The majestic Annamite Mountain range in Laos and Vietnam is one of the most diverse places in the world. The mysterious, almost impassable forest is home to thousands of rare species found nowhere else, living alongside Indigenous communities that have called the area home for generations.
But this ecosystem is in crisis as poachers flock in, blanketing the forest with brutal snare traps. When bears, primates, wildcats, and other animals step on them, a barbed wire cable snaps around their neck — then they’re killed or captured and sold for profit.
To save the countless endangered species at risk, a group of experts is working with Indigenous hunters to become professional wildlife trackers. They form elite snare removal teams that disrupt the illegal wildlife trade supply chain, all while creating stable jobs for the community.
They’re having incredible success, but they need to scale up…fast. Even as wildlife trackers discover new species we didn’t even know existed, many more are being wiped out forever. Can you help turn wildlife hunters into wildlife protectors?
More information
IUCN. 20 August 2021.
The Guardian. 7 January 2022.