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White-bellied tree pangolins are being hunted illegally in large numbers in West Africa. Photo courtesy of Justin Miller/Pangolin Conservation ========================================================== ORLANDO, Fla., Oct. 16 (UPI) -- Researchers from Florida and Illinois are leading a global effort to understand and protect the world's most trafficked mammal -- the little-known pangolin. Also called a scaly anteater, the cat-size pangolin is hunted and killed for its scales and meat in Africa and Southeast Asia. New research includes the so-called "Pango-Cam" attached to their backs to provide crucial information about the pangolin diet and territory. Without quick efforts to understand how to breed the...

BROOKFIELD, Ill. — A zoo in Illinois is investigating a controversial photo that some are calling “racist.” The photo shows a woman wearing a Brookfield Zoo uniform with the caption: “At work serving these rude (expletive) white people.” The photo sparked outrage from some customers and was shared thousands of times on social media. Zoo officials confirmed the woman is an employee. They said in a statement: “Yesterday, we became aware of the actions of a single employee which we agree are unacceptable. This employee’s statements in social media are in violation of our policies and do not reflect our institution’s...

A northern gray wolf was shot to death at Brookfield Zoo after it seized the arm of a woman who jumped a fence to reach into its cage, the first time in the zoo's 69-year history that an animal attacked a visitor, zoo officials said Thursday. Cinnamon Bear, an 11-year-old wolf born and raised at the zoo, was shot once in the chest Wednesday by a zoo police officer after the 100-pound animal clamped down on the woman's arm--and refused to let go--when she apparently tried to pet him.