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The common bushbuck (Tragelaphus scriptus decula) is a widely distributed antelope species in Africa that utilises a variety of habitat types. A study was conducted on the population status and diurnal activity pattern of T. s. decula in Maze National Park, Ethiopia, from January to July 2020 during the wet and dry seasons. Data were collected using randomly sampled blocks covering a total area of 34 km2. The data were analysed using descriptive statistics and compared with Chi-square and one-way ANOVA tests. The average population size throughout both the wet and the dry season was 21 ± 8, of which 10.5 ± 3.5, 4.0 ± 2.0 and 6.5 ± 2.5 were adults, subadults and juveniles. There was a significant difference (χ2 = 3.4, df = 4, p < 0.05) in the T. s. decula population between the two seasons. The sex ratio of adult males to adult females was 0.56:1 and 0.75:1 in the dry and the wet seasons, respectively, indicating a population predominated by females. The mean group size was x – = 2.16 and 2.00 for the dry and wet seasons, respectively. The riverine forest had the greatest number of individuals and hence highest density and population distribution per square kilometre; however, distribution between the habitats did not vary significantly (F = 2.71, df = 4, p = 0.16). The overall density of the population was very low in the sampled blocks, with the population density not exceeding one per 1.7 km2. The dominant activity pattern of T. s. decula was feeding followed by resting and running/ fighting. Even though its population was predominantly female, a good indicator for future breeding success, the low numbers and density of common T. s. decula due to the high impact of illegal hunting and predation, especially of subadults, indicates a vulnerable population requiring enhanced conservation efforts.

The overexploitation of biological resources severely threatens many species, requiring urgent and effective conservation interventions. Such interventions sometimes require governance structures that incorporate pluralist perspectives and collaborative decision‐making, especially in complex, multi‐faceted and multi‐scale issues like the illegal trade in pangolins. We used Q‐methodology to provide evidence to inform interventions for pangolin conservation in south‐east Nigeria. We sampled stakeholder groups associated with pangolin use and protection, including hunters, wild meat traders and Nigeria Customs Service employees, to elicit their opinion and knowledge on the use and perceptions of pangolins and their preferences for interventions to reduce pangolin decline. We found that the local consumption of pangolin meat as food is the primary driver of poaching in the region. This contradicts popular opinions that pangolins are specifically targeted for international trade, revealing an opportunity for site‐level behaviour change interventions. The different stakeholder groups identified awareness‐raising campaigns, law enforcement, community stewardship programs and ecotourism as preferred interventions, whose effectiveness we attempted to assess using reported case studies. We observed different perspectives between people associated with pangolin poaching and use (predominantly those living around pangolin habitats, including hunters and wild meat traders) and those working to protect them (such as conservation organisations and Nigeria Customs Service employees). For example, the first group supported community stewardship programs, while the latter preferred awareness‐raising and law enforcement efforts. This divergence in perspectives underpins the need for a combination of targeted interventions at the site level to engage different stakeholders while highlighting the potential challenges to collaborative decision‐making for species threatened by illegal wildlife trade. Policy implications. Our results stress the importance of targeted and context‐specific conservation interventions. Read the free Plain Language Summary for this article on the Journal blog.

Mate poaching, where an individual attempts to attract a pair-bonded individual, is a risky mating tactic. Yet, it is surprisingly common. Although many studies have investigated individual differences in mate poaching, few have examined potentially relevant ecological factors, such as mate availability. In this study, 254 unmated North American adults were primed with either perceived mate scarcity or abundance, and subsequently completed measures of fear of being single, intrasexual competitiveness, and attitudes toward mate poaching. Results from a sequential mediation model revealed that men and women primed with mate scarcity held a more positive attitude toward mate poaching relative to those primed with mate abundance, and that this link was mediated by an induced fear of being single and intrasexual competitiveness. Our results suggest that mate poaching is a facultative adaptation of human mating psychology driven by intrasexual competitiveness that is activated in response to environments of low mate availability. It highlights the need for researchers to consider ecological cues when studying individual variation in mate poaching behavior.

The purpose is to inform the seminary libraries to design library services based on an outside-in strategy to meet the information intents of the theological students from clandestine, unregistered Christian churches in China. Specifically, the goals of this research are to: 1. Examine how the previous tactic information practices—walking, poaching, reading, and deception—exercised routinely in the unregistered Christian communities in China were shaped by the information-impoverished situations. 2. Stratify how information intents could change their tactic practices in finding religious information, when members from these information-impoverished communities come to study at theological seminaries in the United States, where information is rich and freely accessible. The study applies Todd’s extended six categories of information intents to analyze de Certeau’s four types of tactic information practices in walking, poaching, reading, and deception/disguise, as demonstrated in the interviews and information world maps of the seventeen theological students from China.

The convergence between wildlife trafficking and other serious crimes has received increasing attention within criminological studies. The present study examines how and why Mexican organized crime groups, in particular drug cartels, have shifted their operations from drug trafficking into specific parts of the illegal trade in totoaba maw. By drawing upon literature research, semi-structured interviews and official documents of the Mexican state, empirical data indicate that Mexican organized crime groups may infiltrate into the poaching and smuggling of totoaba maw as a result of a diversification process, influenced by the social context in which these groups operate. The different interactions between actors involved along the supply chain revealed that organized crime groups adapt to new illicit markets by means of corruption and violence; by establishing alliances with local fishermen and Asian criminal networks along the trafficking chain; by using their existing routes and concealment methods. Finally, in the light of this empirical evidence that infers the complexity of crime convergence, we suggest the introduction of a National Environmental Task Force in Mexico.

The common leopard (Panthera pardus fusca), which persists in most of its historic range, is experiencing steady population decline due to habitat loss, anthrophonic disturbances, illegal poaching for their body parts, and retaliatory killings in response to the leopard-human conflicts. We analysed 143 scats samples and identified 32 unique leopards following a selected panel of seven loci with cumulative PID sibs 5.30E−04. We observed moderate genetic diversity at nuclear (Ho = 0.600 ± 0.06) and mitochondrial markers (Hd = 0.569 ± 0.009; π = 0.001 ± 0.0002) and found sub-structuring in the leopard population at Uttarkashi, Western Himalayas. The present study exhibits the utility of non-invasive genetics in monitoring the leopard population and paves the path to investigate population genetic parameters in further studies.

The ways in which poaching economies and militarized responses to shut them down intersect with local gender norms and dynamics remain underexamined. We address this by developing a feminist political ecology of wildlife crime by drawing on feminist political ecology and complementing it with insights from feminist criminology. This framework centres local systems of gender norms and their intersection with socio-economic dynamics across scale to offer a fuller understanding of the drivers of participation in poaching economies and their increasingly deadly impacts, a reflection of the expansion of militarized conservation practice. Drawing on fieldwork in the Mozambican borderlands adjacent to South Africa’s Kruger National Park on the illicit rhino horn economy, we show how two stark gendered dynamics emerge. First, long-standing norms of masculinity, in particular caring for family, in one of the poorest regions of Southern Africa motivate men to enter the trade despite the risks. Second, women whose husbands have been killed while hunting rhino embody the indirect human consequences of a violent poaching economy. The loss of their husbands, a broader context of poverty, and gendered norms concerning widows articulate in ways that leave these women and their children to experience more acute and long term vulnerability. We discuss what lessons a feminist political ecology of wildlife crime offers for understanding and addressing poaching conflicts, wildlife crime and illicit resource geographies more broadly.

Lose the tusks Harvest and poaching of wildlife have increased as the human population and our technology have grown. These pressures now occur on such a scale that they can be considered selective drivers. Campbell-Staton et al . show that this phenomenon has occurred in African elephants, which are poached for their ivory, during the 20-year Mozambican civil war (see the Perspective by Darimont and Pelletier). In response to heavy poaching by armed forces, African elephant populations in Gorongosa National Park declined by 90%. As the population recovered after the war, a relatively large proportion of females were born tuskless. Further exploration revealed this trait to be sex linked and related to specific genes that generated a tuskless phenotype more likely to survive in the face of poaching. —SNV

The influence of environmental factors on the distribution and persistence of African elephants (Loxodonta africana) is pertinent to policy makers and managers to formulate balanced plans for different land‐use types.The study focuses on movement of elephants and how they utilize foraging areas in Sioma Ngwezi landscape in Zambia by answering the following questions: (1) Which environmental variables and land‐cover class predict the movement of elephants during the wet season in Sioma Ngwezi landscape? (2) What is the wet season suitable habitat for elephants in Sioma Ngwezi landscape? (3) What are the major wet season movement corridors for elephants in Sioma Ngwezi landscape?We used GPS telemetry data from the collared elephants to assess habitat connectivity. Maximum entropy (MaxEnt) and linkage mapper were the tools used to predict habitat suitability, movement corridors, and barriers in the landscape during the wet season.The study identified elevation, land cover, and NDVI as the most important environmental predictors that modify the dispersal of elephants in the landscape during the wet season. Additionally, a total of 36 potential wet season corridors were identified connecting 15 core areas mainly used for foraging and protection from poachers in the landscape. Of these, 24 corridors were highly utilized and are suggested as priority corridors for elephant movement in the landscape.The identified wet season habitats and functional corridors may help to combat elephant poaching by patrolling areas with high relative probability of elephant presence. The findings may also help abate human–elephant conflict such as crop‐raiding by managing identified corridors that run into agriculture zones in the game management area., The study focuses on movement of elephants and how they utilize foraging areas in wet season in Sioma Ngwezi landscape in Zambia.

Successful anti-poaching policies and effective conservation of Asian elephants Elephas maximus require input and support from all stakeholders, including the public. But although Myanmar has one of the largest remaining populations of wild Asian elephants, there has been little research on public attitudes there towards elephants and poaching. We developed a questionnaire to assess attitudes of people in rural and urban areas towards elephants and conservation, and their perceptions of and experience with elephant poaching. We conducted 178 interviews across two regions in Myanmar. Although both rural and urban participants supported elephant conservation, people from urban areas expressed more favourable attitudes towards elephants than their rural counterparts. Similarly, conservation priorities differed between rural and urban communities, with rural communities less likely to believe that peaceful human–elephant coexistence was possible and preferring conservation initiatives that prioritize human activities over elephant conservation. Both groups were familiar with elephant poaching in Myanmar, but rural communities appeared to be better informed regarding the challenges faced by conservation agencies, and were more negatively affected by poaching. Our findings highlight potential areas for intervention by government and conservation agencies to reduce criminal activity and to protect both Myanmar's citizens and its elephants.

Human disturbance, social interactions and habitat constraints usually influence the behavior of wild ungulates. Poaching and habitat degradation are threats to the guanaco, a native South-American...

Pangolins are among the most critically endangered animals due to widespread poaching and worldwide trafficking. Captive breeding is considered to be one way to protect them and increase the sizes of their populations. However, comparative studies of captive and wild pangolins in the context of gut microbiota are rare. Here, the gut microbiome of captive and confiscated-rescued wild pangolins is compared, and the effects of different periods of captivity and captivity with and without antibiotic treatment are considered. We show that different diets and periods of captivity, as well as the application of antibiotic therapy, can alter gut community composition and abundance in pangolins. Compared to wild pangolins, captive pangolins have an increased capacity for chitin and cellulose/hemicellulose degradation, fatty acid metabolism, and short-chain fatty acid synthesis, but a reduced ability to metabolize exogenous substances. In addition to increasing the ability of the gut microbiota to metabolize nutrients in captivity, captive breeding imposes some risks for survival by resulting in a greater abundance of antibiotic resistance genes and virulence factors in captive pangolins than in wild pangolins. Our study is important for the development of guidelines for pangolin conservation, including health assessment, disease prevention, and rehabilitation of wild pangolin populations.

This work presents the results of framed field experiments designed to study the co-enforcement of access to common pool resources. The experiments were conducted in the field with artisanal fishers in Chile. In the experiments, members of a CPR group (called insiders) not only decided how much to harvest but also invest in monitoring to deter poaching by outsiders. Sanctions for poaching were exogenous as if provided by a government authority. Treatments varied the level of the sanction and whether the monitoring investment was voluntarily provided by insiders or collectively provided by a group vote. Results suggest that co-enforcement can reduce poaching by outsiders and increase harvests by insiders, but the insiders’ monitoring investments tended to offset their gains in harvest earnings. Higher poaching sanctions and voting on monitoring contributions, separately and together, led insiders to invest enough in monitoring to eliminate the average gains from poaching. However, poaching was not eliminated despite zero or negative average poaching earnings.

International higher education is the third largest export industry in Australia. Student attrition is an area of concern in higher education institutions. Most research undertaken so far has focus...

Poaching represents one of the most important issues in wildlife management and biodiversity conservation. In this paper, we analyzed effects of socioeconomic, institutional, and locational charact...

The jaguar (Panthera onca) has been experiencing a considerable range reduction due to habitat loss and poaching. Habitat suitability models have identified areas likely to maintain populations, but field data are scarce for several of them. Between 2012 and 2017, we investigated the jaguar occurrence in 35 communities of the Chinantla region, southern Mexico, throughout camera trapping in non-systematic surveys. We recorded 124 independent events of 23 jaguars in thirteen communities. Jaguars recorded over the years, couples and pregnant females are highlighted in the Chinantla region as a stronghold to the jaguar.

Despite illegal killing (poaching) being the major cause of death among large carnivores globally, little is known about the effect of implementing lethal management policies on poaching. Two opposing hypotheses have been proposed in the literature: implementing lethal management may decrease poaching incidence (‘killing for tolerance’) or increase it (‘facilitated killing’). Here, we propose a test of two opposed hypotheses that poaching (reported and unreported) of Mexican grey wolves (Canis lupus baileyi) in Arizona and New Mexico, USA, responded to changes in policy that relaxed protections to allow more wolf-killing. We employ advanced biostatistical survival and competing-risk methods to data on individual resightings, mortality and disappearances of collared Mexican wolves. We aim to provide recommendations for improving the effectiveness of US policy on environmental crimes, endangered species, and protections for wild animals. Our results have implications beyond the USA or wolves because the methods promise to transform understanding, scientific methods, and management interventions of processes and patterns in human-caused mortality among wild animals subject to high rates of poaching.

The substantial increase in poaching within the fisheries’ management areas (MA) system in central Chile is likely driven by an interplay of socio-economic factors. To assess this problem, the exploitation state of an important benthic resource in the MAs (i.e., keyhole limpet) was related to socio-economic drivers of the fishery. The potential drivers of poaching included the level of formal and informal enforcement and distance to surveillance authorities, a rebound effect of fishing effort displacement by MAs, wave exposure and land-based access to the MA, and alternative economic activities in the fishing village. A Bayesian-Belief Network approach was adopted to assess the effects of potential drivers of poaching on the exploitation state of limpets, assessed by the proportion of the catch that is below the minimum legal size and by the relative median size of limpets fished within the MAs in comparison with neighboring open access areas. Results showed the important role of socio-economic (e.g., alternative economic activities in the village) and context variables (e.g., fishing effort displacement or distance to surveillance authorities) as drivers of poaching in the study area. Scenario analysis explored variables that are susceptible to be managed, evidencing that an integrative ecological and socio-economic approach can offer solutions to the unsustainable exploitation of marine resources., This work was partly funded by a Fondecyt Project 1171603 grant to MDS and MF and ANID-Millennium Science Initiative Program (Project RC 1300004 and NCN19_05) from Ministerio de Economía, Fomento y Turismo de Chile.

Many studies of wildlife poaching acknowledge the challenges of detecting poaching activities, but few address the issue. Data on poaching may be an inaccurate reflection of the true spatial distribution of events because of low detection rates. The deployment of conservation and law enforcement resources based on biased data could be ineffective or lead to unintended outcomes. Here, we present a rigorous method for estimating the probabilities of detecting poaching and for evaluating different patrol strategies. We illustrate the method with a case study in which imitation snares were set in a private nature reserve in South Africa. By using an experimental design with a known spatial distribution of imitation snares, we estimated the detection probability of the current patrol strategy used in the reserve and compared it to three alternative patrol strategies: spatially focused patrols, patrols with independent observers, and systematic search patterns. Although detection probabilities were generally low, the highest proportion of imitation snares was detected with systematic search strategies. Our study provides baseline data on the probability of detecting snares used for poaching, and presents a method that can be modified for use in other regions and for other types of wildlife poaching.

Knowledge regarding the spatial behavior of the Eurasian lynx is mainly inferred from populations in Europe. We used GPS telemetry to record the spatial behavior of nine individuals in northwestern Anatolia obtaining eleven home ranges (HRs). Analyses revealed the smallest mean HR sizes (nHR ♀ = 4) at 57 km2 (95% kernel utilization distribution, KUD) and 56 km2 (95% minimum convex polygon, MCP), ever reported for adult female Eurasian lynx. Adult males either occupied small permanent territories (nHR♂.T = 2), with a mean of 176 km2 (95% KUD) and 150 km2 (95% MCP), or were residents without territories (floaters, nHR♂. F = 2) roaming across large, stable HRs with a mean size of 2,419 km2 (95% KUD) and 1,888 km2 (95% MCP), comparable to HR sizes of Scandinavian lynx populations. Three disperser subadult males did not hold stable HRs (mean 95% KUD = 203 km2, mean 95% MCP = 272 km2). At 4.9 individuals per 100 km2, population density was one of the highest recorded, suggesting that the presence of adult male floaters was a consequence of a landscape fully occupied by territorials and revealing a flexibility of spatial behavior of Eurasian lynx not previously recognized. Such a high population density, small HRs, and behavioral flexibility may have been aided by the legal protection from and apparent low levels of poaching of this population. The observed spatial tactics are unlikely to be seen in most of the previously studied Eurasian lynx populations, as they either suffer medium to high levels of human‐caused mortality or were unlikely to be at carrying capacity. For effective and appropriate conservation planning, data from felid populations in a reasonably natural state such as ours, where space, density, prey, and pathogens are likely to be the key drivers of spatial dynamics, are therefore essential., In this study, we report the home range (HR) size, spatial behavior, and tactics of Eurasian lynx L. l. dinniki using high frequency GPS tracking data and focusing on the potentially isolated yet unexploited northwest Anatolian population. We also consider the HR size and density of L. l. dinniki in the context of previously published data for autochthonous and reintroduced Eurasian lynx populations in Europe (subspecies L. l. lynx and L. l. carpathicus).

To contain transmission of COVID‐19, lockdowns or strict restrictions of people's mobility outside their residences were instituted in a majority of countries worldwide, including Nepal, where the first phase of nationwide lockdown was observed from 24 March to 21 July 2020. This sudden halt in human outdoor activities brought positive and negative impacts on forests and wildlife. We undertook a study to learn the impact of the COVID‐19 lockdown on wildlife and forests in the protected areas (PAs) of Nepal. Between July and September 2020, data on illegal activities recorded by the staff of PAs and also those reported by media were collected and analyzed. Key informant interviews (KII) were done with the park officers and security personnel by virtual communication (telephone, messenger app, and video call) to collect detailed information and for corroboration. The collected data were categorized into four groups: (a) wildlife killed, (b) wildlife injured, (c) arrest incidents related to forest crime, and (d) arrest incidents related to wildlife crime. Data from the fiscal year 2019–2020 were analyzed, comparing before lockdown and after. Among 20 PAs investigated during the lockdown, the study found substantial increases in wildlife death in two PAs, Banke National Park, and Bardia National Park. Similarly, Chitwan National Park (CNP) and Shivapuri Nagarjun National Park (SNNP) witnessed a rise in wildlife poaching. CNP and SNNP are located close to densely populated cities and also have human settlements in their peripheries. Wildlife was sighted freely roaming inside PAs during the lockdown, presumably because the absence of visitors and human activities during the lockdown decreased disturbance. Thus, the wildlife was enjoying the freedom of movement on the one hand, and on the other hand was threatened by poachers, many of whom were laid off from other activities and were taking advantage of the lapse in security., To contain transmission of COVID‐19, Nepal announced lockdown or strict restriction of people's mobility outside their residence from 24 March to 21 July 2020. This sudden halt in human activities brought positive and negative impacts on forests and wildlife. Wildlife crime increased during lockdown but the paradoxical situation was wildlife enjoying the freedom of movement.

Having improved knowledge on global, regional and/or national trends in illegal wildlife trade is required to develop effective combating strategies. In this paper, nine years (2011–2019) data on illegal wildlife trade and trafficking (iwt) seizure records were used to explore trends in iwt activities in Ethiopia and to identify countries involved most in the iwt. Trends of iwt activities were assessed in two indicators: as relative transaction index (ti), and as relative weight index (for ivory [wi]) or as relative number of items for ivory and other wildlife products [ni]. To account for potential yearly variations in seizure rates, proxy variables to law enforcement efforts and effectiveness were used and predictive models that produced bias-adjusted estimates of relative trends in iwt activities were built. To explore the underlying reasons for the trend observed, relevant national officers were also interviewed to assess how well has been wildlife law enforcement working in combatting iwt in the country. Linear or polynomial regressions, where appropriate, were fitted to the seizure data to establish trends in transaction index over the nine years. A total of 842 incidences of iwt seizure instance reports, involving 18 animal species, were recorded in the country during the nine years period. However, the highest seizure (94%) rate was ivory and ivory products. Our results generally showed declining trends in both ti and wi or ni. The observed trend was also supported by the experts’ opinions and likely reflects the positive impacts of the country’s implementation of its wildlife laws. Other interesting findings of this study were that China represented the single most important destination country and Chinese nationalities were the most traffickers. In conclusion, the results provide detailed evidence to inform national and international decision making on key species implicated in the illegal trade. Similar periodic assessment of the situation of iwt within the country is needed to evaluate effectiveness of the country’s past and present measures and to revise its future combatting policies and strategies.

The illegal hunting and trading of protected species is a global issue. While China is often discussed in general terms as a destination country for protected species, the sociological and criminol...

We describe the population of the Еndangered sea otter Enhydra lutris on Urup Island, one of the main wildlife refuges in the southern Kuril Islands of Russia. We reviewed historical and local reports of the sea otter, identified its habitat around the island, and surveyed the coastal waters of the island in 2019. Sea otters were numerous on Urup Island in the past but were hunted excessively and almost exterminated by the 1950s. Since then, sea otter populations have increased, and as the island is almost uninhabited we expected otters to be numerous. This was not the case, and we estimated the total population to be 363 ± SE 126 individuals. Our observation of two skinned carcasses on the shore suggests the low numbers are a result of poaching for the illegal fur trade. The case of Urup Island demonstrates that sea otters require active conservation, as even on a remote island they remain threatened. Establishment of protected areas would be an effective conservation measure for this species, although the suppression of demand for sea otter fur is of the greatest importance.

The complexity and magnitude of threats to black (Diceros bicornis) and white (Ceratotherium simum) rhinoceros conservation in Africa have triggered global concerns and actions. In this study, we analyzed (i) threats to rhinoceros conservation including external shocks, (ii) historical rhinoceros conservation strategies in Zimbabwe and Africa, more broadly, and (iii) opportunities for enhanced rhinoceros conservation in Zimbabwe and Africa. A literature search from 1975 to 2020 was carried out using a predefined search protocol, involving a number of filters based on a set of keywords to balance search sensitivity with specificity. A total of 193 articles, which were most relevant to key themes on rhinoceros conservation, were used in this study. The common threats to rhinoceros conservation identified in this paper include poaching, habitat fragmentation and loss, international trade in illegal rhino products, and external shocks such as global financial recessions and pandemics. Cascading effects emanating from these threats include small and isolated populations, which are prone to genetic, demographic, and environmental uncertainties. Rhinoceros conservation strategies being implemented include education and awareness campaigns, better equipped and more antipoaching efforts, use of innovative systems and technologies, dehorning, and enhancing safety nets, and livelihoods of local communities. Opportunities for rhinoceros conservation vary across the spatial scale, and these include (a) a well‐coordinated stakeholder and community involvement, (b) strategic meta‐population management, (c) enhancing law enforcement initiatives through incorporating real‐time surveillance technologies and intruder detection sensor networks for crime detection, (d) scaling up demand reduction awareness campaigns, and (e) developing more certified wildlife crime and forensic laboratories, and information repository for international corporation., African rhinoceros conservation is facing serious threats, which require clear strategies and using all opportunities to combat them.

Poaching of South Asian river dolphins is considered one of the main reasons for the rapid decline of their natural populations. To curb the escalated rate of poaching, high numbers of oil and meat seizures are recovered with subsequent convictions by the law enforcement agencies. In this connection, we report a case where suspected animal oil was confiscated by the forest official of West Bengal. We extracted DNA and successfully amplified partial fragments of Cytb and 16S rRNA mitochondrial genes. The generated sequences identified that the seized oil belonged to the Ganges river dolphin (Platanista gangetica) which is protected as Schedule I under the Wildlife (Protection) Act, 1972 of India and listed as "Endangered" under IUCN and APPENDIX I in CITES. In routine case work analysis, oil samples are not preferred for forensic DNA investigation due to low DNA yield and presence of inhibitors or contaminants leading to high failure rate. However, the present study generates hope for identifying species from seized animal oil and supports law enforcement in successful prosecution of the case.

Initially, hunting was the primary means for getting food for the survival of ancient people. As time passed, people started to breed livestock and develop agriculture, gradually reducing their reliance on unpredictability of hunting. People, however, continued to hunt and, even though their survival did not depend on hunting. During the former Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR) period, attitudes toward the use of natural resources fluctuated significantly, and after the establishment of new reserves for wildlife protection, the government soon weakened protections it had introduced. In the current, the organizations in dependent countries of the USSR that are chartered to protect areas with wildlife diversity are very weak and have no sufficient material resources to provide any real control of poaching, especially when hunting weapons and ammunition are easily available. Trophy hunting companies exploit wildlife resources but do not make protecting wildlife from poaching as a priority in their work; they just use whatever resources are available as if they are unlimited. To help solve this problem, we suggest to organize the local people to join the wildlife protection societies and give them official rights to benefit from the development of hunting tourism in the future. There are numerous examples of successful and very profitable hunting businesses in different countries in the world. In Central Asia, all the prerequisites exist for organizing highly effective trophy hunting tourism, maintaining the richness of biodiversity, and at the same time providing a sustainable and significant income for local communities as the country as a whole. The sustainable use of wildlife resources is a very tangible challenge in the countries of Central Asia, and the most important consideration is to establish and enforce hunting laws equally, irrespective of a person’s social status or financial assets, otherwise no laws will work.

Since the beginning of the 20th century, the number of saigas (Saiga tatarica tatarica L., 1766) sharply decreased twice as a result of human activity. After the first decrease, all four saiga populations (the Northwest Pre-Caspian, Ustyurt, Volga–Ural, and Betpakdala) recovered, and they numbered more than 1 million heads by the 1970–80s. However, after the second decrease (since the beginning of the 21st century), an increase in the number of these ungulates has been noted only for two populations, the Volga–Ural and Betpakdala. The goal of the study is to analyze the biological parameters of the four populations and to identify the differences that allowed the saigas inhabiting the Volga–Ural interfluve and Betpakdala to overcome population depression and to recover their numbers. At the end of the 20th century, the economic situation in the countries inhabited by saigas promoted poaching among the population, which led to a sharp decrease in the total number of these ungulates down to 50 000. The area of the main range decreased by 50 times for the Northwest Pre-Caspian saiga population and by 2.4–5 times for the other three populations. The distance of seasonal migrations, as well as animal involvement, also decreased. The saiga population of the Northwest Pre-Caspian has become practically sedentary. The low-number periods are characterized by a decrease in herds of different sizes found throughout the year; herds with less than 50 animals were registered in 56–100% of cases. In the early 2000s, the main biological parameters characterizing the four saiga populations were comparable. Moreover, the proportion of adult males and the yield of young animals per female in July–August were higher in the population of the Northwest Pre-Caspian in comparison to the other three (11.5 ± 1.9% and 0.81 ± 0.18 ind. vs. 8.7 ± 3.8% and 0.48 ± 0.40 ind., respectively). The increase in the Volga–Ural and Betpakdala populations is mainly due to their effective protection and the education of the local people with the support of the Kazakhstan government and international foundations, which significantly reduce the poaching pressure.

Historians hold that to preserve the Manchu homeland the Qing court instituted a “policy of prohibition” (Ch: fengjin zhengce), forbidding Han immigrants from settling in the region until the final decades of its rule. Using Manchu-language archives from the garrison of Hunčun (Ch: Hunchun), this article questions whether such a prohibition guided local governance. In some jurisdictions in Manchuria, including in Hunčun, the Qing state did not always have an overarching policy towards Han migrants. Migration, in fact, was often less of a concern to the state than poaching. We can reassess the history of Manchuria accordingly. Modern historians have been preoccupied with the coming of Han migrants to Qing Manchuria; the Qing government in Hunčun was not.

We analyzed the generation and dissemination of relevant information on wildlife utilization based on the African bush elephant (Loxodonta africana Blumenbach.), the tiger (Panthera tigris L.) and the totoaba, a species of marine fish, (Totoaba macdonaldi Gilbert) as examples, whose populations are more threatened by the illegal wildlife trade. We compared the illegal trade in wildlife with related information in order to find possible associations, searched for relevant information on major international websites to summarize similarities in information production and dissemination, and used a “Zhiwei” dissemination analysis platform to analyze the dissemination of information circulated at Microblog. The results show that the most influential information related to the trade in wildlife is mainly generated from news media websites and new self-media platforms, usually from non-governmental organizations concerned with wildlife protection. The main factors that affect the depth and breadth of disseminating relevant information on wildlife utilization include the participation of relatively influential opinion leaders, the verification ratio of forwarding users, the number of followers, and affective identification. Misleading information can stimulate and promote poaching and smuggling, regardless of their real market demand or their products. Therefore, all links in the course of information dissemination should be carefully examined in order to purify the information environment and reduce adverse effects of misleading information on wildlife protection.

1989 CITES decision to put a total ban on international trade in ivory and the decisions to allow the 1999 and 2008 one-off-sales have generated polarized debates on whether or not these decisions are the reasons behind increasing levels of poaching in Africa. An undisputed fact is that; international illegal ivory trade has promoted rampant elephant poaching in Africa. What has and is contested is whether the ban or the one-off sales have a role to play in the current elephant poaching and increase in the illegal ivory trade. The Southern African range countries blame the international ivory trade ban for the current ivory poaching levels, while Countries such as Kenya, Benin and Uganda have blamed the sales for reigniting international appetite for ivory. The available evidence suggests that the international ivory trade ban with an unbanned domestic market has promoted poaching and negatively impacted on range countries’ ability to effectively and sustainably protect elephants. Besides the reduction or elimination of revenue, the ban undermined the economic incentives associated with elephant conservation, thereby making elephant conservation unattractive, unachievable and subsequently opening up to poaching and illegal trade.

Protected areas play a critical role in biodiversity conservation in the Democratic Republic of Congo. However, they are under anthropogenic pressure. The study was carried out in the Bombo-Lumene reserve situated in Kinshasa, DR Congo. A questionnaire-based survey was conducted to determine the causes underlying ecosystem degradation and biodiversity loss and the determinants of the willingness of the population to participate in collaborative management with the State. Logistic regression was used to check the determinant factor. Findings showed that farming, charcoal production, and poaching are the direct causes of ecosystem degradation and biodiversity loss. The indirect cause is land confiscation, which causes conflicts between the local population and the State. Consequently, the majority of the respondents are not willing to participate in collaborative management. Results of logistic regression indicated that level of education was the only explanatory factor that determines the willingness to participate in collaborative management with the State.

This article suggests a method for cultivating a collaborative method of shared visual note-taking on seminar readings and discussions, built on the method of creative ‘poaching’ of each other’s contributions, using pencil and simple tracing technique on transparent papers. The method was developed and tested in a decade of workshops with the author and varying groups of participants, students, researchers and professionals, in academic text-based discussions, lectures and seminars. The method, speculative and collaborative, aims to assemble the participants’ ideas and contributions in compossible ways, that is, possibilities that support each other to build more convivial forms of annotation and idea generation, and where contributions flow into each other and with no clear delineation of order or between authors/contributors. This method of collaborative poaching produced convincing results and could be used as an exercise in semi-structured discussions and their creative documentation, cultivating a multiplicity of perspectives on human values and also support what Martha Nussbaum calls a ‘narrative imagination’.

Deforestation represents one of the greatest threats to tropical forest mammals, and the situation is greatly exacerbated by bushmeat hunting. To construct informed conservation plans, information must be gathered about responses to habitat degradation, regeneration, and hunting over a sufficiently long period to allow demographic responses. We quantified changes in the abundance of three commonly occurring ungulate species (i.e., bushbuck, Tragelaphus scriptus; red duiker, Cephalophus sp.; blue duiker, Cephalophus monticola) at eight sites in Kibale National Park, Uganda (old growth=3; logged=3; regenerating=2) for 23 years. Changes in abundance (363 surveys totaling 1 450 km) were considered in regard to the park’s management strategy, regional economic indicators, and estimates of illegal hunting. Bushbuck abundance increased in old-growth and logged forests from 1996 to 2009, and then oscillated around this level or declined. Duiker abundance demonstrated a similar pattern, but abundance in the old-growth forests showed a general increase from 1996 to present day. Duiker abundance in the logged forests exhibited an early increase, but subsequent oscillation. Poaching signs per patrol have remained stable over the last decade, despite increases in the size of the surrounding population, cost of living, and cost of schooling, thus reflecting successful efforts in conservation education and enforcement. Our study highlights the positive impact of park establishment, patrol, and conservation efforts on ungulate populations and shows the adaptability of forest mammal populations to different management schemes.

As an investment bank with over a trillion dollars in assets, Bank A (pseudonym) must ensure its funds are managed properly (Leon, 2015). One aspect of portfolio management is ensuring that all debts are paid on time to counteract intraday liquidity risk, the risk that the bank fails to pay its debts on time (Bech, 2008). To mitigate the risk of defaulting on its debts, Bank A maintains a reserve fund to cover its debts in case there is a liquidity shortage during the day. Funding the reserve is a dynamic process that requires an algorithm that accurately predicts how much money is needed in the reserve without setting aside so much liquidity that the money cannot be used elsewhere. This portfolio documents the optimization of this prediction algorithm, with the product of the technical research topic being a reduction in the amount of money predicted while still being able to cover the bank’s debts. Billions of dollars also move under the table every year as part of the illicit wildlife trade. In order to support what has become the fourth most lucrative global crime, poaching in sub-Saharan Africa increases every year and has a devastating effect on ecosystems (Lunstrum & Givá, 2020). Though some anti-poaching techniques such as the World Wildlife Fund’s Google Glass initiative have been proven to curb poaching numbers significantly, these methods may be economically infeasible for the local community to implement. The portfolio documents the analysis of the development of these techniques under the lens of socioeconomic context. By discovering the sociotechnical aspects of conservation technologies that make them most successful, the STS research paper informs the development of a more sustainable anti-poaching system. At Bank A, an American investment bank and financial services company, around $4 billion was stagnating daily based on outdated model predictions. The technical research project produced an algorithm to reduce the amount of money that needed to be set aside according to the current intraday liquidity risk model. This algorithm uses Fourier transforms to predict the reserve amount differently and its effectiveness was compared to that of the original model by evaluating the amount of money that could be saved while still being able to pay off everything on the due date. This new intraday liquidity risk model minimized costs by roughly 4 billion dollars and was valuable because it saved the firm a significant amount of money, which can be invested or repurposed elsewhere. Poaching, the illegal capture of wild animals, is the fourth most lucrative global crime and has a devastating effect on the ecosystems of sub-Saharan Africa (Lunstrum & Givá, 2020). By illegally hunting and harvesting native animals, poachers threaten the natural resource supply and the tourism it brings, a source of income for many local communities. As the illicit African wildlife trade expands, it has become imperative for the three stakeholders — governments, non-governmental organizations, and local communities — to develop an effective anti-poaching system to protect endangered species. This STS paper investigates how community involvement and layered approaches impact the effectiveness of anti-poaching methods used in sub-Saharan Africa, and how collaboration between the three stakeholders may be used to address the poaching epidemic. Three case studies are used to frame the development of existing anti-poaching techniques in terms of the technological fix concept, demonstrating the ineffectiveness of solely institutional, social, or economic approaches. This research is analyzed using the wicked problem theory to elucidate the underlying economic imbalance that has not been addressed by prior conservation techniques. The resulting STS paper informs the development of a more sustainable anti-poaching system by integrating sociotechnical aspects of different stakeholder efforts that have been successful in the past. The portfolio’s dual focus on reserve funding and anti-poaching tactics investigates both topics from the perspective of resource management. The portfolio’s two research papers provide analyses that contrast the optimization of a legal financial market with an illicit commodity trade. The investigation of American financial markets in the technical research paper elucidates the need to consider the effective use of the resources being conserved, while the STS paper elucidates the need to conserve resources effectively. Though the technical and STS research projects were not conducted concurrently, completing the technical research portion of the portfolio prior to completing the STS research portion strengthened the analysis of the underlying economic issues in the STS research topic’s wicked problem by providing economic context.

Increasing demand for bushmeat threatens the extinction of many local animal species. The aardvark (Orycteropus afer) is a mammal species classified as endangered EN on the red list of Benin. The Monts Kouffé Protected Forest (MKPF) is home to one of its last populations in Benin. This research explores the process of poaching of the aardvark, the reasons for this act, and its impact on its population in (MKPF) in Benin. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with 100 people in 5 villages bordering the forest. The aardvark is poached by local populations for food (88%), the use of these organs in traditional African medicine (40%), and the sale of these organs (24%). The species were killed by local hunters in a planned fashion, and farmers killed the animals by chance. This practice of poaching affects maybe the aardvark population, which according to respondents is in great decline in the MKPF. The effective management of the MKPF aardvark population requires more in-depth research, in particular on the size of its population and the awareness of local populations.

Poaching is the major cause of death for large carnivores in several regions, contributing to their global endangerment. The traditional hypothesis used in wildlife management (killing for tolerance) suggests reducing protections for a species will decrease poaching. However, recent studies suggest reducing protections will instead increase poaching (facilitated illegal killing) and its concealment (facilitated cryptic poaching). Here, we build survival and competing risk models for mortality and disappearances of adult collared red wolves (Canis rufus) released in North Carolina, USA from 1987 to 2020 (n= 526). We evaluated how changes in federal and state policies protecting red wolves influenced the hazard and incidence of mortality and disappearance. We observed substantial increases in the hazard and incidence of red wolf reported poaching, and smaller increases in disappearances, during periods of reduced federal and state protections (including liberalizing hunting of coyotes,C. latrans); white-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus) and American black bear (Ursus americanus) hunting seasons; and management phases. Observed increases in hazard (85–256%) and incidence of reported poaching (56–243%) support the ‘facilitated illegal killing' hypothesis. We suggest improving protective policies intended to conserve endangered species generally and large carnivores in particular, to mitigate environmental crimes and generally improve the protection of wild animals.

In May 2021, a number of people were arrested for the illegal poaching and trade of one of the most endangered freshwater turtle species in China. The large female Pelochelys cantorii individual was poached from a strict protected area, sold, and was publicly advertised on social media despite being a Class I protected species (no trade allowed) for over 30 years and in a country with one of the strictest penalties for IWT worldwide. We discuss and call for more conservation efforts to prevent the illegal poaching and trade of this threatened species. We argue that unless China meets the urgent conservation needs of this iconic species, the impending extinction of this species cannot be reversed.

Variation in individual demographic rates can have large consequences for populations. Female reproductive skew is an example of structured demographic heterogeneity where females have intrinsic qualities that make them more or less likely to breed. The consequences of reproductive skew for population dynamics are poorly understood in non-cooperatively breeding mammals, especially when coupled with other drivers such as poaching. We address this knowledge gap with population viability analyses using an age-specific, female-only, individual-based, stochastic population model built with long-term data for three Kenyan populations of the Critically Endangered eastern black rhino ( Diceros bicornis michaeli). There was substantial reproductive skew, with a high proportion of females not breeding or doing so at very low rates. This had a large impact on the projected population growth rate for the smaller population on Ol Jogi. Moreover, including female reproductive skew exacerbates the effects of poaching, increasing the probability of extinction by approximately 70% under a simulated poaching pressure of 5% offtake per year. Tackling the effects of reproductive skew depends on whether it is mediated by habitat or social factors, with potential strategies including habitat and biological management respectively. Investigating and tackling reproductive skew in other species requires long-term, individual-level data collection.

One of the forms of activity of a veterinary specialist can be his work as a forensic expert. Currently, more and more disputes arise regarding the provision of veterinary services, death or disease of animals as a result of various cases of poaching. In this connection, there is a need for a more detailed study of the comparative anatomical features of the structure of domestic and wild animals. In our work, we studied the anatomical features of the structure of the skull of two animal species: roe deer and ram. The presented materials present the results of a study of the structure and comparison of the skulls of a roe deer and a ram, as well as the determination of their age from the bones of the skull.

Millions of people are suffering from the repeated emergence of zoonotic diseases across the globe. The latest pandemic of Covid-19 suspected to be originated from wild animals and was transmitted via an intermediate animal host to humans. Possibilities of the intentional use of zoonoses as bioweapons cannot be ignored and it poses a threat to global biosafety and biosecurity. This review discusses the nature and types of zoonotic diseases and the link to human activities of wildlife poaching and trafficking. It is estimated that about billions of currencies are spent by nations annually due to these diseases and millions of people die as a consequence of zoonotic diseases. In this article, we reviewed on the past and present zoonotic diseases and transmission through natural, accidental and deliberate modes. This review addresses the impact of human vs. wildlife conflict in emerging zoonotic diseases and focusing on bioterrorism activities. The objective of the present review was to highlight the significance of advanced forensic science technologies for the detection and prevention of the future zoonotic outbreaks of the suspected bio crimes and wildlife crimes. How to cite this article:Joseph A, Bishnoi MM. Forensic Science Interventions in Wildlife Mediated Zoonotic Outbreaks: A Systematic Review. J Commun Dis 2020; 52(4): 88-96. DOI: https://doi.org/10.24321/0019.5138.202046

Research and theorisation on crimes against non-human species in rural regions have been conducted with less conceptual refinement than crimes against anthropocentric victims. The dominant conception of ‘wildlife crime’ predominantly advanced by the rational choice school of criminology is a nebulous ‘chaotic concept’. This article disaggregates crimes against common and relatively abundant species from that capacious categorisation and offers the original concept of ‘mundane fauna crime’ as a more precise alternative. The original concept aims to supersede the wildlife crime terminology using realist social relations theory and to offer researchers a rational abstraction to advance aetiological explanations. The additional category of ‘illegal taking’ is offered to complement the central conceptualisation, thus supplanting the terms of ‘wildlife poaching’. The new model is intended to contribute to the advancement of comprehensive theorisation and practically adequate knowledge on mundane fauna crimes in rural regions.

Introduction. The world witnesses a dramatic abundance of problems. Still, those are the destruction of nature and extinction of animal species that tend to become the most pressing ones. Currently, many young Tuvan hunters have no knowledge of the traditional hunting etiquette of their ancestors, do not observe the ancient nature conservation traditions and customs. Poaching proves a definitely negative factor in the violation of the ecological balance. Goals. The article aims to study the hunting traditions of the Tuvans which used to be and still are the basis for maintaining the ecological balance and biological diversity in Tuva. It also attempts to systemize some hunting rites and summarize related materials available. Materials and Methods. The work analyzes pre-revolutionary historical and ethnographic sources, as well as field materials of the authors. The employed method of historicism makes it possible to consider the elements of culture in a developmental perspective. Traditional methods of ethnography ― comparative and field research ones ― are also used. Results. The comprehensive analysis of historical, ethnographic, and folklore materials ― along with the mentioned systemization ― concludes that the hunting traditions of the Tuvans, like those of other Sayan-Altay peoples, are the most ancient elements of ethnic culture and traditional ritual practices. The close and long association of hunters with nature led to that they had to follow numerous unwritten rules and prohibitions. Any hunting area was necessarily supposed to be owned by its ‘master’ that was to be honored through offerings. Hunters believed such master spirits could turn into people or wild animals.

Mammals are under threat worldwide due to deforestation, hunting, and other human activities. In Iraq, a total of 93 species of wild mammals have been recorded including species with global conservation concern. Bamo Mountain is situated within the Zagros Mountains in northern Iraq which is a suitable habitat for wild mammals. Due to scarcity of the field survey efforts and cryptic behavior, monitoring of the wild mammals fauna in Zagros Mountain seems challenging. Therefore, we used a camera trap which seems to be an ideal way to determine species diversity of wild mammals in Bamo Mountain. Moreover, interviews with local villagers were performed. The mammalian diversity of Bamo Mountain is not fully explored but seemed threatened by local extinction due to poaching and wildlife trafficking, minefields, and annual fires. In this study, a total of eight species of wild mammals were recorded for the first time in Bamo Mountain using camera trap method including the Persian leopard Panthera pardus saxicolor Pocock, 1927, and the Wild goat Capra aegagrus Erxleben, 1777, flagship and key species of conservation concern. As far as it is concerned, the major threats on the wild mammals were discussed and some important points were highlighted towards the establishment of the protected area in Bamo Mountain.