Controversial South African conservationist and Rhino farmer charged with multiple offences related to Rhino-horn smuggling.

The controversial conservationist and Rhino farmer John Hume has been charged with multiple offences relating to the illegal export of Rhinoceros horn from South Africa. Hume was charged before magistrates in Pretoria on 19 August 2025, along with five co-defendants, all of whom were former employees of Mr Hume's Rhino-farming business, on 55 separate charges relating to the export of Rhino horn worth 250 million South African Rand (roughly US$14.1 million) to Southeast Asia.

South African Rhino farmer and conservationist John Hume, who was charged with the illegal export of Rhinoceros horn to Southeast Asia on 19 August 2025. Bloomberg/Getty Images.

Hume began farming Rhinos in the early 2000s, with a herd of about 200 Southern White Rhinoceros, Ceratotherium simum simum, rising to about 2000 Animals by the time his ranch was taken over by African Parks in 2023. His business plan was simple; Rhinoceros were given good veterinary treatment to keep them healthy, the Rhinos were protected by armed guards at all times to protect them from poachers, and in addition their horns were docked regularly to make them less attractive to said poachers, and the whole thing was financed by the sale of the docked Rhino horns.

On the surface, this seemed like a good arrangement. The Rhinos appeared to thrive, a lot of people were employed boosting the local economy (although sufficient land to support 2000 Rhinos could presumably also support quite a few small African farmers), and the sale of horns from farmed Rhinos would provide an alternative supply to that from poached Rhinos, a trade which has led to the collapse of wild Rhino populations across Africa and Asia, and which has been linked to the trafficking of drugs, arms, and people.

A Rhino having a horn docked on a farm owned by John Hume. Leon Neal.

Unfortunately, not every conservationist agreed that a legal sale of Rhino horns was sustainable. Rather than creating an alternative to the supply of poached horns, many felt that the trade in farmed horns would create a grey area allowing the illegal trade to persist, since not all horn being traded could be assumed to be illegal.

The international trade in Rhino horn was banned in 1977 under the terms of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species. This did not, however, ban the trade in horn within countries. There are some traditional uses for Rhino horn within South Africa (although not sufficient to support a major industry) and the internal trade in horns was not banned until 2009. Following this, Hume, and another farmer, Johan Kruger, brought a series of legal challenges to the ban finally convincing the Constitutional Court of South Africa in 2017 that the ban had been introduced without sufficient consultation and should be reversed.

The logo for Platinum Rhino, John Hume's Rhinoceros farm. Facebook.

Following this, the law was amended to allow for the trade in Rhino horns within South Africa, provided both the supplier and the buyer had a valid permit to trade in the commodity. This change did not, however, allow for the legal export of Rhinoceros horn from South Africa under any circumstances. Later that year, Hume held his first online auction of Rhino horns, with listings on his website in Vietnamese and Mandarin as well as languages more commonly spoken in South Africa.  On several occasions since this time journalists have reported him speaking openly about the export of Rhino horns.

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Nipah Virus kills two in Kerala State, India.

Two deaths caused by Nipah Virus have been confirmed in Kerala State, India, in an outbreak in Malappuram and Palakkad districts, that began in April 2025, according to a press release issued by the World Health Organization on 6 August 2025.

The first patient, a woman from Malappuram District presented at a hospital in the same district with fever, cough, and respiratory distress on 25 April 2025. She was admitted to the hospital, and then transferred to an intensive care unit on 2 May after developing acute encephalitis, where she is still being treated. The woman was diagnosed with Nipah Virus on 6 May after samples were sent to Calicut Medical College for testing, with the diagnosis being confirmed by a repeat of the test at the National Institute of Virology in Pune on 8 May.

The second patient, also a woman from Malappuram District first developed symptoms on 25 June, and unsuccessfully sought treatment at several healthcare institutions before being admitted to a multi-speciality hospital, where she died on 1 July. Tests subsequently confirmed she was infected with Nipah Virus.

The third patient, a woman from Palakkad District, developed symptoms on 25 June, and again sought treatment at several healthcare centres before being admitted to a multi-speciality hospital, where she remains in a critical condition on a ventilator. Tests confirmed that she was infected with Nipah Virus, making her the first ever confirmed case in Palakkad District.

The final patient, a man from Palakkad District, developed symptoms on 6 July and immediately sought treatment. He was admitted to a private hospital on 10 July, then transferred to a multi-speciality hospital on 11 July, where he died a day later. He too was confirmed by tests to have Nipah Virus, making him the second case in the district.

Nipah Virus infection, a zoonotic illness, is spread to Humans through contact with infected Animals such as Bats and Pigs. Additionally, direct contact with an infected individual can also lead to transmission, although this route is less common. Those affected by Nipah Virus infection may experience severe symptoms, including acute respiratory infection and fatal encephalitis. The only way to reduce or prevent infection in people is by raising awareness about the risk factors and preventive measures to protect themselves. Case management should focus on providing patients with supportive care measures and intensive support for severe respiratory and neurological complications.

Nipah Virus infection in Humans causes a range of clinical presentations including acute respiratory infection and fatal encephalitis.  The case-fatality rates in outbreaks across Bangladesh, India, Malaysia, and Singapore typically range from 40% to 100%. As of now, there are no available effective therapies or vaccines for this disease.

Electron micrographic image of Nipah Virus. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Nipah Virus was first reported in Kerala State in 2018, since when there have been outbreaks every year. The first ever recorded case of Nipah Virus in India was reported in West Bengal in 2001. To date there have been 28 deaths caused by the Virus in Kerala, although 21 of these were in 2018, when local medical authorities were naïve to the disease. 

In the absence of a vaccine or licensed treatment available for Nipah Virus, the only way to reduce or prevent infection in people is by raising awareness of the risk factors and educating people about the measures they can take to reduce exposure to Nipah Virus infection. Case management should focus on the delivery of supportive care measures to patients. Intensive supportive care is recommended to treat severe respiratory and neurological complications.

In order to reduce Bat-to-Human transmission, freshly collected Date Palm juice should be boiled, and fruits should be thoroughly washed and peeled before consumption. Fruits with signs of Bat bites should be discarded. Areas where Bats are known to roost should be avoided. The risk of international transmission via fruit or fruit products (such as raw date palm juice) contaminated with urine or saliva from infected fruit Bats can be prevented by washing them thoroughly and peeling them before consumption.

Natural infection in domestic Animals has been described in farming Pigs, Horses, and domestic and feral Cats. Gloves and other protective clothing should be worn while handling sick Animals or their tissues and during slaughtering and culling procedures. As much as possible, people should avoid being in contact with infected Pigs. In endemic areas, when establishing new Pig farms, consideration should be given to the presence of Fruit Bats in the area and in general, Pig feed and Pig sheds should be protected against Bats when feasible. Samples taken from Animals with suspected Nipah Virus infection should be handled by trained staff working in suitably equipped laboratories.

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Tavachelydra stevensoni: A new species of Snapping Turtle from the Palaeocene of Colorado.

Snapping Turtles, Chelydroidea, are found today from northern South America to Southern Canada, forming an important component of many North American freshwater ecosystems. Despite being widespread and numerous, there are only five species alive today. Stem group-Chelydroids (i.e. species which are more closely related to living Chelydroids than to any other group), known as pan-Chelydroids, first appeared in the Late Cretaceous, although many fossils are fragmentary, as the shells of Snapping Turtles are less heavily fused than other Turtle groups and tend to disarticulate soon after death, limiting our understanding of this group. Due to this no Cretaceous pan-Chelydroids have been described to date, although post-Cretaceous species have been described from across Laurasia.

In a paper published in the Swiss Journal of Palaeontology on 5 August 2025, Tyler Lyson, Holger Petermann,Salvador Bastien,Natalie Toth,Evan Tamez‑Galvan, and Sadie Sherman of the Department of Earth Sciences at the Denver Museum of Nature & Science, and Walter Joyce of the Department of Geosciences at the University of Fribourg, describe a new species of pan-Chelydroid Turtle from the Early Palaeocene Corral Bluffs of the Denver Basin in Colorado.

The Coral Bluffs are a series of outcrops of Latest Cretaceous to Eocene outcrops in El Paso County in the southern Denver Basin, to the east of Colorado Springs. The sequence is well-dated, with three documented magnetic reversals 30n/29r, 29r/29n, and 29n/28r), a pollen-defined Cretaceous/Palaeocene boundary, and a volcanic ash layer which has been dated using lead and uranium isotopes. These bluffs have produced abundant Vertebrate remains from the Puercan North American Land Mammal Age, including Denverus middletoni, one of two known Early Palaeocene pan-Chelydroid Turtles, which together form the earliest described members of the group.

Geography, chronostratigraphy, and biostratigraphy of the Corral Bluffs Study Area within the Denver Basin from which specimens of Tavachelydra stevensoni were collected. (A) Map of Late Cretaceous through Eocene sediments within the Denver Basin showing the location  of the Corral Bluffs Study Area within Colorado Springs (highlighted by box and enlarged in part (B)) in the southwestern portion of the basin. (B)  High-resolution photogrammetric model of the eastern portion of the Corral Bluffs Study Area overlain on Google Earth with geographic locations  of Tavachelydra stevensoni denoted by red stars: (1) DMNH EPV.141854/DMNH Loc.19258; (2) DMNH EPV.143100/DMNH Loc. 20,053; (3) DMNH. EPV.134087/DMNH Loc. 7082; (4) DMNH. EPV.136265/DMNH Loc. 18,852; 5, DMNH EPV.143200/DMNH Loc. 6284. (C) Age, magnetostratigraphic, lithostratigraphic,  and biostratigraphic logs showing the stratigraphic placement of Tavachelydra stevensoni localities (red stars; see numbers from (B)). Stratigraphy is tied to the Geomagnetic Polarity Time Scale using remnant magnetisation of the rocks at the Corral Bluffs Study Area, two chemical abrasion–isotope dilution–thermal ionisation mass spectrometry uranium/lead-dated volcanic ash beds (yellow star; two dated ash samples represent the same volcanic ash locality and thus only one yellow star), and the palynologically defined K/Pg boundary (italicised dates). The lithostratigraphic log is a composite and shows that the sequence is dominated by intercalated mudstone and sandstone, reflecting a loosely anastomosing fluvial  environment. Pollen biozones are defined by diversification of Momipites spp. (fossil Juglandaceous pollen). Abbreviations: Ma, million years  ago; K/Pg, Cretaceous-Paleogene boundary. Lyson et al. (2025).

The new species is named Tavachelydra stevensoni, where 'Tavachelydra' is a combination of 'Tava' from the Ute/Nuuchiu name for Pike's Peak Tavá-Kaavi, which can be directly translated as 'Sun Mountain'), and -chelydra, a common suffix for Turtles, which derives from the Greek 'khéludros', meaning 'water serpent', while 'stevensoni' honours the late Brandon Stevenson, a dear friend of Tyler Lyson andlong-time  supporter of the Corral Bluffs project.

The new species is described from five specimens, DMNH EPV.141854, the holotype, which consists of a disarticulated,  but associated, skeleton, comprising a nearly complete carapace and plastron and a complete pelvis, and three paratypes, DMNH EPV.143100, an articulated complete carapace  and partial right hypo- and hypoplastron, DMNH EPV.143200, a hypo- and xiphiplastra, and DMNH. EPV.134087, a poorly preserved, but complete cranium. 

Tavachelydra stevensoni, DMNH EPV.141854 (DMNH Loc.19258), holotype, external view of shell. (A) Photograph and (B) interpretive line drawing of the carapace. (C) Photograph and (D) interpretive line drawing of the plastron. Abbreviations: Ab abdominal scale, An anal scale, Ce cervical scale, co costal, ent entoplastron, epi epiplastron, Fe femoral scale, Gu gular scale, Hu humeral scale, hyo hyoplastron, hypo hypoplastron,  Ig intergular scale, Im inframarginal scale, Ma marginal scale, nu nuchal, per peripheral, Pl pleural scale, pn postneural, spy suprapygal, py pygal, Ve vertebral scale, xi xiphiplastron. Arabic numerals denote neurals. Lyson et al. (2025).

Specimens of Tavachelydra  stevensoni are large, with carapace reaching almost 50 cm in length. This is four times the size of Denverus middletoni, the other pan-Chelydroid Turtle from the Denver Basin. Within the Coral Bluffs fauna only one Turtle, Axestemys infernalis, is larger, while a second, Neurankylus sp., is about the same size. It also appears to be one of the rarer species in a Turtle-rich fauna, and since other thin-shelled species, such as Hoplochelys clark, are relatively abundant, this appears to be a reflection of actual rarity rather than a reflection of poor preservational potential. All the known specimens of Tavachelydra  stevensoni have been found in deposits associated with ponds, rather than river channels (the most abundant environment in the Coral Bluffs deposits), suggesting that they preferred such an environment in life. The skull of Tavachelydra  stevensoni is large and broad, with flat biting surfaces, which suggests a durophagous diet (eating hard food, such as shellfish). This is noteworthy, as there is evidence that durophagous species and groups may have preferentially survived the End Cretaceous Extinction.

Reconstruction of Tavachelydra stevensoni basking on a log in a ponded water environment. Andrey Atuchin in Lyson et al. (2025).

A phylogenetic tree constructed by Lyson et al. placed Tavachelydra  stevensoni as the sister species to the extant Snapping Turtles, with later European and Asian species less closely related. This is unsurprising, as while these species are more recent, they are less likely to be ancestral to modern species restricted to North America. Denverus middletoni was also recovered as only distantly related to extant Chelydrids, indicating it was a member of a lineage which did not survive till today.

Cladogram of Chelydroid Turtles mapped  against the stratigraphic ranges for each taxon (black, type strata,  grey, age of referred material). Strict consensus tree from six most  parsimonious trees. Lyson et al. (2025).

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Musellifer leasiae: A new species of Gastrotrich from Antarctica.

The waters of the Southern Ocean, which surrounds Antarctica, are considered to be a hotspot for marine biodiversity, yet only their macrofauna has been extensively studied. The meiobenthos (bottom dwelling organisms larger than single-celled microbes, but still difficult or impossible to see with the naked eye) of this region has been particularly poorly studied, and almost all of the studies which have occurred have been of Nematodes or Crustaceans. To date, twenty species of Tardigrades have been described from the waters around Antarctica, two Gnathostomulids, one of which was only identified to family level, and five Kinorynchs (although a study which should be published later this year is expected to add to this) have been described from this region, but not a single Scalidophoran, Loriciferan, or meiobenthic Priapulid.

Gastrotrichs are a phylum of minute animals, generally less than a millimetre in length, found in interstitial spaces in sediments. Their small size meant that they went unnoticed until the event of microscopy, with the group not being discovered until the 1860s. Despite this unfamiliarity they seem to be ubiquitous in marine sediments, and are also often found in non-marine settings. To date, only a single Gastrotrich, Thaumastoderma antarctica, has been identified from Antarctic waters, although there have been several reports of unidentified Gastrotrichs.

In a paper published in the journal Zootaxa on 17 June 2025, Martin Sørensen of the Natural History Museum of Denmark at the University of Copenhagen, Thiago Araújo of the University of Massachusetts Lowell, Lara Macheriotou and Ulrike Braeckman of the Marine Biology Research Group at Ghent University, Craig Smith of the Department of Oceanography at the University of Hawai’i at Mānoa, and Jeroen Ingels of the Coastal and Marine Laboratory at Florida State University, and the National Institute for Water and Atmospheric Research in Wellington, New Zealand, describe a second species of Gastrotrich from Antarctic waters.

The new species is described from specimens collected in December 2015 and April 2016 from sediment cores collected from depths of between 532 and 701 m in Andvord Bay the west coast of Graham Land, and the Gerlache Strait, which separates the Palmer Archipelago from the Antarctic Peninsula. It is placed within the genus Musellifer, and given the specific name leasiae, in honour of marine biologist  Francesca Leasi in recognition of her numerous contributions to Gastrotrich taxonomy and morphology.

Map showing the sampling stations. (A) Overview of Antarctica, with the Antarctic Peninsula framed. (B) Antarctic Peninsula with sampling area framed. (C) Sampling area with stations. Red star indicates the type locality; yellow dots indicate additional stations with Musellifer leasiae. Sørensen et al. (2025).

Specimens of Musellifer leasiae are between 322 and 415 μm in length, and have a body with a pointed head, a weakly defined neck, a parallel-sided body, and a pair of tapering furcal branches ('tails'). This body is covered by approximately 26 columns of scales, with an average of 45 scales per column. The columns can be divided into eight dorsal columns, two sets of five ventral columns, and eight ventral columns. The ventral surface also has two rows of locomotory cilia.

Line art illustration of Musellifer leasiae, (A) Dorsal view. (B) Ventral view. (C) Close-ups of head scales, anterior-, and posterior trunk scales, and terminal furca scales. Sørensen et al. (2025).

Five species of Musellifer have been described previously; Musellifer delamarei and Musellifer profundus from the Mediterranean, Musellifer tridentatus from the Caribbean, Musellifer reichardti from the Atlantic coast of Florida, and Musellifer sanlitoralis from the San Juan Archipelago in Washington State. Only a single specimen has previously been described from the Southern Hemisphere, a possible specimen of Musellifer profundus, making Musellifer leasiae the first known species in the genus with a Southern Hemisphere, as well as the first species from the Antarctic.

Light micrographs showing overviews and details of holotype NHMD-1801023 (A)-(H) and paratype NHMD-1801024 (I) of Musellifer leasiae. (A) Ventral overview. (B) Body, anterior, U0-32, dorsal view. (C) Body, anterior, U0-32, ventral view. (D) Body, median, U26-55, dorsal view. (E) Body, median, U28-60, dorsal view. (F) Body, posterior, U54-84, dorsal view. (G) Body, posterior, U54-86, ventral view. (H) Caudal furca branches, U67-100, ventral view. (I) Body, posterior, U54-82, focused on adhesive glandular tissue. Abbreviations: agt, adhesive glandular tissue; lcf, locomotory ciliary field; vcb, ventral ciliary bands. Sørensen et al. (2025).

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Four Human deaths from Rabies outbreak in Timor-Leste in May & June 2025.

Four Human deaths from Rabies have been confirmed in Timor-Leste (formerly East Timor) between 17 May and 17 June 2025, according to a bulletin issued by the World Health Orgnization on 24 July 2024. All four had been bitten by Dogs infected by the disease, and suffered syptoms including hydrophobia, photophobia, aggressiveness, convulsions, and hallucinations, and all four were subsequently confirmed as Rabies infections by Reverse Transcription Polymerase Chain Reaction testing at the National Health Laboratory.

The first fatality was an adult male from Ermera Municipality, who was bitten by a Dog in March 2025, and sought medical help on 15 May, subsequently dying in a hospital two days later. The second fatality, another adult male, this time from Oecusse Municipality, who was bitten by a Dog in June 20242, and arrived at a regional hospital with symptoms on 27 May 2024, subsequently dying on 30 May. The third case was another adult male, this time from Bobonaro Municipality, who arrived at a medical centre on 12 June 2025, having been bitten by a Dog 2-3 months earlier. This parient subsequently died on 13 June. The final case was a female child from Bobonaro Municipality, who was taken into medical care on 12 June 2025, having been bitten by a Dog about two months earlier. This patient subsequently died on 17 June. Two further Rabies fatalities were reported in Oecusse Municipality in 2024.

The outbreak appears to have begun in Dogs in Oecusse Municipality in March 2024, since when 103 Dogs have died from the disease in Oecusse and Bobonaro Municipalities, as well as two Goats, one each in Oecusse and Bobonaro, and a Pig in Bobinaro. Oecusse Municipality forms an enclave within Indonesia's East Nusa Tenggara Province, where Rabies is considered to be endemic and Human fatalities are frequently reported, with Bobonaro shares a border with the province. Ermera Municipality lacks a border with Indonesia, but borders Bobonaro.

The island of Timor showing the regions covered by Timor-Leste and East Nusa Tenggara Province. Google Maps.

The rising number of Rabies deaths in Timor-Leste suggests the disease is spreading across the its borders with Indonesia, pobably via infected Dogs, and becoming established within the smaller nation. The World Health Organization recomends that this is addressed through a combination of Dog vaccinations and education to raise public awareness of the disease. 

Between March 2024 and 15 June 2025, 1445 dog scratches and bites were reported in Timor-Leste, 41% of which were considered to by Catagoy III exposures, which is to say exposures in which the skin is broken and saliva from an Animal has come into contact with this break. World Health Organization guidelines recomend that in such cases the wound should be washed immediately and the patient should be given  immediate vaccination and administration of rabies immunoglobulin/monoclonal antibodies. Of the 1445 known Catagory III exposures in Timor-Leste in 2024 and 2025, only 66% began this course of vaccination and antibody administration, and only 18% completed the course.

Rabies is caused by Viruses of the genus Lyssavirus, a member of the Rhabdoviridae Family of negative-sense single-stranded RNA Viruses, which also includes pathogens attacking Fish, Insects and Plants. Rabies is spread through the saliva of infected animals, and causes hydrophobia (fear of water),  anxiety, insomnia, confusion, agitation, abnormal behaviour, paranoia, terror, and hallucinations, followed by paralysis, coma and death in Humans. Many animals (notably Dogs) become extremely aggressive at this stage and will bite anything that comes near them, helping to spread the disease. 

Transmission electron microscope image with numerous rabies virions (small, dark grey, rodlike particles) and Negri bodies (the larger pathognomonic cellular inclusions of rabies infection). Centers for Disease Control and Prevention/Wikimedia Commons.

In Humans, the disease typically has a gestation period of about three months, during which time the disease can be treated by repeated vaccination and doses of human rabies immunoglobulin, though if treatment is not begun within ten days of infection it is less likely to be successful, and once the patient starts to develop symptoms the disease is almost invariably fatal. Any wound thought to have been caused by an infected animal should be washed thoroughly under running water for at least five minutes, before being treated with alcohol or iodine, and immediate medical attention sought.

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