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When people think of wildlife trade, they often picture smugglers sneaking in rare and endangered species from far-off countries. Yet most wildlife trade is actually legal, and the United States is one of the world's biggest wildlife importers. New research that we and a team of colleagues published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences shows that, over the last 22 years, people in the U.S. legally imported nearly 2.85 billion individual animals representing almost 30,000 species.

Habitat loss and poaching have driven dramatic declines in African elephants, but it is challengingto measure their numbers and monitor changes across the entire continent. A new study hasanalyzed 53 years of population survey data and found large-scale declines in most populations ofboth species of African elephants. From 1964–2016, forest elephant populations decreased on average by 90%, and savanna elephantpopulations fell on average by 70%. In combination, populations declined by 77% on average.

Poachers have killed at least five elephants in the Sahel state of Chad, stoking fears for the country's surviving animals, an NGO said Tuesday. The elephants were found slaughtered in the Beinamar area, about 400 kilometers (250 miles) south of the capital N'Djamena, Adam Ahmat Assane, secretary of SOS Elephants, told AFP.

Poaching syndicates have resurfaced at the Sentinel-Limpopo Safaris, about 78km west of Beitbridge Town where they are wantonly killing wild animals and derailing efforts of revamping the tourism industry after a Covid-19 hiatus. In some instances, they are unselectively killing even pregnant game and use donkeys as means of transport. It is also understood that the continued poaching activities have become a threat to tourism within the Greater Mapungubwe Transfrontier Conversation Area (TFCA). The mega safari land is jointly owned by Zimbabwe, South Africa and Botswana.

Three men accused of illegal possession of four elephant tusks worth US$6 426 they were caught carrying in Harare's Avenues last month, have been released on bail of $150 000 each by the High Court pending trial before a magistrate.

In the war on poaching, some of the best defenders have four legs. Trained canines are used in some of South Africa's national parks to detect wildlife contraband like rhino horns, pangolin scales, and ivory at airports and roadblocks. Other dogs are trained to track and apprehend poachers in the field. According to Save the Rhino, 9,885 rhinos have been lost to poaching in the last decade. But Carl Thornton, founder and director of Pit-Track K9 Conservation and Anti-Poaching Unit, says the numbers are likely much higher.

Since the first reported pangolin seizure in Nigeria in 2010, the country has seen an explosion in the black market for the world's most trafficked mammal - becoming Africa's hub for the criminal export of pangolin products to East Asia. Use of pangolin scales in traditional Chinese medicines has resulted in Asian species declining dramatically this century.