Stories & Insights

Local communities already knew this small, spotted feline. Now, genetic research has confirmed it belongs to a species previously unrecognized by science. Along the eastern slopes of the Andes, Bolivia’s Yungas form a lush, mountainous transition between the Andean highlands and Amazonian forests. These humid forests are often covered in cloud and mist, with orchids and bromeliads growing along tree branches.

On 31 August 2026, South Africa’s new Minister for Forestry, Fisheries and the Environment, David Maynier, published hunting trophy export quotas for elephants, black rhinos and leopards. The announcement sets limits on the trophies that may leave the country in 2026 and 2027. The decision sits within a much larger trophy-hunting industry.

A cheetah beside a luxury car or on a leash may be presented as a display of wealth. What that image leaves out is the animal’s journey into captivity and the lives lost before a buyer ever takes possession. For cheetah cubs taken from the wild, that journey begins with separation from their mother. It can end in death during transport or a lifetime dependent on human care. The appeal of owning something rare carries a cost paid by the animal.

Hongxiang Huang's undercover investigations were featured in Netflix’s documentary The Ivory Game. Today, he leads a conservation team working across three continents. He speaks with Kandola Wildlife about his investigations, his motivation and the people giving him hope.

Ivory is most closely associated with elephants, but it also comes from the tusks and teeth of several living and extinct species. When most people hear the word ivory, they picture an elephant’s tusks. That association is understandable: elephant ivory has been carved, traded and trafficked across the world for centuries, and the demand for it has driven the killing of vast numbers of elephants.

LONDON — The Prince of Wales brought together leaders from the technology, finance, transport and telecommunications sectors to launch a major new international effort aimed at disrupting the illegal wildlife trade, one of the world's largest and most sophisticated criminal industries. Announced during the United for Wildlife Business Forum as part of London Climate Action Week, the initiative marks a significant expansion of The Royal Foundation's United for Wildlife program

From elephants and rhinos to tigers and pangolins, some of the world's most celebrated animals are facing unprecedented pressure from the very societies that claim to admire them. Few things unite humanity quite like wildlife. Across cultures and continents, animals have become woven into our identity. They appear on national emblems, currencies, sports teams, fashion campaigns, children's books, and conservation posters. We travel thousands of miles to witness them in the wi

Deep within the unfenced, dust-veiled corridors bridging Kenya and Tanzania, an ancient lineage is quietly walking its final miles. These are Africa's super-tuskers—rare bull elephants carrying a remarkable genetic legacy that allows their tusks to grow so immense they scrape the earth beneath them.Once, these giants ruled the continent. Today, scientists estimate that only around 30 of these magnificent animals remain across all of Africa.

In the leaf-dappled shadows of Asia’s ancient forests, a masterpiece of evolutionary engineering moves entirely without a sound. The tiger does not walk, it glides. It is an apex predator refined by millions of years of evolution for absolute stealth. Beneath that striking, fiery coat lies an anatomy designed for invisibility. Plush, specialized paw pads that cushion every step against the forest floor, and a tapestry of black stripes that shatter its silhouette against the t

On April 30, 2016, Kenya’s ivory burn at Nairobi National Park made history by burning 105 tonnes of illegal elephant ivory and 1.35 tonnes of rhino horn in the largest stockpile ever to be burned, valued at over $172 million. 105 tonnes of confiscated ivory, amounts to around 10,380 elephants. According to WWF, illegal wildlife trafficking remains one of the world’s largest criminal industries and continues to threaten thousands of species worldwide.

A South African court has sentenced a 44-year-old man to 28 years in prison following rhino poaching-related offences linked to Kruger National Park, one of Africa’s most important wildlife reserves and a major frontline in the fight against illegal poaching. The sentence was handed down by the Skukuza Regional Court. It included convictions connected to the killing of two rhinos, illegal possession of firearms and ammunition, and unlawful entry into a protected area.

Ivory is often marketed as a luxury item, a symbol of wealth and status. However, the reality behind it is far from luxurious. Ivory products are violence on display, a reminder of the brutal killing of elephants for their valuable tusks. One-third of an elephant's tusk is deeply embedded inside its skull so poachers routinely use axes and chainsaws to hack away the animals face after death.

The illegal wildlife trade is a major form of transnational organized crime. It operates across international borders through organized supply chains that connect local poachers to global buyers. But poaching is only the beginning of a much larger system.