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 […]

Searching for reptiles in Bali

Bali has a rich diversity of reptiles and amphibians so I teamed up with Bali Reptile Rescue to look for species I have never seen before. Bali Reptile Rescue as its name suggests removes problematic snakes from people’s properties and relocates them to safer areas. I met up with Agus Putra in Ubud and from […]

Relocating Black Mambas in Swaziland

The following true story is re-blogged with permission from Thea Litschka-Koen from the Swaziland Antivenom Foundation. It’s early February, the weather is unbearably hot and humid. I am absolutely exhausted after a long day at Simunye Club; and call-outs to remove problematic snakes have been endless. It’s only 18:00, but I have already rescued 6 […]

Snakebite in Swaziland: Q&A with Thea Litschka-Koen

Snakebite is a neglected ‘disease’ of circumstance, that primarily affects some of the world’s poorest people. Bites are common in rural areas of tropical and sub-tropical developing countries and often affect agricultural workers and children. Antivenoms are essential in the treatment of dangerous snake bites, yet they are expensive and require refrigeration, making them difficult […]

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 […]

Species in Focus: Sunda Island Pit Viper

Species in Focus is a series of short posts about interesting species I’ve seen with tips on identification and where you can also see them. Identification: The Sunda Island Pit Viper (Trimeresurus insularis) looks a lot like many of the other green pit vipers that are found across Asia and shares its range with the […]

Giant python eats man in Sulawesi (graphic!)

A large reticulated python (Malaypython reticulatus) has killed and swallowed a man in Salubiro, Karossa district, West Sulawesi, Indonesia. 25 year old Akbar was attacked and killed by the 7m (23ft) snake, whilst he was harvesting palm oil. He had been reported missing to the police 24 hours previously and whilst searching for him, villagers […]