Rainforests
Snares: Low-tech, low-profile killers of rare wildlife the world over
BY LAUREL NEME PUBLISHED Aug. 18, 2022– Snares are simple, low-tech, noose-like traps that can be made from cheap and easily accessible materials such as wire, rope or brake cables. Easy to set, a single person can place thousands, with one report warning that snares “are a terrestrial equivalent to the drift nets that have…
Read MoreNational Geographic: Exclusive Look Into How Rare Elephants’ Forests Are Disappearing
Wildlife Watch In violation of a moratorium, oil palm grower clears vital habitat in Indonesian biodiversity hot spot. By Laurel Neme PUBLISHED March 8, 2017 A high-stakes game playing out in a remote biodiversity hot spot pits the palm oil industry against the ecological integrity of the last place on Earth where critically endangered Sumatran elephants, tigers,…
Read MoreHuffington Post: Schoolkids Write Book About Orphaned Orangutan
Henry Kurzawa and Maeve Igoe, PS 107 5th graders, celebrate the successful rescue of orphaned orangutan Budi while reading their newly published book. Photo courtesy of Ericka Novotny. THE BLOG 07/28/2016 Laurel Neme Author and freelance journalist Writing in “first person orangutan” isn’t easy. Just ask 10-year-old Caroline Mulcahy, a fifth grader at P.S. 107…
Read MoreNational Geographic: Schoolkids Write Adorable Book About Orphaned Orangutan
Henry Kurzawa and Maeve Igoe, PS 107 5th graders, celebrate the successful rescue of orphaned orangutan Budi while reading their newly published book. Photo courtesy of Ericka Novotny. Wildlife Watch A book about the plight of Budi the orangutan, who was taken from the wild and sold as a pet, is written and…
Read MoreHuffington Post: The Secret Trade That Threatens Rare Birds
By Laurel Neme Author and freelance journalist The Uganda Wildlife Authority safeguarded these African gray parrots before releasing them into a national park. A new study reveals that Singapore has been a major conduit for the trade in birds, especially African greys. Photograph by Edward Echwalu, Reuters Singapore plays a key role as a…
Read MoreHuffington Post: Orangutan Rescue in Indonesia’s Leuser Ecosystem
By Laurel Neme Author and freelance journalist Medical check of orangutan. Photo courtesty of Sumatran Orangutan Conservation Program (SOCP) The adolescent orangutan was on his way to becoming the illegal pet of a police lieutenant in Jakarta in 2004 when a team from the Sumatran Orangutan Conservation Program (SOCP) and the Ministry of Forestry’s Conservation…
Read MoreMongabay.com: Tripa’s Trials: protecting key orangutan habitat through the courts
First posted on 2016-04-13 Mongabay Series: Great Apes 13th April 2016 / Laurel A. Neme Prime Sumatran orangutan habitat is under attack by oil palm companies, but conservation NGOs are learning to use the law to halt that destruction. Many developing countries, such as Indonesia, have fairly good environmental laws against deforestation and protecting threatened species, such as orangutans.…
Read MoreMongabay.com: Leuser’s Legacy: how rescued orangutans help assure species survival
30th March 2016 / Laurel A. Neme Mongabay.com Meet two blind orangutans: Leuser and Gober, their offspring, and the people of the SOCP rescue group. Together they’re creating a future for Indonesian orangutans. Agribusiness is rapidly razing the prime forest habitat of Sumatra’s 14,600 remaining orangutans; replacing it with vast stretches of oil palm plantation. The species’…
Read MoreNational Geographic: Happy Ending for Smuggled Pangolins
Wildlife Watch 16 rare scaly anteaters are back in the wild after being rescued from Vietnam’s illegal wildlife trade. By Laurel Neme PUBLISHED March 15, 2016 This story was updated to reflect that the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service today issued a preliminary finding to a scientific petition submitted by conservation groups, saying that Endangered Species Act…
Read MoreHuffington Post: This Elusive Bird Isn’t Safe From Traffickers
03/03/2016 Laurel Neme Freelance Journalist and Author Male Javan banded pitta by Doug Janson via Wikimedia Pittas are a birdwatcher’s prize. Called “jewels of the forest” for their glorious plumage, these shy, secretive birds are almost impossible to spot in the wild. But head to Indonesia’s massive wild bird markets, and they’re a common sight, according…
Read MoreNational Geographic: Brazilian Investigators Cracking the Case of Missing One-of-a-Kind Snake
Search continues for a rare boa constrictor stolen from Brazil to breed for the reptile trade. Laurel Neme for National Geographic Published May 7, 2014 With its abundant rare species and remote locales, Brazil has long been known as an epicenter for wildlife trafficking. But that’s changing, thanks to a group of dedicated investigators…
Read More