conservation

Whether it’s a scientific study in an online database or a simple cellphone photo of a species posted on Facebook, the surge of online data on rare animals and plants is inadvertently fueling a vast illegal trade.

With its silky fur and bandit-masked face, the black-footed ferret cuts a cute, if lethal figure on the American plains. It’s also the star of a great comeback story.

Normally elephants forage for food and migrate in daylight — which is when the poachers go after them.

“I believe it is more regenerative for the land and I think it benefits rural economies,” one farmer says.

The Białowieża Forest in Poland and Belarus contains some of the last remaining old-growth forests in Europe. Protections are strong in Belarus, but some areas in Poland are managed as commercial forest and the Polish government has now authorized a threefold increase in logging.