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Cactus poachers are picking the Texas desert clean of rare species

Feb 21, 2022
The lucrative cactus black market is booming, and many species are threatened with extinction.
Karen Little, manager of the Sul Ross State University greenhouse, holds a rare Pelecyphora aselliformis cactus, seized by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service en route to markets overseas.
Zoe Kurland

The pangolin black market is fueled by its scales, not its good looks

May 15, 2019
Pangolin scales are in demand primarily for traditional Chinese medicine.
A baby Sunda pangolin nicknamed 'Sandshrew' is taken out for feeding by Serena Oh, assistant director and head vet of Veterinary Services in Wildlife Reserves Singapore, at the Singapore Zoo on June 30, 2017. Sandshrew was brought to the Wildlife Health and Research Centre on January 16, reportedly found stranded in the Upper Thomson area by a member of the public. Sunda pangolins are listed as critically endangered by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN).
ROSLAN RAHMAN/AFP/Getty Images

China moves toward ban on all ivory trading

Dec 14, 2016
The government of China says it will soon announce a timetable to close down its domestic ivory industry. China has long been the site of the world’s largest market for both legal and illegal ivory. Conservationists say a total ban would effectively end the elephant poaching crisis in Africa. Click the above audio player to […]
Ivory items are shown to the media before being destroyed in Beijing on May 29, 2015.
FRED DUFOUR/AFP/Getty Images

Funny-looking clam fetches top dollar in China

Apr 10, 2012
Poachers ply the waters of the Pacific Northwest to cash in on demand for geoducks.