Online trade in turtles jeopardizes China’s Yangtze wetlands

January 22, 2020

With the resurgence of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles franchise, the RSPCA caution children, and their parents, not to buy these reptiles as exotic pets, mindful of the estimated 250,000 red-eared terrapins purchased during the first wave of ‘Ninja Turtles’ in the 1990s. Bought when the size of a 50p coin, they can grow to ... Read full story

New paper examining the risks and opportunities for sustainability of the Belt and Road Initiative’s Traditional Chinese Medicine trade

January 17, 2020

A new paper focusing on the conservation implications of the global expansion of Traditional Chinese medicine has just been published, led by the WildCRU’s Senior Research fellow in Conservation Geopolitics, Dr Amy Hinsley. The paper was written as part of a cross-sector collaboration, with experts in wildlife trade and sustainability from Oxford, Sun Yat Sen ... Read full story

Kenyan wildlife policies must extend beyond protected areas

December 19, 2019

Peter Tyrrell, WildCRU DPhil candidate and Mistler Graduate Scholar, writes for The Conversation: 'At least 15% of the world’s surface is governed by laws to protect its living species, including plants, animals and fungi. But this is not enough. The most recent estimates suggest that an additional 30% of the planet’s surface needs further conservation attention. Without ... Read full story

New Study Confirms the Importance of Tiger Population in Thailand’s Dong Phayayen-Khao Yai Forest Complex

January 20, 2020

A new scientific survey has reinforced the importance of one of the world’s only remaining breeding populations of Indochinese tigers and provided evidence of tiger cubs in eastern Thailand. The study, published in Biological Conservation, discusses findings first announced in 2017 that the Dong Phayayen-Khao Yai Forest Complex supports a critically important breeding population of ... Read full story

Record breaking Himalayan altitude record for the clouded leopard

December 20, 2019

Academics are teased for having their heads in the clouds, but for 10 years we at WildCRU have had our heads full of clouds – said David Macdonald, referring to the beautiful clouded leopards which WildCRU has studied across South East Asia as a biodiversity flagship for forest protection. Now, led by Dr Emre Can, we ... Read full story

Tackling the issue of invasive American mink in northwestern Greece

December 16, 2019

The WildCRU have been carrying out research on American mink - their ecology, behaviour and management - for over 20 years, working in the UK, Estonia, Belarus and Patagonia. Last week Lauren Harrington, Senior Researcher at WildCRU, together with Sugoto Roy (IUCN) and Inigo Zuberogoitia (Icarus, Spain), was pleased to be able to ... Read full story