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The Forgotten Sister

The Forgotten Sister

The Forgotten Sister   There was once a land of wild expanse that rivaled all else in the world. With imposing beasts and formidable lands that could be found around every turn. A close but forgotten sister of the Serengeti, punished by the same unforgiving...

Cheetahs Need Our Help!

Cheetahs Need Our Help!

December 4th is International Cheetah Day! Please educate yourself about how the fastest land mammal is in a race for its very survival: Wild animals are traded extensively worldwide – alive and dead, whole, as parts, and/or derivatives. Wildlife crime, defined as the...

Poaching and COVID-19

Poaching and COVID-19

If you thought poachers would take a break during the COVID-19 pandemic, think again. While sentimental stories of wildlife reclaiming their land lost to humans during the lockdown are making viral news on social media, opportunistic poachers are taking advantage of...

Cecil, 5 Years Later

Cecil, 5 Years Later

Cecil, 5 years later Do you remember the famous killing of Cecil the Lion? There was hope within the conservation world that this incident would be the catalyst to ignite change within the US regarding endangered species regulations. Did that happen? On July 1st,...

Nature, in Captivity

Nature, in Captivity

Zoos are a paradoxical entity in that our desire for the continued freedom of wild animals has strangely come to justify their captivity, legitimizing domestication, in that, the zoo animal enters the stage as a monument to the wild animal's disappearance in nature....

American Tigers

American Tigers

Over the past 20 years weak federal regulations has engendered a pervasive threat to both animal welfare and conservation. Many of us have not realized our dangerous complacency by allowing the marginalization of one of the world’s most iconic species. Images of...

What is Wildlife Crime? Part 2

What is Wildlife Crime? Part 2

The academic study of wildlife crime falls between two distinct disciplines: criminology and conservation science. Traditionally, the discipline of criminology has focused on the study of conventional street crimes (e.g. robbery and burglary); criminal law has been...

What is Wildlife Crime? Part 1

What is Wildlife Crime? Part 1

As a wildlife criminologist I investigate how the poaching and trafficking of wild animals is facilitated, with the goal of applying contextually specific measures to help combat it. Wildlife crime is a complex and growing phenomenon but has only recently garnered...

Musk Deer Poaching

Musk Deer Poaching

A rather obscure deer is under increasing threat from poaching to satiate demand in multiple Asian countries. The population of musk deer in the Russian Far East is already facing local extinction and regional population collapse could be imminent if action is not...

The ‘White Tiger’ Myth

The ‘White Tiger’ Myth

One topic I find particularly frustrating is the perpetuation of ‘white’ tigers in our culture.  Due to the captive tiger crisis, there is a lack of salient public awareness as to what a real tiger is. There is one recognized species of tiger, Panthera tigris, divided...