(CNN)A British helicopter pilot was fatally shot by elephant poachers while flying an anti-poaching mission in Tanzania, a member of Parliament and a conservation fund said Saturday.
Roger Gower was working with Tanzanian wildlife authorities when the poachers fired on his helicopter and fatally wounded him Friday, said Dan Friedkin, chairman of the Texas-based non-profit Friedkin Conservation Fund.
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From traditional soup to the hottest pets to traditional medicine, illegal wildlife products make up one of the biggest black markets in the world. Valued at billions of dollars, the illicit trade is undoing decades of conservation work and undermining economic development and national security in countries around the world. But new technologies are being developed every day to combat the poaching and trafficking of wildlife.
To encourage innovation, the National Geographic Society partnered with the Smithsonian Institution, the U.S. Agency for International Development, and TRAFFIC, the wildlife trade monitoring organization, in hosting the Wildlife Crime Tech Challenge. It’s a competition to solicit proposals for new ways to harness science and technology in the fight against wildlife crime.
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HOUSTON (AP) - A man who led authorities on a chase followed by a shootout that left a Texas game warden dead is scheduled to be executed this week in the busy death penalty state.
James Freeman was suspected of illegally hunting at night from his truck in Southeast Texas' Wharton County when a game warden spotted him. Freeman drove off, leading authorities to pursue him for 90 minutes. The chase reached 130 mph at one point and ended near a cemetery with Freeman stepping out of his disabled pickup truck and shooting at officers.
With three of his tires flattened, Freeman kept firing until he emptied his 11-shot .357-caliber handgun. He switched to an AK-47 assault rifle with a 30-round clip.
When it was over, Freeman had been shot four times and Justin Hurst, a Texas Parks and Wildlife game warden who had joined the March 17, 2007, chase, was fatally wounded. It was Hurst's 34th birthday.
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It is with great sadness that we announce the loss of Ranger Sebinyenzi who died protecting Virunga on Friday, January 23rd. He was 40 years old and had been protecting Virunga for over 20 years. Sebinyenzi had a distinguished career and was highly respected by his fellow rangers.
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