ensures the survival of rhino, black and white, in the face of continued poaching of this Big Five species. This responsibility, Democratic Alliance (DA) shadow forestry, fisheries and environment minister Dave Bryant maintains, is at least partially undermined by the agency’s setting of a rhinos poached "target".

South African National Parks (SANParks) has announced further arrests of suspected poachers in the Kruger National Park (KNP), with four men apprehended. The four suspected poachers were arrested on Sunday 30 May in the Pretoriuskop Section and on Monday 31 May in the Houtboschrand Section of the park. On 30 May, rangers (with K9 support) responded to a visual of two poachers and made a follow up in pursuit of the suspected rhino poachers. The Airwing Unit was called in to support the ground teams; and soon thereafter two suspects were arrested without incident.

South African National Parks (SANParks) has welcomed the finalization of two long running rhino poaching trials by the Skukuza Regional Court. One rhino poacher was sentenced on 14 May whilst three, including a former SANParks employee, were sentenced on 17 May respectively. Nito Mathebula was arrested in Tshokwane Section in January 2019 while hunting in the Park illegally. Two of his accomplices managed to evade arrest. He was found guilty of trespassing in a National Park, breaking the Immigration Act and the killing of a rhino.

The South African National Defence Force (SANDF) has deployed to the Overstrand region of the Western Cape to combat poaching and related crime in conjunction with local law enforcement and other roleplayers. The SANDF said Joint Tactical Headquarters Western Cape launched Operation Corona in the Overstrand on 6 May together with the Maritime Reaction Squadron, local law enforcement and Department of Environment, Forestry and Fisheries. The main goal is to stop the poaching of marine resources and enforce maritime security.

South African National Parks (SANParks) has announced another operation that led to the arrest of three suspected poachers on Wednesday 21 April in the Crocodile Bridge Section of the Kruger National Park (KNP). A high calibre hunting rifle, ammunition and poaching equipment were seized during the successful operation.

The Bank of Namibia (BoN) joined the fight to preserve Namibian rhinos by supporting the Save the Rhino Trust (SRT) Namibia through a donation of N$480 000.

During a first of its kind cooperation between US Law Enforcement and the Namibian Police (Nampol), four suspected pangolin traffickers were arrested in Namibia on 21 July. Time-sensitive information received by the Homeland Security Investigations office in Pretoria relating to an imminent dealing by criminals in the illegal sale of a live pangolin was passed to the US Embassy Windhoek's Regional Security Officer, which was shared with Nampol. Based on the information, the Blue Rhino Task Team was able to successfully arrest four suspects.

The Daan Viljoen game park is under constant threat from communities living in the informal settlements of Windhoek who enter the park illegally for poaching. Daan Viljoen is situated 25km west of Windhoek and informal settlements such as Agste Laan and Goreangab are situated near the game park. Khomas Governor Laura McLeod-Katjirua, made this statement during the State of the Region Address (SoRA) on Tuesday.

What should a farmer, lodge manager, landowner or a farm worker do when he stumbles across a poaching scene? Participants of the Animal Crime Scene and Evidence Handling Course received detailed answers to this question while gaining insight into the complexity of gathering evidence. During the course, participants were reminded that they are neither police officers nor experts in collecting evidence.