FIU researchers pioneer the science needed to fight illegal wildlife trafficking

February 27, 2026 at 9:00am

A nondescript carry-on bag hanging from the shoulder of an international traveler caught the attention of a customs officer at Miami International Airport. The bag itself was uninteresting. The passenger holding it, equally unremarkable. Yet muffled sounds, barely audible in the hustle of one of the United States’ busiest airports, caught the officer’s attention March 23, 2023.

A search revealed a freshly hatched bird alongside 28 unhatched eggs in an intricately designed incubator made to look, on the outside, like thousands of other carry-on bags passing through the airport that day. Traveling from Nicaragua en route to Asia, the traveler had no importation paperwork. He was arrested, and the hatchling and 28 eggs were seized.

The eggs gave no hints as to the birds inside. Some had names scribbled on them, likely those of poachers wanting to get paid. The precious cargo was handed over to U.S. Fish and Wildlife, but airport facilities are not set up to incubate so many eggs. The officers needed a plan, fast. In those early hours of discovery, only one thing was certain — these birds did not belong here.

The parrot chicks were cared for at the Rare Species Conservatory Foundation, a non-profit founded by FIU research professor Paul Reillo.

Frontlines of Wildlife Conservation

The hatchling and eggs represent a tiny fraction of the vulnerable wildlife exploited in illicit trade, both as live animals and as products. The illegal trade itself is staggering, said to be the fourth largest transnational crime globally. Against this multi-billion-dollar criminal enterprise, FIU researchers are pioneering a counterforce that could help dismantle it.

Working across interdisciplinary teams in FIU’s Tropical Conservation Institute, Global Forensic and Justice Center, Institute of Environment and the Jack D. Gordon Institute for Public Policy, researchers are providing impactful, scalable solutions that include rapid species identification at international ports and tools for local communities to better protect wildlife in native habitats.

For the hatchling and eggs, officers called Paul Reillo, FIU research professor and director of the Tropical Conservation Institute. They were transported to the institute’s program partner, the Rare Species Conservatory Foundation (RSCF), a non-profit founded by Reillo. In total, 24 chicks hatched and survived. Without feathers yet, Reillo couldn’t pinpoint the species, but based on the size of the eggs and his experience with rare birds, he knew they were parrots. “In high demand as pets with high price tags on their heads, parrots have become innocent victims of human greed,” Reillo said.

The survival of the 24 chicks depended on round-the-clock care, the kind only someone like Reillo can provide. For more than 30 years, he and his team have successfully bred endangered parrots and other wildlife to support their recovery in the wild.

FIU marine evolutionary biologist Heather Bracken-Grissom assisted in identification, coordinating with a third-party lab to conduct DNA testing, which confirmed the birds are parrots — three red-lored Amazons and 21 endangered yellow-naped Amazons.

The latter are threatened with extinction and prohibited from international trade. Their beauty, temperament and mimicking make them among the most illegally trafficked parrots, with more than 90 percent of wild nests poached for the illegal pet trade. Presented with the evidence, the smuggler pled guilty to wildlife trafficking, marking one of the largest parrot-smuggling busts in recent years.

Most poached parrots never get such justice because most animals in the illegal pet trade are sold in the countries where they are poached. The risk of international smuggling is typically reserved for rare species like the yellow-naped Amazon, according to Stephen F. Pires, associate chair of criminology and criminal justice. While charisma and beauty are big sellers, the pioneer in wildlife crime science says opportunity is the biggest factor in determining what gets poached.

“It’s often the easiest to get to,” Pires said. “The monk parakeet is highly trafficked in Bolivia. It’s pretty average with regard to beauty. But it’s the only species of parakeet that nests communally, so if you find one, you’ve just found hundreds. It’s an easy target.”

Stopping wildlife crimes at distribution points is critical, but Pires says the most important interventions are in natural habitats before poaching occurs.

“Once an animal is trafficked, the damage is done. Mortality is high for live animals trafficked for the pet trade, but death is guaranteed for animals that are sold as derivatives.” — Stephen F. Pires

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FIU Research Professor Paul Reillo and his team provided round-the-clock care for the young Amazon parrots rescued as part of a sophisticated wildlife smuggling operation.

Fragmented Market

Few people have heard of pangolins. Scaly with absurdly long tongues, they look part anteater, part pinecone. They are secretive. They’re also the world’s most trafficked wild mammal, usually sold as derivatives. An estimated 250,000 pangolins move through illegal supply chains each year for their highly prized scales and meat.

FIU scientists are leading Operation Pangolin, a bold conservation initiative. Without global action, all eight species of pangolins likely face extinction, according to Matthew Shirley, project lead and FIU conservation ecologist.

Operation Pangolin is generating much-needed data to inform conservation in Africa with plans to expand efforts into Asia, the only other continent with native pangolin populations. With corefunding support from the Paul G. Allen Family Foundation, the team is gathering biological data, working with local communities and developing AI-driven tools to predict trafficking behavior.

“We are trying to end the disconnect between data and decision-making for pangolins and in the process, develop tools that can be adapted to other illicit products such as elephant ivory, rhino horn and shark fins,” Shirley said.

Tracing the Fin Trade

Fins are the single commodity driving decimation of many shark populations worldwide. In sheer volume, more shark fins enter global markets illegally than any other animal product. Yet, before 2016, sharks were not a major focus of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species — an international agreement regulating trade of wild animals and plants.

For the past decade, research professor Mark Bond has been a pivotal force in increasing CITES protections for sharks and rays, including the recent passage of the most aggressive shark conservation legislation in history, covering more than 70 species. This builds upon previous efforts that added protections for nearly 70 other species of sharks and rays, which Bond helped champion.

Despite these protections, the global shark fin trade often operates in brazen defiance of international law. Marine biologist Diego Cardeñosa has the data to prove it.

He has genetically analyzed thousands of shark fin samples from markets, revealing massive, sustained illegal trade spanning continents and involving major fishing nations.

“DNA evidence clearly shows protected species are still entering the global market at alarming rates,” Cardeñosa said.

His research is guiding management strategies designed to protect vulnerable shark populations.

Sharks are not alone. For more than 40 years, earth and environment professor Joel T. Heinen has studied wildlife in Nepal, a major source and transit country for wildlife trafficking. His first trafficking study focused on the sale of fur coats to tourists in Kathmandu. Since then, he has published extensively on wildlife trafficking in the developing country, including tigers, bears and more. His latest research puts a spotlight on the very real bureaucratic challenges governments often face in implementing global environmental policy. In 1975, Nepal became the first Asian nation to join CITES, but challenges persisted for more than 40 years — lack of inter-agency coordination, funding, poor training, equipment shortages and little local awareness. Only recently have officials enacted the necessary legislation to enforce the treaty.

Heinen and his students have discovered similar issues in Kenya. Understanding these systemic policy failures in source and transit countries is critical to developing tools and data that can help overcome these challenges. For sharks, Cardeñosa has actually developed a rapid, low-cost DNA detection kit, enabling customs officials to quickly identify illegal shipments and catch traffickers in the act. He provides on-site training. He helps educate local communities. His collaborative work has even helped identify illegal shipments of Matamata turtles in Colombia and European eels in Hong Kong, demonstrating the power of data-driven solutions.

Silent Victims

The science is versatile because victims of wildlife trafficking are diverse. The same greed stripping sharks from oceans, pangolins from trees and parrots from their nests is also ripping rare plants from the land.

Orchids are heavily exploited for ornamental and medicine markets. Single rare blooms can fetch hundreds of dollars, and smugglers repeatedly return to the forests, depleting populations.

Nearly 30,000 species of orchids are known to science. All are protected by CITES in international trade. Yet, Hong Liu says widespread illegal trafficking is devastating some of the most vulnerable species. The earth and environment professor conducted the first-ever study of the wild orchid trade in southeast Asia, revealing many sold in markets are from Laos, Burma and Vietnam. When Liu and her team checked for import paperwork, they only found one record. Online sales are also a problem. Research by Liu found orchids sold online are sold to buyers, often with no CITES permits. Today, southeast Asia is working to improve its orchid conservation activities, which Liu’s research has helped guide.

Orchids are delicate sentinels for illegal trade. By contrast, California’s massive redwood trees tower like imposing giants in the forest, yet their situation is equally delicate. The two species of California redwoods — one being the world’s tallest tree species and the other the world’s most massive by volume — only grow in California and nearby states. A century of aggressive logging and modern-day wildfires have decimated California’s redwoods to a mere 5 percent of their historical range. Today, they also face another threat — burl poaching.

This large, knotty outgrowth on a redwood’s trunk is prized by woodworkers for its unique, swirled wood grain patterns. Burls make beautiful tables, dashboards for luxury vehicles and more. A single, highquality redwood burl can sell for thousands of dollars. Buyers can legally acquire them from private lands, yet illicit black-market sellers slice protected trees in state and national parks to meet demand, according to Pires.

He mapped poaching sites and found the activity was – like most other wildlife poaching — opportunistic. Most illegal wildlife trafficking is not being conducted by organized crime, but Pires says the criminals are organized — usually loosely affiliated individuals. They are opportunistic and knowledgeable.

With news spreading about attacks on California’s redwoods, public pressure has helped quell burl poaching there. But other plants remain silent victims in illegal wildlife trafficking

Hope finds a way

Back at the Tropical Conservation Institute, the yellow-naped and red-lored Amazon parrots have moved on. After successfully rearing the smuggled eggs into fully feathered fledglings, Reillo secured the parrots a permanent wild, protected home where they are thriving. He continues to dedicate his days to the care of animals fighting trafficking and extinction.

Reillo, Cardeñosa, Shirley, Heinen, Liu and Pires are part of a growing network of FIU scientists delivering solutions to the destructive illegal wildlife trade. They are closing the gap between data and decision-making. They are transforming science into actionable, scalable solutions for law enforcement, local communities and policymakers worldwide. For wildlife completely unaware of their own vulnerability, these researchers are providing a lifeline of hope.