Take these 7 environmentally friendly safaris

Tree Hugger reports on seven safaris with an environmental focus.

Kenya: Eco-Resorts' 11-day,10-night tour of Kenya singles out the country's ecotourism hotspots by booking stays at properties owned by residents of the communities you'll pass through

Rwanda: Rwanda Eco-Tours' Inside Nyungwe tour is a six-day trip takes you into Nyungwe Forest National Park, home to more than a dozen different primate species.

South Africa: The Earth Organization's safaris are practically a mini-course in conservation under the direction of Lawrence Anthony, best known for saving the animals in residence at the Baghdad Zoo at the beginning of the Iraq War.

Read the full story: 7 eco safaris around the globe

Photo from Rwanda Tourism

Desert eagles to lose endangered protections

Treehugger reports on the desert bald eagles imminent removal from endangered protection.

48 breeding pairs of bald eagle survive along the rivers of the otherwise hot and dry Sonoran Desert. Currently, this small group of eagles is listed on the federal list of Endangered and Threatened Wildlife but, if a new petition from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is approved, they would lose that protection.

It is not the first time the department has motioned to eliminate endangered-species protections from the desert-nesting eagles. The agency has been fighting conservationists in court over the issue since as early as 2006 and, in 2007, a judge threw out their motion to strip the desert eagles of their endangered species protections.

Read the full story: Desert nesting bald eagles set to lose protected status

Photo by Carl Chapman / Flickr

NZ underwear lizard smuggler sentenced

Treehugger reports on the sentencing of the man who was caught smuggling lizards in his underwear on a flight from New Zealand a few weeks ago.

The German man Hans Kurt Kubus had special compartments sewn in his underwear to conceal the 44 endangered lizards; which were believed to be sold on the black market in Europe.

Kubus plead guilty to two charges of violating the Wildlife Act and five under the Trade in Endangered Species Act. [He] will serve three and half months in prison, have to pay a $6,400 fine, and be deported back to his home country upon his release.

Read the full story: Man caught smuggling lizards in underwear is sentenced

Photo from Treehugger

Asian countries come together to save tigers

Treehugger reports on 13 Asian countries who met to try to save the dwindling tiger population.

The global tiger population has dipped below 3,200 individuals, making it one of the most critically endangered animals on the planet. Facing threats from habitat destruction, climate change, and poaching—encouraged by the animal's value in illegal wildlife trade—the outlook for the tiger is not good.

In response, representatives from 13 Asian nations have gathered for the first Ministerial Conference on Tiger Conservation. The goal of the meeting is to convince members to invest more time and money toward protecting tigers and to establish targets for increasing their numbers.

Read the full story: 13 countries meet to save endangered tigers

Picture from flickr

Camp at gorgeous global sites

Treehugger reports on 10 beautiful camping sites around the world.

Among the sites listed are New Zealand's Abel Tasman National Park (picture right), Colombia's Parque Nacional Natural Tayrona, and Croatia's Glavotok Camp.

Read the full story: 10 breathtaking waterfront campgrounds

Photo by Jennifer Hattam

See eco-vacation photos

Tree Hugger has a slideshow of their readers' eco-vacations.

From photos of cattle drives in Kenya to old huts and new power lines in South America, our readers sent in their eco-vacation photos for our weekly user-generated slideshow.

Some travelled far -- cramping their carbon-conscience lifestyle -- by flying to South America and Australia, but kept their environmental impact down by biking and buying local food while there.

Others ventured to new places but stayed closer to home -- like the Lobert family (pictured above) who travelled to neighboring province British Columbia, Canada -- and slept in tents, utilized public transit, and enjoyed the great outdoors.

See the slideshow: Readers' eco-vacation photos

Photo by Liz Lobert

Ecotravel News was unable to post yesterday due to internet connection problems and the death of Senator Ted Kennedy