Stories

There is new and critical protection for wildlife and indigenous communities in one of the most biodiverse places on Earth. The government of Peru designated three new Amazon protected areas-encompassing nearly 1.5 million acres-securing a tri-national conservation corridor.

The ovulid sea snail boasts a remarkable ability to camouflage itself by taking on the appearance of its favorite food—corals. A new underwater survey by WWF and other scientists recently found at least 25 different species of these beautifully colored and patterned snails in an area of the Coral Triangle. The two-and-a-half-week survey was part of a scientific expedition to explore the underwater world of Tun Mustapha Park—a proposed marine protected area.

A major ivory seizure in Hong Kong uncovered roughly four tons of ivory products—estimated to be valued at over $3.4 million and potentially equivalent to 500 elephants.

By the year 2050, our planet will be home to another two billion people. How and where we will we feed everyone has become one of the most pressing conservation issues of the 21st century. At WWF, we have identified eight steps, when taken together, could produce enough food for all and still maintain a living planet.

On October 18, 2012, Russia established the “Sredneussuriisky” Wildlife Refuge—covering nearly 180,000 acres—which will allow Amur tigers access between Russia’s Sikhote-Alin mountains and the Wandashan mountains in China.

There is new hope for conservation of the world’s oceans. Governments discussing the Convention on Biological Diversity in Hyderbad, India, on Thursday, October 18, 2012 agreed on a way forward to protect oceans and initiated a process to improve conservation standards for marine areas beyond national jurisdiction.

One of the world’s largest populations of tigers exists not in the wild—but in captivity in the United States. With an estimated 5,000 tigers, the U.S. captive tiger population exceeds the approximately 3,200 tigers in the wild. A year after the tragedy in Zanesville, Ohio, continued lax management of the captive tiger population means that thousands of these big cats are still found in backyards, urban apartments, sideshows, truck stops and private breeding facilities.

On October 16, 2012 South African authorities confirmed that a record 455 rhinos have been lost to poaching this year. The number exceeds the 448 rhinos killed for their horns during all of 2011.

A new designation by the Republic of Congo provides vital habitat to endangered species and preserves nature’s value for surrounding communities.

The maize harvest is a crucial source of food for the Kakwenga family in but erratic rains and raids by elephants make a good harvest problematic. Farmers can’t guard their crops twenty-four hours a day so they have started using chili bombs—a mixture of ingredients which give off a spicy, pungent smell that offends elephants’ sensitive trunks and drives them away from crops.

The Sunda Banda Seacape in eastern Indonesia includes a wide variety of communities and provides critical habitat for many marine species. WWF is working with the Indonesian Government to create a network of Marine Protected Areas (MPAs), which will span thousands of square miles and help protect the ocean environment.

Indonesia is home to the only population of Javan rhinos left on the planet. Only about 40 of these rhinos exist there—making the Javan rhino one of the rarest mammals in the world. Because the Javan rhino population is so small and isolated, WWF and its partners are seeking wide agreement and political endorsement for a new, safe and healthy Javan rhino habitat.

On September 21, 2012, WWF and The Alliance of Religions and Conservation (ARC) announced a first-ever partnership with faith leaders from across Africa to unite against the killing of endangered species caused by illegal wildlife trade.

The use of technologies like unmanned aerial vehicles gives park rangers a vital advantage against dangerously armed poachers.

The people of Namibia possess a hard-to-grasp reverence for their landscape. No matter how little rain falls on the southern African country, or how strongly an unforgiving sun bakes the earth, or how swirly dust devils get when they whip across dry river beds, Namibians still respect the natural assets that surround them.

In the pristine Kamchatka Peninsula on the eastern coast of Russia, salmon is the keystone species of coastal ecosystems and human economies. On September 4, 2012 the Ozernaya sockeye salmon fishery in this region was certified sustainable by the Marine Stewardship Council (MSC). 

Shell Oil Company has been granted permission by the U.S. government to begin preparatory drilling in Alaska’s Chukchi Sea. Layla Hughes, WWF’s expert on oil and gas development, shares her concerns and what WWF is doing to address them.

Rhino poaching crisis in South Africa is at an unprecedented level. A new report details how the fate of South Africa’s rhinos is inextricably linked with market demand in Vietnam—a country that recently saw its own rhino population slip into extinction.

When done responsibly, fish farming—also known as aquaculture—presents a solution to meeting the increasing food demand of a growing global population. Farmed seafood already accounts for more than half of all the fish and shellfish we eat.

Camera traps identify a greater number of tigers in the region.

On the frontlines of conservation, rangers protect the world’s natural and cultural treasures.

A new program lets local villagers in Indonesia use photography to capture remarkable scenes of the natural world.

WWF and Secretary of State Clinton partner to help conservation in the Lower Mekong region.