Poaching has been defined as the illegal hunting or capturing of wild animals, usually associated with land use rights. Poaching was once performed by impoverished peasants for subsistence purposes and to supplement meager diets. It was set against the hunting privileges of nobility and territorial rulers.
The Malayan tiger is a tiger from a specific population of the Panthera tigris tigris subspecies that is native to Peninsular Malaysia. This population inhabits the southern and central parts of the Malay Peninsula and has been classified as critically endangered on the IUCN Red List since 2015. As of April 2014, the population was estimated at 80 to 120 mature individuals with a continuous declining trend.
Buxa Tiger Reserve is a tiger reserve and national park in northern West Bengal, India, covering an area of 760 km2 (290 sq mi). In altitude, it ranges from 60 m (200 ft) in the Gangetic Plains to 1,750 m (5,740 ft) bordering the Himalayas in the north. At least 284 bird species inhabit the reserve. Mammals present include Asian elephant, gaur, Sambar deer, clouded leopard, Indian leopard, and Asian golden cat.
Way Kambas National Park is a national park covering 1,300 km2 (500 sq mi) in Lampung province, southern Sumatra, Indonesia. It consists of swamp forest and lowland rain forest, mostly of secondary growth as result of extensive logging in the 1960s and 1970s. Despite decreasing populations, the park still has a few critically endangered Sumatran tigers, Sumatran elephants and Sumatran rhinoceroses. It also provides excellent birdwatching, with the rare white-winged wood duck among the over 400 species present in the park.
Belum-Temengor is the largest continuous forest complex in Peninsular Malaysia. Specifically, it is located in the Malaysian state of Perak and crosses into Southern Thailand. Belum-Temenggor is divided into two sections. Belum is located up north right by the Malaysia-Thailand border while Temenggor is south of Belum. The Royal Belum State Park is entirely contained within the forest complex. Bang Lang National Park is on the Thailand side of the border.
Wildlife trade refers to the products that are derived from non-domesticated animals or plants usually extracted from their natural environment or raised under controlled conditions. It can involve the trade of living or dead individuals, tissues such as skins, bones or meat, or other products. Legal wildlife trade is regulated by the United Nations' Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES), which currently has 184 member countries called Parties. Illegal wildlife trade is widespread and constitutes one of the major illegal economic activities, comparable to the traffic of drugs and weapons.
The Palm Beach Zoo & Conservation Society is a non-profit zoological organization located at Dreher Park in West Palm Beach. The zoo houses hundreds of animals, many of them endangered, within 23-acres of lush tropical habitat. The Palm Beach Zoo & Conservation Society is a member of the Association of Zoos and Aquariums and the World Association of Zoos and Aquariums.
The wildlife of Cambodia is very diverse with at least 162 mammal species, 600 bird species, 176 reptile species, 900 freshwater fish species, 670 invertebrate species, and more than 3000 plant species. A single protected area, Keo Seima Wildlife Sanctuary, is known to support more than 950 total species, including 75 species that are listed as globally threatened on the IUCN Red List. An unknown amount of species remains to be described by science, especially the insect group of butterflies and moths, collectively known as lepidopterans.
Tiger hunting is the capture and killing of tigers. Humans are the tigers' most significant predator, and illegal poaching is a major threat to the tigers. The Bengal tiger is the most common subspecies of tiger, constituting approximately 80% of the entire tiger population in Indian Sub-Continent, and is endemic to Bangladesh, Bhutan, Myanmar, Nepal, and India. Tigers have mythological, cultural and religious significance in these countries. Foreign invaders saw hunting of Tigers as a symbol of masculinity and an adventurous sporting event. It has been hunted in these countries for centuries. In 1924, the Tiger population in Asia was estimated to be more than 100,000. However, within less than a hundred years, it had declined to fewer than 3,200. Tiger has historically been a popular big game animal and has been hunted for prestige as well as for taking trophies. Extensive poaching has continued even after such hunting became illegal and legal protection was provided to the tiger. Now a conservation-reliant endangered species, the majority of the world's tigers live in captivity. Tigers were once considered to be harder to hunt than lions, due to their habit of living alone in dense cover and not noisily asserting their presence with roars as often.
The state of Karnataka in South India has a rich diversity of flora and fauna. It has a recorded forest area of 38,720 km2 which constitutes 22% of the geographical area of the state. These forests support 25% of the elephant population and 20% of the tiger population of India. Many regions of Karnataka are still unexplored and new species of flora and fauna are still found. The mountains of the Western Ghats in the western region of Karnataka are a biodiversity hotspot. Two sub-clusters of the Western Ghats, Talacauvery and Kudremukh, are on a tentative list of sites that could be designated as World Heritage Sites by UNESCO. The Bandipur and Nagarahole national parks which fall outside these subclusters were included in the Nilgiri biosphere reserve in 1986, a UNESCO designation. In the Biligiriranga Hills the Eastern Ghats meet the Western Ghats. The state bird and state animal of Karnataka are Indian roller and the Indian elephant. The state tree and state flower are sandalwood and lotus. Karnataka is home to 524 tigers.
The painted terrapin, painted batagur, or saw-jawed turtle is a species of turtles in the family Geoemydidae. It was formerly in its own genus, Callagur, but has been reclassified to the genus, Batagur.
The Raffles' banded langur, also known as the banded leaf monkey or banded surili, is a species of primate in the family Cercopithecidae. It is endemic to Singapore and southern Peninsular Malaysia. The species underwent taxonomic revisions in 2019 and 2020, in which two former subspecies were elevated to separate species. As a result, the Raffles' banded langur meets the criteria for being listed as critically endangered by the IUCN. It is mainly threatened by habitat loss.
Operation Amba is the codename of a Russian programme to curtail the poaching of Siberian tigers in the Russian Far East. It was described as a strategic defence of the tiger which uses psychological operations as a major element. The programme was concentrated on identifying and neutralizing tiger traders in the Russian Far East and used small anti-poaching teams to roam the taiga and build a network among local population for support and information. Support from the local population and state law enforcement agencies was a key element of the programme. The name "Operation Amba" is derived from "Amba", the name for tiger used by the Udegai people of the Russian Far East.
An endangered species is a species that is very likely to become extinct in the near future, either worldwide or in a particular political jurisdiction. Endangered species may be at risk due to factors such as habitat loss, poaching and invasive species. The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red List lists the global conservation status of many species, and various other agencies assess the status of species within particular areas. Many nations have laws that protect conservation-reliant species which, for example, forbid hunting, restrict land development, or create protected areas. Some endangered species are the target of extensive conservation efforts such as captive breeding and habitat restoration.
Wildlife Alliance is an international non-profit forest and wildlife conservation organization with current programs in Cambodia. It is headquartered in New York City, with offices in Phnom Penh. The logo of the organization is the Asian elephant, an emblematic species and the namesake for the Southwest Elephant Corridor that Wildlife Alliance saved when it was under intense threat of poaching and habitat destruction in 2001. It is today one of the last remaining unfragmented elephant corridors in Asia. Due to Government rangers' and Wildlife Alliance's intensive anti-poaching efforts, there have been zero elephant killings since 2006. Dr. Suwanna Gauntlett is the Founder and Chief Executive Officer of Wildlife Alliance, and one of the original founders of WildAid. The organization is governed by a board of directors and an international advisory board that provides guidance on strategy, fundraising, and outreach.
Wildlife smuggling or wildlife trafficking concerns the illegal gathering and trade of endangered species and protected wildlife, including plants and byproducts or products utilizing a species. Research on wildlife smuggling has increased, however, knowledge of the illicit trade remains limited. The differences between international policies and tendencies likely contribute to the extensive estimated range of wildlife smuggling, anywhere from $5-$23 billion, with an additional $67-$193 billion when timber and fish are included. The prolific growth of wildlife smuggling makes it the fourth-largest criminal enterprise globally after drug, firearm, and human trafficking. Products demanded by the trade include but are not limited to ivory, bushmeat, traditional medicine, and exotic pets. China and the United States are the largest buyers in the illegal wildlife trade.
The Indochinese leopard is a leopard subspecies native to mainland Southeast Asia and southern China. In Indochina, leopards are rare outside protected areas and threatened by habitat loss due to deforestation as well as poaching for the illegal wildlife trade. The population trend is suspected to be decreasing. As of 2016, the population is thought to comprise 973–2,503 mature individuals, with only 409–1,051 breeding adults. The historical range has decreased by more than 90%.
The Turtle Conservancy (TC) is a 501(c)3 organization with a focus on protecting threatened turtles and tortoises and their habitats worldwide working toward improving turtle and tortoise populations in the wild. The TC is a conservation organization protecting tortoises and freshwater turtles with work in five areas: species conservation, protection of wild lands, research science, global awareness and education, and illegal trade prevention.
Steven R. Galster is an American environmental and human rights investigator and counter-trafficking program designer. Since 1987, he has planned and participated in investigations and remedial programs to stop wildlife and human trafficking and to mitigate corruption and build governance in Asia, Africa, Russia, South America, and the USA.
The Eco-Link@BKE is an ecological bridge in Singapore which connects the Bukit Timah Nature Reserve with the Central Catchment Nature Reserve.
