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The Story Behind Namibia’s Elephant Auction– Facts are important—and Namibian conservation could do with fewer critics and more supporters


The recent decision by Namibia to sell 170 elephants drew public outcry, confusion and unsubstantiated and accusatory media coverage. Instead of simply assuming the worst, consider history, facts and context. READ MORE

Botswana’s Varying Elephant Population(s)–The numbers are all over the place—are they being manipulated?


Botswana now has the largest elephant population in Africa. In the early 1960s, there were thought to be fewer than 10,000; by 1990, there were 50,000 elephants; by the mid-1990s, 80,000. How many are there today? The answer is critically important.READ MORE

Earth Medicine – A Poem from Indian Country


The author, who lives in Fort Peck, Montana, worries about her friends during the pandemic, but notes that “generations are coming together in healing prayers.” As some parts of society seem to be discounting the value of senior citizens, among Native Americans the elderly are revered as those with thean elder of the Lakota/Dakota people.READ MORE

The Great Elephant Balancing Act


Recent research emphasized the importance of males in elephant society, findings that are now being used to batter countries in Southern Africa into changing their elephant management policies. This article reviews the scientific evidence and calls for a balanced approach that considers both humans and elephants.READ MORE

The San of Southern Africa – Among the Bushmen, nature is appreciated, respected, honored and revered.


Long considered “model” hunting and gathering people by anthropologists, the San, or Bushmen, of Southern Africa have begun to assert their human rights in seeking to direct their own social and economic circumstances and in conserving their environments.READ MORE

A Central Asia Conservation Initiative from the Wild Sheep Foundation


Now a member of the International Union for the Conservation of Nature, the Wild Sheep Foundation is expanding its efforts, expertise and programs in the world’s largest and most diverse Caprinae habitat—the remote republics of Central Asia. READ MORE

Human Relationships with Wildlife in Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan


The author has worked in the Pamir Mountains of Tajikistan since 2017—with ANCOT (the Association of Nature Conservation Organizations of Tajikistan), Panthera and WSF, the Wild Sheep Foundation—in a program helping women to take a role in conservation, guiding, wildlife monitoring, tourism and sustainable hunting expeditions. Around the world, she has observed people’s strong feelings about nature, their environment and animals.  READ MORE

October Update: Amur Tiger Prey Study


In July, Conservation Frontlines introduced its first Select Study: research in support of predators, prey and rural communities in Russia’s vast and remote Far East. Only some 500 Amur (Siberian) tiger survive there, and they depend on wild boar and red deer. These two species are also vital for the food security and culture of the human community in the region. READ MORE

How Many Leopards are in Namibia? Understanding the science, countering the critics


Dr. Louisa Richmond-Coggan completed a national leopard study in March 2019 after 18 months of collating and analyzing data from all over Namibia. This study was treated with extreme prejudice on social media even before it began, and detractors continue to question it now that her report is published. Are these criticisms valid? Is there any evidence that this study tried to overestimate leopard numbers or otherwise misrepresent the results to appease the hunting industry? READ MORE

“The Namibian Leopard: National Census & Sustainable Hunting Practices”


An overview of the Namibian leopard study—18 months of collecting, collating and analyzing data from all over the country, elaborated with the assistance of many people, institutions and organizations. Richmond-Coggan’s 184-page report gives stakeholders the factual and scientific basis for a sustainable leopard management system. READ MORE