The FBI is investigating death threats made against members of the Dallas hunting club that intends to auction off a rare permit to kill an endangered black rhino.
Category Archives: News
Hong Kong to consider destroying ivory stockpiles
Hong Kong is to reconsider proposals to destroy its 33 tonne ivory stockpile, following a symbolic decision by Beijing to crush its confiscated ivory for the first time.
New African crocodile species discovered!
Scientists working in Africa have uncovered a new crocodile species hiding in plain sight.
960 households new owners of Mala Mala game reserve
President Jacob Zuma will hand over claimed land from Mala Mala game reserve in Mpumalanga province on 9th January 2014.
China to destroy ivory
The Chinese government plans to destroy several tons of confiscated ivory and other wildlife products demonstrating the Chinese government’s commitment in combatting the multi-billion dollar illegal wildlife trade.
Kruger elephant shot after attack
An elephant bull has been put down after it attacked a couple in the Kruger National Park on Monday, trampling their blue Volkswagen car.
Anti-elephant poaching story goes viral in China
A newspaper story about the impact of the ivory trade has gone viral in China, raising awareness among millions of Chinese, reports the Wildlife Conservation Society.
Only 6 signatures – how successful was the Botswana Elephant Conference?
In the wake of the Elephant Summit held in Botswana in early December where urgent measures to halt the rampant illegal ivory trade were adopted one is left asking if it is enough?
Lions return to iSimangaliso in memory of Mandela
After 44 years of absence, lions are being introduced into the iSimangaliso Wetland Park, affording the park with Big 7 status.
Life sentence for poachers
The Kenyan parliament has passed a new bill that calls on a life sentence as punishment for wildlife poachers.
Microsoft billionaire to fund elephant survey
Paul Allen, one of the founders of Microsoft, has announced that he will be funding a survey on Africa’s elephants to calculate how many actually remain, where they are found, what threats they face and whether their total population numbers are in fact increasing or decreasing.
New Strand Hotel breaks ground for tourism in Namibia
On Thursday, 14 November 2013 O&L Leisure held the ground-breaking ceremony of the new Strand Hotel at Swakopmund, a N$ 342 Million investment into tourism in Namibia.
Safety update for those travelling to Mozambique
The African Travel and Tourism Association (ATTA) have responded to several articles in the European press regarding safety updates for travellers to Mozambique, saying that they are “inaccurately reporting” on the unrest. Read their safety update here.
Marching for elephants
On Friday, 4 October 2013, fifteen official cities took part in the iworry International March for Elephants in an effort to protect and preserve the world’s elephants, here are some photos from the Cape Town march.
There is a crocodile under my bed!
Guy Whitall slept for 8 hours, unaware that a crocodile was under his bed. The croc found under bed is captured and released back into the Turgwe River river in Zimbabwe.
Obama to crush illegal ivory trade
Obama and federal government agency, The Fish and Wildlife Service, will crush 6 tons of illegal ivory. Read the full story here.
41 elephants poisoned with cyanide
41 elephants have been killed by cyanide which had been added to the waterholes from which they drink in the Hwange National Park in Zimbabwe.
Responsible for the slaughter of 10 000 elephants…. facing one year in jail?
A notorious ivory trafficker was arrested in Togo on 6 August 2013. N’Bourke, who is known as “The Boss”, is an a ivory trafficking and poaching kingpin and is believed to have been operating for over 40 years, fueling the slaughter of over 10 000 elephants. The Daily Mail reported that upon being arrested, N’Bourke […]
SA wants 'once-off' sale of rhino horn
Original source: News24 Rhino horn stockpiles in South Africa currently total more than 18 tons, environmental affairs confirmed on Wednesday. These included 16 347kg in government stockpiles and 2 091kg in private hands, the department’s deputy director general for biodiversity, Fundisile Mketeni, told reporters in Pretoria. “This is where we stand as we speak,” he […]
US to help SA fight poaching
Original source: News24 US President Barack Obama on Monday signed an executive order launching a $10m bid to cut wildlife trafficking in Africa, which threatens to decimate rhino and elephant populations. US officials said that Obama, who is in Tanzania, would set up a task force to develop a strategy against the illicit wildlife trade […]
Vulture, thought extinct, seen in Kruger
Original source: News24 A vulture declared regionally extinct in South Africa has reappeared in the Kruger National Park. Marloth Park Honorary Ranger Genie Retief spotted a juvenile Egyptian Vulture, also known as “Pharaoh’s Chicken” on 6 May. Fellow ranger Andrew Hudson took a photograph, which was presented to local South African Rare Birds Reports group who […]
Great white shark megaworld? Really?
On Tuesday 25 June, an updated regional estimate of great white shark populations in South Africa’s ‘shark capital’, Gansbaai in the Western Cape, is to be released to the public. And the results may come as a surprise. Shark numbers in the area may not be what you thought. The research was conducted by the Dyer […]
Evidence against trophy hunting mounts
Over the past decade I, along with other people, have consistently argued that the economic benefits of trophy hunting have been crudely overstated. And when viewed against the alternative land-use option, that of well-managed photographic ecotourism, the merit of trophy hunting in nationally protected areas holds even less weight, if any at all. In this […]
360,000 Euro for Namibian cheetah conservation
Press Release: Cheetah Conservation Fund (CCF) is pleased to announce that it is one of three recipients of a funding agreement with the Embassy of Finland. The agreements were signed on 11 June 2013, and announced by the Head of Mission of the Embassy of Finland, Ms. Anne Saloranta. The grants are part of the […]
Elephants face extinction if Beijing does not ban ivory trade
Original source: Daily Mail China needs to act now on the country’s illegal ivory trade to stop elephants becoming extinct, according to one conservationist. Joyce Poole, co-director of Elephant Voices, said the creatures had experienced their worst year in history, with more than 7 per cent killed for their tusks in only a year. She […]
Thandora death shocks experts
Original source: News24 A zoo elephant released into the Gondwana Game Reserve has died and experts are trying to determine the cause of death. Thandora was held in captivity for 23 years before she was released into the wild this year with high hopes that she would adapt to the environment. However, experts from Conservation Global […]
Scientists discover new giant mole-rat in Africa
Although the term “giant mole-rat” may not immediately inspire love, the mole-rats of Africa are a fascinating bunch.
What Will It Take to Save the East African Lion from Extinction? Hunting or Herding?
Original source: katsafrica What, if anything can save the East African lion from extinction? A hundred years ago more than 200,000 wild lions lived throughout the continent of Africa but according to present day estimates a mere 32,000 lions at best roam freely throughout the forests and grasslands of modern day Africa and there are […]
In Mozambique, the Meager Opulence of Rhino Poaching
Original source: internationalboulevard.com In the poacher towns of Mozambique that border South Africa’s enormous Kruger National Park, young men hand-thread the barrels of old rifles to fit them with silencers, then slip barefoot across the border into South Africa to shoot endangered rhinos for their horns. Back home, they build ‘mansions’ in their hometowns’ millionaires […]
Rhino guy banned for wearing 'horn'
Original source: News24 A rhino campaigner has been banned from the Cape Argus Pick n Pay Cycle Tour because of his outfit during the 2013 race. Steve Newman, also known as the Naked Skydiver, has been running a virtual one man campaign to raise money to fight rhino poaching. His stunts invariably include him […]
Rhinos Without Borders: Relocation of white rhinos to the Okavango Delta
As poaching is a growing threat to rhinos in South Africa, the conservation efforts of Rhinos Without Borders represent a true beacon of hope. Founded by travel company &Beyond, this ground-breaking project has translocated six white rhinos from its Phinda Private Game Reserve in South Africa to the Okavango Delta in Botswana. With its excellent […]
Elephant 'tramples to death suspected poacher'
Original source: telegraph.co.uk “A suspected poacher has reportedly been trampled to death by an elephant as he tried to shoot the beast in Zimbabwe. The bloodied remains of Solomon Manjoro were found by rangers after what was thought to be a botched poaching trip at the protected Charara safari area inside a national park. Zimbabwe’s […]
President of Botswana injured by cheetah
Original Source: theJournal.ie “Botswana President Ian Khama has received two stitches in his face after being clawed by a cheetah, a government spokesman has said. The incident occurred at a Botswana Defence Force barracks last week government spokesman Jeff Ramsay told AFP. “He was scratched by a cheetah last week but not really attacked per […]
Anti-Poaching Breakthrough at Odzala-Kokoua National Park
Press Release: African Parks We are pleased to report that a major anti-poaching breakthrough has been made at Odzala-Kokoua National Park with the arrest of the kingpin of a regional ivory poaching and trafficking ring. The arrest of Ngondjo Ghislain, alias “Pépito”, represents a coup for Park Manager Leon Lamprecht and his law enforcement team […]
Safari interactive magazine goes into redevelopment phase
Safari has been bringing you travel stories from all over Africa, packaged into our interactive online+app magazine and blog. And now its time to put the interactive magazine into the workshop for a bit of panel beating, to emerge as a more versatile magazine – for all screen sizes and platforms. This redevelopment phase should […]
Klein Karoo leopards get new 300km nature reserve
Original source: TimesLive “Leopards in the Klein Karoo will be able to roam unhindered for 300km in a new nature reserve, it was reported. The Cape Times reported that provincial conservation group CapeNature had acquired five farms, covering an area of 12 800 hectares, to create a new reserve called Grand Canyon. This had expanded […]
Former NBA star Yao Ming stands up to poaching
Former NBA player and Chinese icon, Yao Ming, launches a major public awareness campaign against the sky-rocketing consumption of rhino horn and ivory in China. Partnered with WildAid (WA), Save the Elephants (STE), African Wildlife Foundation (AWF) and the Yao Ming Foundation, this initiative is taking a major step towards closing the bushveld slaughterhouse, once […]
Demand for lion bones offers South African breeders a lucrative return
Original source: Guardian.co.uk “Fears of a rise in poaching as Asian traders look for alternatives to tigers as a source of ingredients for traditional medicine Koos Hermanus would rather not give names to the lions he breeds. So here, behind a 2.4-metre high electric fence, is 1R, a three-and-a-half-year-old male, who consumes 5kg of meat […]
Elephant rescue in Namibia
Original Source: TravelNewsNamibia.com By Jana-Mari Smith “Images of an elephant being rescued from a potentially fatal set of circumstances in Damaraland on Sunday 17 February have captured the hearts and minds of Namibians and animal lovers the world over. A few brave souls struggled for hours under the searing African sun to rescue an adult […]
Chemical cocktail to turn off poachers
Original source: News24 “A non-lethal chemical containing pink dye will now make it a health risk to consume rhino horn for medicinal purposes, the Sabi Sand Wildtuin Association said on Wednesday. The association, a group of private landowners, was trying to curb poaching, its CEO Andrew Parker said in a statement. “Consumers of the powdered […]
New facts debunk common beliefs about rhino poaching
Rhino horn poaching in Africa is at an all-time high. The recent wave of rhino poaching (up 3,346% since 2007) has erased decades of gains in African rhino conservation efforts, and put rhinos on the fast track to extinction. At one point, hundreds of thousands of black and white rhinos roamed the African continent, but […]
Maasai locked out of Loliondo
The Loliondo Game Controlled Area (LGCA), one of Tanzania’s most well-known Maasai community concessions and wildlife destinations is in the spotlight as local stakeholders and outside financial interests clash over its natural resources. These tensions are not new, and given the location of Loliondo and the bounty of wildlife and grazing it carries, such tussles […]
Why is Branson promoting this man?
As a young scientist Allan Savory provided advice to the Zimbabwean government that directly resulted in the slaughter of 40,000 elephants. See more about that here. Apparently Savory has learnt by his mistakes and is now considered the ‘father’ of holistic ecosystem management! And now Richard Branson, in his blog post, suggests that we trust […]
Great White Shark rams into cage
A 2.5m great white shark managed to ram straight through the viewing gap in a cage on a shark-cage diving trip in Gansbaai. httpv://youtu.be/MGsdIrlrSi8 The cameraman Bryan Plummer had this to say about the incident, [quote]A shark totally ignores the bait and goes straight for the cage!! He gets his head inside the cage, while fellow […]
Race for the Rhino
Written by: Simon Espley (Proud member of the Race for the Rhino 2013 team) We all know that South Africa is losing 3 rhino a day to poaching. There seems to be no end to the demand for horn in the Far East and countless greedy and ruthless people to supply that demand. So what […]
Killing Spree Slaughters 86 Elephants in Chad
Source: International Fund for Animal Welfare (IFAW) Poachers in Chad have slaughtered 86 elephants, including 33 pregnant females, in less than a week. The elephants were killed close to the Chad border with Cameroon and their ivory hacked out. It is the worst killing spree of elephants since early 2012 when poachers from Chad and Sudan killed […]
