Page 11 – Africa Geographic

Tsavo National Park’s Great Walk

I recently had the privilege to realise my lifelong dream of travelling across Tsavo National Park in Kenya on foot on the ‘Great Walk’ with Africa Geographic. I was confident that, even at 80, I could meet the goal of covering 160 km (100 miles) over ten days of walking.

Moreover, I desperately needed to break out of the confines imposed by the pandemic, which had scuttled several planned trips. This expedition to the kingdom of elephants offered an opportunity to remain almost entirely in the open air in a remote area, minimising the risk of infection.

Tsavo’s tumultuous history

Tsavo National Park has a rich, at times tumultuous, history. In 1898, two maneless lions terrorised workers constructing the railway from Mombasa to Nairobi, where it crossed the Tsavo River, devouring at least 28 people before they were shot (providing the subject for the film The Ghost and the Darkness). After the park was proclaimed in 1946, the elephant population grew so rapidly that scientists called for culling. The population was later reduced when at least 6,000 elephants died in the park during a severe drought in the early 1970s. The death toll was mostly made up of mother elephants and calves confined to the vicinity of the Galana River, where food had run out. This was followed by rampant poaching, which reduced the park’s elephant population from around 25,000 to little more than 5,000. By 1989, black rhinos had been nearly wiped out by poaching. Since then, the vegetation has been recovering, while the elephant population has grown to around 12,000. By 1995, when I first visited the park, signs of past damage by elephants were not very apparent, apart from the absence of baobab trees. But it was challenging to make a fair assessment back then from the confines of a motor vehicle.

The Great Walk of Tsavo

Fast forward to our Great Walk this year. Our walking route followed the Tsavo River from where it enters Tsavo in the west to its junction with the Athi River and continued along the Galana River to exit the park in the east. This Great Walk is a single segment of a much longer expedition, travelling from the summit of Kilimanjaro to the ocean north of Mombasa, a distance of 480 km+. Our walk through elephant country was lavishly supported in camp facilities and food by a team that shifted tents and fresh supplies from one campsite to the next as we traversed the wild, roadless areas on the opposite side of the two rivers. We had to wade across rivers to link our walking route to the campsite. Although the water was no more than thigh deep, there was no guarantee that a crocodile wouldn’t appear, adding to the thrill of the journey. However, we were well protected by skilled armed guides stationed at the front and back of our walking party.

A reasonable degree of fitness is needed to meet daily distance targets of 15 km or more, especially during the midday heat. Our guide, Iain Allan, conveyed much of his 40 years of knowledge of the region and its history, of films old and new, and of his travels as an accomplished mountaineer. He has never tired of leading another walking expedition through Tsavo because each provides unique experiences.

Our group consisted of eight people, including my wife and me, two couples from the USA who had been on many expeditions, and two women from Australia. Our daily walk began each morning at 7:00 and ran until 13:00. Afterwards, we would enjoy a cooked lunch with fresh salads and fruit. After lunch, we spent the afternoons resting until it was time for a game drive. This was followed by sundowners overlooking the river alongside our camp. These sundowners, gathering us around the river’s varied views at dusk, were especially delightful.

Camping arrangements provided the luxury of comfortable beds, each tent with its own little pit toilet and bucket shower, plus expertly cooked meals.

Wild experiences

This trip provided several memorable encounters. We walked through dense shrubbery along hippo paths, trusting that the hippos would be in their aquatic refuges during the day, yet still facing the prospect of close encounters with elephants and buffalo. Thankfully, all the hippos we saw while walking were in the river, but we were aware of incidents on previous walks when walkers had to be protected from charging hippos. Charging elephants have also, on occasion, been deflected by warning shots. Crocodiles have not caused any injuries, but every precaution was taken to cross rivers in shallow water, as elephants do. The group was kept tightly bunched until we reached the safety of land. The vegetation near the Galana River is much more open and grassy, which allowed us to see animals at a distance, and vice versa – apart from the dense salt-bush shrubbery that we had to traverse frequently to get to or from the river.

Tsavo Great Walk — The Great Walk took the group of travellers through the various terrains of Tsavo, including through and alongside rivers

Elephants revved us twice. Once, just as we entered a tricky section of thick vegetation between the Tsavo River and a steep rocky slope, there was a loud trumpet, and our guide urged us to head back hastily and ascend the hill as high up as we could. Our passage had been blocked by a giant bull elephant, evidently in musth. Fortunately, he deviated up the slope, and we were able to traipse cautiously past.

The second incident involved two female elephants in a family group. They headed towards us with a loud trumpet, but veered off when we retreated hastily. We passed by many other elephants, but most remained oblivious to our presence.

We had another fright when a buffalo bull galloped out of a salt-bush clump just behind us, heading off as fast as he could.

Even more thrilling were the three encounters we had with lions. In two instances, the lions were sleeping, and we crept on without disturbing them. On the third occasion, two lions ran off across the river when we appeared close by. Fortunately, the lions of Tsavo have not retained any tradition of hunting humans, preferring buffalo.

We enjoyed sightings of giraffe, zebra, fringe-eared oryx, waterbuck, Peter’s gazelle (a subspecies of Grant’s gazelle), impala, hartebeest, dik-dik, a single lesser kudu, two gerenuk and even a brief glimpse of a honey badger – with most sightings taking place in the open dry country north of the Galana River. Once abundant in the region, black rhinos are now rarely seen. I wondered how we would have coped with these cantankerous animals puffing towards us out of the thickets.

Great Walk — The group experienced much wildlife along the way, including various elephant encounters, and buffalo, giraffe and zebra sightings

We saw many birds; most notably, huge swarms of queleas and a gathering of Somali bee-eaters around a Delonyx tree that was in flower and attracting bees. Among the reptiles, we saw just one snake – a cobra – and a large monitor lizard. Among insects, it was fascinating to see large numbers of white Belanois butterflies around Boscia bushes, fluttering westwards. Were they connected with the similar butterflies that we see flying in the Highveld in mid-summer, going east, perhaps in some great spiral? Surprisingly, we did not experience mosquitoes or tsetse flies.

The experience of being completely immersed in the wild Africa that shaped the evolution of our species for two whole weeks is unique to this Great Walk. Tsavo National Park is fascinatingly different from other East African parks in its landscapes, vegetation and fauna.

Overlooking an elephant in the Tsavo River, the author (third from left) poses with his fellow travellers

Resources

Want to head out on the Great Walk? Join AG on this amazing safari to experience Tsavo on foot.

Want to visit Tsavo National Park? Read about Tsavo – the land of legends – here.

Guests of Africa Geographic went on an 80km walking trail to follow giants in Tsavo – read more about their experience here.

For more by the author, check out Norman Owen-Smith’s book, Only in Africa: The Ecology of Human Evolution

THIS WEEK

This is a copy of our weekly email newsletter. Subscribe here to receive the newsletter.

Daring giraffe move + another tusker dies + Cape porcupines

So the CoP19 decision-makers in Panama have closed the loophole that Namibia and Zimbabwe have abused to export wild-caught elephants, including babies, to zoos. The moratorium is temporary, though, to give African countries time to find common ground and hopefully make better decisions that promote conservation rather than lining the pockets of a tiny coterie of wildlife traffickers.

Exporting elephants to zoos has absolutely no positive impact on the protection of the species or on serious issues such as ecosystem protection and human-wildlife conflict.

Interesting how silent the lobbyists for ‘sustainable use’ have been about this clear case of cruelty and abuse. May they hang their heads in shame. I support sustainable use that is backed by science, accountability and transparency – none of which seem present when wild-caught elephants are trafficked to tiny concrete cells in far-flung corners of the globe.

Spare a thought for local people living with wildlife; for it is they who carry the cost to lives and livelihoods while others profit handsomely from pretend conservation.

More about the CITES Cop19 decisions in a while. Finally, be the change you seek in others. Out.

Keep the passion

Simon Espley – CEO, Africa Geographic

TRAVEL DESK UPDATES:

From the iconic to the awe-inspiring, our travel team has put together two adventure offerings in Kenya and Zimbabwe:

Victoria Falls and Hwange – 7 days – US$2,630
This short but iconic safari delivers two of Zimbabwe’s most popular destinations – Victoria Falls and Hwange National Park. Experience the iconic falls and all the activities the raging Zambezi River has to offer, before heading to Hwange for rewarding wildlife viewing in Zim’s largest national park

Kenya highlights – US$11,120
Soak up the best of the Maasai Mara, Samburu and Laikipia. See the Big 5 and Wildebeest Migration and then head to Samburu, in Kenya’s remote and arid far north. Here, you can experience the iconic and rarely seen ‘Samburu five’ – Grevy’s zebra, reticulated giraffe, beisa oryx, gerenuk and Somali ostrich

From our Editor – Taryn van Jaarsveld

We’re moving with giants this week, celebrating their lives and the people that protect them.

An essential population of West African giraffe in the Gadabedji Biosphere Reserve, Niger, has just been bolstered by the addition of four female giraffes. This after a daring 800km translocation mission under military protection from Niger’s security-stricken ‘Giraffe Zone’, made possible by dedicated conservationists. Read more about this success story below.

In tragic news this week, another iconic Tsavo tusker has died. Lugard, a super tusker that is said to have had one of the largest sets of tusks in Africa, died of natural causes. Lugard is the second tusker to be found deceased in Tsavo in the last month. Read more about Lugard’s life and death in our second story.

In our last story, we explore the wonders of a fascinating mammal: the Cape porcupine. These endearing rodents are family-oriented, elusive and adaptable to the ever-encroaching human impact on their natural habitats. We’re celebrating their resilience in our third story.

Happy celebrating Africa!

Story 1
https://africageographic.com/stories/west-african-giraffe-conservation-success-in-niger-after-daring-translocation/
DARING TRANSLOCATION
A vital population of West African giraffe has been bolstered after a daring translocation of 4 giraffes to Gadabedji, Niger

Story 2
https://africageographic.com/stories/iconic-tsavo-super-tusker-lugard-dies/
TUSKER DIES
Iconic Tsavo super tusker Lugard has died of natural causes. Lugard is the second tusker to be found deceased in Tsavo in the past month

Story 3
https://africageographic.com/stories/cape-porcupine/
CAPE PORCUPINE
Cape porcupines are fascinating creatures. Protected by deadly quills, they are the largest rodents in southern Africa

Penguin breeding success!

Christina Hagen, Project Rep for Birdlife South Africa’s African Penguin Conservation project, writes on the AG Forum:

“A pair of chicks has been seen at a nest at the site of the new African penguin colony in the De Hoop Nature Reserve and Marine Protected Area, near Bredasdorp in the Western Cape, South Africa.

BirdLife South Africa, CapeNature and SANCCOB have been working to re-establish a penguin colony in the De Hoop Nature Reserve to allow breeding penguins better access to moving fish stocks. The project has now reached an important milestone with the first penguin pair successfully hatching and raising two chicks, providing new hope for the future of African penguins. This is an exciting moment for African penguin conservation as it proves that human-assisted colony establishment is possible. While this colony is still in its infancy, it has the potential to contribute to the conservation of this endangered species.”

Read and comment on the full post here, or offer support to Birdlife’s African Penguin Conservation project here.

WATCH: Check out striking footage of Tsavo’s majestic elephants, and the work done by the Tsavo Trust and Kenya Wildlife Services to protect Tsavo’s big tuskers. Keep an eye out for Lugard, the recently deceased super tusker, who can be spotted at 01:24 in the video (02:06). Click here to watch

Iconic Tsavo super tusker Lugard dies

Lugard, the iconic Tsavo super tusker, has died of natural causes at about 53 years old. Lugard is the second tusker to have died in Tsavo National Park in a month, after matriarch Dida matriarch Dida also died of natural causes.

While Lugard had lived a long life, the Tsavo Trust reports that the severe drought in Tsavo accelerated his natural death. Both of Lugard’s tusks were found intact on his carcass and were recovered.

Tsavo Trust conservation officer and pilot Joseph Kimaile spotted Lugard’s three-day-old carcass from the air during a routine reconnaissance flight in Tsavo West National Park on 21 November. An immediate ground response was then initiated by Kenya Wildlife Services and Tsavo Trust to verify the situation.

Tusker Lugard — On close observation, it was determined that the fallen elephant was indeed Lugard, who had passed away from natural causes

The joint Tsavo Trust and Kenya Wildlife Services Big Tusker Project aims to deliver security and protection to the iconic tuskers through regular monitoring activities.

Lugard was known for his large tusks and the distinct wart on his trunk. His tusks were reported to be one of the largest sets on a living elephant. According to Tsavo Trust field staff, Lugard was one of the more friendly and approachable big tuskers and was easy to identify due to his characteristic wart.

Lugard was first named and recorded in the Big Tusker Project database in January 2014 and has been observed by the project on 373 occasions since.

One of the last images captured of Lugard while he was alive. Hesté de Beer managed to find and photograph Lugard only a week before his death. “He wasn’t moving around a lot,” said Hesté

“This presence and track record is something that has undoubtedly contributed to Lugard living out a full life,” reported Tsavo Trust in its eulogy to Lugard. “This is a rarity in today’s elephant world, and especially with an elephant that has carried such impressive ivory for so many years.”

Africa’s tuskers face many threats, including poaching, habitat loss and human-wildlife conflict. But these elephants are protected in areas such as Kenya’s Tsavo and Amboseli National Parks, where they are monitored for protection against poaching and injury. Kenya does not allow trophy hunting, unlike Botswana and Zimbabwe, where tuskers are targeted for trophy hunting.

The Big Tusker Project collects data and responds to imminent threats to these tuskers. This ongoing presence is a significant deterrent to poachers and other illegal activity.

Several super tuskers have fallen in the past few years. These include Amboseli super tusker Tolstoy, who died earlier this year following complications from a spear wound, and Tsavo’s Wide Satao and Amboseli’s Big Tim, who both died of natural causes.

Lugard regularly crisscrossed between Tsavo East and West National Parks in the Manyani area throughout his life. Observations of his movement between Kenya’s national parks later led to authorities and conservationists developing an underpass under the SG Railway to allow wildlife to cross without harm.

Lugard has fathered dozens of calves over the decades, passing his genes on to many elephants who may become tuskers.

Resources

You can read more about the invaluable work done by the Tsavo Trust and support their work here.

Photos courtesy Tsavo Trust, Joseph Kimaile, James Lewin, Nick Haller, Richard Moller and Hesté de Beer

West African giraffe conservation success in Niger after daring translocation

An essential population of West African giraffe in the Gadabedji Biosphere Reserve, Niger, has just been bolstered by the addition of four female giraffes after a daring 800km translocation mission.

In mid-November, the four giraffes were translocated under military protection from Niger’s security-stricken ‘Giraffe Zone’, an area in W Transboundary Biosphere Reserve, east of the capital Niamey. The four females joined a group of eight West African giraffe in the reserve, which were re-introduced to the area in 2018. Before the establishment of this population, the highly threatened mammal was absent from the reserve for almost 50 years.

There are currently only 600+ highly threatened West African giraffe (Giraffa camelopardalis peralta) – a subspecies of the Northern giraffe (Giraffa camelopardalis) – remaining in the wild. This isolated population is restricted to the Giraffe Zone, which is not formally protected. Establishing a second viable population of West African giraffe in the Gadabedji area is key to their long-term survival.

“Operation Sahel Giraffe II”, which entailed covering the 800km journey in only 48 hours, was coordinated by the Giraffe Conservation Foundation (GCF) in collaboration with the Nigerien Ministry of Environment, with support from SaharaConservation and Wild Africa Conservation.

After a year of preparation, the four females were captured in the Giraffe Zone and transferred to a holding pen, where they were kept for several days to prepare them for the long and arduous journey. After travelling by truck in convoy under heavy military protection, the giraffes were successfully released into the reserve and promptly joined the resident population.

In recent months, prior to the addition of the four new females, three calves were born to the Gadabedji population. Conservationists hope the addition of these females will contribute to breeding successes within the population.

Approximately 50 years ago, giraffes became locally extinct in the Gadabedji Biosphere Reserve due to drought and illegal hunting. Since 2013, Niger’s Wildlife Authority, with support from the Niger Fauna Corridor Project/GEF/UNDP, has worked towards restoring the region’s wildlife and habitat. The re-introduction has helped to enrich the reserve’s biodiversity and contributed to increasing community development and support in the area. Growing this second viable population of West African giraffe outside of the Giraffe Zone is key to their long-term survival.

“While giraffe continue to thrive in the Giraffe Zone, their safety is not guaranteed,” says Dr Sara Ferguson, Conservation Health Coordinator of the Giraffe Conservation Foundation.

In the Giraffe Zone, the giraffes share their habitat with local communities and livestock, and compete for space and resources. Their threats include agricultural encroachment, climate change and variability, human population growth, and natural-resource over-exploitation. As a result of a growing giraffe population and increasing human population pressure, giraffe have started to migrate out of the Giraffe Zone, where they find themselves in conflict situations with humans unaccustomed to their presence, and too close to the insecure border areas with Burkina Faso, Mali, and Nigeria.

“Our team took a huge risk in moving these giraffe – specifically from Koure to Gadabedji,” says Ferguson. “We captured these giraffe close to the very spot where both Nigeriens and foreign French tourists were killed in a senseless act of terrorism a few years ago when innocently visiting these rare giraffe. It was not an easy mission and keeping both giraffe and the team safe was not an easy task by a longshot. However, the reward of seeing these four majestic animals run free into their new home made it all worthwhile.”

In the mid-1990s, only 49 West African giraffe remained in the wild, and as a result, the subspecies was listed as Endangered on the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species in 2008.

Conservation efforts by the Government of Niger, in collaboration with local and international partners, triggered the remarkable recovery to its present-day population of over 600. The population increase resulted in the downlisting of the subspecies to Vulnerable on the IUCN Red List in November 2018.

This re-introduction of West African giraffe to their former range in Niger is just one small but important milestone in the conservation efforts that the Giraffe Conservation Foundation has instigated with their partners.

Resources

Giraffes can be divided into four species and seven subspecies. Read more about these species here.

Giraffe numbers have plummeted by almost 40% in just three decades. This rapid slide now places them amongst the most threatened species on the planet. Read more about the silent extinction of giraffes here.

Despite the staggering plummeting of the species, recent increasing numbers give hope. Read more here.

The Giraffe Conservation Foundation (GCF) concentrates solely on the conservation and management of giraffe in the wild throughout Africa. Read more about GCF and support their work here.

Cape porcupine

As African mammals go, the Cape porcupine (Hystix africaeaustralis) is perhaps the least ambiguous in its message to the world around it – for a creature with a crest of spines, some of which are over 50cm in length, social distancing was never going to be a challenge. Yet despite their somewhat antisocial look, these fortified rodents have a surprisingly family-oriented approach to life and, if left alone, are relatively innocuous in their existence. Retiring and elusive, it is often only their family-shared attraction to human rubbish that alerts surrounding people to their presence.

The basics

Cape porcupines are the largest rodents in Africa and the fourth largest in the world after South America’s capybaras and North American and Eurasian beavers. The largest Cape porcupines measured have weighed more than 30kg, though most weigh around 20kg, with minimal size difference between the males and the females. They are found throughout Southern, Central and East Africa in a wide range of habitats from deserts to forest, and live for over 10 years in the wild. At present, Cape porcupines are listed as being of “least concern” by the IUCN.

They are stocky and powerfully built creatures with short limbs, and while they can bustle off at a fair pace if disturbed, porcupines clearly do not rely on speed or camouflage as part of their predator avoidance strategy. Instead, it is their significant armoury that keeps them safe – a strategy effective for all but the most determined or foolish of predators.

The weapons

Their black-and-white quiver of quills is an example of aposematic colouring – contrasting colouration used to warn would-be predators to think twice about attacking. This is combined with specially modified hollow quills that the porcupines use to make a startling rattling sound when threatened. If these warnings are ignored, porcupines are not afraid to use these spines, sometimes to deadly effect. The quills themselves are essentially modified, hardened hairs and they come in several different shapes and sizes that all form part of the same defence system. The longest of these tend to be quite thin and flexible – the perfect tool for poking at vulnerable eyes and making it extremely difficult to get anywhere close to the porcupine’s body. A second set of quills set in clusters around the porcupine’s back and tail are shorter and thicker, creating a powerful barrier of spears that are used for precisely that purpose.

Despite the general misconception to the contrary, porcupines are incapable of shooting their spines at would-be attackers like some kind of archer. Instead, their technique when threatened is to stiffen their quills away from their bodies, forming a protective shield around their backs and then, if necessary, they reverse at high speed into their attacker. The ends of their quills are highly barbed at the tip, which enables quick penetration but makes removal extremely difficult and it is not all that uncommon to see leopards or lions with quills deeply embedded within their flesh. Though rare, these painful injuries and subsequent infections can prove fatal.

This stab-and-retreat approach is effective as a deterrent – most predators will back off from confrontation. That said, lions and leopards can and do kill porcupines, though in the case of lions this is unusual behaviour only seen in curious adolescents or particularly hungry individuals. Young leopards also find themselves attracted to the allure of such slow-moving prey and some develop unique strategies that allow them to become porcupine specialists. Using their finely honed ambush skills, these porcupine enthusiasts aim for the head before the porcupine has time to fire up its defence systems.

Fascinatingly, spotted hyenas very seldom bother to harass porcupines. In areas with high availability of prey (without such thorny exteriors), hyena cubs and porcupines sometimes share the same set of burrows. However, the rambunctious hyena cubs usually send their neighbours packing eventually. As diurnal animals, warthogs tend to make better roommates, returning to the burrow just as the porcupines are getting ready to depart. Unless there has to be an unfortunate mistiming of entry, these arrangements tend to be largely without incident.

Diet and behaviour

Porcupines are almost entirely nocturnal, emerging from their underground burrows at dusk to set off in search of a mostly plant-based diet, ranging across a territory that can be over 200 hectares in certain areas. As previously mentioned, porcupines do display a particular proclivity for raiding human habitation in search of tastier meals. Vegetable gardens prove to be a particularly attractive option and unless well-protected, will seldom survive long in an area where porcupines roam. Some individuals become so brazen that they have been known to enter houses, much to the bemusement and occasional surprise of resident humans and pets.

Thanks to their rodent incisors, the signs of porcupine feeding activity are easy to spot. They have a particular appreciation for the bark at the base of tamboti trees (Spirostachys africana), even though the latex secreted by these trees is extremely toxic to humans. Their foraging activities are not entirely limited to the vegetarian options, and they regularly gnaw on bones to supplement their mineral intake.

Reproduction

Porcupines are monogamous, and both the male and female play a role in raising and protecting their young (known as porcupettes – watch this cute video). The pair mates regularly (and carefully) throughout the year, though the female typically only has one litter each year, usually during the wet season. The average number of offspring is one porcupette, but there can be up to three in a litter, born with soft quills that harden a few days after birth. The young spend their first few weeks close to the safety of a set of burrows before they are old enough to accompany their parents on foraging excursions. They reach sexual maturity at around a year old, and both the males and females disperse from their natal groups once mature.

Resilient through and through

Even though they are sometimes hunted and eaten in the bushmeat trade and their quills are used for both ornamental purposes and traditional medicine, overall Cape porcupine numbers remain stable for now. There are regions where they are more likely to be persecuted, particularly in farming areas where their dietary preferences and ability to dig under fences do little to endear them to their human neighbours. Yet, like many members of the rodent family, Cape porcupines have shown themselves to be both resilient and adaptable to the ever-encroaching human impact on their natural habitats.

Resources

For an endearing, tearjerker of a story, read our account of this Cape porcupine who was treated and released after being burnt in a fire.

THIS WEEK

This is a copy of our weekly email newsletter. Subscribe here to receive the newsletter.

Uplisting hippos + Oltepesi photo safari + elephant birds

The human population has doubled in just 48 years – to 8 billion. Try suggesting that there are too many of us and face being cancelled by easily offended keyboard warriors and economists/politicians who believe that growth is good and necessary for the ongoing rollout of humankind’s exclusive-use model for Planet Earth.

The elephant population in Africa has plummeted over about the same period from 1,3 million in 1980 to 415,428 in 2015 (last census). That’s a 68% decline.

And yet vociferous and influential right-wing activists and some governments will have us believe that there are too many elephants.

Go figure ?

Keep the passion

Simon Espley – CEO, Africa Geographic

From our Editor – Taryn van Jaarsveld

The 19th meeting of the Conference of the Parties to CITES (CoP19) is currently underway in Panama City. There is a buzz this year around the proposal brought by ten African states to uplist hippos from Appendix II to Appendix I. Hippo specimens (especially ivory) are legally and illegally traded in large numbers, and shifting hippos to Appendix 1 should ensure stricter legal trade regulations. We’ve unpacked the issues at play in our first story.

In our second story, we explore the ideal safari for avid photographers searching for a raw experience of the Maasai Mara: Oltepesi Tented Safari Camp in Kenya’s Mara North Conservancy. We’ve seen some incredible photos emanating from Oltepesi – including this year’s winning entry for Photographer of the Year. Simon went to see for himself what Oltepesi has to offer, and was bowled over by his experience of a safari that caters to every special need of its photographer guests. Read more below.

Happy celebrating Africa!

Story 1
https://africageographic.com/stories/hippos-to-be-uplisted-cites-cop19/
UPLISTING HIPPOS?
Ten African states have proposed the transfer of hippos from CITES Appendix II to Appendix I ahead of CoP19

Story 2
https://africageographic.com/stories/oltepesi-a-maasai-mara-camp-for-photographers/
PHOTO SAFARI
Oltepesi Tented Safari Camp in Mara North Conservancy is designed with photographers in mind – ideal for an epic Kenyan photographic safari

From our Scientific Editor – Jamie Paterson

Did you know that Madagascar was once home to several species of Malagasy hippos, lemurs the size of humans, and giant elephant birds? The biggest of the elephant bird species was around three metres tall and roughly 750 kg (take a moment to let that sink in – even the heaviest ostriches seldom weigh more than 140 kg).

So where did they go? Well, no one knows for sure, but (somewhat unsurprisingly) their disappearance seems to coincide with a human population boom on the island.

Exploring Zambia with AG

Lex van Vught and his wife Joan recently travelled with AG to South Luangwa NP and Kafue NP in Zambia:

“Already spoiled by a lifetime of fabulous sightings in the wild, my wife and I experienced a phenomenon in Zambia in September that simply took our breaths away: we sat for hours in a hide 20m away from a raucous breeding colony of hundreds of pairs of southern carmine bee-eaters, breeding in tunnels in a bank near the Kaingo Camp in South Luangwa.

Equally sensational was the hide at the Mwamba Bush Camp where we spent many hours photographing a constant stream of fauna, with our subjects mere metres from us.

Another destination on our 9-day trip was Busanga Plains in Kafue – Zambia’s unspoiled national park, which is even larger than South Africa’s Kruger National Park. The transfers and tsetse flies were soon forgotten when we found ourselves surrounded by herds of lechwe from horizon to horizon. We witnessed groups of up to 30 roan antelope, hippos too numerous to count, many other mammals and abundant bird life. Our three bush camps were intimate and wonderful, and all logistics and arrangements made by AG were excellent.”

Do you want AG to arrange your dream safari? Start the discussion with our travel team now.

WATCH: Care for a taste of an AG safari? We are a TAILORED SAFARI company and have been crafting life-changing vacations since 1991. All budgets and interests are catered for. Start the discussion to come on safari with us! (01:05). Click here to watch

Oltepesi – a Maasai Mara camp for photographers

There is a camp in Kenya’s Mara North Conservancy in the Maasai Mara ecosystem that caters to photographers – of all levels. It’s co-owned by a local Maasai man and is the lifeblood of an entire community – providing jobs and financial security. In addition, the borehole and water tank at the camp provide over 2,000 people with potable water. This is Oltepesi Tented Safari Camp.

After seeing fantastic photos emanating from Oltepesi (including from our 2022 Photographer of the Year winner), I was keen to head out there to see for myself. So, armed with my mobile phone, I joined a group of AG clients for a few days of their Maasai Mara safari.

The first thing that struck me when we arrived at Oltepesi after our one-hour flight from Nairobi and a 40-minute game drive to the camp was the location within a village. So daily interactions with the Maasai folk were adhoc and unrehearsed as if I was a member of their community. Strolling over to visit local children or to walk amongst the goats in their pen next to the vegetable garden was not an arranged outing, as it usually is when on safari. And taking photos was a joyful process – not as awkward as it can be. This au naturel exposure to Maasai culture added significant value and dignity to my stay at Oltepesi. As did knowing that my visit DIRECTLY benefited an entire village and so helped preserve the magic of Maasai Mara.

And then there is the location. Mara North Conservancy borders Maasai Mara National Reserve (there are no fences), so game drives start when you leave camp. Expect livestock herds mixed in with wildlife before you cross the invisible Reserve boundary (and even inside the Reserve in places) because the Maasai owners of Mara North blend their traditional pastoral livelihood with a tourism model. None of our party felt weird about seeing herders guiding their livestock past zebras and elephants – this reminded me how flexible the Maasai people are and how they accept wild animals as valid co-inhabitants of their space. What a privilege to share their home.

The camp is what I would call ‘functional comfort’ – everything you need as a photographer but little by way of frills. That’s why it’s so affordable compared to other camps in the area. When you spend most of your day out there taking epic photos, you don’t want to spend a fortune on unused luxuries. The camp is entirely off the grid, with 24/7 device-charging facilities in your tent and the common area. There is wifi for emails and Whatsapp. The food is wholesome, and the service is excellent.

During my stay, I spent time with two Oltepesi guides – John Siololo and George Kiriama. Both were excellent – not only for their knowledge of the area and how to find wildlife but their understanding of positioning the vehicle for optimal photography.

We spent the majority of every day out there on the endless plains of the Maasai Mara, leaving camp before the first sparrow chirp and returning after the nightjars and hyenas started cranking up the volume.

After hours of game drives and photography, we would pull over under a massive tree or on a rocky ridge and enjoy scrumptious Kenyan coffee, eggs, bacon and flapjacks or Kenyan beer, pasta, cold meats, salad and fresh bread rolls – depending on the time of day. We spent many hours observing wildlife movements and anticipating photographic opportunities and often remained at sightings long after other tourists had left the scene. We left sightings that had attracted too many tourists – much to my relief. This was the prime season, after all. The pace of a day like this differs from the game drive routine at most lodges. Our mission was to be OUT THERE for as long as possible – making the most of our rare time in paradise.

Oltepesi Tented Safari Camp is the birthchild of two wonderful human beings. Norwegian semi-professional photographer Arnfinn Johansen and John Siololo first met many years back when John was a private guide and Arnfinn the client. Arnfinn returned year after year to spend time with John in the Maasai Mara. After spending time on John’s family land, the idea was born to start a lodge in 2017. Fast forward to current times, and the two gents use their combined networks to make a real difference at ground level. Amongst many endeavours, they donate bednights to the Remembering Wildlife series of photographic books – the proceeds go towards conservation projects. Right to Sight is a campaign to provide cataract surgery to prevent blindness. In 2023, Oltepesi will close for a portion of the low season to be used as a clinic for eye surgery for local people.

The photos below tell the story of my journey with the Oltepesi crew better than I can – please enjoy them.

An afternoon stroll, unphased by the presence of a hyena

Want to go on a safari to Oltepesi? To find lodges, search for our ready-made packages or get in touch with our travel team, scroll down to after this story.

Hippos to be uplisted? CITES CoP19

Ten African states have proposed the transfer of the hippopotamus from CITES Appendix II to Appendix I ahead of the 19th Conference of the Parties.

Their 36-page proposal highlights that hippo specimens (especially ivory) are legally and illegally traded in large numbers and that the animals are currently listed as ‘Vulnerable’ on the IUCN’s Red List of Threatened Species. The shift to Appendix I should ensure stricter legal trade regulations and make it more challenging for illegal hippo parts to enter the market.

CITES and the Conference of the Parties

The Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES) is a multinational treaty that regulates international trade to avoid the over-exploitation of animals and plants. As a fundamental starting point, all trade is permitted unless a species is listed in one of three appendixes:

Appendix 1 – species threatened by extinction or trade, such as cheetahs, chimpanzees and pangolins. Trade in animals listed under Appendix 1 is almost entirely banned except under exceptional circumstances, and export and import permits are required. Any captive-bred animals are treated under the auspices of Appendix 2.
Appendix 2 – species whose numbers could become threatened if subject to uncontrolled trade. Only an export permit is required to trade in animals and plants listed in this appendix.
Appendix 3 – species are included at the request of a member state wanting the cooperation of other countries to control exploitation.

Every three years, the parties to the convention (the signatory countries) meet to review the treaty’s implementation. Here, the Appendix listing of individual species is revised as an ongoing discussion regarding their numbers and the success (or otherwise) of conservation efforts. The states can also make recommendations to improve the efficiency of the implementation of the treaty. The 14th of November 2022 marks the start of the 19th meeting of the Conference of the Parties (CoP19) to the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wildlife Fauna and Flora (CITES) in Panama.

Ahead of each event, state parties are invited to submit proposals on amendments to the appendix listing of species to either strengthen or relax trade regulations. The proposals must detail how trade affects the species and any other threats they may face.

The Hippopotamus

Benin, Burkina Faso, Central African Republic, Gabon, Guinea, Liberia, Mali, Niger, Senegal and Togo submitted a joint proposal that hippos (Hippopotamus amphibius) be moved from Appendix II to Appendix I. The document details how the species was first listed as ‘Vulnerable’ in the IUCN Red List in 2006, a categorisation affirmed by the most recent assessment in 2016. The proposal also emphasises that hippos are particularly vulnerable to overexploitation due to their low reproductive output. Females only reach sexual maturity at around ten years, and mature cows produce just one calf at a minimum of two-year intervals.

The 2016 IUCN Assessment estimated a continental hippo population of between 115,000 and 130,000 mature individuals. While the overall population is considered stable, the IUCN states: “Conservation status of hippos remains precarious, and the need for direct conservation action to protect hippos and hippo habitat across their range is a priority. Although hippo populations have stabilised in some countries, hippo population declines are still reported in many countries. The growing and unabated threats of habitat loss and unregulated hunting are major challenges to hippo population viability and persistence” (IUCN, 2016).

The proposal provides a comprehensive summary of population assessments in individual countries across the continent. The upshot is hippos were already believed to be declining (or their status was unknown) in 25 of 38 of their range countries in 2016. Furthermore, research from later years indicates that some of the conclusions of the 2016 Assessment are no longer applicable. For example, the population was deemed to be increasing in Uganda, but a study published in 2021 found hippos in Murchison Falls National Park (which represents a population stronghold in Uganda) had declined 65% since 2016, from 1,683 to 590.

The trade in hippos

The 2016 Assessment identified habitat loss and illegal and unregulated hunting (for meat and ivory) as the two primary threats to hippo populations. According to the CITES Trade Database, 77,579 hippo “specimens” (including ivory, teeth, trophies, skulls and live animals) were globally imported between 2009 and 2018, 98% of which were wild-sourced. Using the Trade Database statistics, the proposal estimates that these specimens represent some 13,909 individual hippos. The most common trade was in ivory carvings. The USA, France and Hong Kong were among the top importers, while the leading countries of origin were Tanzania, Zimbabwe, Uganda, South Africa, and Malawi.

In addition to the legal trade, the illegal trade in hippo ivory rose sharply following the listing of African elephant species in Appendix I in 1989. In the years following this decision, the export of illegal hippo ivory increased by an estimated 200% – a trend that has continued in the intervening decades. Between 2009 and 2018, nearly 1,000kg and over 6,000 hippo specimens destined for illegal trade were seized in 48 countries.

Safeguarding Africa’s hippos

Research suggests that for the hippo, even an offtake of 1% of the adult population sustained over several decades can result in population declines when accounting for rainfall variability and habitat loss. Yet in all the top countries of origin but for Zambia, the estimated legal trade exceeded 1% of the total population.

The hunting of hippos is completely banned in 14 African countries: Angola, Burkino Faso, Cameroon, Central African Republic, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Gabon, Ghana, Guinea Bissau, Kenya, Niger, Nigeria, Rwanda, Senegal and Somalia. Yet according to the CITES Trade Database, hippo specimens from five of these countries entered legal trade despite such exports being illegal under national law. Of all countries where the hunting and export of hippos is legal and regulated (including South Africa, Tanzania, Zimbabwe, Zambia and Malawi), only Cameroon has a national hippo management plan currently in place.

Final thoughts

The shift of animals from Appendix II to Appendix I is understandably celebrated by those campaigning for stricter trade regulations. However, it is also an indictment of the failings of conservation efforts to protect these species and should serve as a grave warning of the ongoing challenges they face. Whether hippos are uplisted to Appendix I at this CoP or one in the future, it will mark a grim milestone in the precipitous decline of another of Africa’s iconic large mammals.

Resources

CITES was established to regulate the international trade of animals & plants to avoid the over-exploitation of endangered species. Read more about how CITES works here.

You can read more about the various amendment proposals being put forward at CoP19 here.

Read more about all there is to know about hippos.

The trade in hippo teeth – which contain ivory – is a threat to the species. Read more about the Hong Kong trade in hippo teeth and other specimens here.

THIS WEEK

This is a copy of our weekly email newsletter. Subscribe here to receive the newsletter.

Fallen tusker + magical Bazaruto + human-wildlife conflict in Namibia

Turn up the mic. I have something to say.

Social media discussions about trophy hunting as a tool to save Africa’s wild places often collapse into bitter spats. How many keyboard warriors (on both ends of the ideological spectrum) go beyond the bickering to actually DO SOMETHING?

I know of one (non-tourism) company that leases a vast (60,000 ha) hunting concession in the Mana Pools area of Zimbabwe – that’s 36km of Zambezi River frontage. Over the last five years, they have paid the annual trophy hunting fees due to the government – and yet not one animal has been hunted. They also got rid of poaching, improved the roads and implemented successful local community projects. Wildlife populations have bounced back. They did this without fanfare because they believe it is the right thing to do. Now, this slice of paradise is ready for the next phase of its journey – responsible photographic tourism. There is no shortage of willing operators keen to set up shop. But someone must fund the ongoing legacy – by paying the annual trophy hunting fees. The required amount is significant at +/- USD300,000 per annum.

Are there any well-heeled individuals or anti-hunting charities out there that are prepared to step forward? Contact me for a private discussion. My team and I have no financial interest in this operation – just a deep-seated drive to help others work their magic. No chancers, please.

Keep the passion

Simon Espley – CEO, Africa Geographic

TRAVEL DESK UPDATES:

We have two thrilling safaris lined up for those seeking a fiery introduction to some of southern Africa’s best destinations.

Cape Town and Kruger safari – 7 days:
Blend sophisticated, vibey Cape Town and the Cape Winelands with exceptional Greater Kruger Big-5 game viewing in this classic bucket-list safari. We recommend 7 days, but will adapt the safari to suit your needs. Budget, mid-range and luxury options are all on offer

Okavango Delta safari – 4 days:
This safari in the Okavango Delta is a great introduction to this watery paradise. The Okavango is a lush wilderness of grassy floodplains, islands and water channels, which are engineered and maintained by hippos & elephants. Don’t miss out on one of the most fascinating ecosystems on the planet

From our Editor – Taryn van Jaarsveld

This week we explore the magic of Bazaruto Archipelago National Park, a marine paradise off the coast of Mozambique. Bazaruto has all the ingredients of a sublime ocean-themed safari. Fascinating creatures, breathtaking scenery, and exceptional biodiversity define the five islands and marine habitats making up the archipelago, where diverse coral reefs thrive. If you’re keen for a barefoot adventure in one of the planet’s most beautiful seascapes, check out our first story below.

The answer to mitigating human-wildlife conflict in wild areas in Africa is no simple one. But understanding long-term trends associated with different types and frequencies of conflict incidents is essential in planning mitigation policies and aiding communities negatively affected by them. Our second story below examines research from Namibia, delving into the history of human-wildlife conflict incidents in the country between 2001 and 2019 to identify some crucial trends. An important story when trying to understand the complexities at play. See below.

Lastly, elephant Dida, tusker and matriarch of Tsavo National Park, and possibly Africa’s largest female tusker, has died of natural causes. Read more about this fallen giant in our third story.

Happy celebrating Africa!

Story 1
https://africageographic.com/stories/bazaruto-archipelago-national-park/
MAGICAL BAZARUTO
Mozambique’s Bazaruto Archipelago has the ingredients of a sublime safari: fascinating creatures, breathtaking scenery & amazing biodiversity

Story 2
https://africageographic.com/stories/human-wildlife-conflict-long-term-trends-in-namibia/
HUMAN-WILDLIFE CONFLICT
Research in Namibia on the type & frequency of human-wildlife conflict incidents between 2001–2019 can aid in mitigating future conflict occurrences

Story 3
https://africageographic.com/stories/tsavo-tusker-dida-dies-of-natural-causes/
FALLEN TUSKER
Dida, tusker of Tsavo National Park, and possibly Africa’s largest female tusker, has died. Read about her life and death

From our Scientific Editor – Jamie Paterson

There is a glorious moment at the end of the long dry season when the storm clouds build and release the first drops of precious, life-giving water. At this point, someone invariably says, “Ah, I love that smell,” and someone else is bound by the inexplicable laws of the Universe to nod sagely and reply, “There’s a word for that smell – it’s ‘petrichor'”. Happens every year and comes as a revelation to no one.

But did you know that the smell of petrichor is the scent of dead bacteria? Specifically, a compound called geosmin, which is released by dead microbes like Streptomyces bacteria in the soil. Apparently, the human nose is 200,000x more sensitive to geosmin than a shark is to blood in the water.

It is a pleasant smell, though.

WATCH: Watch as Verity, a 15 year old lioness in Khutse Game Reserve in the Kalahari, Botswana, fends off a pack of wild dogs so she can get to the waterhole to drink. Female lions have a life expectancy of 15-16 years in the wild: Verity has done very well for a lion of her age in the harsh Kalahari environment (02:29). Click here to watch

Human-wildlife conflict: long-term trends in Namibia

There are no one-size-fits-all or universal criteria for predicting and mitigating human-wildlife conflict. However, understanding long-term trends associated with different types and frequencies of conflict incidents is essential in designing mitigation policies and allocating resources. New research from Namibia examines human-wildlife conflict between 2001 and 2019 to identify some of these crucial trends.

Of the total 112,165 human-wildlife conflict incidents (HWIs) reported across the country, livestock depredation was the most common type of conflict (83%), and elephants were the species most associated with conflict incidents (22%). However, the researchers found marked variation between regions, as well as the significant impact of various factors, including distance to the nearest protected area, geography, conservancy size and, in particular, both annual and average monthly rainfall.

In arid north-western parts of Namibia, where extensive pastoralism is the main agricultural activity, livestock depredation and infrastructure damage ranked highest in frequency. In the wetter regions of the northeast, where higher rainfall and productive soils favour crop production, HWIs were more associated with crop raiding and attacks on people. A total of 1415 “problem animals” were killed or trapped across 79 Namibian community conservancies from 2001 to 2019.

In terms of reported HWI frequency, livestock depredation (83%) was followed by crop raiding (15%) and damage to infrastructure (2%). Less than 1% of reported HWIs involved attacks on humans. Interestingly, hyenas (19%), jackals (13%), cheetahs (10%) and leopards (8%) were all more frequently associated with HWIs than lions (4%), but lions were the top species declared as “problem animals” by Namibia’s Ministry of Environment, Forestry and Tourism (MEFT).

As the authors predicted, livestock predation incidents increased at the end of prolonged droughts around the onset of the first rains. During these times, livestock animals are typically in poor condition, and the seasonal movements of wild prey species cause the predators to shift their focus to resident domestic prey. Similarly, infrastructure damage increased during months of low rainfall, likely due to animals damaging pipes and pumps in search of water. Weather and time of year also influenced crop raiding. In this instance, damage peaked later in the wet season, when the crops offered the highest nutritional rewards for wildlife. Crop raiding also occurred more frequently closer to protected areas (which act as a refuge for wildlife) and rivers.

The authors point to an overall lack of national spatio-temporal data as hampering the identification, targeting and prioritising of hotspots of wildlife damage throughout Africa. Given that resources to mitigate such conflict are invariably limited, they must be appropriately allocated to reduce livelihood losses. Hence mapping negative impacts and identifying drivers of high levels of damage is an essential first step in apportioning resources in a species- and area-specific manner.
Though they acknowledge that humans are the principal architect of negative interactions with animals, their results indicate the extensive adverse impacts wildlife can have on people and their livelihoods. Restricting wildlife to protected areas significantly limits wildlife abundance and distribution, but a coexistence model increases the risks of negative wildlife interactions. Thus, the study concludes that the “goal… is to both monitor these interactions and attempt to mitigate through appropriately scaled and affordable interventions which will improve tolerance towards wildlife and conservation objectives as a whole”.

Resources:

Tavolaro, F. M. et al. (2022) “Multispecies Study of Patterns and Drivers of Wildlife Impacts on Human Livelihoods in Communal Conservancies,” Conservation Science and Practice, 4(9)

Read about how emotions and cultural significance attached to wild carnivores strongly influence mitigation strategies for human-wildlife conflict.

To learn more about Namibian projects that aid in human-wildlife conflict mitigation, check out Desert Lion Conservation Trust and Cheetah Conservation Fund

THIS WEEK

This is a copy of our weekly email newsletter. Subscribe here to receive the newsletter.

Disappearing lions + Botswana safari SADC special + Mara champagne safari

Africa’s disappearing lions have been the subject of animated discussion for years, but just how dire is the situation? Pretty dire: scientists have found that there has been a staggering 75% decline in Africa’s lion populations in the past five decades. In our story below, we examine the disappearing habitats and disconnection leading to dwindling lion numbers.

Happy celebrating Africa!

Taryn van Jaarsveld – Editor

Story 1
https://africageographic.com/stories/vanishing-lions-a-75-decline-in-africas-iconic-predators-in-just-five-decades/
VANISHING LIONS
Africa’s lions are disappearing. New research shows that lion populations across the continent have declined by 75% in just five decades

From our Scientific Editor – Jamie Paterson

Nose-picking is a terrible human habit, is it not? There is little as off-putting as the sight of a finger venturing into the nostril in pursuit of something unmentionable.

Yet here’s the thing about rhinotillexomania – there appears to be some inexplicable impulse to do it. And human beings are not alone in this. Did you know that 12 primate species have been observed picking their noses? The most recent example was an aye-aye, filmed taking this pursuit to new extremes with its elongated finger.

Apparently, this multispecies commonality tells us that this “bad habit” may have some functional and even advantageous role. Make of that what you will…

Adventure with AG

Maggie Nunley and her partner are currently on a cross-continental adventure with AG, celebrating their honeymoon. The couple started their adventure in Mgahinga National Park in Uganda and moved on to Maasai Mara National Reserve in Kenya. They are finishing off their African holiday with a trip to Chale Island off Kenya’s Diani Beach to deflate in the warm waters of the Indian Ocean.

The honeymooners’ search for gorillas in Mgahinga proved fruitful, when they came across these majestic giants.

Want to make your travel dreams come true? Let AG plan your next safari.

WATCH: What happens when a fearsome honey badger meets a mole snake – a powerful constrictor – on the battle field? A short video shedding light into the tenacity of these two species (02:10). Click here to watch

Tsavo tusker Dida dies of natural causes

Another big tusker has fallen – this time, the matriarch of Tsavo East. Dida, one of the largest female tuskers recorded in Africa, has died of natural causes in Tsavo National Park, as announced by the Tsavo Trust and Kenya Wildlife Services (KWS) this week.

“Dida, the area’s best-loved matriarch and the greatest repository of many decades worth of knowledge, has sadly passed,” announced Tsavo Trust in its statement.

Dida, 60-65 years old at the time of her death, was well known for her tusks that stretched right to the ground – a noteworthy occurrence in a female elephant. She was a popular sighting during Tsavo walking safaris with elephants.

“Dida died naturally of old age; in fact, she surprised us all,” continued Tsavo Trust’s eulogy. “She lived longer than many of us thought she would. To us, allowing an elephant to live its full life is something we are very proud of.”

KWS shared an image on Facebook of Dida’s decomposed remains as discovered by the team. KWS added that “those who got to know her through pictures and videos, as well as those who had the exquisite pleasure of meeting her in person, will remember her”.

Dida was well known for her tusks that stretched right to the ground – a rare occurrence for female elephants. KWS shared an image of Dida’s decomposed remains on Facebook. Photos courtesy Tsavo Trust / @nicholashaller / Keith Hellyer

In its statement on the passing of the Tsavo queen, Tsavo Trust said that Dida was the true embodiment of an iconic cow. “Over the course of her long life, she shepherded her herd through many difficult times. She was the inspiration for documentarians and the pull for tourists.”

Dida’s death follows in the wake of the death of Amboseli National Park super tusker Tolstoy, who died in April following complications from a spear wound. In 2020, famous tusker Big Tim died in Amboseli from natural causes at the age of 50.

While Africa’s last remaining tuskers are under threat, they are given their best chance for survival in protected areas such as Tsavo, where elephants are closely monitored for protection against poaching and injury. Kenya does not permit trophy hunting, unlike countries such as Botswana and Zimbabwe, where Africa’s last giant tuskers are targeted as prized trophies (follow the links for two examples). The Tsavo Trust’s Big Tusker Project and KWS provide aerial and ground support to collect data and respond to imminent threats to the living legends. This ongoing presence is a significant deterrent to poachers and other illegal activity.

Today, nine giant bull tuskers remain in Tsavo. There are also 27 emerging tuskers and three remaining iconic cow tuskers on the Tsavo Trust and KWS Tusker database.

Vanishing lions – a 75% decline in Africa’s iconic predators in just five decades

Africa’s disappearing lions have been the subject of animated discussion for years, but just how dire is the situation?

Scientists now believe they have the answer: in five decades, the continent’s lion populations have declined by 75%. This according to research recently published by the University of Oxford’s Wildlife Conservation Research Unit (WildCRU).
The authors set out to establish a baseline lion population estimate and examine historic landscape connectivity for 1970 as a comparison point to assess the conservation of the species. They explain that conservation is subject to what has been termed a “shifting baseline syndrome”. In other words, current conservation efforts are often centred around present-day geographical ranges and population estimates. However, underestimating historical declines or trends could, in turn, underestimate extinction risk.

Disappearing habitats, dwindling lions

Habitat loss and fragmentation due to human population growth and agricultural expansion are among the most significant threats facing most terrestrial vertebrate families. Species surviving in fragmented and poorly connected habitats are more vulnerable to loss of genetic diversity, inbreeding depression, disease and stochastic events (such as drought). Lions are considered an umbrella species, meaning that conservation efforts aimed at their protection indirectly confer protection on other sympatric (co-occurring) species. They are also a charismatic representative of the range collapse experienced by many of Africa’s large mammals. Once widespread across Africa, previous research indicates that lions have experienced an 85% reduction in range since the early 16th century.

Reconstructing historical populations and distributions is a challenge facing many large-mammal scientists, as records are often scant and generalised. The authors selected the period around 1970 for their baseline for several reasons, including the existence of credible and detailed sources of information on lion ranges and populations. Furthermore, human population and development have burgeoned during the 50-year-period between 1970 and the present day, with the sub-Saharan human population doubling between 1975 and 2001. Using available information to construct a population density map of lion distribution, they derived an estimated population of 92,054 lions across the continent in 1970. At last count in 2016, the total surviving lion population was estimated at around 23,000 individuals (though experts believe it may now be under 20,000). This equates to a decline of 70,000 individuals – approximately 1,400 lions per year over five decades.

Disconnected lions

The researchers also examined lion subpopulations by area. Those in the Congo Basin have suffered most severely, and this subpopulation has been all but extirpated. From an estimated 1,600 lions in 1970, around 211 individuals remain – a decline of 93%. Similarly, the West and Central African subpopulations have declined by 87% (from 1,600 to fewer than 200). (The plight of the West African lion was recognised on the IUCN Red List in 2015 when they were listed as Critically Endangered.) Southern and East African subpopulations have fared slightly better but still declined by 73% and 65%, respectively. Southern populations declined from 36,000 to around 9,800, and East African from 31,000 to approximately 11,000.

Remaining lion habitats are important but understanding the landscape connectivity between these is a vital aspect of lion conservation. The researchers analysed the landscapes within lion range in terms of resistance to animal movement, accounting for various environmental and anthropogenic variables (such as rivers, towns, farms and roads). This information was used to calculate the relative probability of animal movement to compare connectivity in 1970 to the present day.

In 1970, much of the existing lion habitat was well connected, apart from already fragmented habitats in the West and Central regions. For the most part, lion range was contiguous, with the potential for a high degree of dispersal movement across the landscape. Today, lions occupy just 13% of their maximum historical range (66% of the 1970 range), with the most severe range loss having occurred in the Congo Basin and the West and Central region. These regions have experienced a “catastrophic collapse in range and habitat connectivity in the last 50 years” – with fewer, smaller, and more widely isolated patches of core and non-core lion habitat. Loss of connectivity was less severe in southern and Eastern African regions but significant – around 50% of previously connected habitat was lost in the intervening five decades. The remaining core areas of habitat are centred around larger protected areas.

The future of lion conservation

What implications does such research have for the future of lion conservation, given that human population expansion is inevitable? The authors emphasise that even if core protected areas are secure, a lack of connectivity will result in a decline in the genetic diversity of remaining lion populations. The protection of existing wildlife corridors is critical. They also suggest that intensive meta-population (as practised in smaller wildlife areas in South Africa) may be appropriate for irretrievably isolated habitats, such as those in West and Central Africa.

Though the damage done to the lions of Africa may never be fully recoverable, the researchers suggest that it is not too late to secure wildlife corridors “through integrated land use planning exercises, implementation of human-wildlife conflict mitigation strategies and enhancement of sustainable, wildlife-based livelihoods”.
“Habitat conversion and burgeoning human populations are fragmenting natural habitat across Africa,” says lead author Professor Andrew Loveridge. “Our work on African lions shows that this process of fragmentation and population decline has accelerated over the last 50 years and provides a baseline against which to measure population recovery or decline. Our future conservation efforts need to halt habitat loss and work to preserve the remaining habitat corridors linking core populations.”

References and further reading

Loveridge A.J., Sousa L.L., Cushman S., Kaszta Ż., Macdonald D.W. (2022) “Where Have All the Lions Gone? Establishing Realistic Baselines to Assess Decline and Recovery of African Lions,” Diversity and Distributions

For more on how scientists used ancient ivory to analyse elephant population loss, read this: Of ivory, elephants, shipwrecks and slaughter

On the loss of lion genetic diversity as a consequence of population declines: Lion populations show significant loss of genetic diversity, say researchers

For a detailed explanation of the challenges involved in estimating lion populations: Counting lions: new study shows the importance of good counts for lion conservation

To support the conservation of lions in Africa, view more about the following projects:
– Desert Lion Conservation Trust
– Lion Landscapes
– Wild Entrust
– Mara Predator Conservation Programme

THIS WEEK

This is a copy of our weekly email newsletter. Subscribe here to receive the newsletter.

Tragedy in Kasungu + Selati Game Reserve + cross-country SA safari

It’s complicated.

Yes, safari lodges in popular, easy-to-reach areas create enormous conservation benefits locally, BUT the lodge tourism industry does little for the vast remote areas where Africa’s biodiversity is being stripped away at an alarming rate. Yes, some trophy hunting operations do safeguard remote ecosystems for a while from the threats of habitat loss and human-wildlife conflict – BUT what good is that if they leave for more lucrative opportunities after having shot out the free-roaming lions, leopards and big-tusked elephants? Botswana’s European Union-enforced veterinary fences, which surround the Okavango Delta, have helped generate huge wealth for the export beef industry BUT shredded migrating wildebeest and zebra wildlife populations. Translocating elephants to areas denuded by poaching is a good thing for elephants – BUT not always for local people (our story below refers). I could go on, but hopefully, you get my point. If solutions so often peddled on social media for Africa’s conservation issues are simple, then perhaps their promoters don’t understand the problems?

Our mission is to help you understand the real issues that impact our wildlife and people. Celebrate the good stuff, but also be aware of the issues that play out all day, every day, at ground level. Safari njema!

Keep the passion

Simon Espley – CEO, Africa Geographic

From our Editor – Taryn van Jaarsveld

AG strives to celebrate and support conservation successes. But conservation is a complex web of biodiversity, politics and socio-economics, where difficult choices require a diverse approach.

In August, we reported on the successful cross-country translocation of 263 elephants from Liwonde National Park into Kasungu National Park, both in Malawi. But tripling the population of elephants in Kasungu – a partly fenced area – has had tragic consequences for some of the park’s neighbours. Gail Thomson has penned a heart-breaking account on the human-elephant conflict resulting from Kasungu’s growing elephant population. See our first story below.

In our second story, we explore an alternative South African safari destination for nature enthusiasts in search of seclusion and unique experiences. Just outside Greater Kruger, Selati Game Reserve is a Big-5 haven, and home to the rarest cycad on Earth – the Lillie cycad. The reserve is also home to specials like sable, and offers guests the chance to take part in conservation activities. Read more about magical Selati in our second story below.

Happy celebrating Africa to you all!

Story 1
https://africageographic.com/stories/the-tragic-human-cost-of-some-elephant-translocations/
HUMAN-ELEPHANT CONFLICT
Communities near Kasungu National Park face tragic losses following the introduction of new elephant herds to the national park

Story 2
https://africageographic.com/stories/selati-game-reserve/
BIG-5 HAVEN
Selati is a secret Big 5 safari haven on the outskirts of Greater Kruger. It is also home to specials like sable & the rarest cycad on earth

From our Scientific Editor – Jamie Paterson

I hesitated somewhat with this week’s fact on the basis that I like snakes, and I dislike feeding into the hysteria that surrounds them. But did you know that scientists estimate nearly 9,000 people die from snake bites every year in Mozambique? And that is an underestimate.

It is an enormous number and is probably echoed across many African rural areas. So as tempting as it may be to emphasise the principle that snakes are more afraid of us than we are of them and should be protected (which is, of course, true), we also need to acknowledge the impact they have on people’s lives. The same applies to any human-wildlife conflict. Rural populations don’t need trite platitudes or condescending implications that their lives are worth less than those of animals. They need resources – in this case, improved medical infrastructure, training and access to antivenom.

And if having read this, you are keen on contributing to this process (albeit in South Africa), you can download our app and donate to Save the Snakes.

WATCH: Find out why Kenya is still top of many an ardent safari-goer’s list in this brief celebration of the quintessential Kenyan safari (00:45). Click here to watch

The tragic human cost of elephant translocations

human-elephant conflict — Human-elephant conflict: Communities near Kasungu face tragic losses following the introduction of new elephant herds to the national park

This article was written by Gail Thomson for the Community Leaders Network of Southern Africa, with financial support from Resource Africa, Southern Africa.

John Kayedzeka, 35, is out working in his field on the 16 September 2022, preparing it for planting later this year. His field, about 3km from Kasungu National Park, Malawi, is the main source of food for his family – a wife and two school-going children – so he works the field from the early morning hours.

Suddenly he hears shouting coming from a nearby village – perhaps people are having a loud argument? He looks up and to his surprise sees a herd of elephants moving rapidly through the bush in front of him. They are being chased back into Kasungu by the park’s rangers, who have been alerted to their presence in a nearby village. He watches with interest, but keeps a respectful distance.

What John doesn’t know is that this is not the only herd being chased back into Kasungu. Suddenly, the bush behind him erupts with the sounds of trumpeting and ground thumping. Out in the open, his only option is to run. But the elephants quickly catch up with him and knock him to the ground. He loses consciousness after the first few blows and a few seconds later his lifeless body is trampled into the ground.

Conservation and human-elephant conflict

This tragic story is not unique. Hundreds of people are killed every year by elephants and other dangerous wild animals in Africa. Yet the backstory to this incident is different to the usual human-elephant conflict occurring across the continent. Sadly, John Kayedzeka’s death was preventable.

John’s family lives in Malawi’s ‘bread basket’ or Central Region, where millions of people rely on the yields of maize and other crops for survival. Due to the high productivity of the land, this is one of the most densely populated regions in Malawi, which itself is densely populated – 20 million people living in 118,480km².

This makes setting aside land for conservation challenging. Kasungu is wedged between subsistence farmers in Malawi to the east and those in Zambia to the west. This 2,316km² park experienced high levels of poaching in the last few decades and was therefore performing far below its conservation and tourism potential. Elephant poaching resulted in the park’s population plummeting from 1,200 elephants in the 1970s to an all-time low of 40 in 2014.

In 2015, Malawi’s Department of National Parks and Wildlife (DNPW) entered a partnership with the International Fund for Animal Welfare (IFAW) to address the poaching problem and improve park infrastructure. Tightening up park security during the past seven years has halted and reversed population declines of elephants and other animals. By 2022, there were an estimated 120 elephants in Kasungu. Since the elephant and other wildlife populations were still well below carrying capacity, Kasungu was identified as a potential destination for animal translocations.

Meanwhile, Liwonde National Park in Southern Malawi started experiencing the opposite problem. In the same year that IFAW started working in Kasungu, African Parks partnered with the Malawian government to manage Liwonde. By reducing poaching and reintroducing some species, African Parks restored wildlife populations in this 548km² park. But they soon realised the need for an electric fence around the whole park, to reduce human-wildlife conflict and poaching. African Parks immediately began constructing an electric fence to keep wildlife inside the park and have since completed the 140km fencing project. In response to queries, African Parks spokesperson Carli Flemmer explains, “whilst all parks managed by African Parks in Malawi are fenced, this is not a perfect solution, and breakouts of elephants can and do still occur despite best efforts. These breakouts are a threat to human life and crops. Reinforcements and innovations in fencing technology are an ongoing effort. Some of these innovations are proving very successful.”

Consequences of a rising elephant population

Once adequately protected, elephants overpopulate relatively small, fenced reserves – making Liwonde an ideal source of elephants for other protected areas. Translocating 263 elephants from Liwonde to Kasungu, therefore, makes good conservation sense. But tripling the population of elephants in a partially fenced area has had severe consequences for some of the park’s neighbours.

Malidadi Langa, representing Kasungu Wildlife Conservation for Community Development Association (KAWICCODA), reflects on the consequences of the translocation for his community and what could have been done to prevent it: “With hindsight, maybe we [the stakeholders] should have completed the fence before translocating the elephants and other animals. Maybe we rushed the translocation. Maybe we could have better prepared for possible conflict incidents. But we cannot just look back on mistakes – we now have to do something to help widows and orphans who face an uncertain future.”

When contacted for comment, representatives of both DNPW and IFAW said they had never agreed to fence the entire eastern side of Kasungu. Patricio Ndadzela, IFAW Country Director for Malawi and Zambia, states, “IFAW has funded the construction of approximately 40km of fencing and has committed to repairing and extending a further 25km of the fence in the coming months along Kasungu’s eastern boundary in Malawi.” Following this plan, half of the park’s eastern boundary will be fenced when this project is completed, while the western (Zambian) side will remain unfenced as a corridor between Kasungu and Lukusuzi National Park in Zambia.

“Since there were [previously] so few elephants in Kasungu,” explains Langa, “people living on the border had experienced few crop losses before the translocation and had let their guard down in terms of vigilance against dangerous wild animals”. DNPW reported at the time that the elephants were likely attempting to trace their route back to Liwonde. Without a fence to stop the elephants, the consequences were lethal. Shortly after the first group of elephants were brought in, two people were trampled to death by bull elephants in separate incidents. One of them, Collins Chisi from Jala village in the Chisembere area, has left behind his wife and three children (14, 16 and 18 years old) whose futures are now uncertain. The other victim, Joseph Kapalamula (27) from Nason village, Mchinji district, leaves behind a wife and two young children. The elephants were subsequently euthanised by park rangers responding to the incidents.

Not long thereafter, 72-year-old Tadeyo Phiri of Mndengwe village in the Mwase area was knocked to the ground by an elephant while he was collecting thatching grass. Although he escaped alive, his injuries are severe – he cannot walk and struggles to breathe – and he cannot afford decent medical care. Phiri was therefore discharged from hospital and sent home. Five of his children are still at school, but their now-disabled father cannot work to provide for them.

On 17 August 2022, a few weeks after the translocation, elephants broke into a house where Sikwiza Mwale (33) stored several 50-kg bags of maize that she had harvested and shelled – her entire harvest for the season. After breaking down the wall of her house, the elephants ate seven of the eight bags (350 kg of maize), leaving her and her three children with too little food for the coming year.

John Kayedzeka’s death is thus just the latest of a series of incidents since elephants were translocated to Kasungu. John was in the wrong place at the wrong time and had no chance of escaping an agitated herd of elephants hurtling towards him like a freight train.

“These stories are heart-breaking,” says Langa, “but they are made even worse because none of the parties involved in moving these elephants is stepping up to help the community.” According to Malawian wildlife policies, no compensation is offered for damages or loss of life caused by wild animals. In the case of Tadeyo Phiri, the only assistance he has had is transport to the hospital provided by DNPW.

“When we ask for more help for Tadeyo Phiri, park officials just say that they don’t have money,” says Siwinda Chimowa, Chairperson of KAWICCODA, “yet clearly there was a lot of money available to bring these elephants in the first place.”
DNPW and IFAW both say that a certain level of support is provided when incidents occur. Patricio Ndadzela, IFAW’s Country Director for Malawi and Zambia, says “Malawi’s DNPW has provided one-off condolence support [to] the bereaved families. Under the National Parks and Wildlife Act of Malawi, the Government does not provide compensation either for injury or death. However, IFAW, through the traditional leadership of the Senior Chief for Kasungu district, has been exploring appropriate support for the bereaved families as is required by the cultural traditions of the district. This will ensure equitable means for their loved ones.”
Director of National Parks and Wildlife (DNPW), Brighton K. Kumchedwa says, “each time there is such an accident or death, we assist with a requirement such as transport. [In cases of] death, we have assisted with the basics like food and a coffin, but not [with] compensation per se.”

Since the government cannot assist, Chimowa calls on IFAW, African Parks and their funding agencies to assist. “We understand the government policy of no compensation,” he explains, “but surely the non-state partners who funded this venture can provide some financial assistance until the fence is finished?”

In community meetings held before the translocation, DNPW promised that the communities would be protected using a combination of efforts. All of the elephant herds would be collared, ranger numbers would be increased and strategically positioned, and a helicopter would be on standby to help rangers find and herd elephants back into the park before they could harm anyone. While IFAW confirms that these measures have been put in place, Chimowa says that not enough has been done to prevent human-elephant conflict due to the translocation, insisting he has seen neither increased ranger numbers nor the helicopter.

In response to queries, DNPW’s Kumchedwa states that in “the majority of cases, the deaths or injuries have been a result of communities mobbing these elephants once they stray in the communities.” He suggested that because people were unaware of how dangerous elephants could be, “some people have been injured or killed as they try to take selfies with these animals. This is the case with the one who was severely injured as well as the last death,” says Kumchedwa. DNPW and IFAW say they are trying to rectify this situation through community awareness and education campaigns regarding elephant behaviour and human-elephant conflict.

Siwinda disputes these claims: “I met with Tadeyo Phiri after the attack – an elderly, poor man who, as far as I know, does not even own a smartphone.” He continues, “After speaking with the families and victims, I highly doubt that either he or John Kayedzeka were trying to get close to the elephants or mobbing them. In John’s case, the elephants were being chased by park rangers, not by the community.” Kumchedwa of DNPW acknowledges that in the case of John Kayedzeka, elephants were being chased back into the park by a team of rangers when he was killed.

IFAW’s involvement in Kasungu started as part of a cross-border project combating wildlife crime, implemented with funding from the US Agency for International Development (USAID) that came to an end in May this year before the elephant translocation took place.

Since that project ended, IFAW continues to provide technical support to DNPW on priority issues around Kasungu National Park. But the minimal financial assistance received for these incidents of human-elephant conflict thus far contrasts sharply with the recently tightened laws regarding wildlife crime. If someone is caught poaching in Malawi or engaging in illegal wildlife trade, they are liable for up to 30 years in prison with no option of a fine for serious offenders, or heavy fines and/or jail time for lesser offenders. While DNPW’s policy not to compensate victims of human-wildlife conflict is similar to those of other countries across Africa, John Kayedzeka’s case (and arguably the others mentioned here, too) is different. The elephants were brought into a partially fenced park, John was not harassing or trying to take photos of the elephants, and park rangers inadvertently caused the situation.

Langa further notes that there is no formal mechanism through which communities can report and have their grievances or complaints regarding human-elephant conflict addressed. According to him, the current situation requires a functional and transparent grievance redress mechanism for reporting, resolution, and swift feedback showing how the authorities deal with human-elephant conflict incidents.

While deaths and serious injuries make it into local newspapers, crop and livestock losses are likely to go unreported and uncompensated. This is particularly concerning in light of Malawi’s current food insecurity caused by a combination of climatic shocks leading to low crop yields, rising living costs due to global economic disruptions and national inflation rates. 2.6 million people are currently experiencing a food crisis, and a further 6.5 million are under food stress. These figures are expected to increase to 3.8 million in crisis and 6.7 million under stress in the coming months. In the context of rising food and living costs, the Mwale family’s situation is desperate after losing nearly 90% of their harvest to elephants.

Despite their understandable frustration, the community is looking for solutions rather than someone to blame for the current situation. KAWICCODA is making a few reasonable requests of those involved in the translocation and current management of Kasungu National Park (both state and non-state actors):

Prioritise fence construction on the eastern side of the park and set a deadline for completing the entire 125km fence line;
Set up a platform where communities can report their losses resulting from wildlife;
Provide financial assistance to all of the families who have suffered thus far due to the elephant translocation, and commit to providing such assistance until the fence is complete; and
In cases where elephants get out of the park, alert people to the problem before attempting to chase the elephants back into the park.

Bringing elephants and other wildlife to Kasungu is not a bad idea from a conservation and tourism perspective. DNPW has promised to share tourism revenue with neighbouring communities, and KAWICCODA reports that they have already received small amounts of money from the park. Consequently, the people living next to Kasungu are not against reinvigorating the park through wildlife translocations, but human lives are too high a price to pay for future tourism revenues. Hopefully, this call for help will result in practical solutions to prevent further loss of life.

Selati Game Reserve

It’s a humid afternoon in the Lowveld of South Africa, and I’m straining my ears, willing the sound of a vehicle to emerge. Along with a dozen nature enthusiasts, I’m waiting for the conservation team to load up a darted cheetah due for a tracking-collar change. Not too far from where we’re standing, in the centre of Selati Game Reserve, we will soon have the opportunity to witness a vet and team of ecologists monitor the cheetah as they undertake the collaring process. As far as wildlife experiences go, this one-on-one encounter with a big cat tops the list.

But the conservation experiences offered to guests of Selati Game Reserve are not the only attraction putting this reserve on the map. With 360-degree vistas dotted with granite koppies, the opportunity to experience the Big Five and special species such as sable antelope and black rhino, and unique access to a population of Lillie cycads (which grow nowhere else on the planet), this reserve has much to offer.

Overview

Selati Game Reserve may be the South African Lowveld’s best-kept secret. While visitors seeking Big Five safaris to the Limpopo province are inclined towards choosing the Kruger National Park and Greater Kruger reserves as destinations, adventure enthusiasts in search of seclusion and rarities off the beaten track will find great contentment spending a few days in this reserve.
Selati operates with a low-development philosophy, and limited vehicles are allowed in the reserve. The resulting wilds offer an unparalleled experience of raw wilderness and rewarding solitude in the heart of the bushveld.

Heading to the south-eastern side of the reserve, a two-track road opens up to a row of koppies forming the small range known as the “Knuckles”. Passing these, one soon reaches the Lillie Mountains

A river runs through it

Selati Game Reserve garners its name from the perennial Ga-Selati River (or Selati River), which springs from the Wolkberg Mountains, heading east to cut through the reserve before meeting the Olifants River near Phalaborwa. Balule Nature Reserve, part of Greater Kruger, lies just 6km southeast of the reserve. The area is characterised by immense granite outcrops offering incredible views from all corners of the reserve, and pockets of chartreuse indigenous vegetation.

The Ga-Selati River cuts through the reserve

The reserve was officially proclaimed in 1993 when several landowners in zones formerly dedicated to cattle farming recognised the value of preserving the area’s natural heritage. The reserve managers quickly set about repopulating the reserve with species endemic to the area, reintroducing white rhino and other species acquired from surrounding farms and the Kruger National Park. A focus on sable breeding for the years following the establishment of the reserve allowed for a robust income, facilitating the restoration of a true wilderness area. As the years went by, a few more neighbouring farms were incorporated, and the reserve grew to include the Lillie mountain range and 26km of the Ga-Selati River. Over the years, elephants were reintroduced to the area, as were a pride of lions (where before free-ranging lions had often frequented the reserve), black rhino (and accompanying sophisticated anti-poaching operations) and disease-free buffalo. An elephant immunocontraception program is implemented on the reserve to limit the population growth of these animals.

Wildlife in abundance

While Selati is a Big Five destination, other fascinating wildlife also populates the reserve. Over 50 mammal species are present. What at times appears to be impenetrable bushveld gives way to pleasant paths unveiling elephants and giraffes at every corner. Cheetah, black and white rhino, spotted hyena, hippo, Nile crocodile and a large population of free-roaming sable antelope can be found in the reserve. Eland roam the expansive bushveld as leopard prowl the plains. Delightful rare species include Sharpe’s grysbok, mountain reedbuck, brown hyena, pangolin and Cape clawless otter.

An established pack of nine wild dogs (painted wolves) were also recently introduced. Over the years, introductions and management of animal populations have been conservative to complement efforts to restore the veld along the perennially dry Ga-Selati River. Similarly, artificial water points are strategically placed to prevent overexploitation of the veld and enhance wildlife viewing opportunities.

Over 315 bird species have been identified here, including Arnot’s chat, thick-billed cuckoo and Verreaux’s eagle (you can find a nesting pair in the rocky outcrops). There is also an established vulture restaurant which feeds vultures regularly, contributing to their conservation.

Selati Game Reserve — Giraffes are often seen when on game drives; a large population of free-roaming sable antelope is found here; the reserve’s cheetah population forms part of the EWT’s Metapopulation Project; a young male lion spotted alongside the road; elephants are a common sighting in the reserve

Lay of the land

Climbing the steep rocky path to one of the highest boulders atop the Lillie Mountains, I hear a paradise flycatcher flittering overhead, breaking an otherwise eery silence. After about 10 minutes of vigorous climbing, as the canopies grow dense, the boulders grow tall, and I start to lose my breath, we reach a temporary summit. “Here it is!” declares our guide Jenni. There before me, in an unassuming cove of boulders and shrubbery, is a 3.5m tall Lillie cycad (Encephalartos dyerianos). Within a few more metres, the cycads are jutting out of rocky crevices and groves of undergrowth at every corner. Here in the south of the reserve, the Lillie mountain range provides ideal habitat for the rare cycads.

Plant lovers will delight in the intimate encounters of the critically endangered woody plant, found nowhere else on earth but on this lone granite hill at 700m above sea level. Thankfully, the population here is guarded by anti-poaching teams which prevent the theft of these precious specimens. The cycads line the deep groves amidst the boulders en route to a steep hill offering views from horizon to horizon. Scattered across this hill are dozens upon dozens of these beauties, some only ankle high, others with stems stretching 4m into the sky. Selati may be a haven for seekers of diverse wildlife, but for dendrophiles, this reserve is the Rosetta Stone.

Lillie cycads, Selati Game Reserve — A large Lillie cycad specimen (*Encephalartos dyerianos*) up in the Lillie Mountains

The climate in this area is dry, with a mean rainfall of 530mm and average annual temperatures exceeding 18°C. The reserve’s rich and diverse geological substructures include the Murchison Greenstone belt in the northwest of the reserve and are some of the oldest rock formations on the planet. Three more granite and pegmatite formations are present, including the Willie, Lekkersmaak, and Mashishimale gneisses.

Selati plays home to six different plant communities; the most fascinating of these is the vast range of woody plant populations (including Lillie’s cycad). Mixed Combretum veld dominates the tops of mountains and hills, while Terminalia sericea trees flourish on the poor soils associated with the natural seepage lines. Mopane woodland dots the soils along the drainages and lower lying areas, while bushwillow and Vachellia species engulf the wide-open spaces.

Sundowner spots abound

A sundowner is the highlight of any safari, and Selati offers a platter of sumptuous sunset-viewing spots. Joubert’s lookout provides a 180-degree view over Galon Ridge. Junior’s Platform makes for an epic viewpoint to watch the sunrise, and groups can book the Outlook for elegant sundowners atop a hill. Trips to the Lillie Mountains in the afternoon allow views from one of the reserve’s best viewpoints. Thrill seekers can scramble over steep boulders and jump stomach-churning gaps, while the more mild-hearted can gently meander over flatter rocks while examining wooded trails and the cycads dotted through these surroundings. But a mild clamber up to the highest point is well worth the adrenalin rush, as the view from here, 730m above sea level, is breathtaking.

Explore & Stay

There was a time in the Lowveld when our predecessors unwillingly met wildlife face to face, mostly choosing to avoid these encounters at all costs. But thrill-seekers craving a primitive taste of the ancient continent need only let the mind wander slightly to envision walking in the ancient footsteps of explorers. Walking excursions in Selati provide an uninterrupted experience of the surroundings, allowing walkers to rekindle the roots of the past by traversing a wilderness trail in the reserve and exploring myriad paths through tall grasses and clumped Vachallia species. Experienced guides lead hikers through the untouched bushveld, carefully allowing visitors intimate experiences with wildlife. Guests can choose between sleeping out under the stars or spending the night at one of Selati’s lodges.

Lillie Mountains, Selati Game Reserve — Experience Selati’s 180-degree vistas dotted with granite koppies

Customised mountain-biking trails are also available, stopping over at either one of Selati’s lodges or safari camps over three days. With various projects linked to the World Wildlife Fund and the Endangered Wildlife Trust taking place here, such as the Black Rhino Range Expansion Project and Cheetah Metapopulation Project, guests are also offered the opportunity to take part in conservation experiences. Whether being present to witness the collaring of a cheetah, the feeding of predators in the boma awaiting release into the reserve, or even the dehorning or notching of rhinos, these activities will present a once-in-a-lifetime experience for many visitors. Witnessing a cheetah collaring up close is probably one of the most thrilling experiences of my lifetime. The collaring was a success and the data stemming from the monitoring of this cheetah is invaluable to the Cheetah Metapopulation Project.

While private landowners make up the majority of the reserve, there are three properties open to tourists, which feature comfortable lodges. Dunn’s Camp, neighbouring the sublime Ga-Selati River; Klipspringer, a whimsical retreat for families overlooking a waterhole; and luxurious Lillie Lodge, perched atop a granite outcrop in the south of the reserve, all offer intimate experiences of the surrounds.

As a low-development reserve, limited vehicles are permitted to use the roads and self-driving is not allowed (aside from travelling to your lodge destination). Tourists visiting lodges in the area have access to the road networks throughout the reserve via guided game drives on open game vehicles. The unobtrusive road network traverses wide corners of the vast reserve and consists of dirt roads – many of which require 4×4 vehicles.

Selati Game Reserve experiences — Walking excursions in Selati provide an uninterrupted experience of the surroundings; the extensive network of roads can be explored on game drives; customised mountain bike trails are on offer; Lillie Lodge perches amongst the koppies; guests can take part in conservation experiences, such as rhino notching or dehorning, and cheetah collaring

Final thoughts

For those seeking a unique bushveld experience, combined with spotting the Big Five, close encounters with wildlife, rare endemics, intimate accommodation and rugged wilderness in a quiet reserve on the road less travelled, Selati is the answer.

Want to go on a Selati or Greater Kruger safari? To find lodges, search for our ready-made packages or get in touch with our travel team, scroll down to after this story.

Resources

To read more about Selati Game Reserve, click here.

THIS WEEK

This is a copy of our weekly email newsletter. Subscribe here to receive the newsletter.

Forest whisperers + elusive aardvarks + photographic safaris

So yesterday, I was cycling the hills above the sleepy smallholder haven that is the Crags in South Africa’s Garden Route. Lizz and I unplug here for two weeks every year. A few hours into yesterday’s meander, I met up with two locals who showed me some of their favourite forest tracks. One, a retired gent, has purchased a few smallholdings and is on a mission to force nut farming to work in an area too humid for that particular agricultural pursuit. He told me about his mission to remove that ‘scrappy bush’ (including the diverse, unique, celebrated fynbos) and replace it with regimented rows of nut trees that require intense chemical treatment and high electrified fences to prevent pilfering by humans and wildlife. A fortressed green desert. He is not a farmer and does not need to earn a living anymore, having sold his business. He just wanted something to do. The trophy nut farm is a thing amongst wealthy retired people, apparently. There goes the neighbourhood …

Meanwhile, in the bushveld town of Hoedspruit bordering the Greater Kruger, our passionate teamAG is enduring sweltering early summer temperatures – but the rain has yet to make an appearance. This is PRIME safari time – if you can stand the heat. The bushveld is cork-dry, although some of the larger trees have shed their annual flower cover for the bright green of new leaves. Eyes cast heavenward, local inhabitants await the glorious first rains …

Keep the passion

Simon Espley – CEO, Africa Geographic

TRAVEL DESK UPDATES:

We have two thrilling safaris lined up for photographic enthusiasts next year, offering up-close wildlife action and adventure. Start the discussion with us now!

Chitake Springs photographic and walking safari – 6 days:
This short, epic safari, led by two expert guides, is for the daring traveller and photographer seeking the ultimate in-your-face wildlife drama. Chitake Springs in Mana Pools National Park is a growing talking point amongst photographic guides for producing raw, untamed wildlife action. There are only 5 spots left for this safari, departing in September 2023.

Maasai Mara specialist photographic safari – 9 days:
Join us for this spectacular photographer-guided safari in the Maasai Mara. A specially modified photographer’s vehicle, off-road driving permits and the renowned big cats and Wildebeest Migration are a recipe for adventure. Join us next year in June, or August (only 2 spots left), for a once-in-a-lifetime trip.

From our Editor – Taryn van Jaarsveld

At AG, we believe that cultural heritage and indigenous knowledge are powerful conservation tools.

A few weeks ago, Simon travelled to magical Arabuko-Sokoke Forest and Mida Creek on Kenya’s tropical coast, where he spent time with A Rocha Kenya – a highly effective programme using ecotourism to fund community programmes and the restoration of threatened forests. Read Simon’s inspiring account of how impactful travel can empower rural communities and boost conservation in Africa below.

If you’ve ever come across a cavernous, freshly dug hole while out walking in the African bushveld, you’ve discovered that most fantastical of features: an aardvark lair. I’ve had the pleasure of finding dozens of these dwellings while hiking grasslands, mountains and bushveld areas throughout Africa – even in nature reserves in Greater Johannesburg. But I’ve never had the fortune of seeing an aardvark in the flesh. Spotting the elusive aardvark is high up on my bucket list. Read about this keystone species and shaper of landscapes in our second story below.

Happy celebrating Africa to you all!

Story 1
https://africageographic.com/stories/forest-whisperers/
FOREST WHISPERERS
Simon set out to Arabuko-Sokoke Forest and Mida Creek in Kenya to find out how community members are restoring threatened forests

Story 2
https://africageographic.com/stories/aarvark-the-earth-pig-of-africa/
EARTH PIG
The elusive aardvark is a keystone species, shaping the landscape around it and providing dwellings for other mammals, reptiles and birds

From our Scientific Editor – Jamie Paterson

We all have moments when even our native tongue fails us, and we forget a word we’ve known all our lives. Take my friend, for example, who, in a recent discussion about elephant drinking habits, referred to “elephant straws”. The word she was looking for was, of course, “trunk”, but her moment of amnesia inspired this newsletter fact-of-the-week.

Did you know that elephants suck water into their trunks at a speed of around 500 km/hour? One solid slurp will pull in three litres of water in a second. In the process, their nostrils expand in volume by 64%. However, the author was quick to emphasise that trunks are not “straws”.

WATCH: African Voices for Africa’s Forests | All across Africa, communities are pushing back against extractive industries and corporations grabbing their resources and land, by honouring indigenous methods of preserving nature and biodiversity. This short film highlights how communities are exploring nature-based solutions and climate justice to combat deforestation in Cameroon (09:01). Click here to watch

Aardvark

There are signs if you know what to look for… Some are obvious, like a pile of dark, freshly excavated soil or a massive entrance hole. Others are more subtle: adjacent patches of bare ground or a place where a shadow doesn’t fall quite right.

These signs hint at the existence of a network of secret tunnels, a daytime lair where one of Africa’s most fantastical animals slumbers beneath the ground: the aardvark.

The “earth pig”

The aardvark (Orycteropus afer) is one of a kind, devoid of close living relatives and the only surviving member of an entire order of animals, the Tubulidentata. Their otherworldly forms look as though they sprang straight out of the crazed imagination of an overly caffeinated fantasy writer. Giant, rabbit-like ears perch atop a bizarrely elongated head ending in a pig snout, and massive talons extend from each foot. Their stout, hunched bodies range from a dirty grey-pink to brown and thick skin is covered in a light smattering of hair. Finally, the “aardvark look” is completed by what could only be described as a giant, stumpy rat’s tail. Such an eclectic collection of features might, on paper at least, sound positively monstrous, but on the aardvark, the overall effect is somehow oddly winsome.

Of course, as is usually the case in nature, form follows function, and the aardvark’s unusual attributes are all perfectly suited to nights spent terrorising ants and termites before sleeping off a full belly in the safety of a comfortable underground den. Even the name “aardvark” is inspired by their excavation skills and subterranean habits, coming from an old Afrikaans word meaning “earth/ground pig”. The genus name “Orycteropus” translates as the “burrowing foot”.

Although they have a widespread distribution throughout much of sub-Saharan Africa, few people are afforded more than a brief glimpse of the elusive and primarily nocturnal aardvark. Their secretive natures mean that information surrounding their behaviour, particularly social dynamics, is still somewhat scant. Consequently, the aardvark has more global renown as the first word in the dictionary than a fascinating and complex mammal.

Quick facts

Length:	1–2m
Mass:	60–80kg
Social Structure:	Solitary
Gestation:	Seven months
Conservation status:	Least concern

The nosey ones

Aardvarks subsist almost entirely on a diet of termites and ants (they are myrmecophagous), occasionally supplementing their water intake by snacking on the fruit of an aardvark cucumber. They emerge from their burrows as darkness descends (or slightly earlier during the colder, drier months) and set off searching for a meal, covering an average of around 2–5km every night. They move slowly, using their large ears and prodigious sense of smell to seek out termite and ant nests. Once located, aardvarks use their powerful claws to crack open termite mounds or dig beneath the soil, using a 30cm long tongue coated in sticky saliva to lap up the swarming insects. They will also make short work of a line of termites on the move.

Their characteristic noses are well suited to their gastronomic preferences. The tip of the snout is extremely sensitive and controlled by specialised muscles that allow it a high degree of mobility. Aardvarks, with their humongous ears and piggy snouts, also have more turbinate bones inside the nasal cavity than any other mammal, which is thought to increase the surface area for olfactory epithelium and improve their capacity to analyse scent molecules. When digging and feeding, these vulnerable nasal structures must be protected from both dirt and biting insects, and this is accomplished by a dense filter of thick nose hair and the ability to seal both nostrils tightly.

Despite some morphological and dietary similarities with New World anteaters, aardvarks and anteaters are not related, and any superficial resemblance can be attributed to convergent evolution. What sets aardvarks truly apart from any other mammal is their dental structure. The molar teeth do not have a pulp cavity or any enamel coating and instead consist of parallel tubes (hence Tubulidentata) of modified dentine held together by cementum. The sticky tongue approach to feeding means that copious amounts of sand accompany an aardvark’s meals, so the teeth wear down and are replaced continuously. However, the aardvark chews little while scoffing down tens of thousands of ants, so the muscular stomach takes over as a gizzard to further grind their food.

Dig it

Though aardvarks may have some of the keenest senses of hearing and smell on the continent, their eyesight is particularly poor. While foraging, they keep their ears pricked for approaching predators. Still, they become highly focussed when feeding, and it is surprisingly easy to creep close to a hunting aardvark unnoticed, provided one stays silent. As a result (and perhaps somewhat sensibly), they seldom stray far from a known bolt hole while feeding. When faced with a predator, their first defence is always to flee below ground. If necessary, they can dig out a tunnel up to a metre in length in less than five minutes.

However, this is not always possible, and, despite its rather bulky and cumbersome appearance, an aardvark is astonishingly fleet of foot and agile. Their long claws on shovel-like feet are formidable weapons if all else fails, and they will roll onto their backs to face a would-be attacker pointy side up.

Aardvarks dig different types of burrows: short tunnels for brief, overnight stays (“camping holes”), and dens with a straight tunnel ending in a round room and an extensive branching network with multiple entrances. Research shows that the temperatures in these tunnels fluctuate very little, acting as a warm refuge on cold days and sheltering their residents from the worst of the midsummer heat. Aardvarks move frequently, digging new dens every few days or weeks, and abandoned networks are often commandeered by warthogs, porcupines, hyenas, bats, mongooses, and even denning wild dogs (painted wolves).

Aardvarks emerge from their burrows late on winter afternoons or as darkness descends on warmer days, ready to use their large ears and powerful sense of smell to seek out termite and ant nests

The secret lives of aardvarks

The nocturnal activities of aardvarks leave behind very distinctive tracks to be discovered the following morning. Many a guide on a quiet drive or walk has pointed out a spot where an aardvark has stopped to feed, complete with claw marks and an indentation left by the tail. The guide will then invariably describe how one can tell it was a male aardvark due to two round indentations made by the scrotum. But alas! Contrary to prevalent belief, aardvarks have internal testes, and those impressions were likely left by the sizable scent glands found on both males and females.

The secretions produced by these scent glands have a profoundly pungent odour and are deliberately deposited when defecating and feeding. However, their exact function is still not fully understood. Given aardvarks’ low densities and extraordinary sense of smell, it is highly likely that these deposits offer a suitable means of indirect and long-lasting communication. Aardvarks are almost entirely solitary, but their territorial habits remain unclear. Home ranges often overlap, especially when food is plentiful, but whether or not they mark or defend territorial boundaries is unknown.

Aardvarks also likely use these scent marks as a coquettish communiqué between the sexes. Little is known about romances of aardvarks, though the male generally stays with his companion for the duration of her oestrus. Seven months later, the female gives birth to one baby belowground. Adult aardvarks may be fantastical and appealing, but it is somewhat challenging to extend such a description to their newborns. Without mincing words, newborn aardvarks are adorably ugly – pink, bald and wrinkly, with absurdly oversized feet. They are (unimaginatively) called cubs or calves. (If you have a better suggestion, they are all ears.)

After two weeks spent in the burrow’s safety, the baby begins to accompany its mother on foraging trips and will start feeding on solids some seven weeks later. By this time, it has acquired a hair covering and can now officially be described as cute. The youngster is fully weaned between three and four months old but will stay with its mother for at least a year. Occasionally, female offspring will remain with their mothers for an additional year, so it is not impossible to encounter a female with two different-aged youngsters.

Earth shapers

As far as we know, aardvark populations are still considered stable across much of the continent, and the IUCN currently classifies them as “Least Concern”. However, there are no definitive population estimates as aardvarks are somewhat challenging to count. Due to their low densities and cryptic natures, they may be declining in some areas due to habitat loss. Like all specialist feeders, aardvarks are also particularly vulnerable to sudden population declines.

While termites and ants may seem ubiquitous, survival in extreme environments can be tremendously challenging. In the desert, for example, aardvarks undergo dramatic internal temperature changes. They have to compensate for the bitingly cold winter nights by emerging earlier in the afternoon, limiting their available feeding windows and struggling to meet metabolic requirements. During these dry months, food is scarce. After a severe drought, the authors of one particular study recorded the deaths of five of their initial six aardvark subjects. Droughts are part of typical climate patterns, but weather extremes are becoming more common, and animals like aardvarks are likely to be severely affected by climate change.

These curious creatures are a keystone species. As biological engineers, they shape the landscape around them, and their tunnels are a vital resource to a multitude of mammal, reptile, and bird species.

Find one in the wild

Aardvarks may be challenging to find in the wild, but there are ways to improve one’s chances of spotting one. The best way to start is on a winter’s afternoon in some of the semi-arid areas of Southern Africa, like the Karoo or Green Kalahari in South Africa, Botswana’s Kgalagadi and Central Kalahari deserts and Namibia’s Damaraland.

Everyone should see an aardvark at least once in their lifetime – if only to marvel at the wonder of Africa’s many unique creations.

Forest Whisperers

Arabuko-Sokoke Forest and Mida Creek on Kenya’s tropical coast near the resort town of Watamu support some of Africa’s rarest wildlife. The forest is the largest remnant of a dry coastal forest which once stretched from Somalia to Mozambique and is globally recognised for its rich biodiversity. As the wildlife fights for survival, so do the people living around the forest and creek. I had heard about a successful faith-based project that focuses on restoring threatened forests with local community members as the drivers. Intrigued, I set out to find out more.

“This is farming God’s way,” was a popular comment from the many people I encountered during my time with the A Rocha Kenya team, and, after a while, even this pantheist (or whatever the term is for my sort) saw the light. My host and founder of A Rocha Kenya – Colin Jackson – believes profoundly that the church is the sleeping giant of conservation. “Imagine if the church got each community member to plant and care for an indigenous tree!” he proffered while nonchalantly slipping a leg ring onto a tiny olive sunbird before releasing it. This got me thinking because I had never before viewed religion as a tool for conservation. After spending several heart-warming days with Colin’s team, I now do.

Ecotourism for the good of community

A Rocha Kenya runs a highly effective programme that uses ecotourism activities to provide secondary-school scholarships that meet the economic and social needs of communities living around the forest. Ecotourism funds the bursaries, and local people are taught to value and care for the forest and creek; environmental education and practical conservation activities complete the virtuous circle.

The scholarships enable local families to commit to lifestyle changes which lower their everyday impact on the forest. For example, tree nurseries of indigenous species and butterfly farming provide incentives and alternatives to illegal logging and non-sustainable fishing.

My base in the area was Mwamba Conservation Centre in the seaside town of Watamu – a rustic hostel for volunteers and tourists. Communal meals and a general all-hands-on-deck approach make this the ideal destination for single and hitched travellers wishing to get stuck into practical conservation chores while also enjoying the laid-back coastal vibe.

Birding in Arabuko-Sokoke Forest

To fully appreciate the value of this coastal forest ecosystem, I went birding one morning in the nearby Arabuko-Sokoke National Reserve. My guide was local legend Albert Baya, another A Rocha Kenya employee. There are several highly sought-after bird species in the forest. Top of that list is the Sokoke scops-owl, which must be the cutest bird on the planet. There are a few known daytime roost sites for this tiny stunner, and we planned to head there mid-morning. First, though, we walked the forest in the early morning and managed to tick off delights such as Amani sunbird, pale batis, little yellow flycatcher, red-tailed ant-thrush, chestnut-fronted helmet-shrike, Mombasa woodpecker, coastal cisticola, Malindi pipet, southern-banded snake eagle and Fischer’s turaco. In addition, we heard Clarke’s weaver in the canopy but could not spot this elusive endemic that occurs only in a few tiny patches of forest in this area. Just think about that – this weaver occurs nowhere else in the world. We also bumped into two gorgeous golden-rumped sengis, although I only caught a glimpse as they scurried off into the dense undergrowth.

Once rising temperatures put paid to birding, we headed out to find the celebrated Sokoke scops-owl in the dense Cynometra portion of the forest. We were lucky – after leaving our vehicle, we followed a winding track for five minutes, ducked under a dense shrub and looked up into the wide-eyed stare of a pair of these gems – about 3m above me! The couple – one ginger and one grey – seemed totally non-plussed and yet unphased by our presence, and after a few minutes, they faded into snoozeville. After ecstatic but silent high-fives, we headed back to Mwamba for lunch.

ARabuko-Sokoke Forest — A golden-rumped sengi spotted on the forest floor; a pair of Sokoke scops-owls; searching for birds in the forest

On the way back from the forest, I noticed butterfly nets hanging along a forest track (cover image). Albert explained the workings of this innovative project. Local butterfly farmers catch adult butterflies which they keep in cages for breeding purposes. The eggs hatch into caterpillars which then pupate. The pupae are sold internationally to butterfly parks for display to the public – who knew? Some of the butterflies are returned to the forest after a breeding cycle. This farming has no noticeable impact on butterfly numbers, whereas the practice is demonstrably successful in protecting this tract of forest. It’s a straightforward illustration of creating value in trees beyond firewood and furniture.

Kenya’s only coastal-tree nursery

To better understand the link between forest trees and local people, I visited A Rocha Kenya’s tree nursery near Watamu – the only coastal-tree nursery in Kenya. I was shown around the facility by the proud and passionate Alex Saidi, who explained that the trees grown from seed are provided free of charge to the families of bursary recipients for planting at their homes and in their neighbourhoods. The recipients are taught how to care for trees and use organic, no-till methods to ensure prosperous vegetable gardens – ‘farming God’s way’. The sound logic is that the trees have a better chance of survival if given to invested and trained people than if they are handed out willy-nilly – a clever strategy to ensure success. Also provided to bursary family members are energy-saving fireplaces, known as jiko, so villagers use less firewood for cooking. A Rocha Kenya also operates a tree nursery in Karara, Nairobi.

A Rocha tree nursery — A Rocha Kenya’s tree nursery is the only coastal-tree nursery in Kenya. Here, trees grown from seed are provided to families for planting. The recipients are taught how to care for trees and use organic, no-till methods

Visiting Gedi Ruins

Albert took me to visit the 12th-century Gedi Ruins – a short drive from Watamu – which I highly recommend. This historical site has a fascinating history and is highly photogenic – well worth a few hours of your time. Unfortunately, our (mandatory) local guide rattled off his spiel with barely a breath taken, and I would recommend staying on afterwards to wander the vast site at your own pace quietly. Bring a hat, water and a snack. And for birders, I recommend taking your binoculars – we heard green barbet and Fischer’s turaco in the overhanging canopy.

Mida Creek

Another highly threatened forest type in this area is the once-extensive mangrove forests that play vital roles as fish and shellfish nurseries while offering coastal stabilisation and water purification. A Rocha Kenya supports the mangrove forests of the nearby Mida Creek with community-based projects of a similar kind. Again there is a nursery for mangrove trees. The community-built and managed boardwalk offers an excellent experience for bird-watchers – winding through the mangroves before terminating in a viewing platform at the lagoon edge to spot thousands of waders that call Mida Creek their home. I ticked off my first crab plover during my brief visit – a stunning bird, to be sure.

During my time at Mwamba, I watched team members busying themselves with moth surveys and bird-netting research and heard stories of community work, photographing sharks and monitoring plastic marine pollution. This project has many layers – a brilliant reflection of how nature works.

Conserving Dakatcha Forest

A Rocha Kenya is securing blocks of the same coastal forest type as Arabuko-Sokoke – at Dakatcha Forest, about 60km away. This community-owned forest is going the way of many of Africa’s coastal forests – firewood and furniture. And so, Colin and his team are securing the land for future generations by providing the community with a set amount and implementing the same layers of sustainable-utilisation projects. What a fantastic endeavour! I have donated to this project – a direct and accountable way to mitigate my carbon footprint from this particular safari. All donations are welcome, but be aware that a US$300 donation will purchase one acre of land for conservation purposes. Now that there is a willing buyer the price of land is increasing, and Colin expects to pay up to US$500 per acre of more sought-after land. You, too, can contribute to further the cause.

I arrived at Mwamba not knowing what to expect and left feeling wiser and lighter. I sincerely hope this comment will make sense to some of you and that you will spend time in this paradise. Responsible, impactful travel is undoubtedly one of the best ways to empower rural African communities to maintain and even improve ecosystems and bolster biodiversity. Safari njema!

Forest — Simon poses with expert guide Albert Baya

THIS WEEK

This is a copy of our weekly email newsletter. Subscribe here to receive the newsletter.

Armchair conservation + untamed Kafue + festive safari planning

The Christmas lights are up in shop windows ? and the electric restlessness of the silly season is peeping out above the horizon.

So where to safari this festive season? Read on to find out!

Our first story below is one for the social media fanatics. There is no question that social platforms bring awareness to conservation issues. But are the shared posts, bold declarations and passionate comments making a difference? Our story delves into how social media attention fails to address pressing conservation threats. A poignant study for the ages.

In our second story, we’re laying down all there is to know about Kafue National Park. There is something spellbinding about this untamed Zambian expanse spanning woodland, sweeping plains, wetlands and an incredible variety of wildlife. This is one to add to the bucket list.

It’s summer in the south, and sweltering landscapes dotted with baby herbivores (predators in tow) are cooled by afternoon thunderstorms. East Africa is scant of tourists – the perfect opportunity to experience the magic in peace. Read our third story below for tips on planning your December–February safari.

Happy celebrating Africa!

Taryn van Jaarsveld – Editor

Story 1
https://africageographic.com/stories/the-elephant-in-the-room-how-social-media-attention-misses-more-pressing-conservation-threats/
ARMCHAIR CONSERVATION
Social media impacts conservation. But research shows that the attention elephants receive on Twitter fails to address urgent conservation issues

Story 2
https://africageographic.com/stories/kafue-national-park/
UNTAMED ZAMBIA
Kafue is Zambia’s oldest & largest national park – known for sweeping plains, wetlands & abundant wildlife

Story 3
https://travel.africageographic.com/when-to-go-on-safari
FESTIVE SAFARI
See our tips & recommended destinations for visiting Africa in the festive season & beyond

From our Scientific Editor – Jamie Paterson

For the sake of ruffling some feathers, so to speak, what manmade threat accounts for the greatest number of bird mortalities every year (not counting habitat loss)? The answer is domestic cats – by a substantial margin. Did you know that cats kill an estimated 1.4 to 3.7 billion birds in the United States each year? Research from other countries, including Australia, Canada, China and South Africa, reveals similar trends.

With our uncanny capacity to polarise every debate, the outdoor/indoor cat conversation invariably descends into a vicious slanging match (I anticipate at least one angry email in the next few days). Leaving aside the discussion on “natural behaviour” and cat welfare, why is it so difficult for avid cat lovers to acknowledge their beloved furbabies’ impact on the environment? To do so does not imply that the cats are at fault! So mystifying is this level of denial that scientists even dedicated an entire paper to untangling the cognitive dissonance.

Please keep your cats inside. It’s safer for them, and it’s better for the environment.

Mouse-Free Marion

We’ve just added the Mouse-Free Marion Project to our selection of trusted conservation and community projects.

In the early 19th century, house mice were accidentally introduced to Marion Island, a seabird haven in the sub-Antarctic Indian Ocean, south-east of South Africa. This has had a devastating impact on the ecology of the island. The Mouse-Free Marion Project aims to remove the invasive mice, which are endangering the long-term survival of the seabirds and other native species of the island. Learn more about how the project is working to eradicate the problem, and see how you can help.

Browse our hand-picked selection of trusted conservation and community projects to see how you can collaborate with others who share your passion for Africa. Log in or sign up to the app to view our projects.

Pictured: Grey-headed albatross colony on Marion Island © Michelle Risi

WATCH: Botswana is the safari connoisseur’s choice, offering some of Africa’s best game viewing, huge wilderness areas, superb lodges and most experienced guides. In this video, enjoy striking scenes from Botswana, a land of endless wildlife encounters (01:15). Click here to watch

The elephant in the room – how social media attention misses more pressing conservation threats

The burgeoning popularity of social media has allowed it to evolve into a potent force with positive and negative consequences. From raising awareness to the proliferation of misinformation, social media can significantly impact conservation efforts. New research highlights how the attention elephants receive on Twitter fails to align with the most urgent conservation issues facing the species.

The researchers opted to focus on Twitter over other social media platforms because Twitter “aspires to facilitate real-time public conversations”. The studied tweets about elephants were posted between January and December 2019 and, once filtered for spam, numbered 2,484,228 tweets – which gives some idea of the reach of the messages conveyed. Of these, 3,749 tweets were manually analysed to understand their content.

(Above) Distribution of sample tweets sent by users from 83 countries. (Below) Distribution of elephants across Africa (green) and Asia (blue) © Hammond et al. (2022)

The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) has identified three primary threats facing all three elephant species (Loxodonta africana, Loxodonta cyclotis and Elephas maximus): habitat loss, human-elephant conflict, and poaching. The magnitude of each threat differs between the species. Of the tweets analysed, just 21% related directly to the three major threats identified by the IUCN, with poaching receiving the most attention (13%), followed by human-elephant conflict (7%). Less than 1% addressed habitat loss.

Instead, the most frequently discussed topics overall were elephant welfare concerns such as tourist elephant rides (23%), non-specific conservation messages (19%), and videos and non-conservation news (17%). 10% of the tweets dealt with trophy hunting and culling, which the IUCN does not consider to be conservation threats to elephant populations. Furthermore, comments from non-elephant range countries were by far the most dominant on Twitter, with 72% of tweets originating from users in these countries. These users were more likely to post about elephant welfare concerns and trophy hunting and least likely to mention human-elephant conflict.

In contrast, users from African and Asian elephant-range states were far more likely to discuss human-elephant conflict and tourism. Tweets from Asian elephant-range countries revealed a stronger focus on elephant welfare concerns than their African counterparts. Users from African range states were more likely to tweet about poaching.

Bar plot with the share of manually coded topics by user location © Hammond et al. (2022)

The researchers raise several reasons as to why their results are concerning. Political will – influenced by public interest – is essential in targeting and addressing anthropogenic activities that represent the most significant threats to endangered species. Public opinion, in turn, can be shaped by how mainstream media frames specific topics and how they are addressed on social media. If a person is repeatedly exposed to an issue on social media, they may be more likely to perceive it as important, possibly disproportionately so. Thus, public support, time and valuable resources might be misdirected towards initiatives that do not address the core threats to species and biodiversity. The authors use the example of the current emphasis on plastic pollution in the oceans – a serious concern but one which has been disproportionately emphasised over the more pressing threats of climate change and overfishing.

In addition, the disparities between the focus of users in elephant and non-elephant range states have the potential to contribute to a fundamental failure of understanding. A lack of awareness, particularly of the impact of human-elephant conflict, has the potential to create the impression that the lives of elephants are valued over those of the humans that live alongside them. As such, the authors emphasise a need to make local realities more central in social media discourse.

social media and conservation of elephants — On the left is a tweet sent by a North American celebrity who was critical of the lifting of Botswana’s trophy hunting ban in 2019 and on the right are example replies to this celebrity tweet from Batswana users. Batswana users were often critical of the focus on trophy hunting and not the dangers people face when living with elephants. Usernames of non-verified accounts have been removed © Hammond et al. (2022)

Another critical aspect raised during their research concerned the most discussed event among their analysed tweets: the death of a suspected poacher, killed by elephants and eaten by lions. The discourse around this event highlighted how extreme violence towards poachers is routinely advocated on social media. The upshot of this trend is that poachers are often portrayed as less than human, with no right to life or due process. Most of these tweets originate from states where the rights of suspected criminals are legally protected. This mismatch between the rights of their citizens and those of local community members is likely to reinforce the impression in local communities that their lives are undervalued. This could further alienate communities from conservation, and the authors call on the conservation community to call out and challenge this dehumanising narrative.

Though this research was focused on some of the challenges posed by social media, the authors conclude by emphasising that it can also be instrumental in generating support for conservation initiatives. The fact that many social media users are “motivated and willing to advocate for the protection of elephants” is a positive step. “[H]owever, suitable harnessing [of] this potential requires shifting the focus on social media towards the major threats to elephant conservation.”

Reference

Hammond, N. L., Dickman, A. and Biggs, D. (2022) “Examining Attention Given to Threats to Elephant Conservation on Social Media,” Conservation Science and Practice, (20220811)

Kafue National Park

There is a mermaid in the waterways of Kafue National Park… or so it is said.

If the stories are to be believed, Africa’s rivers are teeming with a variety of gods, spirits, and protectors. Today, it is said that the mermaid Kitapo lurks in the waters of the Kafue River in Zambia, saving children and the virtuous from its rapids and dragging murderers and criminals into the depths to be devoured by crocodiles. Perhaps she found refuge in the many waterways of Kafue National Park, a land still wild enough for deities of old. And while sightings of her are few and far between, visitors can still experience the magic of untamed Africa in lieu of meeting a goddess.

Kafue National Park and its surrounds

Kafue National Park is Zambia’s oldest and largest national park, spanning 22,400km² (2,24 million hectares – more extensive than Wales) in western-central Zambia, offering some of the best safari experiences in Africa. The Kafue River and its many tributaries, including the Lufupa, Lunga, Luansanza and Musa Rivers, dominate the scenery. From stretches of veined river valleys to branching streams and swampy floodplains to the manmade Itezhi-tezhi dam, these waterways are the park’s lifeblood during the dry season.

In a park the size of Kafue, variety is a given. From south to north, the landscape transforms from miombo woodland punctuated by granite outcrops to the sweeping plains and wetlands. In the northernmost corner of the park lies the veritable wildlife haven of the Busanga Plains, surrounded by the Busanga Swamps. This watery wonderland comes alive at the height of the dry season, teeming with predators, prey, and prolific bird life. For wildlife viewing, Busanga is the Kafue National Park’s hive of activity.

Find out about Kafue for your next African safari. We have ready-made safaris to choose from, or ask us to build one just for you.

A highway bisects the park, and, unsurprisingly, Busanga’s productivity means that most lodges and infrastructure are centred in the northern half. Even so, Kafue retains a remote and unspoilt feel throughout. Overshadowed by the parks of the Luangwa Valley to the east, Kafue National Park has remained one of Zambia’s best-kept safari secrets: an untrammelled, uncommercialised park boasting astonishing luxury safaris in the wildest of settings.

Kafue National Park is one of the northernmost components of the vast Kavango-Zambezi Transfrontier Conservation Area (KAZA), encompassing wilderness areas in five countries: Angola, Namibia, Botswana, Zimbabwe, and Zambia. The park is buffered by several contiguous Game Management Areas (GMAs): Mulobezi, Sichifulo, Mumbwa, Kasonso-Busanga, Lunga-Luwishi, Namwala, Bilili Springs and Nkala. GMAs were established in Zambia as a way for wildlife and humans to co-exist, allowing for consumptive use of the land, including hunting. The GMA’s around Kafue National Park theoretically add 38,384km² (nearly four million hectares) of additional space for wildlife to roam.

Kafue’s frolicking wildlife

Kafue is bursting with life in abundance. Like many parks in Africa, Kafue was marred by poaching during the latter half of the 21st century, but animal populations are gradually recovering. Perhaps hardest hit after the region’s rhinos (sadly now extinct), elephants are now an increasingly common sight in the park. They gather to feed on the fruiting ilala palms or trudge through the woodlands.

Every year, the flood waters of the Lufupa recede around July, gradually uncovering the grasses of Busanga Plains and leaving small dambos (shallow wetlands) in their wake. Here the ungulates gather in their thousands, with vast herds of buffalos, impalas, red lechwes, wildebeests, waterbucks, pukus and zebras arriving to graze and sate their thirst. This visual feast is almost Serengeti-like in its decadent variety. With their specially adapted hooves, reclusive and amphibious sitatunga conceal themselves in the reedbeds, while roan and sable antelopes prefer the drier miombo forests. Blue and yellow-backed duikers secrete themselves in the undergrowth, along with the equally shy (but adorable) Sharpe’s grysboks.

Lechwe, Kafue — Red lechwe make their way across the Busanga Plains

Naturally, this smorgasbord of prey species is an attractive prospect for Zambia’s carnivores. Lions are commonly encountered, and along with South Luangwa National Park, Kafue is one of the best places in Zambia to find leopards. It is also one of the only places in the country where cheetahs occur. Spotted hyenas provide the perfect dinner-time serenade (albeit in discordant competition with the tree hyraxes), and packs of endangered wild dogs (painted wolves) revel in the open space afforded by the plains. Smaller predators abound, with frequent sightings of servals, caracals, jackals and civets.

Kafue also has a reputation for sightings of the more unusual creatures like bushpigs, pangolins, aardvarks, honey badgers, and ubiquitous springhares. What’s more, the rivers and tributaries are home to not just the expected pods of hippos and crocodiles basking on sandbanks, but the sinuous forms of African clawless and spotted-neck otters are occasionally seen breaking the surface of the murky waters.

Kafue is home to abundant wildlife, including: lion, which are commonly encountered; vast herds of buffalo; side-striped jackal; aardvark (Kafue offers great sightings of unusual creatures); wild dog; leopard; puku; red lechwe; large pods of hippos; and roan antelope

Kafue’s avian kaleidoscope

Such an impressive list of mammal diversity is hard to match, but the bird life on display in Kafue is equally, if not more, phenomenal. With 500 odd species recorded in the park’s diversity of habitats, birding here is the best in Zambia and is guaranteed to be rewarding. The miombo woodland specials include the Souza’s shrikes, yellow-bellied hyliotas, green-capped eremomelas, green-backed woodpeckers, and eastern miombo sunbirds. In the magnificent riverine forests with their ancient trees, Pel’s fishing owls roost, and Schalow’s and Ross’s turacos display brief flashes of red and green. Here, too, birders can try their hand spotting the tiny white figures of the endemic and vulnerable Chaplin’s barbet, which roosts in fig trees.

The rich variety of life on display on the Busanga Plains extends to its feathered occupants: open-billed and saddle-billed storks vie with southern ground-hornbills and wattled and crowned cranes. Bright flashes of colour reveal a multitude of kingfisher species (including half-collared) launching themselves from suitable perches, and birds of prey soar overhead. African finfoots delight visitors as they glide past, and flocks of Böhm’s bee-eaters decorate the skies.

Prolific bird life abounds in Kafue, with over 500 species recorded. Pictured are: lappet-faced vultures; Böhm’s Bee-eater; trumpeter hornbill; grey crowned cranes; wattled cranes; African openbills; pink-throated longclaw; and half-collared kingfisher

Shining future

On the 1st of July 2022, the Government of Zambia entered into a 20-year-agreement with non-profit organisation African Parks to secure the protection and effective management of Kafue. The signing of this agreement was the culmination of years’ worth of planning and African Parks, funded by the Dutch Postcode Lottery’s Dream Fund grant, and supported by The Nature Conservancy and the Elephant Crisis Fund, had already concluded a 16-month Priority Support Plan. This involved the investment of US$3.6 million in park infrastructure, operations, an aerial census and the creation of an additional 150 jobs within the park.

DID YOU KNOW that African Parks offers safari camps (lodges and campsites) where 100% of tourism revenue goes to conservation and local communities? Find out more and book your African Parks safari.

African Parks has been responsible for the management of Liuwa Plain National Park since 2003 and Bangweulu Wetlands since 2008. Kafue National Park became the 20th park in African Park’s glowing portfolio of stabilised and rehabilitated protected areas across the continent.

Explore & stay

Want to go on a safari to Kafue? To find lodges, search for our ready-made packages or get in touch with our travel team, scroll down to after this story.

Kafue National Park is easily accessible, and accommodation options vary from budget campsites to ultra-luxury five-star lodges. It is primarily a dry-season park, and many lodges (and roads) are closed during the rainy season from December until March. Heavy downpours render most of the park largely inaccessible and increase the number of tsetse flies and the risk of malaria transmission during the rainy season. The only exception to this advice is for avid birders looking to make the most of the influx of migratory species during the summer months, though Busanga Plains remains strictly off-limits. For most visitors looking to experience the best of the park’s wildlife viewing, May until October is the time to go.

In a park the size of Kafue, it is to be expected that game drives would form the bulk of the safari experience, but not for nothing is Zambia known as “the home of the walking safari”. A guided walk is an essential part of exploring the park: quite aside from the sympathetic nervous buzz of an adrenaline-filled large animal encounter, time spent on foot is unequivocally the best way to acquaint oneself with the park and affirm one’s connection to nature. Similarly, leisurely canoe and boating safaris slow things down and allow for greater immersion in the park’s spectacular surroundings. A hot-air balloon trip offers an even more unusual perspective, gliding silently (well, mostly, the occasional sound of the burner is loud) through the air and observing the wildlife, animal tracks and networks of a connected ecosystem.

Kafue activities — There are plenty of activities on offer in the park, including: game drives to traverse the wide expansive terrain; hot-air ballooning to experience spectacular scenery; walking safaris; sundowners; and boat cruises along the rivers

Final thoughts

There is something spellbinding about Kafue, and, with such magnificent displays of Africa at its most spectacular, one could hardly blame Kitapo for ensconcing herself in the majesty that is Kafue National Park. Visiting the park brings this magic to life, capturing the hearts of all who set foot here.

Resources

Nanzhila Plains is a hidden gem in the remote southern reaches of Kafue. Read more here.

Read about an epic 160km journey through Kafue, taken by two conservationist to raise awareness about poaching in Kafue National Park.

Kafue is doing great things for conservation with their Elephant Orphanage Project. Read more here.

Read a travel diary about a trip to Busanga Plains in Kafue National Park (Zambia), which will have you contacting Africa Geographic to arrange your next safari.

Want to plan your safari? Get in touch with our travel team to start the discussion.

Enquire now

THIS WEEK

This is a copy of our weekly email newsletter. Subscribe here to receive the newsletter.

Medieval forest ruins + rhino update + Botswana specials

My name is Simon, and I am a safariholic. Being on safari peels me open like a ripe melon and washes my stresses away – the sensory overload and endorphin rush influence my body chemistry. True story.

And then there is this: South African and Namibian cheetahs are being sent to India to ‘restock’ their wildlife areas – with a different subspecies of cheetah. Many factors are at play here, and there has been so much bickering and trumpeting about this issue. At last, here is a summary we can all understand. Is this eco or ego? You decide.

Keep the passion

Simon Espley – CEO, Africa Geographic

TRAVEL DESK UPDATES:

Congo forest & lowland gorilla trekking – 9 days: Search for lowland gorillas, bongos, dwarf crocodiles, forest elephants and grey parrots in the dense Congo forests on this 9-day safari like no other. This is for you if you’re willing to go beyond the safari norm to explore and discover truly wild areas.

From our Editor – Taryn van Jaarsveld

We’ve jumped from a chilly winter straight into glowing heat waves here in the Highveld of South Africa, so I greet you this week with sweat on my brow and cider in hand.

In our first story below, we explore a mysterious medieval Swahili civilisation, buried in a primeaval forest just north of the small beach town of Watamu, Kenya. A visit to the carefully preserved Gedi Ruins in Arabuko-Sokoke Forest reveals the intricacies of a once-thriving metropolis, an important but little-known medieval centre of trade in East Africa. Read more to uncover age-old tales of class division, slavery, historical cultures and international relations.

In our second story, Jamie has analysed the most comprehensive report on the status of the world’s rhinos to date. With some countries pushing to reduce the conservation status of rhinos at the upcoming COP19 in November, this summary is an eye-opener on the issues at hand.

Happy celebrating Africa to you all!

Story 1
https://africageographic.com/stories/gedi-ruins/
GEDI RUINS
Gedi was a medieval East African trade city. Today, you can visit Kenya’s Gedi Ruins to discover a lost Swahili civilisation

Story 2
https://africageographic.com/stories/the-state-of-africas-rhino/
RHINO UPDATE
Our analysis of the IUCN report containing the most recent rhino numbers, trends, poaching incidents, conservation measures & trade updates

From our Scientific Editor – Jamie Paterson

If you happen to be living under the cartoon misapprehension that roosters crow once as the sun rises, allow me to elucidate something. They crow for many reasons, including territorially, to celebrate a successful mating and, I am convinced, purely out of spite. When there is artificial light (like city lights, for instance), they continue this throughout the night.

Now, did you know that roosters have been recorded crowing at volumes of up to 143 decibels? By comparison, a lion’s roar is roughly 110 decibels and a chainsaw around 120. Roosters can crow so loudly that they have a special soft tissue covering to protect their own eardrums.

Why this sudden poultry fascination? Because my landlords have five adult roosters, and one of them has it in for me. Cock-a-doodle-do indeed.

Magical Richtersveld

Kristi Goodman recently sought advice on visiting the desert landscape of the Ai-|Ais/Richtersveld Transfrontier Park in the Northern Cape of South Africa. Kristi writes on the forum:
“We are going to stay in the Richtersveld Transfrontier Park in early November and we’ll be travelling from Cape Town. We have looked into camping as well as the Tatatasberg Wilderness Camp. We have heard the park is huge! Is there any advice on what to do and must-visit areas?”

Check out the tips offered by the AG tribe, and offer Kristi your own advice by viewing this post on the forum (sign in or get the app to view and comment).

WATCH: Get a taste of the vast wilderness, immersive landscapes and incredible wildlife experiences that await in Botswana, in honour of our SPECIAL OFFER safaris throughout the country for SADC residents (02:26). Click here to watch

The state of Africa’s rhino

In November 2022, the 19th meeting of the Conference of the Parties (CoP19) to the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wildlife Fauna and Flora (CITES) will be held in Panama. In preparation, the African and Asian Rhino Specialist Groups of the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) and non-governmental trade monitoring organisation TRAFFIC were tasked with compiling a report on the status of the world’s rhinoceros species. The resultant report’s 90 pages contain the most up-to-date and comprehensive analysis of rhino numbers, trends, poaching incidents, conservation measures and trade at a national and international level.

This article summarises the report’s main findings on population numbers and poaching statistics, which are accurate up until the end of 2021. Though the report contains information about African and Asian rhino species, we focus purely on the data for African species. All numerical data, such as population counts, should be considered estimates within a confidence interval unless otherwise stated. Poaching rates are based on the number of detected carcasses, adjusted for imperfect carcass detection.

African rhino populations — Most recent population stats for African rhinos

In summary:

There are an estimated 15,942 white rhinos in Africa, 11.8% lower than the 18,067 individuals at the end of 2017. Since 2012, white rhino numbers on the continent have declined by 25.2%.
Four range States conserve the largest proportion of the continent’s white rhinos: South Africa (81.3%), Namibia (7.7%), Kenya (5.5%) and Zimbabwe (2.6%).
Total black rhino numbers have risen 12.2%, from an estimated 5,495 in 2017 to 6,195 at the end of 2021.
The four range States that conserve the largest proportion of the continent’s black rhinos are Namibia (34.8%), South Africa (33.2%), Kenya (15.1%) and Zimbabwe (9.9%).
2,707 poaching incidents were recorded in Africa from 2018 to 2021. 90% of these occurred in South Africa. This represents an overall decline from 3.9% of the continental population in 2018 to 2.3% in 2021. Peak poaching levels of 5.3% were observed in 2015.
Several countries, including South Africa, recorded a decrease in poaching during the 2020 pandemic but then reported a rise again in 2021. However, the report acknowledges vigorous law enforcement and conservation efforts within several range states.
The number of horns entering illegal trade from 2018 to 2020 was estimated at between 4,593 to 5,186, with over half recovered through law enforcement activities. The 2018 to 2020 figures represent the lowest annual estimate in the past decade. However, this could be partly attributed to the 2020 pandemic.
In terms of illegal trade volume, the seven countries most affected by the illegal trade in rhino horn from 2018 to 2020 are (in order): South Africa, China, Vietnam, Malaysia, Mozambique, the United Arab Emirates and Qatar. (Total weight and number of horns seized in each country, as well as seizures where the country was implicated as part of the illegal supply chain.
Botswana was noted with concern due to the significant decline in the rhino population and unconfirmed reports of high levels of poaching in 2021.
From 2018 to 2021, there were 1,588 arrests made for crimes involving rhinos across Africa. 751 of these cases were prosecuted, and just 300 resulted in convictions.
South Africa and Namibia reported a total of 236 white rhinos and eight black rhinos legally trophy hunted from 2018 to 2021.

rhino horn seizure — The total annual weight (bars) and the number of rhino whole horns seized (line) by the parties from seizures included in the analyses from 2010-2020 (n = 1003). Totals are based on reported data and estimated data for the weight or the number of whole horns © IUCN SSC African and Asian Rhino Specialist Groups | TRAFFIC

South Africa

South Africa is home to the majority of white rhinos on the continent; as such, the country’s conservation contributions exert considerable influence on continental trends. White rhino populations in South Africa declined from 15,625 at the end of 2017 to 12,968 at the end of 2021, the lowest population since pre-2005. More than half of these are privately owned. While the country’s white rhinos accounted for 86.5% of Africa’s population in 2017, this has declined to 81.3% in 2021. The country’s total black rhinos are estimated to number 2,056 individuals, an increase of ten since 2017.

South Africa experienced peak poaching levels in 2014 when 1,215 rhinos were killed, after which poaching incidents gradually declined. 2020 saw a decade low of 394 rhinos killed, which increased to 451 in 2021. As of August 2022, 259 rhinos have been poached throughout the country for the year, most of which were killed in KwaZulu-Natal province. From 2018 to 2020, 1,116 whole horns were seized, representing at least 558 individual rhinos and around 4% of the surviving population in 2021.

Trophy hunting of both rhino species is legal in South Africa and Namibia. During the reporting period, 72 rhinos were legally trophy hunted in South Africa in 2018, 58 in 2019, eight in 2020 and 102 in 2021. This equates to a harvesting rate of between 0.37% and 1.78% of the country’s remaining population. Namibia reported that 17 white rhinos were trophy hunted in 2019 and 22 in 2021, along with three black rhinos from 2018 to 2021. The report notes that the revenue raised from these trophy hunts is important in supporting conservation costs, with hunting revenue ranging from US$15,000 to US$300,000 per rhino (black rhino hunts being substantially more expensive than white) in Namibia (South Africa did not report prices for trophy hunts).

Figure 1: Estimated number of black (*Diceros bicornis spp*) and white (*Ceratotherium simum simum*) rhinos on private and non-private properties in South Africa. Figure 2: Number of white and black rhino hunted in South Africa and Namibia. Data up to 2017 extracted from previous reports © IUCN SSC African and Asian Rhino Specialist Groups | TRAFFIC

Namibia

Namibia reported an increase in black and white rhino populations over the four-year reporting period, from 975 to 1,234 white rhinos and from 1,857 to 2,156 black rhinos at the end of 2021. After South Africa (which reported 90% of all poaching incidents in Africa), Namibia recorded the second highest poaching figures in 2021 – 40 rhino carcasses detected, equating to 8% of approximately 554 rhinos poached across the continent. At least 93 rhinos were poached in 2018, 56 in 2019 and 40 in 2020. A total of 32 seizures yielded an estimated 57 whole horns from 2018 to 2021. Though not included within the report, recent numbers from Namibia indicate a concerning rise in poaching incidents for 2022, which experts suggest is due to a shift in focus by criminal syndicates. By August 2022, 48 rhinos had been poached in Namibia, 11 of which were killed over two weeks in June.

During the reporting period, Namibia reported an estimated US$1,237,575 raised through trophy hunting. The country has once again submitted a proposal for the downlisting of white rhinos from Appendix I to Appendix II (South Africa and eSwatini are currently the only two countries where white rhinos are listed on Appendix II). This would ease export restrictions for legally hunted trophies and the movement of live animals. The ten-page proposal indicates that the movement of live animals would be conducted only for in-situ conservation.

Kenya

Kenya has the third highest number of rhinos in Africa. At the end of 2021, it was home to 15.1% (938) of Africa’s black rhinos and 5.5% (873) of the continent’s white rhino, including the last two remaining northern white rhinos (Ceratotherium simum cottoni). Both black and white rhinos have increased overall since 2017, from 745 black rhinos and 513 white rhinos. Kenya’s black rhinos are the eastern black rhino subspecies (Diceros bicornis michaeli), making it home to the largest population of the least numerous black rhino subspecies.

There were no known poaching incidents in Kenya in 2020, but six rhinos were poached in 2021. Before that, four carcasses were detected in both 2018 and 2019. Three seizures representing an estimated four whole horns were made from 2018 to 2020.

Zimbabwe

Zimbabwe’s rhino populations have increased since 2017, from 367 to 417 white rhinos and from 520 to 616 black rhinos at the end of 2021. Poaching levels peaked in 2019 when 82 carcasses were discovered, followed by 12 in 2020 and four in 2021. Six seizures were made over a three-year period from 2018 to 2020, amounting to an estimated 19 whole horns. The country is in the process of dehorning its entire rhino population.

Botswana

Botswana did not provide the compilers of the report with information on population breakdowns, poaching data or law enforcement activities for 2021 – the only rhino range state not to do so. Their rhino population has been decimated from 452 white and 50 black rhinos in 2017 to 242 white and 23 black rhinos (a 46% and 54% decline, respectively) in 2021. Poaching incidents began to escalate in 2017 when nine rhinos were killed, followed by 18 in 2018, 31 in 2019 and 55 in 2020. The authors suggest that poaching levels in 2021 were likely similar to those of 2020. Two seizures equating to four whole horns were made from 2018 to 2020.

Despite this, Botswana has also proposed downlisting white rhinos to Appendix II.

Mozambique

Mozambique is an important transit country in the illegal trade of horn, supplied by poaching incidents in neighbouring South Africa. 75% of the seizures in the country (where the destination could be identified) were destined for Vietnam. The report did not mention the recent translocation of over 40 white and black rhinos to Zinave National Park from South Africa in 2022.

Additional country information in rhino populations

A new white rhino population of 30 individuals from South Africa was established in Akagera National Park in Rwanda at the end of 2021. The country’s reintroduced black rhino population has grown from 19 at the end of 2017 to 28 at the end of 2021. Zambia’s black rhino population grew from 48 to 58 in four years, but the white rhino population is now estimated at just eight individuals. Uganda’s rhinos were driven to extinction in the 1980s, but a small sanctuary is now home to a growing population of 35 white rhinos. Tanzania’s white rhino population is extinct, but the country reported an increase in black rhinos from 160 to 212. This can be partly accounted for by the translocation of rhinos from South Africa to Serengeti National Park in 2019. eSwatini (formerly Swaziland) has a population of 98 white and 48 black rhinos. The countries above all reported zero detected poaching incidents in 2020 and 2021.

A full breakdown of Africa’s rhino populations by country can be found in Table 2 on page 25 of the report.

Final thoughts on the state of Africa’s rhinos

The new report by the IUCN and TRAFFIC contains a comprehensive analysis of rhino numbers and poaching statistics across Africa and Asia but also details conservation measures, horn stockpiles, national and international law enforcement efforts, education initiatives and challenges. The exact impact of COVID-19 restrictions on the rhino horn trade is unknown. However, Sabri Zain, TRAFFIC Director of Policy, emphasised that “2020 did represent an abnormal year with low levels of reported illegal activity, law enforcement, and government reporting”. As such, the report strongly urges the continued and consistent monitoring of illegal trade.

Furthermore, most of the remaining rhinos are found in small populations, with a median reported population size of nine. 94.7% of Africa’s rhino populations comprised fewer than 200. As a result, they are particularly vulnerable to stochastic processes such as droughts and disease. While the overall decline in poaching is encouraging, it remains the single greatest threat to Africa’s rhino species, and recent increases are a cause for considerable concern.

Gedi Ruins

Buried deep within thickets of primaeval forest just north of the small beach town of Watamu, Kenya, you’ll find the remnants of a mysterious medieval Swahili civilisation built from stone. Deep within the ancient, dry coastal Arabuko-Sokoke Forest, the carefully preserved ruins of the once-thriving metropolis of Gedi await enlightened exploration.

This important historical and archaeological site – today known as the Gedi Ruins (also spelt ‘Gede’) – was once a centre for trade along the East African coast and comprised dozens of stone structures and foundations dotted amongst the forest. Set amongst overgrown indigenous woodland, with butterflies, birds and Syke’s monkeys dancing about the thicket, the narrow paths winding between the excavated buildings are well worth exploring. The ruins are a reminder of the decadent cross-continental trade and diverse cultures of East Africa.

Historical significance

The thriving metropolis of Gedi once hosted a population of 2,500 people and flourished between the 12th and 16th centuries. While the oldest ruins of Gedi date between 1041 and 1278, many of the structures were rebuilt in the 15th century – evidence of an influx of inhabitants from surrounding villages and towns.

Little was known of this important Indian Ocean centre of trade outside of local lore until the early 1920s, when British colonists rediscovered the site, and it gained the attention of the British East African government. This set in motion its declaration as a national monument in 1927 and excavations of the ruins in the 1940s.

Exploration and unearthing of ancient artefacts in Gedi, such as Venetian beads, Ming Dynasty and Islamic pottery, and Spanish scissors, led archaeologists to discover that the city was once a centre of trade and wealth. Evidence shows that the city traded with China, the Near East, Arabia, India and South-East Asia. What continues to mystify historians, however, is that despite these extensive trading activities, no written record of Gedi’s existence can be found before the 20th century. Stranger still is the remote location in a forest more than 5kms from a coast with poor anchorages – which would have proved impractical for traders from across the ocean. Nevertheless, Gedi maintained economic success, and all evidence points to its importance as a cross-continental trade hub.

As a centre for Swahili trade, it is likely that Gedi also exported gold, ivory, ebony, mangrove poles, copper, copal gum, frankincense, myrrh, crystal rock – and even slaves. While not much is known about the history of the slave trade in Gedi specifically, anecdotal evidence and lore point towards its prominence during the 18th century. Locals speak of caves near the ruins where slaves were kept before being sold and tunnels used for transport to the beaches. While East Africa was a late participant in the transatlantic slave trade, with the trade picking up towards the end of the 18th century, there is evidence of Muslim merchants trading slaves from East Africa with countries bordering the Indian Ocean as early as the 7th century. Given Gedi’s prominence as a trade city, its thriving economy, its position on the East Coast and mixed cultures, trading of slaves in Gedi was likely.

Gedi’s advanced developments set the city apart from many of its contemporary towns. These included sewage systems, lavatories, safe rooms, and formally structured streets on a grid system. In its heyday, the city likely ran on a mixed economy of livestock, agricultural and horticultural production, with certain food items also brought in through trade. Three mosques built in the north of the city indicate the adoption of Islam by Gedi’s inhabitants in the 12th century.

The town was divided by two walls, with an outer wall enclosing many mud-thatch dwellings and an inner wall surrounding the mosques and some houses. Various stone buildings in the city include a Sheikh’s palace, the aforementioned mosques, and coral-brick houses interspersed with mud-thatch houses. These structures point to a class-based division in the city structure, with elite inhabitants occupying the centre of the town, middle-class residents living in the interim division, and poorer residents living on the outskirts.

Cryptic findings from archaeological digs reveal an unexplained mass exodus from the city in the 17th century – a subject of much debate today. Evidence suggests this abandonment was due to Portuguese pressure at the time, which would have threatened trade and even led to armed incursions in the city. Added to this were the lingering menace from the Galla, a hostile nomadic ethnic group from Ethiopia, the Wazimba raids along the East African coast in 1589, and the removal of the Sheikh of Malindi in 1593. Signs that the well outside the mosque was deepened also point toward a struggle to access water – another possible reason that the site was eventually abandoned.

Exploring the city

The ruins of former structures at the site reflect Gedi’s intricate social and economic structure. Much of the remaining grid system and the remains of walls and various buildings can still be seen in the ruins today. The complex is large, but be sure to visit the inner walls of the city where the palace is found. Of interest is a dated coral tomb engraved with Arabic script.

The city is shrouded in mysticism, and you’ll likely hear whisperings from locals about ancestral spirits residing at Gedi. Many believe that the ruins are still protected by the spirits of the city’s former religious leaders. Local tradition says that the spirits will curse anyone who harms this site.

The site is within easy reach of the towns of Malindi and Watamu. There are few signposts with directions en route to the ruins, so it is essential to have adequate directions or a driver in the know to get you there.

Travellers can visit the ruins unaccompanied, hire a guide at the entrance, or take a guided tour from Malindi or Watamu – although it is highly recommended that you set a few hours aside for unabated exploration of this fascinating, otherworldly setting. The entrance fee does not include a guide. If you’d like to hear details of the area’s history, a guide is recommended, but exploring the ruins on your own at your pace can also be an enlightening experience (don’t forget to wear comfortable shoes and bring along some water!). There are a few signposts around the ruins that provide insight into the history of the area.

Find out about KENYA for your next African safari – find a ready-made safari or ask us to build one just for you.

Visitors to the ruins can also stop in at the Kipepeo Butterfly Project, which, through an innovative breeding programme of the forest butterflies, brings in income for the local community. Many of the items excavated from the ruins – including artefacts of trade – can be viewed in the museum on site. There is also a snake sanctuary at the ruins. The magical forest surrounds allow ample photographic opportunities for visitors.

Today, the importance of the Gedi Ruins is widely recognised. Under the care of the National Museums of Kenya, intense study of the area continues. The local community also helps maintain the ruins and benefits from tourism’s earnings. Allow a few hours for a visit: the trip to the Gedi Ruins is well worth the time and will bring to life a lost Swahili civilisation and the historical cultures of the East African coast.

Resources

Read about our CEO Simon’s experience walking the Gedi Ruins and Arabuko-Sokoke Forest.
For all there is to know about Arabuko-Sokoke Forest, read here.

THIS WEEK

This is a copy of our weekly email newsletter. Subscribe here to receive the newsletter.

Khwai wildlife action + surviving snares + mega safari

It’s no secret that the safari industry has been hammered by the Covid-19 pandemic. Although many lodges are now full, this is partly because of Covid-delayed bookings – which will also impact the 2023 season, although to a lesser extent. This means that safari planning for next year should be done sooner rather than later if you are travelling during the high season of June to September. Start the conversation now so we can plan an expertly tailored African adventure just for you.

Speaking of heading out on that much-anticipated safari, our talented Photographer of the Year 2022 winners have just returned from their well-deserved trip to Khwai Private Reserve, Botswana. Our CEO Simon accompanied the travellers and has returned with tales of non-stop wildlife action, predator sightings and elephant antics. Read Simon’s trip report on the incredible wildlife encounters experienced by the group, complete with stunning pictures from a few of the attendees. Not to be missed in our first story below.

Our second story delves into the effects of human-wildlife conflict on lions and leopards in the Luangwa and Kafue regions in Zambia. Scientists examining the skulls of trophy-hunted lions and leopards from these areas have detected old injuries from snares and shotguns. The alarming quantity of incidents picked up by the scientists shows that the occurrence of snare entanglement for the big cats, as well as other run-ins with humans, greatly surpasses previous estimates. Read more below.

Happy celebrating Africa!

Taryn van Jaarsveld – Editor

Story 1
https://africageographic.com/stories/wall-to-wall-wildlife-khwai-private-reserve/
WILDLIFE ACTION
Khwai Private Reserve in Botswana offers non-stop wildlife action. Our Photographer of the Year finalists visited the reserve for an epic experience

Story 2
https://africageographic.com/stories/human-wildlife-conflict-the-ones-that-got-away-from-snares-and-shotguns/
SURVIVING SNARES
Scientists can now detect injuries from snares & shotguns on trophy-hunted lions & leopards – quantifying the extent of previously unreported human-wildlife conflict

From our Scientific Editor – Jamie Paterson

Wednesday, the 28th of September, was World Rabies Day. We (students of the Faculty of Veterinary Science) spent the day in an urban township called Soshanguve, just north of Pretoria, vaccinating community dogs and raising awareness about this fatal disease. It was an immensely enriching experience and a vital initiative conducted in conjunction with the Gauteng Department of Agriculture and Rural Development.

Did you know that infectious diseases – including rabies and canine distemper – transmitted by domestic dogs are one of the primary threats facing African wild dog (painted wolf) populations across the continent? Vaccination campaigns of rural domestic dogs may be time-consuming and expensive, but their conservation value cannot be overstated – they are the ONLY effective tool for controlling these viruses. They save animal and human lives.

If you want to contribute to the process, download our app and seamlessly donate to African Wildlife Vets.

TRAVEL DESK UPDATES:

There’s no better time than now to book your next adventure. October-November is a great time to embark on your safari: the rains have not yet arrived, the crowds have left, wildlife encounters are numerous and exploring all that the continent has to offer will be a delight. Whether you prefer a few days in a watery paradise, or a mega trip traversing multiple countries, we’ve got the handmade package for you:

Okavango Delta safari – 4 days: This brief safari is a great introduction to the lush wilderness of the Okavango. Glide down the complex network of waterways on a mokoro (water level dependant), spot the Big 5 while on game drives and enjoy spectacular birdwatching. Choose between a budget, mid-range or luxury option – there’s something for everyone!

Southern Africa mega safari – 19 days: This iconic southern African safari is the ultimate bucket-list adventure, covering three countries: Visit Greater Kruger, Cape Town and the winelands in South Africa, Khwai Community Concession and Chobe National Park in Botswana, and Victoria Falls in Zimbabwe – for a decadent once-in-a-lifetime trip.

WATCH: They’re small, cute and rather special – rock hyraxes, also known as dassies. This thrilling documentary about the lives of dassies on the South African coastline has it all: territorial disputes and declarations of war, romance and love songs, playful youngsters and raunchy teenagers, narrow escapes and hard lessons (51:39). Click here to watch

Wall-to-wall wildlife – Khwai Private Reserve

The action within meters of us was so intense, so absorbing, that now and then, we had to rest the eyes and recalibrate brains that had lapsed into states of catatonic bliss. But more about that later. My wife and I spent almost a week in August 2022 with our Photographer of the Year 2022 winners in Botswana’s Khwai Private Reserve. These few words do scant justice to the experience, and the images below go a bit further.

Our first game drive yielded a hunting party of seven wild dogs (African painted wolves) in the fading light and then a relaxed serval that sat within meters of us, paws neatly tucked in like a chilled house cat – great harbingers of things to come in our sojourn to paradise. The following morning found us parked off for hours under a massive camelthorn tree; a leopard seductively draped over a gnarled branch; legs and tail dangling. On the way back to the lodge for lunch, we bumped into a haggard one-eyed male lion – still recovering from a sound beating he recently took from pretenders to his throne. The three large intruders were still trawling the area, and our vanquished leader’s two coalition partners, eight lionesses and eight cubs, had fled. We also bumped into a leopardess and her two tiny cubs on a few occasions. The final sighting of her was sans cubs as she rested on a low-hanging bare branch in the dark of night before indulging us with a few yoga poses, sliding down the tree and strolling haughtily past us and into the night. Our photographers filled many an SD card and drained their batteries that night …

But enough about the game drives along the lush water channels that so define this eastern fringe of the Okavango Delta. What draws me to this place at the height of the dry season is the two underground photographic hides on the dry east side of Khwai Private Reserve – close to Chobe National Park (there are no fences). I have spent many hours in these hides armed with only a mobile phone and binoculars – absorbing every detail as wild Africa reveals her riches, exuberance and moods. At this time of year, there is a constant stream of big male elephants that arrive from near and far. These big boys move between Botswana, Zimbabwe, Namibia and Zambia in search of food, water and mating opportunities.

And so, this year, our group of photographic winners and their partners headed to Khwai to witness what is undoubtedly one of Africa’s best elephant experiences. These gentle giants slurp, jostle and rumble a few meters away – so close that sometimes all you can see are legs, bellies and that other large bit. It’s fascinating to see the various characters amongst the bulls and how some are respected more than others. Sometimes the water clears entirely of elephants on the arrival of an individual elephant with a confident swagger and gangster attitude.

Our winners often grabbed their expensive equipment as water sprayed into the hide while behemoths barged and sloshed outside. I spent a fair bit of time outside the hides, a few meters from the elephants but protected by a pile of logs, and on several occasions, observed them watching the humans through the hide slots as they sprayed the water into the hide. Make of that what you will.

And in-between the forest of grey legs, we also spotted gangs of banded mongoose, warthogs, impalas, emerald-spotted wood doves and Burchell’s sandgrouse trying their luck.

See our Botswana safari special offers below these epic images.

Khwai underground hide — One of two underground photographic hides in Khwai Private Reserve

The east-facing photographic hides accommodate up to 6 photographers on comfortable padded chairs. The hides are underground and so cool inside – a pleasant difference to rising outside temperatures at this time of year. The best time to see large numbers of elephants is from August to November (before the first rains) from late morning onwards as they arrive to drink in the heat of the day. The two hides are a 10-minute game drive from Sky Beds ( a must-do experience) and 40 minutes from Hyena Pan Lodge (another immersive elephant destination). The area is dominated by mopane and Kalahari apple-leaf woodland and scrub – and supports good eland, roan and sable antelope populations.

Perhaps the images below will go some way in illustrating what our exuberant group experienced during our time in Khwai Private Reserve. Though we all agreed that words and pictures did not adequately describe the mind-numbing underground hide experience.

leopard in Khwai — We were fortunate to spend time with this large female leopard as she enjoyed a late morning snooze

Elephants in Khwai — Close-up photos captured from the underground hides

Sky Beds in Khwai — Tower-top accommodation for sleeping under the stars at Sky Beds

Leopard cub — A leopard cub pauses to engage with us. Its sibling and mom were nearby but invisible

Incredible opportunities for abstract wildlife shots at Khwai’s underground hides; Our 2022 Photographer of the Year Alex Brackx and his wife Karen enjoying a mokoro outing

Battle scarred lion — This vanquished pride male displays his battle scars

Meyer's parrot — A Meyer’s parrot poses for its portrait

Elephant at underground hide — A muddy traipse through the waterhole by one of the behemoths, captured by the photographer at eye-level

Birds of Khwai — A coppery-tailed coucal soaks up the first rays of the day, and an Africa barred owlet in late-afternoon sunlight

Leopard — The mother leopard encountered several times during our safari resting on a low-hanging branch, without her cubs

Bull elephants put on a display at the waterhole

Lodges we stayed at

Little Sable
This stylish camp in Khwai Private Reserve has eight canvas tents that each overlook a floodplain and beyond to the tree-lined bank of the deep Sable Alley water channel. The camp has a cosy feel, with privacy ensured by tall trees that also keep the tents in shade. Game-drive action starts the minute you leave the camp, and mokoro explorations of the waterways are just a short drive away.

Hyena Pan
Eight canvas tents in the shade of cathedral mopane trees look over a large waterhole that teems with elephants and other wildlife. This camp has a slightly eclectic feel – with a laid-back vibe. Set in the dry deciduous woodland back-country, this camp is best located to enjoy the underground photo hides and Sky Beds. Game drives will take you to the wildlife-rich water channels and floodplains of Sable Alley.

Sky Beds
This unique camp comprises three wooden ‘towers’ set far apart, with a central unit to enjoy meals and sundowners. Each tower has a middle-story rest room with shower and toilet and an upper-story bedroom open to the stars – making this a ‘million-star’ experience! The sky beds look over a waterhole popular with elephants, lions and other wildlife.

Human-wildlife conflict: The ones that got away from snares and shotguns

Human-wildlife conflict is an ever-growing threat to wildlife (and people) in Africa. Scientists from the Zambia Lion Project at the University of California examining the skulls of lions and leopards have found that simple forensic methods can improve the detection of previous non-lethal injuries from snares and shotguns.

Quantifying the extent of human-wildlife conflict is challenging for conservationists and policymakers, as many incidents go undetected and unreported. Mortality of animals is usually used to estimate its effects on wildlife, but this approach fails to include non-lethal injuries, which are difficult to detect. As a result, the potential for underestimation is high. Notably, this new research found definitive evidence of snare entanglement that greatly surpassed the previous estimates for the Luangwa and Kafue regions in Zambia. The researchers also discovered that nearly a third of the examined male lions had old shotgun-pellet injuries to their skulls.

These findings came from the forensic examination of the skulls and teeth of 112 trophy-hunted lions and 45 trophy-hunted leopards that lived in Zambia between 2000 and 2012. Researchers noticed unnatural wear marks on the teeth and, by comparison with evidence from pumas, foxes and coyotes, were able to conclude that these marks were made by biting and pulling on wire snares. The grooves left behind on the teeth are distinctive and distinguishable from natural tooth wear. Snares can have a devastating effect on both individual animals and the ecology of an area due to their indiscriminate nature and capacity for severe injury and suffering. For carnivores, the impact of snares is two-fold: depleting their natural supply of prey and causing potentially lethal injuries.

Using this method (along with other physical evidence such as characteristic scarring), the researchers found that 37% of the male lions and 22% of the leopards survived being snared and escaped during their lifetimes. Similarly, close examination of some of the skulls revealed evidence of shotgun injuries. In some cases, the pellets were still embedded in the skulls. In others, characteristic circular indentations, metal marks and bony inflammation associated with lead made these injuries easy to distinguish. 27% of the studied lion skulls had these injuries (none were found in the leopard skulls). While poachers do use shotguns, local community members may also fire shotguns to scare off carnivores without the intention of harming or killing them. However, the buckshot has the potential to cause serious injury and with the added concern of future lead poisoning.

16% of the lions from Kafue National Park and 7% from the Luangwa Valley had previously survived both snares and shotgun injuries. While it is conjecture, the researchers suggest several possible scenarios where one injury may have occasioned the other. For example, a snare injury could compromise a lion’s hunting ability, leading them to seek easier livestock prey and increasing their risk of encountering humans and being hazed with buckshot.

Interestingly, researchers concluded that the incidents of anthropogenic injuries to wild animals were higher in the Kafue region than in Luangwa. They had expected to find the opposite, as Luangwa has higher human population densities than Kafue, and poaching and human-wildlife conflict are generally more prevalent near human settlements. One possible reason is that anti-poaching and incentive programmes were more intensive and widespread in Luangwa, with an increased risk of detection due to anti-poaching programmes and higher tourist densities. However, it shows that human population size is not necessarily an accurate predictor of human-wildlife conflict, and there may be many more complex nuances.

Understanding and quantifying human-wildlife conflict is of vital importance to the survival and well-being of both Africa’s wildlife and people, as well as analysing the effectiveness of mitigation strategies. Through relatively simple forensic techniques, the authors of this new study were able to reveal more “cryptic” poaching and incidents of conflict between people and animals. They recommend that standardised photographs of the skulls and teeth of all live-captured or hunted carnivores be taken as a matter of course to aid scientific investigations.

Resources

The full study can be accessed at: White, PA., Van Valkenburgh, B., (2022) “Low-Cost Forensics Reveal High Rates of Non-lethal Snaring and Shotgun Injuries in Zambia’s Large Carnivores“, Frontiers in Conservation Science, 3.455

THIS WEEK

Can you feel it? Tell us about your dream safari – and we’ll turn it into reality

This is a copy of our weekly email newsletter. Subscribe here to receive the newsletter.

Ancient forest + nocturnal elephants

There is a plant so rare that it OCCURS ONLY on one rocky hilltop near my hometown. Nowhere else on the planet. Its human-given name is Encephalartos dyerianos – the Lillie cycad. Its numbers have been reduced to critically endangered levels by poachers – fueled by collectors and gardeners who feel that this prehistoric beauty should feature in their private collections rather than where nature intended. Go figure.

Anyway, two days ago, I hiked to the top of that hill and communed with these giants. I was accompanied by a small team of HEROES – anti-poaching folk who dedicate their lives (literally) to keeping rhinos safe. And cycads. The excellent news is that there is a plan being developed to ensure the safety in the wild of the remaining Lillie cycads. More about that later, once the ink is dry.

Elsewhere, South Africa’s Minister of the Environment et al has ordered sardine-fishing companies to CEASE FISHING in the vicinity of the last remaining African penguin colonies. The ban is temporary until all scientific input has been evaluated. Competition for food is thought to be among the pressures contributing to the decline of the African penguin population over the last century from more than a million breeding pairs to about 10,000 pairs. Hopefully, we will see more brave, far-sighted decisions like this from other people in positions of power.

Keep the passion

Simon Espley – CEO, Africa Geographic

From our Editor – Taryn van Jaarsveld

This week we are taking you on a journey to one of Kenya’s best-kept secrets: the Arabuko-Sokoke Forest. This ancient and almost eldritch forest, just inland from the small beach town of Watamu, is filled with weird, wonderful and endangered creatures found nowhere else on earth. The forest is a must-visit for naturalist and adventurers alike. Read our first story below to find out what makes this coastal forest so special.

New research shows that Chobe elephants are so affected by human farming activities, that they have learnt how to change their activity patterns to reduce risk of human encounters. Scientists found that Chobe’s intuitive elephants moved through the wildlife corridors in agricultural landscapes almost exclusively at night. Read more about this fascinating study in our second story below.

Happy celebrating Africa to you all!

Story 1
https://africageographic.com/stories/arabuko-sokoke-forest/
ANCIENT FOREST
Kenya’s magical Arabuko-Sokoke Forest, home to endangered creatures found nowhere else on earth, is a birder’s dream

Story 2
https://africageographic.com/stories/elephants-that-creep-in-the-dark-how-elephants-distinguish-between-human-activities/
SAVVY ELEPHANTS
Chobe elephants have learnt how to change their activity patterns to reduce risk of human encounters – new research

From our Scientific Editor – Jamie Paterson

I have some good news about the environment! (Yes, you read that correctly.) Did you know that the ozone layer in the atmosphere is gradually recovering and may even be fully repaired in the next 40 years?

It has been 35 years since humanity took the necessary action to phase out the use of chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs – chemicals once used in refrigerators and aerosols). These were burning holes in our ozone – the stratosphere layer responsible for shielding our planet from much of the Sun’s UV rays. Since peak levels of the early 1990s, the quantities of CFCs and other ozone-depleting gases in the mid-latitude stratosphere have fallen over 50%.

It just goes to show what rapid action can achieve…

Artsy Safari

Travel client Christine recently visited Kambaku Safari Lodge, Timbavati Private Nature Reserve, for an AG safari with pro-artist, Alison Nicholls:

“You know a trip has been great when you are sad to see it end and are already thinking about the next one shortly after. Alison’s art safari helped me reconnect with my art in an inspiring and joyful way. With Alison’s expert advice I noticed an improvement in my sketches on day one and learnt how to better observe wildlife to translate what I was seeing onto my page. The daily drives helped hone my ability to capture what I was seeing quickly, and to feel more comfortable using watercolour to sketch.

The accommodation at Kambaku was amazing – as was the food, and hospitality of the lodge staff. The AG team were also great to work with. They were very responsive and helpful with all my questions and travel logistics to ensure a positive trip. I’m so glad I signed up for this memorable experience that I will always remember. ”

WATCH: The largest overland migration in the world has reached the Mara River and The Greatest Show on Earth – the crossing and recrossing of the river by the wildebeest herds – is in full swing at the moment. (43:13). Click here to watch

Click here to book a safari to see this with your own eyes.

Arabuko-Sokoke Forest

Kenya is renowned for her sweeping plains and savannas bursting to the brim with iconic animals. Yet she still has a few well-kept secrets to which only a fortunate few are privy. One such secret is the Arabuko-Sokoke Forest – an ancient and almost eldritch forest filled with weird, wonderful and endangered creatures found nowhere else on earth.

Arabuko-Sokoke Forest

The Arabuko-Sokoke Forest is the largest remaining fragment of dry coastal forests that once stretched along a significant portion of the East African coastline. Situated just inland of the small beach town of Watamu, the 416km² (41,600 ha) forest lies 180km north of Mombasa, between Malindi and Kilifi. Within the Arabuko-Sokoke Forest Reserve, a tiny percentage of the total area is gazetted as the Arabuko-Sokoke National Park in the north-western corner.

The forest is a naturalist’s dream, an ornithologist’s delight, and a lepidopterist’s playground. Once ranked by BirdLife International as the second most crucial forest for bird conservation in mainland Africa, it is home to over 230 bird species. Six are globally threatened species, some endemic to the forest and surroundings. Six groups of butterflies endemic to the East African coast bejewel the leafy pathways and seasonal pools in shades of emerald, gold and cerulean. And the undergrowth shelters two unique little mammals, along with an assortment of tiny antelope and secretive predators.

Temperatures along Kenya’s coast can be sweltering at times, but beneath the towering boughs and thick canopies of Arabuko-Sokoke, this forest of rare riches offers a cool, shaded refuge for its unusual inhabitants. Three different types of forest predominate. Mixed forest typified by diverse tree flora extends across the wetter coastal sands in the east, while the Brachystegia (miombo) forests occupy the drier white sands in the forest’s centre. Finally, dense Cynometra occupies the majority of the forest on the red sands of the western edge of the park.

Elephants to elephant shrews

Arabuko-Sokoke is home to herds of buffalo and elephant, restricted to a smaller section of the park by an electric fence to reduce human-wildlife conflict along the densely populated fringes of the forest. The buffalo are shy, and encounters are rare, but elephant sightings are a more regular occurrence, particularly during the dry season when the herds gather around the remaining water points.

However, most visitors to the forest are in search of far smaller and unusual creatures. One of the forest’s flagship species is a tiny animal known as the golden-rumped sengi, or elephant shrew. These distinctive animals are the largest elephant shrew species, with long, prehensile noses and brightly-coloured rumps that are undeniably endearing. Classified as ‘Endangered’ on the IUCN Red List, 90% of their known population is found in Arabuko-Sokoke Forest. The endemic Sokoke bushy-tailed mongoose is a little shier and seldom seen, as is the near-endemic Ader’s duiker (found only in Arabuko-Sokoke and Zanzibar).

Other notable mammal species include caracal, African civet, blue, red and common duiker, Garnetts and Zanzibar bushbaby, aardvark, Sykes’ monkey, yellow baboon and red-bellied and red-legged sun squirrel. Some even believe the forest is home to the elusive African golden cat, and recent camera trap projects have revealed that leopards occasionally move through the region.

A visit during the rainy seasons will reveal an array of frog species, including the Bunty’s dwarf toad, marbled shovel-snout and common squeaker, often broadcast only by their vocal contribution to the robust forest choir. Far more silent are the various reptiles such as chameleons, monitors, tropical girdled and green keel-bellied lizards, a myriad snakes and tortoises.

Birders abound

Arabuko-Sokoke may be one of Kenya’s best-kept secrets, but it has long been a bucket-list destination for birders worldwide. The adorable Sokoke scops owl, in its many varied colour forms, is a highly localised scops owl found only here, in the Dakatcha woodlands in Kenya and the Manga and Kwamgumi forest reserves in lowland Tanzania. The endangered Clarke’s weaver is even more restricted, and this distinctive bird lives exclusively in Arabuko-Sokoke and the Dakatcha woodlands to the south. Forest birding may be challenging, but Sokoke pipits, East Coast akalats, spotted ground thrushes and Amani sunbirds make the aching neck and tired feet well worth it. These species are all also globally threatened, with limited distributions that include the forests of Arabuko-Sokoke.

The reserve also encompasses the banks and mangrove forests of tidal Mida Creek, where visitors can spend time in bird hides watching the antics of the flamingos, crab-plovers, storks, plovers, whimbrels and herons.

The wood for the trees

Arabuko-Sokoke is all that remains of what was once a vast forested region. While it is now under the dual protective management of the Kenya Forest and Wildlife Services, the forest is still threatened. Illegal charcoal burning and harvesting continue to damage the fragile forest ecosystem significantly.

Fortunately, dedicated organisations and individuals are working hard to improve relations with neighbouring communities and ensure that benefits from increased tourism reach those living alongside the forest.

Explore & Stay

Arabuko-Sokoke Forest can be explored by road and on foot, but the company of an experienced guide is essential to unpack the forest’s secrets. Not only do they know all the favoured hiding spots of the scops owls and the sengis, but the forest comes alive under their expert and intimate knowledge of the fauna and flora. For those with a yen for a longer hike, a trip to the Nyari Cliffs offers breath-taking views over the canopy, Mida Creek and the glistening Indian Ocean.

The forest is within easy reach of both the bustling beachside metropolis of Malindi and the more intimate and colourful Watamu, where guests can enjoy the best aspects of this section of East Africa’s coastline. There is an endless variety of accommodation options ranging from backpackers to high-end villas, but there are also cheap campsites inside the forest for those looking for a break from the excitement (and some shade). The historical Ruins of Gedi in the northernmost section of the forest also offer a fascinating glimpse into the history of the East African coast, one of the continent’s most decadent trade and cultural melting pots.

The historical Ruins of Gedi can be viewed in the northernmost section of the forest

The forest is accessible year-round, though storms are expected during the “long rains” of April and May, and it may be quite humid during the “short rains” of October and November.

Arabuko-Sokoke Forest is a global biodiversity hotspot, characterised by high levels of endemism and seeped in a sense of mysticism. From birds to beasties and everything in between, it is the perfect complement to a safari in the Maasai Mara or Tsavo National Park for a complete appreciation of the astonishing variety of life on display in Kenya.

Want to go on a safari to Arabuko-Sokoke Forest? To find lodges, search for our ready-made packages or get in touch with our travel team, scroll down to after this story.

Resources

Read about our CEO Simon’s experience walking the Gedi Ruins and Arabuko-Sokoke Forest.

For a first-hand account, have a look at Kenya’s magical forest – the Arabuko-Sokoke.

Elephants that creep in the dark – how elephants distinguish between human activities

Under cover of darkness, an elephant cow leads her herd through a wildlife corridor surrounded by crop fields… The herd of elephants moves silently through the human-dominated landscape, opting for the secrecy afforded by nocturnal passage. In fact, they are so affected by human farming activities that they will not pass this way during the daylight hours. This is according to a new study comparing elephant activity times and the use of wildlife corridors depending on the type of human development surrounding them.

The research conducted by Elephants Without Borders used data from 2012 to 2019 to investigate the impact of human pressures on elephants. The study compares six wildlife corridors in the Chobe District in northern Botswana in two vastly different human-dominated landscapes. The first was the townships of Kasane and Kazungula, while the second was the farming villages of the Chobe Enclave along the Chobe River floodplain.

Using motion-triggered cameras, scientists found that elephants moved through the wildlife corridors in agricultural landscapes almost exclusively at night, between the hours of 18:00 and 06:00. Their use periods overlapped with those of humans by just 9.1% and were not affected by crop season (suggesting that crop raiding was not the motivation). By contrast, those travelling through the urban areas were less obviously selective about their activity timings, overlapping with those of humans by 26.8%.

This research is consistent with previous research indicating that elephants change their activity patterns to reduce the risk of human encounters in a human-dominated landscape. However, the urban-activity patterns of this new research stand out. As lead author Dr Tempe Adams explains, these findings are remarkable because they show that elephants appear to distinguish different types of human developments associated with diverse risk levels and adjust their behaviours accordingly.

Research such as this becomes important as increasing human development creates more isolated islands of ever-shrinking wild habitats. Wildlife corridors connecting these remaining wilderness areas are now an essential management tool in conserving many iconic species. These corridors allow access to seasonal resources, dispersal (and associated genetic diversity) and increased resilience to changing environmental conditions. However, planning future corridors and ensuring their maintenance cannot take place without a comprehensive understanding of how different land uses and human pressures (and seasonal variations) impact how and when wild animals use these corridors.

As this research shows, the elephants of Chobe appear to have learnt how to assess human risk and mitigate their chances of an antagonistic encounter with humans. Their activity patterns differ based on surrounding human land-use on an hourly and daily basis.

Resources

Adams T.S.F., Leggett K.E.A, Chase, M.J. & Tucker M. (2022). Who is adjusting to whom? Differences in elephant diel activity in wildlife corridors across different human-modified landscapes, Frontiers in Conservation

Read more about the importance of wildlife corridors here.

THIS WEEK

This is a copy of our weekly email newsletter. Subscribe here to receive the newsletter.

??? Gorilla trekking + Mozambican beach bliss + miniature owls

Things that go bump in the night. So Lizz and I were lying awake in bed, listening to what sounded like a football game in the ceiling. Then, at first light, we spied a tree squirrel exiting the roof carrying a tiny baby bundle to safety. The genets are back, or perhaps it’s a rock monitor – both regularly raid our ceiling area for squirrel snacks. Whenever the genets are in residence our two Jack Russells are on high nocturnal alert as the genets comb the verandah for frogs and insects amongst the cushions. We call it ‘genet TV’ – the dogs watch spellbound as these beautiful lithe predators work the area on the other side of glass sliding doors – barely a meter away. On one occasion, a small-spotted genet touched noses through the glass with our entranced dogs – a surreal moment.

Two days ago, the foam nest frogs in the garden were croaking at each other – usually a sign of incoming rain. At the height of our dry season – surely not? Yesterday it rained, albeit briefly.

Life is good. Love it.

Keep the passion

Simon Espley – CEO, Africa Geographic

TRAVEL DESK UPDATES:

Keen to end your year on a high? We’re here to help, so email us your wishes and let’s craft your dream summer safari!

Or, look at the two options below and tell us how to adapt them to suit you. Your wish is our command 😉

BEACH BLISS
It’s time to SPOIL YOURSELF and recharge those batteries.
There is no better destination than Mozambique’s pristine beaches and warm ocean. This 8-day SPECIAL OFFER is the ultimate in exclusive barefoot luxury. Bliss!

MARA, WITHOUT THE CROWDS
The migrating herds have left, and so have the high-season crowds. What remains are the big cats, hyenas, elephants and other resident species. Expect Maasai Mara magic and relatively few other tourists also in on this secret. This 6-day package is well-priced and popular with regular Mara visitors.

From our Editor – Taryn van Jaarsveld

Spring has well and truly sprung and the chill has finally dissolved from the Johannesburg air. And the energy in the AG office is electric, with our travel team vigorously sending adventurers off to their long-awaited journeys across the continent.

In celebration of epic African journeys, this week we’ve published a first-hand account of a once-in-a-lifetime trek through Bwindi Impentetrable Forest. Ryan Biller recently visited Uganda for a long-awaited chance to come face-to-face with mountain gorillas. His experience did not disappoint. Ryan also spent time with the people of Buhoma Village, who play an integral part in the conservation of the forest and its inhabitants – and captured some striking portraits. Check out our first story below.

In our second story, Jamie has penned a tribute to the littlest of enigmatic creatures – the miniature owls of Africa. From the scops-owl to white-faced owls and owlets, these tiny birds of prey are some of the most charisimatic avian residents of the continent. Click through below for all there is to know about these small endearing owl species.

Happy celebrating Africa!

Story 1
https://africageographic.com/stories/walking-with-gorillas/
MY GORILLA TREK
Trekking through the ancient rainforests of Bwindi, Uganda to find mountain gorillas brings Ryan Biller face-to-face with a childhood dream

Story 2
https://africageographic.com/stories/the-miniature-owls-of-africa/
MINIATURE OWLS
Africa hosts a variety of miniature owls. From the scops-owl to white-faced owls & owlets, here’s the rundown of these small, endearing birds

From our Scientific Editor – Jamie Paterson

It is almost unanimously agreed that otters are one of the cutest animals. Perhaps the only dissenters are those that have found themselves on the wrong end of their sharp teeth and powerful bites (though attacks on humans are unusual).

But did you know that giant otters the size of lions once roamed Ethiopia? Before you gloss over that fact, just stop for a minute and imagine an otter, with all its sinuous agility, that stands roughly as high as your waist and weighs 200kg. All predator, all teeth.

The fossils of Enhydriodon omoensis date back to between 3.5 and 2.5 million years ago – around the time our close relatives, the australopithecines, would have been wandering around. And isotype analysis of the otter’s teeth suggests they were land-based hunters. So what did they eat? I’ll leave that to your imagination.

WATCH: Witness cheetah mom Sita hunting a Thomson’s gazelle on the vast plains of the Maasai Mara, in this snippet from Disney’s African Cats. Just a taste of what you can expect on a Maasai Mara Secret Season adventure (see the travel desk above to book your own trip to experience the magic of Mara) (02:24). Click here to watch

The miniature owls of Africa

Owls are innately compelling animals. They haunt the world’s nights on silent wings, adorned in soft, subtle colours and filling the evenings with soft hoots or piercing whistles (or, in the case of the barn owl, heart-stopping screams). Yet while the larger owl species are somewhat awe-inspiring and majestic, the miniature owls of Africa are perhaps best set to capture the imagination. Of all of the continent’s charismatic avian residents, these minute little predators have the most astonishing array of anthropomorphic facial expressions. From wide-eyed curiosity or imperious judgement to surly irritation or steely fury, the smaller owl species are both endearing and oddly relatable.

What is small?

In fairness, this is a somewhat subjective judgement call for the Strigiformes species (owls), which range in size from the sparrow-sized elf owl (occuring in the southwestern United States and central Mexico) to the enormous Blakiston’s fish owl (native to China, Japan, and Russia) with a two-metre wingspan. However, for the purposes of this article, miniature/small owls are considered to be those under around 30cm (roughly 12 inches) in height. In Africa, that includes four different genera of owl: the scops-owls (Otus spp.), the owlets (Glaucidium spp.), the white-faced owls (Ptilopsis spp.) and the little owl (Athene noctua).

The small owls occupy a wide variety of habitats and very similar ecological niches, with a predominantly arthropod-based diet that may also extend to small mammals, birds, reptiles, and amphibians.

Scops-owls – the subtle and secretive

The Otus genus is the largest genus of owls, incorporating at least 58 species and thus comprising roughly 20% of the world’s 220-plus owl species. The scops-owls were once grouped together with the New World screech-owls (now reclassified as Megascops). While the evolutionary relationship has yet to be fully elucidated, the scops and screech-owls are believed to be closely related.

The scops-owls are entirely nocturnal, spending their days hidden in the trees and relying on the extraordinary camouflage afforded by their mottled grey or brown plumage. As a result, they are highly cryptic species and usually only revealed by their gentle “prrrp” call, a characteristic sound that epitomises the African night. Only those with exceptionally sharp eyes (or intimate knowledge of their favourite roosting sites) can spot scops-owls roosting during the day. And those that do succeed will probably find themselves subjected to a rather haughty glare.

African scops-owl is probably the best known and most widely distributed of the African scops species. As the smallest owl in southern Africa, they stand just 15–17cm tall (to put that into perspective, these little birds could fit into an average coffee mug). However, one of the most remarkable aspects of the Otus genus is their extraordinary diversity in various fragmented habitats. This applies in particular to the endemic species of the Indian Ocean archipelagos and islands but also isolated patches of forest in West, Central and East Africa.

There are endemic scops-owls in Madagascar, Seychelles, Pemba Island off East Africa, and Karthala, Mohéli and Anjouan Comoran islands (each considered a separate species named for their respective islands). São Tomé has a scops-owl, and a new species was discovered on the neighbouring island of Príncipe in 2016. On the mainland, the cinnamon-coloured sandy scops-owl is found throughout the tropical rainforests of Central and West Africa. The endangered Sokoke scops-owl occurs only in the scattered forests of coastal Kenya and lowland Tanzania. These fascinating birds were first identified in the Arabuko-Sokoke Forest Reserve near Watamu, Kenya, and are highly polymorphic, ranging in colour from a drab grey to rufous.

The Mascarene owls of Mauritius, Réunion and Rodrigues, now known to have been scops-owls, are all extinct.

The owlets – noisy and conspicuous

In North and South America, owls from the genus Glaucidium are known as pygmy owls, but in Africa and Asia, they are referred to as owlets. They are characterised by round heads, prominent brows, a conspicuous lack of ear tufts and bright yellow eyes. Many of the owlet species are active at dawn and dusk (and even throughout the day in winter), and their piercing call-and-response whistles are unmistakable. While still small, they are far more conspicuous than their scops-owl cousins and almost invariably attract the ire of other bird species that descend en masse to mob them.

The two most well-known and widely distributed species are the pearl-spotted owlet and the African barred owlet. The two are sympatric across most of their respective ranges and can be easily confused. The pearl-spotted owlet is slightly smaller, with distinct dark false eyespots on the back of its head, while the barring on the chest of the barred owlet is more well-defined than the soft and indistinct streaks of the pearl-spotted owlet. Other species include the Sjöstedt’s barred owlet of west-central Africa, the Albertine owlet endemic to the Albertine Rift and the pretty little red-chested owlet of West and Central Africa.

The white-faced owls – the shapeshifters

There are two members of the Ptilopsis genus, found only in Africa: the northern and southern white-faced owls. They are often incorrectly termed white-faced scops-owls, and, while there is a degree of similarity (ear tufts and mottled grey colouration), the scops-owls and white-faced owls belong to separate genera.

White-faced owls have interesting strategies when confronted with a potential threat. One approach is to spread their wings, puff out their plumage and hunch over in an intimidation display. Alternatively, they may adopt what is known as “concealment posture”. The owls draw themselves up tall, pull their feathers tight against their bodies, narrow their eyes and stretch up their ear tufts. The transformation is utterly remarkable and almost a little uncanny. Many owls, including scops-owls and screech-owls, have this ability, but the change in white-faced owls is theatrical. As the name “concealment posture” suggests, it is believed to help the owl look like a tree branch. It is especially disconcerting when a roosting pair is encountered, one completely normal and the other looking like what can only be described as an evil sorcerer in a children’s film.

Clockwise from top: A northern pygmy owl in Arizona, USA; southern white-faced owl; northern white-faced owl; African barred owlet; and pearl spotted owlet

The little owl – the mythologically wise

Finally, the little owl may be well-known in Europe and Asia, but few realise that its range extends to the northern fringes of the African continent. They are similar in appearance to the owlets and roughly the same size, but their ranges do not generally overlap.

The little owl is also sometimes called the owl of Minerva and was closely associated with goddesses Athena and Minerva in ancient Greek and Roman mythology. This link with the goddesses of wisdom may explain why the owl is often a symbol of wisdom and intelligence in Western cultures.

Would you like to do your bit for owl conservation in Africa?

Read about how you can support the EWT’s Birds of Prey Programme and their Owl Conservation and Research Project.

Also check out the invaluable work done by the Dullstroom Bird of Prey and Rehabilitation Centre.

Walking with gorillas

In Bwindi Impenetrable Forest, I find the jungle of my childhood imagination. This forest is so thick and tangled with vines that a T-rex could emerge from this expansive sea of green and I wouldn’t be surprised. The air hangs heavy with humidity, and pearls of dew glisten on the leaves against the early morning light, barely slipping through the canopy overhead. My heart is hammering the walls of my chest as our small team of Ugandan rangers, dressed in camouflage uniforms, leads us into the fable-like Bwindi Impenetrable Forest on a trekking expedition, in search of mountain gorillas.

Silent searching

The prospect of seeing mountain gorillas with my own eyes is what brings me to Uganda. To finally trek into the heart of this 25,000-year-old rainforest is enchanting in its own way, even before catching a mere whiff of the black-haired great apes that we are hoping to encounter. The forest itself is a living manifestation of the illustrated pages of dinosaur books I read as a kid. This primaeval forest is so dense and expansive that it appears prehistoric. It is no surprise that mountain gorillas have a preference for this tropical haven.

Tufts of rain clouds hang over the forest like ghosts, lending an eerie beauty. We trek onward, with our guide, Goreth Niyibizi, leading the way. As a sheen of sweat envelopes my face and I wave bugs from my forehead, Goreth and the other three rangers come to an abrupt stop. We obediently follow suit, anxiously peering over their shoulders and into the sea of green hoping that our sought-after primates are nearby. “Gorillas?” I whisper into Goreth’s ear, between panting and trying to catch my breath. She holds up an index finger and wags it at me. “No,” she breathes softly, her voice a notch above a whisper. “Not yet.”

We continue onward, our group numbering a mere nine people: Goreth, two other Ugandan trackers, a local porter, an armed escort, myself, my brother, my mother, and a traveller from Czechoslovakia – perfect for a family safari.

After walking for some time, the woman from Czechoslovakia quietly slips behind us and into the bushes, using it as a makeshift bathroom to relieve herself. She is quickly swallowed up into the undergrowth; she likely has more privacy in the forest than she has in many public restrooms back home. Moments later, a yelp emits from the swirl of vegetation. She staggers out of the bush, dishevelled with pants barely pulled up, a look of adrenaline-infused excitement on her face. A mother gorilla and her infant baby had sauntered past our Czech friend mid-stream. We’ve found the mountain gorillas. Or they’ve found us.

Face to face with the great apes

The ensuing moments are surreal, and will forever be etched into my memory. Up ahead of us, our trackers peer through the trees at a silverback, and behind us, the mother gorilla and her baby are now sitting three meters from us.

We all ogle the mother gorilla, who so gingerly, and with such care, cradles her baby – her maternal mannerisms human-like. We are, after all, 98% identical on a genetic level.

Any photographer knows that taking a photo is reflexive, as it usually is for me. But in this moment, I don’t want to experience these beings through the viewfinder and lens of my camera. It is a scene to be documented with the naked eye. I snap a few photos, careful not to detract from the encounter itself.

We spend an hour with a group of the great apes, crouched silently in the bushes, mouths gaping in awe, as we observe the silverback – a hulk of vegetarian muscle. His demeanour is protective, as with any good father, yet so incredibly gentle. We learn that this is the Mukiza gorilla family. Like a few gorilla families in Rwanda and Uganda, the Mukiza gorilla family has been habituated, meaning that they’re somewhat used to and familiar with the presence of people.

We watch as young gorillas – little bundles of thick fur – somersault through the undergrowth as they playfully wrestle each other. Mothers groom themselves and their tiny offspring as members of the group gnaw on the leafy greens all around them.

Though completely wild, the mountain gorillas seem unperturbed – even bored – by our presence. We keep a respectful distance, but the gorillas don’t mind us. We garner a vague interest from some of the young ones, but they are more infatuated with the challenge of climbing trees and tumbling around the forest floor. We occasionally receive a stare from the mighty silverback, likely gauging whether these strange, less hairy primates are any kind of threat. We earn his trust, and he graciously allows us to stay.

Conservation through collaboration

Many projected that mountain gorillas would be extinct by now – even the great Dian Fossey did. But thanks to intensive conservation efforts, the world’s mountain gorilla population is on the rise. We can thank rangers such as Goreth for being on the frontlines of defending these magnificent creatures and their remarkable homes. Another contributor to this is the collaborations formed linking tourism revenue, research, and communities. With all working together in conservation efforts, there is an incentive for those involved to protect the gorillas. Thanks to these collaborations, the IUCN conservation status of the species has been reduced from critically endangered to endangered.

Community members from Buhoma, a small village nestled against the very edge of the forest, play an integral role in conservation efforts. In turn, the community is dependent on revenue from tourism for income. Many of the park’s rangers and guides live in Buhoma Village. Their children go to school here, and a small health clinic nearby is funded by income generated by eco-tourism.

Another group of people who have settled within the vicinity of Buhoma are from the Batwa tribe – a tribe indigenous to the region, whose people once lived and sustained themselves entirely within the Bwindi Impenetrable Forest. When conservation efforts to protect the dwindling mountain gorilla population picked up steam, the Batwa people were evicted from the forest by authorities. Their removal was done on the grounds that resources in the forest are limited, and that infection and disease can be transferred between humans and the gorillas. Given that their survival previously depended on hunting and gathering in the forest, the Batwa have sacrificed much for the sake of the conservation of the great apes. The Batwa became conservation refugees and now live on a small parcel of land just outside Buhoma. Some can bring in an income through cultural tourism – by sharing their traditional rites and rituals with visitors through a ‘Batwa Experience’. Tourists can hear the music of the tribe, learn about their religion, skills in food gathering and hunting techniques, and interact with the tribe. But the move to evict the Batwa was a controversial one. Critics say authorities did not allocate enough space for resettlement or assist with employment and other basic needs.

While tourism brings invaluable income to the Buhoma and Batwa communities, there is still much work to develop these collaborations to benefit all parties. What is sure, though, is that the conservation of these gorillas would not have been possible without community involvement and collaboration.

It is a great privilege for tourists such as myself to be able to experience these amazing creatures in person. More work remains for the conservation of the gorillas and to build and sustain neighbouring communities, but there is no doubt hope for the future of these animals. Our planet is far better off with mountain gorillas and their rainforest homes like Bwindi than without.

WATCH: Interested to know more? Check out Ryan Biller’s documentary here: On the frontlines of great ape and rainforest conservation in Uganda

Resources

Bwindi is the fairy-tale forest we dreamed about as children; it is also where you can meet and spend time with gentle mountain gorillas. Read more here.

Keen to learn more about mountain gorillas? Get to know these creatures better.

The mountain gorilla is the only great ape with an increasing population despite continuous pressure on its habitat. Check out the population stats here.

THIS WEEK

This is a copy of our weekly email newsletter. Subscribe here to receive the newsletter.

Where to safari now + understanding snakes + Pongola’s elephant crisis

Just back from hosting our 2022 Photographer of the Year winners in Khwai Private Reserve, Botswana. We relished epic wildlife encounters, enjoyed superb hospitality from our hosts, and forged life-long friendships. I have never laughed so much while on safari as I did with this crew. Thanks to you all. Expect my report back in the coming months. But there is also a contemplative side to this note.

After 6 action-packed days with the winners, Lizz and I headed off for 4 days of bliss in Selinda Reserve and were again blown away by the experience. This got me thinking …

About the role that brave safari lodge pioneers like Colin Bell of Natural Selection (our hosts in Khwai) and Dereck & Beverly Joubert of Great Plains (our hosts in Selinda) play when they invest patient, long-term capital into these wilderness areas to generate sustainable, responsible revenue streams for local communities and stable ecosystems for wildlife. Often these landscapes have been abused by former occupants, and it takes years for the wildlife to recover and gain confidence in a human presence. The costs are significant and, let’s face it, tourism does not generate the steady cash flow that investors in mines, banks and technology companies enjoy. They are, of course, supported by a host of people – including their families, colleagues and investors – but what makes these eco-warriors so special is their grit and determination to make a difference. These businesses survive pandemics, presidents and the trials and tribulations of operating in remote, wild areas. There are others, like Beks Ndlovu of African Bush Camps, all of whom play this essential trail-blazing role. Many lodge owners survive the storms without access to large pools of capital – I bow my head to you all.

What can you do to support these safari pioneers? I think you know the answer – my team is standing by for your enquiry.

Keep the passion

Simon Espley – CEO, Africa Geographic

From our Editor – Taryn van Jaarsveld

This week we’re celebrating the most remarkable of creatures: snakes. Whether you squirm at the thought of encountering snakes or harbour a deep respect for these marvels of natural engineering, you’ll find an appreciation for serpents when delving into our exploration of these complex predators in our first story.

When is the best safari season in Africa? The vast African continent straddles the equator and six time zones – meaning profoundly differing vegetation, climates and topography. This also means that there is always a good safari season in Africa. We’ve put together a go-to guide for your safari in September, October and November. Check it out in our third story below.

Some time ago, we published an op-ed by Malcolm Thomson on Pongola Game Reserve’s elephant management crisis. Conservationists Pete Ruinard and Paul Cryer have penned a thought-provoking response to this op-ed, unpacking some of the issues at play. Our second story is well worth the read for those seeking to understand the complexities of elephant-population management.

Happy celebrating Africa!

From our Scientific Editor – Jamie Paterson

Fads are a human thing, right? We’ve seen ineffective diets, horrendous fashions, and stupid social media challenges all come and go.

But did you know that orcas seem to follow fads? Recently, pods of orcas have taken to breaking the rudders off boats around the European coast, and no one is quite sure why. They aren’t hurting anyone, just engaging in some minor property damage.

Is that a fad? Well, maybe, maybe not, but it’s not the first time orcas have been observed copying each other. In the summer of 1987, one female took to wearing a dead salmon as a hat. In the blink of an eye, the rest of her pod followed, and soon, several other pods did as well. Then salmon went out of fashion, and they all stopped…The orca equivalent of the tide-pod challenge?

Story 1
https://africageographic.com/stories/snakes-everything-you-need-to-know/
UNDERSTANDING SNAKES
Admired and feared, snakes are marvels of natural engineering, behaviour & movement. Here’s everything you need to know to understand snakes

Story 2
https://africageographic.com/stories/pongolas-elephant-management-crisis-a-different-perspective/
ELEPHANT CRISIS
Pongola Game Reserve faces an elephant management crisis. Paul Cryer & Pete Ruinard provide a different perspective on the challenges at hand

Story 3
https://travel.africageographic.com/when-to-go-on-safari
SAFARI SEASONS
When is the best safari season in Africa?

TRAVEL DESK UPDATES:

OK, so the prime safari season is in full swing. You may have missed out this year but still long for a little bush time during the coming festive season. We’re here to help!

Planning a festive season safari takes more experience and precision than the sure-thing prime safari season of June to August – because of the arrival of summer rains and what this means for wildlife movement. So what to do, where to go?

We recommend the following:

Take advantage of lower ‘green / secret’ season rates that some lodges offer ⛺
Focus on seasonal natural events at this time of year – like the migration of bats in Kasanka (Zambia), zebras in the salt pans of Botswana and wildebeest in Serengeti (Tanzania)
Bulk up on your bird list by ticking off the numerous avian summer migrants
End your bushveld safari with a spot of beach time. Did someone say strawberry daiquiris?

teamAG is on standby for your questions and to bring your festive season wishlist to life 🙂

Snapping away in Botswana

The winners of Photographer of the Year 2022 have just returned from their safari in Khwai Private Reserve, Botswana, where they stayed at Natural Selection’s Little Sable and Hyena Pan camps, and Skybeds. Runner Up Geo Cloete joined the trip, and writes:

“A HUGE thank you to the sponsors! It sure was a trip that dreams are made of. With so many new lifetime memories created, it will take a good amount of time to process them all and file them in the ‘it really happened’ folder.
An equally big thank you to Africa Geographic! The professionalism and passion with which Simon and his team ensure their clients enjoy the best of the best is truly admirable!

I celebrate all the beauty of the last seven days and will treasure it for the rest of my life. The gourmet meals, the beautiful people who became friends and undoubtedly the stars of the trip, and the African wildlife. May we continue to strive to secure a bright future for them all for generations to come.”

WATCH: Watch a rare and tense encounter between an elusive brown hyena and two spotted hyenas at a waterhole in Madikwe Game Reserve, captured by Jamala Madikwe (02:02). Click here to watch

Pongola’s elephant management crisis: a different perspective

Update 20 January 2023: There has been an increase in the number of human-wildlife conflict incidents on the eastern shores of Jozini Dam in recent months, with a reported 69 elephants roaming the dam’s shores after escaping Pongola Game Reserve East into Phongola Nature Reserve. According to the reports, at least 25 elephants have been killed in poaching incidents related to this conflict. In an incident on January 11^th, tourists on a cruise boat on Jozini Dam were forced to take cover as poachers were firing shots nearby. Ezemvelo KZN Wildlife announced it will be engaging with the PGRE to translocate the elephants back onto the PGRE property or into a suitable protected area as early as March//April 2023. Ezemvelo said it had also engaged with the local community to discuss the recent incidents of human-wildlife conflict.

The recent article by Malcolm Thomson on Pongola’s elephant management crisis included vital perspectives on elephant management strategies within Pongola Game Reserve (PGR) in KwaZulu-Natal. We hope to set some facts straight in response to Thomson’s sentiments.

Thomson’s assertions were filled with inaccuracies, not only about general elephant management and its applicable laws, but also regarding the long process of building scientific and managerial knowledge about elephants living in relatively small and contained reserves. Worse still, there are glaring inaccuracies in these assertions that apply to the elephant population that Malcolm Thomson is referring to in his piece.

Elephant management must be viewed from several geographical and temporal scales simultaneously, from continental and national perspectives to small fenced reserves. Even the roughest estimates of elephant numbers show a dramatic decline in Africa over the last hundred years, so it is misleading to argue that Africa has too many elephants, and their endangered status confirms this. When viewing the broader situation, the issue of localised areas with too many elephants is a problem of distribution rather than over-population. This is especially so considering that 76% of Africa’s elephants are transboundary.

The intricacies of elephant management

In instituting the National Norms and Standards for the Management of Elephants, the South African government has taken a bold and progressive step towards managing elephants in terms of broad and local objectives while doing its best to include updated knowledge on elephant biology. The comments in Thomson’s article from Minister of Forestry, Fisheries and the Environment, Barbara Creecy, confirm a government commitment to integrated problem solving and public/private partnerships. The Minister comments that there is a “need for innovative and balanced partnership arrangements between state protected areas and adjacent private wildlife areas” to develop “win-win sustainable arrangements, with strong conservation outcomes”.

Malcolm Thomson asserts that the wishes of private landowners and the well-being of small, contained elephant populations have been ignored by the broader elephant management strategies and the Norms and Standards in particular. While the Norms and Standards are far from perfect, requiring periodic updating and revision, they make provision for private landowners with elephants to participate in a more inclusive and holistic elephant strategy. The amended Norms and Standards will likely be gazetted for implementation during 2022. By timeously submitting their elephant management plans to their provincial conservation authorities, reserve owners can benefit from a wealth of information, knowledge and funding. If, however, a landowner submits plans late or if those plans reveal a strategy aimed at personal wealth acquisition to the detriment of biodiversity conservation, then the system will expose those deficiencies. The PGR elephant management plan was submitted to the provincial authority on 8 September 2021 without sufficient time for review or to obtain the necessary provincial signatories before their existing plan expired on 16 November 2021. There is added significance with the late PGR application in that the reserve’s draft plan involved cooperation with neighbouring landowners, such that the elephants could move between multiple areas. This would make more elephant habitat available and relieve pressure on PGR. This central strategy of elephant range expansion within the draft revision of the PGR elephant management plan was omitted from Malcolm Thomson’s writing, leaving an impression that the elephant population pressure on PGR is more severe than it is in reality and that there is no alternative other than lethal control. The complexity of having elephants on small reserves is not unique to PGR, and there has been a large volume of peer-reviewed studies on these exact situations, with much of this research being utilised in the compilation and review of the Norms and Standards. Small private reserves have access to this work and can contribute meaningfully to advancements in this field.

Contemplating immunocontraception

Within the Norms and Standards, there is a hierarchy of actions about limiting elephant population numbers. One of these is immunocontraception, which Thomson dismisses as impractical, unethical and costly. Peer-reviewed scientific data collected and published over nearly 30 years would suggest otherwise. Further work on immunocontraception methods and long-term effects on population dynamics are ongoing. Immunocontraception is reversible, delivered quickly and remotely, with only short-term herd interference, and there are no hormonally induced behavioural effects. Immunocontraception is recommended in the Norms and Standards as one of the first go-to methods. It is used by 42 national, provincial, private and community reserves in South Africa (excluding the Kruger National Park), with over 1,200 cows currently under treatment. Thomson’s claims that immunocontraception is unethical are unfounded.

As for it being costly, the expenses of elephant immunocontraception are comparable with management interventions for other species, such as lion contraception, disease-free buffalo testing and even game census – all of which are part and parcel of reserve management. In the case of immunocontraception, the literature has shown that the cost benefits of limiting elephant population growth outweigh the expenditure. Of additional relevance here is that Humane Society International – Africa offered PGR immunocontraception for three years such that the costs would not fall on PGR. While there may have been certain conditions associated with this process, free immunocontraception was made available to PGR and was not accepted. What is clear is that Thomson’s dismissal of immunocontraception is unwarranted.

Thomson also comments on the difficulties that arise in trying to expand the land available to the elephants. But the elephants in the PGR case have achieved habitat expansion on their own, having shifted to the neighbouring Pongola Nature Reserve managed by Ezemvelo KZN Wildlife (Ezemvelo). The movement of these elephants to adjacent land relieves the pressure that Thomson was bemoaning (at the time of writing, there were no elephant herds in PGR “destroying habitat”). The managers and ecologists of Ezemvelo are working on the details of this impromptu elephant distribution to determine whether it can be maintained to the benefit of elephants, ecosystems and stakeholders. It should be added that, despite many logistical and financial constraints, Ezemvelo is doing excellent and progressive work, including holding meetings with local landowners and communities. (It is also worth noting that PGR management attended these meetings without expressing the views in Thomson’s article. Minutes of those meetings are public documents).

Elephant translocation and habitat expansion

Thomson’s criticism of translocation is similarly misleading. Knowledge of elephant translocation has increased enormously over the past two decades, with routine operations conducted today that were unheard of 25 years ago. Progress regarding the logistics of moving elephants and the technical means of capturing them, combined with veterinary advancements, is resulting in ongoing improvements that secure the greater well-being of individual elephants and family/group structure. This facilitates a far greater success rate with translocations. It also increases the distances that elephant groups can be moved. This, in turn, means that the possible sites for translocations are growing in number and distance from the source population: elephant translocation can now be viewed from a continental perspective. The value of this knowledge as an emerging management tool is increasingly realised and will significantly affect what is possible in African elephant conservation.

Within the United Nations Convention on Biological Diversity (of which South Africa is a signatory), large interconnected protected areas are identified as one of the solutions to the impending biodiversity crisis (the effects of which would overshadow the economic impact of Covid-19). The presence of megaherbivores within an interconnected protected area network is one of the indicators of success. But it should be stressed that a critical component of expanding areas for biodiversity protection is to avoid the errors of the past, where environmental protection was used as a thinly veiled ploy for the wealth-capture of elites. In this country (and others), this involved legalising a process that commodified and exploited the environment and all those South African people outside of the defined elites. Historical examples of this across the colonised world included promulgating legislation that denied people access to land they considered sacred and had utilised for centuries to sustain their livelihoods. In more recent (and current) renditions of the same principle, environments of critical ecological importance, both locally and globally, are being compromised and traded for political gain and monetary extraction.

While work is being done on identifying and protecting critical biodiversity areas, existing gene pools of species need to be protected. In the case of elephants, this includes limiting population growth (the root of the problem) in contained areas until bolder plans for elephant introductions in Africa are realised and feasible. In anticipation of an expanded purpose, immunocontraception research is dealing with long-term population dynamics and advanced delivery methods. Current methods do not hold all the answers, but these fields are advancing fast.

Elephant management is changing

Thomson’s summation of elephant management is simplistic, exploitative, elitist and cherry-picks scientific evidence to arrive at outdated and erroneous conclusions. For example, claiming that “all species should be managed under similar principles” glosses over the fact that elephants have advanced levels of intelligence and self-awareness, with complex communication illustrating focused sentience, emotional attachment and empathy. The Norms and Standards recognise this, and recognition of this fact is a guiding principle within elephant management strategies. As our awareness of elephants’ advanced intellectual, emotional and social capacities increases and becomes widely recognised, public perception of appropriate elephant treatment shifts. Management strategies that were acceptable three decades ago are unlikely to endure. Owners and managers of elephant reserves who do not take cognisance of this will likely suffer the consequences of the public’s disfavour and consequent economic censure.

The Norms and Standards recognise that elephants are indeed “special”, but it should be made clear that the regulation of hunting and culling are included within the document. They are, however, recognised as very different activities, not to be conflated. Within the Norms and Standards, culling is the last resort on a hierarchy of potential management actions, some of which are mentioned (and dismissed) in Thomson’s article: habitat manipulation, contraception, and translocation. For culling to be considered, all of those alternatives must have been proven to be justifiably impractical or unfeasible.

The hunting of elephants is legal in South Africa; some people want to hunt elephants, and parties have built businesses out of this demand. The Norms and Standards recognise and accommodate this. Had PGR adhered to the regulations, they could legally hunt elephants. Reserve managers should understand that culling and hunting are regulated differently for good reasons. Blame cannot be laid on the Norms and Standards due to poor action on a reserve’s part. Advocating for managing elephants without considering the bigger picture and the logic behind certain restrictions is unreasonable. Lack of engagement with neighbours, inaction to explore options for sponsored immunocontraception through available structures, and being slow on the draw when revising elephant management plans are symptoms of poor forward planning.

Final thoughts

There was a good reason why the Norms and Standards were created, with specific guidelines for Elephant Management Plans. This was partly to overcome irresponsible and unethical elephant management approaches and actions, which in turn reflected negatively on the entire country’s elephant management ethic. Malcolm Thomson’s view of elephant management could take us back there, which, far from the Norms and Standards’ progressive purpose, is entirely regressive.

Thomson’s perceptions do not necessarily reflect the views of all stakeholders involved in PGR. His statements belie current scientific knowledge and are contrary to global and local strategies to address the impending planetary crisis of biodiversity loss. The laws, regulations, and Norms and Standards around elephant management apply to everyone, including the South African government and its departments and land management agencies. The court application Thomson misquotes in his article, in which HSI-Africa is questioning the legality of the 2022 hunting quotas, is an example of an animal protection and conservation NGO holding the government accountable to its laws and regulations. That is a foundational aspect of a healthy democracy and civic activism that ensures good governance and accountability for the good of all people and the environment on which we are all entirely dependent. Thomson’s re-quote, “if it pays, it stays”, is as outdated as it is dangerous; the understanding of planetary boundaries has coined a far more sobering alternative phrase that incorporates the value and economic positioning of the earth’s oceans, atmosphere and biodiversity to humans: “if it doesn’t stay, humanity will pay”.

Snakes – everything you need to know

Snakes are not an animal group typically celebrated. Far too few people appreciate snakes as the marvels of natural engineering they are. Many are wary of them, while some are paralytically terrified at the thought. There is a rational aspect to this fear – certain snakes are dangerous, and a select few are potentially deadly. But like all fears directed at wildlife, it is only exacerbated by an unfortunate assembly of superstitions, misconceptions, and a fair amount of downright inaccurate information. What follows is a summary of some of the fascinating characteristics of these remarkable reptiles – to balance the scales, so to speak.

Ancient origins

Snakes are found on every continent on the globe apart from Antarctica, as well as many of the smaller islands. There are close to 4,000 recorded snake species in the world. From the worm-like threadsnakes to enormous pythons, they display an exceptional variety of colours, designs, and behaviours. Like almost all reptiles, they are ectothermic, meaning that they rely on external heat sources rather than metabolic heat to stay warm. They are also poikilotherms, so their internal body temperature (and, subsequently, activity levels) varies depending on the current ambient temperature.

The various orders of Reptilia, including crocodilians, testudines (tortoises, turtles, and terrapins), and the squamates (lizards and snakes), all have truly ancient origins. The earliest known fossils of snakes date back to the Middle Jurassic and Lower Cretaceous, roughly 170 million years ago and share many characteristics in common with their modern relatives. The consensus is that these early serpents evolved from lizards, and evidence of a once quadruped existence can be seen today in snakes such as pythons or boa constrictors, which often have vestigial rear limbs. It is, however, important not to equate primitive to crude or unsophisticated. With highly specialised fangs, complex venom proteins and a variety of other adaptions for each habitat and hunting style, snakes are highly specialised and efficient predators.

A green mamba; yellow Cape cobra; large Southern African rock python; and a spotted bush snake – all displaying a variety of snake colours and designs

The mind of a serpent

A corollary of the belief that snakes are primitive is the impression that they are mindless biting/killing machines without much cognitive function. The idea of a “reptilian complex” or “lizard brain” arose in scientific literature in the 1950s, when Paul MacLean proposed the concept of the triune brain. In essence, his theory runs that the brains of modern mammals consist of three distinct regions, with the reptilian brain at the centre and the more highly evolved neocortex on the outside. The reptilian brain is associated with the four basic functions of life (the 4 Fs): fight, flee, feed, and fornicate. The neocortex, not present in reptile brains, is associated with higher thought, language, abstraction and perception.

However, behavioural, physiological and histological evidence is mounting that this theory is a massive oversimplification of a structure as complex as the brain. Reptiles, including snakes, likely have a far greater cognitive ability, particularly learning, than once believed.

Why is this important? Because it goes a long way to controlling the fear response to snakes. When faced with a snake, it is essential to remember that you are not interacting with some brainless, pre-programmed envenomation machine. They bite to defend themselves, and humans can communicate that attack is not eminent through body language and avoiding sudden, threatening movements. The vast majority of snakebites are handling related, so when in doubt, leave the snake alone and leave the catching to the experts.

The world through their nose

Snakes are chemosensory maestros. In other words, their sense of smell is king. This is facilitated by the nose and tongue, with chemicals processed by the olfactory epithelium and the vomeronasal organ. Their famous forked tongues are highly specialised with papillae or pits, which catch and retain chemical particles and transport them to the vomeronasal organ (the Organ of Jacobson) close to the palate. This organ makes the process of smell rather than taste, as snakes do not have tastebuds. The flicking tongue collects the chemicals, and the bifid tip is believed to play a role in helping them determine the direction of the smell.

In contrast, the eyesight of many snakes is relatively poor, though naturally, this is generalisation and species-specific. The colour and detail vision of an arboreal, diurnal species like a vine snake is far more refined than that of a burrowing species. Spitting cobras also rely on good eyesight when projecting their venom with an accuracy of over 90%. Again, understanding how a snake sees the world has implications for avoiding a dangerous encounter – by avoiding sudden jerky movements when confronted by a snake you are less likely to draw their attention (or ire).

Many snakes are sensitive to UV light, while diurnal species that hunt during the day have lenses that filter UV to improve contrast. Vipers, pythons and boas can use infrared “vision” to locate prey. Pit organs around their nostrils detect heat given off by other animals and transmit these signals to the brain to create an image of the creature in front of them.

Snakes do not have any outer or middle ear apparatuses, but, contrary to popular belief, this does not mean that they cannot hear. They do have inner ear structures capable of picking up vibrations in the ground and air, as well as some sound waves in the lower frequency ranges.

The long muscular tube

Anyone who has ever watched a snake move, climb or coil will be able to attest to their tremendous flexibility, which in turn is made possible by numerous sets of ribs that extend almost the entire length of the body. They can have anywhere between 200–400 vertebrae. Pair organs like kidneys are arranged longitudinally, and snakes have an elongated right lung that is responsible for most, if not all, ventilation. Furthermore, they are astonishingly strong.

Without limbs, their locomotion patterns can be primarily divided into four different types of movements (not counting arboreal motions, which can be a mix of all four). Though the type of habitat and hunting habits of specific snakes will determine which mode they use, most snakes use all four types of movement depending on the circumstances. Lateral undulation, or serpentine motion, is the most common and familiar mode of locomotion – creating the characteristic S-shaped curves and pushing off each side in a typical slithering manoeuvre. Other types of movement include sidewinding, concertina and rectilinear motion. Traction is aided by long rectangular ventral (belly) scales.

Numerous sets of ribs allow snakes immense flexibility, demonstrated here by this sidewinder; stretching out leaves snakes vulnerable to predators, and assuming a coiled position like this puffadder offers more protection; strength, flexibility, traction and long rectangular ventral scales allow snakes to climb – offering this boomslang easy access to a weaver’s nest

Keeping a thick skin

The skin of a snake is perhaps one of its most infamous (and possibly reviled) characteristics. Despite common misconception, their skin is not slimy but is covered in a dry layer of overlapping keratin scales. Depending on the species, they may be smooth, granular, or keeled and come in various shapes. The scales are transparent (think of a shedded snakeskin), and the pigments are found in the underlying skin. Their colours range from beautiful bright colours to the subtle but equally attractive camouflage of the ground ambush predators. Colour aside, the arrangement or pattern of scales, particularly around the face, can be used to identify specific species.

Snakes are born with a set number of scales that does not increase over their lifetime, but the scales themselves will grow over time and may even change shape. The scales are shed multiple times throughout a snake’s lifetime in a process known as ecdysis. This allows the snake to replace old and damaged skin and remove parasites. Interestingly, experts dispute that moulting or shedding in snakes is part of their growth process.

A snake shedding its skin feels particularly vulnerable, especially in the early stages when the specially designed scale over the eye (known as the eye cap) turns milky and compromises its vision. This increased fear may make a shedding snake more likely to lash out if disturbed.

Heavily keeled scales are visible on a rough-scaled bush viper; horned adders also have keeled scales; a rock python’s scales are smooth; a snake sheds its scales multiple times throughout its lifetime

Pointed fangs and potent venom

Lashing out is carried out by the business end of the snake – the part that terrifies people. The teeth of snakes differ depending on their hunting styles and venom types. The venom is produced by the modified parotid gland (a salivary gland found at the back of the jaw) and, as a general rule, can be matched to the type of fangs the snake has. Though technically modified saliva, venom contains a complex mixture of proteins with toxic and potentially lethal properties, which then immobilise and begin digesting prey. In essence, neurotoxic venom attacks the nervous system to cause pain, paralysis and respiratory distress. Cytotoxic venom works on the molecular components of cells, destroying tissues and causing intense, instant pain and often resulting in necrosis and the potential loss of body parts. Haemotoxic venom destroys red blood cells and disrupts clotting mechanisms. It may be slower acting than the other types of venom but can result in massive damage to internal organs and seldom has an effective antivenom.

Members of the Viperidae (puff adders, Gaboon vipers) and Atractaspididae (stiletto snakes) families have massive, tubular, hinged fangs that swing forwards when the snake strikes to inject (usually) cytotoxic venom. Elapids, such as cobras and mambas, have much smaller fangs and inject mostly neurotoxic venom. The orifices in the fangs of spitting cobras are precisely positioned to allow them to project their venom forward and upwards. Finally, the Colubridae (boomslangs) and Homalopsidae (a group of Indo-Australian water snakes) have grooved, backwards oriented fangs set more towards the back part of the jaw. They typically (but not always) inject hemotoxic venom, but their fangs require that the prey be shifted towards the back of the mouth.

Several snakes do not have fangs at all. Constrictors such as pythons do not rely on venom to kill their prey. Instead, they strike and rapidly envelop potential prey in their coils. The powerful snake then generates a massive pressure that essentially cuts off the blood supply to the vital organs and causes death by cardiac arrest (rather than by asphyxiation) within minutes, if not seconds. Constrictors have a full set of teeth to grab and secure their victims and can still deliver an excruciating (and septic) bite. Still, they do not envenomate, and the teeth are therefore not technically classified as fangs.

Whatever the dental set-up, snakes cannot take bites out of or chew their food, meaning that anything caught has to be swallowed whole. This is accomplished by a loose articulation (joint) between the lower mandible and the skull. They can also move their upper maxilla courtesy of a quadrate bone, a characteristic shared with other reptiles, birds, and amphibians. The two halves of each jaw bone are also only loosely held together by a flexible ligament, allowing for a much greater degree of movement.

Black mambas have small fangs that inject neurotoxic venom; a Bibron’s stiletto snake has large, tubular, hinged fangs that swing forwards independently when the snake strikes; the orifices in a spitting cobra’s fangs are positioned to allow forward and upward projection of venom; rufous-beaked snakes often constrict their prey, even though they produce a neurotoxic venom

A pit of snakes

Like other members of the reptile class, most snakes lay eggs (oviparous) and are generally not thought of as contenders for Mother of the Year awards. The eggs are deposited in a suitable location, and the young inside are left to their own devices, emerging fully developed between one and two months later. However, some snake species take their maternal responsibilities more seriously and invest more energy in incubating and protecting their clutches. Python mothers will bask in the sun to warm themselves before returning to coil around the eggs to transfer heat to the eggs. She may even “shiver” to help keep the eggs warm – an extremely costly exercise that can result in the loss of over half her body weight and a two- to three-year delay between clutches.

A small number of snakes are either ovoviviparous (retaining their eggs internally until just before hatching) or even fully viviparous (giving birth to live young) with a functioning placenta. Rhinkals, certain sea snakes, most vipers and garter snakes are all examples of ovoviviparous snakes, while boa constrictors and anacondas are fully viviparous.

The young snakes use a small, sharp egg tooth on their snouts to cut their way out of the egg to emerge like perfect miniatures of the adults. In venomous species, this also means that they hatch with fully developed venom glands. As a result, a baby snake is still a potentially deadly one.

Anacondas are viviparous – they give birth to live young; the rinkhals is ovoviviparous (retaining eggs internally until just before hatching); boa constrictors are also viviparous; a corn snake hatches from its egg

Remarkable Reptiles

While every bit deserving of respect and the same degree of caution that should be afforded to any potentially dangerous wild animal, snakes are indeed marvels of nature and should be appreciated as such. Far from the aggressive creatures they have been made out to be, they are simply complex predators adapted to survive in the form that millions of years of evolution have created for them. Note that snakes are seldom encountered on African safaris.

Resources

For more on identifying venomous snakes, read here.

For more on which snake is Africa’s deadliest, see here.

Read more on snakebites and venom here.

For more on putting right the black mamba’s reputation, see here.

For an adorable photo essay on rescued green mamba eggs hatching, see here.

To lend your support to an organisation prioritising snake conservation, read more about Save the snakes on our app. (Get the app to view – instructions below)

THIS WEEK

This is a copy of our weekly email newsletter. Subscribe here to receive the newsletter.

Primate quest + Sabi safari with Jamie + sneaky hyenas

One of the most fulfilling aspects of being part of teamAG is witnessing the joy and thrill radiating from our travellers when they return from one of our safaris. The Weiss family recently travelled with us to Lake Kivu and Nyungwe Forest in Rwanda, Kahuzi-Biega National Park in DRC and Mafia Island off the coast of Tanzania, in search of weird and wonderful creatures, with a focus on primates. On their return, the family’s tally for the trip included ten primate species (including mountain and eastern lowland gorillas), Seychelles flying fox, Zanzibar galago, straw-coloured fruit bats and 150 bird species. You can read their account about their time in Central Africa, complete with mesmerising adventures, in our first story below.

Human-wildlife conflict is a major threat facing wildlife conservation and local communities across the continent. The loss of livestock, such as cattle, to wild predators is a primary source of conflict. Understanding how lions select cattle for prey could help in protecting livestock, mitigating human-wildlife conflict. Read about how researchers are doing just that in our second story below.

Happy celebrating Africa!

Taryn van Jaarsveld — Editor

From our Scientific Editor – Jamie Paterson

Did you know that when feeding around a large meal, low-ranking hyenas occasionally utter a low vibrating call? It’s the spotted hyena version of an alarm call and usually means danger. As the higher-ranked hyenas stop eating to look for the approaching lion, the sneaky fibbers snatch a few of the tastiest morsels for themselves.

I first witnessed this while guiding in the Sabi Sands and was hugely amused to watch as the high-ranked hyenas caught on but still couldn’t bring themselves to risk ignoring it.

Sightings like these are just one of the reasons I am so excited to be back in the Sands guiding a safari in a few months – and I would love to take you with me! Our travel team has been hard at work putting together what promises to be a thrilling adventure from the delicious comfort of Jaci’s Sabi House. Spaces are limited, and it is time-sensitive, so contact our travel team ASAP to book your spot!

Story 1
https://africageographic.com/stories/primate-quest/
PRIMATE QUEST
One family’s adventure with AG to Rwanda, DRC & Mafia Island in search of primates, bats & other weird and wonderful creatures

Story 2
https://africageographic.com/stories/lions-target-particular-types-of-cows-research/
TARGETING COWS
Understanding how predators select cattle for prey can help protect livestock from lions, mitigating human-wildlife conflict

Magical Namibia

Marina Leuzinger and family travelled with AG to Namibia, and visited Sossusvlei, Pelican Point in Walvis Bay, Twyfelfontein, Etosha National Park and Waterberg Plateau Park. Writing from Namibia, Marina wrote:

“Today as we left Windhoek I was really hoping for our plane to be delayed and our flight to be cancelled… I haven’t had this feeling of not wanting to leave a country after a holiday for ages! So to keep it short: our trip was absolutely magical and there is still much more to be discovered in Namibia.
Thank you very much for all arrangements and bookings, for organising the car, our camps, hotels and tours. It was really TOP.”

Pic: The Leuzinger family soaking up a last sunset from Waterberg Plateau Park, Namibia

WATCH: The Ethiopian wolf is the most endangered carnivore in Africa and the rarest canid species in the world. As avid hunters of African mole-rats, they have developed various techniques to catch their prey. In this clip from David Attenborough’s Life series, watch as an Ethiopian wolf stalks its prey (01:32). Click here to watch

Primate Quest – DRC, Rwanda & Mafia Island

Rwanda is known as the Land of a Thousand Hills — a name that accurately describes the mountainous, verdant vistas of this tiny country in Central Africa. My husband Chanan Weiss and I were last in Rwanda a few weeks before the genocide broke out in 1994, oblivious to the political turmoil bubbling under the surface and the devastation soon to come. Amid UN vehicles, we set out on our jungle trek to search for the mountain gorillas. Stumbling upon these majestic creatures is one of life’s memories that remains poignant despite the passing of time.

Still spellbound, almost three decades later, we were finally in the position to set out to Central Africa again. This time, we aimed to expand our journey across countries and to share the experience with our daughters, Laina and Abby. We provided our wishlist to the Africa Geographic team, who put together a plan for us. We hoped to seek out a variety of wildlife, with a particular focus on primates. Our resulting itinerary included Nyungwe National Park, Kahuzi-Biega National Park, Lake Kivu, Volcanoes National Park and Mafia Island.

Nyungwe Forest Rwanda — Trekking through Kamiranzovu swamp in Nyungwe National Park, Rwanda

The primates of Rwanda’s Nyungwe Forest

Travelling to Nyungwe National Park, it felt so good to be on the road, experiencing the smells, sounds, and unique feeling of being in Africa again! As we approached our destination, we watched the transition from the lush fields of tea plantations to the dense canopies of indigenous forest and were greeted by olive baboons and L’Hoest’s monkeys.

Nyungwe National Park is a young national park, only proclaimed in 2004. With over 100,000 hectares of protected mountain rainforest, it is considered one of Africa’s biodiversity hotspots. It is known for its diversity of birds, primates and plant species, and we knew this would be a memorable few days of exploring.

Our days were spent trekking through forest pathways, negotiating dense vegetation, learning about the park’s history and conservation efforts, and being introduced to the birds and primates of the area. There was even a waterfall thrown in for our daughter Abby, who couldn’t resist the forest pool and its frigid waters.

We were privileged to have Claver Ntoyinkima, one of Rwanda’s foremost birding experts, for our three days in the area. Claver grew up on the forest’s outskirts, and his expertise and passion are a reminder of the human input that is intrinsic to conservation success. He taught us so much, from birds to beetles, politics to primates, and the scientific names of trees! Often, the people you meet in these natural spaces bring such richness to the experience.

Chanan was dizzy with excitement, armed with a massive lens, eager to capture the region’s diverse and unique birds. Of course, fleeting glimpses do not always lend themselves to perfect photos, but somehow his spirits are never dampened, and a rewarding moment makes all the other hours worthwhile.

A five-kilometre trek can easily take four hours with our crew, as we tend to stop for every moving creature. Between Chanan’s birds and the girls’ fascination with creepy-crawlies, butterflies, and even fungi – let’s say no one was in a hurry!

Then there were the primates! We managed to observe seven primate species during our time in the area, relying mainly on trackers’ expertise. A guide, machete in hand to clear the path, weaved us through the thick vegetation until the shaking of trees and the calls of the troops alerted us to their presence. We heard the chimpanzees before we saw them, perched atop the trees, stretching their limber bodies and fully engrossed in grooming. Quietly taking in the presence of this endangered animal, which shares almost 99% of our DNA, was thrilling. One needs a moment to take it in before quickly becoming engrossed in the detail of their fingers or the curious faces of the youngsters.

We also saw vervet monkeys on the main road while driving through Nyungwe Forest, and, thanks to Claver’s keen eyes, a silver monkey farther in the forest. Claver also helped us find grey-cheeked mangabeys – we hiked a few hundred metres through the thick forest after he heard them not too far off, and thankfully found them. To our surprise, we were not only rewarded with the mangabeys but also a single Dent’s mona monkey.

While trampling noisily through the forest, we almost walked into an African broadbill, which was also quite exciting. We were also fortunate to see nine of the famous 41 Albertine Rift endemic bird species, including Rwenzori turaco, mountain masked apalis, Grauer’s swamp warbler, yellow-eyed black flycatcher, strange weaver and blue-headed, regal, Rwenzori double-collared and purple-breasted sunbirds.

They were, unfortunately, very hard to photograph in the limited time we had there!

Primates in Nyungwe Forest, Rwanda — A family of Ruwenzori colobus spotted in Nyungwe Forest; the Weiss family witness a Ruwenzori colobus in action; chimpanzees in the forest canopy; the family were greeted by olive baboons on the outskirts of the forest; L’Houests monkeys were also seen on arrival in the forest

An eastern lowland silverback in DRC

With some trepidation, we decided, a week before our trip, to brave the journey to Kahuzi-Biega National Park in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). With news of the Congolese militia in conflict with Rwanda, there was some concern about the risk of us getting stuck or caught up in the conflict. Thankfully, this was not the case, and our 24 hours in the DRC went by without a hitch. Contrary to expectation, we had a memorable wildlife experience and fantastic hospitality.

Kahuzi-Biega National Park is one of the DRC’s largest national parks and one of the last refuges for the critically endangered eastern lowland gorilla – also known as Grauer’s gorilla. Extending over 600,000 hectares, the park is a UNESCO World Heritage Site. It is considered a critical habitat for the protection of Afro-montane forests and the wildlife that lives there.

The eastern lowland gorilla is the largest of the gorilla subspecies and is distinguished by its stocky body, massive head, and short muzzle. We were excited for this detour to see what was a new subspecies for Chanan and me.

We set out on a long and arduous trek through the thick forest, with trackers and guides leading us up steep, slippery mountain slopes and through dense vegetation. Finally, we heard the characteristic sound of fists on the chest. They had heard us before we heard them. We spent the next 30 minutes following a troop on the move – with glimpses of twin babies on a mother’s back and a mock charge by a female that briefly terrified Abby!

Then, amidst a cracking of branches and loud guttural grunts, we spotted a massive silverback up a tree. How that tree held him is still our guess – as he stretched out his huge legs and reached for leaves. After some time, the silverback trundled down the tree and plopped right in front of us to finish his meal. Experiencing this massive creature, unperturbed by our presence and allowing us to absorb this surreal moment, was exhilarating.

The photographers clicked away in delight until the star attraction decided it was enough, and he stood up and disappeared into the jungle.

Gorillas in DRC — In Kahuzi-Biega National Park, the Weiss family witnessed an eastern lowland silverback and spent time with the gorillas after being led through the forest thicket by guides and trackers.

Bats of Lake Kivu and gorillas of Volcanoes

Returning to Rwanda after our time in the DRC, we headed to the shores of Lake Kivu to spend a relaxing few days soaking in uninterrupted views of the vegetated islands. A freshwater lake nestled within Africa’s Great Rift Valley, Lake Kivu provided an opportunity to swim, kayak and explore the nearby islands.

Straw-coloured fruit bats fly over Lake Kivu

Napoleon Island, in particular, is known for its biodiversity and is home to over 40,000 straw-coloured fruit bats. The eerie screeches of the bats were at first disconcerting, but their sweet little faces won us over, and the minutes turned into hours as we became enthralled with the spectacle.

From Lake Kivu, we set out for Volcanoes National Park. Rwanda’s roads are slow. Not because they are pot-holed, but because they are windy and steep. Vehicles share single lanes with cyclists – on bicycles laden with bags of potatoes and cabbage bound for trade with neighbouring villages – racing down mountain slopes.

Canoeing on Lake Kivu; spotting a white-eyed slaty flycatcher; the endearing sight of a double-toothed barbet; Napoleon Island is home to over 40,000 straw-coloured fruit bats; Chanan and Maria enjoying views of Lake Kivu; spotting an immature palm-nut vulture

We would soon see Volcanoes National Park approaching, the thick indigenous vegetation contrasting with the heavily farmed hillsides. A vital conservation area, it protects critical habitat for the endangered mountain gorilla.

Our long-awaited trek into the forests of Volcanoes National Park began under an eerie fog hanging over the forest canopy. We trudged our way up Mount Karisimbi, following the trackers and guide to locate the family of Pablo the gorilla. There are 12 habituated gorilla families in Volcanoes National Park, some of which are habituated solely for research purposes. Here, tourism and science work hand in hand to benefit people and conservation.

As we turned a corner, there amongst the jungle backdrop was a family of mountain gorillas, their black fur striking against the curtain of green. The giant silverback was splayed out in a sleepy stupor while others ate leaves, tore apart bamboo shoots and nestled with their babies. A 3-year-old baby gorilla, who was particularly curious, was so close to Abby she could have stroked him! We kept backing up and tripping over each other as he approached to investigate.

Gorillas in Volcanoes National Park, Rwanda — The Weiss family experienced a family of mountain gorillas in misty Volcanoes National Park, including a silverback and an inquisitive youngster

Despite their intimidating size and appearance, the gorillas’ gentle nature was palpable. A core focus of Dian Fossey’s early work was transforming public perception of gorillas from aggressive beasts to creatures of great compassion and social intelligence.

We stayed in the town of Ruhengeri, situated at the foot of the Virunga Mountains. We loved staying here for its friendly people, safe streets, delicious food and top-notch coffee. Chanan and I were last here 28 years ago. So different to what we remember, it felt surreal to walk the same streets with our daughters. In addition to our gorilla trek, we visited the newly opened Karisoke Research Centre, canoeed the Mukungwa River, and trekked to see the park’s golden monkeys.

Ruhengeri, Rwanda — Canoeing Mukungwa River; a red-billed firefinch; cyclists laden with bags of potatoes and cabbage travel between neighbouring villages to trade; a golden monkey in Volcanoes National Park; spotting an African dusky flycatcher

Deflating on Mafia Island

Our adventure’s finale took us to Tanzania’s Mafia Island – a small tropical paradise off the coast. We spent the last six days of our trip indulging in all things coastal: swimming in the warm sea, walking out to sandbanks, reading, kayaking on the calm water, snorkelling, strolling on the fine sandy beaches, playing cards, drinking from coconuts and eating fantastic food. We even had the opportunity to watch turtle hatchlings scuttle into the sea!

Despite our seaside stupor, we added a few new mammals to our life list: Seychelles flying fox, Zanzibar galago and Zanj sun squirrel.

Our total tally for the trip included 10 primates, 7 additional mammals, and 150 birds, thanks to Chanan’s birding skills.

Despite Rwanda’s turbulent past, the country’s approach to tourism is refreshing. We felt very safe and welcome wherever we went, and we thoroughly enjoyed the tourism infrastructure and the efforts to protect the country’s important plant and animal biodiversity. Clean, efficient and friendly, one can understand why this is a top tourist destination in Africa. A long-anticipated adventure in Rwanda, DRC and Mafia Island was better than we could have imagined and an absolute privilege to experience.

Want to go on a primate quest safari? Check out our ultimate primate packages here, and get in touch via the enquiries form.

Resources

Check out Chanan Weiss’s images on Instagram: @chanan.weiss

The Weiss family’s trip was put together by AG. You too can visit Rwanda with help from our team of safari experts. Check out some of our Rwanda adventures , or contact us to arrange a unique escape.

View incredible pics from a gorilla trek in Rwanda.

Read about a self-drive adventure through the misty hills of Rwanda here.

Read more about searching for Africa’s threatened sea turtles around Mafia Island here.

Read our extensive guide to Nyungwe National Park here.

Check out everything you need to know about Volcanoes National Park.

Read more about mountain gorillas here.

Not sure how to distinguish between the different species and subspecies of gorilla? We’ll show you how.

For those wanting to learn more about the bird and mammal offerings in Rwanda, Christian Boix’s (Africa Geographic travel director and one of Africa’s top birding guides) book Wild Rwanda is the region’s most authoritative “where to find” birds and mammals guide.

Lions target particular types of cows – research

Human-wildlife conflict is one of the gravest threats facing wildlife conservation and local communities in Africa. One primary source of this conflict is the loss of livestock , such as cattle, to wild predators. Understanding when and how these predators, such as lions, select their prey is vital in generating mitigation strategies.

Research from the University of Pretoria unravels some characteristics that make cattle more vulnerable to hunting lions. The scientists found that specific situations and cattle attributes such as mottled coat colours, small horns, youth, and social behaviour placed certain herd members at greater risk.

The study was conducted in Botswana’s eastern Panhandle region of the Okavango Delta. The fringe of the Delta is a known conflict hotspot where free-ranging livestock and wildlife coexist, and livestock losses are common. During the two-year study period, 197 cattle were killed in 143 different incidents. The vast majority (82.7%) were killed by lions, while African painted wolves (wild dogs), spotted hyenas, and leopards accounted for the remainder.

As might be expected, the scientists found that 87.1% of the incidents occurred between dusk and dawn, and all attacks on cattle in an enclosure took place exclusively at night. Though the lions killed only one cow on average, there were ten incidents where more than two cows were killed in one incident. These occurred in non-predator-proof enclosures, indicating that inadequate cattle pens may exacerbate livestock losses during single incidents. However, free-ranging cattle still accounted for the most losses during the study.

During the incidents involving enclosed cattle, the lions targeted young and inexperienced calves, prone to panic and stampeding when attacked without an escape route. Conversely, calves were avoided in incidents involving free-ranging cattle. Interestingly, lions seem to avoid heifers and adult cows in both contexts (enclosed and free-ranging), suggesting that the inherent sociality of the females reduced their risk. Instead, free-ranging bulls and oxen – more likely to be solitary than the cows – were the preferred prey.

Lions target particular types of cows – research — Livestock losses are common along the Delta fringe, where free-ranging livestock and wildlife coexist

Given their size and morphological similarity to buffalo, lion predation on cattle is inevitable. However, the authors point out that the process of domestication has removed many of the wild attributes – size, horns, aggression – that would have helped cattle discourage predation attempts. Thus, it was easy to understand why more polled (hornless) or small-horned cattle were killed while long-horned cattle were avoided. However, the discovery that lions preferred mottled cows over those with a solid colour coat was somewhat harder to explain. Lions have better night vision than humans, but this has come at a cost in terms of colour and detail vision, so they tend to respond more readily to movement. The scientists theorise that “the mixed pelage pattern helps identify movement” and draw the lions’ attention more frequently than solid-coloured cows.

Though it is an entirely understandable response, the research also suggests that chasing the lions off a cattle carcass may increase attacks. The data shows that early disturbance at a kill reduced carcass consumption by 40%, the equivalent of 30kg per carcass per lion. As lions need at least an average of 6kg of food per day to maintain condition (though they do not need to feed every day and usually consume more than this in one sitting), disrupting their feeding could force them to kill more frequently in “hit and run” attacks.

So, what are the implications of this research? The authors acknowledge that selective breeding for more “wild” characteristics like longer horns and aggression is an unlikely solution, as this would only make the cattle more challenging and even dangerous to handle. Regardless, the preferences displayed by the lions were subtle. The obvious upshot is that the antipredator activities fall to the humans that care for the cattle. The most productive action would be to confine the cattle at night, but this needs to be done in suitable, predator-proof enclosures to avoid the possibility of lions developing a preference for “easy, confined prey”. This is particularly necessary during the dry season when the cattle are more likely to travel greater distances for food and water.

Further reading

Access the full paper here: Weise, F.J.; Tomeletso, M.; Stein, A.B.; Somers, M.J.; Hayward, M.W. “Lions Panthera leo Prefer Killing Certain Cattle Bos taurus Types“. Animals 2020, 10, 692

For further reading on strategies to avoid livestock being consumed by predators, read this interesting study.

THIS WEEK

This is a copy of our weekly email newsletter. Subscribe here to receive the newsletter.

Bushveld dining + disappearing hornbills + insider safari tips

SO my editorial of last week stirred a few pots and affirmed what the experienced travellers amongst you were thinking. Thanks to all who emailed me or reached out via social media. I received some encouraging nods from safari industry dagga boys – much appreciated.

AT LAST, my beloved South Africa is phasing out the abusive captive lion breeding industry. There is currently a gazetted draft White Paper on the conservation and sustainable use of South Africa’s biodiversity in play, which will provide the overarching policy context to rid us of this evil industry. This process is being driven by the Department of Forestry, Fisheries and the Environment – and our Minister Barbara Creecy is a critical roleplayer in that regard. I can only imagine the pressure she is under from those who believe that any practice is ok if it produces money. Strength to you, Madam Minister!

I am currently on safari in Botswana – my beloved Khwai, to be precise – with our 2022 Photographer of the Year winners. Expect a celebratory gallery from us in a few weeks!

Keep the passion

Simon Espley – CEO, Africa Geographic

From our Editor – Taryn van Jaarsveld

Is there anything more magical than spending an evening dining under the stars in the African wilderness while being serenaded by the sounds of nocturnal creatures? Or taking a breather from an adventurous morning of Big 5 spotting to indulge in a scrumptious brunch under a giant baobab? This week we’re celebrating the wonders of dining out on safari with 15 of our favourite gastronomic bushveld experiences – check out our first story.

We’re also examining a distressing forecast for the yellow-billed hornbills of the Kalahari. Scientists have predicted that, due to rising temperatures, these hornbills will vanish from the area within the next five years. Read more on the impact climate change is having on this population of birds in our second story below.

Here’s to staying informed on developments throughout our beautiful continent, and finding ways that you can make a difference.

Happy celebrating Africa to you all!

From our Scientific Editor – Jamie Paterson

Did you know that there have been 13 fatal bear attacks in North America in the last two years? In all instances where the bear responsible could be identified (and occasionally even when it couldn’t), it was euthanised.

There has been another leopard incident in the Kruger region in South Africa. Sabi Sand Nature Reserve confirmed that a male leopard in “poor condition” seriously injured an employee. She was on the veranda of her residence at the time and had to be airlifted to the hospital. The leopard in question (believed to be the Nyeleti male) was put down. Given how unusual such attacks are (in southern Africa at least), it is pretty uncanny that this latest incident came on the heels of our article on leopard habituation in the Sabi Sands.

I raised the bear fact because I’ve been trying to put what seems like a spate of leopard-human conflicts into perspective for myself. It also shows that no matter where in the world it happens, when a predator behaves like a predator, it has tragic consequences for both people and the animal.

We all send our best wishes to the employee and hope for a full recovery.

Story 1
https://africageographic.com/stories/dine-out-in-the-bushveld/
BUSHVELD DINING
No African safari is complete without a dining experience out in the wilderness. Here are our favourite spots to enjoy dining in the bushveld

Story 2
https://africageographic.com/stories/five-years-until-the-kalaharis-hornbills-start-to-vanish/
DISAPPEARING HORNBILLS
Scientists have predicted that the Kalahari’s hornbills will start to vanish in five years – and climate change is to blame

TRAVEL DESK UPDATES:

Best time to see wildlife in southern Africa? INSIDER TIP from our CEO: The later in the dry season you come on safari, the better the wildlife experience. No rain for many months means predictable watering points for thirsty animals and thin vegetation – both good for wildlife sightings. If you can stomach higher temperatures and you are after pure wildlife celebration, push it as late in the dry season as you can. September to November (before the rains arrive) is usually spectacular for wildlife encounters. This is when most safari-goers have gone home and when serious photographers are out there scoring those epic images we all love to see.

With that in mind, here are a few excellent hand-made packages for the coming months:

Affordable safari in South Luangwa – 5 days. This fantastic combo of walking and driving will appeal to experienced safari-goers and first-timers alike. Expect exceptional game viewing and tracking on foot, scrumptious bush breakfasts and unforgettable sundowners. Did we mention leopards?

Three rivers safari – 7 days. This classic safari takes you to three iconic African riverine settings and two countries: Victoria Falls on the mighty Zambezi River in Zimbabwe plus Botswana’s Chobe National Park on the shores of the broad, sluggish Chobe River, and Khwai on the eastern fringes of the Okavango Delta

WATCH: Take a breather with BBC Earth and spend time unwinding at a waterhole in Mwiba Wildlife Reserve, Tanzania, as wildlife gathers to drink (27:40). Click here to watch

Dine out in the bushveld

Delicious meals do not a holiday make, but they are certainly a vital component of the overall experience. In Africa, the safari bushveld dining experience has evolved from basic fare to competitive haute cuisine. There’s only one problem: when your days on safari are limited, do you really want to head back to camp for a meal? Fortunately, the solution is simple, and many lodges offer their guests the opportunity to dine out against the backdrop of some of the most spectacular landscapes in Africa. Serenaded by the sounds of the wild (with the occasional surprise visit from one of the performers) and with every whim taken care of, nothing could be more immersive than indulging one’s epicureanism in this setting.

Want to dine out in the bushveld? We have ready-made safaris to choose from, or we’ll help you plan your dream safari.

Bushveld brunch

A day on safari is one of the exceptions to the old maxim about breakfast being the most important part of the day. In the bushveld, breakfast is a quick snack to be bolted down with a few gulps of coffee before rushing out to enjoy the best part of the day. A few hours later, after an early start and a couple of thrilling sightings on a game drive, everyone has worked up quite the appetite. Nothing tastes quite as good as brunch in the wild.

Angama Mara, Maasai Mara, Kenya

Perched on the top of the Oloololo Escarpment and looking down over the Mara River, Angama Mara’s vantage point emphasises just how vast this critical East African ecosystem truly is. For safari-goers, that means long full days exploring the plains, and no one wants to interrupt that to race back to the lodge for food. Fortunately, the lodge’s culinary artists will have been hard at work preparing the perfect Mara picnic so that their guests do not have to miss a moment of the Great Migration action (and can watch it with a full belly)!

Morukuru, Madikwe Private Game Reserve, South Africa

Pizza for breakfast? Maybe this sounds more like a student’s lazy provisions than a gourmet meal for a safari guest, but it is well worth trusting the ingenious gourmands at Morukuru in Madikwe. After a morning of frenetic sightings (Madikwe is, of course, known for its wild dogs!), Morukuru’s mobile pizza oven arrives on the scene, making fresh woodfired breakfast pizza for the windswept, elated and ravenous guests.

Track & Trail River Camp, South Luangwa, Zambia

Zambia is the “home of the walking safari”, and the thrill of marching through through this wilderness all morning is guaranteed to ensure that the simple, wholesome brunch spread set out by the team at Track & Trail River Camp is devoured with alacrity. A quick stop to recharge the batteries in the heart of the South Luangwa wilderness before it’s time to set off again is just the ticket!

Lions Bluff Lodge, Lumo Community Wildlife Sanctuary, bordering Tsavo West National Park, Kenya

End a morning of wandering the golden green savannah with a cooked brunch, to be enjoyed while soaking up views of the surrounding wildlife moving off to the foothills of Mount Kilimanjaro. Guests of Lion’s Bluff Lodge can experience a wholesome meal with delectable fresh produce and rich coffee prepped under the shade of trees, after spending hours exploring the Lumo Community Wildlife Sanctuary. There can be no better setting than this unique ecosystem which encompasses one of Africa’s most ancient elephant migratory corridors.

Bushveld dining — Brunch – complete with pizza – is the perfect respite after a morning of sightings in Madikwe; overlook rolling savannahs during the morning meal in Tsavo West for the ultimate in bushveld dining; enjoy an epic picnic with a magnificent view over the Maasai Mara at Angama Mara; recharge your batteries in a wild setting in between walks at Track & Trail River Camp

Kwessi Dunes, NamibRand Nature Reserve, Namibia

This is an exception to the brunch over breakfast approach because temperatures in the desert will have skyrocketed by midday, and the lodge pool will be calling. Instead, the Kwessi Dunes team sets out a sunrise breakfast, so guests can ogle the colour-changing dunes as the sun crests the horizon and light slowly pours over the desert sands.

Elsa’s Kopje, Meru National Park, Kenya

Considered one of the most spectacular locations in Africa, Meru National Park is a true wilderness. And Elsa’s Kopje is one of the park’s most iconic destinations. Bush brunches at Elsa’s Kopje are a chance to enjoy a full and satisfying meal, al fresco, in the middle of the plains, surrounded by wildlife. From the vantage point of one of the many rocky outcrops, travellers can look out across the diverse scenery without another person in sight. Take a moment to sit back, enjoy the spectacular views, the smells, the colours, and the gentle breeze.

Machaba Camp, Khwai Community Concession, Okavango Delta, Botswana

Machaba Camp is a luxurious destination on the banks of the Khwai River, built in the classic 1950’s style. Guests can intimately experience the wildness of Khwai by enjoying a luxurious picnic laid out under the trees, with wildlife not too far off. Nourishing, delicious ingredients are the order of the day, and it will be hard to not fall into a satisfying nap after enjoying the excitement of the morning game drives and indulging in a delicious brunch.

Samara Karoo Reserve, Great Karoo, Eastern Cape, South Africa

The incredible geological transformations of Samara’s semi-desert landscape beg to be the setting for a delicious meal. The team at Samara offers some amazing dining experiences, from a picnic lunch in a riverbed with cool water flowing past your toes, to mountain-top brunches and lunches overlooking the wide expanse of the Great Karoo below. Samara’s gourmet picnic food has a certain je-ne-sais-quoi that just epitomises holiday mode.

Starlit suppers

If brunch in the wilderness is a chance to catch one’s breath in the middle of the day, dining under the African stars is a more breath-taking experience. Especially when the lions start to roar…

Tanda Tula Safari Camp, Timbavati Private Nature Reserve, South Africa

Aided by the golden glow of paraffin lamps in the middle of a vast dry riverbed, the Tanda Tula staff are well versed in setting up an elegant bush dinner experience. Guests are treated to delicious food and fine wine in the heart of the Big 5 paradise that is the Timbavati Private Nature Reserve.

Saruni Samburu, Samburu National Reserve, Kenya

There is something utterly primitive about Samburu – a feeling only emphasised by an al fresco dining experience. The flames of blazing torches chase away the darkness, their flickering light harking to a time long before electricity tamed the nights of Africa, as you dine out in one of Africa’s wildest places. The area around Saruni Samburu is teeming with wildlife – so be sure to take time to listen for the nocturnal sounds as you dine.

Lekkerwater Beach Lodge, De Hoop Nature Reserve, Overberg, South Africa
If you enjoy your open-air dining with a side of whale watching, Lekkerwater Beach Lodge is just the spot. The lodge is perched between land and sea atop the ancient dunes of De Hoop Nature Reserve in South Africa’s Western Cape. The reserve is known for offering some of the world’s best land-based whale watching. Due to its location near the beach, Lekkerwater is able to offer guests al-fresco dinners on the beach, for an immersive seaside experience.

Take your bushveld dining with a side of whale watching at Lekkerwater Beach Lodge; Experience an evening supper by lamplight in a riverbed with Tanda Tula; as well as the best in bushveld dining at Saruni Samburu

Africa on Foot Wilderness Trails, Balule Private Nature Reserve, Greater Kruger, South Africa

Africa on Foot Wilderness Trails has made our list because of the uniqueness of the walking safari experience. Experiencing the truly wild side of the African bushveld does not mean compromising on quality – or good food. After hanging up your boots for the day, you’ll have the opportunity to dine fireside at a different location every night. So despite roughing it on the trail, nights are made very comfortable by the mobile-camp team, who prep scrumptious meals under the stars.

Kichaka Frontier Camp, Ruaha National Park, Tanzania

Visitors to this remote camp in Ruaha National Park can be forgiven for losing themselves in the intimacy of this authentic safari destination. The small camp only takes six guests at a time, who are incredibly well looked after throughout their stays in one of the most isolated areas on the continent. And with such crystal-clear nights over Ruaha, hosts maximise the potential of the night skies by hosting dinners under the breathtaking vistas of the heavens. The Kichaka team uses only the freshest local produce, and pay special attention to the tastes and preferences of guests, ensuring a fulfilling and satisfying al-fresco dining experience.

Vundu Camp, Mana Pools National Park, Zimbabwe

Life in wild and untamed Mana Pools revolves around the mighty Zambezi River, the region’s lifeblood during the dry season. So where better to sate one’s appetite with the Vundu Camp team than on its banks, accompanied by the gentle song of resident hippos as the blanket of the African night falls?

Tswalu Kalahari Reserve, South Africa

Tswalu’s food is among some of the best on the safari scene, which applies equally to meals outside the lodge. As the sun burnishes the red Kalahari sands, a dune picnic is a perfect place to indulge your inner gastronome.

Five years until the Kalahari’s hornbills start to vanish

Scientists have predicted that the Kalahari’s hornbills will start to vanish in five years – and climate change is to blame. It is a frightening thought that an animal as seemingly ubiquitous as the yellow-billed hornbill could be threatened with local extinction. Yet the authors of a new study published in Frontiers warn that if temperatures continue on the same trajectory, yellow-billed hornbills at their study site in the Kalahari Desert will no longer be able to breed successfully by 2027 – resulting in local extinction.

Researchers in the Kuruman River Reserve in the Northern Cape of South Africa released their alarming results after a decade-long monitoring period, from 2008 to 2019. This included the drought during the 2015/2016 breeding season. The scientists compared the first three years of breeding data to the final three years of the study period. They found that nest success (defined by the successful fledging of at least one chick) declined from 58% to 17%, occupied artificial nest boxes declined from 52% to 12%, and the average number of chicks for each breeding attempt plummeted from 1.1 to 0.4. Most concerningly, of the 118 observed breeding attempts, not a single attempt was successful when the average air temperature was equal to or over 35.7˚C. According to current predictions, this average temperature will be exceeded for the entire duration of the yellow-billed hornbills’ breeding season by 2027, resulting in a predicted 0% breeding success rate.

Mass die-off events affecting bird species due to short periods of extreme temperatures are becoming increasingly common. However, this research shows that even sub-lethal increases in temperatures have a significant impact on the ecology of a region. Furthermore, hornbills would be expected to struggle during periods of drought due to a shortage of their insect and reptile prey. During the breeding season, the female yellow-billed hornbill seals herself off in a cavity of a tree or earth bank (or in artificial nest boxes) and is entirely reliant upon the male to feed her as she incubates the eggs and cares for the chicks. Thus, a shortage of resources caused by drought would hamper this process. Yet even in years of good rain, high temperatures still had deleterious effects on hornbill breeding habits.

The authors acknowledge that the higher temperatures inside artificial nest boxes compared to those of natural nest cavities may have impacted the results. However, the temperatures at the study site are, on average, lower than those experienced by yellow-billed hornbills at the hottest margins of their range. In addition, the effects of the higher temperatures are felt not just by the nesting female and chicks but by the males foraging for food during the day. Hornbills cannot shift their breeding season in the desert because it has to correspond with the arrival of the rains (and an abundance of prey) at the hottest time of the year. Climate change is changing temperatures (and other parameters) too quickly for birds to be able to adapt.

This research adds to a growing body of evidence of the effects global heating will have on Africa’s fauna and flora. With their relatively small body sizes, high metabolisms, and primarily diurnal activities, birds are especially vulnerable to changes in temperature and water availability. Those that survive in arid habitats like the Kalahari more so, as the window for successful breeding is limited to the duration of a short rainy season during the hottest months. According to the 2022 update to the State of the World’s Birds report, climate change now ranks as the second-greatest threat to birds across the globe after habitat destruction. Ornithologists are constantly finding new changes in bird behaviours and habits: climate change is affecting migratory patterns, seasonal rhythms, habitat and breeding ground use and even body size. The yellow-billed hornbills of this particular study represent challenges being faced by birds around the world.

And the threats posed are looming sooner than most people realise. As lead author Nicholas Pattinson explains in a press release from the University of Cape Town, “[m]uch of the public perception of the effects of climate change is related to scenarios calculated for 2050 and beyond. This renders the concept of the effects of climate change abstract to much of the general public not directly affected by extreme weather events, given that the effects are considered to concern future generations.”

Reference

Pattinson Nicholas B., van de Ven Tanja M. F. N., Finnie Mike J., Nupen Lisa J., McKechnie Andrew E., Cunningham Susan J. (2022), “Collapse of Breeding Success in Desert-Dwelling Hornbills Evident Within a Single Decade”, Frontiers in Ecology and Evolution. 10.

THIS WEEK

This is a copy of our weekly email newsletter. Subscribe here to receive the newsletter.

Hwange healing + kaleidoscopic chameleons + Mara madness

Listen up; I have something to say. My recent visit to the magnificent Maasai Mara was both epic and distressing.

Observing hordes of wildebeest and zebras crossing the Mara River again and again during the Great Wildebeest Migration, as the herds criss-cross the northern Serengeti and southern Maasai Mara, is one of Africa’s best safari experiences. It really is. One gets caught up in the drama of the moment, the chaos, the celebration of life. And death, as massive crocs and tactical lions gorge on the reckless and the unlucky.

BUT. How to manage that other great migration – that of large numbers of Homo sapiens converging on this tiny piece of Africa to witness this natural phenomenon?

At one of the crossings I witnessed last week, about 60 vehicles waited patiently for hours on both sides of the river – about 100m away – while the gnus and zebras slowly converged on their chosen crossing point. Then, when the first hooves hit the water, it was a crazy, chaotic rush as hundreds of tons of steel gunned with screaming engines to get to the best observation points. It was surreal, exhilarating and sickening as we all converged on what is only a few hundred meters of riverbank, jostled for position and somehow avoided collisions. The temptation to judge others was real. Did the fact that our guide behaved better make me less part of the problem? Did the fact that we left the grid-locked traffic jam to find calmer experiences give me the moral high ground? No, I was and am part of the problem.

Some things have changed from the old days. Now, guides have to allow the herds to commence the crossing before they approach the river bank – and officials in tiny green Jimny’s enforce slightly better behaviour. But it’s still chaotic and very stressful for the herds. It’s still not sustainable.

We, the travel industry, need to embrace this problem and find a more responsible way of showcasing this extraordinary spectacle before pressure groups and officious government agencies shut the door on the Greatest Show on Earth. Drops the mic

Keep the passion

Simon Espley – CEO, Africa Geographic

From our Editor – Taryn van Jaarsveld

Can nature nurture? Nature – or surrounding environment – can change a person’s outlook, or even ignite evolutionary processes.

In our first story this week, we feature a superb account by Aaron Gekoski (former Photographer of the Year winner) which attests to the healing power of nature. Exploring Hwange and Matobo National Parks in Zim, Aaron found catharsis through safari.

Scientists exploring how chameleons evolve their kaleidoscopic capacity have made a fascinating observation. By studying how a group of invasive African chameleons in Hawaii adapt to local environmental factors, the scientists have captured a snapshot of the evolutionary process in action. Read more in our second story below.

Happy celebrating Africa to you all!

From our Scientific Editor – Jamie Paterson

Did you know that hooved animals are born with a deciduous hoof capsule? The soft coating avoids damage to the mother’s uterus or birth canal and is called eponychium (or “foal slippers” in horses).

I ask because Care for Wild Rhino Sanctuary has released an awesome video of the birth of a rhino calf (see below). It is especially magical because the mother – Olive – was orphaned by poachers in 2013 and raised by Care for Wild Rhino Sanctuary. Every rhino calf counts, and I challenge you to watch the little creature take his first steps without your throat closing up. And if you look closely, you can see his slippers.

A remarkable achievement by the devoted staff at Care for Wild and a spark of hope for us rhino lovers. Read more about Care for Wild and their rhino birth below.

Story 1
https://africageographic.com/stories/healing-in-hwange/
HWANGE THERAPY
Can an African safari bring healing? Aaron Gekoski heads to Zimbabwe to explore Hwange & Matobo National Parks to find out

Story 2
https://africageographic.com/stories/hawaiis-conspicuous-african-chameleons/
KALEIDOSCOPIC CHAMELEONS
How did chameleons come to evolve their kaleidoscopic capacity? Escapees from the 1970s Hawaiian pet trade may hold the answer

TRAVEL DESK UPDATES:

Did we mention that we offer eight carefully crafted ways to enjoy the awesomeness of the Mara / Serengeti wonderland? We cater for all budgets and all times of the year – from the busy prime season when the herds are crossing the Mara River to the secret season, which locals know is the best time to be there. Over and above that, you could plan your own safari using our app or ask us to stitch together your ideal safari.

• Kenya highlights
• Maasai Mara migration season safari
• Serengeti great migration safari – 5 days or more
• Maasai Mara secret season
• Maasai Mara – owner-run camp – 6 days
• Maasai Mara luxury honeymoon safari
• Maasai Mara specialist photographic safari
• Serengeti great migration and big cats

Incredible video: rhino birth

Louwhen Bowker, Care for Wild project rep, writes on the AG forum:

“Following our announcement of a new birth at Care for Wild Rhino Sanctuary in South Africa, we are extremely humbled and privileged to be able to share this incredible footage with the world. White rhino cow Olive gave birth to a male calf on 11 August 2022. The birth was captured on video by Olive’s guard. Despite keeping his distance, Olive remained close to her long-term protector throughout the early stages of labour and kept him close during delivery. This is an unbelievably special moment to see this precious new life take his first breaths.”

Care for Wild is an AG Project partner. See the full forum post and video here, or show your support for Care for Wild here.

WATCH: Watch as the Nomads, a group of four young male lions, prowl the western bank of the Luangwa River in Zambia, in search of new territory. In their pursuit, they enter the territory of the powerful MK Pride. Can a hunting party of MK lionesses keep them at bay? (08:00). Click here to watch

Hawaii’s conspicuous African chameleons

From chameleons the size of house cats to those smaller than the head of a match, custom colours are central to the Chamaeleonidae family survival strategy. How did they come to evolve this kaleidoscopic capacity? Escapees from the 1970s pet trade may hold some of the answers…

Chameleons can modify their skin colour thanks to specialised skin cells and a combination of different pigments. As relatively slow movers, they rely on camouflage and muted browns and greens to stay hidden from potential predators (and to sneak up on prey).

They do not however have the magical ability to match the colour of their backgrounds, and their talent for expressing bright colours has more to do with impressing potential mates and intimidating rivals. Thus, chameleon ancestors walked a delicate tightrope between flamboyant breeding displays and avoiding the unwanted attentions of those looking to hunt them.

In 1972, 36 Jackson’s chameleons (Trioceros jacksonii xantholophus) – native to Kenya and Tanzania – were brought onto the Hawaiian island of Oahu, destined for a life as pets. They arrived somewhat bedraggled and sunlight-deprived and were placed outside for some invigorating fresh air, at which point they promptly escaped. Fifty years later, Jackson’s chameleons have established themselves as an invasive species in Hawaii. A lack of snakes and avian predators made the islands a chameleon paradise, which is where evolutionary research comes in.

When two male Jackson’s chameleons size each other up in the wild, they display a lurid yellow-green colour. But when presented with a predator, they adopt a far more subtle and camouflaged approach.

Researchers wanted to test if 50 years’ worth of a carefree, largely predator-less existence would mean that the Hawaiian Jackson’s chameleons had more elaborate or brighter displays. To do this, the scientists exposed both Kenyan and Hawaiian chameleons to rival male and female chameleons, as well as fake models of predators. The colour changes were measured using an optic spectrometer.

The Hawaiian chameleons proved far more uninhibited than their Kenyan relatives, flaunting significantly brighter displays of colour across a greater spectrum when presented with rivals and females. They also stood out against the native Hawaiian vegetation even when faced with predators, particularly snakes.

Male chameleons experience intense sexual selection. During the breeding season, they change from dull green to a highly conspicuous bright yellow display signal. They also readily fight by locking horns and sometimes pierce their rival’s skin with their horns. In (A) a dominant male is shown in display colouration. (B) A subordinate male that lost a contest and turned from bright yellow to brown. (C) Two males fighting, both are in display colouration and relatively evenly matched. (D) A courting male in full display colour, while the female has turned to a contrasting colour, rejecting the male. See the Supplementary Materials for additional photos, including in response to a snake.

It would be a stretch to conclude that the lucky Hawaiian immigrants have evolved in only 50 years. Instead, this is more likely an example of biological plasticity (adaption to local environmental factors) – a snapshot of the ultimate evolutionary process in action. In this case, a lack of danger brought sexual competitiveness to the forefront of a biological arms race.

Further reading

To learn more about these fascinating creatures, read 6 must-know facts about chameleons.

Reference:
Whiting M.J., Holland B.S., Keogh J.S., Noble D.W.A., Rankin K.J., and Stuart-Fox D., “Invasive chameleons released from predation display more conspicuous colors”, ScienceAdvances, (2022), 8:19

Healing in Hwange

We all have our own ways of dealing with stress. Some speak to professionals or pop pills. Others release endorphins via exercise or yoga, and meditate themselves into a state of zen-ness and some go on African safaris. Hippocrates prescribed a dose of greenery. “Nature,” he said, “is the greatest physician”. Whilst it’s unlikely that Hippocrates ever went on an African safari in Hwange, his words still ring true today. But many are discovering this great secret: the art of healing through safari. A safari is a cathartic experience, with lions or elephants playing the part of therapists, prowling their way deep into our psyche, stomping out negative thoughts (at least temporarily, anyway).

The pandemic blindsided us and brought challenges we didn’t see coming and never thought possible. We were isolated from each other, from travel, and for many, from the natural world. As we start life in a post-COVID era, can we find solace amongst the animals? I headed to Zimbabwe to find out.

A dose of the good stuff

For the past 13 years I’ve worked as an environmental photojournalist and filmmaker, covering stories of human-animal conflict. In the process I have witnessed the best – and the worst – of humanity. I had lived in Africa before – in Mozambique, South Africa and Zanzibar – and as the pressures of a few years of gruelling work began to weigh on me, I longed for the continent.

I missed the smells of a savannah after a heavy rainstorm and those dense, brilliant night skies. I daydreamed of wild, open spaces packed with wildlife, and sitting around a campfire chugging whiskey, listening to stories of lives spent in the bush.

As travel opened up in the post-pandemic world, I decided it was time to test out Hippocrates’ theory, and in March my girlfriend Marie and I set off for Zimbabwe from our home in the Philippines. At first, we were unsure of visiting during green season (the rainy months between December and April). But a good buddy, Mark Butcher (aka ‘Butch’), who runs a few lodges in Zimbabwe – one of which (Bomani Tented Lodge) I added to my itinerary – reassured me that green season meant relaxed animals due to an abundance of water and food, and fewer tourists.

Rhinos, Rhodes and rings

After four flights we arrived at Bulawayo Airport a little bleary-eyed, to be greeted by Phil and Sharon Stead, owners of Amalinda Safari Collection. From here it was a 45-minute drive to Amalinda Lodge in Matobo National Park: the first stop on our three-week tour.

The Matobo National Park is found in the Matobo Hills, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, and is the oldest national park in Zimbabwe. And it might be one of the most romantic destinations on Earth. Every part of Amalinda Lodge pays homage to Matobo’s giant granite domes. We ate amongst them, slept next to them, swam on top of them, and went on game drives with them as the backdrop.

The Matobo Hills also house one of Africa’s rhino conservation success stories and provide impressive tracking encounters. On our first morning, we came within 5m of a pair of white rhinos, as our guide Howard – aka the “rhino oracle” – explained how rhinos here are flourishing due to intensive anti-poaching efforts.

Hwange — Matopos offers some of the best rhino sightings in all of Zimbabwe

Back at the lodge that evening, we made our way up to a vantage point with Sharon, Phil and a couple of bottles of Champagne. As the sun set over Matobo’s two-billion-year-old hills, I knelt down on one knee, pretended to pull a drone out of my bag, and whipped out an engagement ring for Marie instead. She said “yes”. It had been quite the first day in Zimbabwe.

The next couple of days passed by, a heady mix of celebrating, spending time with rhinos, and enjoying our honeymoon suite. We even found time to visit the grave of Cecil John Rhodes, set on top of a mountain with sensational views. Ending on a high, we packed our bags and headed on the next leg: to Bomani Tented Lodge, in Hwange National Park.

Bomani, Bigboy and the Baggage Handlers

Upon arrival, it turned out that Butch was true to his word: we did indeed have the entire place to ourselves. Bomani is situated on a 2000-hectare private reserve: visitors have virtually no neighbours aside from the animals that regularly visit the waterhole in front of the lodge. Bomani has a real family atmosphere and we were made to feel at home by the lodge manager, the charismatic Bigboy, and our guide, Ndaba.

Whilst enjoying a cup of coffee over the campfire with Butch at 5am, mist dispersing around the lodge, a golden blur caught Butch’s eye. It turned out to be the lion Lesang (pictured in the main image of this story), son of renowned lion Cecil, a magnificent specimen who was on the lookout for a mate.

Lesang is one of many lions that roam locally, along with a grizzled coalition known as ‘The Baggage Handlers’ (so named because they once raided the luggage of a charter aircraft on the runway to get to some vacuum-packed fillet steaks). On a couple of occasions, we were fortunate to see them with kills.

During the many coffees shared with Butch and the Imvelo team, I learnt of some of the ways they are contributing to the surrounding community, including building schools, creating employment, providing water and assisting with healthcare. They have recently been involved in an ambitious project to bring white rhinos back to Hwange. What makes the initiative so exciting is that rhinos are being reintroduced onto community land, where community members become custodians and benefit from tourism through increased employment.

Shortly after our trip, Butch and the team were busy preparing the rhinos for their trip to Hwange. Once in Hwange, they will enter into the care of the ‘Cobras’ – an anti-poaching group selected from the community and trained by Imvelo. Having seen the Cobras in action, it looks like the rhinos will be in safe hands.

A short drive from Bomani leads to Ngamo Plain – a wide-open savannah filled with the who’s who of safari. On a single morning, Butch showed us lion, cheetah, elephant, zebra, buffalo, wildebeest, waterbuck and a lot more.

The final leg

Waving goodbye to the team from Imvelo, we headed north to Khulu Bush Camp in the north-eastern section of Hwange, to meet up again with Sharon and Phil. The lodge is a mirror of Sharon: elegant, stylish and beautifully put together.

Khulu is famous for its deck and plunge pool, where one can view elephants gathering at a large waterhole to drink. Sitting there with a gin and tonic in hand, we received news that a lioness and her cubs were feasting on a kudu close to the lodge.

Another highlight of our stay was hiding under a platform at neighbouring Ivory Lodge, where the elephants would congregate. Crouching with my camera, mere inches away from their trunks, made me sweat in places I didn’t know I could sweat. Shooting from this close with a wide-angle lens provides an intimate insight into elephant herds that telephotos can’t.

The Amalinda Collection also has its own conservation body, the Mother Africa Trust, which aims to empower local communities around Hwange and Matobo. Sharon took us to some of the lion bomas funded by the trust, which protect cattle from predators. Mother Africa has also been involved in building schools and has a dedicated anti-poaching unit.

While we were at the homestead, we met a man who had been injured by a bull elephant a few years ago and now struggles to walk. For many here, supporting family brings daily battles. One misplaced step and treasured cattle could be killed or worse – human life can be lost. The daily stresses I had come to Hwange to escape paled in comparison to the true grit I witnessed here.

A trip to Africa – experiencing its raw realities and overwhelming biodiversity – brings a true sense of perspective. We left Zimbabwe humbled, thrilled, exhausted, and with renewed energy and appreciation for our natural world. For those wanting to deal with demons, there’s nowhere quite like it.

Want to go on Hwange safari? To find lodges, search for our ready-made packages or get in touch with our travel team to arrange your safari, scroll down to after this story.

Resources

Zimbabwe’s oldest and largest national park, Hwange is a safari paradise that hosts large populations of elephants, lions and wild dogs. Read more here.

The annual wildlife count in Zimbabwe’s Hwange National Park is a wonderful citizen-science project for all. Tony Park tells his story.

THIS WEEK

This is a copy of our weekly email newsletter. Subscribe here to receive the newsletter.

Moving elephants + rhino run + Serengeti migration safari

The skimpy bikini barely covered her bits, and the danger of a wardrobe malfunction was real. No robe or kikoi in sight – just a few tiny pieces of string. This was no private beach – it was a roadside cafe on the busy main road in the bustling rural town of Gede, eastern Kenya. Men were gawking (as we do) but, more importantly, several people were obviously uncomfortable (bordering on angry) at the ample display of flesh amongst the modestly dressed locals. She was a tourist from Europe and the only Mzungu in the establishment. My guide – we were parked across the road – told me that scenes like this are common in August, when western world holidaymakers descend on the tropical coastline of Kenya. What is it about some people on holiday that they abandon all sense of decency and respect for local culture? Shakes his head, walks away.

Meanwhile, the knobthorn trees in my bushveld hometown bordering the Greater Kruger are smothered in canopies of white flowers, and their sweet aroma wafts through my window as I type this note to you. Many trees are still bare, but here and there tiny green buds are popping up as the temperatures rise and daylight hours lengthen. It’s a good time to be in the bushveld!

Keep the passion

Simon Espley – CEO, Africa Geographic

From our Editor – Taryn van Jaarsveld

This week I’d like to send a shoutout to conservationists. This month, 263 elephants were translocated in a cross-country odyssey that is the stuff of legend. I can only imagine the sleepless nights, tiresome labour and toilsome hours put in by the wildlife warriors involved in the move. The elephants are starting to settle into their new home in Kasungu National Park after they were darted, loaded into trucks, and transported 350km north from Liwonde National Park in a colossal month-long operation driven by African Parks. Read more about this milestone in Malawi’s conservation journey in our first story.

Kruger’s wildlife warriors are also continuing the good fight, battling the scourge of rhino poaching in the region. Those on the frontlines defending these precious specimens could use all the help they can get. But how can you help? Simon recently accompanied the runners and walkers undertaking the epic Timbavati Traverse, an ultramarathon through Timbavati Private Nature Reserve held to raise funds for the increasing costs of fighting the rhino war. Read more about how you can support the cause below.

Happy celebrating Africa to you all!

From our Scientific Editor – Jamie Paterson

As any sitcom trope will tell you, the sight of a spider inspires terror and squealing in the majority of the human population. A few individuals are scooped up in the nearest glass and deposited safely outside, but I suspect most bedroom-dwelling arachnids end up as eight-legged smudges on laminate floors. So here’s a little fact that might make you think twice next time:

Did you know that scientists have discovered evidence of a REM sleep-like state in jumping spiders? The random twitching of their legs even suggests that they might dream – like a dog or a cat chasing something in their sleep. Cute, right?

Story 1
https://africageographic.com/stories/the-march-of-malawis-elephants/
MOVING ELEPHANTS
African Parks has successfully translocated 263 elephants from Liwonde National Park to Kasungu National Park, Malawi

Story 2
https://africageographic.com/stories/not-on-our-watch-the-timbavati-traverse/
RHINO RUN
The Timbavati Traverse is an excellent opportunity for bushveld walkers & runners to make a real difference for Greater Kruger’s rhinos

TRAVEL DESK UPDATES:

It’s a good time to start planning your next safari. Why now, you ask? Because it’s always a good time to invest in your health and wellbeing 🙂

Here are two popular safari options which we can tailor to suit you. For more options, go here.

Desert & delta safari – 11 days traversing the Okavango Delta, Chobe and Nxai Pan national parks (Botswana) and Victoria Falls (Zimbabwe). Mid-range and luxury packages are available.

Serengeti great migration safari. This iconic safari will get you front-row seat action as the Great Wildebeest Migration makes its way through the vast Serengeti ecosystem, where most of the great migration occurs. Our chosen dates and camps are to maximise sightings based on where the herds are at the time.

WATCH: Malawian elephants on the move: View incredible footage from the recent translocation of 263 elephants from Liwonde to Kasungu (02:14). Click here to watch

Not on our watch: The Timbavati Traverse

His words bounced around my head that night around the fire as Timbavati warden Edwin Pearce briefed us on the next day’s adventure. ‘Not on our watch.’ He was referring to the scourge of rhino poaching and the fear amongst us all that rhinos would be poached to extinction in the wild. Unfortunately, the Kruger region has buckled under a massive rhino poaching onslaught, and rhinos need all the help they can get – from us all. One of the fund-raising activities to finance the ever-increasing costs of fighting the rhino war is the Timbavati Traverse – a unique walking and running marathon held in the reserve.

I was thrilled to be invited to cycle the event as an assistant guide – to help keep the runners safe from dangerous wildlife. Timbavati Private Nature Reserve is, of course, home to the Big 5…

As a veteran of many mountain bike events, I have to take my hat off to Timbavati for how well managed this event is. The race village buzzed with vibey entertainment, the food tables along the route groaned with delicious treats and the armed rangers who accompanied each running and walking group were very professional. This is one slick, superbly managed event.

And the animals certainly played along. My group had close (but safe) encounters with herds of elephants and buffaloes and with two crashes of rhinos – how serendipitous! One group of four white rhinos was so close to the track that we waited about 20 minutes before they headed off. The chilly morning mist was lifting, the robin-chats were announcing the new day with their sweet melodies, and hornbills were catching the first rays of the sun high up in the knobthorn trees. And four rhinos were parked about 30 meters away. It was a surreal moment for us all. Later that morning, we saw another three rhinos heading for cover after we disturbed their mud bath next to the track. So, rather than the usual race, this is a journey – something to be enjoyed at a gentle amble.

You and I need to step up to help our protected area managers raise the cash required to fight this war. Every little bit helps. Of course, the tourism industry plays a huge role, and many fantastic NGOs move mountains daily. But the diminishing importance that governments worldwide place on wild matters makes efforts such as this vital. It’s up to the private sector to play the role our political leaders are paid to do but fail dismally at. It is what it is.

If you enjoy walking or running, why not train up and book your place in this epic event or sponsor someone less able to afford the price ticket. Or train and raise sponsorship from friends or one of the many online crowd-funding platforms. The two distance options are a 45km run and 21km walk.

Can we win this war? Hell yes. But we must move beyond the social media chatter and the blame game. So start now – click here and learn more about the Timbavati Traverse.

This story is dedicated to Timbavati ranger Anton Mzimba who was recently murdered in what is suspected to be a poaching gang hit, and all anti-poaching staff who put their lives on the line to keep rhinos safe.

The march of Malawi’s elephants – 263 elephants translocated to Kasungu

Elephants, Malawi — Elephants sedated and loaded in Liwonde National Park

31st of July 2022 saw the conclusion of a colossal one-month operation to translocate 263 elephants from Liwonde National Park to Kasungu National Park, Malawi. This impressive undertaking marks another milestone in Malawi’s journey towards establishing the country as a conservation role model in Africa.

The translocation was jointly managed by the International Fund for Animal Welfare (IFAW) and Malawi’s Department of National Parks and Wildlife (DNPW), with the elephants being provided by Majete Wildlife Reserve and Liwonde National Park (both managed by African Parks).

Kasunga National Park is Malawi’s second-largest national park. Once home to a population of around 1,200 elephants during the 1970s, rampant poaching desecrated elephant numbers, and just 49 individuals remained in 2015. Since 2015, IFAW has been working with the DNPW to address law enforcement, wildlife crime, infrastructure and capacity within the park. With the park’s future secured, IFAW and the DNPW formed a partnership to boost populations and fast-track restoration efforts. With the generous support of non-profit Elephant Cooperation and various other philanthropic funders, 263 Liwonde elephants were darted, loaded into trucks, and transported 350km north to their new home.

African Parks’ involvement in Malawi dates back to 2003 when the organisation first partnered with DNPW to assume managerial responsibility for Majete Wildlife Reserve. Following Majete’s spectacular revival, Liwonde National Park and Nkhotakota Wildlife Reserve joined the African Parks portfolio in 2015, followed shortly by Mangochi Forest Reserve in 2018.

In keeping with a proud African Parks tradition, these parks have flourished, with burgeoning tourist numbers, improved local community relations and increased security. Their success has become a springboard for Malawian conservation and benefited protected spaces across the country. With poaching all but eliminated, Liwonde National Park in southern Malawi has essentially reached its carrying capacity for elephants. Thus, a unique scenario exists where the national park can act as a “source population” to augment elephant populations in protected areas across the country.

In addition to the elephants, the move also saw 431 additional wildlife, including impala, buffalo, warthog, sable, and waterbuck translocated to supplement Kasunga’s remaining wildlife. Brighton Kumchedwa, Malawi’s Director of National Parks and Wildlife, said of the initiative that “[t]he addition of elephants and other wildlife species to Kasungu National Park will benefit Malawi tourism and communities through job creation, thereby fuelling a conservation-driven economy”.

This is not the first time that Liwonde’s elephants have moved across the country as part of Malawian conservation efforts. In 2016, the largest elephant translocation ever undertaken saw 500 elephants moved from Liwonde and Majete to repopulate Nkhotakota Wildlife Reserve in central Malawi. The translocations have also helped alleviate pressure on Liwonde’s recovering habitats and reduced human-wildlife conflict on the densely populated fringes of the park.

The success of this project is a testament to the DNPW’s strategy of working with partners to secure its natural resources and maintain healthy ecosystems in the country’s parks. Returning animals to protected spaces is essential in supporting the nascent tourism industry and establishing the country as a world-class safari destination.

THIS WEEK

Please take your seats, dinner is about to be served. Tswalu Kalahari Reserve, South Africa

This is a copy of our weekly email newsletter. Subscribe here to receive the newsletter.

Wild Akagera + painted wolf pups + responsible safaris

1,8 metric tons – that’s the amount of carbon dioxide I added to the climate change problem during my recent safari to Kenya. I want desperately not to have my travel choices contribute to destroying our precious ecosystems and biodiversity. And so I tried to work out how many indigenous trees to plant to offset my personal CO2 emissions for this safari. Because I love planting indigenous trees.

My online research generated a myriad of requests to donate to NGOs undertaking to plant trees on my behalf. That sounds like a neat way to quickly offload my guilt without much personal effort. But it turns out that the science behind this solution is not as simple as that because many factors come into play. One suggestion that stuck out during my research is that preserving existing (and restoring degraded) habitats is a more effective strategy than planting young trees.

Coincidently, during my trip to Kenya, I spent time with a wonderful NGO securing tracts of indigenous forest by purchasing land from local communities and creating sustainable forest-related livelihoods for those communities. Of course, this project is not unique – there are numerous worldwide. But this project relates specifically to my safari. And so, I plan to mitigate my footprint by donating to this cause. More about this fantastic project when teamAG publishes my writings in the coming months.

Feel free to treat my carbon footprint mitigation attempts with scorn or to share your own strategies in the comments section below (app only) or in the forum section of our app.

Keep the passion

Simon Espley – CEO, Africa Geographic

From our Editor – Taryn van Jaarsveld

The quintessential Rwandan safari consists of trekking to find gorillas and other primates, and exploring rainforests and volcanoes. But did you know that Rwanda has a Big Five park, which is a refuge for savannah-adapted wildlife? Akagera National Park’s status as a premier safari destination has risen over the past decade, in large part thanks to African Parks’ involvement. Read our first story below to find out all there is to know about travelling to this corner of the continent.

This week, we are also delving into research that shows there is order in wild dog hunts. Scientists have long been intrigued by the social structures and hierarchies of wild dog packs. But new findings confirmed a fascinating approach in pack dynamics: when the pack makes a kill, pups eat first. Read more about what all this means in our second story below.

In the past few weeks, we’ve been analysing the issues surrounding leopard habituation. Our in-depth analysis, undertaken by Jamie Paterson and Maxine Gaines, delves into the unintended consequences this has for leopards.
This story is now available on our public website for easy access – see below.

Happy celebrating Africa!

From our Scientific Editor – Jamie Paterson

Now and again, a little tidbit of new research comes along that completely unsettles my understanding of how certain things work.

If you (like me and many other guides I know) were under the impression that woodpeckers’ skulls act as shock absorbers, prepare to have your world rocked. Did you know that woodpeckers’ heads function as stiff hammers rather than safety helmets? This, despite the fact that the shock of the repeated impacts exceeds the concussion threshold for humans.

I have a headache just thinking about it.

Story 1
https://africageographic.com/stories/akagera-national-park/
AKAGERA, RWANDA
Akagera National Park is Rwanda’s last refuge for savannah-adapted wildlife, and safeguards Central Africa’s largest protected wetland

Story 2
https://africageographic.com/stories/kids-eat-first-research-on-wild-dog-feeding-habits/
WILD DOGS
New research shows that there is order in wild dog hunts, and pups are the first to eat at a carcass

Story 3
https://africageographic.com/stories/habituating-leopards/
HABITUATING LEOPARDS
Does the habituation of leopards by the tourism industry create problems and result in unintended consequences for leopards?

TRAVEL DESK UPDATES:

This week we feature 2 epic short safaris for the time-pressured traveller and those wanting to top up their longer safaris with the ultimate finale

Botswana’s salt pans – 4 days
This could be your zen moment – those vast desolate pans and giant ancient baobabs bring out the philosopher in us all. Or take advantage of the many activities on offer (how about that salt pan sleep-out?) to end your safari with a bang. Prices to suit all budgets

Gorilla trekking in Rwanda – 3 days
This primal experience is on most ultimate traveller bucket lists. Why not add 3 days of gorilla trekking to your Maasai Mara or Serengeti safari to create the ultimate dream vacation?

DID YOU KNOW that you will find more than 340 camps & lodges on our app? And we feature ready-made packages that even the most experienced traveller will drool over. Login, select ‘Travel with us’ from the menu above and search based on place and other important choices (such as lodges in non-malaria areas or packages that include the Big 5). You can add your selection of lodges and packages to your wishlist – which will remain saved until you choose to edit or delete.

New safaris in the works

This cheetah and her cubs posed beautifully for our CEO Simon last week in Tsavo East National Park, Kenya. Simon has just returned from his safari, which was spent researching exciting destinations to add to our list of recommended lodges, and finding new adventures for our travel experts to add to your next itinerary. Watch this space for exciting things to come!

WATCH: How African wild dogs keep the ecosystem in check: In Gorongosa, Mozambique, where the species was wiped out completely, an ambitious scheme reintroduced them – with positive consequences for the whole ecosystem (07:31). Click here to watch

Tsavo’s tumultuous history

The Great Walk of Tsavo

Wild experiences

Resources

Daring giraffe move + another tusker dies + Cape porcupines

From our Editor – Taryn van Jaarsveld

The basics

The weapons

Diet and behaviour

Reproduction

Resilient through and through

Uplisting hippos + Oltepesi photo safari + elephant birds

From our Editor – Taryn van Jaarsveld

From our Scientific Editor – Jamie Paterson

CITES and the Conference of the Parties

The Hippopotamus

The trade in hippos

Safeguarding Africa’s hippos

Final thoughts

Fallen tusker + magical Bazaruto + human-wildlife conflict in Namibia

From our Editor – Taryn van Jaarsveld

From our Scientific Editor – Jamie Paterson

Disappearing lions + Botswana safari SADC special + Mara champagne safari

From our Scientific Editor – Jamie Paterson

Disappearing habitats, dwindling lions

Disconnected lions

The future of lion conservation

References and further reading

Tragedy in Kasungu + Selati Game Reserve + cross-country SA safari

From our Editor – Taryn van Jaarsveld

From our Scientific Editor – Jamie Paterson

Conservation and human-elephant conflict

Consequences of a rising elephant population

Overview

A river runs through it

Wildlife in abundance

Lay of the land

Sundowner spots abound

Explore & Stay

Final thoughts

Forest whisperers + elusive aardvarks + photographic safaris

From our Editor – Taryn van Jaarsveld

From our Scientific Editor – Jamie Paterson

The “earth pig”

Quick facts

The nosey ones

Dig it

The secret lives of aardvarks

Earth shapers

Find one in the wild

Ecotourism for the good of community

Birding in Arabuko-Sokoke Forest

Kenya’s only coastal-tree nursery

Visiting Gedi Ruins

Mida Creek

Conserving Dakatcha Forest

Armchair conservation + untamed Kafue + festive safari planning

From our Scientific Editor – Jamie Paterson

Kafue National Park and its surrounds

Kafue’s frolicking wildlife

Kafue’s avian kaleidoscope

Shining future

Explore & stay

Final thoughts

Medieval forest ruins + rhino update + Botswana specials

From our Editor – Taryn van Jaarsveld

From our Scientific Editor – Jamie Paterson

In summary:

South Africa

Namibia

Kenya

Zimbabwe

Botswana

Mozambique

Additional country information in rhino populations

Final thoughts on the state of Africa’s rhinos

Further Reading

Historical significance

Exploring the city

Khwai wildlife action + surviving snares + mega safari