Wildlife encounters

Brazil: Rio’s Main Lagoon Overflows With Dead Fish

Date: March 19th, 2013 |

Heavy rains and rotting algae depleted the water-oxygen levels in Rio de Janeiro’s Rodrigo de Freitas lagoon, filling the 2016 Olympic rowing venue—and site of countless postcard pictures—with thousands of dead, decomposing fish. During a two-day emergency cleanup process, workers hauled more than 71 tons of dead fish out of the lagoon, which is located [read more]

Zimbabwe: Man-Eating Lions Haunt Kariba

Date: March 13th, 2013 |

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The northern resort town of Kariba has been on “man-eater watch” since two people were killed by lions in the same week. Kariba is a tourist destination known for safari camps and water-based activities such as houseboating and fishing excursions. All of the lion sightings occurred in the poorer and more populated suburbs of [read more]

Worldwide: Captive Sea Turtles May Pose Health Risks to Humans

Date: February 13th, 2013 |

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A recent report warns tourists not to touch—or eat—sea turtles raised in captivity, as they may pose serious health risks to humans. An extensive case study performed at a large turtle farm in Grand Cayman found that captive turtles, including those raised for food, carry bacteria, fungi and parasites that can be readily transmitted to [read more]

India: Government Lifts Ban on Tiger Tourism

Date: October 17th, 2012 |

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In a widely anticipated decision, India’s highest court has lifted the ban on tourism in the country’s tiger parks. The ban went into effect in July and effectively shut down all tours into the core areas of the national wildlife parks, in an attempt to protect the endangered cats. Conservationists around the globe disagreed with [read more]

Africa: Elephants Threatened to Extinction by Guerrilla Poachers

Date: September 4th, 2012 |

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Those who dream of taking a safari might be wise to book it sooner rather than later. The skyrocketing price of ivory, now worth as much as $1,000 per pound on the black market, has turned guerrilla armies into ruthless poachers, placing Africa’s remaining elephants in peril. The militants’ sophisticated weaponry, along with continued high [read more]

Cayman Islands: Wild Stingrays are Adapting to Tourists’ Handouts

Date: March 19th, 2013 |

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Feeding the wild sting rays has become a popular attraction on Grand Cayman, and not just with tourists. A recent study of the free-swimming rays at “Stingray City,” a cluster of shallow sandbars on the island’s north side, showed that most of the rays in the area had reversed their natural, nocturnal feeding behaviors to [read more]

Thailand: Elephant Camps Promote Poaching, Activists Claim

Date: March 6th, 2013 |

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Elephant camps, which employ about 4,000 Asian elephants throughout the country, have long been a popular tourist attraction. Many of the camps also claim to rescue animals that would otherwise starve when they retire from logging or other heavy labor, and put them to work in the entertainment business. However, conservationists are accusing some of [read more]

Kenya: Locals Armed to Help Stop Elephant Poachers

Date: January 2nd, 2013 |

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Faced with the decimation of their remaining elephants—and arguably, their nation’s largest tourist attraction—the government is supporting a grassroots anti-poaching program that trains and arms groups of local men, including some former poachers. The black market price of ivory has soared in Asia over the last decade, driving Kenya’s worst poaching crisis since 1989. Many [read more]

Thailand: Tourists Caught “Tiger Teasing” at Famed Temple

Date: September 12th, 2012 |

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The famous “Tiger Temple” in western Kanchanaburi province has come under fire again, after a recent YouTube video showed a busload of tourists teasing the animals with bags of meat tied to long sticks. Animal rights’ groups have criticized the temple for years, claiming that the tigers are regularly and heavily sedated so that tourists [read more]

Canada: Tourists Spotted Baiting Bears with Raw Meat

Date: August 7th, 2012 |

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Alarmed witnesses spotted a group of foreign tourists throwing meat from a tour van in Banff National Park, in a dangerous attempt to entice some grizzly bears closer to the vehicle. Park authorities tracked down the owner of the commercial van, but not the tourists, who had already left the country and may not have [read more]

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