In the wild, leopards and other big cats are at the top of the food chain, but they aren’t safe from humans. Poaching for the illegal wildlife trade puts these apex predators—and countless other species—at risk. Investigative reporting reveals the criminal networks responsible.

Attention is protection. Investigative journalism matters for nature. Your support helps ensure crimes against wildlife and the environment do not go unseen. Donate this holiday season at the 🔗 in bio and secure.qgiv.com/for/wire! 🎁❤️ | Photo by: Neil D'Cruze

Florida parrot Apollo, who belongs to Dalton and Tori Mason, has 3 million TikTok followers. Read the full story at the 🔗 in bio and at wireonline.org. 📸 by Karine Aigner #TheParrotCartel

A captured parrot had its feathers plucked so it wouldn’t fly away. The bird died soon after being rescued. Read the full story at the 🔗 in bio and at wireonline.org. 📸 by Karine Aigner #TheParrotCartel

A ban on commercial whaling nearly 60 years ago was meant to protect this mother humpback and her calf. But laws only matter when violations are exposed. Without investigative reporting, exploitation at sea continues unseen. Your support helps protect the ocean. Donate today at the 🔗 in bio! 🎁❤️

Most of the African grey parrots rehabilitated at the Dingi center in the Democratic Republic of Congo fly free after their recovery, but a few tame ones have chosen to stay. Read the full story at the 🔗 in bio and at wireonline.org. 📸 by Karine Aigner #TheParrotCartel

A man who says he no longer traps wild African grey parrots since the DRC banned the activity shows his collection of decoys. Read the full story at the 🔗 in bio and at wireonline.org. 📸 by Karine Aigner #TheParrotCartel

At sunset, a group of African grey parrots gather near the top of an enclosure at a parrot rehabilitation center in the Democratic Republic of Congo, where they’re recovering after being seized from wildlife traffickers. Read the full story 🔗 in bio & wireonline.org. 📸

In the Democratic Republic of Congo, conservationists John and Terese Hart work to halt the illegal trade decimating wild African grey parrots. Read the full story at the 🔗 in bio and at wireonline.org. 📸 by Karine Aigner #TheParrotCartel

Caged parrots are prone to atherosclerosis, heart disease, and stroke. Healthy greys often outlive their human companions, suffering anxiety and depression when they suddenly find themselves without their person. Read the full story at the 🔗 in bio and at wireonline.org. 🎥 by Carissa Henderson.

A pair of African grey parrots at a commercial breeding farm in South Africa perches on a branch in their cage. Videos of talking birds online have helped create such a high demand for grey parrots, a chick can sell for as much as $7,000 in some pet shops. Read the full story at the 🔗 in bio.

Approximately 200 commercial breeding farms in South Africa supply African grey parrots to the pet trade. Most of them are shipped thousands of miles to markets in the Middle East. Read the full story at the 🔗 in bio and at wireonline.org. 🎥 by Carissa Henderson #TheParrotCartel

African grey parrots evolved to have a complex awareness of their world. Studies show they’re capable of using a wide vocabulary, identifying colors and shapes, and understanding forms of matter. Read the full story at the 🔗 in bio and at wireonline.org. 🎥 by Carissa Henderson #TheParrotCartel

African grey parrots are social, gregarious birds that live in large flocks in the wild. They’ve been popular pets since way before TikTok. Queen Victoria had several grey parrots as pets who spoke French, made jokes, and sang, “God save the queen.” Read the full story 🔗 in bio.

Animal welfare activists say the treatment of parrots raised for the pet trade is cruel and inhumane. Read the full story at the 🔗 in bio and at wireonline.org. 🎥 by Carissa Henderson #TheParrotCartel

Roughly 400 rehabilitated African grey parrots, rescued from the illegal pet trade, have returned to the forest after recovering at this conservation center in the Democratic Republic of Congo. Read the full story at the 🔗 in bio and at wireonline.org. 📸 by Karine Aigner #TheParrotCartel

South Africa remains the world’s largest exporter of captive-bred grey parrots, but wildlife investigators suspect that wild-caught birds are being laundered through legal channels. Read the full story at the 🔗in bio and at wireonline.org. 🎥 by Carissa Henderson

African grey parrots rescued from traffickers are loaded into a van for transport to a bird rehabilitation center in Dingi, Democratic Republic of Congo. Read the full story at the 🔗 in bio and at wireonline.org. 📸 by Karine Aigner #TheParrotCartel

Many parrots come from commercial farms with rows of hundreds of caged breeding pairs producing chicks that are sold and shipped often thousands of miles in cramped wooden boxes. Read the full story at the 🔗 in bio and at wireonline.org. 🎥 by Carissa Henderson #TheParrotCartel

Today is Giving Tuesday. If you believe the public deserves the truth about wildlife crime and environmental harm, please support WIRE’s investigative reporting. Your gift fuels independent journalism that investigates those exploiting wildlife and nature. Donate at the 🔗 in bio and below. 🧡

African grey parrots are the great apes of the bird world. They have a brain the size of a walnut, but the intelligence of young children. Read the full story at the 🔗 in bio and at wireonline.org. 🎥 by Carissa Henderson #TheParrotCartel

An armed guard at a rehabilitation center in the Democratic Republic of Congo gently greets a tame African grey parrot rescued from traffickers. Read the full story at the 🔗 in bio and at wireonline.org. 📸 by Karine Aigner #TheParrotCartel

TikTok is obsessed with talking parrots. It’s fueling a global black market. Rolling Stone reports ⤵

TikTok Is Obsessed With Talking Parrots. It's Fueling a Global Black Market

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African grey parrots seized from poachers stay at the parrot rehabilitation center for several months, regrowing the feathers cut by poachers and exercising in flight cages until they’re strong enough to fly free. #TheParrotCartel

John and Terese Hart, who run a bird rehabilitation center in the Democratic Republic of Congo, invite dignitaries from around the country to come see rescued African grey parrots returning to the wild. Some even help set the birds free. #TheParrotCartel

African grey parrots rescued from the illegal pet trade recover from their ordeal at a rehab center in the Democratic Republic of Congo. Soon they’ll join the hundreds of birds that have returned to the wild from this center. #TheParrotCartel

Workers at a parrot rehabilitation center in the Democratic Republic of Congo feed the birds a diverse diet of papaya, pineapple, corn, peanuts, sugarcane, and palm nuts. Most birds return to the wild, but a few tame ones have chosen to stay.

An African grey parrot seized from poachers is gently netted in a temporary holding cage before being transferred to a wooden crate, joining more than a dozen other seized parrots. Read the full story at the 🔗 in bio and at wireonline.org. 📸 by Karine Aigner

@rollingstone.com Reports: TikTok's Talking Parrot Obsession Is Fueling a Global Black Market | 🎥🎬 WATCH THE FILM HERE ⬇️ m.youtube.com/watch?v=460m...

RS Reports: TikTok's Talking Parrot Obsession Is Fueling a Global Black Market

YouTube video by Rolling Stone

m.youtube.com

Seized from poachers, three African grey parrots arrive at a rescue center in the Democratic Republic of Congo after a grueling journey. Placed in clean cages with sugar water, fruit, and corn, the birds begin a months-long recovery.