Poached

Demand for wild animals vastly outstrips availability. There are simply not enough rhinos, elephants, tigers, and countless other creatures left to satiate our desire to wear, eat, display, and make medicine from them. Despite experts warning that a host of species - some beloved by the public, others, like the pangolin, virtually unknown - are well on their way to being made extinct within the next decade, the illegal wildlife trade is one of the largest contraband markets in the world. Yet the war on poaching is vastly underfunded and unacknowledged. Traffickers operate with impunity, while those committed to stopping such wildlife crimes battle rampant corruption and a lack of resources. Rachel Nuwer takes us on a harrowing journey to the frontlines of the illegal wildlife trade…