Wildlife Conservation Stories

  • Securing a future for wild tigers

    December 22, 2020

    The tiger is making a comeback—learn about a few tiger champions who are helping this iconic species to recover.

    Close up portrait of an adult tiger in tall green reeds looking at the camera with its mouth open
  • New Facebook alert informs users about wildlife trafficking

    December 21, 2020

    Since 2016, Facebook and WWF have been working together to address wildlife trafficking by detecting and removing illicit activity that fuels the trade in wildlife and its products on one of the largest social media platforms in the world. As part of this effort, Facebook launched a new pop-up interstitial alert message that will inform users about illegal wildlife trade when certain wildlife-related search words are entered.

    A barbary macaque sits in a tree looking up
  • An Eye on Recovery

    December 17, 2020

    WWF is helping to support Australia’s first large-scale collaborative camera trap project.

    Two men crouching down on the ground to set up netting and a camera to capture images of wildlife passing by
  • Meet Dr. Parikshit Kakati, WWF India’s wildlife veterinary specialist

    December 15, 2020

    Dr. Parikshit Kakati, WWF India’s wildlife veterinary specialist, plays a key role during the flood season in Assam, India, as part of a team that rescues and treats injured wild animals.

    A vet tends to an elephant that is safely tranquilized and laying on the ground
  • 100 bison find a new home with the Rosebud Sioux Tribe

    October 30, 2020

    The Tribe will create the largest native-owned and managed bison herd in North America. These 100 bison are the first of as many as 1,500 animals setting foot on 28,000 acres of native grassland.

    Bison walk out into a brown field
  • Investing in "Thirty Hills"

    October 27, 2020

    Thirty Hills is the last large block of intact, lowland forest still standing in central Sumatra. After five years of successful forest conservation, we celebrate five major wins within this critically important landscape.

    The Bukit Tigapuluh, or “Thirty Hills,” landscape is one of the last great stands of rain forest in the deforestation hotspot that is the Indonesian island of Sumatra
  • Ghost fishing gear

    October 20, 2020

    Ghost fishing gear includes any abandoned, lost, or otherwise discarded fishing gear. It is the deadliest form of marine plastic debris and often goes unseen. Learn more about how you can help stop this silent killer and protect the health of our ocean its inhabitants.

    A large seal on the beach with its neck caught in abandoned fishing gear
  • Crossing Paths

    WWF Magazine: Winter 2020
    As seasonal waters ebb and flow, the movements of elephants and other wildlife follow.
    African elephant facing camera
  • Flow Lines

    WWF Magazine: Winter 2020
    Keeping water flowing for people and wildlife in the Kavango-Zambezi Transfrontier Conservation Area will take action at every level. Here's what WWF is doing for it.
    Aerial photo of three elephants wading through water
  • Employing AI to evaluate wildlife populations on a global scale

    WWF Magazine: Winter 2020
    Launched in December 2019 by Google and a host of conservation partners, Wildlife Insights offers a simple upload system, cloud-based storage, and AI tagging and analysis.
    Wildlife Insights logo
  • Monitoring jaguars to help ensure their long-term survival

    WWF Magazine: Winter 2020
    In 2017, WWF-Peru began monitoring jaguars in the Napo-Putumayo Corridor to gain crucial insights that could help protect the species longterm.
    Jaguar walking close to camera
  • After 51 years, swift foxes return to the grasslands of Fort Belknap Indian Reservation in Montana

    September 24, 2020

    Twenty-seven swift foxes were brought to the area from Wyoming in September, marking the beginning of a five-year reintroduction program led by the Assiniboine (Nakoda) and Gros Ventre (Aaniiih) Tribes of Fort Belknap.

    A reintroduced swift fox stands in tall yellow grasses
  • Predator-proof pens protect community livelihoods in Nepal

    September 11, 2020

    New predator-proof pens improved both financial and psychological well-being for communities, who no longer having to guard their livestock throughout the night and can feel secure that their livelihood is safe.

    Woman in front of pen of goats in Khata corridor, Nepal
  • Four things to know about captive tigers in the US

    July 29, 2020

    We sit down with WWF's policy lead on wildlife conservation, Leigh Henry, to learn more about what the Big Cat Public Safety Act is and why it's critical for the protection of tigers.

    A large tiger lays down in a dark forest and stares into the camera
  • Do you know what's really on your plate?

    July 23, 2020

    Since 1970, global populations of mammals, fish, birds, reptiles, and amphibians have declined an average of 70%. For freshwater species, the situation is even bleaker; in that same time frame, populations have declined by 84%, and 1 in 3 freshwater species are now threatened with extinction. Being mindful of what species are at risk in the marine and freshwater environments can help you protect these animals from disappearing for good and enjoy your seafood responsibly.

    Bluefin tuna sushi sitting on a plate
  • Rhinos make a comeback in India's Manas National Park

    July 02, 2020

    The greater one-horned rhinos in Manas National Park - their population once completely decimated by poaching - are making a comeback thanks to joint conservation efforts under the Indian Rhino Vision 2020 initiative. 

    A greater one-horned rhino chews a mouthful of grass
  • The snaring crisis in Southeast Asia

    July 01, 2020

    Illegal snaring is a rampant threat to wildlife and people in the forests of Southeast Asia. Snares are used to capture animals for the illegal wildlife trade. WWF-supported ranger patrols are working to address this crisis by removing snares. 

    Confiscated snares and traps in Cambodia.
  • A landmark snow leopard collaring in Nepal

    May 21, 2020

    Elusive and solitary nature, snow leopards are rarely spotted and even less frequently studied within their rugged and harsh habitat. However last November, two snow leopards were captured, fitted with satellite-GPS collars, and successfully released back into their rocky homeland in Western Nepal. The two male snow leopards were the first since the 1980s to be fitted with collars within Shey Phoksundo National Park in Western Nepal.

    Collared snow leopard on rocky terrain in high mountains of Western Nepal
  • Blood-free honey — How a safer harvesting program is reducing deadly human-tiger conflicts

    May 12, 2020

    WWF India, in association with the Sundarbans Biosphere Reserve (SBR) Directorate, has implemented a program to significantly reduce the number of tiger-related deaths of honey collectors.

    Honey collection in the Sundarbans
  • Rosebud Sioux Tribe will create the largest Native-owned and managed bison herd in North America

    May 07, 2020

    The Rosebud Sioux tribe committed 28,000 acres of native grassland for the creation of a new plains bison herd. With a capacity to support 1,500 animals, the Wolakota Buffalo Range will become North America’s largest Native American owned and managed bison herd.

    A lone bison on the Fort Peck Tribes Cultural Buffalo Herd Ranch Facility
  • Tiger spotted at record-high elevation in Nepal

    April 28, 2020

    New camera trap images reveal the highest-elevation sighting of a tiger in Nepal, captured at over 8,000 feet in a densely forested area.

    Camera trap image of tiger at high elevation
  • Searching for koalas that survived bushfires in Australia

    WWF Magazine: Summer 2020
    In the aftermath of Australia’s devastating bushfires, WWF deployed field detection dogs to help locate surviving wildlife. During five days of searches in January 2020, the dogs found 10 koalas.
    Dog and trainer in woods
  • Moving fast to photograph a slow sloth

    WWF Magazine: Summer 2020
    Sloths are slow-moving creatures that spend their lives in tree canopies, munching on leaves and napping. When you spot one, you have time to think. Still, getting this shot had its challenges.
    Sloth
  • Visiting a tiger farm in Southeast Asia—and what such places mean for wild tigers

    Leigh Henry and her colleagues from WWF’s Tiger’s Alive team visited Thailand, Laos, and Vietnam to continue the work of ending the illegal tiger trade and phasing out tiger farms.

    Tiger in a cage