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It started with a man from Maua Town in Meru County in possession of an extremely rare item and ended a few weeks ago in the Kajiado Town jail. How he found it is a mystery, but the tiny, palm-sized keratin pyramid came from a rhino. The man thought he could make considerable cash from selling this rhino horn, but he needed a buyer. He started asking around in Malili, a town along the Mombasa Road, where he thought he’d fly under the radar. Instead, our informer network was tipped off. He needed to be caught trying to sell the rhino horn to be arrested, but there were no takers…

In eastern Democratic Republic of Congo's Maiko National Park, a few committed rangers have succeeded in protecting gorillas, elephants and other animals from the surrounding fighting. RFI spoke to the park's assistant director, Alain Mukiranya, about guarding wildlife in the middle of a war zone. The Democratic Republic of Congo's mineral-rich east has been ravaged by three decades of conflict. Since taking up arms again in 2021, the M23 rebel group, backed by Rwanda, has seized swathes of territory, leading to a spiralling humanitarian crisis.

A new report finds thousands of African primates, including chimpanzees and gorillas, are being traded both legally and illegally. Most of the legal trade in great apes is for scientific and zoo purposes, but the report raises some concerns on the legality of recent trade instances for zoos. Chimpanzees topped the list of the most illegally traded African primates, as the exotic pet trade drives the demand for juveniles and infants.

Two suspects, aged 24 and 75, have been arrested in the Tsandi policing area of the Omusati Region after they were allegedly found in possession of protected game without a permit. According to the police, the suspects were found in possession of two live tortoises at the Okapundja cattle post on Saturday. The tortoises were seized by officials from the Ministry of Environment, Forestry and Tourism (MEFT) and are together valued at N$10,000. The suspects are due to appear before the Okahao Magistrate's Court on Monday.

Insiders describe why, and how, rangers sworn to protect wildlife collude with poaching syndicates slaughtering rhinos. Tulani Ngwenya investigates On guard: Former ranger trainer Hendrick Sithembiso carves through dry wood with twin tactical knives, demonstrating 'bushcraft' to students during an advanced training programme in Kruger in 2024.

The first authoritative population assessment for African forest elephants estimates there are more than 145,000 individuals. Researchers say new survey techniques relying on sampling DNA from elephant dung provide the most accurate estimate of a species that's difficult to count in its rainforest habitat. Central Africa remains the species' stronghold, home to nearly 96% of forest elephants, with densely forested Gabon hosting 95,000 individuals. Conservationists say the findings can help inform the design of targeted conservation actions and national plans for forest elephants…

The operatives of the Federal Operations Unit, Nigeria Customs Service (NCS), in Zone 'D', Bauchi State, have intercepted 718 pieces of donkey skins with a Duty Paid Value (DPV) of over ₦24 million in Mubi, Adamawa State. The Comptroller of the Unit, Abdullahi Ka'ila, disclosed this on Tuesday during a press briefing in Bauchi, stating that the seizure was made on 26 December following credible intelligence and coordinated enforcement operations by officers of the unit.