New species of semi-aquatic cobra described from the Democratic Republic of the Congo

A new species of semi-aquatic cobra, Naja nana sp. nov. has been described from Lake Mai-Ndombe in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC). The new species, know as the dwarf water cobra is locally abundant and is thought to be endemic to the region. According to the researchers – Marcel Collet and Jean-François Trape […]

Russian wildlife smugglers arrested in Sri Lanka

Three Russian men have been arrested in Sri Lanka for illegally collecting and attempting to smuggle hundreds of endemic species. The three men, identified as Ignatenko Alexander, Riyabo Artem and Kilufuyan Nicolai had rented a car and used an international drivers’ license to travel to multiple sites in the country to collect plant and animal […]

A Wild Life funds tiger conservation project

In the last couple of years Sumatra has seen a rise in incidences of human-tiger conflict, despite there being less than 500 tigers left in the wild. Habitat destruction for timber and palm oil production, combined with poaching of tiger prey species for food are thought to be the biggest contributors. In November last year […]

Sumatran tiger killed in snare

Residents living close to the Semidang Bukit Kabu protected forest in the Seluma regency have reported the death of a Sumatran tiger. Inspection of the body shows that the animal had been trapped in a snare. The Seluma police chief said they received a report from 38 year old Ridwan Fauzi who discovered the body […]

Could poaching be helping tarantula conservation?

It sounds like an unlikely statement but could poaching actually help spider conservation? As someone who has kept and bred critically endangered tarantulas, it is not lost on me that many of the species we see in captivity are probably descended from illegally collected adults. But is this necessarily a bad thing from a conservation […]