Badgers inspire youthful scientists thanks to WildCRU’s classroom ambassador

August 6, 2020

I am thrilled to celebrate recognition of Tanesha Allen’s success in the education arena, writes David Macdonald. Tanesha is in the final throes of completing a doctoral thesis on olfactory communication in European badgers – a topic she has used as a launchpad for getting several Oxfordshire schools to engage in behavioural research. Some pupils have even joined ... Read full story

Preferences for lion and tiger bone wines amongst the urban public in China and Vietnam

August 4, 2020

Since 2008, over 6000 captive-bred lion skeletons have been legally exported from South Africa to South-east Asia; giving rise to one of the most high-profile and contentious issues in contemporary felid conservation. WildCRU, along with partner NGO TRAFFIC, has pioneered investigations into the lion skeleton trade, and in 2015 published the first report on international ... Read full story

COVID-19 impacts on wildlife conservation and the need for new conservation models

July 31, 2020

A new paper out in Nature Ecology and Evolution, whose authors include WildCRU’s Amy Dickman and Peter Tyrrell, highlights the devastating impact of the current pandemic on wildlife conservation. Travel restrictions and unprecedented socio-economic shocks reduce funding for conservation, as wildlife-based tourism and foreign investment decline, and domestic priorities change. This limits ... Read full story

Dholes prefer small deer prey in Southeast Asia

August 4, 2020

The dhole (Cuon alpinus), or Asiatic wild dog, is classified as Endangered by the IUCN because it has disappeared from most of its historical range, and remaining populations are fragmented and still declining. The main threats to this species include depletion of their prey base, habitat loss, and persecution due to livestock predation. Depletion of ... Read full story

New paper highlights the need for a nuanced approach to wildlife trade

July 31, 2020

Calls to ban wildlife trade have gained momentum recently, as the coronavirus causing COVID-19 is commonly thought to have emerged in a wildlife market in China.  However, a recent paper out in World Development, co-authored by WildCRU’s Amy Dickman, highlights that indiscriminate trade bans could have unintended negative consequences for conservation, human rights ... Read full story

Research findings on the accuracy of spoor surveys as a method of calculating carnivore populations

July 31, 2020

A study led by Dr Egil Dröge, WildCRU’s Lead Tutor for the Recanati-Kaplan Centre Postgraduate Diploma in International Wildlife Conservation Practice, in collaboration with researchers from WildCRU, the Trans-Kalahari Predator Programme, the Zambian Carnivore Programme and Montana State University has been published in Ecology and Evolution. The study presents findings on ... Read full story