Article Publications
National Geographic: Ripple Effect: Saving Elephants One Kid at a Time
Children’s voices can be extremely powerful—a fact readily apparent on a recent Sunday when more than 325 people—most of them children—participated in Vermont’s first kid-driven Global March for Elephants and Rhinos. The event was initiated by 12-year-old Taegen Yardley, who organized a network of youngsters from across the state. Student “champions” at more than…
Read MoreNational Geographic: Undercover Video Confirms Hong Kong’s Retail Market Is “Front” for Smuggled Ivory
September 25, 2015 By Laurel Neme and Maraya Cornell Hong Kong’s retail ivory market acts as both a cover for smuggled ivory and an incentive. A new report, The Hard Truth, released September 7 by World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF)–Hong Kong, reveals how fundamental flaws in the existing regulatory system help fuel the…
Read MoreMoomah Magazine: Doing Unto Animals: Taegen Yardley – Saving Elephants One Kid at a Time
– By Laurel Neme Saving Elephants one Kid at a Time As a writer, I’ve met children from Hong Kong to Vermont who are transforming attitudes about elephant ivory through a series of small actions. In Hong Kong, the “elephant angels”—three young girls, Nellie Shute, Lucy Skrine and Christina Seigrist (then ages 12, 11 and…
Read MoreNational Geographic: East African Smugglers Push Ivory Out of the Continent
Posted by Laurel Neme in A Voice for Elephants on September 18, 2015 Elephant poaching and ivory trafficking in East Africa is driven not only by foreign consumers but also by African nationals who actively “push” ivory to these markets. A recent report, Pushing Ivory Out of Africa: A Criminal Intelligence of Elephant Poaching and Ivory Trafficking in East Africa,…
Read MoreNational Geographic: Elephant Killings in Chad’s Signature Park Cause Alarm
After three years of zero poaching in Zakouma National Park, killing of two female elephants shows no population is safe. By Laurel Neme, for National Geographic PUBLISHED September 01, 2015 A routine aerial surveillance flight over the western part of Chad’s Zakouma National Park has uncovered the deaths of two female elephants and their calves…
Read MoreMongabay.com: Wildlife forensics unmask poachers and traffickers
Mongabay WildTech 10th July 2015 / Laurel Neme When border agents seize two tons of smuggled ivory, how do they tell where it’s from? When meat on sale in Southeast Asia is suspected to be from a tiger, how can the police prove it? And when blood in a hunter’s truck is thought to come from a poached…
Read MoreNational Geographic: Two Nations Show Good News, Bad News for Africa’s Elephants
Visits to Gabon and Tanzania show the head of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service that commitment from the top makes all the difference. By Laurel Neme, National Geographic PUBLISHED June 28, 2015 Gabon and Tanzania are both high-stakes countries for elephants and other endangered species, but…
Read MoreTrafficking Jam: In Wildlife CSI, Scientists Become Nature’s Detectives (Weather.com)
First posted on 2015-05-01 Fantastic article by Michele Berger, Science Editor for Weather.com that explores the field of wildlife forensics. For complete article with photos, please see: http://stories.weather.com/animalforensics. In it, you’ll meet many of the folks that have appeared in my articles, podcast and books. Bravo to Ms. Berger for a great and comprehensive article! …
Read MoreNational Geographic: Speaking up for Elephants: Reflections on Vermont’s Ivory Sales Ban Hearing
Posted by Laurel Neme in A Voice for Elephants on April 17, 2015 “In a world where everything feels like it is moving at the speed of light, slowing down and watching an elephant in its natural habitat is calming and shows us the importance of paying attention to the natural world.” That opinion…
Read MoreNational Geographic: Citizens Spur States to Ban Trade in Ivory and Rhino Horn
From Vermont to California, grassroots efforts drive state actions to protect elephants and rhinos. By Laurel Neme, for National Geographic PUBLISHED April 06, 2015 SHELBURNE, Vermont—”When you think things need to change, you have the power to make it happen,” Ashley McAvey, homegrown elephant activist and mother of two, told students recently at Endeavour…
Read MoreNational Geographic: Ethiopia Burns Entire 6.1-Ton Ivory Stockpile
Posted by Laurel Neme in A Voice for Elephants on March 20, 2015 ADDIS ABABA, Ethiopia – At a ceremony today in the capital, Ethiopia burned its entire 6.1-ton ivory stockpile. The event was held at the Gulele Botanical Garden, close to the headquarters of the Ethiopian Wildlife Conservation Authority (EWCA), where the ivory had been stored.…
Read More