Why does Vietnam love Rhino horn so much?

Rhino horn consists of keratin, the same material that makes up hair and nails in humans, and hooves in horses. Rhino horn differs from the horns of most other animals in that respect, as the horns of other animals are usually made from calcium. The exact chemical composition of each rhino will differ slightly, depending […]

China: Eaten into oblivion

Pangolins, a scaly anteater long prized in China and Vietnam for their meat and scales, are being ‘eaten to extinction’, according to the International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN), who compile the Red List of endangered and threatened species. There are eight species of pangolin, with the Chinese, Sunda, Philippine, and Indian being […]

South Africa: poaching means murder

A South African rhino poacher has been sentenced to 77 years in prison. Madla Chauke was arrested in 2011 in Kruger National Park, for the killing of three rhino calves. Chauke was also convicted of the murder of an accomplice, who was shot by park rangers. Chauke argued that he was coerced into poaching by his […]

Mong-La: the worst place you’ve never heard of

Mong-La, known as 勐拉 Meng3la1 or 小勐拉 (xiao3meng3la1) as it is known in Chinese, is a town on the Myanmar border with China, in Mongla Township in Shan State, Myanmar. It sits at something of a crossroads, as it is also close to the Myanmar border with Thailand, and was featured recently in the New York Times […]

Africa: Another 4 dead rhinos

Poachers killed 4 rhinos at a game reserve in Kenya on July 9th, one of the worst attacks in recent times, Bloomberg reports, bringing the number of rhinos killed in Kenya this year to 22, and reducing the number of the animals left there to 1,037. Poaching of rhinos and elephants is fuelled by demand […]

Spilled Water

覆水难收