Kota Kinabalu: Poaching is still happening in Yayasan Sabah’s conservation area but not as frequent due to efforts by government agencies and the use of communication technology.
Covid has reshaped the trafficking of African wildlife by moving transactions online, restricting trafficking routes, and boosting bushmeat poaching among the destitute.
Time to implement measures preventing future viral zoonoses
The coronavirus disease (COVID-19), caused by the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), continues to spread globally, infecting over 114 million people. The virus first emerged in late December 2019 in Wuhan, China, from a potential animal host.
Zoonotic diseases have caused outbreaks throughout history, claiming millions of lives. These diseases occur when pathogens from animals jump to humans and cause illness.
Now, researchers at the University of Silesia in Katowice and the Poznan University of Medical Sciences in Poland recommend measures to prevent future zoonotic outbreaks. They emphasized the importance of viral surveillance and research on new viral strains as primary strategies to combat these infections.
World Pangolin Day Reminds Us That The Clock Is Ticking For The World s Most Trafficked Mammal
A pangolin hunting for ants on the ground.
Lions with their four-inch long canines and a deadly bite are designed to kill. But sometimes even these apex predators surrender to the natural, impenetrable armor of the pangolin, a creature that weighs no more than 10 pounds but has a network of overlapping keratinous scales covering its whole body. When threatened, the pangolin curls up into a tight ball with the exposed scales deterring the predators. Unfortunately, however, this defense mechanism of pangolins is the cause of their demise in the hands of humans, making pangolins the world s most trafficked mammals.