A Vietnamese orchid, turtles on an Indonesian island and a gecko discovered in China are some of the species that have been targeted after sightings were detailed online

Louise Boyle
New York
3 days ago

Scientific research that heralds the discovery of new species can have an unintended but potentially devastating consequence: providing a roadmap for wildlife traffickers.

A new study from a group of international academics has found that as research becomes more publicly available online, poachers have pounced on the information to boost their trade.

The impacts have already been felt. A newly-discovered orchid in Vietnam had its population decimated less than a year after a photo of the species appeared on social media. It was dubbed “extinction at the speed of the internet”, by a letter-writer in the journal Science.

Research work that described a new turtle on a remote island in Indonesia, and a gecko in…