Species

The rainy season is now ending in Tanzania. In the coming months, WWF will increase its field activities to stop poaching in the Selous and secure the future of one of the most important protected areas in the world. George Atanasi and Said Nkinga are Selous Game Reserve rangers. They were Selous rangers before it […]

How often do you get to see a baby whale being born? I have worked as marine biologist for more than 15 years, and this was a first for me. A miracle of nature – awesome in the true sense of the word – happening in our beautiful home: the Mediterranean. For over 10 years, […]

It was 1986 when I boarded a flight to Tanzania and Botswana to write an article about the elephant crisis for the Italian equivalent of National Geographic. Yes, we have been here before. In the 80s we lived through the first dramatic post-colonial wave of elephant poaching. The demand back then was driven by different countries, […]

When surveying people’s favourite sea creatures, sharks are nearly always at the top of the list. Many more sophisticated ocean animal lovers may also champion the wonders of the massive manta ray. Very few, however, are likely to include the manta’s smaller and more elusive cousins, devil rays, among their top marine treasures. As someone […]

I saw my first thresher shark back in 2013, 30 metres below the surface of the Visayan Sea, as night turned to day above. An hour earlier my now wife and I had boarded an outrigger in the dark with other excited divers on the sleepy island of Malapascua in the central Philippines, and headed […]

In November last year, I spent three very nervous weeks glued to a parcel courier website watching the tortuous journey my passport was making around the world. I was due to travel to Bali to attend the annual meeting of the Western & Central Pacific Fisheries Commission to advocate shark and ray conservation measures, but […]

…and their future is linked to ours In today’s Anthropocene era, which is shaped by humankind, we are living in a time of unprecedented risk but also unparalleled opportunity for the future of our planet and our society.  A time when the world’s wildlife has been halved in less than a generation; extinction rates are […]

On the evening of 13 November, four gunshots shattered the silence of India’s Manas National Park. The forest personnel, though feeling stressed and demoralized by the recent rise in militancy in the region, didn’t hesitate – they rushed in the direction of the gunshots. At the same time, a rhino monitoring team consisting of armed […]

A story inspired by the work of WWF-Sundarbans Programme and dedicated to the team and WWF-India (Names of people and animals have been changed and certain creative liberty has been undertaken to incorporate the collective experiences of different members of the team) *******************************************        Sudipto was awoken in the middle of the night by the […]

Dr Deon Nel – Head of WWF South Africa’s Biodiversity Unit A thousand years ago, the kingdom of Mapungupwe in Southern Africa was a thriving economy. All the attributes of a healthy modern economy seemed to abound – farming, mining, artisanship and trade. And, woven into this successful society was a strong connection between the […]