Page 16 – Africa Geographic

Another giant elephant trophy hunted – is this conservation?

Around 17 July 2021, a hunter shot a massive elephant bull (a tusker) in the Controlled Hunting Area (CHA) CH8 in the Chobe region of Botswana. The hunt was legal from what we can gather (i.e. conducted with the requisite permits, licences, etc.). According to the owner of the hunting operation that led the hunt, it was conducted ethically. What this means is not entirely clear as no further details were forthcoming despite repeated requests. The hunting operator was cagey, as is often the case.

Map of Botswana hunting concessions and the 2020 elephant quotas allocated to each. (Courtesy of Elephants without borders)

The measurements for this bull were as follows:

108-pound (49 kg) tusker (mass of the heaviest tusk or an average of the two tusks)
57 inches out (144 cm) (length of the tusks from the lip to the tip)
19 1/2 inches at the lip (49.5 cm) (circumference of the tusk at the lip)

These measurements provided by our sources could not, unfortunately, be verified. The owner of the concession, Thys de Vries, responded as follows:

Unfortunately, I cannot comment on your query (for reasons I am sure you are aware of with the social media frenzy shit storm that happens when things go public). All I will say is it was an ethical, legal hunt within our CHA CH 8 Concession out of an overpopulated Botswana elephant population.

This was supposed to be a short, sad story on the death of another great tusker at the hands of a wealthy hunter armed with a high-calibre hunting rifle. Instead, it has turned into a rather tricky, often intensely personal, exercise in considering all the stakeholders in the Botswana hunting melange – the rural communities, the trophy hunters, the Botswana government and, not least, the elephants. The government of Botswana and the Botswana Association of Wildlife Producers, unlike the hunter, were refreshingly forthcoming with facts and figures.

Declaration

I must admit at the outset that I consider trophy hunting to be archaic and distasteful. I think it will eventually be consigned to the scrapheap of humanity’s abuse of nature. But I might be wrong. I cannot, in good conscience, not examine why I feel like this and ask if my feelings are justified while accepting that virtually nothing in this world is black or white, wrong or right. I must admit that my perspective is coloured by genetics, upbringing, education, experience and those with whom I have associated. The revulsion I feel about trophy hunting is not necessarily correct, right or even justified – no matter how real it is to me.

Some background: I wasn’t raised fishing and hunting. My parents hated guns, and no amount of begging could convince them to give me a pellet gun. We never talked about hunting; the activity was entirely beyond our frame of reference. We ate meat, and I can’t recall ever discussing where it came from or considering the living conditions of the animals we braaied on summer Saturday afternoons. I still eat meat, although seldom, and only if I am relatively satisfied that the animal wasn’t treated with cruelty.

When I left university, I trained to be a guide and in the course of the training, I had to learn to use a high-calibre rifle in case I should ever have to defend my guests from a charging animal.

I have shot animals.

The first impala I shot left me awash with wildly differing emotions. I fired the rifle and ran from cover to find the ram, eyes open, tongue lolling, the final twitches of death shuddering through him. Tears flowed. I felt ashamed and sad and elated all at once. I dragged the hapless ram back to camp, where a line of cheering people clapped me on the back and told me how clever I was. I felt elated again. Then I felt sad again. This was the final test I had to pass to become a guide – it tested my skill with the weapon and the bushcraft I had learnt. We ate him a few days later.

I have shot other impala for the pot, thankfully all clean hits – this was harvesting from a vehicle for food. I did not feel awful about this – it would have been illogical as a meat-eater. We are predators – human beings have consumed animal products for millennia. Our physiologies are adapted to this (even if we are not obligate carnivores).

A few years after my first impala hunt, a runaway fire caught a herd of elephants in the Kruger National Park. The traumatised animals came onto the concession where I worked, and the Kruger section ranger asked me to help him euthanase them – they were horrifically burnt and suffering terribly. I remember standing in front of the first big cow. She turned to face us, her head held high, ears out.

We shot her.

I have to confess to a certain sense of exhilaration as the massive animal fell. I felt, for want of a better term, powerful. For me, this quickly faded to sadness. I can only assume that the thrill is more permanent to people who repeatedly hunt – that the rush of standing in front of an adult elephant, front on, and then ending its life is something they crave.

Hunting in Botswana – lifting of the moratorium

On 23 May 2019, the Botswana Government lifted the five-year moratorium on hunting. This created a predictable flaring of the pro versus anti-hunting rhetoric, the same arguments rehashed and shouted from various soapboxes.

Regardless of how you feel about the trophy hunting of elephants, elephant populations in Botswana, what constitutes an ethical hunt (if such a thing exists), research shows that the numbers of tuskers like the bull shot on 17 July are in decline. This is not the fault of all trophy hunters operating today but rather a legacy of centuries of ivory trading, poaching and trophy hunting.

Why the need for big ivory?

Poachers will target so-called ‘hundred pounders’ or any large tusked elephants – the more the ivory, the greater the pay. However, it is not clear why some trophy hunters, who bleat about how they only hunt because they love nature, would seek to shoot the remaining big tuskers. It is also unclear to me (as a non-hunter of trophies) why an animal with big tusks is more rewarding to shoot than one with smaller tusks – the tracking, risks, etc., are the same. There is nothing more dangerous or difficult about hunting a big tusker compared with a tuskless animal.

Unfortunately, to my mind anyway, the desire to shoot large-tusked bulls must surely have its roots in the human ego and not in the love for tracking, nature or ‘fair chase’. It must come from the desire to say ‘mine is bigger than yours’. The same goes for record antelope horns. We assign arbitrary human value to a genetic expression.

At the same time, I must acknowledge that by bemoaning the hunting of big tusked elephants, I am also assigning an arbitrary value to elephant tusk size and suggesting that, if people insist on shooting elephants, they choose ones with smaller tusks. Smaller tusked elephants would be justifiably alarmed by this – who is to say that they are of less value to the species in general than their larger tusked compatriots? I am not aware of any science that suggests this. To the average marula or knobthorn tree, the ideal elephant is a tuskless one.

That said, I don’t think anyone – from the most ardent hunter to the most rabid anti-hunter – would disagree with the assertion that it would be sad to lose the last remaining tuskers. They’re impressive beasts, fantastic to photograph, and evolution has dictated that they are here, so let’s not make a dodo or quagga of them.

In the case of the bull that started this reflection, perhaps the hunter thought he was beyond breeding age – we don’t know because the hunter wouldn’t comment. Botswana Wildlife Producers Association committee member, Debbie Peake, justified the shooting of tuskers as sustainable because, by the time their tusks reach 100 pounds, they have already mated any number of times and, therefore, their genes exist in the population.

Dr FJ Verreynne (BVSc, M.Phil Wildlife Management), Coordinator: Research and Veterinary Working Group Botswana Wildlife Producers Association notes the following:

‘Controlled hunting of elephant bulls in Botswana under the international CITES annual export quota of 400 individuals is part of the sustainable utilization policy of the Government of Botswana. There is no legal ceiling on the size of the tusks to be hunted although tusks of less than 11kg may not be exported. It is therefore expected for bulls with bigger tusks to be hunted in Botswana. It is encouraged to hunt older bulls which genes have already been spread within the wider population.

‘BWPA acknowledges the intrinsic value of big tusk elephant bulls. We have therefore approached the DWNP in December 2020 to fund and fit monitoring collars on ten of the big tuskers known to be present in Northern Botswana. This will allow the Association, anti-poaching authorities and our members to look after the animals, and protect them against poaching and hunting. We have received no response from the Department on our request and therefore refer all enquiries regarding the hunting of big tusk elephant bulls to The Director: Department of Wildlife and National Parks.’

This does not explain the research showing a decline in large tuskers. It gives no hard facts about how many youngsters the tusker may have sired or how many he could have sired before being shot. In theory, elephant bulls are perfectly capable of breeding almost until they die. If there was a chance that this animal could breed again, then the hunt reduced his genetic legacy. Indeed research shows that far from slowing down as they get older, 50-year-old bulls move twice as fast and over 3.5 times the area when in musth compared with their 20-year-old counterparts. Other research (Bull elephants – their importance as individuals in elephant societies and Why identifying individual elephants is important, and the pivotal roles matriarchs and older bulls play) shows that elephant bulls of all ages are important in elephant society – as mates, mentors and disciplinarians.

Was the sacrifice of this bull worth it? Well, let’s examine what these hunts are worth financially.

Background to current Botswana hunting

The Botswana Government argued, in broad strokes, that the hunting moratorium should be lifted because:

There was inadequate community consultation when the ban was imposed;
The ban was not based on scientific evidence;
There had been an increase in human-elephant conflict (HEC);
There had been an increase in human-predator conflict; and
The lack of hunting was having drastic adverse effects on rural livelihoods.

The Ministry reasserted Botswana’s sovereign right to lift the hunting ban and claimed that all stakeholders were consulted (NGOs, conservationists, scientists, leaders of neighbouring countries). The decision was made in the best interests of the rural communities and aimed to stem HEC and encourage communities to support sustainable use conservation and tourism. It also claimed that Community-Based Organisations (CBO) that have marginal land would again benefit.

The statement claims that ‘following the implementation of the moratorium, it became abundantly clear that non-consumptive practices on marginal lands did not contribute to economic development.’ (For complete statements from the Botswana government, see BWgovernment’s post and Media Statement: Botswana Controlled Hunting Programme: A Sustainable, Science Based Conservation Strategy To Benefit And Empower Communities | Resource Africa.)

I am not sure how seriously anybody takes the justification of hunting on the grounds that it will reduce HEC. It stretches the limits of credulity to suggest that the hunting of 277 elephants from a population of some 130,000 will stop or minimise HEC. However, the economic arguments are worth considering and, for anti-trophy hunters like me, they’re even more critical.

How much money and where it is going?

What follows applies to the Special Elephant Quota (70 animals) and not the Citizen Quota or the Community Concession Quota (see below in the section ‘From the Director-General’ for further explanation).

The government put the 70 elephants up for auction. The quota was allocated to marginal areas that do not benefit from photographic tourism because they are unsuitable for various reasons. In broad strokes, hunting operations bid for allocations of ten elephants at a time. Because of the travel bans caused by the Covid 19 pandemic, the quotas for 2020 were rolled over to 2021.

The ten-elephant quota bundles sold for between BWP 3.6 million (USD 326,520) and BWP 4.75 million (USD 430,825). A seventh package didn’t meet the government’s reserve price of BWP 2 million. The most expensive hunt went for USD 43 000 per elephant.

The Special elephant quota generated a total of BWP 25.7 million (approx. USD 2.3 million) for the Conservation Trust Fund, which is administered by the Ministry of Environment, Natural Resources, Conservation and Tourism. People in rural areas can apply to the fund for various development projects (see comment below from the Department of Wildlife and National Parks).

After the auction, the hunting operators sold the hunts at a profit. This season, the prices from various operators ranged from US$ 28,000 to US$ 80,000, depending on the area. This is the package cost of the hunt and will include accommodations, professional hunters fees, government hunting fees, conservation fees, trophy fees – all of which vary according to the area. Some areas are difficult to access, have rustic camps, are challenging to hunt in and have more people living in and around them. Others are wilder, easier to access and have luxury camps.

In addition, the government collected around BWP 5.74 (USD 521,000) million from license fees.

Meat from hunts is distributed to residents or adjoining communities where possible, and processed meat generates significant revenue for local-level households. It is difficult to quantify this, but the amount probably extends to a few hundred thousand pula over all the concessions (according to the Botswana Wildlife Producers Association).

From the Director-General

Below is an outline of the hunting process and the benefits outlined to me by Doctor Kabelo Senyatso, director-general of the Department of Wildlife and National Parks (DWNP).

Simplified, the hunting quota in Botswana consists of 3 components:

Community/concession quota. The DWNP issues a quota to Community Based Organisations (CBOs), which are legal entities representing communities where the CBO exists – or concessionaires of particular Controlled Hunting Areas (CHAs). They then dispose of their quotas as they see fit, e.g. some auction their quotas as single lots, some in several lots. Some enter joint venture partnerships where profits are shared after hunts. Income from these sales goes directly to the CBOs.
Citizen quota. These are issued to CHAs and not CBOs. They are disposed of via a raffle system to citizens. They are transferable only once to other citizens, and during the transfer, the winner of the raffle sells off their right at a rate negotiated with the ‘purchasing citizen’.
Special elephant quota. These are auctioned by DWNP, and funds go into a Conservation Trust Fund (CTF) managed by DWNP. The CTF is then used to support (i) elephant conservation projects and (ii) community livelihoods projects in the elephant range. One hundred per cent of the special elephant quota goes into the CTF, from which elephant conservation projects (70%) and community livelihood projects (30%) are funded.

Added to the above, the CBOs also charge hunting parties various fees associated with the hunts, all of which then add to the average price of a hunt.

Doctor Senyatso went on to say, ‘In June 2020, we reached a milestone of BWP 100,000,000 (USD 9,070,000) of the CTF having been disbursed for elephant conservation and upliftment of communities in the elephant range (since CTF inception in 1999), which is worth celebrating.’

Conclusion

Even the most ardent anti-trophy hunter cannot fail to be impressed by some of these figures. Only the most heartless and ignorant (of facts at ground level) would claim that the poor people living in these marginal areas do not deserve to benefit from maintaining the wildlands and not turning them into cattle ranches and ploughed fields.

That said, I find the justification that wealthy hunters are saving marginal wildlife areas offensive – even though it is inescapably true in some cases. The logic broadly being that unless the moneyed hunter who loves nature can get something out of that nature (in the form of a trophy, an adrenaline rush etc.), they will not invest in protecting it. But the same could be said of any commercial tourism operation – all the employment and other benefits that come with a prosperous business would disappear without profit – their investors would put their money elsewhere. Many luxury photo tourism operations have a significant environmental footprint per guest and, therefore, are extractive and damaging. Both trophy hunting and much photographic tourism are subjecting nature conservation to forces of the ‘market’. This is despite the fact that the ‘market’ is utterly oblivious to its effect on the environment in countless industries.

It is also beholden on me to acknowledge the contribution that trophy hunting operations make to rural people’s well-being and economic development if the figures quoted above are accurate. They come from two independent sources and I do not have any reason to doubt them at this stage.

So, where does that leave the argument?

I don’t know. But I do know that productive engagements like the ones I had with the Botswana government and with the Botswana Association of Wildlife Producers are extremely helpful. As offensive as I find the idea of shooting an animal minding its own business, stuffing it and mounting it on a wall, I can accept that the practice is not entirely harmful, albeit a practice I do not understand and still believe will disappear in the future. For anti-trophy hunters, the challenge remains – who will fill the financial gap if/ when the trophy hunters shut up shop?

Finally, back to the tusker shot on 17 July. I do think there is little value in shooting tuskers for the sake of it. Detailed research shows that the practice is reducing their genetic legacy. They provide no more meat, tracking challenge or adrenaline rush to the hunter than smaller-tusked elephants.

In all of this, let us try, impossible as it may be, to keep our minds open, our egos at bay and to be aware of where our particular perspectives originate.

A journey to see Africa’s threatened sea turtles

Africa is bounded by seemingly limitless turtle habitats, from the Atlantic and Indian Oceans to the Mediterranean and Red Seas. Five of the world’s seven sea turtles (leatherback, olive ridley, green, hawksbill, and loggerhead) inhabit these waters and nest on Africa’s shores. Sea turtles are amongst the most widely ranging creatures on Earth, and many that nest outside Africa still spend time in African waters.

All African sea turtles face anthropogenic threats, and pressure from humans has taken an enormous toll on populations. Although most coastal African countries have enacted laws specifically to protect sea turtles, and while local NGOs and communities lead conservation and research, there is still much to be done.

I have travelled the islands of northern Tanzania, the Mozambican archipelagos and coastline, and the islands of Reunion and Mauritius. In all these places, I have seen, swum with and watched sea turtles in their natural environment, learning about the threats they face.

A trip to Juani

We climbed aboard a traditional wooden dhow on Mafia Island for a 30-minute voyage to nearby Juani Island. Mooring at the base of some of the biggest baobabs I’d ever seen, we set off on foot across the island through dense rainforest till we reached the island’s eastern shore. We were there to witness and count newly hatched, endangered green turtles. Plastic waste littered the white sand beach. This was not local rubbish, but litter carried on ocean currents from far away. Every wave brought in a few more pieces of plastic: straws, bottles, a single flip flop, a worn-out toothbrush, a couple of earbuds, and various other unidentifiable detritus. High up on the beach, community volunteers, trained by NGO Sea Sense, stood protectively over a patch of uneven sand. They gestured us over, telling us that tiny turtle hatchlings would start to emerge at any moment.

We waited and watched. At first, nothing. Then what looked like mini ‘eruptions’ started. First, one miniature head, then another, started to break through the sand. Flippers flapping wildly, like windup toys, the pocket-sized babies dug their way up and out of the sand.

That afternoon we counted 87 newly hatched turtles making their instinctive and erratic scramble down the white, sandy beach into the warm Indian Ocean waters. The waves proved a formidable obstacle, and a number of the hatchlings were deposited back up the beach to try again. A few started having second thoughts, and halfway to the water, turned around and tried to head back to the nest. It was tempting to reach out a helping hand and set them back on track, but it is strictly forbidden to touch or interfere with them in any way. Eventually, they came to their senses, and we felt like proud parents at a school athletics day as they finally reached the shoreline before disappearing out to sea.

Only one in every thousand of these little turtles will survive to adulthood, but those that do, will return to the waters around the islands to mate, and, in roughly 30 years, the females will lay their eggs on the very same beach where we watched them take their first steps.

A rich history

Sea turtles have been nesting on what are now Tanzanian beaches for more than 150 million years. Between June and September, it is possible to see this amazing phenomenon for yourself. But if it wasn’t for the vital conservation activities of Sea Sense, this might not be the case. Sea Sense supports and trains community conservation officers who, in turn, play an important role in the conservation of nesting sites. Each conservation officer undertakes a daily foot patrol of their local beach, looking for evidence of sea turtle nesting activity. ‘Tractor style’ tracks in the sand are an indication that a female has come ashore the previous night. Each nest is checked to confirm it contains eggs and is allocated an identification number. If the nest is at risk from predators, poachers or the tides, the conservation officer will carefully relocate it to a safer spot.

Each nest is monitored for the approximately two month incubation period. After hatching occurs, the conservation officer calculates the success rate by excavating the nest and counting the number of empty shells, rotten eggs and failed embryos. This data is centrally stored and used to identify important nesting sites, determine nesting seasonality and assess trends in nesting activity.

Sea Sense, now in its 20th year of operations, has protected over 6,400 turtle nests, enabling 502,000 green and hawksbill hatchlings to safely reach the sea and begin their long journey to adulthood.

Quirimbas

Five hundred km south of Mafia, in the far northeast corner of Mozambique, is the Quirimbas Archipelago and the Quirimbas National Park. This is the largest marine protected area in Africa, stretching 110 km along Mozambique’s Indian Ocean coast. We travelled the length of the Quirimbas, north to south, and were amazed at the incredible beauty and diversity of the underwater wonderland. The marine park is home to dugongs and dolphins (including rare humpbacked dolphins), and migrating humpbacked whales pass through the archipelago with their young, while bull (Zambezi), hammerhead and tiger sharks are all found around the reefs.

After several days of sailing on a traditional wooden dhow and camping on local beaches, we arrived at the gorgeous Quilálea Island. The waters around the island form the Quilálea Marine Sanctuary, the first marine protected area in the Quirimbas Archipelago. From this sanctuary, the 500,000 hectare Quirimbas National Park grew. Just off the island, a stunning coral reef teemed with colourful fish, rays, nudibranchs, starfish and more. We spent a few days submerged here on the reef, either scuba diving or snorkelling, and every time we put our heads underwater; we saw turtles, some swimming, some resting on the sandy seabed, and some hiding in caves and crevices amongst the coral.

When we were back on dry land, we circumnavigated the island on foot till we reached Turtle Beach, where several green turtles bobbed up and down in the waves, each eyeing the beach for potential nesting spots to lay their eggs in the night. Quilálea is an important site for green and hawksbill turtles, both of which nest here. Under cover of darkness, a female will crawl out of the sea and, using her front flippers, drag herself up the beach to a nest site. Here she will excavate an egg chamber and spend up to an hour laying a clutch of leathery-shelled eggs. Once the eggs are laid, she will refill the chamber with sand and, three or four hours after emerging from the water, crawl back to the ocean, exhausted.

Green turtle hatchlings embark on their ‘lost years’

Peril

Sea turtles are a fundamental link in marine ecosystems, but they are under increasing pressure despite legislative protection. Climate change, overharvesting, pollution, habitat loss, fishing nets, illegal trade, nearby towns and villages, and burgeoning tourist developments present threats to the turtles and their habitats both on shore and at sea. Today, nearly all sea turtle species are classified as endangered, with three (including the hawksbill) being critically endangered.

SEA TURTLE BREEDING INFORMATION

At around 30 years of age, turtles return to the beaches on which they were born to lay their own eggs, some swimming more than 2,600 kilometres to reach their breeding grounds. This ability to return to their birthplace is known as natal homing. Males also have this ‘homing instinct’ and return to their birthplace to mate.
The incubation temperature within the nest determines the hatching time and sex of the babies. Hatchings occur more quickly in warmer nests, and nesting sites with temperatures of 28-29 degrees Celsius tend to give an even mix of male and female hatchlings. Nesting site temperatures above 30 degrees favour the development of more females, and those with lower temperatures tend to produce more male hatchlings. An egg’s position in the nest also affects sex determination, with eggs in the warmer centre of the nest tending to hatch as females.
Scientists are worried that, in addition to the rise in global temperatures, plastic, particularly microplastics, can change the composition of beaches where marine turtles nest. Microplastics may increase the sand temperature, especially if the plastic pigment is dark. This could affect turtle nesting environments, biasing the sex ratio of hatchlings towards female and influencing reproductive success.
After about 60 days incubation, the babies begin to pip or break out of their shells, using a small, temporary tooth located on the front of the snout. In a natural hatching situation, anywhere from 25-30% of the hatchlings will be taken out by predators on the beach (birds, crabs, lizards etc.) and some will even get stuck inside their eggs, never to emerge. The hatchlings, which are about 4cm across at this point, make their way to the water in a coordinated group effort, orientating themselves to the brightest horizon. The hatchlings face a 90% hatching rate and only a 75% chance of surviving their trek to the sea. Once they reach the water, they begin a ‘swimming frenzy’, which may last for several days and gets them away from the dangerous shoreline where predation is high.
Once the hatchlings reach the water, their ‘lost years’ begin and their whereabouts can be unknown for as long as a decade. When they have grown to about the size of a dinner plate, these juvenile turtles return to the coastal areas, where they forage and continue to grow. Experts estimate that only 1 out of 1,000 hatchlings survive to adulthood.

Want to go on a turtle 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.

To visit the turtles on Juani Island, contact Mafia Island Diving

For information about Azura Quilálea Island, contact

ABOUT THE AUTHOR, SARAH KINGDOM

Travel writer, mountain guide and mother, Sarah Kingdom was born and brought up in Sydney, Australia. Coming to Africa at 21, she fell in love with the continent and stayed. Sarah guides on Kilimanjaro several times a year, and has lost count of how many times she has stood on the roof of Africa. She has climbed and guided throughout the Himalayas and now spends most of her time visiting remote places in Africa. When she is not travelling, she runs a cattle ranch in Zambia with her husband.

Wildebeest sleep and the mysteries of slumber

Sleep is a source of endless fascination for some scientists. It is a highly conserved physical cycle across animal evolution, and there are very few creatures that can survive without it. For humans, a lack of sleep is debilitating and, eventually, fatal. Yet despite its enormous importance, we are far from understanding the diverse processes and mechanisms behind sleep, and scientists are regularly revealing fascinating similarities and differences in mammal sleep “architecture”. New research demonstrates that wildebeest sleep just 4.5 hours per day.

The new study, compiled by researchers at the School of Anatomical Sciences at the University of Witwatersrand, recorded the sleep of two free-roaming male wildebeest in Dinokeng Game Reserve in South Africa. Most studies examining animal sleep are conducted in controlled environments (zoos or laboratory situations). This is one of the few carried out under relatively natural conditions.

There are two significant stages of sleep – rapid-eye-movement sleep (REM) and slow-wave or non-rapid-eye-movement sleep (non-REM) – which alternate in a cycle that may be repeated several times during a sleep episode. The way these cycles are repeated, their duration and phasing (in total, the sleep architecture) varies considerably in different mammal species. The authors suggest that comparative studies could provide insight into the function and evolution of sleep.

To examine the wildebeest sleep architecture, the scientists used two different monitoring methods: polysomnography (PSG) and actigraphy (ACT). The PSG method is more invasive than ACT and requires the surgical implantation of electrodes on the brain’s surface. ACT is a more modern method widely used in human sleep monitoring but has not been thoroughly tested in other contexts. Part of this research aimed to test the concordance between the two methods in the hope that the less invasive ACT method could eventually replace PSG (which is currently considered the “gold standard” in sleep monitoring).

The researchers found that wildebeest slept for around 4.5 hours a day, with 4.3 hours spent in non-REM sleep and just 18 minutes in REM sleep. Their main sleep bout was between the hours of 03.30 and 04.30 in the morning. These results appear to be in line with other Artiodactyls (even-toed ungulates), though there is little comparative research on wild, free-roaming herbivores. The only other phylogenetically comparable wild mammals that have been studied are giraffes and Arabian oryxes.

Though total sleep time is consistent across both wild and domestic Artiodactyl species, the study points to a possible trend in the percentage of REM sleep. Domestic animals appear to have a substantially higher proportion of sleep occupied by REM when compared to wild species. This could indicate that domestication may have been a factor in increasing REM sleep. The authors also suggest drawing an analogy between humans and chimpanzees. Though chimpanzees have a longer average sleep time per day than the average human (10.8 hours compared to 8 hours), the chimpanzee’s total REM sleep is still less than a human’s (97 minutes compared with 114 minutes).

The study also shows a fair amount of concordance between PSG and ACT techniques but suggests that further refinement will be necessary before ACT can be used as a suitable replacement. However, if certain adjustments can be made, ACT could prove to be a far more viable alternative for monitoring sleep in natural settings. Most importantly, it could provide a technique for long-term monitoring. At present, we have little idea about whether or not sleep changes under different environmental conditions, during the breeding or birthing season or when wildebeest are migrating long-distance. Validating ACT methodology would open up opportunities to study sleep in a multitude of large mammalian species.

Dr Illke Malungo, the lead author of the study, plans to build up a vast body of data for comparison purposes by conducting similar research on more mammal species, including predators. It will be interesting to see how claims that lions sleep up to 22 hours every day will bear up under scientific scrutiny…

The full study can be accessed here: “Sleep in two free-roaming blue wildebeest (Connochaetes taurinus), with observations on the agreement of polysomnographic and actigraphic techniques”, Malungo, I., et al., (2020), IBRO Neuroscience Reports

CEO note: The ‘elephant problem’

CEO NOTE: 23 July 2021

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How often have you seen self-appointed experts claim that there are ‘too many’ elephants and that we have an ‘elephant problem’?

No scientific evidence – just generic claims based on casual observation or vested interests. And that chorus line is repeated again and again – and usually followed by wild speculation to do with dead trees and habitat carrying capacity. After a while, of course, the accumulated opinion becomes ‘fact’. And then often we hear about the need to kill even more elephants than we are losing in any case to poaching, habitat loss, human-wildlife conflict and trophy hunters (those large-tusked elephants). My colleagues have put together the best factual summary about this controversial issue that I have read. Ever. Next time you bump into the ‘too many’ or ‘problem’ arguments please paste the link below into the discussion. Prepare yourself though for the usual backlash when facts butt up against beliefs 😉

Keep the passion

Simon Espley – CEO, Africa Geographic

From our Editor-in-Chief

In our first story below, we take a deep dive into the vexing question of the so-called ‘elephant problem’. It is a convoluted story, and there are no blanket management regimes applicable to all areas where these great pachyderms occur. The situation is made more complex by commentators, armchair naturalists, ecologists and peanut galleries weighing in with preconceived ideas and deeply held ideologies not based on science. To look after our elephants, we require minds as dynamic as the ecological systems of which elephants are the principal architects.

One would have thought that by 2021, three decades after the advent of democracy in South Africa, the government would have made sure that the socio-economic development potential of conservation areas would be maximised. Well, our government in its limitless capacity for ineptitude, corruption and apparent cruelty, has allowed a 8,000 ha piece of prime Greater Kruger go to waste while the people living on its borders suffer unnecessarily. Our second story below is the first part of our look into the sad tale of the Mthimkhulu Game Reserve.

After all that heaviness, let’s go on safari. Our third story below is a celebration of one of the most iconic safari destinations in Africa – the Ngorongoro Crater in Tanzania. Travel is opening up so max out your credit cards, cash in your investments and come for some wilderness healing in Africa. Our safari team is on standby for your enquiries.

Story 1
FACTS MATTER
The ‘elephant problem’ – ecologists, landowners and tourists are grappling with the elephant problem. But what does this mean?

Story 2
GOVERNMENT BUNGLING
Mthimkhulu Game Reserve is 8,000ha of prime land in the Greater Kruger area with a desperately sad past and a hopeful future

Story 3
SAFARI CALLING
Ngorongoro in Tanzania – that famous crater – for a spectacular safari of abundance, vistas and ancient history

DID YOU KNOW: Just 7% of our DNA is unique to modern humans

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Ngorongoro Conservation Area

Some two million years ago, a volcano roughly the size of Mount Kilimanjaro exploded dramatically and collapsed in on itself. Millennia later, its caldera’s ancient walls, in what is now the Ngorongoro Conservation Area (NCA), are still intact, encircling and cradling one of the most biodiverse and precious wild spaces in Africa. The effect is almost cinematic, creating an impression of motionless time, sheltered and protected from the unrelenting advance of human development.

People and wildlife share the swamps, grasslands, forests, and savannas of the NCA in Tanzania; a spectacular wilderness that offers wild marvels, breath-taking scenery and complex insight into human history at every turn.

Quick facts

The NCA covers a massive area of 8,292 km² (829,200 hectares) in northern Tanzania. It is situated on the Serengeti National Park’s south-eastern boundary and is also contiguous with Maswa Game Reserve to the west, the Loliondo Game Controlled Area to the north and the Lake Natron Game Controlled Area to the north-east. It is part of the much larger Serengeti-Mara ecosystem, and while the Great Migration essentially follows a circular route, the northwest of the NCA is considered its starting point.

The Crater is the area’s flagship tourism feature, but the NCA also encompasses several smaller craters, forests, gorges, mountains, lakes, and wetlands in a smorgasbord of ecological variety. Wildlife aside, the secrets of humanity’s ancient histories are enfolded within Ngorongoro’s unique landscapes, and to many, this is the ‘cradle of humankind’. Some of the most famous paleoanthropological sites in the world are found in Olduvai Gorge, while Laetoli is home to literal footprints of hominid history.

Somewhat unsurprisingly, given the exceptional biodiversity and historical value, the NCA is a designated World Heritage Site. However, under Tanzania’s national law, it is neither a national park nor a game reserve. It is managed independently by the Ngorongoro Conservation Area Authority as a parastatal organisation.

The brief, recent history

In the mid-20^th century, Ngorongoro was incorporated into the Serengeti National Park, but this was met with considerable backlash from local Maasai pastoralists, who had already been excluded from vast swathes of their homelands to make way for protected areas. Ngorongoro was born of a compromise between conserving history and biodiversity while recognising the value of the land to the Maasai people and neighbouring tribes. This unique multiple-use area was the first of its kind in Africa, and the experiment has proved largely successful. However, burgeoning human populations have necessitated certain policy changes.

These Tanzanian conservation areas are recognised for their ecological importance, historical significance, cultural value and utility for traditional land uses.

The Crater

At 264 km² (26,400 hectares), Ngorongoro Crater is the largest intact caldera in the world, surrounded by a heavily forested rim that rises to 2,300m above the grasslands below. The crater’s centre is dominated by the seasonal Lake Magadi (also spelt Makati), fed by the Ngoitokitok Spring and the Munge River. Courtesy of a complex geological history, the alkaline lake is mineral-rich, and every year, lesser flamingos are attracted to its salty, shallow waters during the breeding season between October and December.

Given the extraordinary biodiversity, it is only to be expected that the wildlife on offer is equally varied and exciting. Almost all of Africa’s most iconic animals, including the Big 5 and beyond, shelter in this geological cradle. Visitors to the crater have the best chance of seeing one of the region’s fabled black rhinos, which are notoriously difficult to spot. The crater’s black rhinos spend their evenings hidden in the yellow-green fever-trees of the Lerai Forest but descend to the open plains during the day. Though hit hard by poaching in the last century, the numbers have been bolstered by translocated black rhinos from South Africa, and each rhino is now individually monitored and protected.

The crater is also rumoured to be home to the highest lion density in Africa, possibly by creative marketing teams. Regardless of this speculation’s veracity, it is highly unusual to visit the crater without encountering Africa’s largest cat. Their fiercest competition, spotted hyenas, are also present in large numbers and are the subjects of a decades-long research project. Keep an eye out for these misrepresented predators lurking along the banks of Lake Magadi, waiting for the opportunity to charge through the shallow waters and snatch up an unsuspecting flamingo.

Souvenirs of history

Olduvai (or Oldupai) Gorge is a steep-sided ravine, named for the Maasai word “oldupai”, which means the “place of the wild sisal” in reference to the plants which dominate. Archaeological research in Olduvai Gorge, nearby Lake Ndutu, and surrounding sites has yielded a timeline of our species’ evolution. It traces the progression from scavenging/hunting to the use of stone tools and, eventually, to iron. The scattered fossils, tools and bone fragments reveal the gradual development of communal societies and social complexities that would eventually define our successes (and failures) as a species.

Bone fragments of Homo habilis (approximately 1.9 million years old), Paranthropus boisei (about 1.8 million years old), Homo erectus (1.2 million years old) and, eventually, Homo sapiens (17,000 years ago) have all been found around the gorge.

Just 45km south of Olduvai, the discovery of several sets of footprints preserved for close to 4 million years settled the archaeological debate about whether bipedalism or large brain size evolved first. Famed archaeologist Mary Leakey and her team excavated the Laetoli footprints, which are tentatively believed to have belonged to Australopithecus afarensis. This discovery has been interpreted as proof that early hominids were bipedal long before the evolution of the human brain. Somewhat whimsically, the footprints were discovered by Andrew Hill, who was visiting Dr Leakey at the time. He dodged an elephant dung missile lobbed by a colleague, fell over and found himself staring at history preserved in solidified volcanic ash.

The footprints have since been covered to prevent erosion damage, and none of the active archaeological sites is open to tourists. However, as one of the largest onsite museums in Africa, the Olduvai Gorge Museum offers curious tourists the opportunity to view the footprints’ casts and read about their interpretation. Founded by Mary Leakey in the 1970s, the museum sits on the gorge’s edge and showcases many of the paleoanthropological artefacts from the area.

Ngorongoro’s wildlife

While the geography and history of Ngorongoro are deeply fascinating, the main attraction for most is the spectacular wildlife, even beyond the crater.

From December to February, over a million wildebeest halt their almost ceaseless migration on the short grass plains of Serengeti and the Ndutu region of Ngorongoro to calve over a two-week period. The resultant spectacle is a once-in-a-lifetime experience for dazzled tourists. Predators and scavengers of every description throw themselves into the wildebeest melee, dodging the sharp horns of defensive mothers to take advantage of the vulnerable calves. For Ngorongoro’s carnivores, this yearly glut increases their own offspring’s chances of survival while providing ample opportunity for inexperienced youngsters to practice their hunting skills. Fortunately, with over 8,000 calves born every day, it is not all death for the calves, and visitors can also soak up the joy of watching the wobbly, fawn-coloured calves find their feet and learn to run.

Quite aside from the adrenaline-inducing battles for survival, Ngorongoro is a paradise for keen birders. From the highland forests draped in orchids and lichen on the crater rim to the marshes and lakes below, the varied habitats of Ngorongoro make it a bird Eden for more than 500 species.

Explore Ngorongoro

Want to go on a safari to Ngorongoro? 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.

So many exciting opportunities for Ngorongoro visitors are available that an article covering the basics reads like a checklist. If there is a drawback to a safari in the Maasai Mara or Serengeti, it is that each day is focused on exploring the largely open scenery in search of more conventional sightings, which can translate into a kind of safari overload. In contrast, a safari through Ngorongoro can be interspersed with the many diversions and learning experiences.

For example, the Ngoitokitok spring is a popular picnic spot with visitors. Lunch can be enjoyed to the serenading of grunting hippopotamus bobbing about in the pool below the spring. Alternatively, the two smaller craters, Olmoti and Empakaai, can be explored on foot with an experienced guide and official NCA ranger. Not far from Olduvai Gorge, the gneiss inselberg of Naseru Rock protrudes sharply from the plains, and a trip to the neighbouring Lake Natron Game Controlled Area will allow visitors to see Ol Doinyo Lengai (“The Mountain of God”), an active volcano whose recent rumblings suggest that an eruption is imminent. And while the craters are often bursting with eager tourists, the geologically fascinating Gol Mountains are more remote and less crowded for the adventurous traveller.

There are high-end lodges dotted along the Crater’s rim and in the surrounding areas, offering spectacular views and luxurious facilities for the discerning (well-healed) tourist. July to October and December through until January are the area’s busiest tourist seasons. Still, the entire region is spectacular year-round, and budget-strapped visitors can take advantage of lower-priced camping options during the quieter seasons.

Conclusion

Some 3.5 million years ago, a trio of our hominin ancestors took a stroll through some soft volcanic ash towards the local waterhole. They left behind a powerful reminder of our ancient, varied human roots. One can but wonder at the lives experienced by the people who left their footprints in the ash.

In many ways, this legacy has continued in the NCA. The multiple-land-use policy recognises the intimate connection that human residents have to land and its creatures. For tourists, the NCA offers an opportunity to dive back in and reconnect with history, wild spaces, and animals against the primordial backdrop of breathtaking Ngorongoro.

Do we have an elephant problem?

At a dinner party, round a campfire or in a pub, someone raises the topic of the ‘elephant problem’ in Southern Africa…

‘When are they going to do something about the elephants in Kruger? They just everywhere. They destroying the place, you must see. The trees are down, debarking everywhere, dead baby trees, nothing for the other animals to eat. I tell you, those elephants are outta control. Somebody needs to do something about them.’

Often, the speaker has just returned from a dry season visit to the Kruger National Park, where every artificial waterhole they’ve driven past has been attended by a herd or two of elephants, and the vegetation in the vicinity has been decimated. If they’ve been out at midday, the dust, oppressive heat and mangled bushes give the impression of their beloved park on the verge of desertification.

Does our after-dinner ecologist have a point? Do we have an elephant problem in parts of Africa?

There are many strongly held views and beliefs about elephants and how they should be managed. Many of these are not based on science but on casual observation, cultural norms, stories and ‘experience’ (all of which vary widely, inevitably coloured by myriad human biases).

For whom is there an elephant problem, and what is it?

For our after-dinner ecologist, there are simply too many elephants. A rural farmer living with elephants might agree locally. For elephant conservationists, the elephant problem is a lack of space for our remaining elephants, which have suffered alarming population reductions on an Africa-wide basis.

As many scientists and rangers have advocated for a while now ^[1]^,[2], we need to take a holistic view of elephants and their long term effects on an entire system while considering changing landscapes, human beings living with elephants, anthropogenic changes to the land and the elephants themselves. We’ll look largely at Southern Africa in this story, but many of the principles and ideas discussed apply anywhere elephants might live.

History

Let’s take a quick squizz at the history of elephants in the Lowveld of South Africa.

When the Sabi Game Reserve (roughly the southern half of the present-day Kruger National Park) was proclaimed, there were fewer than ten elephants left in the area. Voracious ivory hunting had denuded the area of these great creatures. While many thousands were killed for their ivory, many upped sticks and left the neighbourhood for fear of falling to our insatiable desire for their teeth. This situation had been escalating for a century or more until the herds that used to roam what is now the Kruger disappeared.

Elephants are a keystone species. In other words, if you take them out of an ecosystem, then that system will change. We do not have accurate records of the vegetation of the greater Kruger area prior to the arrival of the ivory hunters. When they arrived, they didn’t take particularly accurate measurements of the vegetation structure or pay too much heed to the composition of the grass sward as they blazed away.

The indigenous people of the area kept no written records of the vegetation, and accurate oral histories of ecology from 200 years ago are almost certainly impossible to come by. We can infer something about the historical extent of woodlands in southern Africa from paleoecology^[3] – such evidence indicates that woodland extension and contraction seem to have been influenced by climate. Again, it is complicated to understand the relationships between elephants and woodlands in these times, nor is it possible to understand exactly what elephant numbers were. ^[4]

Elephants’ historical relationship with human beings is easier to understand. People kill animals and always have. We are the most effective predator the world has ever known (just ask the swathe of extinct species whose ghosts whisper in stories and travelogues). We do not tolerate wildlife that inconveniences us or threatens to kill us and our children. Meat is also an important protein source for human beings. This means that we have preyed on elephants from time to time for food and defence. So even before the colonists arrived with their guns, elephants would have avoided areas where human beings lived.

The point of this trip back through time is to illustrate that we do not know what the vegetation looked like before the colonialists started blazing away, mad with ivory and blood lust. This is important because this lack of knowledge has not stopped us from assigning dogmatic, ideal variables to how the vegetation should look and then attempting to manage the biggest architects of the system based on supposition and unscientific dogma.

Where do elephants like to live?

Savanna elephants like to live close to water and far from people. They are most at home in savannas and will avoid thick forest and grassland devoid of trees. They need shade in the hottest parts of the day, mud for cooling down and a diverse range of plants to eat. They will graze where good grass is available and browse when herbaceous forage quality drops. When grass cover drops, elephants, especially bulls, have the greatest impact on woody plants.

Elephants are now constrained from moving through much of their potential range (they occupy just 17% of their potential range)^[5] by fences and human habitation. They are no longer free to move through heterogeneous landscapes, suffering and enjoying the whims of climate-induced habitat change. Instead, elephants occupy smaller areas with insufficient space and heterogeneity of habitat for their numbers to stabilise naturally.

The Kruger National Park, although large by national standards, is long and narrow. East-West migration routes between the coastal plains of Mozambique and the Drakensberg in the west have been cut off entirely. As a result, the variety of foods and habitats available to elephants are greatly reduced. Where bulls (the most destructive feeders) would previously have spent much of their time feeding on the floodplain grasses of the coastal plain, they can no longer do that in the Kruger region. Likewise, access to such habitat has been reduced by fencing and human activity.

Elephants are lured to green croplands when times are tough, especially when cultivated fields are close to water sources. However, when the density of humanity or the land conversion attains a threshold, elephants will leave (thresholds change from place to place).

How do elephants affect vegetation?

The link between diminishing big trees and the presence of elephants is not as strong as it may seem ^[6].

There is no question that elephants break trees – debark, push over, stunt. But in the process, they provide habitat for other species, disperse seed, fertilise the landscape, and open up woodlands. In open systems, they seldom, if ever, destroy ecosystems irreversibly. They’re massive animals, so their effect on vegetation is obvious to the casual observer, but the effect of their absence really isn’t immediately obvious at all (yet it is no less profound^[7]).

Research indicates that one to four percent of trees are destroyed by elephants each year in the protected areas of Southern Africa ^[2]. This level of loss may be supportable, but at the same time, it must be appreciated that this kind of utilisation will change the structure of the vegetation. It is also important to understand that elephants are not alone in their destruction of trees (from seedlings to much larger individuals – for example, there is evidence to suggest impala eat a far greater volume of tree seedlings^[6], ^[8]). The combined effects of other herbivores, fire, flood, drought and disease all contribute to tree survival rates.

Elephants have an especially noticeable effect on the vegetation along riverbeds. Much concern is expressed about the destruction of marula, thorn trees and baobabs in Southern Africa. (Elephants also tend to stunt mopane and combretum woodland). Little heed is given to three important factors here, however:

There is a natural die-off of hardwood species and prolonged decay and thus an accumulation of ‘destroyed wood’.
The rinderpest epidemic and over-hunting cut a swathe of destruction in the early 1900s, decimated wildlife populations and numbers didn’t recover for at least 50 years afterwards. Clearly, this lack of animals provided an opportunity for unusual woodland development, especially along the riverbanks. The current usage patterns and vegetation structure in these areas are likely more ‘natural’, and this is reflected in floodplains throughout Southern Africa^[2].
Historically, where people lived (often along watercourses), they would have come into conflict with elephants (through defence or predation). This would have caused elephants to avoid areas of heavy human settlement. In turn, those areas occupied by human beings would have had vegetation that exhibited far less elephant impact than those further afield.

There is one other thing to bear in mind when considering elephants and their effect on vegetation. A cycle of vegetation change in line with elephant population change in natural areas is almost certainly longer than a human life span. In other words, even dedicated scientists assessing elephants are just seeing snapshots of a much greater cycle in nature (many scientists acknowledge this) that is very difficult to understand, much less manage for.

The golden carrying capacity

In 1967, when elephant culling began in earnest in the Kruger National Park, wildlife managers were focused on maintaining a ‘natural balance’ of species. During the 1960s, 70s and 80s, controlling animal numbers was the primary focus of much wildlife management. ^[2]

The Kruger National Park aimed to maintain the elephant population at 7000. This number was based on a supposed carrying capacity of one elephant per square mile, but it is difficult to locate the exact science behind this number. Indeed, it seems rather conspicuous by its absence ^[8].

More than 70 000 elephants were destroyed in the attempt to maintain the golden carrying capacity in Southern Africa (mostly in Hwange) and, in so doing, protect elephant habitat and the species they shared those habitats with. With hindsight and much better science, it seems that the culling programme was rather simplistic.

For starters, the amount of artificial water provided for animals in Southern Africa does not appear to have affected the management approach to elephants – there seemed to be ignorance (willful or otherwise) that pumping water everywhere was increasing elephant numbers through better survival rates and decreasing emigration.

While the provision of artificial water may have been done with the greater good in mind, the results were dubious at best. As Professor Rudi van Aarde says: ‘the control of elephant numbers did little to address their impact. This is not surprising considering that impact is due to factors other than numbers alone…’^[2]

Alan Savory, distinguished from many experts by his ability to admit to mistakes, was responsible for slaughtering 40,000 elephants in Zimbabwe during the 1960s. After that period in his life, he decided that elephants were not the problem and that culling them did little to improve the conditions of the rangelands where he worked.^[9]

Life’s most precious resource

Elephants seldom go further than ten km (pers. comm. Bruce Clegg) from water but ideally like to be within five km of water ^[2]. When food in the vicinity of water depletes, then elephants will move further afield. This movement creates stress, especially in drought times and has a negative effect on calf survival. Artificial water clearly removes this effect.

In the large protected areas of Southern Africa, such as Linyanti in northern Botswana, water is concentrated in perennial rivers and, during the wet season, in annual streams and seasonal pans. This distribution of water means that during the dry winter, elephants (and other animals) will congregate along perennial water sources and spread out during the wet summer. Clearly, movement like this will allow a heterogeneous use of the landscape by browsing and grazing herbivores.

Up until 1994, more than 300 artificial water points blossomed in the Kruger. Unsurprisingly, the elephant population increased. This was great initially because wildlife needed to be nurtured – it was recovering from more than a century of pillage. But the maintenance of the water points into the 1990s was ill-advised. Likewise, the provision of water in Hwange National Park, Etosha National Park and Chobe National Park accentuated the impact on vegetation in the vicinity of the water. It intensified die-offs during droughts (and still does in some cases).^[2]

It is not only elephants that benefit from the provision of artificial water. Wildebeest, zebra and impala (particularly the latter two) are highly dependent on water and will not stray far from it. When their numbers increase in the presence of artificial water, they outcompete some species and attract predators. More mixed feeders like impala mean a greater toll on tree seedlings. In the Kruger, this meant the demise of healthy sable, roan and eland populations and also the local extinction of brown hyena ^[10].

If we look at the private reserves on the western boundary of the Kruger, we see a patchwork of tiny properties with landowners all managing for their (or their tourists’) needs. All the little properties have numerous dams and pumped pans. Many are the times I’ve heard landowners bemoaning the fact that the elephants are pushing down trees but not making any connection to the fact that by pumping water, they are ensuring that the elephants don’t ever have cause to leave their land. Pumping water means that the most desperate times (droughts) – when trees are most likely to be pushed over for forage – are precisely the times when elephants will concentrate on their land.

Elephants use areas close to water much more intensively than they do areas further afield. If water is equally distributed across a landscape as it is in the Sabi Sands, for example, (compared with the Kruger where there are now large swathes of land without artificial water) then the impact of elephants will be uniform. Areas that might build up a bank of forage that could be used in times of drought are used intensively all the time with the consequence that die-offs from starvation during drought are that much more intensive in areas where water is provided.

Population numbers increasing or decreasing?

In much of Southern Africa, elephants have not been intensively managed. We’ve given them water in some places and provided anti-poaching. In South Africa, we have subjected them to far more intensive management through the provision of huge amounts of water, culling, translocations and fences. Population growth in South Africa is less variable and much higher than in areas where elephants are left alone, suggesting that our well-meaning intentions stimulated population growth.^[2]

You might be surprised to hear that elephant numbers in Southern Africa are actually relatively stable. In northern Botswana, the elephant population has remained stable at around 130,000 animals for more than a decade. There is some debate over this number but it is possible discrepancies come from cross-border elephant movements. This is not to dismiss any concerns about their impact, but it does suggest some sort of natural equilibrium being reached. How long this might last is not clear, and the situation should be constantly evaluated.

Human-elephant conflict

One of the major calls for elephant numbers to be reduced comes from people living with them – outside or near unfenced protected areas. This is understandable. Very few people, especially those who could lose all they hold dear (crops, family, livestock) in a single, aggressive elephant encounter, could tolerate the risk to life and livelihood. Sadly, the plight of rural people living with elephants has been co-opted by politicians and elements of the trophy hunting fraternity to encourage the lethal reduction of elephant numbers^[11]. It is doubtful that trophy hunting, unless implemented on an industrial scale, will have any effect on human-elephant conflict – it may even cause the reverse by making elephants more terrified of human beings and therefore increase the likelihood of aggressive encounters.

As human and/or elephant populations grow outside protected areas, the chances of conflict between elephants and humans will increase. We have similar habitat needs – human settlements need to be close to water while the growing of crops in fertile soil attracts the attention of elephants, especially bulls. There are a lot of people working to mitigate the conflict between elephants and people in rural areas. However, it must be noted that while elephant populations in unfenced areas across Southern Africa are relatively stable, human populations are growing. Therefore defining the problem in terms of the number of elephants alone is incorrect.

That said, it is crucial that rural people don’t see elephants as a threat to survival. Ideally, they need to benefit from elephants (through tourism and, much as it stings to say, perhaps through protein and trophy fees – avoiding targeting large-tusked animals and removing their genes from the population). The bottom line is that the people who live with elephants have to see an advantage to their existence.

Heterogeneity – a key management objective

The key goal for most conservation organisations is to improve and maintain biodiversity. One of the ways of achieving this is to manage areas for maximum heterogeneity. In other words, management for an area like the Great Limpopo Transfrontier Park (GLTP) needs to maximise the number of different habitats. Some of these will be prime areas, some marginal, some vacant, some occupied. Densities should vary naturally across time and space in accordance with patchy resource availability. In large enough areas, this heterogeneity of landscapes would, ideally, result in subpopulations that will vary in number, growth rates etc. These would then be managed through the lens of a metapopulation.^[12], ^[14]

One of the ways that the Kruger is currently aiming to do this is by closing waterholes and leaving large areas with no artificial water. Between 1995 and 2008, Kruger management reduced the number of waterholes from 340 to 116. This allows less water-dependent species to flourish in the absence of competition from those that are more water-dependent. Indeed SANParks management initiatives focus on spatial manipulation to control impact rather than ‘command and control’ approaches used between the 50s and early 90s.^[2], ^[13]

Our after-dinner ecologist doesn’t understand that when he drives his family down the main road between Mopani and Shingwedzi Rest Camps of an October midday, the waterhole that looks as if an apocalypse has befallen it is placed where it is so that he and his family will see the elephants (and other animals) coming for their midday snifter. He is failing to understand that the proportion of the park he can behold is a very tiny fraction of the entire system. And one that, because of the waterhole’s location and time of year, looks fairly dire.

Reducing artificial water is probably the most important intervention we can make. Closely distributed waterholes cause uniform impact over an area, reduce roaming distances, and reduce stress on young elephants, increasing their survival rates. Closing water points results in more intensive use of vegetation around water, which could cause stress on calves and reduce population growth. At the same time, vegetation away from water can recover. Clearly, this only applies to large heterogeneous areas and not to small, fenced reserves where much more direct management of elephants is required (contraception, translocation etc.). The larger the area, the greater the chance that elephants will experience a variety of living conditions that could limit their population growth rates across the region and possibly across the continent.^[2]

The way forward

Ideally, elephant areas need to be joined with corridors and augmented with buffer zones to create a variety of landscapes and habitats and uneven use of vegetation. In many parts of Africa, elephants roam widely out of protected areas – which are also important repositories of biodiversity, even when people are present. It is here that human-elephant conflict must be mitigated, and people who are expected to live with elephants should benefit from their conservation in some way. As distasteful as this may be to many of us, arguments in favour of hunting must be heard.

Adaptive management is also crucial – the questions are complex and require dynamic solutions based on a constantly changing knowledge base. We need to continually re-think conservation and management, especially of keystone species that are both emotive and emotional. The ‘command and control’ approach to keeping the ‘balance of nature’ is no longer in vogue outside of small parks. It has given way to approaches that aim to mimic the dynamism of natural systems. Modern approaches focus on land and ensuring the integrity of ecological processes rather than on elephant (and other species) numbers. In the case of elephants, this means excluding them from sensitive areas and restoring areas by removing artificial water (as has been done in Kruger).

Transfrontier parks also play a massive role – the fewer fences we have, the more easily elephants can move between protected areas. The less concentrated their effects will be as long as we do not discourage emigration by providing water.

Has any of this actually been tested? Yes, in the GLTP and the Kruger. When culling ended in 1994, there was a massive growth in elephant numbers, but since 2003, the growth rate has slowed (from 6.5 % during the culling period to roughly 4.2%). Growth rates in areas more than five km from water fluctuate without trend, and those within this five km zone are constant ^[2]. In 2017 there were an estimated 19 927 elephants in the Kruger National Park. Will it level off? We don’t know yet but quite possibly given the landscape management (as opposed to numbers management) of the GLTP. Encouragingly, come 2012, 22 of 36 elephant populations across East and Southern Africa had stabilised for roughly a decade. It is not certain that this will remain the case forever, but it points to natural processes limiting elephant numbers.

As human beings with an interest in nature, it is imperative that we understand that we do not have the historical records or ecological understanding to be implementing ‘command and control’ approaches to the conservation of keystone species in large protected areas. We have to manage the land for heterogeneity and do our best to mimic nature while accepting that anthropogenic landscape changes are irreversible in some places. We also have to accept that sometimes, as a very last resort, lethal measures may be necessary.

So, do we have an elephant problem? It depends on your perspective, where you live, what piece of land you are referring to and what your goals are. As with all things in nature, it is a question with answers more complicated than our current understanding.

Acknowledgements

My gratitude to Rudi van Aarde (Emeritus Professor, University of Pretoria), Bruce Clegg (Resident Ecologist Malilingwe Trust) for answering my questions and SANParks for information on elephant numbers.

^[1] Elephant population growth in Kruger National Park, South Africa, under a landscape management approach

^[2] Van Aarde J. 2013. Elephants, a way forward.

^[3] Jacobs Bonnie F. 2004. Palaeobotanical studies from tropical Africa: relevance to the evolution of forest, woodland and savannah biomes Phil. Trans. R. Soc. Lond. B 3591573–1583.

^[4] For further reading, see: Carruthers J. The Kruger National Park, a social and political history. University of Natal Press. 1995

^[5]Elephant range is just a fraction of its potential

^[6] Elephants and trees

^[7] Stevens N, Erasmus BF, Archibald S, Bond WJ. Woody encroachment over 70 years in South African savannahs: overgrazing, global change or extinction aftershock?. Philos Trans R Soc Lond B Biol Sci. 2016;371(1703):20150437

^[8] WHYTE, I.J. (2001). Headaches and Heartaches – the elephant management dilemma. In: Environmental Ethics: Introductory readings. Eds. Schmidtz, D & Willot, E. pp293-305. New York: Oxford University Press.

^[9]Elephant Carrying Capacity Is An Antiquated Concept

^[10] The Kruger experience, ecology and management of savanna heterogeneity

^[11] Zenda, C. 2021. Anxiety and anger as Zimbabwe mulls elephant culls. Fairplanet.org

^[12] DuToit, J. Rogers, K. 2003. The Kruger Experience Ecology and Management of Savanna Heterogeneity. Island Press.

^[13] Ferreira, S.Elephant population growth in Kruger National Park, South Africa, under a landscape management approach. Koedoe : African Protected Area Conservation and ScienceVol. 59, No. 1

^[14]Decoding Kruger’s ‘Elephant Management Plan’

Mthimkhulu Game Reserve – a dream deferred

Prime, wildlife real estate

The 8,000 ha Mthimkhulu Game Reserve is part of the Greater Kruger, an open ecosystem with Kruger National Park and the Great Limpopo Transfrontier Park where animals roam more than 3.5 million ha with no internal fences. One would think that an 8,000 ha piece of the Greater Kruger with more than 40 km of river frontage would be a cash cow for the lucky owners. After all, similar land in the Sabi Sands Game Reserve has been valued at more than ZAR 70,000/ha. Let’s be conservative here and halve that for Mthimkhulu because it’s not an established tourist hotspot and the soils and vegetation probably won’t support quite the same density of animals that places in the Sabi Sands might.

So, at ZAR 35,000/ha, we’re looking at a piece of land worth roughly ZAR 245 million. Let’s halve it again just to be safe because there is minimal infrastructure on the reserve, the fences need to be fixed, and a crack anti-poaching unit is required. That gives the owners an asset worth somewhere in the region of ZAR 120 million – still a lot of ZAR.

Yet, on the borders of the Mthimkhulu Game Reserve, about 50 km north of Phalaborwa, there are two of the most impoverished rural villages you could ever hope to find. The people of Mbaula and Phalaubeni should, by rights, be the owners and beneficiaries of this piece of paradise on the Kruger’s western boundary – they are the only people living anywhere near the reserve and were forcibly removed to their current location in 1967.

That they are not benefitting from Mthimkhulu is a long, sad story of callous politics, corrupt trophy hunting and ineptitude of the highest order. Mercifully, things may be turning around for the reserve and, therefore, the people.

On our first morning walk, we left camp heading south, parallel with the Klein Letaba. On the bank, we walked beneath ancient jackalberries, apple leaves (the season’s fallen foliage crunching underfoot), and some of the hugest leadwoods I’ve seen. In the sandy riverbed, our guides from Manukuza Walking Safaris pointed out myriad tracks – buffalo, giraffe, elephant, waterbuck, genet, civet and a male leopard. We also found a dragonfly nymph in a little crystalline pool. As the morning warmed, we shed layers and made for a granite outcrop that, apart from a grazed knee, offered an endless panoramic view of a landscape bathed in the reds, bronzes and greens of the early winter; a landscape that has inspired adventures and dreams for centuries.

Geography

Mthimkhulu is bounded by the annual Klein Letaba River on the east and the perennial Groot Letaba River to the south. The vegetation is a mix of mopane woodland, broad-leafed combretum woodland, marula-topped crests and riverine woodland dominated by apple leaf and jackalberry trees. Several granite koppies stand guard, topped with white kirkias and Natal rock figs, giving stunning vantage of the area. The region receives an annual rainfall of around 550 mm.

The grass sward shows many signs indicating a dearth of large grazing herbivores, the result being swathes of relatively low-grazing value species. This situation can only be remedied by the influx of buffalo, elephant and other bulk grazers – all animals that avoid the reserve because of poaching.

To the south of the Groot Letaba River is the Letaba Ranch, a reserve administered by The Limpopo Department of Economic Development Environment and Tourism (LEDET). As far as the Letaba Ranch is concerned, the only thing accurate in the LEDET name is the word Limpopo. Economic development, environmental care and tourism are phantoms. In practice, the reserve has been plundered, allegedly with tacit approval from officials, hunters, and, if you can believe it, a miner. This fine, upstanding fellow removed half a hillside before a community involved in a land claim chased him off. Parts of the western fence (effectively the western fence line of the Kruger National Park) wouldn’t hinder an asthmatic duiker, let alone an elephant.

We returned to camp around 13h00 and, after some midday snifters and a meal, my seven comrades and I fell into various states of slumber as the perfectly still afternoon passed lazily overhead. The evening stroll netted us a fleeting view of a buffalo bull, who took exception to our exploring and disappeared into the mopane woodland. Perhaps he’d been spooked by the male lion whose pug marks dotted the river bed. There was also an incongruous pool set behind a natural granite weir. Myriad fish shot between the smooth pebbles coloured emerald with algae. The highlight for me was a female painted snipe foraging in a muddy puddle. As dusk fell, we lit a fire on the banks of the river, cooked a basic but delicious meal and shared stories beneath a star-sprayed sky.

Apartheid’s relics

So why is the community living on the reserve’s boundary not benefitting from it? Well, mainly because the government (provincial and national) cannot or will not decide who the correct traditional authority of the area is supposed to be. (The fact that there is a debate over who has the genetic right to benefit from a piece of land in a constitutional democracy is a brain-melting discussion for another time.)

In brief, the chief who claims ownership of the reserve and dominion over Mbaula and Phalaubeni villages, Ngove, lives some 50 km away near Giyani. The chieftaincy was created by the Native Commissioner in the 60s, before the Mthimkhulu community’s forced removal from the Tzaneen area. The Mabunda family, who live in Mbaula, claim that the chieftaincy is theirs. Extensive research completed by a University of South Africa academic indicates that the Mabunda claim is valid. Obviously, Ngove doesn’t want to give up the cash cow that Mthimkhulu could be.

The dispute has been to court any number of times over the last 26 (!) years. For reasons that go well beyond the scope of this story (but including allegations of political collusion and skulduggery), the dispute has never been settled. As I write this, another application based on a constitutional provision that allows communities to benefit from the land they live on, regardless of which traditional authority is in charge, is with the courts. In it, the people of Mbaula and Phalaubeni are applying to benefit from their land without the need for the chieftaincy to be resolved.

The upshot of this convoluted legal/ cultural/ social/ story is that there is no clear landowner. This means that no investor or tourism operator can sign or secure a long-term lease. Without a secure, legally binding lease, money is impossible to raise, and potential investors are understandably reticent.

Tracking a leopard in the Klein Letaba during the wet season

As the second frigid morning dawned, our guides hustled us into the vehicle before it was light. There was a lot of grumbling. We drove down to the confluence of the Groot and Klein Letaba Rivers, where, finally, we were allowed to mainline some caffeinated liquid as the sun rose over the historic confluence. There is a profound sense of memory about the place. As the mist rose off the water, we could almost sense the ghosts of the Khoisan, refugees from the Zulu wars, ancient traders coming to barter their wares from the coast, and the Boer hunters looking for winter biltong.

Where are the animals?

While all this political tomfoolery has ground on with the speed of frozen treacle mooching uphill, the people of the two villages have suffered through neglect, corruption and unscrupulous trophy hunting operations. For many years, various trophy hunting outfits have plundered Mthimkhulu. They have bribed community leaders for access and made minimal contributions to the running and upkeep of the land from which they took the animals. An estimated 20 million rand has flowed to the hunters over the years, with less than a tenth making it into the villages.

Sadly, poaching is rife. It is essentially meat poaching – some for the pot and some for the commercial bushmeat trade. There is simply not enough financial input to maintain the fences and keep a permanent anti-poaching unit.

Several photo-tourism operators have done their best to obtain a lease for Mthimkhulu because it has such potential. Most have eventually left with their tails tucked firmly between their legs. Without an indisputably legal, long-term lease, no funder with a quarter of a brain is going to invest the kind of money required to develop an ecotourism hotspot. Likewise, no conservation NPO is going to step in and foot the bill for looking after the reserve if there is no certainty. SANParks, who look after the Kruger, will also not get involved until the dispute is settled.

The upshot is a poached and pillaged, yet potentially thriving safari hotspot.

After our warming drinks, we headed inland away from the rivers. Mammals we did not see, but we saw plenty of encouraging signs as we wove between the mopane trees towards another gorgeous koppie. Aardvarks, hyenas, warthogs and buffalo clearly wandered the game paths with relative frequency. On the koppie, we watched a bateleur searching the seemingly endless wilderness for signs of brunch. A zephyr blew the last of the leaves from the Kirkia trees as we contemplated the winter woodlands below. Those ghosts from the confluence seemed to have followed us up, and I couldn’t help but wonder who else had rested on the rocks over the millennia – what marvels they must have seen.

The Villages

Travelling through Mbaula and Phalaubeni, one can scarcely be surprised that some people have taken to poaching – there is very little to eat, and employment is a dream so far from reality it may as well include unicorns. There is no running water and very little in the way of electricity (and only for those who can afford it). The nearest medical facility (and that is to give it a compliment it almost certainly doesn’t deserve) is 20 km away in the village of Makhuba. If you do not have a car and you have a medical emergency, then good luck.

I am always struck by how different the villages feel depending on the time of day. Midday is the worst – the harsh light makes the dusty, litter-strewn lanes, wilting gardens of maize and half-built homes look that much more desperate. But as the evening comes, the light softens, and people – tremendously resilient people – come out of their homes to chat to neighbours. Children play amongst the goats, donkeys and clucking chickens. The sound of cattle bells grows as men return the cattle to their kraals for the night while women light fires for cooking or warmth in their yards. Those with enough cash might head to the local tavern to drink quarts of beer.

Life in these villages is hard. All of the social ills that come with an economically depressed area manifest, yet the people somehow carry on. They collect water from intermittently dry boreholes (often privately installed), clear mopane woodland by hand to plant maize and a few other crops, herd their livestock into the woodlands to graze and do whatever odd jobs they can. The children go to school (covid allowing) and try their best to glean something from the human rights tragedy that is our government’s idea of education.

Clockwise from top left: a homestead; children wandering the street of a Sunday afternoon; many of the houses are incomplete with owners building as and when they have money to spare; a fallow maize field; wood remains the primary fuel for cooking and heating

The afternoon passed like only a Lowveld afternoon can – warm, gentle and smiling. As the sun moved towards the mountains in the west, we made our way onto a massive island of rocks in the middle of the Klein Letaba River. We watched a pied kingfisher trophy hunting one of the pools, silhouetted against the tangerine orb in the west. We listened as the corn crickets crackled at each other. Someone claimed they heard a leopard sawing nearby. Just before dark, we wandered back to our campfire for a sing-song and more stories – stories all the more richly told for the atmosphere created by the fire, the Milky Way and the wilderness where we sat.

Potential

Mthimkhulu’s potential is enormous. Mbaula and Phalaubeni are relatively small villages. There is a lot of communal land outside the reserve that could be incorporated into the fence or be more productively used for farming, grazing or projects that could supply tourism operations. This is not a luxury of which many reserves on the borders of Greater Kruger can boast. A brief gander at a map of the Sabi Sands will reveal villages right up against the western boundary fence – this is not the case for Mthimkhulu.

Two sides of the reserve are bounded by rivers. Mthimkhulu has more river frontage than any other similar-sized private game reserve in the Lowveld. The nearest commercial airport is a 60 minutes drive away (Phalaborwa) on an excellent tar road. It is a shorter, more pleasant drive than, for example, that from Hoedspruit into the northern Sabi Sands, which will leave you in need of severe chiropractic and dental attention. An airstrip could easily be built outside the reserve to service charter flights.

What is needed is a valid authority to sign a valid lease with a seriously innovative tourism operation (or more than one). Ideally, the costs and practicalities of maintaining the reserve should be borne by a conservation NPO in partnership with the government. The land management needs to be cutting edge. Strong consideration should be given to using the herding four health (H4H) model being employed in parts of the Great Limpopo Transfrontier Park, where communities graze their cattle as one herd inside the park according to holistic resource management principles. This will benefit not only the cattle and their owners but also the grasses and soils of Mthimkhulu.

Poaching remains a problem at Mthimkhulu.

On our last morning, we headed north up the river as the sun poked its head over the Kruger. We were rewarded with an excellent view of a small buffalo herd moving east across the riverbed post a dawn drink (substantially more algae rich than mine had been). We crossed back onto the Mthimkhulu side, cautiously walking along a game path fringed by thick riverine bush when our guide motioned for us to freeze. He went ahead slightly then turned, waving for us to retreat quickly.

‘Go, behind that bush,’ I said to the two behind me. I expected a buffalo to come thundering out of the undergrowth at any second.

‘But there’s a person!’ hissed the sharp-eyed woman in front of me.

‘It’s cattle, not buffalo,’ the guide realised.

Two of us leapt up the bank to see if we could find the man but he’d melted into the mopane. As we returned to join the rest, the guide spotted something shiny in a tree – a thick wire snare, expertly strung with bark sinews, purposed to catch a buffalo.

We spent the next hour removing a total of 24 snares from the area – all made from cable most likely stolen from the Kruger fence just to the north.

A new dawn

There is hope for Mthimkhulu. In the next few months, another court date could well see the disputes finally put to bed. This will allow the people of Mbaula and Phalaubeni to sign a lease with a serious investor. And there are quite a few groups standing by to get things going. One of these is Manukuza Walking Safaris, which is forging ahead and delivering excellent bush experiences on this historical game reserve despite the challenges. If you’re thinking of a rustic, authentic experience in some of the wildest parts of the Greater Kruger that will make a meaningful conservation difference, then give them a shout.

Resources

For more on the politcal, cultural and hunting debacle of the wider area see here

CEO note: Okavango oil scam | Luangwa Valley | Rebranding wild dogs

CEO NOTE: 16 July 2021

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So the Aspinall Foundation plans to spend a fortune of donor money to rehome captive-bred elephants from their zoo in Kent, England to a wildlife reserve in Kenya. This, while wild-caught baby elephants are being taken from their mothers and sold by the Namibian and Zimbabwean authorities to zoos in China and elsewhere. Am I alone in believing that the donor money could be better spent?

GREAT NEWS is that the attempt to STRIP MINE Selati Game Reserve near the Kruger NP has been CALLED OFF. I confirmed this with the reserve general manager Bryan Havemann. Well done to Bryan, his team and everyone who helped publicise this attack on wildlife land.

Thanks to all who provided feedback on the new citrus farm on the Greater Kruger border. My team and I are glad to see that most people value objective journalism and the need for accurate facts to best assess this unfortunate situation. But thanks also to the gent who criticised me for being too ‘balanced’ and for his ‘outrage’ that I was not more radical in my reporting. His right to express an opinion aside, feedback like this reminds us of the vast chasm between reality and ideology. Another person was less subtle in her rant and personal attacks on me and on brand AG – for reporting the facts! We soldier on …

Keep the passion

Simon Espley – CEO, Africa Geographic

From our Editor-in-Chief

As I watched the carnage unfolding in South Africa this week, reported on by international news agencies, I, like most people, was filled with a deep sense of depression. This is not the place to discuss the travesty and its social causes. It is, however, the place to lament the damage it could do to our already fragile tourism industry, much of which depends on international travel.

To those of you thinking about coming to South Africa for your safari, please take heed not of the thugs but rather of the volunteers, mostly poor and often unemployed, who emerged to clean up their streets and communities. These selfless, beautiful, determined, stoic and resilient people are the South Africans that will demonstrate the spirit of our country to you when you arrive here to marvel at our natural wonders.

As our first story below refers, ReconAfrica, the hideous Canadian company that think it would be a great idea to drill for oil in the Kavango basin, have been exposed as a pack of penny-stock pedlars.

If you’re after the wildest kind of safari in one of the most untouched and vast wilderness areas in Africa, then look no further than the Luangwa Valley in Zambia, showcased in our second story below. It is the perfect place to escape the madness humanity has created for ourselves.

Lastly, in our third story below, we discuss the rather fascinating science behind rebranding Lycaon pictus. It would seem that ‘painted dog’ evokes the most positive response.

Story 1
OKAVANGO OIL SCAM
Okavango oil exploration by ReconAfrica called a scam by independent financial research organisation Viceroy Research – new report

Story 2
LUANGWA VALLEY SAFARI
The Luangwa Valley is a vast Zambian wilderness and playground for tourists seeking an authentic safari experience

Story 3
REBRANDING WILD DOGS
Rebranding wild dogs (Lycaon pictus) – new research suggests that “painted dog” triggers the most positive reaction from humans

DID YOU KNOW: 71,000-year-old projectile weapons found in South Africa indicate early humans could construct complicated, multipart tools that require a lot of planning and foresight to make

WATCH: Africa’s oldest national park under threat from fossil fuel explorers – the youth are stepping in to say no! (10:07)

Oil in the Okavango Basin – an investment scam?

Independent financial research organisation Viceroy Research has released a damning report on Reconnaissance Energy Africa Ltd (ReconAfrica) – the Canadian oil and gas company that has set its sights on the Kavango Basin in Namibia and Botswana. The Viceroy report labels ReconAfrica a “stock-promoted junior explorer, drilling imaginary oil basins in a fragile ecosystem”. It concludes by saying that the detailed findings have been shared with Canadian regulators.

ReconAfrica has rejected suggestions that it is a “pump and dump” stock. In this illegal practice, stock prices are inflated through misleading assertions, allowing insiders to sell off their shares for profit after a surge in interest before the price crashes. ReconAfrica’s share price has risen from around USD 0.5 to USD 13 in the past 18 months, despite serious concerns about the environmental implications of the proposed mining operations.

However, Viceroy’s report states that “once (ReconAfrica’s) promotional veil has been pulled back, we believe the company will revert to trading as a speculative, but highly unimpressive, penny stock”.

In summary, the report highlights the following geological and practical concerns:

Drilling blind
- ReconAfrica has been marketing its exploration allotment as a potential shale (unconventional) play – a type of exploration banned by the Namibian Government. The Botswana Government has denied that ReconAfrica has permission to conduct this type of exploration and has stated that the company is only in the initial stages of assessing geological data.
- The company has used surface geology analysis, geochemical sniffing and aeromagnetic data to indicate the possibility of a basin that might justify real oil and gas exploration – “this severe overreaction is the equivalent of justifying a gold mine at a beach because a metal detector pinged”.
- The company is years and tens of millions of dollars away from drilling an exploratory well with any chance of discovering commercial oil or gas. The three stratigraphic wells were drilled to “justify overly optimistic press releases, swindle investors and fulfil their immediate commitments to the government to retain their leases”.
- No well data has been released because the two wells drilled so far failed to encounter oil or gas.
- “This approach of drilling blind was common in the 1940s to the 1960s among the oil and gas giants who had billions to burn; for a smaller company with limited case and time, this is a last-ditch effort.”
Their licence to drill
- ReconAfrica’s license requires them to forfeit 75% of the lease area by January 2022, and it is unlikely they will have sufficient data to determine which sites to relinquish – “they are rapidly running out of time to do anything that would yield a commercial discovery.”
The Sproule Report
- The report produced by Sproule, an external reserves auditor, was purely conceptual, based on potential analogues in other countries – it is a work of “geo-fantasy”.
- Regardless, Sproule estimates just a 3.3% chance of commercial success.
The “Kavango” Basin
- The Viceroy analysts believe that ReconAfrica’s lease is likely on the Owambo basin rather than the previously unexplored Kavango basin. The Owambo basin has been extensively prospected but with limited success

Along with the environmental concerns, the Viceroy report also indicates that various members of ReconAfrica’s management come with chequered histories, ranging from bribery to incompetence and a trail of ecological damage and unrehabilitated wells. The retail interest they have acquired, according to the report, is due to a strategy of duping unsophisticated investors through crooked analysts, stock promoters, YouTubers and “ClickBait masters”. ReconAfrica’s association with Namibian businessman Knowledge Katti created the impression of insider political connections to “do the magic” with government officials.

The critical report concludes by stating that ReconAfrica is a “tale as old as time”, manipulating investors that will ultimately be burned when the fiction is revealed as such. Viceroy’s report prompted a brief dip in share price and an immediate backlash from ReconAfrica in a press release refuting the “false, short report”, to which Viceroy responded as follows.

[Editorial note: Viceroy is headed by short-sellers whose research has, in recent years, triggered stock collapses in German company Wirecard and South Africa company Steinhoff.]

The science behind rebranding wild dogs

From individual identities to brands, names carry significant weight in human interpretation. The words associated with particular objects or animals create a series of mental connections and a perception of certain qualities or traits. For this reason, some scientists have been calling for a rebranding of the African wild dog – to escape the negative connotations and associations with stray or feral domestic dogs. However, the IUCN and many conservation organisations still refer to them as African wild dogs. A recent paper puts forward an evidence-based approach for understanding the conservation implications behind the vernacular name of choice for the charismatic Lycaon pictus.

The scientific name Lycaon pictus translates roughly into a “painted wolf-like creature”, but the African painted wolf belongs to a distinct genus only distantly related to either domestic dogs or wolves. It is well-established that painted wolf populations have suffered dramatically through human persecution and habitat loss throughout the continent. In many situations, they are still perceived as blood-thirsty and brutal predators. The question is whether their name has contributed to this persecution and whether or not a rebranding could invest people in their conservation.

The author, ecologist Bryony Blades, was inspired by the 4^th episode of BBC’s Dynasties, titled “Painted Wolf”, and the subsequent debate that resurfaced with little evidence-based support on either side. To provide evidence in a more quantifiable manner, she investigated previous scientific journal entries and conducted online surveys aimed at the general public. The first of these surveys was a willingness-to-pay (WTP) survey to establish the influence of the name on the donating behaviour of the participants. Every participant was presented with a picture paired with one of the four names for painted wolves: African wild dog, painted wolf, African hunting dog, or Cape hunting dog. The responses from the 781 respondents across six different continents showed no significant differences in donations between the name variations.

An interesting aspect of these results was that Australasia donated the second largest mean amount by continent, even though the term “wild dog” is used in Australia to refer to feral domestic dogs, dingoes and dingo-domestic dog hybrids. Though the negative perceptions of the name choice were expected to be pertinent to donations from Australia, this was not reflected in the data.

The second survey yielded more potentially significant results. This word association survey used the individual terms “hunting”, “wolf”, “wild”, “dog”, and “painted”. Respondents were asked to associate these terms with another word, and these responses were then judged as being either negative or positive/neutral. Somewhat predictably, the word “hunting” returned the highest number of negative reactions, though the author acknowledges that this may have been due to its association with human activities. However, as the purpose of the survey was to ascertain the primary, subconscious response to a word, the negative reactions are still valid. The responses to “painted” and “dog” were almost all positive. Interestingly, of the 730 responses, there were 51 negative associations with the word “wolf” and 23 associated with the word “wild” as being “dangerous” or “scary”.

As the author explains, the common name of Lycaon pictus is only a part of a much broader conservation issue. However, it is helpful to frame the debate in marketing terms to understand why some conservationists are searching for a rebranding that distances the endangered canids from historic negative associations. Changing a brand name is commonplace in the commercial world, and it is worth considering the effects on environmental conservation. While the linguistic choice does not seem to impact donating behaviour, it does influence perception. Overall, the research concludes that “painted dog” triggers the most positive linguistic associations.

Whatever the ultimate conclusion, there is no question that any attempt at rebranding (or rejection thereof) must be a collaborative and collective effort. This, in turn, should be driven by the scientists and organisations most invested in the future of Lycaon pictus.

The full paper can be accessed here: “What’s in a name? An evidence-based approach to understanding the implications of vernacular name on conservation of the painted dog (Lycaon pictus)”, Bryony Blades, (2020), Language & Ecology

For more on the history and meaning behind the naming discussion, see What’s in a name? Dogs or wolves, painted or wild.

Luangwa Valley – vast Zambian wilderness

It is easy to understand why the symbolism attached to valleys is similar across cultures and continents. They are places that represent life and beauty – inspiring artists, poets and musicians. For the more practically-minded, valleys are sheltered places of safety, guarded by mountains and made fertile by rivers and streams flowing from their slopes. Luangwa Valley is the perfect African example – a vast Zambian wilderness; a playground for tourists seeking an authentic, unfussy safari experience.

It is rugged unspoilt, and best explored on foot in the company of some of Africa’s best guides.

A river runs through it

Life in the Luangwa Valley centres around the Luangwa River and its rich floodplains that spill over into the surrounding plains, savannas and woodlands. The eponymous river is one of Zambia’s most extensive, rising in the north-eastern corner of the country and meandering south-west before flowing into the Zambezi River. As part of the tail-end of Africa’s Great Rift Valley, the ancient tectonic forces that shaped the landscape laid the foundations for spectacular scenery. The magnificent Muchinga Mountains form an escarpment that plunges some 700m to the valley floor, which reaches a width of up to 100km wide. The river changes its course regularly when in flood, creating new oxbow lakes and hairpin bends for the hippos to occupy in their hundreds.

There are four national parks within the Luangwa Valley: South Luangwa National Park (SLNP), North Luangwa National Park (NLNP), Luambe National Park (Luambe NP) and Lukusuzi National Park (Lukusuzi NP). These are surrounded by numerous unfenced Game Management Areas and, with the Mid-Zambezi Valley, the ecosystem covers a relatively undisturbed 70,000km² of wilderness.

The rich and vibrant habitats are home to some of the highest densities of wildlife in Zambia. According to the Zambian Carnivore Programme, this section of eastern Zambia boasts the largest lion population in the country and the second largest population of African painted wolves. The region is also home to a Luangwa endemic: the Thornicroft’s giraffe (suspected subspecies of the Masai giraffe). Other Zambian specialities include the Cookson’s wildebeest (a subspecies of the blue wildebeest) and the Crawshay’s zebra (a subspecies of the plains zebra).

On foot in the valley

Luangwa is often referred to as the home of the walking safari, and the region was among the first places on the continent to offer walking safaris. Game warden, conservationist, and travel-pioneer Norman Carr famously believed that it was impossible to know an area without exploring it properly on foot. Generations of expert guides have followed in his footsteps, trained to embrace the same ethos and appreciation for the wild as the first walking guides.

There is a twinge of adrenaline heading out on foot into the presence of Africa’s most revered (and potentially dangerous) animals. The genuine value, however, lies in the complete nature immersion. For most, the ordinary human senses are dulled by overstimulation and frenetic schedules. So, it is almost astonishing how, when in the company of an expert guide, it is suddenly possible to revert to a far more primal state of awareness. The sudden amplification of sound, smell and touch (and fear) can be profoundly grounding.

What is more, the Luangwa Valley is a biodiversity hotspot. Rather than hoping for an encounter with a big animal (which will likely happen regardless), revel in the small things. Appreciate the morning light catching the dew of a perfect spider web or marvel at the tenacity of a dung beetle in action. Stop to admire the intricate network of veins in an elephant track and the careful construction of a batis nest or run a hand over the rough bark of an ancient ebony tree. The magic of the Luangwa Valley is so overwhelming that it takes time to soak in fully.

South Luangwa National Park

The largest of the valley’s four national parks, South Luangwa National Park (SLNP), is also the most popular (though it remains almost entirely unspoilt and operates at relatively low tourist densities). The Muchinga Escarpment borders the 9,059km2 park along its western and northern edges, while much of the infrastructure centres around the Luangwa River and its many tributaries. As a general rule, the Mfuwe area is the park’s busiest, and sightings can become somewhat frenetic during the high season. The Nsefu sector of the park is quieter and more remote, offering a more exclusive feel.

Along with enormous herds of elephants and buffalo, SLNP is renowned for its dazzling leopard sightings, and visitors are regularly treated to more than one leopard in a day. SLNP is also home to one of the most well-known elephant herds in the world. These brazen pachyderms famously return year after year to snack on the wild mangos in Mfuwe Lodge. The herds merrily stride through the reception area, oblivious to the amazement of guests and staff (or perhaps simply accepting it as their due).

Just before the start of the rainy season in November, the park’s skies are filled with flashes of pink as the carmine bee-eaters return for the summer. These gloriously coloured birds nest in holes excavated in sandbanks, and appreciative guests can while away the hours at a hide watching the flashing colours as the birds prepare for the breeding season. (Have a look at this wonderful trip report for an account of a South Luangwa safari)

North Luangwa NP

North Luangwa National Park is far more remote, and visitors here are unlikely to encounter another tourist group in the entire 4,636 km². The road network is relatively sparse, and the camps are rustic and fully immersive, designed to be dismantled during the rainy season.

This park is not suitable for solo exploration, and permission to enter must be secured from the Department of National Parks and Wildlife Services ahead of time. Though elephant and leopard sightings are not as common as in SLNP, there are large prides of lions accustomed to people on foot.

Forty years ago, Zambia had one of the largest black rhino populations in Africa, with around a third of them found in the Luangwa Valley. In 1998, they were declared extinct in Zambia due to rampant poaching. With increasing efforts to secure SLNP and NLNP in particular, the North Luangwa Conservation Programme has released 25 black rhinos into the park since 2003, effectively re-establishing a viable population.

The woodlands of the escarpment offer the best chance of spotting both sable and roan antelope, as well as unique birding opportunities. Over 400 different species of birds have been recorded in both SLNP and NLNP.

Luambe National Park

Situated between NLNP and SLNP, Luambe NP lies on the eastern side of the Luangwa River and, at less than 300km², is one of Zambia’s smallest national parks. After decades of neglect and a shortage of resources, a 2014 report found that the park held just 5% of its wildlife potential. Fortunately, things have turned around in recent years. The Luambe Conservation Project was created to restore the park to its former glory as one of the most biodiverse parks in Zambia.

As a result, the wildlife is gradually recovering, and visitors have the entire park to themselves. There is only one camp currently offering accommodation in Luambe, consisting of five comfortable safari tents. Not only are tourists treated to Zambian-style rustic luxury, but they can also witness the restoration in action. From monitoring camera traps and tracking African painted wolves to tagging vultures and recording nesting patterns of the carmine bee-eaters, guests are welcomed as an essential part of the conservation recovery process.

Lukusuzi National Park

Lukusuzi NP is the fourth and final national park considered to be part of the Luangwa Valley. Situated to the southeast of Luambe, the 2,720km2 park is devoid of infrastructure, facilities, or accommodation. A single dirt track traverses the park, but even this is only traversable in a 4X4 vehicle during the dry season. Little is known about the state of the park’s wildlife populations.

The when, why and how

Luangwa Valley is best experienced during the dry season, especially for novice safari-goers. From around May until October, all camps are fully operational, and wildlife sightings are best as animals congregate around the remaining water. From November onwards, the rains arrive and turn the valley’s black cotton soils into a sticky sludge that not even the most experienced drivers will be able to navigate. Only a handful of South Luangwa’s lodges remain open during the wet season. Most bush camps are packed away, only to be resurrected in a flurry of activity at the start of the following dry season. Those lodges that do remain open during the green season, when birding is spectacular, take advantage of the water by offering river trips and boat cruises.

Accommodation options range from budget camps (only in or bordering SLNP) to more luxurious and exclusive lodges and private villas. However, true to form for Luangwa Valley, even the most expensive lodges share the authentic, down-to-earth tone that epitomises the Zambian safari experience. It is an approach that recognises that the real grandeur lies in the scenery, the wildlife, and the stories. Why waste time fussing with canapes when you can watch the sunset with your feet soaking in the cool waters of the river, swapping tales of the day’s sightings?

Want to plan your Luangwa Valley safari? Scroll down to the end of this story to research and get in touch with our travel team to start the discussion.

CEO note: Elephants & oranges – Greater Kruger context

CEO NOTE: 09 July 2021

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

I wrote the elephants & oranges story below because I had to see for myself what is going on down the road from my home. We covered this controversial situation from the beginning – but mostly from the perspective of being against this citrus farm in ‘our’ wildlife space.

I was and remain opposed to this intensive farming operation on the border of the Greater Kruger. BUT I now understand better the context and the complexities, and I hope that my notes below will resource you to debate this controversial topic from a factual perspective.

Also, I had my first Pfizer Covid jab yesterday. For some reason, I now feel more in charge of my own future. If you are fortunate enough to live in a country that is pro-actively vaccinating its population, just do it. Aside from the obvious health benefits, being vaccinated means you have a clearer runway to your next safari! Peace out.

Keep the passion

Simon Espley – CEO, Africa Geographic

From our Editor-in-Chief

Imagine, if you will, Zorg, an alien biologist from the planet Hegzabra. She’s been commissioned by the Ministry of Intergalactic Zoology to do a routine study of a primitive, bipedal mammal living on the planet Earth. After long and arduous study (Hegzabrans have a lifespan of roughly 600 human years), Zorg is utterly perplexed. Here is a species capable of astonishing acts of kindness, self-sacrifice and, unlike any other species on the planet, it is capable of profound self-awareness. Yet, despite this awareness, it is also apparently hell-bent on its own annihilation. Despite ample evidence of their destructive ways, this strange life form chooses to be led by people obsessed with obliterating the only fragile biosphere that can support it.

This rather fanciful musing came to me as I contemplated yet another multinational bunch of weapon’s-grade buffoons, in connivance with our less than useful government, trying to wreck our natural heritage in their search for fossil fuels and greenbacks.

I am as perplexed as Zorg.

That said, this morning, as I contemplated the delicious silence before dawn, a Cape robin chat began singing from a leafless oak. I drew some encouragement from the fact that although we have done our best to destroy nature, she is strong, resilient and will be here long after we’ve gone.

In our first two stories below, we have a look at the dire conversion of natural heritage to commercial agriculture.

In our third story below, we forget all the bad stuff and escape to gorgeous Lake Malawi – its azure waters, stunning islands, colourful fishes and beautiful people.

Story 1
ELEPHANTS & ORANGES
The Casketts citrus farm on the Greater Kruger border is here to stay. We consider the context and settle a few rumours and untruths

Story 2
LOCAL KNOWLEDGE
Casketts citrus farm on Greater Kruger border – conservationist Trevor Jordan provides some context in this opinion post

Story 3
SAFARI FINALE
Lake Malawi is one of Africa’s best-kept travel secrets. A freshwater lake surrounded by gorgeous beaches, islands and biodiversity

DID YOU KNOW: The earth’s cryosphere (all of the areas with frozen water on earth) is shrinking by 87 000 square kilometres per year…

WATCH: A real legend of lion conservation, Flip Stander, explains measures to help humans and lions live together in the deserts of Namibia (20:46)

Casketts citrus farm and Greater Kruger are now bedfellows

A new intensive citrus farm bordering the renowned Timbavati and Klaserie private nature reserves – Greater Kruger – appears a fait accompli.

I did not understand this reality when I arranged to meet farmer Kobus van Staden at his new project Casketts Sitrus. But I do now.

Van Staden met me at the gate to Casketts and jumped into my venerable Landy Defender to guide me to the farm HQ. I had loaded up a key question: whether he would consider dropping the intensive farming idea and instead partner with others to open a lodge or other tourism service. That question disappeared like mist under the African sun when we emerged from hectares of scrappy thorn scrub to a vista of ploughed fields with rows of plastic irrigation pipes and a newly-planted cash crop of gem squash seedlings. Here and there, on the cleared fields, large marula, leadwood and knobthorn trees had been left standing their ground defiantly. I saw a large area enclosed by shade-net to the side of the fields – sheltering the citrus saplings that will be planted once the season turns and the cash crop is harvested. About 60,000 trees.

OK then, this is a done deal. With that level of investment, there is little realistic chance of an about-turn in land use and rehabilitation of this farm back to ‘bushveld’ status.

I followed van Staden and fellow Casketts owner Jurie van Vuren to a rustic farmhouse veranda overlooking the Klaserie River and beyond to prime Big 5 safari country – the Greater Kruger. What followed was a cordial but frank discussion, followed by a tour of the farm. My every request for information was met without hesitation, and I was left free to photograph anything – including a cleared area beyond the authorised limits.

There has been much said and written about this controversial situation, and the battle became intensely personal, with van Staden taking body blows to his reputation. Team AG initially requested members of the public to exercise their legal right to have a say in December 2018 and then followed up with regular opinions from respected scientists opposed to the new farm, who also questioned the Impact Report. However, what we had failed to do to date was speak to the farmer, a situation I was keen to remedy.

Context to these notes:

I was and remain opposed to this intensive farming operation on the border of the Greater Kruger. BUT I now understand better the context and the complexities, and I hope that my notes below will resource you to debate this controversial topic from a factual perspective.

The farm Casketts

The 420ha farm was subdivided and purchased from former owner Rocco Gioia for about R35million (US$2,5m) – and is entirely surrounded by Gioia’s remaining farms. The authorities have authorised 102 hectares for irrigated citrus orchards based on an existing water right.

The farm was purchased in 1967 by Libero Gioia, who farmed cattle, tomatoes and cattle fodder. When his son Rocco took over the farm, he focused on tobacco, mangoes, sweet potatoes, tomatoes, chillies, lucerne, blue buffalo grass and various game species – some of which are hunted. Rocco Gioia continues to utilise the remaining 2,400ha surrounding Casketts primarily for game farming.

Water rights

Casketts has a legal right to extract sufficient water to irrigate 120 hectares. This right was granted in 1950 when the Klaserie Irrigation Board was constituted by the then governor-general of the Union of South Africa.

That water offtake is sufficient for Casketts purposes – they have made no application for additional offtake, and no other water use license is required in terms of the Water Act.

The Klaserie Dam was built in the 1950s on the Klaserie River about 22 km upstream of Casketts specifically to enable the farmers to access reliable water for their crops. The total water listed for farmers from the dam is to irrigate 1,100ha, of which about 500ha is currently utilised.

Water is regularly released from the dam to provide the farmers’ required water and maintain the river’s ecological state (theoretically). Casketts has a pump to extract that water directly from the river as it flows past. This water is then pumped to earth dams for storage and then irrigation.

Water rights conflict of interest?

A perceived conflict of interest has been raised in some quarters because Casketts’ co-owner Jurie van Vuren is also a board member (and chairperson) of the Klaserie Irrigation Board. The general suspicion being whispered is that he either used his position to grant the necessary water rights (not possible because the water rights were allocated in 1950, as described above) or will influence future decisions related to water and Casketts.

The Department of Water Affairs owns the Klaserie Dam, and the relevant farmers own allocated water volume rights. The only way to be on the Irrigation Board is if you are a water right owner. All board members are beneficiaries of decisions made by themselves. In other words, this is not a public democracy; it’s a club of people who own rights to a water resource and who rely on their collective intent and skills to best manage that resource. This is no different to the many other forms of cooperative resource management boards, such as those governing the Timbavati and Klaserie private nature reserves (PNR), for example.

When I questioned van Vuren about the timing of his appointment to the Board, he advised: “I became a shareholder of Casketts on 09 September 2018 and a board member of Klaserie Irrigation Board on 23 November 2018.”

So, van Vuren was not alive when the water right was granted. Could he conceivably influence water-related decisions in favour of Casketts? Yes, absolutely. But then, so could every other Klaserie Irrigation Board member serve their interests in this way. The conflict of interest is there, it’s intentional, and it is no different to other boards that serve a similar purpose. Perhaps boards such as these – with significant environmental impact – should be opened up to include independent board members? But that’s a conversation for another day.

The farm dams

Casketts has four long-existing dams on a drainage line that feeds into the Klaserie River. Two still hold water, and two were breached during the 2012 floods and are currently empty. Van Staden has repaired the largest of the broken dams and indicated that he wouldn’t repair the other dam. The EIA conditions stipulate that he cannot increase the size of the repaired dam, from the original 70m length, 6m width and 5m height.

Our tour of Casketts included the dam in question. It was apparent that the dam floor had been scraped – “to remove the accumulated sand from the rocky floor of the dam”, he told me. The repaired dam wall does not appear to exceed the permitted 5m height limit. The wall is now wider than 6m, increased to 12m in places. Van Staden’s explanation that this was to ensure no further breaches during floods makes sense, as does his further justification that the wider wall now permits them to use the dam wall as the main road to access the portion of the farm on the other side of the drainage line with heavy farming vehicles. In this way, they avoid making roads through the protected riverine area. The length of the wall has been increased to allow for a spillway to prevent future floods – the original dam did not have a spillway. The spillway does not increase the holding capacity of the dam.

I am no dam expert (obviously), but I was no more alarmed at what I saw here than I was last year when one of the largest landowners in Timbavati PNR repaired the 2012 flood-damaged dam wall at his lodge on the Nhlaralumi River. He moved large amounts of sand from the dam floor. I was alerted to this by a downstream property owner who was surprised to see little or no flowing water immediately after excellent rains early this year, when the Nhlaralumi was flowing bank-to-bank a short distance upstream. This is a large dam with no agricultural benefit. The flow of this non-perennial river is impeded to provide a visually appealing lodge site and attract wildlife for those gin and tonic moments. As an aside, one reason for the concentration of elephants in the Greater Kruger during the dry months, and subsequent destruction of local trees, is these man-made dams. But that’s another discussion entirely.

Do these increases in width and length of the Casketts dam wall represent an opportunity for legal and punitive action? Time will tell. Should every dam repair, regardless of where, be appropriately scrutinised for environmental reasons? Certainly.

Protected trees and clearing beyond the demarcated area

The EIA stipulates that no protected trees may be removed during the bush clearing process, without a permit. Van Staden assured me that no such trees were removed, but of course, I have no way to verify that claim. Google Earth shows old fields with scant natural cover – much like the damaged scrubland we drove through on the way from the gate to the orchards. Nevertheless, there were some sizeable, defiant leadwood, marula, and knobthorn trees dotted amidst the moonscape – and each had been marked with plastic tape.

I noticed that part of the clearing was taking place beyond the clearly defined EIA boundary limits and questioned van Staden about that. He explained that he had to decide how to make up the permitted 102ha of land to be cleared because some of the area approved for clearing featured more trees than the area he chose to clear. This transgression did not result in him exceeding the 102ha allocation, and he seemed philosophical about potential ramifications.

Chemicals and groundwater contamination

Another primary concern is how Casketts will ‘deal with’ the overload of insects that can be expected to invade the citrus orchards from the neighbouring biodiversity-rich Greater Kruger area. The likely chemical warfare will surely impact groundwater pollution and wildlife that feeds on poisoned insects.

Van Staden dismissed my concerns – mainly on the basis that Casketts will, like his other farms, be GLOBALG.A.P. certified to export their fruit and that the requirements are so precise, traceable and transparent that there is no room for errors. He also emphasised that he requires his chemical processes to be bee-friendly to ensure the fertilisation by bees of his orchards. He mentioned using predator insects as one tactic to remove insects that could harm his citrus crop. He further added that GLOBALG.A.P. is very sensitive to negative social media publicity and extra vigilant during the annual audit process.

I found myself silenced by his confident dismissal and was not knowledgeable enough to counter. And yet, I am mindful that scientists cite the ubiquitous use of agricultural pesticides and the spread of monoculture crops as a primary reason for the fall-off of the world’s insect populations. Other scientists conclude that insect declines are linked to the intensification of agriculture in the last 50 years.

Legal action and the authorities

Much of the legal tussle going on between the parties seems to hinge on whether any of the bush clearing occurred while the appeal process was underway, which would be illegal. This Daily Maverick article provides the relevant detail, and I won’t go into this matter any further. Van Staden did not want to comment on this matter because of the impending legal actions, but he did express frustration at the costly delays related to the appeal process. In this timeline below, it becomes clear that the authorities (Office of the M.E.C., Limpopo Department of Economic Development, Environment & Tourism (LEDET)) took 21 months to finalise an appeal process that they are obligated to complete in 90 days. Despite the LEDET tardiness, appeals lodged by some parties after the stipulated 20-day deadline were rejected as being late!

Legal timeline

23/03/2017: Application for subdivision of property;

24/07/2017: Dept. Agriculture grants permission to cultivate the property;

28/11/2017: Subdivision of the property approved;

15/10/2018: Transfer of property into the name of Soleil Mashishimale Pty Ltd;

15/10/2018: EIA process initiated;

02/08/2019: EIA approved;

02/08/2019: Appeals lodged by Timbavati PNR, Klaserie PNR and Elephants Alive, amongst others. Various other appeals were not submitted timeously and therefore dismissed;

24/03/2021: Above appeals dismissed, approval of the EIA granted on 02/08/2019 upheld;

04/2021: Application by above appellants against the M.E.C: LEDET & Others for a judicial review of the decision by the M.E.C.

04/2021: Urgent application by above appellants to prevent any further development until the judicial review has been finalised;

08/06/2021: Dismissal of the above urgent application.

It is unlikely that the above application (in bold) will see the courtroom sooner than eighteen months from now – we can expect Covid-related delays – and by then, the citrus trees will be in the ground, and the farming enterprise will be well on its way.

WHY is this farm not included in Greater Kruger?

Farms in this area are sought-after because they are close to the Greater Kruger and could one day conceivably be incorporated into this successful conservation endeavour, which would add significantly to their value and revenue-generation potential.

I was curious as to how this valuable wildlife land could end up as a citrus farm. My enquiry as to why Casketts was not fenced into the prestigious Timbavati or Klaserie private nature reserves was referred to the previous owner, Rocco Gioia. As a local landowner, Gioia cooperates extensively with Timbavati and Klaserie management during their anti-poaching efforts to protect their rhino – his farms border those reserves – and maintains a good relationship with them.

HOWEVER, Gioia pointed out in an email that his requests for his farm to be included in the Timbavati Private Nature Reserve were turned down.

I discussed these historic rejections with a former Timbavati warden, who confirmed that the decision-makers viewed Gioia’s property as not suitable for inclusion. We also extracted this statement from the Timbavati chairman, Anthony Hare: “We took a decision based on our ability to absorb a large property, beyond our natural footprint. This would have meant considerable extra resources and cost required, and without being able to leverage the existing operations to take it on. We did not rule it out forever, just at the time.”

Gioia also mentioned several attempts to have his farm included in the Klaserie Private Nature Reserve, including one request based on operating as a hunting camp. We were advised by the current Klaserie warden, Colin Rowles, that according to his records, Gioia applied at some stage in the 1990s but subsequently withdrew that application.

Gioia provided several examples of specific requests made by him to both reserves going back about 30 years, and the reasons for rejection varied each time. His obvious frustration provides a clear indication that things need to change if we are to avoid similar scenarios repeating themselves. Angry neighbours, of whatever level of economic empowerment, make for bad conservation bedfellows.

Elephants and oranges

The concern about animals being killed by various means as they target the citrus trees is valid, and this scenario is mirrored on most commercial farms in the world. Animals will die in their pursuit of nourishment from these trees – from insects to birds and mammals. Hopefully, there will be mitigation strategies in place (van Staden says there will be), but the reality is that some animals will die.

The issue that has hogged the limelight has been the likelihood of elephants targeting the oranges and what will happen if and when they do.

Van Staden seemed open to any considered, well-managed collaborations to reduce the risk of this happening and to prevent elephant crop-raiders from being killed or harmed by working with local authorities and NGOs. He seemed to be relaxed about this risk and confused about the focus on elephants as the main issue at play. “Elephants will have to come through four fences before they get to my property”, he said – the Greater Kruger fence, a neighbour farm fence, the Gioia farm fence and the Casketts farm fence. The EIA requires him to install an elephant-proof fence on Casketts – and he assured me that this would be done.

To help me understand the elephant-oranges issue better, I spoke to Kevin Leo-Smith, manager of Rietspruit Game Reserve, just outside Hoedspruit and across the busy R40 road from the Greater Kruger area in question. His input is very relevant because he recently managed the reintroduction of elephants to Rietspruit, which borders directly onto established citrus farms. The neighbour consultation process involved explaining to concerned farmers his mitigation procedures if elephants escape Rietspruit to raid the citrus orchards.

Leo-Smith explained that there is no scientific evidence that elephants specifically target citrus as a general rule. There is plenty of anecdotal evidence of elephants eating oranges in farm orchards, but elephants target just about anything edible. For example, three bull elephants that escaped from the nearby Balule Private Nature Reserve (Greater Kruger) about four years ago followed the Blyde River upstream as they pursued their natural dispersal instinct. They did not make their way to nearby citrus farms; instead, they feasted on the mango orchards along the way before being captured and returned to the reserve. The Malelane and Komatipoort areas, about 250 km south of Hoedspruit, are awash with huge sugar cane and citrus farms, amongst other crops, and few if any elephant issues are reported by farmers.

Leo-Smith explained that bull elephants in particular will, through learned behaviour, regularly visit sources of reliable nutrition – including citrus crops – but that they are more likely to target grass crops like sugar cane, maize (corn) and sorghum, which more closely resemble their preferred grass diet.

‘Pristine, virgin bushveld’

Several people I have spoken to recently seem under the impression that this area bordering the Greater Kruger is unspoilt bushveld. I live here and can tell you that this is a fallacy. The area has been farmed extensively, and the veld bears the scars, with large tracts of invasive shrub species such as sickle bush Dichrostachys cinerea and no sign of palatable grass or large trees. We also have massive mining operations nearby (including on the Kruger National Park border) and even a railway line running through the Greater Kruger delivering mica and other minerals to insatiable international markets. A brief scrutiny of the area on Google Earth reveals massive, currently used irrigation fields at several places on or near the Greater Kruger border. I mention this to add a touch of reality to some perceptions.

A man who is better placed than I to provide input is local businessman and conservationist Trevor Jordan, who added these interesting notes about the history of the Hoedspruit area (click the link to open a new website tab).

Where to from here?

One thing I am sure of is that this citrus farm will go ahead. What remains to be seen is how much financial damage the warring parties will suffer before the storm passes.

On the one side is a wealthy, astute local farmer who is meticulous in his planning. On the other side are extremely wealthy, mostly non-resident landowners and a respected team of elephant scientists.

As much as van Staden has outmanoeuvred his opponents to date, his journey has been made easier by a notoriously lax local government that is the bane of most wildlife landowners. LEDET should hang their heads in shame for twiddling their thumbs while their missed deadlines wreak havoc for all of us.

There is no question in my mind that a significant conservation concern is the lack of employment for local people, and Caskett’s promised 60 permanent and 120 seasonal local jobs (employees need SA identity documents and local bank accounts) trumps what was on offer before. Perhaps things would be different if Gioia’s application for his farm to be included in the Greater Kruger had been successful?

We all recognise the critical role that both farming and wildlife tourism play in SA and that where they meet/compete, we have to be pragmatic in finding ways to solve problems and work together. Perhaps once the time and money have been spent on legal proceedings, all parties should sit down and agree on a mitigation strategy for the inevitable consequences of this intensive citrus farm on the Greater Kruger’s border. Perhaps the conservationists should also work out how this happened on their watch and make sure it does not happen again.

Simon Espley – CEO, Africa Geographic

Casketts citrus farm debate

This opinion piece concerns the new Casketts citrus farm on the Greater Kruger border.

By Trevor Jordan

As a long-term resident of Hoedspruit, a wildlife property developer, and conservationist, I believe it is vital to understand that long-term conservation sustainability must consider the intersection of conservation organisations, agriculture, tourism, the causes of poaching and job creation. I believe it is necessary to address certain statements and misconceptions regarding the Casketts citrus farm.

Before I publicly air my views, I wish to state that the opinion expressed herein is personal and not representative of those held by any entities with which I am associated. I have no financial interest whatsoever in this matter. Instead, my involvement and interest are to seek the best possible outcome for all affected parties and the conservation ethos of the area.

Wide-open, undisturbed natural spaces, pristine landscapes without human interference, teaming with wildlife are the first prizes and dreams for me! This would, however, mean the exclusion of humans and their requirements. Is this possible? I do not think so, especially considering the world’s continued population growth.

It is, therefore, necessary to manage reality in the best way possible, to strike a balance between the conservation dream mentioned above and the burgeoning needs of human beings.

The Lowveld is a mixed-use area and has been for over a century. Hoedspruit town was founded in the mid 1900s as a railway siding on the Selati railway line and has been at the core of a growing economy that has still maintained ecological integrity and natural resources.

Mines opened in Phalaborwa, Gravelotte and Mica, and towns like Acornhoek and Bushbuckridge sprung up. The railway line and roads came a bit later. The Kruger National Park (KNP) was proclaimed a protected area to demarcate a zone that could not be mined, farmed, or occupied by human settlements.

Over time we have become ‘greener’ and endeavoured to practise more sustainable land use in the face of surging human population numbers. It is a difficult balance to achieve, but in Hoedspruit, we have accomplished many positive outcomes. We have removed many fences, creating more space for wildlife, partially restoring the historical, seasonal east-west migration patterns between the Mozambique coast and Drakensberg Mountains west of Hoedspruit.

Tourism played a significant role in this progress in the early 1980s. The opening of Eastgate Airport (previously the SANDF Hoedspruit air force base) with scheduled flights provided easy access and boosted tourism.

The success of tourism lodges has driven the demand to expand wildlife areas, with Big-5 safari operations being in high demand. These have created many jobs and opportunities for skills development.

The agricultural sector saw a swing away from livestock, with cattle farms converting to game areas to take advantage of the demand for tourism. Some areas close to perennial rivers were further cultivated under irrigation with high density and high-value crops. Like the tourism industry, the farms also created jobs and transferred skills. Both industries contributed to a vibrant economy and generated valuable foreign currency.

However, both these sectors face threats. For example, irrigation farms have limited water resources, while tourism could cause an overuse of land, threatening the exclusive ‘low volume, high value’ tourism model.

The neighbouring towns of Acornhoek and Bushbuckridge, previously tribal trust lands, are now some of the most densely populated areas in South Africa. They also experience one of the highest unemployment rates in the country. Despite the employment offered in tourist lodges and allied industries, these private reserves are perceived to be of little benefit to the communities. They are regarded as playgrounds for the privileged few. The populations are outgrowing the job availability in the tourism sector, exacerbated in these COVID times with job and income losses over 50%.

We need all forms of responsible economic development as there are many socioeconomic issues that, if not addressed, will become a significant threat to the stability of the region.

The Casketts citrus project is one that, as a conservation community, we should be encouraging and supporting, if not even partnering. It should not be seen as an enemy of conservation, as indicated by some. Rather it should be seen as a contributor to the local economy and one that will aid the socio-economic challenges that the region faces.

In 1991 I was involved in discussions regarding the western boundary fence of the Kruger, which led to the incorporation of the private reserves that now make up the Greater Kruger. The discussions were between the leadership of the KNP, the Transvaal Department of Nature Conservation, SA Department of Veterinary Services and Peace Parks. They were all very enthusiastic about the idea.

After discussion with the private reserves, independent landowners and other interested and affected parties, a conference was held at the Thornybush Private Game Reserve on 10 and 11 August 1991. Besides the KNP fence and private land incorporation discussion, the conference’s central theme was: “Die bewaarings toekoms van die Laeveld” – The Conservation future of the Lowveld.

After robust discussions, the delegates came to the following non-negotiable directives that were to be implemented in conjunction with the removal of the western fence:

There was a need for a collaborative process involving all interested parties;
That a task force be established;
Unifying conservation in the region to enhance its benefits and be of relevance to all its inhabitants. Consideration was to be given to some critical points:
- Our natural resources are there for all the region’s inhabitants and should be considered an asset to everyone;
- The disproportionate population increase in the region, which was well more than the average birth rate, presented the prospect of increased deprivation, unemployment and pressure on the land;
- Historically, the perception existed that conservation and the current model of land usage were irrelevant to the requirements of the various human communities. This was to be addressed through consultation, participation, and optimal economic development;
- The region’s resources and existing forms of economic utilisation, such as commercial lodges, hunting and agriculture, constituted a competitive advantage in the national and international market, capable of elevating these businesses through increased revenues and job creation;
- Economic development and tourism expansion need not be inconsistent with nature conservation, as long as the concept of sustainable utilisation is applied;

The meeting concluded that we all needed to work together, respecting each other’s interests and land-use rights to ensure the conservation success of the region.

In an ideal world, we would prevent agricultural development from happening near this highly prized conservation area; however, if this massive job creator can conserve our rhino through feasible employment (thereby reducing one root cause of poaching), I feel this is a reasonable and necessary compromise to make.

We cannot afford the luxury of pure wildlife conservation areas – the dream I wrote of earlier in this letter. I believe that sustainable, responsible agricultural developments that create much-needed employment for neighbouring communities should be wholeheartedly embraced and not seen as an enemy to conservation.

———-

Trevor Jordan is a property developer and conservationist. His residential estate and game lodge developments are dotted throughout the Lowveld area of South Africa, and his many conservation activities in the region have added significantly to the cause.

CEO note: Safari tips + Kili ice & otters

CEO NOTE: 02 July 2021

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

After the helter-skelter and deadlines of our Photographer of the Year season, it’s great to again focus on unearthing fascinating topics and digging deeper into important issues that plague us all.

Importantly, the African safari industry is still reeling from the impact of Covid – not only in terms of the third wave of infections but also financially. Many tourism-related businesses have gone under, and the unemployment rate has skyrocketed. Here in South Africa, the brief respite afforded to lodges by highly discounted offerings to local travellers was dealt a hefty blow when our government enforced a third-wave shut down of leisure travel in and out of Gauteng – our economic powerhouse. Lodges in the Greater Kruger area (and others) relied on Gauteng travellers to at least fund basic overheads such as some salaries – but for now that door has been slammed shut. Again. As a result, those lodge owners, staff members and suppliers that were not already DIGGING DEEP are most certainly now doing so.

That said, this is a resilient industry and we will bounce back. That’s the thing about industries driven by PASSION – the bottom line is only one metric that we apply to measure success.

Here at AG we were as badly affected as the rest – with a 100% revenue reduction at the time that Covid lockdown was enforced. We have seen a gradual recovery from ground zero, with our loyal safari clients now planning for 2022 and the more intrepid taking advantage of huge discounts to travel this year. Thanks to all of you for your support and for helping refloat the African safari industry.

We have taken this opportunity to reflect and reboot ourselves – expect THE BIG REVEAL in about a month. Till then, please enjoy our stories and consider planning your next safari with us. Safari njema!

Keep the passion

Simon Espley – CEO, Africa Geographic

From our Editor-in-Chief

The wilderness is a great tonic to mind, body and spirit. If you are stuck at home, unable to travel because it’s too dangerous or you are stricken with this awful plague, then this week’s stories will draw you away to the profound healing of the wild.

In our first story below, we take a look at travelling in Africa during September, October and November. There’s heat, dust and action in the south, magic in the Horn of Africa and the Indian Ocean is gorgeously inviting.

In 2006, Al Gore made Kilimanjaro’s receding glaciers one of the rallying points for the climate crisis. Well-intentioned this may have been but science it was not as our second story below explains.

Otters are some of the most adored of all wild animals. Yes, they smell like rotting fish innards much of the time but they’re cute, affectionate and clever. In our third story below, we take a look at the four delightful otters that ply their trade in the waterways of Africa.

Story 1
SAFARI TIPS
When is the best safari season in Africa? Learn the best places to go on safari in Africa

Story 2
RETREATING KILI ICE
Kilimanjaro’s disappearing glaciers have been a symbol of climate change for more than than 15 years. Science says it’s much more complicated

Story 3
OTTERS
There are four species of otter in Africa – all of them intelligent, playful, fascinating predators

DID YOU KNOW: An elephant’s personality may play an important role in how well that elephant can solve novel problems

WATCH: Here are the images that we chose in our Photographer of the Year – the finalists, the highly commended, the runners up and the winner that captivated, inspired and connected us (1:24)

How the Kilimanjaro glaciers left truth in the cold

“Within the decade, there will be no more snows of Kilimanjaro.” Al Gore (2006), An Inconvenient Truth.

It is now 15 years since Al Gore’s startling pronouncement, and, for now, Africa’s tallest mountain still has its iconic white icecap. In the intervening years, Mount Kilimanjaro has become a poster-child for the grim effects of climate change. Yet buried beneath the avalanche of panicked headlines and shock-inducing before-and-after pictures, the voices of scientists have largely been lost. Glaciologists who have studied the ancient volcano for decades argued that the link between climate change and Kilimanjaro’s disappearing glaciers is tenuous at best. Which, bizarrely, has turned out to be a far less convenient (and less emotive) truth.

Kilimanjaro’s glaciers are disappearing – rapidly. Over the last century, the ice coverage has shrunk by over 90% and, if things continue at the same rate, conservative estimates suggest that most of the ice will be gone by 2040. At the same time, global average temperatures have been steadily rising, and, throughout the world, wide-spread glacial retreat at mid and low altitudes can be directly attributed to this increase. It is not hard to see how the connection was made between Kilimanjaro and global warming. But Kilimanjaro, say the experts, is different.

What sets Kilimanjaro apart?

The relative size of any glacier is determined by a combination of energy and mass exchanges between the glacier and the surrounding air. Depending on where this balance falls, the glacier can either grow or shrink. Precipitation (rain or snow) replaces what is lost to melting or sublimation (when a solid moves directly to the gaseous phase without melting to liquid). It will also affect the reflectiveness of the glacier’s surface: rain makes the surface darker and light absorbent, while snow lightens the surface and makes it more reflective.

Most glaciers are sensitive to immediate air temperature changes because they lie close to the mean 0˚C level (the mean freezing level). However, Mount Kilimanjaro’s glaciers occur about 1000m above where this freezing level exists. In other words, they lie at altitudes too high to be affected by small local air temperature changes. Research indicates that the temperatures at the glacial point on the ancient volcanoes that make up Kilimanjaro have remained well below freezing.

So why then is the glacier disappearing if not melting due to air temperatures? The answer lies in absorbed solar radiation, much of which results in the sublimation of the ice, which then causes a loss of glacier mass. Precipitation should replace this loss, but where Kilimanjaro is concerned, there has been a dramatic reduction of precipitation over the last century. The effects of solar radiation on glaciers are complex and variable depending on cloud cover, shade, and the reflective surface. The shape of glaciers also impacts how falling snow gathers and whether it will become part of the glacier. The vertical cliff faces of the plateau glaciers on Kilimanjaro make it particularly difficult for snow to settle, freeze and become part of the ice sheet.

Why is there less precipitation?

Analysis of historical observations and measurements, climate modelling, sea sediments and corals all indicate that at some point in the late 19^th century, the dynamics of the Indian Ocean shifted (specifically the major currents and atmospheric flow above the ocean). As a result, less moist air flows into East Africa from the Indian Ocean. The increase in the frequency of dry air masses complicated cloud formation over the volcanoes, resulting in less precipitation. Snowfall over Kilimanjaro decreased, and the glaciers began to shrink.

This shift in ocean dynamics was natural in origin but, in recent years, has likely been maintained by global warming. However, research suggests that climate change would have accounted for only a fraction of the decline in glacier size.

Scientists have also disproved the idea that deforestation has caused a decline in precipitation over the summit. (Though there is evidence that this has reduced rainfall in the forest belt of the mountain.)

In summary

Glaciology is complex and the physical processes that impact the size of a glacier are multi-faceted. The glaciers on Kilimanjaro have shrunk because there is less snow falling over them. Changes in Indian Ocean dynamics are the culprits for decreased precipitation, and global warming has played a small role in maintaining this state of affairs.

The scientists investigating Mount Kilimanjaro do not suggest that climate change due to global greenhouse gas emissions is not of tremendous concern, and there is no question that it has significantly impacted some glaciers. The end of Mount Kilimanjaro’s glaciers is a devastating prospect and will mean the loss of vital equatorial glacier biodiversity. However, using Kilimanjaro’s glaciers as an example of the drastic effects of climate change is misleading.

The effects of climate change will be far-reaching and unpredictable. Determining the parameters of causality will be a fundamental challenge to be faced by conservationists, policymakers, and the public. Awareness around the meticulous research of scientists is vital in sorting fact from fiction. Kilimanjaro was a powerful symbol of climate change – it just wasn’t an accurate one.

Sources and further reading:

Cullen, N J., Sirguey, P., Ölg, T., Kaser, G., Winkler M., and Fitzsimons S. J., (2013) A century of ice retreat on Kilimanjaro: the mapping reloaded (PDF). The Cryosphere. Vol 7: 419–31.

Kaser G., Hardy D.R., Mölg T., Bradley R.S., Hyera T.M. (2004): Modern glacier retreat on Kilimanjaro as evidence of climate change: Observations and facts. International Journal of Climatology, vol. 24: 329-339.

Kaser, G., Mölg, T., Cullen, N. J., Hardy, D. R., Winkler, M., Prinz, R., Lindsey, N., (2013): “East African glacier loss and climate change: Corrections to the UNEP article Africa without ice and snow“

Mike Hulme (2010): Claiming and Adjudicating on Mt Kilimanjaro’s Shrinking Glaciers: Guy Callendar, Al Gore and Extended Peer Communities, Science as Culture, Vol. 19:3: 303-326

Mote, P. W., and Kaser, G. (2007): The shrinking glaciers of Kiliman-jaro: can global warming be blamed? American Scientist, vol. 95: 318–325.

Mölg, T., Cullen, N. J., Hardy, D. R., Winkler, M., and Kaser, G. (2009): Quantifying climate change in the tropical mid tropo-sphere over East Africa from glacier shrinkage on Kilimanjaro. Journal of Climate, Vol. 22: 4162–4181.

Mölg, T., Hardy, D. R., and Kaser, G., 2003. Solar-radiation-maintained glacier recession on Kilimanjaro drawn from combined ice-radiation geometry modeling. Journal of Geo-physical Research-Atmospheres, Vol. 108: 4731.

Zawierucha, K, Shain, DH. (2019): Disappearing Kilimanjaro snow—Are we the last generation to explore equatorial glacier biodiversity? Ecol Evol. Vol 9: 8911– 8918.

Fact Sheet: The climatological causes of glacier shrinkage on Kilimanjaro since ~1880 – A summary from a decade of research by Innsbruck/Massachusetts/Otago universities

Otters of Africa – four adorable mustelids

There is something unaccountably beguiling about otters. Perhaps, as Ted Hughes wrote, it is their duality: a creature equally at home on land or in the rivers and oceans of the world. Or maybe it is the coiled tension in their sinuous bodies, which melt, sleek and powerful, into the water. Like their cousins worldwide, the otters of Africa have lively eyes, expressive features and utterly adorable squeaks, which have gone a long way to securing literary and internet fame.

Otters are intelligent and fascinating predators with an irresistible propensity for play. In Africa, this appeal is complemented by a sense of the mysterious – otter sightings are brief, infrequent and treasured by those fortunate enough to catch a glimpse of these extraordinary, amphibious mammals.

The musky mustelids

There are 13 recognised otter species, four of which are found in Africa. They belong to the mustelid family – the largest family within the order Carnivora and one of the oldest and most diverse. Other mustelids include weasels, badgers, wolverines and honey badgers. Almost all mustelids share a similar morphological design, with long slender bodies, short legs, and thick fur. Most are fierce, little predators. Another characteristic held in common is that almost all mustelids possess anal glands which produce a pungent (and to the human nose, obscenely malodorous) secretion used in olfactory communication.

The otters of Africa are sometimes referred to as “fisi maji” in Swahili, which translates as “water hyena”. Though the initial similarities may seem somewhat obscure, this is a surprisingly apt description. Like hyenas, otters are fast-paced and efficient hunters, but they are also opportunistic carnivores with mighty jaws capable of cracking open even the hardest crustacean shells. Otters are also expert problem-solvers.

The largest of the 13 otter species is the sea otter, which is also the heaviest member of the mustelid family and an exception to most otter “rules”. Sea otters are the only entirely marine species and, as a result, do not return to land or occupy burrows. Survival on the open sea has also necessitated a more flexible social structure than most freshwater otter species. Those plying their trade in fresh water spend much of the time on land and use holts/couches (the official names for otter dens) underground or in dense vegetation. All the otters of Africa otters are freshwater dwelling, though most will happily venture into the sea.

African clawless otter/Cape clawless otter (Aonyx capensis)

The African clawless otter is Africa’s most well-known and is widely distributed throughout most of sub-Saharan Africa (though they are most common in Southern Africa). As the second-largest freshwater otter species in the world, African clawless otters can reach over 1.5m in length and weigh up to 36kg (though the average is between 12 and 21kg). While not entirely clawless as their name suggests, their claws are significantly reduced, and their toes are only partially webbed, allowing for much greater dexterity.

Adaptable and resilient, African clawless otters can be found in various habitats, from dense forests to semi-arid savannas (provided there is a permanent body of water surrounded by sufficient vegetation). Though most are found in freshwater rivers and dams, African clawless otters will also readily enter the shallow ocean surf to hunt. They will also scavenge along beaches in search of crustaceans. Clawless otters are not picky eaters, and everything from fish and shellfish to amphibians and invertebrates are on the menu. Unlike the spotted-necked otter (discussed below), their thick whiskers allow them to hunt in murky water.

African clawless otters are primarily solitary but live within relatively tolerant family groups. Each individual occupies its range in a communal territory, marked by anal gland secretions, urine, and droppings (referred to as “spraints”). The females usually have between two and five pups, and the male plays no parental role.

Clawless otters are preyed upon by pythons, crocodiles and fish eagles in the wild, but habitat loss and water pollution are far greater threats. These factors have contributed to significant population declines over the last century. The IUCN currently lists African clawless otters as near-threatened.

Congo clawless otter (Aonyx congicus)

Fractionally smaller and slenderer than the African clawless otter, the Congo clawless otter was once believed to be a subspecies of the former (a matter that some zoologists still contest). As its species status is still relatively new (and their habitat comparatively tricky to traverse), this is probably the least researched or understood of the African otters.

They inhabit the swampy areas of the Congo Basin, and researchers believe that they are likely to be more terrestrial than other otter species. The agile fingers on the front feet are used to dig through the mud in search of molluscs and worms. Though little is known about their populations, the IUCN lists the Congo clawless otter as near-threatened.

Spotted-necked otter (Hydrictis maculicollis)

This tiny otter is considerably smaller than the two clawless species, though its distribution overlaps with both. Even the heaviest individuals seldom weigh more than 6kg. With their keen eyesight and webbed feet, spotted-necked otters are expert fish hunters, though they have been recorded eating crustaceans and amphibians as well. They are sight hunters and prefer deep, clear, flowing water.

The little white markings and spots on their chests are unique to each otter and can be used to identify individuals. They are also more sociable than the larger African otter species, though solitary when hunting. Spotted-necked otters manage their busy social lives through a wide range of vocal squeaks, and they are known to chatter merrily away during social encounters. The IUCN lists the spotted-necked otter as near-threatened

Eurasian otter (Lutra lutra)

The Eurasian otter, while highly elusive, has one of the widest distributions of any Palearctic mammal. These are probably the most well-known of all otters, yet few people realise that they occur in northern Africa (as well as across most of Europe and Asia).

Eurasian otters are strongly territorial and solitary, apart from mothers with young pups. Hunting and water pollution (particularly by pesticides) decimated otter numbers over the latter half of the 20^th century. Increased restrictions have seen numbers recover in parts of their range, particularly in the United Kingdom. Their current population numbers in Africa are unknown and in urgent need of further research, according to the IUCN’s Otter Specialist Group. Overall, the species is listed as near threatened.

Pet pebbles and other otter oddities

Though tricky in itself to define, tool-use in the animal kingdom is often used to measure cognitive ability and subject to considerable research. Many animals use tools to varying degrees – including primates, elephants, cetaceans, birds, and, of course, otters. Sea otters are the most famous example – they use rocks to break open abalone shells and show a distinct preference for a specific rock suited to this purpose. These favoured rocks and pebbles are stored beneath a flap of skin in the otter’s armpit and are often kept for life.

Other otter species have been observed ‘juggling’ favourite rocks, displaying a considerable degree of dexterity and skill in the process (have a look here). The reasons behind this entertaining behaviour are a matter of considerable debate. It has been described as displacement behaviour (often observed in captive otters) or possibly as an indication of hunger-frustration. Whatever the biological reasons, this unusual behaviour comes across as playful and charming to the casual observer.

Pet otters

Unfortunately, there is an inevitable aspect to the charisma and charms of otters. “Celebrity” pet otters have seen a meteoric rise to fame on social media in recent years, and, inevitably, this has precipitated a demand in the pet trade (both legal and illegal). Worse still, “otter-petting cafés” have sprung up in parts of Asia, with the predictable associated welfare concerns. Though this trend has yet to affect African otters, the ever-increasing demand for exotic pets may well add the illegal pet trade to the list of threats facing otters in Africa.

Though exacerbated by social media in recent years, this is not a new phenomenon. Perhaps most famously, otters captured the heart and mind of Scottish naturalist Gavin Maxwell. However, the loving, playful character of Mij, the pet otter, described by the novel (and film) Ring of Brightwater, eclipsed a much darker tale. Edal, Maxwell’s female African clawless otter, was as famously misanthropic as the author himself and regularly attacked visitors. Edal once removed two fingers from one of her caretakers with one swift bite in a fit of understandable pique born of her captive frustration.

It should go without saying that otters do not make good pets. They are territorial and fierce, driven by wild instincts and possess strong jaws full of sharp teeth capable of biting through bone. These powerful and fascinating carnivores are designed to spend their days gliding through the waterways of the world, and it is in the wild that the otters of Africa are best appreciated.

CEO note: And the winners are …

CEO NOTE: 25 June 2021

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What an incredible array of Photographer of the Year images we feasted our eyes on this year! James adds more detail in the gallery below, but know this from me: Each year, I feel so honoured and humbled that so many passionate people share their images with us that my head feels like it will explode. And I marvel at the dazzling variety and the brief glimpses into this majestic, mysterious continent that is my birthplace and home. PROUD African!

After you scroll down to our 2021 Photographer of the Year gallery (the last for this year), please take the time to read our other stories. The first story is an unfolding tragedy that has a CALL TO ACTION – this is where YOU can help. Please share this appeal to anyone that cares.

Keep the passion

Simon Espley – CEO, Africa Geographic

From our Editor-in-Chief

I am one of those people who thinks summer is around the corner as soon as the winter solstice passes. This is bat-guano illogical of course. In the rarified atmosphere of Johannesburg, we are still a good two months from any warmth – on the odd occasion this mad city has received snow, it has normally been in September. Yet while it is skin-scaling dry, frosty and despite the fact that no South African architect has worked out how to insulate a home (for hot or cold), nature still finds a way to provide a little wonder. Yesterday, I was banging away at my computer when the call of a grey hornbill interrupted my thoughts. I assumed my wife was editing a video of the birds but then, lo and behold, two of them landed in the magnolia tree outside my window. I dived for a camera and, rather like a first-time safari-goer, took 400 mostly unusable pictures in my feverish excitement.

Our first story below is rather devastating. Some shady dealings, bizarre legal decisions and a lot of weapons-grade dim-wittery have seen the last barriers to an open cast copper mine in Lower Zambezi National Park finally removed. We are still hopeful for an 11th-hour political or legal intervention but this may be a pipedream.

Many are the naturalist photographers who bemoan the presence of collars on wild animals. A collar definitely detracts from a feeling of wilderness but, as our second story below shows, they are integral to our understanding of the wild species we aim to conserve and they appear to have a little adverse effect on the animals concerned.

With that all out of the way, it is time to celebrate photographs of beautiful Africa. In our third story below, we share the experiences of last years winners as they travelled into the Greater Kruger recently (Covid-delayed) to share stories and take great pics.

And finally, with a great drum roll, trumpet fanfare and ululation, we reveal the winner, runners-up and highly commended images of this year’s Photographer of Year. Well done to EVERYONE who submitted their art, your gracious willingness to share your creativity with us is hugely appreciated. I shall look forward to next year’s competition in eager anticipation.

Story 1
CALL TO ACTION
Tragedy: there WILL be a large-scale, open-cast copper mine in the heart of the Lower Zambezi National Park in Zambia – the latest development

Story 2
GOOD QUESTION
Do tracking collars, that have revolutionised data available to wildlife researchers, harm the animal’s welfare? Read the research

Story 3
SAFARI PRIZE
Our 2020 Photographer of the Year winners enjoy their Covid-delayed safari prize in the Big 5 Sabi Sands Game Reserve, Greater Kruger

Story 4
WINNERS!
And the winners of our 2021 Photographer of the Year are …

DID YOU KNOW: A new mRNA vaccine confers full protection against malaria in mice – exciting times in the fight against the scourge of malaria

WATCH: In celebration of World Giraffe Day on 21 June, this video captures the first release of endangered west African giraffe in Niger (1:42)

Photographer of the Year 2021 Winners

Our 2021 Photographer of the Year has come to a glorious finale as we present the best submissions. The winner and two runners-up will share the princely sum of USD 10 000 and join their partners and our CEO Simon Espley and his wife Lizz on the >ultimate private safari in Botswana, where they’ll take more wonderful snaps of our wildlife, landscapes and fascinating, resilient people.

MESSAGE FROM OUR EDITOR-IN-CHIEF:

It has been a great joy and privilege to receive your entries each week, to see the vastly different perspectives of Africa. Over the desert sands, across the savannas, through the forests, under the ocean and from the mountain fastnesses, you have sent us images that inspired awe, wanderlust and a connection to wild places we so desperately need.

We have managed to pick a winner from 25,023 photographs of our magnificent continent (well, 99.9% celebrated Africa; a few entries celebrated motorcycles, house pets and body parts – but they do not feature here).

It is fashionable in competitions to lament how hard the judging process is. We must repeat the cliche because it was genuinely challenging to pick the winners.

We judge images on their ability to tell a story, evoke emotion and capture the essence of Africa. We also look at technical aspects of the photos – both in the capture and edit stages of creating an image. We are but human, and therefore the judging cannot be entirely objective – many entries may well succeed in other competitions.

To all who had the courage to enter, thank you from Africa Geographic and all our tribe who have enjoyed their vicarious connection to African wilderness through your efforts. We hope you’ll take part again next year. Entries open on 1 January 2022.

Finally, a massive thank you to our sponsors Hemmersbach Rhino Force and Natural Selection – this epic annual celebration would be so much the poorer without you.

Winner – Photographer of the Year 2021

Fly in the eye. Chobe National Park, Botswana. © Hannes Lochner

A lion cub tries to nudge dad, but the male is grumpy. At the click of the shutter, a fly passes through the focus point and the pupil of the eye. The blunt teeth indicate an old male – but clearly, one still to be feared. Cubs always tread lightly around the males, weary of a swipe.

Judges’ comment

With one snap of the shutter, this image succeeds with so many of the criteria that make an excellent photograph. It is technically brilliant from the perspective of timing, anticipation and setting the camera perfectly for the predicted behaviour. The edit is also captivating – the colour and contrast create a mood that complement the lion’s palpable anger. Then, as with so many great wildlife shots, luck played a huge part as the fly just happened into frame at the right time.

About the photographer Hannes Lochner – Read more

Hannes Lochner is a renowned, award-winning wildlife photographer and has been taking pictures professionally since 2007. He has long been fascinated by the arid zones of Southern Africa, which of course, include the Kalahari. His name is now synonymous with the Kgalagadi Transfrontier Park and the park’s leopards in particular.

Hannes was born in South Africa and knows the countries of Southern Africa exceptionally well. Since childhood, he has travelled to Namibia at least once a year and has a profound knowledge of that country and its photo spots.

He has published several, amazing books, two of which were entirely dedicated to the Kalahari. To realise these projects, he lived for six years in the Kalahari and invested hundreds of hours in photographing the magical landscape and fascinating wildlife. His new coffee table book, Planet Okavango, was published recently. Hannes spent two years completing it in Botswana.

Hannes is extraordinarily talented at image composition and the interplay of various light conditions. His pictures show the essence of the landscape and its animals while telling their stories. His passion for art ensures that his pictures stand out from the work of conventional wildlife photographers. His skills enable him to produce work that attracts great attention continuously. Hannes is also passionate about passing on his knowledge.

He has been awarded various international awards over the past few years.

Instagram: hannes_lochner
Website: HANNES LOCHNER WILDLIFE PHOTOGRAPHY | PHOTOGRAPHIC SAFARI & PRINTS

RUNNERS-UP

(in no specific order)

A mother’s duty. Ethiopia. © Bob Chiu

This photo was taken in a Mursi village in southern Ethiopia. Many people believe that photography in Africa is all about animals and landscapes. However, the people of this part of the world are actually more fascinating to me. Whether it is Ethiopia or Morocco, there is a great depth of culture and history.

On my way out of the village, I saw this woman holding an AK47, nursing her child. As I walked closer, it was the baby’s eyes that attracted my attention. He stared straight at me. I used body language to ask the mother if I could take a photo of her and her baby. She granted permission, and I started to use my wide-angle lens to focus solely on the baby boy. It felt like he was talking to me through the lens – I believe this is what photography is meant to do. I asked my guide for the reason the mother was holding the weapon and he answered that she was simply trying to show off that she has a husband who is a good warrior.

Judges’ comment

This is an exceptionally powerful image that is as incongruous as it is moving. It captures the hardship experienced by so many women in Africa while managing to express their strength and resiliance at the same time. Add the myriad gorgeous textures – warthog tusk, rifle stock, rope, bell, hair – and you have a cracking shot.

About the photographer Bob Chiu – Read more

Bob Chiu was born in Hong Kong and lives in Los Angeles, USA. He is a visual storyteller whose images from travel to street photography convey the beauty of various human cultures, emphasising human interactions. He aims to capture precious moments of unique human interaction in a rapidly changing world. He hopes his work can help make the world a smaller place by allowing people from different parts of the globe to know each other better.

Besides the United States and Canada, Bob has travelled to China, India, Ethiopia, Cuba, Iran, Morocco, Israel, Russia, Ecuador (Amazon Rainforest), the Balkans and other parts of Asia and Europe. In 2018 and 2019, he held exhibitions and talks at Leica India where he showcased his work on Ethiopia. His work was also part of the Leica Club International of Moscow’s exhibition in 2019.

His work, “The Land of Buddha”, was a finalist at the 2020 “Art of Building” annual competition of the Chartered Institute of Building in the UK.

Bob holds the following photography distinctions:

Grand Master (GMPSA), Gold (GPSA) – Photographic Society of America PSA
Associate (ARPS) & Licentiate (LRPS) – Royal Photographic Society RPS
Excellent (EFIAP) – Federation Internationale de I’Art Photographique FIAP
Certified Master (CMP) & Certified Excellence (CEP) – Professional Photographers International PPI
Follow (FAPAS) – Association of Photographic Artists Singapore
Follow (FPVS) – PhotoVivo Singapore

Instagram: bobchiu95

Forged in the fires of creation. Botswana. © James Gifford

I found this white rhino mother and calf resting in the heat of the day and returned to a nearby waterhole just before sunset, hoping they might visit to drink. I realised that the dusty ground would create a dramatic effect if I shot into the sun and underexposed as the rhinos were walking past. So, having snatched a couple of shots of them drinking, I relocated to get a view of the route I expected them to take when they left. With lots of trees in the area, the rhinos would only be in the open for a few seconds, and if they left in a different direction, I wouldn’t get a single shot. Fortunately, the gamble paid off.

Instead of focusing on the negative aspects of rhino poaching, I wanted my picture to convey a sense of hope – a new beginning almost – as if these were the first rhinos being forged in the fires of creation. The effect of the backlit dust, creating a blurred shadow image, added to the ethereal effect. Botswana’s battle against poaching has been well-documented. Sadly, the health of the rhino reintroduction programme has been hit hard, particularly in the last year when the lack of tourists has left conservation areas unguarded. For me, the decreasing rhino numbers give this image even more resonance. It is now vital that the remaining rhinos in Botswana are conserved for future generations.

Judges’ comment

This is the sort of image in which you see something new every time you look at it. It’s a clever capture that shows the photographer has a great appreciation of light and how his camera interacts with it. It conjures a feeling of awe and positivity with regard to rhinos.

About the photographer James Gifford – Read more

Based in Botswana for the last 15 years, James Gifford is a multi-award-winning photographer, writer and videographer, with two published books and numerous magazine credits to his name. In between guiding specialist photographic safaris and creating marketing content for safari companies, he takes every opportunity to get into the bush to create images that can influence how we think about the world and conserve the bounty of wildlife that is still left on our planet.

Instagram: jamesgiff
Website: Safaris – James Gifford

HIGHLY-COMMENDED

(in no specific order)

‘The Murderous Pharaoh’ – a member of the famous cheetah coalition of five, Tano Bora, in the middle of a zebra meal. Maasai Mara National Reserve, Kenya. © Aditya Nair

I titled this image ‘The Murderous Pharaoh’ because of the nature of the cheetah’s pose and the blood dripping down the chin, very much resembling a pharaoh’s beard. The brutality of a cheetah kill often goes unnoticed. The violence involved and the fierceness displayed left me at a loss for words.

Judges’ comment

This image manages to be both brutal and somehow darkly amusing at the same time. The viscera dripping from the cheetah’s face evokes the savagery of a hunt on the plains but his expression indicates a slight dissatisfaction with the mess he’s made.

About the photographer Aditya Nair – Read more

My name is Aditya Nair, and I specialise in wildlife photography with an added touch of surrealism. I grew up in Kenya snd couldn’t help but feel connected to the wildlife around me. Every time I saw a different species for the first time, I felt responsible for telling stories about us and them.

Several media platforms helped form my strategy of digitally capturing the true essence of nature and translating it into a format that creates a bond with anyone who views it.

Photography, videography, and editing allow me to document my relationship with these beautiful creatures. It’s an emotion rather than a conversation. The wilderness is the only place in the world I can happily wake up before sunrise and still be able to describe why!

Instagram: aditya.wildlife

A Maasai giraffe tenderly cleans her minute calf. Maasai Mara National Reserve, Kenya. © Ana Zinger

On a calm afternoon, I spotted a mother giraffe and her newborn calf on the plains of the Maasai Mara. As I approached them, I noticed that the calf had discomfort in its right eye, maybe due to the fall at birth. It was uplifting to see how caring the mother was. She attended incessantly, tenderly cleaning her minute son.

Judges’ comment

This lovely image reflects so beautifully the mammalian bond between mother and offspring – it evokes the mother’s affection and the calf’s (reluctant?) acceptance. The black and white with added contrast pulls the animals from the distracting wonder of the Mara backdrop.

About the photographer Ana Zinger – Read more

From Brazilian jazz clubs to Africa’s national parks, Ana Zinger sings and photographs. Born in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, she majored in music and vocal performance in 2003. She developed an interest in photography at an early age, only to find her inspiration reached a peak when she visited Africa for the first time in 2000. Mesmerised by the beauty of the African wilderness, she started travelling back to Africa to photograph its wildlife. It has been 20 years now… Her work has featured in several expositions, magazines, Brazilian newspapers and Africa Geographic. Ana’s mission has been to connect people to Earth’s wild inhabitants through her lenses, throwing light on the importance of a respectful human-wildlife coexistence in a changing world.

“I found myself and rediscovered photography on this continent to which I have been travelling for twenty years. In Africa, I heard my own voice whisper: ‘I am home.’ The wild places of Africa and its creatures are part of my identity, and without them, I would suffer from a profound loneliness of spirit. Photographing and being in the wild gives me a deep sense of belonging and gratitude.”

Instagram: anazinger

Yellow-crowned bishop in full voice. Rietvlei Nature Reserve, South Africa. © Eleanor Hattingh

I almost did not go out this day; it was cold and overcast, but the need for some “phototherapy” at one of my happy places, Rietvlei Nature Reserve, overrode the urge to stay in my warm bed. I am so glad it did as I managed to capture this beautiful male yellow-crowned bishop (*Euplectes afer*) in full breeding plumage. He was trying his best to attract a female to his nest with his beautiful song, flaring his yellow feathers, putting on quite a show in a field of pompom weeds. While I know the pompom weeds are rapidly becoming a serious threat to the conservation of grasslands in South Africa, they do make for a colourful backdrop complimenting the stunning yellow plumage of the bishop. The moral of the story, get out of bed and explore our stunning Africa to see the beauty in even the simple things like this little bird on a stick.

Judges’ comment

It is the lovely combination of colour in this image that grabs the attention first. Then, possibly, the detail in the animated bishop’s feathers and expression. Overall the photo gives a sense of excitement at the breeding season.

About the photographer Eleanor Hattingh – Read more

I am an amateur hobby photographer raised in South Africa. I have a deep-seated love for wildlife, photography and the African bush.

I bought my Nikon camera in 2013 (I still use it today) and so began my journey in wildlife photography. Being a full time working, single mom of two amazing boys, I do not get to the bush to photograph as much as I would like, so I make the most of every opportunity. Even a day trip to the local botanical gardens or nature reserve offers great opportunities for bird photography which, in turn, has ignited a new passion for birding.

My photography has taught me to see the beauty in the simple and ordinary things that most tend to overlook in the busy lives we lead. This beauty is what I hope to share with the world through my lens.

Instagram: ella_h_333

Quench. Yzerfontein, West Coast, South Africa. © Geo Cloete

**Quench** – I think it would be safe to say that 2020 turned out completely different from the way we expected it to. For a waterman and somebody whose energy is rejuvenated by spending time in the ocean, the hard lockdown in South Africa left me feeling like a fish out of water for many months.

Fortunately, I had access to a backyard facing open space. And so I started to focus my attention on the wildlife which could visit me. I set up various hides and started to observe and photograph the birds in the area.

One morning, a Cape weaver (*Ploceus capensis*) came to quench its thirst by catching water dripping from above. I was elated when I managed to capture, in those few fleeting moments, a perfectly shaped drop a split second before the weaver caught it, despite the slow frame rate of my camera. This moment quenched the “drought” I was feeling as much as it quenched the weaver’s thirst.

Judges’ comment

This remarkable capture radiates a sense of joy and relief of the kind that comes with harvesting Africa’s most precious resource, a resource that, as this photo demonstrates, is precious to the last drop. It’s a very tricky shot that took a great deal of patience, skill and luck.

About the photographer Geo Cloete – Read more

Geo Cloete is a multi-talented artist with an architectural degree from Nelson Mandela Bay University (South Africa) in 1999. The fruits of his labour have seen him complete award-winning works in architecture, jewellery, sculpture and photography. Sharing the beauty and splendour of the natural world, especially the underwater world, is a primary focus of his photographic projects. In recognition of his contribution to spreading awareness of ocean conservation, Geo was invited to become a Mission Blue partner in 2015.

His photographic work has been awarded multiple times in many of the most prestigious national and international competitions.

Instagram: geo_cloete

Attack – a pride sets upon a giraffe cow and her helpless calf. Olare Motorogi Conservancy, Kenya. © James Nampaso

The event took place in the Maasai Mara ( Olare Motorogi Conservancy) in Kenya. During a morning game drive, I saw two lionesses watching a giraffe and her calf from the cover of a croton bush. Soon the lions started stalking the giraffes and I told my guests to get their cameras ready. The lions managed to jump onto the calf, but the mother giraffe chased them away. Once the rest of the pride arrived, they surrounded the giraffes, and after about half an hour, a lioness managed to jump onto the mother’s back and distract her. During the brief separation, the lions killed the calf. The mother eventually escaped.

Judges’ comment

This is an unadulterated image that conveys the vicious side of the African wild. Although the giraffes are unable to express their emotions facially, the photo manages to display the mother’s terror and calf’s hopeless predicament. It begs the question ‘what happened next?’

About the photographer James Nampaso – Read more

I grew up in a small nomadic Maasai community in the southern part of Kenya. I now work as a professional safari guide showing international guests the beauty of nature in Olare Motorogi Conservancy.

I developed my photography skills by guiding many photographers from around the world and learning from them.

Instagram: jamesknampaso

A female chinspot batis feeds its demanding chicks in their perfect little nest. Kolwezi Lualaba Province, Democratic Republic of the Congo. © Kirkamon Cabello

On this fine morning in Kolwezi, DRC, as I gazed at a chinspot batis that was hawking insects. I noticed she wasn’t consuming her prey. Then to my surprise, she landed on a nearby nest with two chicks in it. The nest was situated on a fallen branch, allowing me to observe the birds at eye level. I visited the area during weekends, and on the 3rd week, I was lucky enough to witness the two chicks fly to a nearby branch. This image reminded me that I am one with them and one with nature.

Judges’ comment

This image just radiates warmth. The colours, the perfecton and comfort of the tastefully decorated nest, and the dedication of the mother all combine to give a sense of peace and wonder.

About the photographer Kirkamon Cabello – Read more

Kirkamon Alarin Cabello was born in the Philippines. Nature hikes led him to a love for photography at an early age. He worked as a signage layout artist in a mining company based in the Democratic Republic of Congo. During this time, he became even more enamoured with nature photography and birding. Through this art, Kirkamon eased his loneliness away from family and loved ones. It was therapy to keep him sane and happy. He has successfully entered several local competitions in the Philippines for birding photography.

“For me, bird photography is about having a sense of connection to the environment and the audience. It is having a thousand words printed in the pixels. Photography is a never-ending passion – a desire to translate an image into a wonderful, pictorial representation – which I find both enjoyable and rewarding.”

Instagram: kirkamon
Facebook: Kirkamon Avian Photography

A precious fennec fox in the heart of the Tunisian desert. © Marcello Galleano

The ears, large and wide, manage to save this fennec fox from the sweltering weather. This is the smallest fox in the world, here immortalised while walking in the perfect dunes of the Tunisian desert. It is comfortably camouflaged despite the hostile climate of this region.

I have always been fascinated by deserts and their colours. I have long looked for an ideal location to photograph the mythical fennec fox. After much research, I decided to go to the heart of the Tunisian desert with expert guides. After several days of searching at temperatures above 45 degrees, I finally managed to immortalise my fox in its natural environment in the midst of splendid dunes.

Judges’ comment

This is an astonishing shot of a very rare and elusive animal about which little is known. That it was captured in beautiful light, with such clarity is a testament to the photographer’s determination and skill in tricky conditions.

About the photographer Marcello Galleano – Read more

Marcello Galleano, an entrepreneur in the field of nutraceuticals and herbal medicine, has always been a lover of nature and adventure trips. He has visited more than 86 countries worldwide and collaborates with non-profit associations in Africa and South America. Passionate about wildlife photography, he loves to capture the most incredible moments that the various environments offer and share the world’s beauty.

Instagram: marcellogalleano

A small amphibian sits on a rain tree leaf. Kruger National Park, South Africa. © Mattheuns Pretorius

I visited the northern section of the Kruger National Park in April, a couple of months after the area had received an exceptional amount of rain accompanying cyclone Eloise. As a result, the vegetation in the area had flourished to unprecedented densities, making game viewing (and photography in particular) a real challenge. After another unsuccessful drive, we retired to our camp for the evening when a light shower provided some relief from the heat. The bush came alive when the rain subsided, and insects congregated around the camp’s lights. Among the ranks of creatures hunting them was an eruption of small amphibians brought out by the rain. I found this individual on a low hanging rain tree leaf. Backlighting by the camp’s lights and my headlamp provided the effect I was looking for. Having nothing but an ancient kit lens in my arsenal for this focal length, I was well pleased with the result. It just goes to show that there is always something to see in nature and many ways of getting interesting compositions if you just look a little closer (you also don’t always need the most expensive kit).

Judges’ comment

This image makes great use of available opportunities and imagination. The detail in the leaf is stunning, all the more so because of the lack of colour, while the frog, despite being a tiny part of the frame is the obvious star of the show.

About the photographer Mattheuns Pretorius – Read more

I am a conservation scientist, drone pilot and an avid wildlife photographer based in Gauteng, South Africa. I completed my formal training in 2007 as a nature conservation student in the Kgalagadi Transfrontier Park, whereafter I conducted a postgraduate study on the vulnerable African Grass Owl on the Highveld of South Africa. I am currently employed by a non-profit conservation organisation. My primary role is to study novel ways to protect wildlife from power line electrocutions and collisions. I also pilot unmanned aerial vehicles for various conservation missions. My love for wildlife photography blossomed in the Kgalagadi and has since been nurtured by a passion for birding, scuba diving and various other outdoor hobbies I share with my wife.

Facebook: MVP Nature Images

A hippopotamus enjoys sleeping in a natural jacuzzi. Sabie River, Kruger National Park, South Africa. © Mattheuns Pretorius

I took this photograph from the low water bridge over the Sabie River near Lower Sabie Camp in the Kruger National Park. It was January and extremely hot; most of the animals had retreated to the shade of tall trees in the riparian zone. This hippopotamus found relief in the cool rapids below the bridge and seemed to be thoroughly enjoying itself. Completely unperturbed by the human onlookers, it even fell into a brief midday snooze. I wanted to capture the scene in a way that brought across the peaceful expression on its face and opted for a slow shutter speed to enhance the feel of flowing water around the hippo in its ‘natural jacuzzi’.

Judges’ comment

This is such a cleverly designed and considered, artistic shot. The sharpness of the hippo contrasting with a blur of the water and the expression of apparent relaxation of the hippo’s face are utterly captivating.

About the photographer Mattheuns Pretorius – Read more

I am a conservation scientist, drone pilot and an avid wildlife photographer based in Gauteng, South Africa. I completed my formal training in 2007 as a nature conservation student in the Kgalagadi Transfrontier Park, whereafter I conducted a postgraduate study on the vulnerable African Grass Owl on the Highveld of South Africa. I am currently employed by a non-profit conservation organization. My primary role is to study novel ways to protect wildlife from power line electrocutions and collisions. I also pilot unmanned aerial vehicles for various conservation missions. My love for wildlife photography blossomed in the Kgalagadi and has since been nurtured by a passion for birding, scuba diving and various other outdoor hobbies I share with my wife.

Facebook: MVP Nature Images

Hartlaub’s gull, Kommetjie, Cape Town. © Philip Jackson

I captured this image of a Hartlaub’s Gull at ‘The Kom’, in the seaside village of Kommetjie situated in the South Peninsula of Cape Town.

The morning the image was taken, ‘The Kom’ was calm and glassy. The gulls were jumping and diving, a perfect scenario to capture the Hartlaub’s Gull in action with a partial reflection in the still water.

‘The Kom’ is a small sheltered bay almost entirely enclosed by a ridge of boulders which was once a Stone Age fish trap. When conditions are right, it is one of the best sites on land from which to see seabirds.

Judges’ comment

This is a perfectly timed image from a wonderful angle that probably took a good deal of patience and experimentation to achieve. The edit really makes the bird and the water pop out of the background.

About the photographer Philip Jackson – Read more

Philip Jackson was born in the United Kingdom. In 1992, at the age of 28, in need of adventure and tired of grey skies, he embarked on a bicycle ride to South Africa to start a new life. He fell in love with the country and has lived there ever since.

Being a nature lover his whole life, it was finally the lure of birds that encouraged him to pick up a camera and start photographing all things feathered. Seven years later, his passion for bird photography is still on an upward trajectory. He is often spotted wading into swamps, oceans, rivers or bushes in an attempt to capture the perfect bird shot. Philip now resides in Imhoff’s Gift, on the edge of Wildevoelvlei in the Western Cape. He is fortunate enough to have fish eagles, swamp hens, pied kingfishers, flamingos and many other bird species on his doorstep.

Instagram: featheredpics

Mozambican long-fingered bat (*Miniopterus mossambicus*) emerging from the Codzo Cave. Gorongosa National Park, Mozambique. © Piotr Naskrecki

The graceful Mozambican long-fingered bat (*Miniopterus mossambicus*) is a fast-flying predator of insects, targeting them with echolocation signals emitted through the open mouth (many bats echolocate through the nose). A large colony of this species lives in the limestone caves of the Cheringoma Plateau in Gorongosa National Park. They emerge at dusk to hunt moths and beetles before returning to the safety of their cave shortly before sunrise. I took this photo using an infrared beam that triggered the camera as soon as the bat broke it with its body.

Judges’ comment

Photographing bats on the wing, especially the nocturnal ones, is very tricky. This image is a great example of the skillful use of technology combined with an artistic eye and a great understanding of the subject’s behaviour.

About the photographer Piotr Naskrecki – Read more

Piotr Naskrecki is an entomologist, conservation biologist, and photographer with over 20 years of experience in biodiversity research in academic environments and non-profit conservation organisations. He received his PhD in entomology from the University of Connecticut, USA. His interests concentrate on sound communication in insects and other animals, new species discovery, biodiversity conservation, and popularisation of scientific knowledge.

Piotr has published over 60 peer-reviewed papers, several books, and numerous popular articles. He has discovered and described over 150 species new to science, including new katydids, crabs, bats, and lizards. He has conducted biodiversity research and led expeditions in tropical areas across the globe. Currently, he directs the E.O. Wilson Biodiversity Laboratory in Gorongosa National Park, Mozambique, where he designed and helped create a unique research and education facility that includes a molecular laboratory, biological synoptic collections, and a comprehensive bioinformatics infrastructure. He has also initiated and helped develop an extensive biodiversity education program for Mozambican students, including Mozambique’s first graduate program leading to the M.Sc. degree in conservation biology, all in the remote wilderness of Gorongosa.

He is actively involved in the work of the IUCN Red List and serves as the first Chair of the Half-Earth Project of the E.O. Wilson Foundation, leading the Half-Earth Scholars initiative in Mozambique. In addition to conservation and education work in Mozambique, he has an active research program in systematics and insect behaviour, including a comparative study of acoustic and other behavioural responses of katydids to bat echolocation in the Old World (Mozambique) and the New World (Costa Rica).

Piotr is also an accomplished photographer whose images have been among the winners of major competitions, such as the Big Picture and Wildlife Photographer of the Year. He has authored several books illustrated with his photos (“The Smaller Majority”, “Relics”, “Hidden Kingdom”).

Instagram: piotr_naskrecki
Website: About – The Smaller Majority

Inseparable. Wild is Life Sanctuary, Zimbabwe. © Sam Turley

Marimba is a Ground Pangolin. Like many others of her species, her mother was poached for her scales to be used in traditional Chinese medicine. Marimba was thought to have been just a year old when she was orphaned – too young to fend for herself. The decision was therefore made to take her to the Wild is Life sanctuary in Harare, Zimbabwe, where she met her full-time carer, Mateo.

Pangolins are notoriously difficult to look after in captivity and require particular and personal care. Mateo’s gentle nature seemed like a perfect fit, and a remarkable relationship was born.

Pangolins are naturally nocturnal. However, for their safety, Marimba and Mateo go out in the day so she can satisfy her insatiable appetite for specific species of ants and termites. Marimba and Mateo have spent ten hours a day together for the past thirteen years, and it shows – they are inseparable. Many attempts have been made to rewild Marimba, but she always finds a way back to Mateo. She is simply too attached to him, and being so young when her mother died, she never learnt the essential skills required to survive in the wild.

As Marimba cannot be released, she will live the rest of her life at the sanctuary as an ambassador for her species. Her story has already touched the lives of so many, highlighting the importance of protecting these wonderfully unique creatures so that others do not succumb to the same fate as her mother.

Do not be fooled by their reptilian appearance. Pangolins are affectionate, gentle, sentient beings that are rapidly disappearing from our planet. They are the most trafficked group of animals in the world, and unfortunately, most human-pangolin interactions end in another pile of lifeless scales.

In a perfect world, the close connection between Marimba and Mateo would have never existed. However, I hope that this image portrays the relationship that we as a species should strive to have with pangolin to save them from extinction—one of trust, love, and compassion.

Judges’ comment

The story told by this powerful image is both sad and encouraging – speaking of humanity’s destruction of nature and of the selfless commitment many have made to save our most vulnerable species.

About the photographer Sam Turley – Read more

Sam Turley was born in Staffordshire, England, in 1992. Growing up in the countryside, Sam’s fascination with the natural world started at a very young age and has never left him. He has since dedicated his life to wildlife conservation, and after studying zoology in the UK, he went on to qualify as a field guide in South Africa, where he worked for three years. During a trip to Namibia in 2016, Sam’s passion for wildlife photography ignited, and he has been obsessed ever since. He was the overall winner of the 2020 Wilderness Safaris People’s Choice Award and was a three-time finalist in the highly prestigious 2020 Natural History Museum’s Photographer of the Year competition. His work has also been featured in many magazines, including The Telegraph, Getaway and Travel Africa. He now lives and works in Zimbabwe on a rhino conservancy where he plans to run photographic workshops and tours.

“My unique background in zoology and my experiences working as a guide help me to understand complex conservation issues. Through my photography, I aim to highlight and celebrate successful conservation initiatives whilst connecting audiences to the natural world on an emotional level. I believe that our relationship with the natural world has never been more important than it is today. I hope that my images help people to fall in love with wildlife and to ultimately understand the importance of protecting it. For, in the end, we will only conserve what we love.”

Instagram: samturleyphoto

A Natal tree frog hiding in a Ligularia leaf. Hillcrest, KwaZulu-Natal Natal, South Africa. © Shirley Gillitt

It was a particularly rainy December in Hillcrest, the garden shrubs and trees green and growing. The insects, including flies and mosquitoes, were also thriving.

On this morning, I happened to see a little tree frog hiding in a Ligularia leaf which is a bushy plant that attracts lots of flies and insects when in flower. Of course, not to miss a wonderful opportunity, I ran to grab my camera, which happened to have a flash attached to it. I managed to take several shots before the frog disappeared into the leafy trees above. My settings were Manual Mode, F16, shutter speed 100, ISO 800, Macro lens, handheld.

Judges’ comment

This image is beautifully presented. The way the frog is looking at the camera, his right foot draped leisurely over the edge of his leafy refuge, gives a sense of fairy tale curiosity and joy. The gentler side of nature.

About the photographer Shirley Gillitt – Read more

I was born and educated in Zimbabwe, moved to KwaZulu Natal, South Africa to complete a midwifery diploma as a young woman and married a South African farmer who is passionate about wildlife. So it was that my interest in wildlife and photography slowly began.

I am an amateur photographer who takes photography seriously, exploring most genres. However, my passion is wildlife, a genre that requires patience, perseverance and observance. To watch and understand animal behaviour is hugely rewarding for me. The abundance of game reserves available to us is an absolute privilege, and we try to visit most as much as possible. On many trips to game reserves, I spend time admiring the small creatures, birds and flora while trying to bypass the other 80% of people chasing the big five.

I live in Hillcrest, KwaZulu Natal, a subtropical temperate climate where the tree frogs hang out.

Instagram: shirleygillitt

Hands. Bwindi Impenetrable National Park, Uganda. © Valentino Morgante

I have been lucky and privileged to have visited the mountain gorillas of Bwindi in Uganda a few times and what surprises me the most each time I encounter them is how similar they are to us. I was attracted to this silverback who was very relaxed and lying down, observing my movements and keeping a close eye on the rest of us.

His hands caught my attention; I was amazed at how similar they are to our human hands. Perhaps they are not like modern-life hands, but rather hands that have worked and harvested – like a farmer without modern machinery.

Judges’ comment

This image somehow manages to convey contemplation, power and vulnerability all at once. The hands’ likeness to our own also demonstrates humanity’s connection to nature and wilderness

About the photographer Valentino Morgante – Read more

From Italian origins, Valentino Morgante was born in Malawi, in the heart of Africa, where he spent his first 18 years living in close contact with African nature and culture. He completed his last years of study in Johannesburg and then moved to Italy. There, he began his working life, where he developed, among other things, a passion for nature and sports photography.

In the 90s, the call of Africa brought him back to his native land, this time to Namibia, where he started as a specialised tour guide and then a tour operator. Valentino is still living his dream and leads small groups of photographers to iconic African parks. His unconditional love for Africa is clearly recognisable in his passion for nature photography, which represents an artistic expression capable of enhancing the beauty of African nature and wildlife.

Instagram: valentino_morgante

Morning chores in a Maasai village. Kajiado County, Kenya. © Ying Shi

I visited Kenya for photography in 2019. The trip aimed to capture Kenya’s natural scenery, wild animals, and local people. On this day, before dawn, we drove from the Lentorre Lodge, where we stayed to a nearby village of Maasai people. When we arrived, the village was just coming alive. The children began to play, and the adults drove the cattle and sheep. Animals are important assets to the Maasai people, and animal husbandry is their main source of livelihood. This was an unforgettable day in my photography career.

Judge’s comment

This image has so many layers to it. The glorious colours of the dawn and the Maasai shukas, the movement of the goats and sheep, the children playing to the left and the dust. It also manages to convey a sense of peace and daily rhythm.

About the photographer Ying Shi – Read more

Ying Shi is a Chinese photographer who has lived in Canada for nearly 20 years. He is a member of the Canadian Association For Photographic Art, a council member of the Jiahua Elite Photography Association, and a member of the Photographic Society of America. He was awarded The Distinguished Canadian Photographer by the 126th Toronto International Salon of Photography in 2019. His photographs in Kenya have won many awards in international photography competitions.

Lower Zambezi copper mine given the go-ahead

The plan to develop a large-scale, open-cast copper mine in the heart of the Lower Zambezi National Park seems set to go ahead.

Updates May 2023:

Bulldozers clear way for mine through pristine Lower Zambezi National Park

Zambia orders halt to work on copper mine in Lower Zambezi park

Nestled on the northern banks of the mighty Zambezi River, opposite Zimbabwe’s Mana Pools, lies the Lower Zambezi National Park in Zambia. It is one of Africa’s most pristine wilderness areas – remote, unspoilt, and spectacular. For years dedicated individuals and organisations have been fighting against the proposed Kangaluwi mine, but the final appeal was dismissed in February 2021.

Lower Zambezi copper mine — Map of the proposed mining site in Zambia © Zambezi Resources Limited

Mwembeshi Resources Ltd holds the licence for the mine, and the proposed mine site would cover 12km² (1,200 hectares), situated between two seasonal rivers that discharge directly into the Zambezi River.

After close to a decade of delays and obfuscations, the High Court dismissed the case on a legal technicality in favour of Mwembeshi in 2018. The final appeal to the Court of Appeal of Zambia was dismissed in a judgement delivered by Justice Ngulube in February 2021, possibly marking the end of any legal challenges open to those looking to stop the mining operations.

The final barrier was the validity of the Decision Letter (and thus the Environmental Impact Statement) granting mining rights. After the ruling in their favour, Mwembeshi Resources immediately applied for an extension of validity. David Ngwenyama, an expert ecologist and one of the parties fighting against the mine, confirmed that the Zambia Environmental Management Authority (ZEMA) had granted the extension in June 2021.

The argument that the previous judge had failed to consider the public interest of the matter was summarily rejected.

The timeline

Early 2000s – Australian company Zambezi Resources Ltd applied for and was granted an exploration licence for an area of 240km2 in the Lower Zambezi Game Park. They registered a subsidiary called Mwembeshi Resources Ltd.
2010 – 17 local chieftains in the region signed an agreement to oppose all mining. An application was made to open Kangaluwi Copper Mine.
2011 – Zambezi Resources and the local subsidiary, Mwembeshi Resources, were granted a 25-year mining licence by the Zambian government and began prospecting for copper. An Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) was submitted to ZEMA for the Kangaluwi Copper Project shortly afterwards.
2012 – ZEMA rejected the EIS and released the following statement: “The proposed site is not suitable for the nature of the project because it is located in the middle of a national park and thus intends to compromise the ecological value of the park as well as the ecosystem.”
January 2014 – The minister of lands, natural resources and environmental protection, Harry Kalaba, overturned the ZEMA decision, and the project was given full permission.
February 2014 – David Ngwenyama, acting in his personal capacity, and five different NGOs began legal proceedings to appeal the decision to allow mining in Lower Zambezi National Park. The court granted an injunction to halt mining during the proceedings.
November 2014 – Dr K Leigh prepared a damning independent analysis of the EIS and proposed mine site for the Lower Zambezi Tourism Association.
April 2015 – the Appeal was adjourned by the High Court, pending judgement by Justice Chali.
April 2015 – 2019 – The court process stagnated. Upon the death of the presiding judge, a new judge was assigned under a mandate to clear the backlogged cases.
October 2019 – High Court of Zambia upheld the decision to grant mining rights in Lower Zambezi National Park on a legal technicality (a failure to file a Record of Appeal in the early stages of the proceedings).
January 2020 – Tourism and Arts Minister Ronald Chitotela announced that the project would not go ahead because the EIS was no longer valid. Experts and insiders warned that this did not necessarily confirm that the project would be cancelled.
February 2021 – The Court of Appeal of Zambia dismissed the final appeal brought by David Ngwenyama. For various reasons, many of them financial, David Ngwenyama was unable to take this matter to the Supreme Court after the appeal was dismissed.
June 2021 – Mwembeshi was granted an extension of validity for the Decision Letter (and, therefore, the EIS).

The company and legal loopholes

Bermuda-registered Mwembeshi Resources Ltd is a subsidiary of Australian-owned Zambezi Resources Ltd (subsequently renamed Trek Metals). The parent company was then sold to Dubai-based Grand Resources Limited – a company that has proved to be impossible to contact.

The Zambian Mines and Mineral Development Act of 2008 does not contain any substantial provisions relating to mining in protected areas. The Environmental Management Act of 2011 does not require a developer to carry out a fresh EIS following the expiry of the period of validity of the Decision Letter (usually three years). All that is required is a request for extension – an administrative arrangement that does not require a public hearing nor any other form of consultation with stakeholders.

For foreign investors who face more robust legislation in their own countries, Zambia is an easy target. Political games and murmurs of corruption have conferred a relentless momentum to a project that may not even be economically viable. Hamstrung by procedural regulations and an insubstantial legal framework, the courts have done little to stand in Mwembeshi’s way. Ultimately, the final judgement did not even delve into the case’s merits.

Collective objection

It goes without saying that an open-cast copper mine in the centre of Lower Zambezi National Park would do tremendous damage to the environment and biodiversity of the park. The devastating effects would extend to polluting the Zambezi River itself and affect neighbouring Mana Pools, the surrounding ecosystem in Zimbabwe and Mozambique.

The mine saga galvanized a diverse community of people in Zambia to rise up against the mine – NGOs, private individuals, community organisations, conservationists and ecotourism operators. The potential mine has also given rise to a new generation of environmental activists that didn’t have a voice before. Zambian youth formed a group called IMPI and organised marches to deliver petitions, held press conferences, and created a lot of noise when the appeal was dismissed in 2019.

One of the people involved is ecologist David Ngwenyama. He joined the original court battle in 2014 in his personal capacity, believing that it represented a collective fight to protect his country’s heritage. When the High Court dismissed the case, he filed the appeal at a personal legal cost of some $50,000. For seven years, he has fought for the future of Lower Zambezi National Park.

Mr Ngwenyama has now reached out to ZEMA to allow the setting up of a tripartite meeting with the developer and ZEMA to set strict biodiversity offset and associated conditions including a program of environmental social monitoring if the mine is allowed to proceed as is. ZEMA seems agreeable to this.

The future

There is also some disagreement over whether or not Mwembeshi is legally obliged to re-do the EIS given that nine years have passed since the original EIS but Mr Ngwenyama is of the opinion that Mwembeshi is now free to break ground. Various stakeholders are looking into possible legal alternatives to stop the mine, and there are glimmers of hope in this regard.

The approval process seems to be irregular and the stakeholders above are trying to inform the public. The fact that two extremely contentious projects (farming in the Kasanka National Park buffer zone and the Lower Zambezi mining) which will both impact significantly on the environment were signed off with Parliament dissolved in the run-up to the elections, is worth consideration.

The WWF, CI, CLZ and a number of other stakeholders have developed a social media campaign to educate the local public on what the approval of the mine could mean (see below).

TAKE ACTION:

If you would like to support the cause to stop this mine going ahead. Sign the petition and join the movement. Use the #SaveZambezi for any social media posts.

For further reading, see Crunch time as Zambia’s Lower Zambezi NP comes under mining threat

Do tracking collars impact animals negatively?

Tracking collars have revolutionised the amount of information available to wildlife researchers since their introduction in the 1960s. The benefits are enormous, but naturally, researchers need to ensure minimal cost to the animal’s welfare.

Researchers from the Smithsonian National Zoo and Conservation Biology Institute set out to examine the short-term, welfare effects of collaring captive scimitar-horned oryx.

The scimitar-horned oryx is an antelope that was once widespread from Senegal to Sudan but eventually went extinct in the wild due to hunting and habitat loss. All remaining individuals were captive in institutions around the world. In 2016, a massive joint project reintroduced 194 scimitar-horned oryx into the Ouadi Rimé-Ouadi Achim Wildlife Reserve in Chad. Each individual has been or will be fitted with a GPS collar. Naturally, the information gathered will be critical to monitoring the reintroduction process.

The data collected from GPS readings can be used in myriad ways for wildlife studies including resource selection, behaviour, migration, home range, demographics and understanding human-wildlife conflict. Animals from elephants to birds and fish are fitted with tracking devices and, as technology develops, some of these animals may wear the devices for extended periods, possibly even for life. Naturally, scientists have recognised the need to ensure animal welfare during the process and biologists wanting to collar animals usually need to undergo a thorough review from professional committees before permission is granted. There are several restrictions, including that the device itself should weigh less than 5% of the animal’s body weight.

During this study, researchers assessed the impact of the collars in three different ways: through behavioural observation, measurement of faecal glucocorticoid metabolites (indications of an animal’s stress levels) and through tri-axial accelerometers in the collars (able to detect head shaking which might indicate physical discomfort). As these animals were captive and habituated to humans, no anaesthetic or chemical sedatives were administered; instead, the oryx were physically restrained to fit the collars.

The study concluded that while there was an indication of increased stress levels after the fitting of the collar (that could also be attributed to being restrained), the animals quickly reverted to normal. There was no indication of long-term, adverse effects of using tracking collars. However, headshaking did increase dramatically initially and then dropped below the normal amount witnessed before the collaring. This may be an attempt to avoid discomfort and irritation from the collar. The feeding and movement patterns of the oryx remained the same. This was one of the main concerns that the study hoped to allay.

While there is no evidence for the long-term, negative effects of tracking collars, they can cause temporary discomfort

While the researchers are clear that there is no evidence to preclude the use of tracking collars, they encourage further studies to examine the long-term effects of collaring. There are potential concerns regarding the extra weight, regardless of how small, as previous studies have suggested this could harm an animal. There is also some concern regarding the chafing effect of the collars, which can also place the animal at higher risk of infection and increase the growth of harmful microorganisms, hence the need to ensure a good fit for the collar. They acknowledge that in many wild situations, researchers are unable to study the effects of a collar once it has been fitted, for both financial and logistic reasons. This is why they encourage researchers and manufacturers of tracking devices to work with zoos, which offer the opportunity to address at least some of these questions in a controlled environment.

There is no doubt that tracking collars have contributed tremendously to our ecological understanding of many different species and the authors of this study describe these tracking devices as “essential elements to an ecologist’s toolbox, vital for assessing conservation action, and one of the only cost-effective means for evaluating the fate of every individual in reintroduction efforts, especially across large remote areas.”

Full report: “Short-term effects of GPS collars on the activity, behaviour, and adrenal response of the scimitar-horned oryx (Oryx dammah)” Stabach, J. et al. (2020) PLOS One

Sabi Sands sojourn

Imagine four exceptional and diversely talented photographers together on safari in the world-renowned Sabi Sands Game Reserve …

After an extended covid-delay, our 2020 Photographer of the Year winners joined me and my wife Lizz to enjoy their prize-winning safari in South Africa’s Lowveld – a great way to soak up some of Africa’s magic.

It was March 2021, and the bushveld was still dense after an excellent rain season – and yet the Sabi Sands was thrumming with wildlife and delivered on its reputation as predator-central.

We each brought our significant others – which meant that thankfully fireside discussions went beyond f/stop and the latest gear – although one winner brought a photographer friend. Our first game drive was a mere few minutes old when painted wolves ruthlessly dispatched an unfortunate impala a few meters from us. That emotional rollercoaster of excitement, sorrow and quiet contemplation was an apt introduction to what was an epic safari.

We were hosted by Djuma Private Game Reserve (no longer open to the public) in the northern Sabi Sands – we stayed at what was then the self-catering Tumbeta House. My significant other – Lizz – ran the kitchen for our party of eight – and we dined like royalty. Hats off to her and the Djuma staff – mere words cannot describe the behind-the-scenes action behind running an operation like this.

I won’t go into detail about our time in paradise – that would be cruel in the current covid-restricted dimension that we all are enduring. This brief selection of images pays testament to the combined talents of the diverse group but barely hints at the exhilarating time had by all.

Of course there were elephants everywhere, and on one occasion, we were surrounded by a large breeding herd as they went about their morning. Most of the time, we put the cameras down and absorbed the close encounter into our souls – savouring every head toss, every protective mom shepherding her tiny calf away from the tussling young bulls ©David Rouge

Nikon D850 | lens 600 mm f/4.0 | aperture f4 | exposure 1/2000 | focal length 600mm | iso 320

It was a gloomy early morning, and we were listening for contact calls from a pack of painted wolves that had ghosted past us and disappeared into a densely vegetated drainage line. During our silent scanning, we noticed this pair of bateleurs observing us from their lofty perch. At one stage, the male launched and flew over us. Voila! ©Marcus Westberg

Sony ILCE-1| 600mm f4 GM OSS + 1.4X teleconverter| aperture f6 | exposure 1/1000 | focal length 840mm | iso 1250

AND THEN
After five enriching and relaxing days in the Sabi Sand, we spent the last day of our adventure hosted by one of the most respected ladies in African conservation – a personal friend of long-standing. CEO of GKEPF, Sharon Haussmann is at the frontline of anti-poaching efforts and forging the way to cement strategic alliance partnerships between private and state landowners in this region – including a private Mozambique game reserve bordering the Kruger National Park. Sharon and colleague Marion Bourn gave us an interesting briefing of the issues and how GKEPF is tackling them. This behind-the-scenes reveal was followed by an afternoon with Timbavati warden Edwin Pierce and his rangers at a remote outpost and a helicopter flip with renowned veteran flyboy Gerry McDonald. The rangers are my heroes in the battle to protect our wildlife from the evil ones – they live in remote areas away from friends and family and put their lives on the line. I can never find the words to thank them for what they do.

Our last night in paradise, again hosted by Sharon, was at the ultra-luxurious Africa House – an exclusive-use and villa of Royal Malewane in Thornybush Game Reserve, Greater Kruger. Our late-night discussions under the twinkling stars about the last few days were a fitting end to an exceptionally uplifting sojourn.

Want to go on a safari to Sabi Sands? 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.

**Clockwise from top left: 1)** A white rhino and calf. Note that both have been dehorned – part of a concerted and well-publicized strategy to reduce poaching risk. ©Julien Regamey; 2) GKEPF CEO Sharon Haussmann with Timbavati ranger Danisile Annetjie Mkansi – the first female ranger to qualify as a Timbavati K9 handler (she is also Operations Room Operator). During discussions with our group, she impressed with her passion and determination to make a real difference for rhinos and other wildlife. ©Julien Regamey; 3) GKEPF administrative support crew member Marion Bourn at her desk – monitoring security issues in the GKEPF regional footprint. ©Marcus Westberg; 4) A remote ranger outpost somewhere in Timbavati Private Nature Reserve. ©Marcus Westberg; 5) Gerry McDonald displays his skills as he takes our party skimming across the bushveld in search of poachers, rangers and rhinos. ©Marcus Westberg

Africa’s final gift was an enchanting time spent with a lioness who brought her five cubs into the open for the first time while we were on game drive in Thornybush. Prepare to be smitten by the cuteness of the following video:

WATCH: Lioness and her five cubs – Thornybush Game Reserve, Greater Kruger (1:10)

CEO note: Finalists!

CEO NOTE: 18 June 2021

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

We have an epic newsletter for you this week – so please budget for EXTRA TIME because each of the five stories below is an excellent read.

After our Botswana rhino poaching story of last week, my inbox has been flooded with further information and helpful input – thanks to all. Several people mentioned how many of Africa’s protected areas are under threat from organised crime – poaching or shady elements in extractive foresty, mining and trophy hunting. Many lamented our governments’ INABILITY to deliver on their biodiversity protection mandates. Several of our stories below bear testament to these concerns. We live in challenging times indeed.

BUT we will eventually prevail in our drive to keep Africa’s ecosystems and biodiversity safe from the evil ones. Lots has to change. Be the change.

Keep the passion

Simon Espley – CEO, Africa Geographic

From our Editor-in-Chief

The world’s most famous lion died last week. Scarface, famed king of the Maasai Mara, breathed his last while resting comfortably in the waving red oat grass. He wasn’t shredded by hyenas or mauled by young pretenders. This is not a death that many wild animals can look forward to. To some, Scarface was a controversial figure. He was given the benefit of at least ten veterinary interventions that probably extended his ‘natural life’. Far more than that, however, he was an ambassador for his species and for wilderness in general. Who knows how many tourist dollars came to the Mara, contributing to the preservation of wild places because of this grizzled legend of the plains. His image, which hangs in homes all over the world, will continue to inspire nature travel and a passion for Panthera leo.

When I started guiding in the dim mists of prehistory, we were given strict instructions never to give wild animals names. ‘They are not pets and we don’t want guests to think our cats are tame.’ As a wet behind the ears biologist, I thought this was excellent. Most guides heartily agreed, despite some rather obvious contradictions. We’d refer to the Clara Dam female as ‘Clara’ or the Pink-nose Mxabene Young Male as ‘Pinky’.

Cecil and Scarface changed my mind. Their fame built awareness for the plight of their species and the wilderness in general. In our first two stories below, we consider the nameless thousands of lions living in captivity in South Africa. What will happen to them in the wake of our government’s proposed ban on the national disgrace that is captive lion breeding and trade?

Our third story below is also quite heavy going and frustrating. Kasanka National Park in Zambia, home to the world’s largest mammal migration, is under threat from commercial agriculture. Allegations of skulduggery abound.

Our fourth story below is an encouraging tale of nature’s resilience in the face of human idiocy. Wars have ravaged South Sudan for the best part of four decades now, yet one of nature’s greatest mammal migrations appears to be almost intact.

Finally, we bring you the finalists in this year’s Photographer of the Year. It’s been such a privilege to enjoy the contributions each week. Our choices are inevitably born of human biases and subjectivity and we make them in humility, full in the knowledge that not all will agree. A huge vote of thanks to all who had the courage to enter – we hope that you will do so again next year. And remember that our stories are funded by our luxury African safaris 😉

Story 1
LION-HUMAN DISEASES
The zoonotic diseases that lions carry and why lion farming is potentially harmful to human beings – new research

Story 2
WHAT NOW?
What happens to the thousands of caged lions now that captive lion breeding is to be banned in South Africa?

Story 3
KASANKA THREAT
Under immediate threat: Zambia’s Kasanka NP and world’s largest mammal migration. You can help – see the call to action at the end of the article.

Story 4
GREAT NEWS
The massive white-eared kob and tiang migration in South Sudan continues, despite decades-long civil wars – Space For Giants

Story 5
FINALISTS!
These epic images are the finalists for our 2021 Photographer of the Year – in line to win US$10,000 + a Botswana safari. And your winner would be?

DID YOU KNOW: Many wasps around the world lay their eggs on a host spider so that their larvae can feed on fresh, paralysed spider. Fifteen species in the Amazon have taken things a step further – they somehow manipulate the spiders into spinning a safe web for the parasitic wasp larvae to pupate in

WATCH: The relationship between humanity and nature has never been more important (2:17)

Photographer of the Year 2021 Weekly Selection: Finalists

Here, at long last, are the Finalists in our 2021 Photographer of the Year! We will announce the overall winner and two runners-up next week. They will share US$10 000 in prize money and join their partners and our CEO Simon Espley and his wife Lizz on the ultimate private safari in Botswana.

Proudly brought to you by Hemmersbach Rhino Force and Natural Selection.

Fly in the eye. Chobe National Park, Botswana. © Hannes Lochner

Nestward-bound after a hard day at work. Kolwezi, Lualaba Province, Democratic Republic of the Congo. © Kirkamon Cabello

A Maasai giraffe tenderly cleans her minute calf. Maasai Mara National Reserve, Kenya. © Ana Zinger

Safety at sunset. Kruger National Park, South Africa. © Mattheuns Pretorius

Nature’s greatest spectacle. Serengeti National Park, Tanzania. © Artur Stankiewicz

A Verreaux’s eagle carries a reluctant passenger before dropping it to be dashed on the rocks below. Langebaan Quarry, Cape Town. © Braeme Holland

Thick hide and razor claws. Okavango Delta, Botswana. © Charl Stols

A silverback mountain gorilla known as Rugendo glances curiously at a group of tourists as he walks by. Near Rumangabo and Mt. Mikeno, Democratic Republic of the Congo. © Dale Davis

A yellow-billed oxpecker – star of the show. Kruger National Park, South Africa. © Quinn Kloppers

The Namib Desert flowing into the Atlantic. Namibia. © David Rouge

Yellow-crowned bishop in full voice. Rietvlei Nature Reserve, South Africa. © Eleanor Hattingh

Is there something in my nose? Kgalagadi Transfrontier Park, South Africa. © Ernest Porter

Flight over Tanzania’s Lake Manyara National Park with its meandering rivers and animal tracks. © Gabriela Staebler

Cape gannets hunting a sardine bait ball, black tip sharks circling below. Port St Johns, Wild Coast, South Africa. © Geo Cloete

Morning chores in a Maasai village. Kajiado County, Kenya. © Ying Shi

Dust to dust. A pack of African wild dogs attacking a warthog. Okavango Delta, Botswana. © Golaotse Speedy Senase

‘Would you pass me a napkin please?’ – a member of the famous cheetah coalition of five, Tano Bora, in the middle of a zebra meal. Maasai Mara National Reserve, Kenya. © Aditya Nair

Shaking off the dust at dusk. Kgalagadi Transfrontier Park, South Africa. © Hannes Lochner

A territorial fight breaks out between rival male ground agamas. Kgalagadi Transfrontier Park, South Africa. ©Hesté de Beer

Forged in the fires of creation. Botswana. © James Gifford

Mozambican long-fingered bat (*Miniopterus mossambicus*) emerging from the Codzo Cave. Gorongosa National Park, Mozambique. © Piotr Naskrecki

Dwarf adder waiting in ambush. Iona National Park, Angola. © Javier Lobon Rovira

A southern masked weaver cools down at a birdbath at Lower Sabie rest camp. Kruger National Park, South Africa. © Karolina Norée

A small amphibian sits on a rain tree leaf. Kruger National Park, South Africa. © Mattheuns Pretorius

‘What did you say to me?’ Tawny eagle eye-balling a wasp. Kruger National Park, South Africa. © Lars Roes

‘Enough is enough’ – a clan male indicates he’s done playing. Maasai Mara National Reserve, Kenya. © Manoj Shah

A precious fennec fox in the heart of the Tunisian desert. © Marcello Galleano

A green night adder finishing the remnants of his frog meal. Kogatende, northern Serengeti. © Marc Mol

A five-week-old lion cub learning about the world. Thornybush Private Game Reserve, South Africa. © Marcus Westberg

Wood stevedore. Niger River, Ségou, Mali. © Marios Forsos

Attack – a pride sets upon a giraffe cow and her helpless calf. Olare Motorogi Conservancy, Kenya. © James Nampaso

Marimba the ground pangolin has developed a bond of trust, love, and compassion with her guardian Mateus Mambe Masangunge over the course of their thirteen years together. Wild is Life Sanctuary, Zimbabwe. © Sam Turley

Hands. Bwindi Impenetrable National Park, Uganda. © Valentino Morgante

Showdown – 38 minutes of adrenaline-pumping action The painted dogs eventually left the lioness and her cub to tell the tale. Moremi Game Reserve, Botswana. © Melonie Eva

Young Mundari man playing his Tung (a wind instrument made from a cow’s horn) at a celebration. Central Equatoria, South Sudan. © Mojgan Arashvand

A leopardess, undisturbed by the rain, scans the plains. Maasai Mara National Reserve, Kenya. © Paolo Torchio

A hippopotamus enjoys sleeping in a natural jacuzzi. Sabie River, Kruger National Park, South Africa. © Mattheuns Pretorius

Hartlaub’s gull. Kommetjie, Cape Town. © Philip Jackson

An ultraviolet-illuminated rock scorpion living in a cave that was home, a few thousand years ago, to a group of San people. Chikukwa Cave, Chimanimani Mountains, Mozambique. © Piotr Naskrecki

A fascinating armoured lily weevil (*Brachycerus sp.*) photographed in Ruira, Kenya. © Robin James Backhouse

Bana stilt-walking boys. Omo Valley, Ethiopia. © Rodney Bursiel

A male leopard watches as thieving hyenas eat his kudu kill. Thornybush Private Game Reserve, South Africa. © Rudi Hulshof

A Natal tree frog hiding in a Ligularia leaf. Hillcrest, KwaZulu-Natal Natal, South Africa. © Shirley Gillitt

Cape weaver taking an air drink. Yzerfontein, West Coast, South Africa. © Geo Cloete

A water lily frog sits against a windowpane in the early hours of the morning. Photographed from inside the house using a low aperture creates a blacked-out background and shuts out any excessive light. St Lucia, KZN, South Africa. © Tyrone Ping

White-eared kob and tiang migration South Sudan

A recent survey by Space for Giants in South Sudan shows that one of the largest mammal migrations on earth, the white-eared kob and tiang migration, continues, apparently oblivious to the decades-long civil conflict. Numbers are sketchy for obvious reasons, but white-eared kob, tiang (a close relative of the topi) and a smattering of Mongalla gazelles (possibly a subspecies of the Thomson’s gazelle) continue their annual migrations.

South Sudan is a large country – one and a half times the size of South Africa. It is also a country that has seen horrific, long-standing conflicts. The First Sudanese Civil War dragged from 1955 until 1972. The Second (essentially a continuation of the first) went from 1985 to 2005 and resulted in independence for South Sudan (previously controlled by Khartoum in the north). A multi-sided South Sudanese Civil War then kicked off in 2013 and only really ended in February 2020.

Migration overview

Between January and June, the kob, tiang and gazelle move north and east from the wetlands on the eastern bank of the White Nile towards Boma National Park and Gambella National Park just across the border in Ethiopia. They return to Boma National Park and the vast inland delta known as the Sudd between November and January. The delta is the biggest in Africa and, in the wet season, may extend to 130,000 square km. It is home to 400 bird species and, in addition to the kob, tiang and gazelle is a refuge for the endangered Nile lechwe. Fifty years ago, there were 80,000 elephants in the region; now, there are probably fewer than 2,000.

With all the civil war, conservationists have been unable to monitor the extent of the herds or the effects of the conflict. Soldiers killed masses of bushmeat to supply the war effort while ivory was exported from the region via Juba. The war for independence saw the local extinction of zebras and rhinos, once abundant in the southern areas.

Hope

In March 2021, Dr Max Graham, founder and CEO of the international conservation organisation Space for Giants, led a rapid conservation reconnaissance survey of a selection of South Sudan’s protected areas. The goal was to understand the country’s wildlife better and explore options to support the government with its conservation work and, eventually, attract conservation tourism investors. The five-person team logged 33 hours of aerial surveys from a low-flying helicopter, travelling across Rumbek, Tonj, Yirol. Shambe National Park, Shambe Port and The Sudd, Jonglei, Bor and Boma National Park.

A key area of their focus was the status, following South Sudan’s most recent civil war, of the world’s second-greatest large mammal migration of tiang and white-eared kob.

Dr Graham talked to Africa Geographic about the survey mission and its findings.

Can you give us some broad findings from the recce?

There was a paucity of large wild animals in the areas we visited in and around Shambe National Park, west of the Nile, except for aquatic or semi-aquatic species, including sitatunga, Nile lechwe, hippos, and Nile crocodiles. Reedbuck, bushbuck, and duikers were seen but were uncommon. We saw indirect evidence of elephants and buffalo from old spoor around watering holes and came across a significant population of roan antelope west and north of Shambe.

Clearly, the elephant population here is under extreme hunting pressure given their local scarcity and the ubiquitous presence of ivory bangles among local herders. I think it could also be said with some confidence that the possibility of the Shambe area holding any remnant population of northern white rhino is extremely low given the large number of armed individuals, including specialist local hunters, and the territorial ecology of rhinos.

The area to the immediate east of the massive, abandoned, German-built machine designed to dig the Jonglei Canal was abundant in wildlife at the time of our recce with large populations of tiang, lechwe, white-eared kob and Bohor reedbuck. (The abandoned Jonglei canal project aimed to divert water from the Sudd to deliver more water downstream for agriculture in Sudan and Egypt). There was very little evidence of people in this area, east of the Nile, and it is clearly a stronghold for wildlife. Subsequent discussions with key informants suggest this area may be a no man’s land between conflicting ethnic groups, creating a haven for wildlife. As we travelled south towards Bor, wildlife began to disappear in the face of human presence, charcoal burning and deforestation.

Boma National Park and its immediate vicinity held the bulk of white-eared kob seen on this reconnaissance survey. We observed them in their tens of thousands, with smaller but significant populations of tiang. A small group of just four giraffes and around twelve eland were also observed. Both groups were highly nervous and it is clear they were under intense hunting pressure. We observed armed people throughout the park.

How have the numbers of migrating animals changed with the civil war?

After the wildebeest migration of the Mara-Serengeti ecosystem, these herds of white-eared kob, tiang, and associated other species, are the largest concentrations of large mammals left on the planet. That this is one of the wonders of the world is indisputable. That it has survived the long, persistent, armed conflict within South Sudan is testament to how little development there is in the country and the inaccessibility of the seasonally water-logged flood plains east of the Nile and into Ethiopia.

Research led by South Sudanese wildlife ecologist Dr Malik Morjan and supported by the Wildlife Conservation Society found that white-eared kob numbers were not dramatically affected by the 1985-2005 South Sudanese Liberation War. However, tiang were affected, with numbers estimated to have dropped from 500,000 to 160,000, mainly due to hunting by the armed forces at the time. This may be because the tiang dry season range is closer to the conflict. It isn’t clear what has happened to Mongalla gazelles which were counted at around 66,000 in the 1980s but could actually number many more today.

It also isn’t clear how the recent civil war, from 2013 to 2020, has affected overall numbers of all of these species, as we could not undertake a complete aerial survey during our recce. What surprised us was the numbers of tiang we came across to the north of their dry season range, near the Jonglei canal. Given the absence of human settlement here, possibly due to insecurity created by the civil war, we wonder if the tiang might have recovered from the negative impacts of the Jonglei canal construction, which began in 1978 but stopped at the opening of the 1985 war and never restarted.

We were also struck by the number of hunters and scattered settlements in and around Boma and Bandingilo National Parks and the clear evidence of hunting evidenced by the many animal carcasses. When we did come across kob in large numbers in parts of Boma National Park, there were always people in relatively close proximity, suggesting they may be under pressure, despite their large numbers.

I would tentatively suggest that white-eared kob may have been worse affected by hunting in and around the national parks in the Boma-Jonglei ecosystem than tiang, which used a different part of the range, towards the Sudd swamp, during the recent civil war. This would need to be verified through a complete aerial survey.

How much pressure is there in the Boma and Bandingilo corridor?

What is important to note is that most of the kob and tiang migration actually falls outside of the two protected areas so it is not so much a ‘corridor’ as an entire 200,000 square km ecosystem, stretching from the Sudd and White Nile in the north-west, to Boma National Park and the Ethiopian border in the south and east. The animals move across this whole landscape seasonally. Currently, the only pressure on the corridor is hunting by local people and armed forces. This may have been amplified during the recent civil war because of the lack of alternative food sources.

The medium-term pressure is, however, far more significant. According to research led by Dr Morjan before the recent civil war, 72% of the known kob migration, and more than 99% of the tiang migration, fall within leased oil concessions. With the country desperate to exploit the benefits of oil revenue, the associated infrastructure development that might emerge could be devastating for the migration. For example, three of the ten priority roads planned by the government cut through the migration. Furthermore, South Sudan has a high population growth rate, and settlements within the ecosystems could soon become urban centres.

Has the migration route changed with human encroachment and settlement?

It appears from our recce survey that the distribution of ungulates was similar to that found in previous dry seasons, if not a little more extensive in the north than described previously. It is important to note just how big this migration is. Kob have been recorded moving across 68,805 square km and tiang across 35,992 square km, both sparsely populated by people. However, there appears to be growing pressure on the kob in the southern part of their range due to increasing human settlement and possibly an increase in hunting.

How secure are Boma and Bandingilo from human encroachment?

Both have significant, growing human settlements within and outside the parks, accommodating traditional villages that existed before the parks’ establishment. What isn’t clear is the extent to which people here are engaged in commercial bushmeat poaching due to a lack of alternative food sources given the effects of the civil war.

What is the condition of the rangelands in the national parks and corridor areas?

The habitat, currently, is intact across the 200,000 sq km Boma-Jonglei ecosystem. However, there is extensive burning of habitat nearly everywhere we travelled. This is associated with the cultural tradition of using fire as a rangeland management tool to improve pasture for livestock. It isn’t clear what role the extensive burning plays on the ecology of the ecosystem. It is possible that, on the one hand, this burning could be a factor in driving migration patterns of wild ungulates by providing them with highly palatable grasses, whilst it could also be threatening overall species diversity.

How much pressure is there from local livestock?

There is a large scale pastoralist movement into parts of the ecosystem during the dry season. There is clear pressure around watering points in Boma and Bandingilo, which we presume could accentuate conflict and hunting during the dry season.

What are the barriers to setting up a viable safari circuit that might support conservation in the area?

There is no tourism infrastructure in the parks, and indeed very little accommodation in South Sudan as a whole. Access to these wild places is very challenging, given the absence of road infrastructure. Furthermore, sporadic and unpredictable conflicts, together with the proliferation of arms, mean that travel needs careful planning and local knowledge. All of that said, there is very little evidence to suggest that visitors to South Sudan have been targeted during all the years of conflict. I was pleasantly surprised by the warmth of the welcome we received from local people. Any tourism initiative would have to begin with an air-based travel solution which could be possible and very rewarding for intrepid travellers. Putting in place a simple and effective tourism visa system would also help.

What’s needed next?

Space for Giants recommends that the government works with conservation partners to undertake an immediate aerial survey of South Sudan’s national parks to establish the distribution and density of wildlife populations and identify key conservation priorities. That should include provisions for specialist survey methodologies for rhinos if credible intelligence networks can identify suitable survey areas. It should also include identifying the full extent of the area required by the white-eared kob and associated species for their annual migration and prioritise their protection through an expanded protected area system. South Sudan could submit to the United Nations for designation as a World Heritage Site and “wonder of the world”.

Through the Ministry of Conservation and Tourism, the Sudanese Government could also convene a summit of conservation NGOs and associated partners in Juba to agree on a road map for national park protection, expansion, ongoing management, and development. Based on our expertise advising national governments elsewhere, primarily in Uganda, Gabon, Kenya and now Mozambique, Space for Giants would suggest South Sudan put in place co-management agreements with reputable conservation NGOs to resource wildlife security, park infrastructure and management. In partnership with regional mobile tourism operators, South Sudan could then launch expeditionary tourism to visit its unique offerings to global tourism, including birding, sports fishing, cultural heritage, and the kob migration, to build the country’s brand as a wilderness destination.

The end of SA’s shameful lion breeding industry – what now happens to the lions?

by: Melissa Reitz

Last month, South Africa’s government took a significant step forward for animal welfare and lion conservation when the Minister of the Department of Forestry, Fisheries and Environment (DFFE), Barbara Creecy, announced plans for a complete ban on the controversial captive lion breeding industry. But as we stare into the face of the horror created over two decades, one question remains: what will happen to the thousands of captive-bred, genetically impaired and diseased lions and cubs?

Conservationists and welfare experts have pushed to shut down the captive lion breeding industry for years, saying it is cruel, has no conservation value, and is damaging to South Africa’s international image. The industry has been exposed for the unethical ‘canned’ or captive lion hunting, the questionable tourist cub petting industry and, more recently, the lion bone trade to Asia.

Now, as processes to close the industry are unfolding, welfare activists ask: “What will become of all the lions?”

The answer is not only shocking but also sobering. With so many welfare and genetic defects, more than half, if not all, of the approximately 12 000 captive-bred lions will need to be euthanised.

The unregulated captive industry has led to the inbreeding of lions, resulting in physical defects, inferior genetics, and a breeding zone for pathogens that threatens other lion populations and humans.

“We must not ignore the catastrophic consequences created by this horrific industry. Let’s hope South Africa and the rest of the world does not easily forget the shameful outcome of such animal exploitation,” says Adrienne West of Animal Survival International.

Conservationists say rewilding captive-bred lions is no solution due to their diseases, compromised genes and human habitation. And there is simply not enough wild habitat available to accommodate so many lions.

Furthermore, despite many facilities promoting themselves as wildlife sanctuaries, only a handful of true sanctuaries exist in South Africa. None have the capacity or financial ability to home hundreds of big cats.

Yet the industry must be stopped. Left unchecked, the captive predator breeding industry is a self-perpetuating animal welfare disaster. During the mid-nineties, when the Cook Report first exposed the horrific cruelty of the industry and Director of Blood Lions, Ian Michler, began his intensive investigations, there were fewer than 1000 lions held in captive facilities.

“When I started investigating, there may have been about 800 predators living in captive facilities. In 2005, I submitted a report to the government at the time, estimating that there were roughly 3500, and when we researched Blood Lions, the number was in excess of 6 000. Today it’s estimated that there are over 10 000 lions in about 300 captive breeding facilities,” says Michler.

If the captive breeding of lions were left to continue, the number could explode to tens of thousands of genetically inferior lions living in captive squalor and destined for trophies or slaughtered for their bones.

“Captive lion breeding does not contribute to the conservation of wild lions and… legal trade in lion body parts risks stimulating demand and illegal trade, posing major risks to wild lion populations in South Africa and among vulnerable wild lion populations in other countries where poaching is on the rise,” says Dr Paul Funston, director at the international wild cat organisation, Panthera.

In addition, a recent study found that captive lion facilities create a dangerous breeding ground for zoonotic diseases, highlighting the potential health risk to thousands of tourists and staff working at the facilities.

According to Blood Lions, the first plan of action needs to be an immediate ban on captive breeding through sterilisation. Following that, there needs to be an audit to ascertain exact population numbers, the welfare of individual lions and the state of the facilities.

The audit will also reveal true sanctuaries from commercial breeding facilities. A true sanctuary provides a permanent home for animals and does not buy, sell, breed or trade-in animals or their parts, nor do they allow any human interaction.

“Strict guidelines on breeding, keeping, animal husbandry and welfare need to be imposed on such facilities, and a definition of a true sanctuary must be addressed in existing legislation.”

Environmental and animal welfare NGOs are now eagerly awaiting the DFFE’s Policy Paper to begin the process of shutting down the captive predator breeding industry.

But lion breeders and canned hunting outfitters are frantically lobbying Creecy to reconsider her decision and many fear this an attempt to bully the minister into watering down the policy report, which would be a devasting blow to such a bold move by government.

In addition, there is a concern that lion breeders may begin illegally killing their lions and pushing the illicit lion bone trade before new legislation comes into effect and clamps down.

“It’s a matter of urgency that the process is swift as we would hope that the industry is not allowed to flourish while details are being sorted,” says Michler.

Banning the captive predator breeding industry is a significant shift in South Africa’s attitude towards utilising its wild animals. Hopefully, we will not easily forget the shame of being forced to dispose of nearly 12 000 lions humanely.

(Melissa Reitz is an investigative wildlife and environmental journalist. As the full-time staff writer for Animal Survival International, she aims to continue raising awareness to the issues impacting on wildlife and animals across the globe. Animal Survival International is a non-profit organization that acts as a voice for animals around the world to raise awareness and take action against the threats that endanger their survival. )

Supplied by: Animal Survival International

Lion farming and zoonotic diseases

In the recent report provided by the High-Level Panel on the management of iconic wildlife species in South Africa, the majority of the panel recommended that the government of South Africa ban captive lion breeding. One of their reasons was the risk associated with zoonotic diseases. It is a risk that has been highlighted by several lobbying groups and individuals but is often lost beneath the layers of moral debate that tend to dominate. So what diseases are associated with lions, and how acute is the risk? A recent study analyses 148 different research papers to start providing answers to these questions.

A zoonotic disease is a disease caused by any pathogen – bacteria, viruses, prions, fungi and parasites – capable of transmitting from vertebrate mammals to humans. Outbreaks of zoonotic diseases such as ebola, foot-and-mouth, psittacosis, or tuberculosis are often associated with severe human illness and death, as well as heavy livestock losses. Any farming and commercial use of animals is associated with an increased risk of zoonotic transmission, which is why biosecurity is so stringently regulated in most countries.

Wild animals can also act as reservoirs of infectious disease, some of which may, as yet, be unknown to the scientific community. Commercial wildlife operations are typically conducted with high concentrations of animals, poor hygiene conditions, and close contact between animals. In wild animals without domesticated instincts, high stress levels caused by captive situations might lower immune response and increase the risk of disease spread. Even though there are now thousands of lions and other predators housed in captive situations throughout South Africa, this was the first attempt at compiling a list of pathogenic organisms associated with lions from recent scientific research.

The authors analysed 148 different scientific papers from the last ten years to collate a list of diseases that have been identified in lions. Sixty-three different pathogens were reported, most of which were parasites but also included viruses and fungi. The authors also list 83 clinical symptoms and diseases associated with the identified pathogens. Several were singled out as potential threats to human health:

Echinococcosis – a disease caused by tapeworms that may often be present without symptoms for many years but may result in the formation of cysts in the brain, lungs and liver.
Human African trypanosomiasis – lions are a potential carrier of African sleeping sickness, though the disease is not typically present in South Africa.
Bovine tuberculosis – tuberculosis transmission at the wildlife-livestock-human interface is a growing concern and can have severe health and economic implications.
A pathogenic strain of Escherichia coli – these bacteria are present in the intestines of most mammals, including humans, but pathogenic strains cause diarrhoea and digestive distress.
Toxoplasma gondii – a protozoan parasite that causes toxoplasmosis (generally symptomless in healthy adults but can cause serious conditions in those with weakened immune systems). Some Toxoplasma species can cause severe inflammation to pulmonary, cardiac and nervous systems and have been linked to foetal death and abortion.
Anaplasma phagocytophilum – one of the tick-borne Rickettsia bacteria, causing tick bite fever.
Microsporum gypseum – a fungus that causes dermatomycosis (ringworm).
Toxascaris leonina – a parasitic roundworm that has been known to invade human hosts.
Mange – a contagious skin disease caused by parasitic mites and resulting in scabies in humans.

Of significant concern is the mutation and spread of viruses. Coronaviruses are one of the most common virus types in the world, and almost every human is infected with one or more during their lifetime. It is the more lethal strains of the virus (such as COVID-19) that are of concern. The feline coronavirus has not yet been known to spread from cats (lions or domestic cats) to people. However, the unsanitary conditions and proximity in lion farms increase the risk of these viruses mutating and making the species leap to humans. There are documented cases of COVID-19 in captive big cats, and farmers in the Netherlands contracted COVID-19 through close contact with infected mink. Pathogens could also transmit from farms to the surrounding wildlife.

In many instances, managing disease within captive lion populations is especially difficult because the lions appear asymptomatic for years or may act as carriers of disease. With little to no legal regulation, most captive lion farms have no biosecurity measures in place. This, in turn, will have implications for what happens to the lions currently in captivity.

The authors indicate that the list of identified pathogens is far from exhaustive but was intended as a baseline inventory of key pathogens associated with diseases in lions. They conclude that regardless of the moral debate surrounding the commercial breeding of lions, the industry poses a potential risk to other wildlife and public health.

The full text can be accessed here: African Lions and Zoonotic Disease: Implications for Commercial Lion Farms in South Africa, Green, J., et al., (2020), Animals

Under immediate threat: Zambia’s Kasanka NP and world’s largest mammal migration

The Kasanka National Park in Zambia – home to the world’s largest mammal migration – is under immediate threat from agricultural development. Update.

Up to ten million fruit bats migrate to the wetlands in Kasanka for a few months every year. It is a globally significant biological spectacle that draws in tourists and helps to underpin the fastest growing economic sector in Zambia. This is the world’s largest mammal migration.

Kasanka National Park receives the highest level of protection in Zambia – because of the unique flora and fauna that it supports. Critical to the whole ecosystem is the habitat immediately surrounding the park. This land is currently being illegally deforested by the Tanzanian based Lake Group and its subsidiary Lake Agro Industries. They apparently aim to grow wheat, maize and soya amongst other crops.

The habitat around the park is designated the Kafinda Game Management Area (GMA) and also receives protection but this is being ignored. Lake Agro Industries have cleared over 560ha of natural woodland in the zone. The future of the whole area now hangs in the balance.

The current situation

The Zambian government has temporally halted the destruction but Lake Agro Industries is persevering. They have submitted a formal Environmental and Social Impact Assessment (ESIA) for consideration, requesting permission from the Zambia Environmental Management Agency (ZEMA) to develop commercial agriculture and associated infrastructure over a 7,000ha footprint inside the GMA, less than three km from the national park where the bats roost. The result of the ESIA will be given on 18 June 2021 but the actual ESIA still does not appear on the ZEMA website and public comment is thus almost impossible.

The clearing began in 2019, well ahead of obtaining any formal permissions. The Kafinda GMA is officially classed as part of Zambia’s Protected Area Network. In practice, this is supposed to be implemented by the General Management Plan (GMP), which was signed by the Ministry Of Tourism and Arts and the Zambian Wildlife Authority. This splits the area into zones and sets out what type of land use is permitted in each. The Lake Agro footprint sits across the ‘Wilderness Zone’ and the ‘Development Zone’.

The wilderness zone is supposed “to be used for tourism and preservation of habitat”. “The purpose of the zone is to provide low volume tourism. It allows for minimum development with non-permanent structures. Visitor activities focused on are game walks, game viewing and photographic safaris”. Roads, settlements, hunting, and farming are not permitted.

The development zone: “covers 56 % (2,162 km²) and is the largest of all the zones. It generally surrounds the buffer and the special use zones. It allows for developments such as settlements and basic amenities such as education and health”. Small scale community farming is permitted within the Kafinda GMA, but not commercial farming. All development proposals within the GMA require an EIA or an Environmental Project Brief.

Lake Agro Industries claim they have permission to occupy the land because they made a payment to the local traditional authority, Chief Chitambo; however, the chief doesn’t have the authorisation to give away that amount of land or override the legal restrictions set out in the GMP, and he did not consult DNPW.

Local ecologist and conservation biologist Helen Taylor-Boyd says: “The value that the Park and GMA buffer provides through ecosystem services such as water catchment and carbon sequestration, as well as tourism livelihoods, cannot be underestimated. Kasanka National Park is also host to the world-famous fruit bat migration and impacts here will have a knock-on effect for seed dispersal locally, nationally and beyond borders”.

Kasanka National Park

Kasanka National Park hosts a number of exceptional natural features, including:

The largest mammal migration in the world. A seasonal colony of up to ten million straw-coloured fruit bats, a significant part of the subequatorial population of this IUCN Red List Near-Threatened species and a major tourist attraction.
The second-longest bird list of all Zambian national parks and Important Bird and Biodiversity Areas. It is home to a highly diverse avifauna that includes many threatened species.
Important populations of the scarce sitatunga, offering the best viewing in Zambia and beyond; the IUCN Red List Near-Threatened puku; and the little known Kinda baboon.
A healthy and diverse complex of rivers. The park is of great importance to the ecological and socio-economic functioning of these watercourses.
A unique small-scale diversity of intact habitats, including threatened habitats such as the mushitu and mateshe evergreen forests, hosting enormous biodiversity.

The area under threat, the GMA, is crucial to the integrity of the park, providing a buffer and transition into other sustainable land uses. When the world’s largest mammal migration occurs in October each year, the straw-coloured fruit bats take up residence in a small area of evergreen forest in the very heart of Kasanka National Park. Every evening they leave the roost to forage well beyond the artificial boundary of the park, venturing deep into the Kafinda GMA.

Research has shown that these bats migrate huge distances from countries including DRC, South Sudan and Tanzania. Along the way, they deliver invaluable ecosystem services, such as seed dispersal and the promotion of reforestation. Effects in Kasanka will have repercussions felt across Central Africa.

Concerns with the ESIA

Despite the legal status of the GMA, its protection is not being enforced. The landscape is being deforested and degraded at an alarming rate, posing a direct threat to the integrity of the park’s ecosystems and the animals it supports. In 2019, Lake Agro Industries cleared over 560ha of pristine woodland in Kafinda GMA without the appropriate permission. Government departments issued three-stop orders before closing the farm in March 2020.

Proposals in the ESIA include drawing water directly from the Luwombwa River, which feeds the wetland habitats of Kasanka National Park. It is estimated that abstraction at peak demand in September would be greater than 90% of the remaining flow of the Luwombwa River.

The ESIA report from Lake Agro Industries concludes that “the identified environmental impacts have been fully mitigated against”, with proposed mitigation to compensate for deforestation being “avoid clearing or damaging intact habitats” – despite the 7,000ha scheme being situated entirely within the intact habitats of the GMA.

Potential impacts on the Protected Area network (Kasanka National Park and Kafinda GMA) are not given any consideration in the ESIA and, in 245 pages, there is not a single mention of a bat.

Conclusion

Kasanka Trust maintains that it would be negligent of ZEMA to grant approval for the proposals. The site selection and occupancy of the GMA would result in devastating impacts to biodiversity conservation on an international scale.

It should also be noted that elsewhere inside the Kafinda GMA, another subsidiary of the Lake Group, Gulf Adventures, has occupied approximately 5,000ha of pristine forest and constructed a game farm. The introduction of species not native to the local area such as ostrich and impala is a further breach of the GMP that is designed to support the protection of the GMA.

In theory, there should be no way that the project will be granted approval. It’s situated entirely in a protected area and would have very serious consequences for a national park of international importance for biodiversity conservation. On paper, it has the highest level of protection available. The company has already demonstrated their lack of regard for the environment and the law and there are also serious concerns about the validity of the EISA.

Note that AG attempted to contact the Lake Group for comment but to no avail.

TAKE ACTION:

If you would like to support the Kasanka Trust in stopping this development, please contact James Mwanza of the Kasanka Trust – gm@kasanka.com. To support the objection against the Lake Agro ESIA, the Kasanka Trust needs to hear from you by 16th June 2021.

CEO note: Top 101 pics + Botswana rhino poaching

CEO NOTE: 11 June 2021

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

Rant warning!

Do we expect too much of our elected leaders in governments around the world? Should I ratchet down my expectations that they treat our natural heritage with respect and not as expendable political tools? And what about enquiries from responsible media brands like Africa Geographic – why are the relevant government departments ignoring our respectful and patient requests for clarity about the poaching crisis that bedevils their wild areas?

The Botswana government has a deserved reputation for stellar wildlife conservation. How quickly that will change if the current leaders continue to duck and dive in the midst of a massive increase in poaching of rhinos and elephants. While old scores are settled and egos assuaged, the crime syndicates are making a fortune out of the slaughter.

Our first story below refers.

Keep the passion

Simon Espley – CEO, Africa Geographic

From our Editor-in-Chief

As a child I detested winter. I grew up in Johannesburg so this is reasonable – it’s skin-scalingly dry, frosty and the air is clogged with asphyxiating horrors. There also isn’t a builder in South Africa who’s worked out how to construct a vaguely insulated home. While I could put this down to some sort of national incompetence, (of which there is an ample supply) I actually think it’s national amnesia. Come the first of September, we forget entirely that we’ve been freezing to death, looking forward instead to the long summer.

When my parents sent me forth to make a living (i.e. ejected me from the nest), I moved to the Lowveld where the winters are surprisingly pleasant – as they are in most of southern Africa’s safari hotspots. Yes, it is frigid on early morning game drives, with many of our international travellers utterly astonished that Africa could be cold at all, but the chilly dawns are followed by balmy days with lots of animals frequenting the dwindling waterholes. The colours of the winter – bronze, copper, orange and gold – also offer a gorgeous backdrop for photography. In my opinion, a leopard’s pelage is much better complimented by the palate of winter than the verdancy of summer.

So, once you have immersed yourself in the 101 finalist photos for the 2021 Photographer of the Year competition (two exquisite galleries below), why not book yourself a winter safari? You can take your own happy snaps for next years competition, and, if you are a town-dwelling southern hemispherite, you can escape the smoggy air and respiratory distress that accompanies the city’s winter. Our travel desk is open for enquiries by emailing travel@africageographic.com or navigating to the website links at the end of each of our stories below.

Story 1
SMOKE & MIRRORS
How many of Botswana’s rhinos have been poached, and why the recent secrecy? Our CEO asks the question and provides a touch of clarity

Story 2
BEST PHOTOS
These are the best 101 entries for our 2021 Photographer of the Year – gallery one

Story 3
BEST PHOTOS
These are the best 101 entries for our 2021 Photographer of the Year – gallery two

DID YOU KNOW: Octopuses can regrow missing limbs – a bit like some lizards and their tails

WATCH: Wild dogs, bred in captivity, reintroduced to Gabon in a world first (3:01)

Photographer of the Year 2021 Weekly Selection: Top 101 – Gallery 2

Here, at long last, are the Top 101 entries in our 2021 Photographer of the Year! We will announce the overall winner and two runners-up in late June. They will share US$10 000 in prize money and join their partners and our CEO Simon Espley and his wife Lizz on the ultimate private safari in Botswana.

Proudly brought to you by Hemmersbach Rhino Force and Natural Selection.

This week the judging process reduces the line-up to the Top 101, which we present via two galleries. To see the other gallery click here: Gallery 1

A grey-crowned crane peers at the sunset. Ol Pejeta Conservancy, Kenya. © Sushil Chauhan

Dancing at sunset. Namibia. © Aimin Chen

The Great Sphinx of Giza dwarfs a horse and carriage. Egypt. © Astrid Diana Fernandes

The Milky Way blankets Serian’s Serengeti South Camp. Serengeti National Park, Tanzania. © Bill Klipp

An African dusky flycatcher guards her nest. Kirstenbosch National Botanical Garden, Cape Town. © Braeme Holland

Ivory. Malilangwe Wildlife Reserve, Singita Pamushana, Zimbabwe. © Chris Renshaw

An African rock python rests before swallowing a black-backed jackal, while a painted lady butterfly observes. Okavango Delta, Botswana. © Dani Abrahams

Angry and intimidating. Chobe National Park, Botswana. © Danielle Carstens

Old Craig standing strong at 49 years old. Amboseli National Park, Kenya. © David Dhaen

Band-eyed drone fly (*Eristalinus taeniops*). Frankfort, Free State, South Africa. © Dawie Broekman

Rain rejuvenates the woodland after a devastating fire. It’s difficult to say what the steenbok ram feels about the rain. Lower Sabie area, Kruger National Park, South Africa. © Dean Polley

Sandy anemones (*Bunodactis reynaudi*) with a fogbow in the background. West Coast, South Africa. © Geo Cloete

A leopardess tries to decide if some nearby impala are worth disturbing her rest for. Thornybush Private Nature Reserve, South Africa. © Henrico Muller

Learning from mistakes. Maasai Mara National Reserve, Kenya. © Inger Vandyke

Local Beninese women use the beach to spread lake grasses into fan-like shapes, drying them out for mat weaving. Here, guide Assou Cosme Segla lies on the mats as a size reference. Grand-Popo, Benin. © Inger Vandyke

The beautiful Fitzsimon’s thick-toed gecko (*Chondrodactylus fitzsimonsi*) emerging after rain in search of insects. Iona National Park, Angola. © Javier Lobon Rovira

A portrait of a young boy from the Turkana tribe in Kenya. © Joe Buergi

Black-backed barbet focused on a little bee. Kolwezi, Lualaba Province, Democratic Republic of the Congo. © Kirkamon Cabello

A desert-adapted elephant cooling off in a spray of dust. Hoanib Skeleton Coast region, Namibia. © Lauren Cohen

The marsh owl has light orange ‘windows’ in its primary feathers that, when shot in the right light, show up very brightly. Bapsfontein, South Africa. © Mattheuns Pretorius

Observation Gelada. Simien Mountains National Park, Ethiopia. © Patrice Quillard

Mozambican student, Rosa Félix Tivane, releasing a paradise flycatcher after recording its biometric data. Gorongosa National Park, Mozambique. © Piotr Naskrecki

An unusual daytime encounter with a four-toed hedgehog (*Atelerix albiventris*). Ruiru, Kenya. © Robin James Backhouse

Look into the Light – a rare golden monkey shifts its gaze to the sky just as a shaft of light penetrates the forest. Volcanoes National Park, Rwanda. © Sam Wallace

Posing in a sea of driedoring (*Rhigozum trichotomum*). Nossob River, Kgalagadi Transfrontier Park, South Africa. © Sharlene Cathro

A memory of celebration – the discarded wings of hundreds of termite alates the morning after their nuptial flight. Khwai Community Concession, Botswana. © Shaun Malan

Bob Marley (famed lion of the Maasai Mara) catches a warthog as it escapes an inundated burrow. Maasai Mara National Reserve, Kenya. © Suhaib Alvi

Members of the Kara Tribe, the smallest ethnic group of the Omo Valley. The Warsa festival is a celebration of daily life. Initially, men jump in groups in front of the women; later women respond with their own leaps and moves. Omo Valley, Ethiopia. © Zay Yar Lin

Photographer of the Year 2021 Weekly Selection: Top 101 – Gallery 1

Proudly brought to you by Hemmersbach Rhino Force and Natural Selection.

This week the judging process reduces the line-up to the Top 101, which we present via two galleries. To see the other gallery click here: Gallery 2

An evocative Eastern Cape winter. Kariega Private Game Reserve, South Africa. © Andrew Aveley

Swamp raft. Amboseli National Park, Kenya. © Asif Chaudhry

A diademed sifaka posing with a somewhat amusing expression. Andasibe-Mantadia National Park, Madagascar. © Callum Lootsma

Nightmare for some, magic for others – a wolf spider carrying her tiny spiderlings. Olivedale, Randburg. © Stephen Mintram

‘Mum, there’s something on the end of my face!’ Chobe National Park, Botswana. © Corlette Wessels

An uncomfortably hot and agitated white rhino bull interrupts his mud wallow to assert his dominance as a rhino cow and her calf approach. South Africa. © Darren Donovan

A dwarf crocodile breaks the surface. Toumoula, Mali. © David Rouge

Puku calf sheltering in an elephant track. South Luangwa National Park, Zambia. © Dawie Maree

A clever black-backed jackal who has mastered the art of catching not-so-clever, thirsty sandgrouse. Kgalagadi Transfrontier Park, South Africa. © Gonnie Myburgh

An Ethiopian Orthodox priest sits in front of Abuna Yemeta Guh, a church hewn from the caves some 800-1000 years ago. It’s a perilous climb of 2580 metres to the church – one section requires ropes to scale a vertical rock face. Hawzen woreda, Tigray region, Ethiopia. © Greg Metro

This hole was probably caused by an infection. Thornybush Private Nature Reserve, South Africa. © Henrico Muller

An Afar man clings to his camel loaded with a cargo of salt in a blistering desert wind. Danakil, Ethiopia. © Hesté de Beer

An aerial shot of a chaotic fish market in Ganvie, Benin. © Inger Vandyke

Salt and micro-organisms create the perfect canvas for a flock of flamingos. Lake Magadi, Kenya. © Jie Fischer

A portrait of a Mundari cattle herder standing guard amongst his cattle in South Sudan. © Joe Buergi

Male violet-backed starling having upside-down breakfast. Kolwezi, Lualaba Province, Democratic Republic of the Congo. © Kirkamon Cabello

The thick of the madding crowd. Serengeti National Park, Tanzania. © Laurent Nilles

It takes a village to raise a child. Ethiopia. © Lu Minqiang

A chimpanzee judging. Budongo Central Forest Reserve, Uganda. © Patrice Quillard

Giant emperor moth (*Pseudoimrasia deyrollei*). Gorongosa National Park, Mozambique. © Piotr Naskrecki

Pillars through pillars. Nxai Pan National Park, Botswana. © Sabine Stols

Fossa. This endangered creature is the largest mammal predator in Madagascar. Menabe Antimena Protected Area, Madagascar. © Sergey Savvi

Crocodile foot. Kruger National Park, South Africa. © Sharlene Cathro

A lion licks her chops mid-meal. Khwai, Okavango Delta, Botswana. © Shaun Malan

A Natal tree frog hiding in a Ligularia leaf. Hillcrest, KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa. © Shirley Gillitt

A cheetah and her cub take stock. Mara North Conservancy, Kenya. © Yaron Schmid

Rhino poaching in Botswana – why the smoke and mirrors?

That we are seeing increased rhino poaching in Botswana’s Okavango Delta region is no secret, as your news feeds will bear witness to.

During the last few months, I have received several phone calls from respected members of the African conservation and tourism industries. The clear and urgent message has been that rhino poaching in Botswana is rampant and that Africa Geographic should investigate and let the world know what is going on. But, unfortunately, my requests for specific facts and evidence were initially rebuffed for fear of persecution by the Botswana authorities.

Eventually, bits and pieces of information and documents from various sources started dripping in. We also received a batch of photos taken off the mobile phone of a poacher – a unique behind-the-scenes look into this sordid industry.

What follows is our attempt to make sense of the toxic mix of official silence and considered input from members of our networks. We do not present this summary as hard facts – we suspect that even the Botswana authorities do not know precisely the scale of the rhino poaching problem. Instead, this is as close as we can come to at the moment to understanding the scale of the problem regarding the poaching of Botswana’s rhinos.

At the outset, I must emphasise that my team and I attempted to contact individuals within the relevant Botswana government departments over the last two weeks. In the spirit of a request by Dr Kabelo Senyatso, Director of the DWNP, on 2 March 2021 that we all “…verify any anti-poaching data with DWNP before making irresponsible and misleading statements that may have a negative implication on Botswana.” we did just that. Initially, there was no response from any Botswana government official – no returned phone calls, emails or social media messages. Finally, last week we managed to make telephonic contact and were provided with two email addresses to forward our queries to, which we did. To date, there has been no response, despite several reminders.

Extinction and the come-back

Botswana’s free-roaming rhinos were poached to extinction during the mid and late 1990s – with the last black rhino going down to poachers in 1992. The decision was then made to re-introduce rhinos, and several private and government projects have focussed on just that – bringing rhinos back to northern Botswana’s wild areas. The project was by most accounts a success, with a 2017 IUCN report estimating that Botswana had 452 white and 50 black rhino– 502 rhinos in total – at the time.

Poaching volumes – estimates

Between 2010 and 2018, only one rhino was poached – by a fisherman poacher in what appeared to be a random, opportunistic killing. The poacher was arrested. In mid to late 2018, poaching escalated rapidly – initially in private game reserves and then in the vast Okavango Delta area.

These are the estimates we have gathered about the number of Botswana rhino that have been poached:

Our sources estimate that the number of rhinos poached in the last 2 1/2 years amounts to a minimum of 100-140 (ave 4 per month). Some sources suggest that a further 60-odd rhino are unaccounted for and almost certainly poached – resulting in a higher estimate by some of up to 200 rhinos poached (ave 6,7 per month).
Former Botswana President Ian Khama estimated the number at 120 in the 18 months to March 2021 (ave 6,7 per month).
Various government officials announced figures related to specific periods – as follows:
- 46 over ten months (April 2019 to February 2020) (ave 4,6 per month) – Moemi Batshabang, a deputy director DWNP
- 56 over two years (to August 2020) (2,3 per month) – Dr Cyril Taolo, Acting Director DWNP
- 36 over 21 months (April 2018 to December 2019) (ave 1,7 per month) – Philda Kereng, Minister of Environment, Natural Resources, Conservation & Tourism.

Whether you are inclined towards the higher or lower estimates, these figures are significant. Even a conservative estimate based on the above of 120 rhinos poached over 2 ½ years (ave 4 per month) amounts to 24% of the estimated population before the poaching commenced. By comparison, South Africa lost 32% of its rhinos to poaching in the two years to 2019 and 67% over the nine years to 2019. South Africa has 8-10 times more rhinos than Botswana and the number of rhino being poached is therefore significantly higher.

Relocations and dehornings

Some black rhinos were successfully captured and moved to a safe area, and it is believed that there are now few, if any, free-roaming black rhino in the Okavango Delta – the others having been poached. Some white rhinos were dehorned, but dehorned rhinos were amongst those poached – as has been the case in South Africa.

The poachers and networks

Our sources tell us that up to six poaching gangs now operate in the Okavango Delta area, and we have viewed evidence that alleges at least one Botswana Defence Force helicopter pilot was/is involved (more about that later).

Evidence suggests that the poaching gangs have branched out from elephants to now include rhinos. Many of the poachers are from Zambia and Namibia and are assisted by locals. Minister Kerenge explained in parliament: ‘Let me explain that it is a network and syndicate of both Batswana and foreigners’.

Rhino horns captured in seizures as far afield as the Democratic Republic of Congo have been DNA-traced to Botswana. Similar testing of ivory indicates that the elephants were poached in the Kavango-Zambezi Transfrontier Conservation Area (KAZA). According to our sources, ivory and rhino horn poached in Botswana are trafficked to Congolese buyers in Lusaka (Zambia) and Chinese buyers in Windhoek (Namibia).

Inside job?

According to evidence that we have studied, at least one Botswana Defence Force helicopter pilot was being investigated in 2019 for allegedly working with known poachers – providing real-time rhino locations and security updates. Furthermore, it is alleged that the pilot is related by marriage to one of the known poachers.

Threats & oppression, smoke and mirrors

Several in our networks expressed fear about being blacklisted by the Botswana authorities if they were to be associated with this article. One suggested that this is often a subtle process – with permissions/licenses/permits etc., to operate in Botswana being withdrawn and economic opportunities being denied.

When former President Khama publicly stated that this failure to manage rhino poaching would negatively impact the tourism industry, DWNP director Dr Kabelo Senyatso responded with “…security sensitivities of the subject matter … potential negative implication on tourism … economic sabotage.”. And yet, various ministers have made equally concerning statements relating to rhino poaching (read the links provided in this article).

Senyatso goes on to claim that “…DWNP has a long-standing policy of not discussing operational and security-sensitive anti-poaching information in the media, as that only serves to increase the safety risks that our on-the-ground operatives face.” And yet, the links in this article prove that government ministers do not respect this secrecy policy.

One bizarre (in the circumstances) statement by Minister Kereng during a parliamentary discussion in August 2020 seems to make a mockery of this supposed strategy of keeping poaching-sensitive information out of the public eye: “After de-horning, the horn grows back, same as a nail. When the tourism sector reopens, tourists are going to find our rhinos with horns.”

Where to from here?

My observation is that rhinos and elephants are now such highly leveraged political collateral in the battle to influence people and win votes, there is unlikely to be much common sense in the public rantings of politicians and others who have spotted the same opportunity.

This tunnel-vision strategy is surely preventing meaningful discourse, sharing and collaboration – and wreaking havoc at ground level. That information vacuum is being filled with conspiracy theories and guesswork. And the dominance of political manoeuvring over best-practise is creating an opportunity for well-organised crime syndicates. The same crisis exists in South Africa – for similar reasons.

Who knows what is going on behind the scenes, which valuable experience is being ignored and even suppressed because it originates on the other side of some ideological fence? The Botswana government has a deserved reputation for stellar wildlife conservation. How quickly that will change if the current leaders continue to duck and dive in the midst of a massive increase in poaching of rhinos and elephants. While old scores are settled and egos assuaged, the crime syndicates are making a fortune out of the slaughter.

Accurate rhino poaching statistics will, one day, rise to the surface. And by then, we will know how effective the Botswana government is at curtailing what appears to be rampant poaching. My sincere hope is that someone in the Botswana government rises above the noise soon and starts making good decisions. Am I hoping for too much? Time will tell.

Simon Espley – CEO, Africa Geographic

Africa Geographic has a policy of not disclosing specific locations of rhino and other target species. Locational terms such as ‘Northern Botswana’ and ‘Okavango’, as used in this story, do not provide new or useful information to criminal syndicates, who rely on real-time and granular locational information provided primarily by insiders and local people.

CEO note: Entries closed + behind the conservation scenes

CEO NOTE: 04 June 2021

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I am buried deep in research for a future story. My location is currently about midway between bureaucratic bungling and misinformation juiced by algorithms. Or thereabouts. Over to my raconteur colleague James to regale you with his dry wit and immense charm. See you next week.

Keep the passion

Simon Espley – CEO, Africa Geographic

From our Editor-in-Chief

A few months ago I was going through a trunk of memorabilia when I happened upon a large packet of photographs – yes, printed snaps. All of them were wildlife shots sent by various kind guests in the early 2000s. I don’t want to be unkind here so I’ll just say that none have ever decorated a wall, desk, mantelpiece or even privy in any of the hovels I’ve occupied.

Our 2021 Photographer of the Year competition is now closed and we now face the intimidating task of picking a winner and two runners up (to be announced in July). Here are a few thoughts on how we assess the images.

In the days of manual, film cameras, taking a good shot required patience, exceptional knowledge of the camera, the conditions, the animals and a great dose of luck. Now, cameras and editing software are so clever, that just about anyone can take a decent wildlife shot. The result is that what may have been forgiven in the past (slight blur, exposure issues etc), can’t be forgiven now.

Yet, still, most of the principles that defined great shots of the past, define them today: An exceptional prediction of animal behaviour, patience (time), large doses of luck and the ability to tell a story with a picture.

You can see the final gallery of Africa’s wonders below – it’s a long and lovely one so best enjoyed with some good music and drink. A huge thank you to all who entered this year’s competition.

Tourism operations are increasingly offering guests the chance to participate in conservation. In our second story below, two AG tribe contributors share their fascinating experiences of hands-on conservation in the field.

In our final story below, genetic research indicates that there are four species of giraffe and seven subspecies. The research has mighty important conservation ramifications.

Story 1
BEST PHOTOSM
Week twenty-one of our 2021 Photographer of the Year – entries are now closed!

Story 2
BEHIND THE SCENES
Experience conservation in action as a hands-on tourist – trip reports from two members of our tribe

Story 3
CLARITY ON GIRAFFES
There are 4 species and 7 subspecies of giraffe, says new research facilitated by the Giraffe Conservation Foundation

DID YOU KNOW: The largest molecule in nature lives in your body and its name is Chromosome 1 – it is made up of around 10 billion atoms

WATCH: From the United Nations, a story of Kenyan conservation in the face of the pandemic (3:24)

Photographer of the Year 2021 Weekly Selection: Week 21

Our Photographer of the Year 2021 is now closed for submissions, it’s been a wonderful 21 weeks. We will announce the overall winner and two runners-up in late June. They will share US$10 000 in prize money and join their partners and our CEO Simon Espley and his wife Lizz on the ultimate private safari in Botswana.

Proudly brought to you by Hemmersbach Rhino Force and Natural Selection.

Here are the best submissions for the final week

A bearded vulture flies into the light. Giant’s Castle, Drakensberg, South Africa. © Ernest Porter

The Cauldron on a winter morning. Arniston, South Africa. © Lucy Gemmill

Sustainable games. Madagascar. © Aimin Chen

Cherry spot moth with its (hopefully) next generation. Ruiru, Kenya. © Robin Backhouse

‘How many times must I tell you?!’ Maasai Mara National Reserve, Kenya. © Ana Zinger

Desert adder in a rush. Namib Desert, Namibia. © Andrea Friedrich

Taking a load off – white-backed vulture. Zimanga Private Game Reserve, South Africa. © Andries Janse van Rensberg

Female pririt batis foraging for insect snacks amongst the pink blossoms of *Senegalia erubescens*. Erongo Mountains, Damaraland, Namibia © Annabelle Venter

Horned adder waiting for the mist to lift. Dorob National Park, Namibia © Chantelle Bosch

Flap-necked chameleon hiding in the garden. Kasane, Botswana. © Charl Stols

An old alpha male chimpanzee contemplates how to remain dominant. Kibale National Park, Uganda. © Chris Renshaw

A juvenile African harrier hawk giving a sociable weaver chick its final ride. Etosha National Park, Namibia. © Ernest Porter

A five-week-old lion cub examining the world. Thornybush Private Game Reserve, South Africa. © Marcus Westberg

An unusual angle of a painted lady butterfly. Freestate, South Africa. © Haig Fourie

Sibling rivalry. Maasai Mara National Reserve, Kenya. © Patrice Quillard

The king sneaks past the emperor. Chobe National Park, Botswana. © Hannes Lochner

Eastern black rhino testing the air for a mate (photobombed by a yellow-billed oxpecker). Kenya. © Ian Mears

Dwarf adder waiting in ambush. Iona National Park, Angola © Javier Lonon Rovira

Climbing for coconuts. Madagascar. © Jinyan Yang

Black-collared barbet having a risky meal. Kolwezi, Lualaba Province, Democratic Republic of the Congo. © Kirkamon Cabello

‘Can I take this home mum?’ Nxai Pan National Park, Botswana. © Charl Stols

A bull elephant, named Vronsky, examining the camera. Amboseli National Park, Kenya. © William Fortescue

The cliffs of Arniston just after a storm. Arniston, South Africa. © Lucy Gemmill

Lion guardian, Kamunu Saitoti, comes face to face with a bull elephant while patrolling in the Amboseli ecosystem. A former killer of lions himself, Kamunu now works to reduce conflict between the apex predators and his fellow Maasai. Amboseli National Park, Kenya. © Marcus Westberg

A young cheetah cub inspects the photographer. Olare Motorogi Conservancy, Kenya. © Olli Teirilä

‘Dad, you need to brush your teeth.’ Savute, Chobe National Park, Botswana. © Charl Stols

Last ivory. Tarangire National Park. © Tuomas Kirjavainen

Fighting titans. Maasai Mara National Reserve, Kenya. © Patrice Quillard

Rescued chimpanzee on the way to Tacugama Chimpanzee Sanctuary, Freetown, Sierra Leone. © Renato Granieri

Crossing a dry lake in Amboseli National Park, Kenya. © William Fortescue

Jackson’s chameleon. Limuru, Kenya. © Robin Backhouse

A guiding paw. Thornybush Private Game Reserve, South Africa. © Rudi Hulshof

Disrespecting one’s elders. Savute, Chobe National Park, Botswana. © Sabine Stols

A silverback striking a pensive pose. Virunga National Park, Democratic Republic of the Congo. © Shane McLean

Hunting red-eyed amphipods. False Bay, South Africa. © Geo Cloete

Red landscape. Deadvlei, Namibia. © Shaun Malan

Sunrise over the Mara from a balloon. Maasai Mara, Kenya. © Sridaran Karthik

Lunch dispute. South Luangwa National Park, Zambia. © Andrew Macdonald

In the shadows of Mount Kilimanjaro. Amboseli National Park, Kenya. © Sushil Chauhan

‘This tastes odd.’. Kruger National Park, South Africa. © Sylvie Failletaz

A fly resting on a Wahlberg’s Kalahari gecko. Tswalu Kalahari Reserve, South Africa. © Thilo Beck

Plunging across the murderous Mara River. Serengeti National Park, Tanzania. © Tomasz Szpila

A male African jacana and his chicks – he normally carries them under his wings for protection. Chobe River, Botswana. © Charl Stols

A huge herd of wildebeest crosses a dusty gulley. Maasai Mara National Reserve, Kenya. © William Fortescue

A very special pair of African painted wolves – one with partial albinism. Chinko area, Central African Republic. © Yannick Exalto

A juvenile bearded vulture attacking an adult. Giant’s Castle, Drakensberg, South Africa. © Ernest Porter

Conservation in action – as a tourism experience

A number of ecotourism operations are beginning to offer conservation activities to their guests – opportunities to see hands-on conservation in action. Lodges and parks are formalising guest safety protocols for taking their guests on rhino dehorning, elephant collaring, game capture and other veterinary interventions.

Here, two of our AG tribe share their accounts of firsthand conservation experiences.

Game capture in Mokala National Park, South Africa
By Sharlene Cathro

During a recent visit to Mokala National Park – one of the newest SANParks Reserves, my husband and I discovered the building of a large boma in the middle of the reserve. This could only mean one thing – ‘game capture’. We spoke to the rangers and they agreed that we could experience the event.

As retired, hobbyist photographers, we spend an average of three to four months of the year in various SANParks reserves; this was the first time we’d had the opportunity to witness something like this. It turned out, I had no idea what actually transpired during a game capture.

Conservation activities — Clockwise from top left: Just prior to closing the first division; two divisions closed with the animals in the truck; SANParks officials monitoring the animals in the truck; tranquilising a herd of captured zebra.

Preparation

First, the boma area was built bearing in mind factors such as animal pathways, wind direction, trees and space for the massive transport trucks. Then, the helicopter took off to locate a herd of the desired species (not, as I had envisaged, with different herbivores herded together). Meanwhile, the ground crew entered the boma area and positioned themselves out of sight, behind trees and the tarpaulin curtains. The first target for our capture team was a herd of zebra.

After just 15 minutes, we heard the siren from the helicopter warning the crew that the herd was close. Then a different siren sounded as the animals were about to enter the boma. This told the ground crew to pull the first tarpaulin curtains closed behind the advancing herd. All this happened in seconds.

Then the hard work began.

Execution

We watched the ground crew guide the herd towards the holding pen, still with the assistance of the helicopter. This is far easier said than done as zebras have an excellent sense of smell – if they scent human, they can panic and dart off in the opposite direction. It took a while, but finally after three different curtain closures, each one smaller than the last, the herd was in the holding pen.

All the captured animals were then counted, sexed and finally tranquillised for the onward journey. This was done by a professional team of SANParks veterinarians. The procedure was performed methodically by marking each animal with a green stripe after the first tranquilliser, followed by a yellow stripe after the second. Once completed the zebras were loaded into the trucks. Depending on the species, some are loaded and only then tranquillised through the roof of the vehicles.

I was fortunate enough to photograph the eland capture from the top of one of the trucks. The eland were quite happy to run from the holding pen straight up the ramp into the truck where the tranquillising was done through the roof.

The three large trucks interlinked in a U formation – the animals walked through the first and second trucks and into the last. This meant there was no moving, reversing or changing trucks after each capture – therefore less stress on the animals.

The entire day’s experience was one of the most exhilarating and educational of my life. I can only admire the dedication and hard work of the SANParks team. They worked tirelessly for the entire day, hiding up trees and wrapped in tarpaulin curtains; all to ensure the animals were captured and transported to their new homes in the safest, most humane way possible.

To quote Ben, a long time SANParks employee, ‘You must come and help so that you can tell your children and grandchildren you were involved in relocating wild animals; this is not something many people get to do in their life.’

Conclusion

Mokala National Park is known as the breeding park for our unusual and endangered animals. It has no natural predators and the herds grow to numbers greater than the park can sustain. It is, therefore, necessary to control the numbers – hence the game capture and redistribution programme.

All the animals from this day’s capture went to various rigorously screened game farms in the Northern Cape as part of an effort to create a greater spread of species across the country. The farms were pre-approved after undergoing a rigorous screening process by the SANParks.

Thank you to Rudi and Lawrence for giving us the opportunity to be a part of the team and photograph the day’s proceedings.

Hands-on conservation: elephant collaring in Zimbabwe
By: Ben Sheil

Have you ever seen a collared wild animal and wondered why it is so? Tracking wildlife with remote radio collars stretches back to the 1960s and since its inception, it has seen widespread use by those studying and conserving wildlife. Collars are the most widely used tracking devices for mammals because they are relatively easy to fit and have minimal impact on an animal’s wellbeing. Powered by batteries, they are designed to run for a set period (usually influenced by the frequency of data transmission) before being manually removed.

Most collars are equipped with a VHF radio transmitter and/ or a GPS transmitter, allowing the animal to be tracked directly in the field, and online. By observing an animal’s long-term movements, researchers can develop a better understanding of their behaviour, habitat selection, home range size, and potential for human encounters. Collars provide researchers with detailed pictures of species’ ecology – information critical for conservation.

Joining the mission

I was fortunate to have the chance to join an elephant collaring mission in Zambezi National Park, situated just outside Victoria Falls in northern Zimbabwe. The mission was orchestrated by the Zimbabwe Parks and Wildlife Management Authority (Zimparks). The project was part of an effort to understand the elephant population in the little-studied park which is part of the Kavango Zambezi (KAZA) Transfrontier conservation area.

As you might imagine, collaring an animal the size of an elephant is a complex operation, with many precautions in place to minimise the risk to both human and elephant. With a relatively large team consisting of researchers, rangers, vets, hunters and a small group of university students from Australia, there was no margin for error.

We assembled at the gates of the park in the early afternoon, and after a safety briefing, we headed off. Our convoy bumped along the dirt tracks that navigate through the thick bush, before opening up to the Chamabondo Vlei, a strip of open grassland that runs through the otherwise densely forested southern half of the park. Elephants are frequently sighted here, and sure enough, we encountered a herd at a watering hole.

The experts in the team quickly identified a suitable individual – an adult cow. Although only one individual would be collared, the information collected from the collar was expected to represent the entire herd. Adult cows are selected as they are the most likely to remain with the group and will not outgrow the collar.

The perfect shot

We waited at a distance as the herd slowly abandoned the watering hole and headed for the thick bush that flanks the grassland. One truck, with the vet on the back holding the loaded dart gun, approached the herd. As soon as the opportunity presented, the shot rang out. Through my telephoto lens, I saw the dart impact the elephant’s right thigh. A perfect shot.

The herd quickly ran into the forest and the rest of us on the ground scrambled in chase. We parked up next to the boundary of the forest and set off on foot, following the tracks of the retreating herd. A couple of hundred metres in, we found her lying on the ground, completely knocked out.

The collaring had to be swift, and this is where the importance of having a hugely skilled team is crucial. Some pairs of hands were dedicated to attaching the collar, some took measurements and tissue samples while others fanned her ears and sprayed them with water – regulating her temperature. A great deal of attention was also focused on the surrounding bush, making sure the rest of the herd wasn’t about to charge to the aid of the downed female.

Within a few minutes, the collar was attached and measurements recorded. The team packed up and left hastily. As we walked back through the bush, we began to hear the bellows of the waking cow. We returned to the vehicles and took a deep breath to fully absorb the experience.

This particular elephant was one of three collared in Zambezi National Park over the course of a few months and researchers gained the ability to track the movements of the herds online. The information received remotely is valuable alone, but it also allows the researchers to better locate the herds in the field. Twice a week the team ventures into the park to gather data from the ground.

After the collaring

Locating these specific herds in the field is still no easy task even with the aid of the radio collars. Before heading out in the mornings, the researchers check the last-known GPS location online. They then drive as close as possible to the coordinates before using radio telemetry to zero in on the elephant. This involves holding an antenna in the air and listening for beeps that come through the receiver, roughly indicating the distance and direction of the collar. Often, the elephants are situated in areas of thick bush inaccessible to the team, but the job has become even harder after two of the collared individuals joined other herds – an example of how socially dynamic elephants can be.

When the elephants are spotted, the team take recordings on the herd size, demography, health and behaviours, and this, coupled with the long-term movements of the herd, provided by the GPS, gives the researchers an enhanced understanding of the status of elephants in the park. The purpose of this information is used to advise conservation initiatives such as mitigating human-elephant conflict in the region.

It is true that seeing a collar wrapped around the neck of a wild animal isn’t pretty, but the value of these instruments shouldn’t be understated. The efforts of conservation organisations have a big part to play in the fight to save threatened animals – and with issues such as climate change, habitat loss, poaching, and human-wildlife conflict all adding to the uncertainty of what lies ahead, these efforts are needed now more than ever.

CEO note: Failure + spring-loaded cat + best pics

CEO NOTE: 28 May 2021

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

It’s no surprise that a WHISTLEBLOWER has fingered the high-profile oil drilling operation in the Okavango basin in a complaint registered with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). This dubious project, previously described by me here as a ‘pump-and-dump investor SCAM’, will likely burn many naive (greedy?) investors before it sinks beneath the Kalahari sands. What these thugs will inevitably leave behind is environmental damage and yet another abused and discarded African community. Read all about the SEC complaint here.

And, along similar lines, the plot thickens regarding attempts to strip-mine the bushveld paradise that is Selati Game Reserve, a conservation success story near the Kruger National Park. The man behind this particular GET-RICH scheme has a history of fraud and corruption. Read all about it in this sterling bit of investigative journalism. Thanks to Ritchie Morris for sending us this link.

Lastly, we have received many nudges about our exciting new development that I have hinted at in the last few months. Soon YOU will be invited to get involved in AG’s mission to up our game.

Keep the passion

Simon Espley – CEO, Africa Geographic

From our Editor-in-Chief

Many things in the world baffle me. For example, I cannot comprehend why, despite the regular passing of the seasons over humanity’s entire history, we still comment, with great surprise, when it’s cold in winter or hot in summer. Another thing beyond the realm of my intellect is banking – I suspect it is so to many bankers too. Because of its inscrutable nature to the layman, bankers are excellent at hiding behind jargon. Many enjoy delivering treatises on market variables with an intimidating array of obfuscating vocab – usually with a supercilious air that indicates they really don’t expect a bottom-feeding biologist to understand. What has any of this to do with conservation? Well, money must flow for people to be paid for things and suitcases stuffed full of greenbacks are difficult to haul about these days. In our first story below, we look at some new research that points a finger at banks and calls on them to flag money flowing in the illegal wildlife trade – about time too!

As a guide, driving back at night after a long game drive, guests in a satisfied gin funk, my mind used to wander. One evening, the spotlight was flicking from side to side, and I was trying to convert 4.4 light-years to kilometres, the distance from the earth to Alpha Centauri. Suddenly, Elvis shook the spotlight violently and there, in its beam, was a cat I’d been hoping to see for years. Utterly oblivious to my stupified guests, I slammed on the brakes. Knees clattered into seat frames, binoculars flew, cameras hit the floor. ‘Serval!’ I yelled. The cat disappeared long before any guest could recover sufficiently to see it. Our second story below is a deep dive into the life of this magical, miniature cheetah/leopard/moggy type cat.

Then it is time for your weekly chill session with some gentle tunes. We’re into the very final stages of our Photographer of the Year and this week’s selection holds some rare and stunning delights from all over Africa.

Probably best to watch our video of the week after your Friday afternoon cake. You will need this to fuel your soon-to-start trail running regime.

Story 1
FAILURE
Failure by banks to identify the financial footprints of poaching syndicates results in lost opportunities to disrupt illegal wildlife trade – says research

Story 2
SPRING-LOADED CAT
Species focus: With its long limbs, spotted coat, and characteristic spring-loaded pounce, the serval is one of Africa’s most striking cat species

Story 3
BEST PHOTOS
Week twenty of our 2021 Photographer of the Year – entries close soon

DID YOU KNOW: Magicians of the Nigerian Hausa revere the Aardvark’s ability to disappear into the soil – they make charms from its skin and nails

WATCH: Grant Murphy is going to run 45km for conservation in the Big 5 Timbavati Private Nature Reserve on the 27th July. Watch his story and consider supporting a great cause (3:38)

Four giraffe species, seven subspecies: new research

The classification of giraffe species and subspecies has proved unexpectedly contentious. Various scientists have suggested that giraffe be divided into anything from two to nine different species. New research facilitated by the Giraffe Conservation Foundation (GCF) confirms that a division into four giraffe species division is the correct approach. This, in turn, could have an important impact on giraffe conservation throughout Africa.

The four species identified by the study are:

Northern giraffe (Giraffa camelopardalis – ~5,919 remaining)
Southern giraffe (Giraffa giraffa ~48,016 remaining)
Masai giraffe (Giraffa tippelskirchi ~45,402 remaining)
Reticulated giraffe (Giraffa reticulata ~15,985 remaining)

(All population estimates courtesy of the GCF).

The northern giraffe is divided into three subspecies: the west African giraffe (G. c. peralta ~600 remaining), the Nubian giraffe (G. c. camelopardalis ~3,022 remaining) and the Kordofan giraffe (G. c. antiquorum ~2,297 remaining). The southern giraffe has two subspecies: the South African giraffe (G. g. giraffa ~20,675 remaining) and the Angolan giraffe (G. g. angolensis ~20,192 remaining). The study also suggests that the Luangwa giraffe (G. t. thornicrofti) should be recognised as a distinct subspecies of the Masai giraffe. The distinctions are important because some species/subspecies are of more conservation concern than others. The southern giraffe is the most common, while two subspecies of the northern giraffe are critically endangered.

At present, the IUCN only recognises one giraffe species classified on the Red List as ‘Vulnerable’. However, the IUCN also recognises nine different subspecies, each with a separate conservation status (although the South African giraffe has yet to be assessed). As in the case of the forest elephant, acknowledging new species takes time, especially when science does not provide an unequivocal answer and there is disagreement over what criteria to use when distinguishing species. For giraffe, some contention arose due to a degree of hybridisation in captivity.

The four-species division was initially suggested in 2016, based on collaborative research conducted by the GCF, Senckenberg Biodiversity and Climate Research Centre and partners. “We were extremely surprised to find such large genetic differences in giraffe in our initial study as their morphological and coat pattern differences appear limited,” says Dr Axel Janke, a geneticist at the Senckenberg Biodiversity and Climate Research Centre and Goethe University in Germany. “However, to put our results into perspective, the genetic differences between the distinct giraffe species are similar to those between polar and brown bears.”

Nevertheless, the 2016 study was met with some controversy, and debate ensued about the correct classification. However, the new research published this month was analysed with additional experts from the Smithsonian Conservation Biology Institute, Chinese Academy of Sciences and ITMO University to produce the most inclusive genomic level analysis of giraffe relationships. The researchers conclude that the four distinct giraffe lineages diverged between 230,000 and 370,000 years ago.

Why is this important? “We estimate that there are fewer than 6,000 northern giraffe remaining in the wild. Their numbers have declined by more than 90% in the last 35 years. As a species, they are one of the most threatened large mammals in the world, and we need to urgently increase our protection efforts of this species before it is too late. The conservation implications of this genetic research are immense, and it would be ignorant to ignore these new findings. It’s time to act now!” says Dr Julian Fennessy of GCF.

Genomics is vitally important to our understanding of species and subspecies divisions, and, most importantly, it is enhancing our perception of biodiversity. Not only does it highlight how vital it is to act on this research to conserve what remains, but it also serves as a sobering warning about how much we may have lost already without knowing. In the case of the giraffe, there is still time to appreciate the significant differences between the various species and protect those that remain.

For further reading, see: Giraffes – the Silent Extinction

The complete study can be accessed here: “Whole-genome analysis of giraffe supports four distinct species”, Coimbra, R. T. F., et al., (2021) Current Biology

Photographer of the Year 2021 Weekly Selection: Week 20

Our Photographer of the Year 2021 is open for submissions, with cash prizes of US$10,000 for the overall winner and the two runners-up who will be announced in late June. They and their partners will also join our CEO Simon Espley and his wife Lizz on the ultimate private safari in Botswana.

The competition runs from January to June 2021. Get your entries in now and join us in celebrating Africa! Proudly brought to you by Hemmersbach Rhino Force and Natural Selection.

Here are the best submissions for this week

Mama’s love. Kibale National Park, Uganda. © Goncalo Ferreira

Hartlaub’s duck, a rare, forest-dwelling duck that is very tricky to photograph. Odzala-Kokoua National Park, Republic of the Congo. © Antoine Marchal

Pied kingfisher cleaning its feathers. Intaka Island, Cape Town. © Charmaine Venter

Relief. Kgalagadi Transfrontier Park, South Africa. © Rob Tarr

Grey-crowned crane in perfect flight. Ngorongoro Crater, Tanzania. © Chiara Melone

Lynx spiders are jumping, chasing predators and use their long spikes to ambush prey on sticky plants. Table Mountain National Park in Cape Town. © Christian Brockes

Time with a silverback. Mgahinga National Park, Uganda. © David Dhaen

Morning look. Erindi Private Game Reserve, Namibia. © Naude Heunis

A Fischer’s lovebird heading home for the night. Tumaini Gardens, Kitengela, Kenya. © Ebrahim Mansoor

A juvenile Verreaux’s eagle flying straight at me. Walter Sisulu National Botanical Garden, South Africa. © Ernest Porter

A pangolin rescued from the illegal wildlife trade undergoing its rehabilitation at Johannesburg Wildlife Vet in South Africa. © Gareth Thomas

Human cousin. Kibale National Park, Uganda. © Goncalo Ferreira

‘Well waddaya know?’. Chobe National Park, Botswana. © Jaco Beukman

African paradise flycatcher singing the merits of his nest. Etosha National Park, Namibia. © Jarosław Klej

A grey-headed bush shrike with a displeased longhorn beetle. Manyeleti Game Reserve, Greater Kruger, South Africa. © Johan Malan

A sub-adult hippo caught on the run for the water’s safety. Maasai Mara National Reserve, Kenya. © Lalith Ekanayake

Curious mocking cliff chat. © Liv Stubbington

Tiny spotted hyena cub moving house. Kruger National Park, South Africa. © Lorne Sulcas

Attempted camouflage? Etosha National Park, Namibia. © Ernest Porter

Afternoon hunt before the storm. Etosha National Park, Namibia. © Mark Kaptein

African painted wolf puppy standing proud. Erindi Private Game Reserve, Namibia. © Naude Heunis

Ivory. Maasai Mara National Reserve, Kenya. © Patrice Quillard

Feather trail – a lanner falcon takes a dove. Nossob, Kgalagadi Transfrontier Park, South Africa. © Paul Nash

Pups at play. Zimanga Private Game Reserve, South Africa. © Prelena Soma Owen

Can I help you with something? Maasai Mara National Reserve, Kenya. © Reto Bühler

Lilac breasted roller beating the life out of a spotted bush snake. Kruger National Park, South Africa. © Rob Tarr

Mount Meru through the clouds behind what remains of the Rebmann Glacier on the summit of Mount Kilimanjaro, Tanzania. © Ryan Wilkes

‘Pfffffff – go away!’. Etosha National Park, Namibia. © Valentino Morgante

You won’t see me, I am part of the tree. A western barn owl hiding in a tree. Kruger National Park, South Africa. © Ernest Porter

An inquisitive blue shark. Simon’s Town, South Africa. © Vanessa Mignon

‘Weeeeee!’ Brown-headed parrot. Kruger National Park, South Africa. © Athol Marchant

Playing in the last light of day. Suri Village, Omo Valley, Ethiopia. © Zay Yar Lin

Quintessential Gonarezhou National Park, Zimbabwe. © Naude Heunis (Image taken with a drone. Photographer given special permission to fly by the director of Gonarezhou Conservation Trust.)

Banks must help fight illegal wildlife trade

According to the Financial Action Taskforce’s 2020 report, illegal wildlife trade (IWT) generates between seven and 23 billion USD annually for international, organised crime syndicates. Investigations by the Environmental Investigation Agency (EIA) show that cartels are using formal banking systems to launder the proceeds, largely undetected. The authors of the new EIA briefing call on major financial institutions to play their part in helping authorities identify transactions linked to IWT. The failures of banks to scrutinise the financial footprints left by syndicates have resulted in the loss of vital opportunities to disrupt trade.

According to the report, while IWT is a global concern, the main markets for the bulk of the trade are in east Asia. This is particularly true for elephant, rhino and pangolin parts, which the UN Office on Drugs and Crime recently identified as the three species accounting for some 56% of all illegal wildlife seizures.

Using case studies broken down into different species and routes, the EIA report analyses the financial flow linked to specific forms of illegal wildlife trade and major seizure incidents. In many cases, syndicate members received payment directly from buyers into their personal bank accounts (or those of family members) without any apparent concern for detection.

One case study documents how, in late 2013, some 4.8 tonnes of ivory valued at 5.9 million USD was seized in Tanzania. (Tanzania has lost more elephants to poaching than any other African country in recent decades – its population plummeted by 60% between 2009 and 2014). Upon investigation, it turned out that the smugglers were using a network of front companies ostensibly involved in the trade of agricultural products, food, and marine products. On one particular day, half a million dollars moved through a Tanzanian bank account linked to a front company, but the bank failed to identify or flag the suspicious transaction. The formal banking system was used for transfers in both dollars and Tanzanian shillings, but large cash deposits failed to attract any attention.

According to the EIA, the apprehension and prosecution of wildlife traffickers for money laundering offences are extremely rare, even though this line of investigation can pinpoint high-level people within a syndicate and strengthen criminal cases. Fortunately, there are signs that this is gradually improving, and financial intelligence units are putting more emphasis on wildlife crime cases. This, in turn, should see financial institutions following suit.

The briefing emphasises that it is critical for these financial institutions to recognise the potential risk that wildlife trafficking brings to their organisations. Naturally, the larger, local institutions in emerging markets carry the most significant risk. While global banks have shown limited progress, regional and local banks are not involved to the necessary level. According to the authors, this can largely be explained by a lack of conformity across jurisdictions in terms of the treatment of wildlife trafficking, with disparate classification, laws and policies acting at cross-purposes. Given the lack of legal frameworks to establish potential liability, it is perhaps unsurprising that wildlife crimes are not a risk priority for many financial institutions.

Even once the gaps in the law are filled, the resources directed towards the financial aspects of wildlife crimes are also minimal, left to a small number of law enforcement agencies with powers relating to money laundering and banking and a handful of NGOs. Notably, financial crimes are often viewed through the lens of fighting organised crime and are often very transaction-specific. However, the EIA points out that many of the banking services provided (such as loans or credit facilities) may be having a far greater impact on IWT than once-off transaction dealings.

As such, the report argues, IWT in the financial sphere should be viewed as part of a broader effort to conserve the environment, not just as a pursuit of organised crime. Disrupting wildlife trafficking will require complex strategies at a deep structural level as the current piecemeal approach is not effective. Financial institutions need to coordinate and play their part in the fight against wildlife crime.

As Julian Newman, EIA’s Campaigns Director explains, added: “Private sector banks have a vital role to play in ensuring that wildlife criminals cannot hide their ill-gotten gains in the financial system… They can start by assisting governments to follow the money and reduce the profit incentive behind illegal wildlife trade, helping the authorities to build anti-money laundering cases and to seize assets.”

The full briefing can be accessed here: “Tackling Financial Flows from Illegal Wildlife Trade in East Asia”, Environmental Investigation Agency, March 2021

For further reading, see “Money Laundering and the Illegal Wildlife Trade”, Financial Action Task Force, June 2020

Serval

Across the runways of Paris, New York and Milan, supermodels parade the latest fashions draped across their slender frames. With steely looks and pronounced cheekbones, these young and glamorous walking clothes horses are, in theory at least, the pinnacle of human attractiveness. Yet for all the effort that goes into achieving this particular look, there is an African cat that effortlessly achieves the same effect: the serval.

The striking servals that stalk the savannahs, plains, wetlands, and forests of Africa bear a certain similarity to these leggy models, sporting a matching kind of composed elegance. These servals are, in essence, the ultimate masters of the catwalk (and stalk and leap and pounce).

Introduction

The serval (Leptailurus serval) is a medium-sized cat that looks somewhat like a cross between a small cheetah and a large house cat. In reality, they belong to the “caracal lineage” of the Felidae family, along with caracals and African golden cats, though their peculiar shapes, spotted colouration and missing ear tufts set them apart from the other two species. Servals have the longest legs in proportion to their bodies of any of the cat species (hence the model comparison) and a tawny-gold coat dotted with a mixture of spots and stripes. Like caracals, their tails are relatively short in comparison to other cat species. There are rare sightings of melanistic servals, particularly in East Africa, and leucistic individuals have been born in captivity.

Though the serval is the only member of its genus, there are currently three proposed subspecies recognized by the IUCN’s Cat Specialist Group: L.s. serval of Southern Africa, L. s. lipostictus of East Africa and L. s. constantina of Central and West Africa. These distinctions, however, are based mostly on the trend observed within other African cats, rather than genetic analysis, and may change as further research comes to light.

Solitary and silent, servals are seldom seen but surprisingly widely distributed across a range of habitats in most of sub-Saharan Africa. There are also some small and isolated populations scattered in North Africa – specifically in Morocco and Tunisia. As a general rule, servals are not fond of arid areas. They prefer wetter habitats where rodents tend to be densely populated, with the exception being the central tropical rainforests of Africa, where they are notably absent.

Quick facts

Height:	54-62cm at the shoulder
Mass:	8-18kg (the males are usually larger than the females)
Length (not including the tail):	67-100cm
Social structure:	solitary
Gestation:	around 73 days
Life expectancy:	10 years in wild, over 20 years in captivity

The pounce

The lanky limbs of the serval are not only useful in navigating long grass and dense wetland vegetation, but they confer the serval’s most well-known ability – a gravity-defying leap. The extended metatarsal bones and elongated and unusually mobile toes provide the perfect attachment points for a complex arrangement of tendons and muscles that store and release elastic energy. The result is that servals have been recorded leaping close to 3m straight up and 4m forwards, occasionally snatching hapless birds out of the air at the same time.

Aided by this penchant for pouncing, servals are exceedingly proficient hunters. While current research indicates that the diminutive black-footed cat holds the highest hunting success rate of any member of the cat family, the serval vies closely for the top spot. Studies conducted in Tanzania indicate that some servals have a hunting success rate of over 60%, with the possibility that this number is closer to 80% when only rodents are considered.

The hunt

The secret to this success lies in the serval’s hunting strategy. They are consummate ambush predators that use their massive, radar-like ears to detect the smallest movements of anything from rodents, insects and reptiles to birds and antelope lambs. Prey detected; the serval stealthily moves into a spring-loaded crouch, frozen until the time is right to launch an attack with legs drawn up to their chests and descending upon unsuspecting victims from above. Anything that manages to dodge this aerial assault is rapidly chased down in long strides. Snakes require a more combative approach, with lightning-fast blows from the forepaws dispatching them from a comfortable distance.

This particular strategy is most effective at night, and servals are described as primarily nocturnal. However, they are equally comfortable utilizing the daylight hours, particularly in the early mornings and at dusk. When large kills are made, servals have been observed caching the carcasses, hiding them beneath leaves and grasses.

A hunting serval uses it’s large ears and exceptional hearing to pinpoint its prey.

The kittens

Efficient hunting is vital for mothers of young kittens. As is the case with all solitary cats, the females with dependent kittens expend approximately twice the energy and time hunting to keep their litters well-fed. The altricial kittens are born blind and weighing just 250g, covered in soft grey fur and entirely dependent on their mothers. The litters of between one and four kittens are hidden beneath dense vegetation or in abandoned burrows, and the mother starts to bring food back to the den when they are around a month old.

The transformation from vulnerable fluffballs to fierce little predators is a rapid one, and the kittens start hunting at around six months old as they acquire their permanent teeth. They will accompany their mother on hunts for the next six or so months before reaching full independence at around a year old. Overly attached youngsters who exhibit a reluctance to leave their mother’s side are eventually met with aggression as she chases them out of her territory.

Like all cats, servals are lithe and agile.

The sexes

The serval social structure and territory layout is not dissimilar to that of leopards, albeit over smaller home ranges of 10-32km². Both males and females mark and defend territorial boundaries against members of the same sex, though physical confrontations seem to be quite rare. The territories of the males are larger than those of the females, and one male’s range may overlap the ranges of several females. Territory size and serval density are dependent on the resources available to them. When the habitat is suitable, and prey is abundant, the territories will be smaller in size and the population density will be higher.

The males and females generally only associate when the female is in oestrus, a state that she advertises through increased urination and repeated vocalizations.

The threats

Naturally, the main anthropogenic threat to servals is the constant degradation and loss of suitable habitats, particularly wetlands and grasslands. Fortunately, however, servals have proved to be highly adaptable and appear to be more tolerant of disturbed landscapes than many other mammal species. Recent research seems to indicate that the highest density of servals anywhere in Africa is in Secunda, South Africa, in the buffer zones surrounding a coal liquefication plant where they prey on the abundant rodent population.

To a lesser extent, trade in serval skins poses a particular threat to the servals of North and Central Africa. At the same time, in West Africa, their parts are used for ceremonial and medicinal purposes. Rural pastoralists may also target servals as a potential threat to livestock.

For now, however, the serval is listed on the IUCN Red List as “Least Concern”, though the populations north of the Sahara are considered to be “Critically Endangered”. These northern populations are primarily isolated to Morocco, though servals were reintroduced to Feijda National Park in Tunisia. While servals were once recorded in Algeria, fears are that they are now extinct there.

Servals are highly adaptable and are found in most sub-Saharan habitats, preying on a variety of species.

The pets

Over recent decades, the serval has seen a surge in popularity as an exotic pet, and the first savanna cat (an occasionally fertile hybrid between a serval and domestic cat) was bred in 1986. Most countries have strict regulations around keeping wild animals as pets, but in areas where such restrictions are more relaxed, exotic breeders have flourished.

While fortunately, the breeders supply most of the pet trade without significant impact on wild populations, there are practical and ethical realities to keeping a serval as a pet. Slender they may be, but a serval is an immensely powerful animal that can weigh close to 20kg and live for 22 years. Most importantly, their wild instincts are imprinted from birth. While pet sites are full of testimonials about how servals make wonderful, almost dog-like pets, the various rescue centres now home to abandoned, “troublesome” adult servals tell a vastly different story. It is unaccountably cruel to breed an animal genetically programmed to stalk the wilds of Africa and put it in a harness or cage as a status symbol and ego-boost.

Conclusion

For those looking to see an elusive serval where it truly belongs – in the wild – there is good news. Over recent years, particularly in East Africa, serval sightings are becoming increasingly common as more time and effort has been put into understanding their movements. For a fortunate few, this has resulted in astoundingly intimate glimpses into the lives of one of Africa’s most graceful cats.

And, the more time we spend with them, the more we will learn about these mysterious little cats with their model-like limbs, handsome faces, and sense of absolute self-possession.

CEO note: Free at last + land of grey giants + best pics

CEO NOTE: 21 May 2021

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

How I miss the restless herds of the Maasai / Serengeti, the cool crystal waters of the Okavango Delta & the walking paradise of Luangwa Valley – the list of where I would rather be right now is long. I MISS THOSE SAFARIS so much that my entire life seems out of kilter at the moment.

That said, I am comparably fortunate because I live on the border of the Greater Kruger, with regular forays into the nearby bushveld and wildlife encounters in my garden (including aardvark a few nights ago). I cannot even begin to imagine how deep YOUR LONGING to again come on safari must be. Most of our tribe are not from Africa – you mostly hail from the United States and Europe. Every newsletter we craft is our attempt to keep you involved with Africa, to keep that passion burning until you can join us again. Hang in there. Africa needs you.

Speaking of safari, it’s of paramount importance for the industry that we all get vaccinated against Covid-19. Please don’t be put off by the anti-vaxxers – JUST DO IT! Charlie Paxton from Namibia emailed me in response to last week’s newsletter with her candid thoughts on the Covid situation. She made the excellent observation, among many, that getting the jabs will “… calm the governments of the world down and get them to reopen normal travel and the economy.”

I forgot to thank Dr Michael D. Kock last week for sending us the article that formed the background to my observations. My sincere apologies for the oversight Michael. Thanks to you all for sending me your thoughts and links to some interesting reading!

Keep the passion

Simon Espley – CEO, Africa Geographic

From our Editor-in-Chief

‘Can you ride a motorbike?’ she asked.
‘Well, I can sort of make one go forward and change gears,’ I said, recalling the combined total of five minutes spent falling off a bike in my 38 years.
‘Oh you’ll be fine then!’ she said with a shake of her hand.
I was on Mashatu, part of the Tuli Block, about to film a cycle tour. My transport was an angry, spitting, offroad motorcycle (which may have been built for a child). Anyway, I hardly noticed the myriad cuts, bruises and burns. The elephants, scenery, baobabs, smells and endless skies of the Tuli Block helped me forget my potential departure from life courtesy of an inability to control the bike in front of an irritated elephant. Our first story below will manifest just such an escape from whatever traumas you currently face.

In January, my good wife and I spent a week working with Wildlife Act at Hluhluwe-iMfolozi. We woke at ungodly times, spent hours beep beeping with telemetry. We boiled in the sun and showered in the summer rain. It was wonderful. Our second story below is a tribute to the hard, poorly paid, long-houred, and, in this case, tremendously rewarding work done by conservationists dedicated to saving African painted wolves.

Our third story below is a little more nuanced – so read it before you have your first snifter. It delves into the complicated process of moving animals between the different CITES appendices. Mostly, it provides a strong reminder that every decision must be informed by data on the ground and not assumptions from ivory towers.

Ok, now you can take your first sip of the weekend and enjoy the 19th selection of Africa’s wonders. There is little time left to enter our Photographer of the Year and win 10 000 USD and a trip to Botswana. I’m sure there are thousands of award-winning snaps on hard drives and in attics yearning for their time to shine.

Finally, our video of the week is a tribute to Bob Scholes, world-renowned climate scientist and systems ecologist. He was taken from the earth he loved aged just 63, but his legacy lives in his academic work and the thousands he mentored in his quest to save our planet.

Story 1
LAND OF GREY GIANTS
Botswana’s Tuli is a place where the wind carries stories of the past, whispering over rocks, around baobabs and across the vast wilderness

Story 2
FREE AT LAST!
A new pack of African painted wolves (wild dogs) has been released into the Hluhluwe-iMfolozi Reserve in South Africa

Story 3
VEXING CITIES ISSUES
Experts caution against changing a species’ CITES listing without considering the complicated conservation implications

Story 4
BEST PHOTOS
Week nineteen of our 2021 Photographer of the Year – entries close soon

DID YOU KNOW: Some mammals can breathe through the anus in emergencies…

WATCH: A tribute to Bob Scholes, a phenomenal South African scientist and systems ecologist. Wise lessons to conservationists everywhere (3:11)

Photographer of the Year 2021 Weekly Selection: Week 19

Our Photographer of the Year 2021 is open for submissions, with cash prizes of US$10,000 for the overall winner and the two runners-up. They and their partners will also join our CEO Simon Espley and his wife Lizz on the ultimate private safari in Botswana.

The competition runs from January to June 2021. Get your entries in now and join us in celebrating Africa! Proudly brought to you by Hemmersbach Rhino Force and Natural Selection.

Here are the best submissions for this week

An African skimmer provides a massive meal for a tiny chick. Zambezi River, Zambezi Region, Namibia. © Andrew Aveley

Easter scrubhare treat. Kruger National Park, South Africa. © Annemarie du Plessis

Elegant battle – an adult male takes exception to two younger males. Kgalagadi Transfrontier Park, Botswana. © Juan Venter

Immature bark stink bug (*Coenomorpha*). Frankfort, Free State, South Africa. © Dawie Broekman

Busy little honey bee pollinating a sunflower. Free State, South Africa. © Eleanor Hattingh

‘I will kick you in the face!’ – Tawny eagle and white-backed vulture have a set to. Zimanga Private Game Reserve, South Africa. © Elizma Fourie

Playing in puddles. Maasai Mara National Reserve, Kenya. © Gabriela Staebler

Thoughtful young Sykes’ monkey with grass lollipop. Nairobi, Kenya. © John Spencer

A boomslang looking for its next meal in a sociable weaver nest. Tswalu Kalahari Reserve, South Africa. © Ieuan Rose

Two oestrus females sharing an exhausted male. Kruger National Park, South Africa. © Annemarie du Plessis

Flower bee (*Halictidae*) about to depart with her pollen prize. Frankfort, Free State, South Africa. © Dawie Broekman

Oryx deep in the heart of the Namib Desert, Namibia. © Nicolas Genoud

Orthodox priest outside Biete Gabriel-Rufael, Lalibela, Ethiopia. © Marios Forsos

A perfectly groomed Cape white-eye. Kirstenbosch National Botanical Garden, Cape Town. © Braeme Holland

A family tiff over supper. Kgalagadi Transfrontier Park, South Africa. © Wolf Avni

Flying red lechwe. Jao Reserve, Okavango Delta, Botswana. © Marzanne Louw

‘I’m watching you’. Savuti, Chobe, Botswana. © Nicolas Genoud

Crowned cranes in their room with a view. Nairobi National Park, Kenya. © Pranav Chadha

Puff adder (mottled) having a dreadful day with a Cape cobra. Central Kalahari Game Reserve, Botswana. © Reto Bühler

Raucous toad (*Sclerophrys capensis*) emerging with the first rains of Spring 2020. Frankfort, Free State, South Africa. © Dawie Broekman

Poot poot! Kruger National Park, South Africa. © Annemarie du Plessis

Wet hair day. Maasai Mara National Reserve, Kenya. © Reto Bühler

A massive Southern African python attempting to swallow a blue wildebeest calf. Welgevonden Game Reserve, South Africa. © Rudi Hulshof

Banded-antennae mantidfly (*Afromantispa*). Van Stadens Wild Flower Nature Reserve, Eastern Cape, South Africa. © Sam Surdut

An epauletted fruit bat (*Epomophorus*) gazing from his daylight haunt. Mopani Camp, Kruger National Park, South Africa. © Siegfried Schroeder

An inquisitive young male sperm whale. Mauritius. © Vanessa Mignon

It’s not every day you see an ant running up and down a boomslang. Kruger National Park, South Africa. © Wilmari Porter

‘I’m tired.’ Simien Mountains National Park, Ethiopia. © Patrice Quillard

A tower of giraffes. Maasai Mara National Reserve, Kenya. © Yaron Schmid

A male olive woodpecker excavating his nest in a red saffron tree. Kirstenbosch National Botanical Garden, Cape Town. © Braeme Holland

Climbing at sunset. Maasai Mara National Reserve, Kenya. © Patrick Delomez

Tuli

There is a special quality to the silence of Tuli. Indeed, it may be disturbed by the whisper of the wind, the rumbles of elephants or the distant echo of a lion’s roar, but beneath those sounds lies a blanket of silence so profound it stills the soul.

In this almost mystical atmosphere, there are strange ephemeral moments where past and present seem intertwined, and the existence of those gone before seems to flit over the red rocks and beneath the towering baobabs. It is a rough and rugged land where bloody history has taken its toll, but concerted effort has restored wilderness to a thriving landscape.

The Tuli Block is a narrow stretch of land in the southeastern corner of Botswana, sandwiched between South Africa to the south and Zimbabwe to the north and east. This strip of land has a colourful history, and the Limpopo River, which forms its southern boundary, has witnessed it all.

The Tuli Block extends 350km along the Limpopo River, southwest of its confluence with the Shashe River. It comprises mixed-use, fenced and unfenced private properties of varying sizes. Some are farmed, some hunted, and many offer photographic safaris. Rustic bush camps are set beneath ancient fever, Ana, nyala and baobab trees, offering budget escapes for intrepid travellers searching for unspoilt wilderness.

In Tuli, the wind carries stories of the past, whispering over rocks and across the vast wilderness.

The Northern Tuli Game Reserve

The most well-known and best-protected portion of Tuli is the Northern Tuli Game Reserve (Notugre) – a collection of 36 private properties to the east of the Tuli Block, including Mashatu Game Reserve, that are jointly managed for conservation and ecotourism. It extends across some 720km2 (72,000 hectares), making Notugre one of the largest private game reserves in Southern Africa.

The reserve is also a cornerstone of the Greater Mapungubwe Transfrontier Conservation Area, which covers nearly 6,000 km² (600,000 hectares) and centres on the confluence of the Limpopo and Shashe. South Africa’s Mapungubwe National Park is south of Tuli, across the Limpopo River international border, once home to the Iron Age kingdom of Mapungubwe. To the north and east, Northern Tuli is contiguous with the Tuli Circle Safari Area in Zimbabwe.

The History

As might be expected for a region bordering three countries, Tuli is littered with reminders of a turbulent past – from ancient stone tools and San rock paintings to corroded ammunition casings, left over from wars and the passage of hunters.

During the late 19th century, Botswana was part of the Bechuanaland Protectorate under the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland. At the same time, Cecil John Rhodes was looking for a suitable route for his envisioned “Cape to Cairo” railroad and petitioned to have the Bechuanaland Protectorate transferred to his company: The British South Africa Company. Alarmed by the potential consequences of the transfer, Chief Khama III of the Bangwato Tribe travelled to England to petition the Queen. He managed to win her sympathy but agreed to cede what is now the Tuli block to the company so that Rhodes could continue his railway plans. It is quite probable that Chief Khama III also hoped the company’s presence would keep out the advancing ‘Boers’ (a slang term often used for Afrikaans people, but which means ‘farmers’ when translated literally).

Rhodes quickly concluded that building a railway through Tuli would be a logistical nightmare, and his focus shifted to more forgiving landscapes further west. Some of the northernmost battles of the South African War (Anglo-Boer War) played out in the Tuli Block – including the fight at Bryce’s store, the ruins of which lie on Mashatu Game Reserve.

As the dust settled in the aftermath of the war, the British South Africa Company sold off most of the property to commercial farmers. However, the rugged and inhospitable landscape proved to be largely unsuitable for cattle farming and, eventually, landowners began to turn to game farming and ecotourism. Cooperative efforts of conservation-minded owners saw the gradual return and reintroduction of wildlife, though buffalo remain absent due to strict foot-and-mouth veterinary protocols.

The Scenery

The trees along the riverine areas are an attraction in their own right. Massive, ancient leadwood and gangly apple-leaf trees contrast against the lush dark greens of the majestic nyala and weeping Boer-beans and dense stands of vivid, yellow-green fever trees. Away from the rivers, the landscape becomes less hospitable and more arid, though equally breathtaking. It is dominated by jagged rocks and bulbous baobabs. Famously, Cecil John Rhodes scratched his name into the bark of one of these giants which stands like a sentinel on the Mmamagwa rock formation and is now known as the Rhodes Baobab.

Solomon’s Wall, close to confluences of Motloutse River and the Limpopo, is another of the main geographical attractions – a 30m basalt wall jutting through the landscape on both sides of the riverbed. This wall once formed a natural dam that held back a massive lake, as evidenced by the deposits of several kinds of semi-precious stones.

Cycle, walk, drive, ride, experience

As mentioned, the Northern Tuli Game Reserve consists of an amalgamation of private properties, which means that entry is only through arrangement with one of the multiple lodges. However, the fact that the land is privately owned means that almost anything goes in terms of exploring (provided, of course, that it does not damage the ecosystem). Aside from the traditional game drives led by expert guides, adventurous visitors to Tuli can explore the surrounds on foot or horseback – galloping alongside herds of giraffe or zebra. For the even more physically active, Tuli’s rocky outcrops and networks of dried riverbeds make for exciting and challenging mountain biking opportunities, with the added adrenaline of encountering some of the reserve’s many elephants.

For those looking for a more sedate experience, underground hides present amateur and professional photographers with a unique perspective of the reserve’s waterholes. From the quick dips of the birds on a hot day to extreme close-ups of elephants’ muddy toenails, the low-level photographic hides offer something entirely different to the safari experience.

There are various accommodation options to suit most budgets, some intimate and rustic and others geared to more luxurious tastes.

Find your Tuli safari here, or ask us to build one just for you.

The wildlife

The wildlife viewing in Tuli is spectacular, not just in terms of the variety of animals but because the extraordinary scenery creates the perfect backdrop against which to view them. Elephant viewing is best between January and March when large herds of 100-300 individuals gather. The dry season between April and November offers the best nocturnal viewing of less common species like brown hyenas, honey badgers, African wild cat, aardvark and even aardwolf. This period also offers the best predator viewing because water resources are limited to the deep pools and waterholes.

The reserve is open to surrounding areas, so the elephant population has sufficient space to thrive. and Tuli is said to have some of the highest densities of elephants anywhere in Southern Africa. While the reserve is not home to buffalo or rhino, it supports healthy populations of the three big cat species, and deep pools in the rivers are home to pods of hippos and large numbers of crocodiles. Recently introduced painted wolves (African wild dogs) are a rare sighting.

As a transition zone between the Kalahari Desert and Lowveld bushveld, Tuli offers varied and exciting birding opportunities, with over 350 recorded species. The large riverine trees hide Pel’s fishing owls, and the kori bustards (Botswana’s national bird) pick their way through the grasslands while lanner falcons swoop through rocky valleys.

The Land of Giants

The Northern Tuli Game Reserve is often affectionately referred to as the Land of Giants, a name which it lives up to in so many different ways. It is home to the largest antelope species (the eland), and large herds of elephants crisscross its dusty paths. Ancient baobabs, ecosystems in their own right, dominate the extraordinary vistas and the landscape, with its outcrops of red rocks, resembles a giant’s playground.

Listen closely beyond the silence in Tuli. You may just hear the echoes of the history that played out in a rugged, somewhat inhospitable, but infinitely wild and beautiful land.

New pack of African painted dogs released

Author: Mike Staegemann – Wildlife ACT

A new pack of endangered African painted dogs has been released into the iconic Hluhluwe-iMfolozi Park (HiP), managed by Ezemvelo KZNWildlife, with support from Wildlife ACT and the Endangered Wildlife Trust. This is an important milestone in the conservation of the most endangered carnivore in Southern Africa. There are an estimated 3,000-5,000 individuals left in the wild, of which only around 550 live in South Africa.

Painted dog conservation in Hluhluwe-iMfolozi

Established in 1895, HiP is the oldest proclaimed reserve in Africa. It is most famously known for helping to save the white rhino from extinction. However, a lesser-known accomplishment is the integral role the park has played in saving the African painted dog.

During the Population and Habitat Viability Assessment Workshop held in 1997, the plight of the painted dog was laid bare. At the time, the only functional packs were thought to be in the Kruger National Park. The workshop’s main objective was to boost painted dog numbers through the ‘Managed Metapopulation and Range Expansion Project’ and, in so doing, create a second viable population outside Kruger.

The project continues to capture and transfer individuals between reserves to mimic natural dispersal and colonisation events. These transfers are fundamental to ensuring good genetic flow in the metapopulation, reducing inbreeding and safeguarding individuals from disease outbreaks and persecution while searching for new mates.

Due to its large size (90 000 hectares at the time) and conservation record, HiP was chosen as the first reserve to receive painted dogs back into KwaZulu-Natal (KZN). The first pack of nine arrived in 1980. Since then, Ezemvelo KZN Wildlife has had great success in boosting painted dog numbers. The park’s population grew to 85 individuals by 2017.

This success has allowed HiP to be a primary contributor to the South African Wild Dog Metapopulation Strategy, with several single-sex cohorts being moved off the reserve to supplement and build new founder populations around South Africa. These relocation operations (50%), coupled with a number of natural dispersals (15%), natural deaths (30%) and human-wildlife conflict (5%) have led to a recent decline in the local population.

Through these natural and anthropogenic events and in line with the HiP’s management approach, the parks’s wild dog population is currently in a phase of rebuild, consisting of 19 animals. These individuals will now form the foundations of a new and genetically resilient population.

The Mbhulunga Pack

The new pack, aptly named the ‘Mbhulunga Pack’ after the area where they were held in a boma, was composed of five males brought in from Tswalu Kalahari Reserve and four females which naturally dispersed from the Maphumulo Pack in the Hluhluwe section of the park. The Tswalu males brought a much-needed injection of new genetics to the area.

Initially, the males and females lived in two adjacent compartments of a predator holding facility (or boma) in the iMfolozi section of the park. This passive bonding method allowed the dogs to get to know each other through the separating fence. Over time they began to sleep on the central fence line and greet one another through the wire when they woke up.

Once the monitoring team were comfortable with the interactions, they opened the interleading gate and the males and females formed a cohesive pack. They spent another few weeks in the boma before being released into the park. While the pack was in the boma, the Wildlife Act iMfolozi monitoring team completed daily checks, maintenance of the fence and feeding.

All nine pack members are fitted with tracking collars to enable daily monitoring of their movements, behavioural dynamics, ecological influences, disease, snaring incidents and any other human-wildlife conflict issues. The information gathered allows for informed decision making – both at the reserve and the species level.

Following their release, the Mbhulunga Pack has moved north into the Hluhluwe Section of the park, into the natal range of the pack’s females. Wildlife ACT’s monitoring teams based in the Hluhluwe and iMfolozi sections will continue to work closely with Ezemvelo KZN Wildlife Management to monitor the progress of the fledgeling Mbhulunga Pack.

The future

‘HiP remains an ideal setting for ecological research and information gathering on these endangered species, and so contributes to their effective management and overall conservation strategy,’ says Dave Druce, park ecologist – Hluhluwe-iMfolozi Park.

The survival of painted dogs depends on how they overcome competition for resources from lions, leopards, spotted hyenas and crocodiles. Other potential threats include injuries from pursuing prey, disease outbreaks (rabies and canine distemper) and human-wildlife conflict. Hopefully, the Mbulungas will mitigate these challenges, establish a territory and raise pups of their own to boost HiP’s painted dog numbers and strengthen the genetics of the species countrywide.

This project is a partnership between Ezemvelo KZN Wildlife, Wildlife ACT and the Endangered Wildlife Trust. It is supported by generous contributions from the Hans Hoheisen Charitable Trust, the Gabrielle Faickney Charitable Trust and a group of passionate individuals, the Jocks of the Bushveld.

WATCH: Short video clip about the exciting event (4:46) – by Sven Musica / Love Africa Marketing

Changes to CITES listing process recommended

The Convention on the International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES) is one of the largest and oldest conservation and sustainable use agreements in the world. The treaty was ratified almost half a century ago, designed to control the trade in plant and animal species to avoid over utilisation. Naturally, times have changed since the treaty was initially conceived, and there are many instances where antiquated systems have failed any kind of conservation agenda. A recently published article by experts in sustainable use delves into these weaknesses and cautions against changing a species’ CITES listing without carefully considering the complicated set of conservation implications.

CITES listings determine where a species fits into one of three appendices of increasing regulation and restriction. The trade in species on Appendix I is all but banned except under exceptional circumstances, and more stringent restrictions apply to species in Appendix II than Appendix III. (For a more detailed explanation, see What exactly is CITES and how does it work?) However, under the treaty, the decision to list is based on a simplistic set of biological and trade criteria that relate little to the potential impact of such a decision.

The one-dimensional assumption of the treaty is that more stringent trade regulations automatically result in conservation benefits. However, the authors argue that this is not always supported by evidence or experience.

So, when should a species be considered for an Appendix I listing? The article argues that this is relatively uncomplicated where international trade is a significant threat to an endangered species; the species is threatened across its range; international trade plays no positive role; and where a realistic, achievable strategy for conservation is established.

However, there are other scenarios where a listing on Appendix I may fail to improve or even hinder conservation efforts, such as:

When a species is threatened by drivers other than international trade – for example, by climate change. The restriction of trade income to local communities could reduce cooperation in conservation efforts and see increased human-wildlife conflict.
The conservation status of an animal varies considerably across its range. Though split-listings are possible under CITES (where a species receives different listings in different countries), this has been discouraged.
Unsustainable trade will persist despite its illegality. According to the authors, where a thriving illegal trade exists, an Appendix I listing will only be effective if accompanied by well-funded and robust management interventions. The trade in rhino horn is an example of how a powerful and established illegal trade, facilitated by corrupt governments may make an Appendix I listing more of a token gesture.

Here, the authors’ argument is not against the listing of a species on Appendix I but rather that the consequences are often unpredictable. Real-world complexities are seldom considered when making a decision. An untested assumption forms the listing basis, but the outcome is often continued illegal and unsustainable trade devoid of any monitoring or management tools.

The article also suggests that Appendix II, which allows for regulated trade, is not utilised to its full potential, given the flexibility to tailor management options to local contexts. As in the case of Appendix I, increased trade restrictions may help conservation, but they may also come at no advantage and high cost. The example used by the authors is the recent listing of the giraffe in Appendix II. Legal international trade does not pose a significant threat to the species, but habitat loss, civil unrest and illegal bushmeat hunting are key drivers in population declines. The authors question how CITES trade controls will benefit the conservation status of giraffe, even though the public widely hailed this as a conservation success.

Thus, the article proposes three critical changes to the CITES listing decision process:

The development of a formal mechanism for consideration by parties of the likely consequences of the decision. This would entail careful consideration of the practical effects of the decision, rather than reliance on the baseline assumption. The listing criteria and process would need to be overhauled but would mean that listing decisions are not made as futile gestures of conservation concern.
Broadening the range of criteria used to make listing decisions and basing these on the best available information. This would include the use of conservation-based, scientific information and socio-economic sciences.
The implication of the input of local communities living alongside wildlife. Given that local people disproportionately bear the socio-economic costs of trade decisions, they need to be included in the decision-making process. This is a moral issue, but it is also a pragmatic one – effective decision-making requires insight and information from every stakeholder, particularly those with a field-level perspective.

Wildlife trade is not a one-dimensional process taking place in a vacuum – it involves a complex overlap of social, economic, cultural, and ecological elements. No doubt CITES has failed to evolve as needed in the past 50 years, but, equally, the State Parties have failed to drive the necessary change for CITES listing. Instead, they have fallen back on oversimplified assumptions that do not accurately reflect realities on the ground.

The article concludes that a failure to reform the treaty “risks CITES being stuck in a 1970s conception of conservation that ignores complexity, fails to achieve its objectives, and satisfies only a set of constituencies with little responsibility or impact on field-level conservation. The question is not if these modernisations will happen, but when and how. This is a matter of strategic vision that needs to be addressed with urgency and commitment if CITES is to avoid senescence, and mature into a potent and effective conservation regime, well-equipped to address contemporary conservation challenges.”

The full article can be read here: “Think Before You Act: Improving the Conservation Outcomes of CITES Listing Decisions”, Cooney, R., et al., (2021), Frontiers in Ecology and Evolution

CEO note: Success | trophy hunting data | Amboseli

CEO NOTE: 14 May 2021

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I find myself confused and at odds with what I understood about the possible origins of Covid-19 after reading this well-constructed article. I am no scientist and cannot fully grasp the many layers of technical analysis, but I can follow an argument, and I do have a good bullsh1t radar. I never bought the conspiracy theories about the intentional release of a human-made virus, and I do/did favour the theory that this horrible pandemic originated in the wildlife markets of Wuhan, China via a natural zoonotic process. But now I realise that there is at least another potential causal theory on the table.

Was Covid-19 unleashed on us by human error – a mistake by scientists who have been mandated to engineer a virus that could potentially wipe out humanity (to protect us from that exact risk)? The ramifications of this option are chilling, to say the least. The author Nicholas Wade is a gifted science writer, but he is not an expert virologist, and what he is saying is being refuted in parts by expert virologists. But then the theory of a natural zoonotic virus from the Wuhan wildlife markets has also been refuted by certain scientists. At the very least it’s good to consider all possible explanations until we find the answers.

Whatever the truth, it’s unlikely that Africa’s wildlife industries (including tourism) will recover fully for several years – if not longer. What are the chances, do you think, that the powers that be will deflect some of the enormous financial resources that they spend daily on weapons, natural resource extraction and space travel into healing our home planet?

Your thoughts? Please read the link before commenting below (if you are reading this on our website) or in a private discussion with me on ceo@africageographic.com.

Keep the passion

Simon Espley – CEO, Africa Geographic

From our Editor-in-Chief

African safari….the idea conjures all sorts of images: Denys and Karen flying over the Mara in a Gypsy Moth; a lion roaring atop a rock as he surveys his singing, dancing prey at dawn; a gargantuan tusker framed by the snow-topped peaks of Mount Kilimanjaro. It is to the last of these iconic imaginings that we turn our attention this week. In our first story below, you can stimulate your post-Covid wanderlust with the wonders of Amboseli National Park (and the greater Amboseli region).

Our second story below is good news. Amboseli, like most conservation areas in the world, is not safe. Some pillock decided that growing avocados there would be a fantastic idea. Yes…avocados. In a semi-arid region that attracts thousands of tourists intent on seeing the wilderness and supports thousands of local pastoralists. Well, the local Maasai herders (who live in relative peace with the Amboseli wildlife) and some conservationists decided that this avo farming malarky wouldn’t fly. They banded together, and, for now, the avo people must go and ply their trade elsewhere.

Our third story below is important. So many people on both sides of the trophy hunting debate spend their days yelling moth-eaten arguments at each other across an ideological chasm. While numerous human beings are allergic to actual science, those who seek real data will have a hard time finding it. Many of the arguments by both sides of the hunting war are usually not supported by hard data, often because the relevant research has not been completed.

Now you can relax and enjoy the start of your weekend with a delightful view of Africa at her most spectacular in this week’s Photographer of the Year selection there are only two weeks to go. I would suggest you enjoy it with a calming piece of music, a late lunch and the rest of the afternoon off.

While you are wondering what to do with the afternoon I’ve granted you, check out our video of the week. It’s a Google Earth timelapse from 1984 until now of anywhere on earth you care to look – see how we are changing our home.

Story 1
AMBOSELI MAGIC
Amboseli National Park, nestled in the shadow of Kilimanjaro, is a land of exquisite contrasts, iconic scenery and extraordinary biodiversity

Story 2
Community stops avocado farm in the Amboseli region – Africa Geographic
SUCCESS!
Avocado farm in Kenya’s Amboseli region loses license after local Maasai people and conservationists protest

Story 3
TROPHY HUNTING DATA
Massive meta-analysis on recreational hunting fails to find answers to the crucial questions of the polarising hunting debate

Story 4
BEST PHOTOS
Week eighteen of our 2021 Photographer of the Year – Two weeks to go before entries close!

DID YOU KNOW: Bats have an innate sense or understanding of the speed of sound

WATCH: Google has enabled a timelapse function on Google Earth which allows you to see how the earth’s landscapes have changed since 1984 – watch the video and then use Google Earth to check out anywhere on the globe that interests you (2:25)

Photographer of the Year 2021 Weekly Selection: Week 18

The competition runs from January to June 2021. Get your entries in now and join us in celebrating Africa! Proudly brought to you by Hemmersbach Rhino Force and Natural Selection.

Here are the best submissions for this week

A massive bushpig foraging on a cool winter afternoon. Thornybush Private Game Reserve, South Africa. © Rudi Hulshof

A photographer’s dream. South Luangwa National Park, Zambia. © Aaron Mwale

Desert theft. Kgalagadi Transfrontier Park, South Africa. © Margie Botha

The Crown – grey-crowned crane. Maasai Mara National Reserve, Kenya. © Alessandro Lugari

Early morning. Kruger National Park, South Africa. © Andrew Aveley

Feasting on a zebra skull. Maasai Mara National Reserve, Kenya. © Andrew Liu

‘This is MY piece!’. Jejane Private Nature Reserve, South Africa. © Ryan Thomson

Uneasy sharing. Amboseli National Park, Kenya. © Björn Persson

A black heron forming a shady canopy to attract fish. Austin Roberts Bird Sanctuary, South Africa. © Eleanor Hattingh

Playing in the rain. Kgalagadi Transfrontier Park, South Africa. © Ernest Porter

Winter sunset aardvark. Tswalu Kalahari Reserve, South Africa. © Gary Cusins

A young Mundari boy proud of his giant Ankole cow. South Sudan. © Inger Vandyke

A leopard mum moving house with a patient cub. Kgalagadi Transfrontier Park, South Africa. © Margie Botha

Backpack trail bliss. Olifants River, Kruger National Park, South Africa. © Marius Swart

A windy morning at Singita Sabi Sands, South Africa. © Peter Caley

Dawn filters through the trees. Maasai Mara National Reserve, Kenya. © Andrew Liu

Master of disguise – crocodilefish in Bazaruto National Park, Mozambique. © Ricardo Ferreira

Meet Loijipu. Loijipu is the first rhino rescue at the Reteti Elephant Sanctuary (R.E.S.C.U.E.) in Northern Kenya. Abandoned by his mother at just 2 days old, Loijipu formed a strong bond with his keepers. © Rozanna Bozabalian

Woodland kingfisher having a preen. Austin Roberts Bird Sanctuary, South Africa. © Eleanor Hattingh

Flamingos over Lake Magadi where the mineral deposits and floating brine produce colorful and constantly changing patterns in the sunlight. © Zhugang Zheng

Amboseli National Park – Kenya

There is ineffable magic about spending time in the company of elephants. Nothing else in the world compares to the ethereal emotions felt in their presence – a complex awareness of ancient wisdom and profound intelligence. Of all creatures, elephants perhaps best epitomise a wild sense of the divine. Nevermore is this the case than in Amboseli National Park, where these imposing animals stand against the backdrop of ice-capped Mount Kilimanjaro – one of the most iconic images of Africa.

The Park and the broader ecosystem

Formerly Maasai Amboseli Game Reserve, Amboseli National Park covers just 392 square km (39,206 hectares) in Kajiado County, Kenya. However, the park is a core part of the much larger Greater Amboseli ecosystem (also termed the Amboseli-Tsavo-Kilimanjaro ecosystem or various iterations thereof). This massive area of some 8000 square km encompasses Amboseli, Chyulu Hills, Tsavo East and West, Mount Kilimanjaro National Park, and everything in between. Africa’s tallest mountain, Mount Kilimanjaro, is just 50 km to the southeast in neighbouring Tanzania and its looming form dominates the Amboseli skyline on clear mornings.

Apart from its contribution to the scenery, Mount Kilimanjaro has shaped Amboseli’s habitat and wildlife in more fundamental ways. The constant supply of melting water from the mountain’s glaciers flows off the slopes and sinks below ground before rising through the porous soils in Amboseli to create freshwater springs. The result is that while Amboseli itself is relatively arid with low rainfall averages, some of the park is dominated by species-rich marshes, with Enkongo Narok, Ol Tukai, and Olokeya the three largest.

The western section of the park also encompasses part of a dry, Pleistocene lake basin. Within this basin, Lake Amboseli is typically dry except during heavy rainy seasons, when it fills with shallow, alkaline water accompanied by a pink flush of opportunistic flamingos. Away from the lakes and marshes, the park is characterised by sparse vegetation and dusty volcanic soils. The name Amboseli is a corruption of the Maa word ‘Empusel’, which translates roughly as “salty, dusty place”.

On the outskirts of Amboseli, there are several conservancies dedicated to conservation and tourism. These increase the available protected land considerably while offering the discerning traveller a more exclusive experience. The conservancies are supported by the Amboseli Ecosystem Trust, which was established to maintain the larger ecosystem and reduce human-wildlife conflict as wild animals move along ancient migratory paths between the various formally protected parks.

Elephants everywhere

Thanks to the combination of sparse, arid vegetation and the readily available water in the swamps, Amboseli offers spectacular wildlife viewing despite its relatively small size. However, the park’s most celebrated residents are the elephants, present in high densities and sporting some of the largest body and tusk sizes in Africa. Elephants are everywhere in Amboseli, revelling in the waters of the marshes, treading dusty pathways led by a trusted matriarch or, occasionally, posing against the backdrop of Kilimanjaro for awe-struck, camera-wielding tourists.

This alone is sufficient to send visitors home elated, having garnered a new appreciation for Africa’s largest land animal, but the elephants of Amboseli have a further claim to fame. Many of these herds and bulls have been the subjects of the longest-running study of elephant behaviour in the wild. The Amboseli Elephant Research Project, initiated by Cynthia Moss and Harvey Croze and operated by the Amboseli Trust for Elephants, has centred around researching and monitoring the elephants of Amboseli for five decades. The life histories of individual herds have been painstakingly documented across generations, contributing immeasurably to our understanding of elephant behaviour and the bonds within and between herds.

The story of Echo, the matriarch who led her family for over forty years before her death in 2008, captivated people worldwide and changed perceptions around elephants’ complex emotional lives. Her family are still the subjects of ongoing research and remain permanent fixtures around the park’s centre. Tim, a bull elephant who died last year of natural causes, had a penchant for trouble. He also gained considerable fame as a ‘super tusker’ – as has Craig, another gentle giant. Amboseli and Tsavo’s elephant populations are some of the last genetic repositories of Africa’s great tuskers.

More than elephants

While elephants may well be the main event, the park’s other creatures never fail to provide a stirring, supporting performance. Lumbering hippos wallow in the shallows of the marshes and lakes during the day, emerging to mow their way through the park as the heat dissipates. Herds of zebras and wildebeest dominate the plains, while shy gerenuks nibble their way around the legs of towering giraffes.

In the past, Amboseli’s predator populations, particularly lions, have born the brunt of human-wildlife conflict and resentment born of the park’s complex history. Fortunately, comprehensive conservation programmes and work with local communities are showing results. While throughout Africa, lion populations have plummeted, the lion numbers in Amboseli have grown consistently over the past decade. Visitors are now regularly treated to sightings of Africa’s largest cat.

Amboseli’s unique blend of semi-arid savanna and marshlands attracts various birds, and over 550 species (including, miraculously, once, a shoebill) have been recorded in the region. Time spent around the marshes could well reward a keen-eyed birder with the pale flash of the endangered Malagasy pond heron in between the leggy egrets, herons, and grey-crowned cranes. Away from the water, the grasslands obscure the vocal Pangani longclaws, and the vachellia woodlands hide dry country species like the steel-blue whydahs and Von der Decken’s hornbills.

The Amboseli experience

Want to go on a safari to Amboseli? 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.

Given the extraordinary wildlife sightings on offer and the best views of Kilimanjaro in Kenya, it is unsurprising that Amboseli is Kenya’s most popular safari destination after the Maasai Mara. The high tourist time coincides with the dry season and arguably the best wildlife viewing as the animals congregate around available water. However, this does mean contending with higher costs and visitor densities. The two rainy seasons – the short rains from November to December and the long rains from March to May – can make traversing the park and spotting wildlife tricky. That said, the scenery is arguably at its most spectacular with the dampening of the dust.

Weather-wise, Amboseli is typically hot and dry, and the park’s proximity to the Equator ensures relatively consistent temperatures. Naturally, sun protection is a must, as are malaria preventative measures.

Amboseli National Park — Lots of wild safari activities and accommodation for most budgets in Amboseli

As a national park, Amboseli is subject to certain restrictions necessary to safeguard its ecological integrity. Normatior (also known as Observation Hill) is one of the few places where tourists can exit their vehicles and soak in the park’s atmosphere. Rough-hewn stairs lead to the top of Amboseli’s highest point, which offers astonishing views of the surrounding marshes and lakes, and, on clear days, Kilimanjaro. However, for more intrepid travellers, neighbouring conservancies are not subject to the same constraints (due largely to their more exclusive nature). Here visitors can explore through guided night drives, on foot or even on horseback. Naturally, this comes at a cost. A stay in one of the private conservancies is typically more expensive (and luxurious) than the national park’s more budget options.

Recreational hunting: 50 years of scientific research

The polarised debate between anti- and pro-trophy hunting advocates is almost invariably incendiary and centred around far-reaching claims and emotional responses, from whether or not recreational hunting benefits specific species to its impact on local economies. The debate is seldom informed by available research, at least in the public sphere. Now a new study analyses half a century’s worth of scientific literature on recreational hunting. It concludes that little is directed at answering the most critical questions in the hunting debate despite the extensive existing research.

Historical research

The authors of the new study set about analysing over 1000 peer-reviewed papers focused primarily on the recreational and trophy-hunting of large mammals between 1953 and 2020. The majority of historical research had been conducted in North America, Europe, and Africa. [Editorial note: the research includes trophy hunting as a category of recreational hunting]. The study identifies seven dominant topics commonly discussed in recreational hunting literature, including:

Ecological, evolutionary, and population consequences of selective harvesting;
Population dynamics in response to hunting, including assessments of survival rates, reproductive rates, and population trends;
Hunting as a source of and management tool for invasive alien or conflict species;
Health and toxicological dimensions of hunting;
Social dimensions of hunting, including hunter attitudes, identities, and preferences;
Economic, social, cultural, political, and ethical dimensions of hunting

The authors show that there is a significant bias towards mammal species over birds in previous research, and eleven of the twelve most commonly studied species are large mammals. In an African context, the lion was the fifth most popular subject of such research, while the leopard claimed the eighth spot.

The impact on species populations in Africa

For around a third of the species studied, the conclusions on the impact of trophy hunting on the population numbers of specific species were highly variable. This was likely due to the diversity of studied locations and times. Trophy hunting was linked to population declines of lions in certain regions (such as Zambia, before the trophy hunting ban) and shown not to have caused population declines in others (in Mozambique’s Niassa, for example). The same disparities applied to leopards and elephants.

However, there was no evidence of any negative impacts of recreational hunting on population abundance for the remaining species. The authors warn that due to the limited amount of available research and the fact that so many studies returned inconclusive results, this should not be interpreted as evidence of sustainability. According to the authors, while many studies focussed on the impact of hunting on the ecology and evolution of target species, fewer assessed the effects on animal population numbers.

The impact on ecosystems, local economies, and livelihoods

One of the most common arguments in support of recreational hunting is that it protects wild ecosystems over alternative, less eco-friendly land uses such as agriculture or mining. In addition, the revenue can theoretically aid conservation initiatives, support human livelihoods, and be fed back into local communities. This is a matter of considerable debate.

Historical research seems to indicate that in much of Southern Africa, in particular, the loss of recreational hunting would negatively affect both conservation initiatives and local livelihoods. However, hunting operations in West and Central Africa have been less successful in this regard, and the cost of establishing, maintaining, and protecting hunting areas seems to be prohibitively high.

Notably, the authors emphasise that even though these are some of the most pressing academic and societal questions, there is surprisingly little research or evidence to inform the argument either way. While there is a considerable body of research quantifying the revenue drawn from hunting, few studies followed through by documenting the benefits (or lack thereof) to conservation and local communities.

For the future

The new study provides important insight into how previous research on the impact of recreational hunting has been conducted and directed. Naturally, given that it was drawn from over 1,000 different studies conducted across the globe, the conclusions are extensive. However, the essence of the study boils down to the fact that we urgently need further research to understand the effects of hunting and address the unknowns that define the current debate.

To this end, the authors put forward several suggestions for future research, including:

Assessments of the impact on species’ populations in diverse contexts;
The interactions between recreational hunting and other anthropogenic threats such as habitat loss;
Investigation of the impact on less charismatic species, including non-targeted species (for example, the effects of hunting large carnivores on prey dynamics);
Empirical evidence on whether or not hunting increases the quantity and quality of ecosystem conservation;
Investigating the links between hunting revenue and conservation initiatives/support of local communities;
Assessment of the moral complexity of recreational hunting and its impact/benefits for people living alongside wildlife. In particular, whether hunting creates sufficient benefits to incentivise conservation in local communities.

A dearth of empirical evidence will only perpetuate the circular arguments prevalent in public discussions on recreational hunting. The urgent need for focussed research to address the current unknowns is patently clear, especially in the face of increasing opposition to the practice on ethical grounds. Whatever the future holds for recreational hunting, it needs to be based on a solid understanding of the ‘influence of local social-ecological dynamics on hunting outcomes, and the voices of the people co-existing with wildlife’.

The complete study can be accessed here: “Consequences of recreational hunting for biodiversity conservation and livelihoods”, Di Minin, E., et al., (2021) One Earth

An authors’ summary was published in The Conversation.

CEO note: Lions | lions | lions

CEO NOTE: 07 May 2021

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My heartful thanks to Minister Creecy for issuing a firm commitment to rid this wonderful country of the SCOURGE of the captive lion breeding industry (our second story below refers). The insidious tentacles of this rotten crime against lions permeate deep into our wildlife industry, and this will be no easy process – but at least she has now got the ball rolling.

THAT SAID, I have the following observations:
1. Expect the evil ones to find LOOPHOLES that will allow them to continue after cosmetic changes;
2. Others will simply operate illegally and increase the MAFIA-style methods to avoid jail time (rhino horn and lion bone combo?);
3. Some will MOVE their operations to other countries;
4. The existing caged lion populations in South Africa will likely be DESTROYED – although the most likely process will be agonising deaths as they are abandoned by an industry that operates on zero compassion. Or maybe many will be moved to accredited sanctuaries – time for the animal rights movement to DIG DEEP to fund this lengthy process?;
5. This government strategy of cleaning up this obviously rancid aspect of the wildlife industry is most likely building blocks for plans to expand the HUNTING industry as a contributor to a sustainable conservation future. This quote from the report refers: “‘The development of a national approach for increasing the opportunity, quantity and quality of hunting the five iconic species in wild areas of South Africa…”. Watch that space.

Lastly, a SHOUT-OUT from team AG to Craig Foster and the crew of ‘My Octopus Teacher’ for winning the Oscar!

Keep the passion

Simon Espley – CEO, Africa Geographic

From our Editor-in-Chief

‘…the vuvuzela has been used to mitigate lion conflict…’ When I read that for the first time, the coffee I was drinking emerged from my nose. I imagined the King of Beasts’ horrified, incredulous visage as an enraged rural villager charged, blasting on the world’s most tuneless instrument. On the Chobe River, the human-lion conflict continues. However, there is hope, and, as our first story below explains, some good people are coming up with innovative solutions (including plastic trumpets) to help humans and lions live in peace.

This week is a lot about lions – which is good, after all, we need more lions. Believe it or not, Panthera leo used to be the most widely distributed mammal on the planet. In our second story below, the South African government has taken the first steps to ending the national disgrace that is captive lion breeding. Once you’ve read the AG story, perhaps peruse the full report (600 pages). If your life is too short to wade through the whole thing, I can recommend the goals and recommendations that start on page 278.

And that’s a neat segue into our third story below – a remarkable, horrifying and, if you’re a South African, embarrassing expose of the lion bone trade. The story and accompanying trailer will show you, sometimes in ghastly detail, just how imperative it is that our government does something to end captive lion farming and the bone trade. Kudos to the brave filmmakers for the risks they took to expose the cruelty in South Africa and the markets in Southeast Asia.

After all that heaviness, it’s time to take a deep sigh, relax with a tipple and peruse this week’s selection for our Photographer of the Year. It’s a beautiful tribute to our magnificent continent. Not much time left to enter (entries now closed) if you’d like a chance to win 10 000USD and a glorious safari to Botswana.

For your second Friday aperitif, our video of the week showcases the Kalahari Desert in the rainy season – a thousand shades of incongruous green with gobsmacking wildlife to match.

Story 1
CHOBE LION THREATS
Lions in the Chobe River area face an uncertain future – pressured by human farmers to the north and a lack of new blood from the south

Story 2
GREAT NEWS
SA government announces their intention to bring an end to the commercial captive lion industry in South Africa

Story 3
CASE IN POINT
An upcoming documentary uncovers how industrial-scale lion farming in South Africa has fueled the passing off of lion bones as tiger bones in Asia

Story 4
BEST PHOTOS
Week seventeen of our 2021 Photographer of the Year – May is the last month for entries!

DID YOU KNOW: In 1822, German ornithologists used the finding of a 76cm spear protruding from a white stork’s neck to deduce that certain birds’ absence during winter meant they were migrating to Africa. Some theories of the time held that disappearing birds turned into other kinds of avians, mice, or hibernated underwater during the winter. These storks were given the term “Pfeilstorch” (“arrow stork”)

WATCH: An utterly stunning view of the Kalahari and its wild residents in the wet season (18:45)