Midcap companies in India are shifting away from hiring large numbers of freshers in the technology services sector, focusing on experienced and readily deployable talent from larger rivals for niche and emerging technologies.

House Republican leaders are preparing for temporary losses to their slim majority as President-elect Donald Trump recruits members to serve in his Cabinet, chipping away at the party’s already narrow margins in the lower chamber.  So far, Trump has nominated two House lawmakers to service in his administration: House GOP Conference Chairwoman Elise Stefanik (R-NY), […]

As the country’s civil war decimated elephant populations, the proportion of tuskless females rose dramatically. A new study explains why the tuskless trend continued in peacetime.

Researchers are able to track Venus flytrap plants that were stolen from protected areas

In the last decade, Africa’s elephant population has declined by around 110,000, primarily due to poaching. The slaughter of African rhinos has also skyrocketed — 1,175 were killed in South Africa in 2015 alone, compared with 13 in 2007. Because poachers operate mostly under the cover of night, this type of crime is hard to tackle. In December 2012, Google awarded WWF a $5 million grant to tackle the poaching crisis through technology, launching the Wildlife Crime Technology Project. They have collaborated with FLIR, a thermal imaging company, to design a new infrared camera capable of detecting human movement at night, and have installed cameras around Kenya's Maasai Mara Conservancy. Since the programme started, local rangers have nabbed over 150 poachers. CONNECT WITH WIRED Web: http://po.st/WiredVideo Twitter: http://po.st/TwitterWired Facebook: http://po.st/FacebookWired Google+: http://po.st/GoogleWired Instagram: http://po.st/InstagramWired Magazine: http://po.st/MagazineWired Newsletter: http://po.st/NewslettersWired ABOUT WIRED WIRED brings you the future as it happens - the people, the trends, the big ideas that will change our lives. An award-winning printed monthly and online publication. WIRED is an agenda-setting magazine offering brain food on a wide range of topics, from science, technology and business to pop-culture and politics.

Chief of British boutique RWC lures prized managers with offer of much greater autonomy

It seems that there is rampant poaching of pangolins taking place during the lockdown in the Konkan belt, and their scales are being illegally sold in the local black market. During the raids, the forest department recovered two kilograms of pangolin scales and six nails. The pangolin is one of the most trafficked wild animals across the world as there is a huge international demand for its scales.

Range Forest Officer (RFO), Vaibhav Borate, said, "Based on the tip-off received from our sources, our forest department team raided the house of Kalpesh Tukaram Balgude at Karanjali [Balgudewadi] village near Dapoli. During the search operation of the house, our team recovered one tortoise shell, one jungle hare, and 22 kg of pangolin scales and nails. We have taken the accused into custody and investigation is on."

As evidence related to wildlife trade have been found from the house of the accused, the forest department is exploring the possibility of him doing this regularly. The forest department team has registered an offence under various sections of the Wildlife Protection Act, 1972.

According to the Wildlife Crime Control Bureau (WCCB) website, "Major threats to pangolins in India are hunting and poaching for local consumptive use and international trade. Another reason for hunting pangolin is its meat. There is now greater evidence of its inclusion in illicit international trade, in particular its scales, from India through Myanmar to China and South-East Asian countries as the most likely, final destinations. Inadequate information on population and distribution further accentuates the threats arising from hunting and poaching."

The Indian Pangolin is found sporadically throughout the plains and lower slopes of hills from south of the Himalayas to Kanyakumari, except the north-eastern region. The Chinese Pangolin is found in India in Sikkim, Arunachal Pradesh, Meghalaya, Nagaland, Assam, Manipur, Tripura, Mizoram and the northern part of West Bengal.

Why Pangolins?

Pangolins are the most trafficked mammal in the world, for their scales [made of keratin], which are boiled off their bodies for use in traditional medicine. Their meat is a delicacy in Vietnam and China; and their blood, which is considered to be a healing tonic.

Pangolin could help find cure for COVID-19?

Soon after the outbreak of COVID-19 pandemic, there were many media reports that claimed that the endangered pangolin was linked to the initial outbreak of the disease in China. However, this hasn't been proven yet. Now, a research conducted by the Medical University of Vienna in Austria, has revealed that certain genes sense when a virus enters the body, and trigger an immune response in most mammals. They found that pangolins, which have been called the 'missing link' between bats and humans, lack two of those virus-sensing genes. This means that not only are the endangered animals carriers, but they also seem to be immune to it, via an unknown mechanism. This evolutionary advantage and its understanding may give way to possible treatment options for COVID-19.

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Scientists at the Smithsonian Conservation Biology Institute (SCBI) have found that poaching is an emerging crisis for Asian elephants in Myanmar. Researchers first became aware […]

The post Elephant poaching crisis in Myanmar appeared first on Smithsonian Insider.

Single roots can have thousand-dollar price tags, attracting poachers into protected lands, so what makes ginseng so valuable?

Court documents reveal Jelf believes its losses total over £1.2m.

A recent study has found that three quarters of the world’s big carnivores are in decline, due to declining habitats and persecution by humans. This is also having a negative impact on the environment because top predators have a crucial role in any given ecosystem which is hard to replace.

At the same time, the number of rhinos being poached in South Africa (where most rhinos now remain) has soared exponentially in recent years.

This update includes more information on the above issues.

Read full article: Nature and Animal Conservation

DOVER, Del. – A Dover man was arrested March 3 on multiple poaching and criminal charges following an investigation by DNREC Fish & Wildlife Natural Resources Police. On Feb. 15, a Fish & Wildlife officer responded to a complaint near Smyrna regarding a shot fired from a pickup truck toward hunters who were in a field amidst snow goose decoys. The vehicle from which the shot was fired was seen later driving through and making ruts in the field occupied by the goose hunters. Ryan Permelia, 28, was charged with one count each of hunting from a motor vehicle, hunting snow goose without required conservation order season permit, possession of prohibited lead shot while hunting migratory waterfowl, carrying an unlawfully loaded firearm in a motor vehicle, reckless endangering first degree, criminal mischief under $1,000, and criminal trespass third degree. Permelia was arraigned through Justice of the Peace Court 2 and released on his own recognizance, pending a future court appearance in the Kent County Court of Common Pleas.

Seized illicit shipments of elephant ivory are almost entirely made up of tusks from recently poached animals rather than siphoned from government stockpiles, scientists using a forensic technique reported on Monday.

Elephants, tigers, and other threatened species are thriving in Thailand's Western Forest Complex thanks to conservation efforts.

Al-Shabaab, the al-Qaeda-backed Somali terror group responsible for Saturday's attack in a Nairobi mall, receives significant funding from the illegal poaching. This is why the US sees wildlife trafficking as a national security issue.

Even though there has been notable progress, at current poaching rates elephants are still in danger of becoming virtually extinct on the continent.

Before 2015, the Mozambique reserve lost many thousands of elephants due to rampant poaching – now they’ve just had a full year without any illegal deaths.

New short narrative film strives to deepen the global discussion around the illegal wildlife trade.

The Thane Forest Department (Territorial) on Saturday night detained one more person in connection with the poaching case of a sambar deer and leopard, carcasses of which were found last week, trapped in wire snares set at the Film City.

Over the weekend, the five accused were taken to locations they had revealed during interrogation and some important evidence including bones of wild animals were recovered by the department. It was during this exercise that the name of the person came up.

According to sources, the accused were taken to various spots in the Film City where they had allegedly killed the animals. A Forest Department official said, "A few names came up during interrogation based on which one person was picked up."

"The accused also took us to the locations where they had set some snares and we have recovered bones and antlers from one such location," said a source from the Forest Department on the condition of anonymity.

The accused also confessed to having killed a barking deer at one spot, photos of which were found in one of their phones. A person was also named for allegedly selling sambar and spotted deer meat.

"We are exploring the meat trade bit and will get more names as interrogation progresses. One of the accused was wearing a gold chain with a pendant that had a nail resembling that of a big cat. We have seized it and will send it for forensic examination," the source added.

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Tourism in east Africa’s renowned wildlife reserves has collapsed amid the global shutdown

FSB security service detained more than 160 North Korean fishermen at gunpoint and accused them of illegal fishing in Russian waters. After a gun battle four Russian guards were wounded.

EXCLUSIVE BY MIKE KEEGAN: Sources have disclosed that a peace treaty is among a number of measures being discussed by various executives as the COVID-19 crisis continues.

India’s forest staff operate in appalling conditions: open toed footwear, lack of simple facilities like torches, jeeps, wireless sets or guns. How is the fight against poaching to be won? Malini Shankar has more.

Wildlife experts across India stress the need for more stronger cases backed by scientific evidence and administrative efficiency, speedy trials and effective prosecution of the guilty. Bosky Khanna reports.

Golfer Jyoti Randhawa arrested for poaching

Base camps, check-posts set up as part of the drive