Singita Ebony Lodge remains one of Africa's most influential pioneers of conservation-led luxury. Positioned along the banks of the Sand River, this lodge sits among enormous trees and provides guests with access to 45,000 acres of private reserve.
Among African elephants, "Big Tuskers" refers to bulls that grow tusks so long they sometimes scrape the ground. Each one can weigh well over 100 pounds. These giant, ivory incisors continually grow throughout an elephant's life, and males typically have much larger tusks than females.
Both species are under threat. But while African savanna elephants are endangered, forest elephants are critically endangered. They're also highly elusive. Living in dense tropical rainforests in central Africa and parts of West Africa they're very hard to find and study.
The panda house at Ueno Zoo in Tokyo is not due to open for several hours, but visitors are already milling around its entrance, pausing to pose for photographs in front of murals of the facility's most beloved residents. A short walk away the gift shop is doing a roaring trade in themed souvenirs from cuddly toys and stationery to T-shirts and biscuits. The visitors are here to say goodbye to Xiao Xiao and Lei Lei.
In February 2023, an article in the Mexican press announced the capture of a vessel some 195 nautical miles from the port of Lazaro Cardenas in the state of Michoacan. It had been carrying nearly 700 pounds of cocaine packaged in plastic-wrapped bricks, in addition to 1,650 liters of hydrocarbons in 33 plastic containers. Two Ecuadorian fishermen were among the five detainees, and their immigration records showed unusual activity.
The House of Elements, set to become the crown jewel of Orientarium Zoo in Łódź, Poland, takes the classical elements (earth, ice, water, fire, and air) and transforms them into a 6,000-square-meter narrative experience. Rather than designing a building where you walk from exhibit to exhibit, VMA created a continuous downward-then-upward journey that mirrors the evolution of life itself. Designer: VMA Design Studio for Orientarium Zoo
Demand for safari holidays is growing, so how can you do it without harming animals, people or the landscape? Last summer, images were shared of a scene in Tanzania's Serengeti National Park - a large group of jeeps and dozens of tourists standing outside taking pictures of 'The Great Migration' and blocking wildebeests' traditional crossing point. Jeep traffic jams have also been widely reported in other parks, including Sri Lanka's Yala, known for its high density of leopards.
The world spends 30 times more money destroying nature than protecting it. That's according to a new report from the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) that exposes a massive gulf between so-called "harmful investments" and financing that promotes nature preservation. The global environment agency's latest "State of Finance for Nature" (SNF) report is calling to phase out the US$7.3 trillion (6.2 trillion) in global investments that damage nature including into high-emissions energy infrastructure and manufacturing, for example.