Wildlife Conservation News for 26 Aug 2017

Rhino horn sales: banking on extinction

South Africa has just launched the first ever legal rhino horn auction. If you are based in South Africa and would like to buy some rhino horn you can place your bid here.

This is not a government auction, although it is sanctioned by the South African government. It has been organised by private rhino rancher, John Hume, who took the government to court and won the right to sell 265 rhino horns weighing about 500 kg. Trade in rhino horn is illegal in most countries, but the black market value of one kilogram is said to be USD 100,000—more than the price of platinum.

The astronomical price of rhino horn is driven by demand in Asia that has fuelled the current epidemic of rhino poaching in South Africa. Rhino deaths from poaching have risen from almost zero ten years ago to more than 1,000 per year since 2013.

Rhinos are listed on Appendix 1 of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES), which means that horns cannot be legally taken out of South Africa into any other CITES member state. So this auction is targeting buyers in South Africa … even though there is no market there for rhino horn. What is going on?

Full story at http://bit.ly/2xlfa8Z

Source: The Guardian

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Endangered African Animals Curated News ~ 25 Aug 2017

Steemit curated news by Joan Stewart.

Full story at http://bit.ly/2xlkfOv

Source: Steemit

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Watch sharks chase massive schools of fish

Mesmerizing video shows sandbar and dusky sharks swim through massive schools of menhaden and bunker fish in Long Island waters.Source: CNN

Full story at http://cnn.it/2xlkCZC

Source: CNN

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Mysterious Amazon Animal Seen Alive for First Time in 80 Years

If anyone was going to find the elusive monkey with gold-colored legs, it would be Laura Marsh. She's the director of the Global Conservation Institute and one of the world's leading experts on saki monkeys, a New World species that can be found throughout the Amazon and parts of South America.

In 2014, Marsh identified five new species of saki, also referred to as "flying monkeys," living elusively in the region. Earlier this summer, she set out to find one elusive species in particular. The Vanzolini bald-faced saki, named for Brazilian zoologist Paulo Vanzolini (its scientific name is Pithecia vanzolinii). The monkey hadn't been seen alive in 80 years.

To find the missing monkey, Marsh and a team of scientists, photographers, conservationists, and local guides set out on a four-month-long expedition into a little-explored part of the western Amazon. They set sail in a small, two-story houseboat and headed up the Eiru River, near Brazil's Peruvian border.

Full story at http://bit.ly/2xlkDg8

Source: National Geographic

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Teenager caught smuggling tiger cub into US from Mexico

A Californian teenager has been arrested after he tried to smuggle a Bengal tiger cub across the US border from Mexico.

Luis Eudoro Valencia, 18, was charged with smuggling the animal into the US after officials found it lying on the floor of his vehicle.

He was caught at the Otay Mesa border crossing in the early hours of Wednesday morning.

Agents from the US Fish & Wildlife Service took custody of the animal.

Full story at http://bbc.in/2xl6LCk

Source: BBC News

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IFAW unveils key partnership with Morocco to tackle illegal wildlife trade

Home of many remarkable species including the notable endangered Barbary macaque (Macaca sylvanus), Morocco is stepping up its efforts to protect its stunning natural habitats and rich wildlife diversity, in a context where wildlife crime often has a striking impact upon natural resources, cultural heritage and even security in many countries and regions of the world.

Today's agreement between IFAW and the HCEFLCD is an opportunity that will allow new initiatives to strengthen the fight against poaching, dismantle wildlife trafficking routes and enhance the rescue and rehabilitation of wild confiscated animals, notably under the framework of the Born to be Wild project, which is currently under discussion between the two parties.

In presence of the High Commissioner for Water and Forests and the Fight against Desertification Dr. Abdeladim Lhafi, IFAW President and CEO Azzedine Downes, warmly welcomed a collaboration of significant importance: "We have long recognized the complexities of wildlife trade and in response have worked hard to nurture and support inter-agency cooperation as a way to address them. We are therefore pleased to be working closely with the Moroccan government to implement creative activities that would facilitate the coexistence and harmony between local communities and wildlife."

Dr. Abdeladim stressed the importance of this agreement: "This agreement comes in support of the National Strategy for the Protection of Nature and more specifically of endangered species of fauna and flora. This strategy began in the 1990s through the establishment of several nature reserves, the rehabilitation of endangered species as well as the strengthening of national legislation.

Full story at http://read.bi/2wvF8Jr

Source: Business Insider

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Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS)