After just a couple of days at sea the Icelandic whaling company Hvalur hf have dragged back to port their first harpooned fin whale of the season. Tow boats left port at Reykjavik on Sunday and the first arrived at the Hvalfjordur whaling station with a fin whale strapped to its side yesterday, Tuesday 18th June. [...]

Swimming with manta rays is one of the highlights for any scuba diver and can be a valuable source of money and jobs for local people. The latest estimate for the value of manta ray tourism has been put at USD140 million a year. Just 10 countries account for 93% of the value and manta [...]

What do you do with the meat from endangered species that people are no longer prepared to eat? In the case of the Icelandic whalers they turn the meat from endangered fin whales into doggie treats for pampered pets and ship it off to Japan. While there is certainly still a demand for whale meat [...]

Noise from earthquake sensors is being used to study the fin whale. The fin whale is one of the least studied and understood of the whales species and the ability to use earthquake sensors to track the whales could open up a small window to their mysterious world. The fin whale makes calls in the [...]

It is one of the world’s great natural World Heritage Sites but a report released yesterday could see the Great Barrier Reef in Australia downgraded and lists as ‘in danger’. The report by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO) say the poor water quality and over development could lead to the reef [...]

A visit to Tanzania is a wildlife lover’s dream. It is a leading destination for safaris and many happy memories are made there. However there are fears that tourists in some parts are leaving with gruesome memories of dynamite-fisherman targeting dolphins for use as bait in the profitable shark-fin trade. The Secretary of the Tanga [...]

Smartphones can really help people to enjoy wildlife and nature reserves but they can also take away some of the excitement and mystery of going out exploring and not knowing what species you will encounter. Can we miss out on so much the nature has too offer because we are more interested in ticking our [...]

The world’s largest freshwater aquarium has opened to the public at the nature themed River Safari park in Singapore. The aquarium seeks to highlight the wealth of species that live in the Amazon River of South America. Exhibits include manatees that have been moved to the aquarium from their previous home at Singapore Zoo. The [...]

There are hints that a new shark and manta ray sanctuary is about to be formed at Bali. Last month the underwater paradise of Raja Ampat in West Papua, Indonesia banned the fishing of sharks and rays in it’s coral reefs and set up a shark sanctuary – the first in the so called Coral [...]

One of the most popular marine wildlife experiences in the world has to be a visit to Stingray City in the Cayman Islands. Here a million tourists a year visit to feed and interact with stingrays at a sandbar. Now a two year study has shown that the stingrays have changed their feeding habits to [...]

The Maldives has set itself a tough target to be the world’s first UNESCO Biosphere reserve nation and it aims to win the accolade by 2017. The Indian Ocean nation has put together an implementation plan to run between 2013 and 2017 that will see more than half of the nations island atolls implementing the [...]

The latest figures for rhino poaching have been released by the Department of Environmental Affairs in South Africa. Today’s figures show that 96 rhino have been killed by poachers so far this year. 66 have been lost in the Kruger National Park. Anti-poaching units, supported by the SA Police Service, the Hawks and the SA [...]

Those quick holiday photos could prove to be more important than just happy memories. scientists are asking people to submit their pictures of sharks to a web site so they can use them to study the animals. If you are heading to the Maldives on holiday this year don’t forget to take a photo of [...]

Sir David Attenborough’s latest BBC series Africa has relaunched the safari tourism trade and with modern internet sharing and online watching it is not just the British audience that have been inspired to look again at the African safari for a holiday this year. Many safari holiday operators have had a tough few years with [...]

The provincial administration of East Kalimantan in Indonesia has announced that they will be issuing a moratorium on new palm oil plantations later this year. While no date has been set the administration has said that with less than half of the permitted plantations actually planted and under cultivation no new permits will be issued [...]

When police in Muang Chumphon Police station pulled a vehicle over at Baan Pala checkpoint in Pratew district yesterday afternoon they discovered a police captain driving a car containing 20 elephant tusks hidden in fertiliser bags. The police captain from the southern Thailand province of Sadao was also carrying an unregistered firearm and ammunition. Under [...]

South Africa has just released the rhino poaching figures for January and the news is not good. 57 rhino have been lost in the country so far this year with Kruger National Park losing 42 rhino. Thee is good news as the head of South Africa National Parks believes that the tide is beginning to [...]

There are 4 great opportunities this year to dive with undersea explorer and environmentalist Jean-Michel Cousteau. It is a perfect opportunity to explore the pristine reefs and wildlife of the French Polynesian Islands and surrounding region. Aboard the luxury small cruise ship the M/S Paul Gauguin Jean-Michel will offer a series of video and talks [...]

Whale Wars on Animal Planet – part of the Discovery Channel and countless satellite and cable channels – has been a massive success with many viewers. It was only a question of time before that same formula was taken out to other endangered species. The fight to save the rhino is the next step for [...]

Wildlife holidays are always popular and with such a vast range of destinations to choose from it can be difficult to decide on where to go for your vacation. New developments are constantly being built to help people enjoy the local wildlife and to bring previously inaccessible places within reach of normal people. These are [...]