Saudi Gazelle Massacre Sparks Outcry
A video of Saudi men boasting about their multi-day massacre of several Arabian gazelles has sparked an outcry across social media networks, local newspaper Sabq recently reported.
wildlife conservation
Cyprus Oil Spill Threatens Pristine Coastline
Better call out that airborne Mediterranean pollution surveillance crew Tafline just wrote about! Last Tuesday, an oil tanker delivering fuel to a power plant in the Turkish Cypriot-controlled north of Cyprus spilled approximately 40 tons of oil into the Mediterranean Sea.
Egyptians Hunt Down Migratory Birds for Natural Viagra
It is a little known fact outside of conservation and hunting circles, Sherif Baha el Din from Nature Conservation Egypt told The Guardian, but Egyptian hunters will destroy thousands of migratory birds in the coming weeks as they make their way from Europe back to Africa for the winter.
Abu Dhabi Five-Star Leisure at Saadiyat Island Puts Ecology First
A five star hotel will offer chefs, tennis and golf pros, hairdressers and masseuses, but the Park Hyatt Abu Dhabi just upped the ante by adding a marine biologist to its permanent staff. The resort’s resident marine expert will be organizing workshops and eco-excursions to educate and entertain guests, but her primary mandate is to […]
Dubai Cheetah Owners Can Save the Species, Says Expert
We have often lamented that people from Dubai and other Arabian Gulf countries walk around with wild cats the way Hollywood stars carry Chihuahuas. But now one of the world’s leading Cheetah experts says these people can actually help to save the species from extinction.
Loggerhead Turtles: Omani Kids Hit Masirah Island to Protect World’s 2nd Largest Population
Oman is a small and increasingly popular country that borders Abu Dhabi, the home of Masdar City and the Shams 1 concentrated solar power plant, and it is hosts the world’s second largest population of Loggerhead Turtles. Listed as vulnerable by the International Union of Conservation (IUCN), these marine turtles can weigh anywhere from 300 […]
Oldest Persian Leopard Roams Threatened Iranian Park
An old Persian leopard has been captured on camera in Iran, but this is not the first time. The cat was first photographed by a camera trap in 2004, according to wildlife conservationists in the area, and has since been spotted by both game wardens and visitors on numerous occasions. In 2007, the Conservation of […]
Tatooed Ecologist Tristan Reid Treks Through Turkey To Save Wildlife
One man’s efforts to prevent ecological disaster and to save Turkey’s birds is permanent ink tats on his arms. It was the close of the day for us birdwatchers at the Hula Valley Bird Festival in Israel. Our guides dropped us off where we were to dine, and while we waited, we talked to the “birders” – passionate […]
Cheetahs in Iran on the Brink of Extinction
There are still a few Iranian Asiatic cheetahs in the wild, but they too are on the brink of disappearing. Global cheetah populations have plummeted over the past century, from an estimated 100,000 cheetahs in 1900 to fewer than 10,000 today. And once upon a time, cheetahs roamed the deserts of Iran. But international scientific surveys recently […]
A Bonnet Full of Dead Birds Angers Lebanese Nature Lovers
When a Lebanese hunter posted an image of two men presenting a bonnet full of dead birds on his Facebook page, he didn’t get quite the response he hoped to receive. Instead of cheers and congratulations, he received leers and boos. Fouad Nassif has since removed the image from his wall, but not before it appeared […]
Heart-wrenching Video of Two Hyenas Rescued from Lebanon
Animals Lebanon rescued two striped hyenas that had been captured as pups in the wild and they are now safe in their new home in southern France. Five year old Rita was living in the Ansar Zoo, which was bombed in 2006 and left to ruin. Sara, just two, spent her entire life in a […]
WWF Honors Ofir Drori – the Enemy of Africa’s Roughest Wildlife Traffickers
Israeli photojournalist turned independent animal rights activist Ofir Drori (who Karin interviewed in 2008) received the World Wildlife Fund (WWF) for Nature’s Duke of Edinburgh Conservation Medal tonight. This is one of the most coveted awards in wildlife conservation and awarding it to Drori, whose zero tolerance approach to illegal wildlife trafficking diverges from mainstream policies, sends a […]
Serial Porcupine Hunter Gets Seven Months in Jail
A man in Israel has been sentenced to spend seven months in prison for possessing a porcupine. Dubbed by locals as a “serial porcupine hunter,” Rami Fahmawhi has a longstanding track record of hunting porcupines, which are listed by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) as a protected species of least concern. The […]
Extinct Barbary Lions Used in Gladiator Rings Revived at Moroccan Zoo
The recently renovated Rabat Zoo in Morocco claims to have bred three new Barbary lion cubs in captivity. The larger cousin of southern Africa’s plains lions, Barbary lions were slaughtered en masse in fights with gladiators in order to demonstrate the superiority of humans over nature and finally the last wild individual was shot by […]
Egyptian zoo is a nightmare for animals
Elephants, lions, and wolves are by nature free, roaming creatures that form complex social relationships. In the wild we have hunted them to near extinction and we have tethered them to cages and private homes. But animals bred or purchased by any of Egypt’s seven national zoos are especially unlucky: every day, zookeepers mete out […]