FLORA FAUNA - AFRICA DAILY

Hong Kong 'snake kings' stand the test of time

Mar 14, 2013 (AFP)

In a quiet corner of bustling Hong Kong, iron cages containing writhing serpents are stacked up at the entrance to an old shop that has been selling snake soup ...

Discovery may explain how prion diseases spread between different types of animals

Mar 14, 2013 (SPX)

Medical researchers at the University of Alberta have made a discovery that may explain how prion diseases, like chronic wasting disease and mad cow disease, ad...

Demand for exotic pets pushes species to the brink

Mar 13, 2013 (AFP)

Poisonous frogs, long-necked turtles, bears and chimpanzees may not be everyone's idea of an animal companion, but experts warn that demand for exotic pets is p...

Tiny Piece of RNA Keeps 'Clock' Running in Earliest Stages of Life

Mar 13, 2013 (SPX)

New research shows that a tiny piece of RNA has an essential role in ensuring that embryonic tissue segments form properly. The study, conducted in chicken embr...

Lizards facing mass extinction

Mar 12, 2013 (SPX)

Climate change could lead to dozens of species of lizards becoming extinct within the next 50 years, according to new research. Globally it has been observed th...

'Lonesome George' tortoise goes to New York for embalming

Mar 12, 2013 (AFP)

The body of "Lonesome George," a giant Galapagos tortoise once believed to be the last of its kind, has been sent to New York to be embalmed and then returned h...

For a little-known primate, a new understanding of why females outlive males

Mar 12, 2013 (SPX)

Researchers studying aging in an endangered lemur known as the Milne-Edwards' sifaka report that in old age, females are the safer sex. After observing these an...

New report confirms almost half of Africa's lions facing extinction

Mar 11, 2013 (SPX)

A new report concludes that nearly half of Africa's wild lion populations may decline to near extinction over the next 20-40 years without urgent conservation m...

Ruthless crime gangs driving global wildlife trade

Mar 09, 2013 (AFP)

Ruthless and heavily armed "criminal syndicates" linked to drug smugglers and militias are running the global wildlife trade and turning their guns on the park ...

Poaching pushing South African rhino towards edge

Mar 08, 2013 (AFP)

South Africa's white rhino population will begin to decline by 2016 if the current rate of poaching continues, authorities warned on Friday, following the killi...

Three man-eating lions killed in Zimbabwe

Mar 08, 2013 (AFP)

Zimbabwe wildlife authorities on Friday said rangers killed three lions that attacked and killed two people this week in a resort town. Authorities had been war...

Polar bear trade ban voted down

Mar 07, 2013 (UPI)

Delegates to an endangered species conference in Thailand have voted down a U.S. proposal to ban cross-border trade in polar bears and their parts. The action T...

Marauding lions kill two in Zimbabwe

Mar 07, 2013 (AFP)

Escaped lions have killed two people near a Zimbabwean game reserve, wildlife authorities said Thursday, warning residents not to venture into the bush. "Two pe...

Extinct Tassie tiger cut from wildlife protection list

Mar 07, 2013 (AFP)

A ban on the international trade of the Tasmanian tiger, the buff-nosed kangaroo rat and the pig-footed bandicoot was lifted Thursday -- because the species hav...

For birds, red means 'go'

Mar 07, 2013 (SPX)

New research has shown that certain Australian native flowers have shifted away from using insects as pollinators and evolved their flower colour to the red hue...

International ban on polar bear trade rejected

Mar 07, 2013 (AFP)

A major wildlife meeting of world governments on Thursday shunned calls to ban international trade in polar bears, despite growing fears for the world's largest...

Two rhino poachers gunned down in India

Mar 06, 2013 (AFP)

Forest rangers in northeast India shot dead two poachers on Wednesday at a wildlife sanctuary where 13 threatened one-horned rhinos have been killed in the past...

Scientists call for legal trade in rhino horn

Mar 06, 2013 (SPX)

Four leading environmental scientists have urged the international community to install a legal trade in rhino horn - in a last ditch effort to save the imperil...

Reducing numbers of one carnivore species indirectly leads to extinction of others

Mar 06, 2013 (SPX)

Previous studies have shown that carnivores can have indirect positive effects on each other, which means that when one species is lost, others could soon follo...

African elephants face 'alarming declines'

Mar 06, 2013 (AFP)

African elephants face the worst crisis since global trade in ivory was banned almost a quarter-century ago, with the risk of extinction rising in worst-hit nat...