Endangered Wildlife Investigations (EWI) is a wildlife investigation agency dedicated to improving the conservation and well-being of endangered wildlife while supporting the upliftment of impoverished local communities worldwide.

The organisation operates on the principle that both wildlife and local communities deserve the highest possible standards of protection and well-being. Field investigations and on-the-ground experience inform guidance provided to enforcement agencies, government departments, and international policy decision-makers.

EWI collaborates with international organisations, local groups, and activists, supporting their work through the provision of critical information and investigative findings aimed at driving meaningful and lasting change.

Adam Cruise PhD
Founder and Director of Endangered Wildlife Investigations

Dr Adam Cruise has been a wildlife journalist for twenty years. Decades of reporting on global wildlife issues such as poaching, trade and trophy hunting led him to delve deeper into the mechanisms fuelling such issues. Cruise, together with various individuals and teams of experts, have uncovered and reported on topics from trophy hunting and poaching to the trade in endangered species from elephants to Coral reef fishes. Cruise has a PhD in Philosophy specialising in environmental ethics and has contributed to a number of international publications and documentaries.

In July 2015, Adam broke the global story of Cecil the Lion’s killing by a trophy hunter in Zimbabwe. His report, titled "Sport hunters killed Cecil, Zimbabwe’s best-loved lion", was the first article published worldwide on the tragedy, released on July 20, 2015, at 07:39 AM CAT. The story sparked international outrage and ignited a global conversation about trophy hunting and wildlife ethics, cementing Adam’s reputation as a leading investigative journalist in the conservation world.

Between 2012 and 2019, Zimbabwe captured 144 baby elephants from the wild, exporting them to Chinese zoos and circuses. The trade remained hidden until Adam Cruise, alongside journalist Christina Russo, exposed it through undercover investigations published in The Guardian and National Geographic. Their reports, featuring video and photographic evidence from Hwange National Park, where the elephants—some only months old—were taken from their herds, led to international outrage. The exposé helped drive a global ban under CITES on exporting African elephants from the continent. For their work, Cruise and Russo received journalism awards from the National Press Club and the Humane Society of the United States in 2018.

Adam’s most recently published book ‘It’s Not About the Bats’ explores themes of conservation, the coronavirus and how we must re-set our relationship with nature. The Covid-19 pandemic put the spotlight on how human expansion has led to an increase in zoonotic viruses jumping species, and calls on us to re-set our relationship with nature. In his trademark accessible and anecdotal style, Cruise explores the ethical and practical issues – and solutions – to the greatest problem facing earth.

In 2025, Cruise’s investigative work featured centrally in the award-winning documentary Trade Secret, directed by Abraham Joffe – a six-year exposé filmed across nine countries that uncovers the hidden international trade in polar bears. The film, which follows Cruise and fellow investigators Iris Ho and Ole J. Liodden, has been recognised globally for its impact and journalism, including winning the Golden Panda Award at Wildscreen.