The bonobo, along with the chimpanzee, is one of our two closest living relatives. Their relatively narrow geographic range (south of the Congo River in the Democratic Republic of Congo) combined with the history of political instability in the region, has made their scientific study extremely difficult. In contrast, there are dozens of wild and captive sites where research has been conducted for decades with chimpanzees. Because data sets on bonobos have been so hard to obtain and so few large-scale studies have been published, the majority of researchers have treated chimpanzee data as being representative of both species. However, this misconception is now rapidly changing. With relative stability in the DRC for over a decade and a growing community of bonobos living in zoos and sanctuaries internationally, there has been an explosion of scientific interest in the bonobo with dozens of high impact publications focusing on this fascinating species. This research has revealed exactly how unique bonobos are in their brains and behavior, and reminds us why it is so important that we redouble our efforts to protect the few remaining wild populations of this iconic and highly endangered great ape species.

Extinction Studies focuses on the entangled ecological and social dimensions of extinction, exploring the ways in which extinction catastrophically interrupts life-giving processes of time, death, and generations. The volume opens up important philosophical questions about our place in, and obligations to, a more-than-human world. Drawing on fieldwork, philosophy, literature, history, and a range of other perspectives, each of the chapters in this book tells a unique extinction story that explores what extinction is, what it means, why it matters-and to whom.

The illegal killing of Cecil - a famous and magnificent black-maned Zimbabwean lion - by an American big-game hunter in 2015 sparked international outrage. More significantly, it drew the world's attention to the devastating plight of Africa's lions. A century ago, there were more than 200,000 wild lions living in Africa. Today, with that population reduced by more than 90 per cent, many experts believe that without effective conservation plans, Africa's remaining wild lions could be completely wiped out by the mid-half of this century. When the Last Lion Roars explores the historic rise and fall of the lion as a global species, and examines the reasons behind its catastrophic decline. Interwoven with vivid personal encounters of Africa's last lions, Sara Evans questions what is being done to reverse (or at least stem) this population collapse, and she considers the importance of human responsibility in this decline and, more crucially, in their conservation. From the Lion Guardians in Kenya to the Living Walls of Tanzania, and the Hwange Lion Research Project in Zimbabwe, Sara meets both lions and their champions, people who are fighting to bring this iconic species back from the brink of extinction.

The sixth mass extinction or Anthropocene extinction is one of the most pervasive issues of our time. Animals, Plants and Afterimages brings together leading scholars in the humanities and life sciences to explore how extinct species are represented in art and visual culture, with a special emphasis on museums. Engaging with celebrated cases of vanished species such as the quagga and the thylacine as well as less well-known examples of animals and plants, these essays explore how representations of recent and ancient extinctions help advance scientific understanding and speak to contemporary ecological and environmental concerns.

This book presents an in-depth analysis of the environmental issues raised in the South China Sea Arbitration Awards, which have not attracted as much attention in the Philippines as the "nine-dash line". Specifically it focuses on the conservation of endangered species and the conservation of fragile ecosystems in the South China Sea. The aims of the book are two-fold. First, it seeks to explain the Philippine perspective on the environmental aspects of its dispute with China. The book reconstructs the Philippine perspective in part by consulting several dozens of the hundreds of documents that the Philippines submitted to the Tribunal. Some of these documents were classified as secret and would thus have never been made available to the public had it not been for the arbitration. Second, it attempts to explain the decisions of the Tribunal on jurisdiction and admissibility as well as the decisions on the merits of the dispute. The book does this by consulting not only the two Awards but also the hundreds of pages of transcripts, expert reports, supplemental submissions and written responses by the Philippines to questions posed by the Tribunal.

Dynamic naturalist Michael Blencowe has travelled the globe to uncover the fascinating backstories of eleven extinct animals, which he shares with charm and insight in Gone. 'Really, really well written' - CHRIS PACKHAM Inspired by his childhood obsession with extinct species, Blencowe takes us around the globe - from the forests of New Zealand to the ferries of Finland, from the urban sprawl of San Francisco to an inflatable crocodile on Brighton's Widewater Lagoon. Spanning five centuries, from the last sighting of New Zealand's Upland Moa to the 2012 death of the Pinta Island Giant Tortoise, Lonesome George, his memoir is peppered with the accounts of the hunters and naturalists of the past as well as revealing conversations with the custodians of these totemic animals today. Featuring striking artworks that resurrect these forgotten creatures, each chapter focuses on a different animal, revealing insights into their unique characteristics and habitats; the history of their discovery and just how and when they came to be lost to us. Blencowe inspects the only known remains of a Huia egg at Te Papa, New Zealand; views hundreds of specimens of deceased Galapagos tortoises and Xerces Blue butterflies in the California Academy of Sciences; and pays his respects to the only soft tissue remains of the Dodo in the world. Warm, wry and thought-provoking, Gone shows that while each extinction story is different, all can inform how we live in the future. Discover and learn from the stories of the: Great Auk. A majestic flightless seabird of the North Atlantic and the 'original penguin'. Spectacled Cormorant. The 'ludicrous bird' from the remote islands of the Bering Sea. Steller's Sea Cow. An incredible ten tonne dugong with skin as furrowed as oak bark. Upland Moa. The improbable birds and the one-time rulers of New Zealand. Huia. The unique bird with two beaks and twelve precious tail feathers. South Island Kokako. The 'orange-wattled crow', New Zealand's elusive Grey Ghost. Xerces Blue. The gossamer-winged butterfly of the San Francisco sand dunes. Pinta Island Tortoise. The slow-moving, long-lived giant of the Galapagos Islands. Dodo. The superstar of extinction. Schomburgk's Deer. A mysterious deer from the wide floodplains of central Thailand. Ivell's Sea Anemone. A see-through sea creature known only from southern England. A modern must-read for anyone interested in protecting our earth and its incredible wildlife, Gone is an evocative call to conserve what we have before it is lost forever.

This book offers a theoretically-based study on crimes against protected wildlife in mainland China with first-hand empirical data collected over five years. It provides an overall examination of crimes against protected and endangered wildlife and an extensive account of the situation in China, where a significant portion of the illegal wildlife trade is currently happening. This emerging field has become an important topic for enforcement and governments alike yet remains an under-researched area. The collected data covers illegal tiger-parts trade, the illegal ivory trade, and the consumption of protected wildlife. The book will serve as a useful reference for scholars, law-enforcement agencies, lawyers, and conservation and wildlife-protection NGO groups to facilitate their understanding of the growing illegal trade in protected and endangered wildlife. The Illegal Wildlife Trade in China has three general aims: first, to contribute to the general development of green criminology and specifically to the literature of the illegal transactions of protected wildlife at the distribution stage. Second, it aims to understand how illegal transactions are carried out to create insights for policy makers and law enforcement professionals. Finally, Wong seeks to apply theoretical frameworks (such as that of trust, networks, and situational crime prevention) to the understanding of the distribution of illegal wildlife products in order to make contributions to ongoing sociological and criminological discussions.

The story of invasive species in New Zealand is unlike any other in the world. By the mid-thirteenth century, the main islands of the country were the last large landmasses on Earth to remain uninhabited by humans, or any other land mammals. New Zealand's endemic fauna evolved in isolation until first Polynesians, and then Europeans, arrived with a host of companion animals such as rats and cats in tow. Well-equipped with teeth and claws, these small furry mammals, along with the later arrival of stoats and ferrets, have devastated the fragile populations of unique birds, lizards and insects. Carolyn M. King brings together the necessary historical analysis and recent ecological research to understand this long, slow tragedy. As a comprehensive historical perspective on the fate of an iconic endemic fauna, this book offers much-needed insight into one of New Zealand's longest-running national crises.

This book offers a theoretically-based study on crimes against protected wildlife in mainland China with first-hand empirical data collected over five years. It provides an overall examination of crimes against protected and endangered wildlife and an extensive account of the situation in China, where a significant portion of the illegal wildlife trade is currently happening. This emerging field has become an important topic for enforcement and governments alike yet remains an under-researched area. The collected data covers illegal tiger-parts trade, the illegal ivory trade, and the consumption of protected wildlife. The book will serve as a useful reference for scholars, law-enforcement agencies, lawyers, and conservation and wildlife-protection NGO groups to facilitate their understanding of the growing illegal trade in protected and endangered wildlife. The Illegal Wildlife Trade in China has three general aims: first, to contribute to the general development of green criminology and specifically to the literature of the illegal transactions of protected wildlife at the distribution stage. Second, it aims to understand how illegal transactions are carried out to create insights for policy makers and law enforcement professionals. Finally, Wong seeks to apply theoretical frameworks (such as that of trust, networks, and situational crime prevention) to the understanding of the distribution of illegal wildlife products in order to make contributions to ongoing sociological and criminological discussions.