Axel Hirschfeld looks at the remains of dead birds while holding a Levant sparrowhawk. The bird was found locked in a small enclosure without food or water in a field used by poachers in the town of Ras Baalbek, Lebanon, in September. Sam Tarling for NPR hide caption
Rhino horns are prized in Asian countries and can garner tens of thousands of dollars per pound. Wildlife conservationists argue that the appetite for the endangered species' appendage in legal and illegal markets has decimated the population across Africa. Raymond Roig/AFP/Getty Images hide caption
A southern white rhino named Victoria is two months pregnant. Barbara Durrant, director of reproductive sciences at the San Diego Zoo Institute for Conservation Research, announced the news on Thursday. Julie Watson/AP hide caption
Bradley Martin is seen here in 1993 inspecting confiscated rhino horns, elephant tusks and ivory objects at the Taipei Zoo, in his role as a United Nations special envoy on rhino conservation. Tao Chuan Yeh/AFP/Getty Images hide caption
Thai police process suspected wildlife trafficker Boonchai Bach, who was arrested after an X-ray inspection last month of a bag on a flight from Ethiopia revealed the rhino horns. Tassanee Vejpongsa/AP hide caption
These dead sharks were discovered aboard a Chinese-flagged vessel found off Ecuador earlier this month with some 300 tons of marine species, several of which are in danger of extinction. Galapagos National Park via AP hide caption
Three rhinos line up at the Welgevonden Game Reserve on Wednesday in South Africa's Limpopo province. Renee Graham/AP hide caption
A game rancher near Port Elizabeth who couldn't afford the high cost of protecting his rhinos from poachers sold this one to a more secure operation. The rhino, blindfolded and wearing earplugs to calm it, will be sedated and accompanied by a veterinarian during the 20-hour truck journey to its new home. Brent Stirton/National Geographic hide caption
A rhino wakes up after its horn was trimmed at John Hume's Rhino Ranch in Klerksdorp, South Africa, on Feb. 3. South Africa's highest court is preparing to decide whether to uphold the country's domestic ban on trading rhino horn. John Hume is a private rhino owner and breeder who advocates for legalizing trade. Mujahid Safodien /AFP/Getty Images hide caption
Paul Zakayo (left) and Nasa Jackson Mairi were nabbed by a team of park rangers at the Mara Conservancy in Kenya and charged with killing three impalas and a gazelle in the wildlife sanctuary. Greg Warner/NPR hide caption
Baby elephants are a welcome sight in Zakouma National Park in Chad. Thanks to stepped-up enforcement, the park hasn't lost an elephant to poachers since 2012. Without the stress of poaching, the elephants started breeding again and more than 40 calves have been born. Brent Stirton/Reportage by Getty Images for National Geographic Magazine hide caption
In this image taken from a November 2012 video, Cecil the lion is shown in Hwange National Park in Zimbabwe. Paula French via AP hide caption
Troy Capps found deer antlers in central Oregon's backcountry. Capps is a co-founder of Oregon Shed Hunters, a group that promotes ethical shed hunting. Courtney Flatt/Northwest Public Radio hide caption
A Maasai boy and his dog, near the skeleton of an elephant killed by poachers outside of Arusha, Tanzania, in 2013. Jason Straziuso/AP hide caption
Miles Lappeman (left) and his son Marc with the carcass of a rhino that was killed for its horn at their Finfoot Lake Reserve on Nov. 24 in South Africa. This was one of eight rhinos slaughtered by poachers. Nicolene Olckers/Foto24/Gallo Images/Getty Images hide caption
An Indian tiger looks out from a camouflaged cover in the Ranthambhore National Park. (March 2000 file photo.) J. Scott Applewhite/AP hide caption
A rhino dangling from a helicopter is transported to a safer home. Michael Raimondo/WWF hide caption