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Vietnamese police have arrested a bear owner for the first time after netting a record haul of hundreds of bile bottles in Hanoi, a wildlife protection organisation said Friday. The communist country is a major hub for the illegal trade in wild animals and bears are kept to drain the bile from their gallbladders for use in traditional medicine. Authorities outlawed bile extraction in Vietnam in 2005, but bear farms were allowed to keep the animals […]
by Paola Lopez Agence France-Presse JUNIN, Ecuador (AFP) — On the banks of a crystalline waterfall, biologist Andrea Teran lets out a yelp. She holds in the palm of her hand one of two frog species at the center of a legal battle against Ecuador’s mining industry. Teran, 37, is a specialist in the fragile existence of a creature called the Resistance Rocket Frog, which does not yet have a scientific name, and the […]
Canada reported its first two confirmed cases of monkeypox Thursday night, adding to the growing number of cases in Europe and North America of the contagious, but rarely deadly disease. “Tonight, the Province of Quebec was notified that two samples received by the NML (National Microbiology Laboratory) have tested positive for monkeypox. These are the first two cases confirmed in Canada,” the Public Health Agency of Canada said in a release. Other suspected cases […]
by Pierre-Henry DESHAYES Agence France-Presse OSLO, Norway (AFP) – Cavalier King Charles Spaniels are known for their tiny heads, English bulldogs for their smushed wrinkled muzzles — traits their owners love. But in an unprecedented move, Norway has banned the breeding of these dogs because being cute is causing them suffering. In a recent ruling, the Oslo district court banned the breeding of the two purebreds on the grounds that it inflicts harm on them, […]
by Nina LARSON Agence France-Presse GENEVA, Switzerland (AFP) – The Swiss voted on Sunday to tighten their notoriously lax tobacco laws by banning virtually all advertising of the hazardous products. Nearly 57 percent of voters and 16 of Switzerland’s 26 cantons backed the near-total tobacco advertising ban, final results showed. “We are extremely happy. The people understood that health is more important than economic interests,” Stefanie De Borba of the Swiss League against Cancer, told […]
CALAIS, France (AFP) – A female humpback whale nearly 10 metres long (31 feet) was found dead after washing up on a beach near Calais in northern France early Thursday, a rare occurrence on the Channel coastline according to specialists. “It’s an exceptional event for the region,” said Jacky Karpouzopoulos, president of the CMNF mammal preservation association and head of its “marine stranding” team. He said tractors would pull the massive animal, weighing 20 to […]
by Juan Sebastian SERRANO Agence France-Presse BOGOTA, Colombia (AFP) – More than 100 African hippos descended from fewer than a handful imported as exotic pets by drug lord Pablo Escobar, face an uncertain future in Colombia. After the government added Escobar’s so-called “cocaine” hippos Friday to a list of “introduced, invasive species,” experts say killing them may be the only viable option. From the few individuals once housed at Escobar’s Hacienda Napoles estate, the hippos’ […]
by Carlos MANDUJANO Agence France-Presse LIMA, Peru (AFP) – Hand fed fish and given gentle yet rigorous baths, penguins and other sea birds are slowly regaining their strength at a Peruvian zoo after a major oil spill that claimed many of their friends. Of about 150 oil-stained birds rescued alive after the January 15 spill of some 12,000 barrels of oil, half later died. The survivors — penguins, cormorants and pelicans — are being nursed […]
ATHENS, Greece (AFP) – A young whale that washed up near Athens last week was found dead on a nearby island Wednesday despite “superhuman” efforts to save the wounded animal, the Greek government said. The male Cuvier’s beaked whale was first found on a beach south of the Greek capital late last week. Experts quickly gave it hydration and antibiotics before returning it to the sea on Friday evening. The dolphin-like whale had a badly […]
ATHENS, Greece (AFP) – An ailing young whale found near the coast of Athens in a rare sighting has returned to deeper waters after receiving medication, Greek officials said on Saturday. The male Cuvier’s beaked whale is now swimming near the southern island of Salamis, deputy environment minister Georgios Amyras told state TV ERT, adding that its condition remained precarious. The dolphin-like whale, which normally lives in waters more than 1,000 metres (3,280 feet) deep, […]
by Sara HUSSEIN Agence France-Presse TOKYO, Japan (AFP) – Chimpanzees in one part of Guinea crack and eat nuts while others declined to do so even when offered tools, research published on Monday found, and the difference could shed light on their culture. As humans, we are said to have cumulative culture: skills and technologies are transmitted and refined from generation to generation, producing behaviours more sophisticated than a single person could dream up. Some […]
BELA BELA, South Africa (AFP) – A 10-year-old rhino that had its horn brutally hacked off returned to the wild Monday, after 30 operations over six years to repair the gash in its face. His rescuers named the bull Sehawukele, meaning “God have mercy on us”. Called Seha for short, he was found by police stumbling near a fence in a reserve, so disfigured that he could barely hear or eat. The police called in […]
