A SUSPECTED wildlife trafficking kingpin accused of smuggling US$1 million (Bt31 million) worth of rhino horns to Thailand has had the case against him dismissed, in a surprise court verdict slammed by conservationists.

A young child slipped Tuesday into the rhinoceros enclosure at a Florida zoo and was injured, officials said. The child's condition was not immediately known.

Bangkok - A public prosecutor and two Thais were sentenced for four years Tuesday after they were caught attempting to smuggle more than a dozen rhino horns worth $1.4 million through Bangkok's main airport last year. 

Samut Prakan Provincial Court on Tuesday handed down sentences of four years’ imprisonment to former Saraburi public prosecutor Pol Major Worapas Boonsri and two female civilians over their attempt to smuggle 21 rhino horns worth Bt49.4 million into the country through Suvarnabhumi Airport on March 10 last year.

Law enforcement and prosecution seen improved over the years, but still one step behind trafficking.

A physician has urged state agencies to conduct a scientific survey of a Krabi cave where he found fossils of suspected prehistoric Java rhinos and hyenas.

Johannesburg - Conservationists expressed shock Monday after a Thai kingpin of the illegal rhino horn trade was released from jail in South Africa after serving just six years of his 40-year sentence.

Amid all the other good and bad headlines – the rescue of the Wild Boars from the cave and the deaths of so many people in Phuket – many may have missed a story of really good news from overseas.

Months after the death of Sudan, the world's last male northern white rhino, scientists said Wednesday they have grown embryos containing DNA of his kind, hoping to save the subspecies from extinction.

Thai police have arrested an alleged kingpin in Asia's illegal trade in endangered species, dealing a blow to family-run syndicate that smuggles elephant ivory, rhino horn and tiger parts to Chinese and Vietnamese dealers.

KOTA KINABALU: Veterinarians are keeping a close watch on Iman, Ma­laysia's last female Sumatran rhino, as she continues to experience bleeding in her uterus.

TIGERS, ELEPHANTS, bears and pangolins are four of the most widely traded species in the Golden Triangle border area where Thailand, Laos and Myanmar meet, according to a report by WWF released yesterday.

Eight rhino horns worth Bt10 million were seized at Suvarnabhumi International Airport on Wednesday as two Chinese suspects were allegedly smuggling the contraband through Thailand.

Three Vietnamese passengers were arrested at the Suvarnabhumi Airport early Sunday on charges of rhino-horn smuggling.

Johannesburg - Several hundred rhino horns will go under the hammer on Wednesday in South Africa's first online auction of the controversial product, despite opposition from conservation groups who contend the sale will encourage poachers.