Elephants

27 September 2007 -- An international team of scientists has unlocked the genetic blueprint of hair samples from ancient woolly mammoths found in Siberia. The researchers say the DNA will give them valuable information about the evolution of elephants and possibly other prehistoric animals.

Scientists mapped the entire DNA sequence from the hair shafts of 13 Siberian woolly mammoths.

The mammoths roamed the earth 30,000 to 60,000 years ago and are the common, prehistoric ancestor of the African and Indian elephants.    » read more »

16 June 2007 -- Delegates from 171 nations have wrapped up a conference on endangered species by putting trade restrictions on ivory, several commercial timber species and some fish.

The meeting of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species, known as CITES, ended in The Hague Friday. At the 12-day talks, the delegates also approved trade limits on red and pink coral used in jewelry, saying over-harvesting in the Mediterranean and Pacific threatens to wipe it out.    » read more »

Other Species Cited at CITES Conference in The Hague

June 15, 2007 -- THE HAGUE, Netherlands – The United States is pleased with actions taken by the 171 nations of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES) to protect tigers from poaching and imperiled sawfish species from over-harvest, said Todd Willens, the head of the U.S. Delegation.    » read more »