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Sasha Ingber

Sasha writes for National Geographic. Her articles have also appeared in national and international publications including The Atlantic, The Washington Post Magazine, The American Scholar, and The Jerusalem Post. Follow her on twitter @SashaIngber.

Why the World Bank Is Saving Tigers

For a financial institution that strives to end world poverty, it might seem surprising that the World Bank is involved with tiger conservation. The idea is that poverty cannot be eradicated without a sustainable environment that supports not just human life, but other species. Global Tiger Initiative team leader Andrey Kushlin discusses the challenges and victories in the Bank’s quest to double the world’s wild tiger population.

How Cat Hairs Crack Stubborn Crime Cases

Could our pets implicate more wrongdoers? Although DNA from human bone, hair, saliva, and blood have revealed the perpetrator in crime scene investigations, for the first time feline hair has been used in a criminal trial in the U.K. The technology could also be useful to help track and solve cases of wildlife smuggling.

Life for Captive Elephants

More than half of Thailand’s elephants are in captivity. Once used for transportation, religious festivals, and war stemming back to 2000 BCE, adult elephants today work in illegal logging and tourism camps, while calves simply wander the city streets. Most of Thailand’s working elephants are considered private property. As the only source of revenue for their owners,…

A New, Genetically Distinct Lion Population is Found

In a twist on the Lion King’s “Circle of Life,” a group of researchers identified a population of genetically distinct lions—in a zoo. The finding came after an Addis Ababa zoo asked researchers in its sister city of Leipzig to help prove that their lions not only looked unusual, but were genetically unique. The finding…