More than 50 cheetahs rescued from the illegal wildlife trade have been relocated to a compound in Somaliland, East Africa, amid a report that reveals global demand for exotic pets remains high.
Two siblings — Cizi and Bagheer — brought into the Cheetah Conservation Fund as cubs were rescued by the Somaliland government in 2020 and are among the first to bed down in the Somaliland Cheetah Rescue and Conservation Centre at Geed-Deeble.
The government project, the result of a long-standing partnership with the Cheetah Conservation Fund, is one of the first in East Africa.
The siblings have been joined by 50 other cubs at the 800-hectare site, all rescued from the illegal pet trade in recent months.
A further 37 cheetahs — rescued from traffickers and that are currently in safe houses — will join the compound, that will double as a research and training centre, an hour or so outside of Hargeisa.
“We are exceptionally pleased with the results of the move,” said Dr Laurie Marker, founder and executive director of the Cheetah Conservation Fund.
“The cubs we moved stayed in their large management enclosures for a day or two to acclimatise them to their new area.
“Then their keepers watched happily as they were released into their spacious enclosures and [they] have since settled in very well.”
Cheetahs, listed as an Appendix 1 species under the Convention for International Trade in Endangered Species, are mostly removed from the wild in the Horn of Africa to supply the illegal pet trade.
Since 2011, the Cheetah Conservation Fund has been assisting the government of Somaliland in caring for cheetahs intercepted from traffickers.
A recent report from the Counter Extremism Project (CEP), a non-profit NGO that monitors revenue streams for terrorism and extremism, found illegal wildlife trafficking was experiencing a post-pandemic resurgence.
The illegal trade in animals and their body parts has grown to an estimated annual value of up to $23 billion, devastating animal populations and driving species such as the elephant, rhinoceros and cheetah towards extinction.
The CEP’s Extinction Inc report showed how poachers and smugglers rapidly adapted during the pandemic, exploiting tourist-free national parks while moving marketing and sales online.
The onset of Covid-19 crippled national park budgets, limiting the number of bush rangers in place to protect wildlife.
In Garamba National Park, a 5,000-square-kilometre plot in the Democratic Republic of Congo, 25 per cent of rangers had at one point lost their jobs, a familiar pattern seen across Africa.
“Gangs of ivory poachers and porters cross the border with Cameroon, working directly for larger scale traffickers,” Lee White, Gabon's Minister of Water, Forests, the Sea and Environment, told the report’s authors.
“A small number of individuals control the large trafficking networks. Some of these feed money to extremist groups.”
Globalisation fuels smuggling
Anti-smuggling efforts are being completely overwhelmed by the huge growth of international trade and passenger traffic.
In 2019, one million wildlife products were seized at airports around the world, with half plucked from hand luggage.
Ivory trafficking routes from Zimbabwe include couriers flying from Harare to Hong Kong, with ivory hidden inside purpose-made vests and luggage, the report said.
Smuggled goods from the illegal trade are becoming increasingly difficult to monitor.
Global maritime trade has almost tripled since 1990, from four billion tonnes to more than 11 billion in 2021, with similar growth expected over the next 25 years.
Analysis in the CEP report found that only 10 per cent of shipping containers were inspected by operators, while about 2 per cent of all freight was checked by global port authorities.
Despite the challenges, gains are being made.
A month-long Interpol operation in October 2022 resulted in 2,200 separate seizures and the identification of 934 suspects and 141 companies involved in illegal wildlife trafficking.
Aside from financing extremism, the illicit transfer of animal products represents a major entry point for zoonotic diseases that can pass from animals to humans.
According to the US Centres for Disease Control, three in four new or emerging infectious diseases are zoonotic.
“The effect of the Covid-19 pandemic has been difficult to analyse,” said Trang Nguyen, executive director at WildAct, in the CEP report.
“There has been a reduction in cross-border trade. But domestically, wildlife crime has not decreased at all — and may have even increased.”
Diriyah%20project%20at%20a%20glance
%3Cp%3E-%20Diriyah%E2%80%99s%201.9km%20King%20Salman%20Boulevard%2C%20a%20Parisian%20Champs-Elysees-inspired%20avenue%2C%20is%20scheduled%20for%20completion%20in%202028%0D%3Cbr%3E-%20The%20Royal%20Diriyah%20Opera%20House%20is%20expected%20to%20be%20completed%20in%20four%20years%0D%3Cbr%3E-%20Diriyah%E2%80%99s%20first%20of%2042%20hotels%2C%20the%20Bab%20Samhan%20hotel%2C%20will%20open%20in%20the%20first%20quarter%20of%202024%0D%3Cbr%3E-%20On%20completion%20in%202030%2C%20the%20Diriyah%20project%20is%20forecast%20to%20accommodate%20more%20than%20100%2C000%20people%0D%3Cbr%3E-%20The%20%2463.2%20billion%20Diriyah%20project%20will%20contribute%20%247.2%20billion%20to%20the%20kingdom%E2%80%99s%20GDP%0D%3Cbr%3E-%20It%20will%20create%20more%20than%20178%2C000%20jobs%20and%20aims%20to%20attract%20more%20than%2050%20million%20visits%20a%20year%0D%3Cbr%3E-%20About%202%2C000%20people%20work%20for%20the%20Diriyah%20Company%2C%20with%20more%20than%2086%20per%20cent%20being%20Saudi%20citizens%0D%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
Key facilities
- Olympic-size swimming pool with a split bulkhead for multi-use configurations, including water polo and 50m/25m training lanes
- Premier League-standard football pitch
- 400m Olympic running track
- NBA-spec basketball court with auditorium
- 600-seat auditorium
- Spaces for historical and cultural exploration
- An elevated football field that doubles as a helipad
- Specialist robotics and science laboratories
- AR and VR-enabled learning centres
- Disruption Lab and Research Centre for developing entrepreneurial skills
The five stages of early child’s play
From Dubai-based clinical psychologist Daniella Salazar:
1. Solitary Play: This is where Infants and toddlers start to play on their own without seeming to notice the people around them. This is the beginning of play.
2. Onlooker play: This occurs where the toddler enjoys watching other people play. There doesn’t necessarily need to be any effort to begin play. They are learning how to imitate behaviours from others. This type of play may also appear in children who are more shy and introverted.
3. Parallel Play: This generally starts when children begin playing side-by-side without any interaction. Even though they aren’t physically interacting they are paying attention to each other. This is the beginning of the desire to be with other children.
4. Associative Play: At around age four or five, children become more interested in each other than in toys and begin to interact more. In this stage children start asking questions and talking about the different activities they are engaging in. They realise they have similar goals in play such as building a tower or playing with cars.
5. Social Play: In this stage children are starting to socialise more. They begin to share ideas and follow certain rules in a game. They slowly learn the definition of teamwork. They get to engage in basic social skills and interests begin to lead social interactions.
The Penguin
Starring: Colin Farrell, Cristin Milioti, Rhenzy Feliz
Creator: Lauren LeFranc
Rating: 4/5
The biog
From: Upper Egypt
Age: 78
Family: a daughter in Egypt; a son in Dubai and his wife, Nabila
Favourite Abu Dhabi activity: walking near to Emirates Palace
Favourite building in Abu Dhabi: Emirates Palace
yallacompare profile
Date of launch: 2014
Founder: Jon Richards, founder and chief executive; Samer Chebab, co-founder and chief operating officer, and Jonathan Rawlings, co-founder and chief financial officer
Based: Media City, Dubai
Sector: Financial services
Size: 120 employees
Investors: 2014: $500,000 in a seed round led by Mulverhill Associates; 2015: $3m in Series A funding led by STC Ventures (managed by Iris Capital), Wamda and Dubai Silicon Oasis Authority; 2019: $8m in Series B funding with the same investors as Series A along with Precinct Partners, Saned and Argo Ventures (the VC arm of multinational insurer Argo Group)
ENGLAND SQUAD
Joe Root (captain), Dom Sibley, Rory Burns, Dan Lawrence, Ben Stokes, Ollie Pope, Ben Foakes (wicketkeeper), Moeen Ali, Olly Stone, Chris Woakes, Jack Leach, Stuart Broad
'Tell the Machine Goodnight' by Katie Williams
Penguin Randomhouse
The%20specs
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EEngine%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3E3.0%20twin-turbo%20inline%20six-cylinder%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ETransmission%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3Eeight-speed%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EPower%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3E503hp%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ETorque%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3E600Nm%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EPrice%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3Efrom%20Dh450%2C000%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EOn%20sale%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3Enow%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
Real estate tokenisation project
Dubai launched the pilot phase of its real estate tokenisation project last month.
The initiative focuses on converting real estate assets into digital tokens recorded on blockchain technology and helps in streamlining the process of buying, selling and investing, the Dubai Land Department said.
Dubai’s real estate tokenisation market is projected to reach Dh60 billion ($16.33 billion) by 2033, representing 7 per cent of the emirate’s total property transactions, according to the DLD.
Winners
Best Men's Player of the Year: Kylian Mbappe (PSG)
Maradona Award for Best Goal Scorer of the Year: Robert Lewandowski (Bayern Munich)
TikTok Fans’ Player of the Year: Robert Lewandowski
Top Goal Scorer of All Time: Cristiano Ronaldo (Manchester United)
Best Women's Player of the Year: Alexia Putellas (Barcelona)
Best Men's Club of the Year: Chelsea
Best Women's Club of the Year: Barcelona
Best Defender of the Year: Leonardo Bonucci (Juventus/Italy)
Best Goalkeeper of the Year: Gianluigi Donnarumma (PSG/Italy)
Best Coach of the Year: Roberto Mancini (Italy)
Best National Team of the Year: Italy
Best Agent of the Year: Federico Pastorello
Best Sporting Director of the Year: Txiki Begiristain (Manchester City)
Player Career Award: Ronaldinho
UK’s AI plan
- AI ambassadors such as MIT economist Simon Johnson, Monzo cofounder Tom Blomfield and Google DeepMind’s Raia Hadsell
- £10bn AI growth zone in South Wales to create 5,000 jobs
- £100m of government support for startups building AI hardware products
- £250m to train new AI models
Silent Hill f
Publisher: Konami
Platforms: PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X/S, PC
Rating: 4.5/5
Veil (Object Lessons)
Rafia Zakaria
Bloomsbury Academic
Famous left-handers
- Marie Curie
- Jimi Hendrix
- Leonardo Di Vinci
- David Bowie
- Paul McCartney
- Albert Einstein
- Jack the Ripper
- Barack Obama
- Helen Keller
- Joan of Arc
The National Archives, Abu Dhabi
Founded over 50 years ago, the National Archives collects valuable historical material relating to the UAE, and is the oldest and richest archive relating to the Arabian Gulf.
Much of the material can be viewed on line at the Arabian Gulf Digital Archive - https://www.agda.ae/en
Monday's results
- UAE beat Bahrain by 51 runs
- Qatar beat Maldives by 44 runs
- Saudi Arabia beat Kuwait by seven wickets
Reading List
Practitioners of mindful eating recommend the following books to get you started:
Savor: Mindful Eating, Mindful Life by Thich Nhat Hanh and Dr Lilian Cheung
How to Eat by Thich Nhat Hanh
The Mindful Diet by Dr Ruth Wolever
Mindful Eating by Dr Jan Bays
How to Raise a Mindful Eaterby Maryann Jacobsen