More than 80 elephants have been killed for their ivory by poachers who used cyanide to poison a water hole in Zimbabwe's largest game park.

Tourism Minister Walter Mzembi confirmed the toll on Tuesday after touring Hwange National Park.

Wildlife department officials said the chemical also killed smaller animals and predators which feed on them.

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One of our Kenyan conservation heroes, Jim Nyamu, will be travelling to the US to lead a march from Boston to Washington, DC to create awareness about the plight of Africa's elephants. The march will start on September 3 and Jim will be speaking at several venues along the way. Jim, who heads up an NGO called Elephant Neighbors, has already walked hundreds of miles for elephants in Kenya. He has a commitment and passion that are remarkable.

The Independent (Kampala)

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When Kenyan customs officers on July 8 confiscated about 3,500kgs of elephant ivory alleged to have been smuggled into the country from Uganda, the ministry of Wildlife and related organisations in Kampala reacted with unusual quiet.

New technique may allow countries to track illegal sales.

Roff Smith
for National Geographic

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Fallout from long-ago Cold War explosions is now a forensic tool in the very modern war against elephant poachers and the illegal trade in ivory.

It's a war that's never been hotter. Despite a 1989 international ban on ivory sales, elephant poaching is a bigger business than ever, with an estimated 30,000 African elephants being killed for their tusks last year alone—a rate of slaughter, say wildlife experts, that could drive the majestic animals to extinction within the century. (Explore a map of dwindling African elephant populations.)

The judicial process is on-going in the case brought against Soila Sayialel and Robert Ntawuasa. We cannot comment any further while this process unfolds, and nor will we be speaking to the press. We have been assured by KWS that they regard the Amboseli Trust for Elephants as a highly valued partner and that there is no question that we will be permitted to continue our work in the ecosystem. With this welcome reassurance, we will return our attention to what we are here for: a harmonious and secure future for Amboseli’s people, wildlife and elephants. CM

We are very sorry to report that ATE is facing some of our most challenging times ever. Our Deputy Director Soila Sayialel and Technical Support Assistant Robert Sayialel were arrested and charged with ivory smuggling. We have no belief in these allegations and we are confident an investigation will exonerate them of all charges. We will not comment further on the facts of the case until we have had chance to consult with our lawyers, but we ask everyone to remember that we have fought for and dedicated our lives to elephants for decades. We do not intend to stop now.

By Matthew Knight, CNN

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London (CNN) -- Africa's western black rhino is now officially extinct according the latest review of animals and plants by the world's largest conservation network.

Today, May 3, 2013 is the fourth anniversary of Echo’s death. She was probably the best-known wild elephant in the world, but for us in Amboseli she was almost a daily presence, frequently feeding and resting with her family in and around our research camp. We still miss Echo, but we are very happy to report that her family is thriving.

A very powerful film on elephants will be shown on Earth Day, April 22, 7:00-7:45 ET/PT, exclusively on HBO. Narrated and executive produced by Lily Tomlin and directed by Emmy® winner Amy Schatz, both Cynthia Moss and Joyce Poole are in the film.

New research shows that we have grossly underestimated both the scope and the scale of animal intelligence. Primatologist Frans de Waal on memory-champ chimps, tool-using elephants and rats capable of empathy.

Read the complete article in the Wall Street Journal

Who is smarter: a person or an ape? Well, it depends on the task. Consider Ayumu, a young male chimpanzee at Kyoto University who, in a 2007 study, put human memory to shame. Trained on a touch screen, Ayumu could recall a random series of nine numbers, from 1 to 9, and tap them in the right order, even though the numbers had been displayed for just a fraction of a second and then replaced with white squares.