The time has come to announce the Finalists for our Photographer of the Year 2018! It gives us great pleasure that we present (in no particular order) the top 25 photos, as chosen by our judges, exhibited in two stunning galleries.
The overall winner of the competition will receive a Canon EOS 7D Mark II with a 18-135mm IS USM lens. In addition, the overall winner, first runner-up, and second runner-up (along with their partners), will experience the ultimate photographic safari at Tanda Tula Field Camp, located in the heart of the Timbavati Private Nature Reserve.
The most popular entries on Facebook, Instagram, and our Website will receive our 2018 Yearbook – a stunning selection of the past year’s greatest photography from around Africa. In addition, five commendable finalists will also receive a 2018 Yearbook.
The following gallery showcases the Finalists. To see the other gallery click on the link below:
• Finalists Gallery 2
The Africa Geographic Photographer of the Year 2018 competition is brought to you by Land Rover South Africa, with stunning prizes from Canon South Africa and Tanda Tula. To see the complete collection of 2018’s Weekly Selection galleries click here.
Cheetahs in the Serengeti National Park change their behaviour when handling large kills based on the threats presented by lions and hyenas, according to researchers. A new study – led by Anne Hilborn of Virginia Tech’s College of Natural Resources and Environment in the US – has revealed that male cheetahs and single females eat their prey as quickly as possible, whereas mother cheetahs take things a bit more slowly, allowing their cubs to eat their fill while keeping an eye out for possible threats.
Hilborn and her colleagues studied 35 years of observations from more than 400 hunts involving 159 cheetahs in the Serengeti in northern Tanzania to find out whether cheetahs’ prey handling behaviour altered in response to the threats from larger predators.
Cheetahs do not have the strength to haul their prey up trees like leopards do, nor can they defend themselves against larger predators, such as lions and hyenas. This is why they have developed certain tactics when it comes to hunting and eating their prey, and research shows that they tend to hunt when larger predators are away or less active.
Lions and hyenas are known to attack cheetah cubs, as well as steal prey (known as kleptoparasitism). The primary threat for male cheetahs and single females is having their prey stolen – this is why they will eat their prey as quickly as possible, rather than keeping an eye out for attacks, to reduce the risk of theft. On the other hand, a mother cheetah prefers safety over speed, and her main concern is to ensure that her cubs are safe and that they can get enough to eat – which can take some time as cubs can be slow eaters and will take time out to rest and play.
“Instead of speed, mothers use vigilance to minimise risk,” explains Hilborn. “They spend more time paused before eating, perhaps also to catch their breath, and are more vigilant. This increases the amount of time they spend eating, which in turn increases their overall handling time.”
The ability of cheetahs to modify their prey handling behaviour depending on the type of risk they face likely allows them to coexist with numerous larger carnivores.
On 16 May 2018, 39 recruits, of which three are women, celebrated their graduation as rangers during a passing out parade held in the Limpopo National Park, Mozambique. This follows the successful completion of a gruelling eight-week ranger training course presented by the Southern African Wildlife College, that prepared the new recruits for their stand against wildlife crime in the various conservation areas to which they will soon be deployed.
During the first two weeks of the course, the more than 100 applicants selected from the region were put through intensive mental and physical training sessions. Sourcing these candidates from communities surrounding the conservation areas contributes to job creation and improving community support for conservation within the region. Only the top 40 students were then selected to complete the remainder of the course which focused on both the practical and theoretical aspects of anti-poaching operations, such as patrolling, road-blocks, gate controls and arrest procedures. Senior Limpopo National Park rangers, as well as various local institutions, contributed to the curriculum by offering additional training support in conservation legislation, shooting skills and drill instruction.
At the end of the training, each ranger was evaluated based on critical attributes and skills needed in teams that stand against wildlife crime, based on which the rangers have been assigned to appropriate roles within several anti-poaching forces.
Of the 39 elite rangers who completed the course, five will be posted to Banhine National Park which sits within the Greater Limpopo Transfrontier Conservation Area. The anti-poaching support, which started in 2017, addresses both illegal logging and charcoaling as well and wildlife poaching to prepare the Park for potential future wildlife relocations.
Limpopo National Park will employ 29 of the new rangers. The region which includes Limpopo National Park continues to struggle under the strain of poaching of key species such as elephant and lion and has seen an increase in wildlife poisoning and snare traps – both methods which leave a myriad of species, including large numbers of vultures and critical small carnivores, devastated in the process. The strengthened ranger forces will focus on securing the so-called Intensive Protection Zone which borders Kruger National Park on its western perimeter, protecting the areas of the park with the highest game densities and tourism development potential. They will operate from a new mobile field operations base supported by a helicopter that will greatly increase ranger mobility.
The remaining five rangers have been assigned to offer support to the Carnivore Protection Programme within Limpopo National Park. Their specialised duties will include patrolling and monitoring known carnivore range areas in an effort to gain a better understanding of the movement and habits of carnivores in the park, reduce the potential for human-wildlife conflict, and eliminate any poaching threats.
This latest batch of recruits is the result of a project embarked upon by Mozambique’s National Administration of Conservation Areas (ANAC) in partnership with and funded by Peace Parks Foundation, to improve ranger capacity in the Mozambique components of the Great Limpopo and Lubombo Transfrontier Conservation Areas. The project will increase the number of feet on the ground, as well as improve their skill set, whilst putting in place suitable infrastructure and support resources and developing standardised operations and protocols. These include establishing central command and control structures that are integrated into digital radio networks in all relevant parks. Mobility for deployment and recovery of patrols and support logistics will also be improved through the provision of solar bicycles, motorbikes, vehicles and Samil trucks.
In addition to the graduating class of 2018, the Peace Parks funded project has trained and deployed 26 new rangers to Zinave National Park as well as 5 rangers to Banhine National Park in 2017, and will also see 30 rangers added to the Maputo Special Reserve forces in the near future.
Africa Geographic Photographer of the Year 2018 has come to an end.
With the competition closed, the judges now face the incredible task of going through hundreds of photos – featured in the Weekly Selection galleries – to choose the finalists and eventually the winner!
It is now with great pleasure that we present (in no particular order) the Semi-finalists! These are the top 51 photos, as chosen by our judges, exhibited in three stunning galleries.
The overall winner of the competition will receive a Canon EOS 7D Mark II with a 18-135mm IS USM lens. In addition, the overall winner, first runner-up, and second runner-up (along with their partners), will experience the ultimate photographic safari at Tanda Tula Field Camp, located in the heart of the Timbavati Private Nature Reserve.
The most popular entries on Facebook, Instagram, and our Website will receive our 2018 Yearbook – a stunning selection of the past year’s greatest photography from around Africa. In addition, five commendable finalists will also receive a 2018 Yearbook.
The following gallery showcases the Semi-finalists. To see the other two click here:
• Semi-finalists Gallery 1
• Semi-finalists Gallery 2
To see the complete collection of 2018’s Weekly Selection galleries click here.
Africa Geographic Photographer of the Year 2018 has come to an end.
With the competition closed, the judges now face the incredible task of going through hundreds of photos – featured in the Weekly Selection galleries – to choose the finalists and eventually the winner!
It is now with great pleasure that we present (in no particular order) the Semi-finalists! These are the top 51 photos, as chosen by our judges, exhibited in three stunning galleries.
The overall winner of the competition will receive a Canon EOS 7D Mark II with a 18-135mm IS USM lens. In addition, the overall winner, first runner-up, and second runner-up (along with their partners), will experience the ultimate photographic safari at Tanda Tula Field Camp, located in the heart of the Timbavati Private Nature Reserve.
The most popular entries on Facebook, Instagram, and our Website will receive our 2018 Yearbook – a stunning selection of the past year’s greatest photography from around Africa. In addition, five commendable finalists will also receive a 2018 Yearbook.
The following gallery showcases the Semi-finalists. To see the other two click here:
• Semi-finalists Gallery 1
• Semi-finalists Gallery 3
To see the complete collection of 2018’s Weekly Selection galleries click here.
Africa Geographic Photographer of the Year 2018 has come to an end.
With the competition closed, the judges now face the incredible task of going through hundreds of photos – featured in the Weekly Selection galleries – to choose the finalists and eventually the winner!
It is now with great pleasure that we present (in no particular order) the Semi-finalists! These are the top 51 photos, as chosen by our judges, exhibited in three stunning galleries.
The overall winner of the competition will receive a Canon EOS 7D Mark II with a 18-135mm IS USM lens. In addition, the overall winner, first runner-up, and second runner-up (along with their partners), will experience the ultimate photographic safari at Tanda Tula Field Camp, located in the heart of the Timbavati Private Nature Reserve.
The most popular entries on Facebook, Instagram, and our Website will receive our 2018 Yearbook – a stunning selection of the past year’s greatest photography from around Africa. In addition, five commendable finalists will also receive a 2018 Yearbook.
The following gallery showcases the Semi-finalists. To see the other two click here:
• Semi-finalists Gallery 2
• Semi-finalists Gallery 3
To see the complete collection of 2018’s Weekly Selection galleries click here.
A recent study has revealed that the reasons why the Vietnamese buy illegal rhino horn is not only for medical and health-related reasons, but also as a form of comfort to those that are terminally ill.
Conducted by the University of Copenhagen and the Vietnamese office of Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ), the study found that there has been a shift in values that drive the poached rhino horn trade in Vietnam. For example, instead of using rhino horn as a treatment for cancer, family members are using it rather for a ritualistic purpose – offering it to those who are dying (from illnesses like cancer) as a source of comfort.
“For us, the surprising trend is that horn is increasingly being used as a symbolic gesture to console terminally ill family members,” said Associate Professor Martin Nielsen, of the University of Copenhagen.
“The horns are intended to provide the ill with a final source of pleasure and to demonstrate that their families have done everything possible to help them.”
Through 30 interviews with Vietnamese purchasers of rhino horn, it was discovered that the most prevalent use was for treatment of hangovers, followed by treating minor ailments such as backache and fever. And now, using it as a form of comfort to terminally or seriously ill patients hoping for a cure has been added to the list.
The demand for rhino horn is widespread and growing in Vietnam. From the interviews, it was revealed that over 70% of the respondents preferred horn from wild rhinos over farmed animals due to their perceived higher potency. The World Wildlife Fund estimates that 1,054 rhino were killed by poachers in South Africa in 2016, and 1‚028 in 2017. The number of rhinos remaining worldwide is estimated to be 30‚000, with an estimated 19,000 and 21,000 living in South Africa.
There is also a particular interest to those in the higher income brackets who are willing to pay premium prices for rhino horn in order to show off their socio-economic status, or by gifting it to seek favour and support from those in power. Powdered horn can fetch up to R1-million (500,000 kroner) per kilo.
With this new understanding of the different values of rhino horn, the researches hope that this will help in developing new strategies that can be used in campaigns to reduce the illegal trade in rhino horn.
“Understanding the motivation of horn buyers is vital for addressing this problem. Among other things, our results demonstrate that the nature of demand changes over time. As a result, we must continually rethink strategies to curb the trade in rhinoceros horn,” says Nielsen.
“The study suggests that information about the decline of rhinoceros populations and awareness about hunting being controlled by organised crime does not affect consumer demand. Dealing with the problem requires other strategies.”
The rhino horn trade is among one of the most organised forms of environmental crime, and the number of rhinos killed by poachers has increased markedly since 2008. Because Vietnam is the country with the greatest demand for rhino horn, it also bears the brunt of the blame for poaching.
The Tanzania Forest Services (TFS) has invited tenders for large-scale logging in the Selous Game Reserve, a world-renowned wildlife area, where it plans to construct a large hydropower plant.
TFS has placed a tender invitation on its website inviting bids for logging of standing trees with a total volume of almost 3.5-million cubic metres in the Rufiji district, setting in motion plans to develop the project.
“Our intention is to clear the project area before implementation of the project starts,” said Dos Santos Silayo, Chief Executive of the Tanzania Forest Services Agency.
The logging tender will be opened on Wednesday morning at the TFS office in the commercial capital Dar es Salaam, according to the document.
By clearing the trees, the construction of the Stiegler’s Gorge hydropower project will be able to commence in June this year. Upon completion, the plant will provide 2,100MW of electricity to a country that is currently extremely under-supplied. The plant will be designed to supply more than double the country’s power generation capacity.
According to Tanzania’s Minister for Energy, Medard Kalemani, the plant is expected to completely end the country’s power woes and sustain local industries with electricity and sell the surplus power to neighbouring countries.
The Selous Game Reserve is a Unesco-designated reserve and is one of the largest protected wild areas in Africa, home to elephants, lions, rare birds and other species. Conservationists are opposed to this project as it is likely to have a potentially negative impact to wildlife in the area, especially for the critically endangered black rhinoceros.
The black-footed cat (Felis nigripes) might weigh as much as a lion’s paw, but it is as vicious as the rest of the wild cat family. Here are 9 facts about the black-footed cat, also known as the small-spotted cat, that you need to know:
1. Even though this member of the genus Felis looks more like an adorable moggie, it is believed to be the world’s deadliest cat. They achieve the highest kill rate, successfully taking their target in 60% of hunts. Other wild cats often spotted on your African safari, such as lions and leopards, rarely succeed more than 20-40% of the time. (Read more on Africa’s 10 cat species here).
2. This tiny cat is perhaps the smallest of all wild cat species in Africa. The total length of its body is between 50-72 cm (including the tail). The male weighs between 1.7-2.4 kg while the female is only 1-1.6 kg. Kittens weigh a mere 60-90 g when born. They are so small that they do not even trigger conventional camera traps, making them difficult to study. For this reason, it is tricky for researchers to estimate the number of black-footed cats in the wild, but it is believed that there are less than 10,000 mature individuals in the wild, and that the population is declining. For these reasons, the black-footed cat is listed as ‘vulnerable’ on the IUCN Red List.
3. Sometimes walking more than 35km a night to find prey, the black-footed cat is an opportunistic hunter that takes anything it can overpower. Males can even take down hares or small bustards.
4. The black-footed cat is also solitary, with both sexes marking their territories by urinating.
5. These cute cats have pink skin, which is different from other wild cats, whose skin is usually dark tan to black.
6. The black-footed cat’s vision is six times better than that of humans, aided by enormous eyes. It’s also equipped with excellent night vision and impeccable hearing that can pick up even the tiniest sound – which is why they are easily disturbed and tricky to spot when on safari.
7. Despite its name, only the pads and underparts of the cat’s feet are black. Coat colouration ranges from reddish-fawn (in the southern parts of Africa) to a much paler colour further north. The chin and throat are white, with distinct dark bands on the throat, and a black-tipped tail. This description helps a lot when differentiating it from an African wildcat.
8. The black-footed cat can be found in parts of southern and central southern Africa, favouring arid to semi-arid scrub and short grassland, and open terrain close to rocky outcrops. (Check out our safaris to Southern Africa here).
9. This great hunter is predominantly nocturnal but occasionally crepuscular – which means it can be seen out of its den just after sunset and before sunrise (add this to your sighting list for your next African safari). During the day they rest either in burrows dug by other species, in hollow termite mounds or among rock tumbles. That’s where it gets its Afrikaans name from – miershooptier – which means anthill tiger.
Kenya will fast-track laws to make wildlife poaching a capital offence as part of the country’s bid to conserve flora and fauna, a senior government official said last week.
Najib Balala, the Minister for Tourism and Wildlife, said that once the laws are enacted, the offenders of the wildlife crimes will face the death penalty in accordance with the laws of the land.
“We have in place the Wildlife Conservation Act that was enacted in 2013 and which fetches offenders a life sentence or a fine of 200,000 U.S. dollars. However, this has not been deterrence enough to curb poaching, hence the proposed stiffer sentence,” Balala remarked during the official launch of the northern white rhino commemorative stamps at Ol Pejeta Conservancy located in Laikipia County on the slopes of Mount Kenya.
The initiative to issue a set of stamps to celebrate the northern white rhino was instigated by the Postal Corporation of Kenya in honour of ‘Sudan’, the remaining male northern white rhino that died on March 19 after suffering from age-related health issues and from a series of infections.
Last year Kenya saw a decline in the number of rhinos and elephants poached, largely thanks to enhanced wildlife law-enforcement efforts and investment in conservation. “Kenya lost nine rhinos and 60 elephants to poachers in 2017, compared to 14 rhinos and 96 elephants lost in the previous year” said Balala.
However, just earlier this month poachers shot dead three black rhinos inside a rhino sanctuary in Meru National Park and had their horns removed.
Richard Vigne, the CEO of Ol Pejeta Conservancy that was home to Sudan the rhino, said the tragic story of the northern rhino will be captured forever as a signal to the world. He added that whilst Kenya remains a global leader in conservation, there are nonetheless many species across the planet that face a similar plight.
OPEN LETTER TO DR EDNA MOLEWA, THE MINISTER OF ENVIRONMENTAL AFFAIRS RE CAPTIVE CARNIVORE INTERACTIONS
It is with grave concern that the undersigned organisations, note that yet another person has been seriously injured by a captive carnivore in South Africa. The incident, which took place at Thabazimbi Predator Park in Limpopo at the end of April 2018, is not an isolated incident. Records show that at least 37 similar incidents have occurred since 1996, affecting no less than 40 victims. This figure reflects only those incidents that have been reported in the media and hence there could be more.
We respectfully and urgently request that you take the following information into consideration:
Of the 37 known incidents:
•Forty victims were involved with 28 being injured and 12 killed;
• Fourteen (38%) of the incidents involved captive cheetahs;
• 92% of the fatalities were due to lions and 46% of all lion attacks were fatal;
• These incidents involved 13 adult women, 18 adult men, and nine children, showing that no gender or age group is exempt;
• These incidents are geographically widespread as follows: Limpopo – nine; Eastern Cape – eight, Gauteng – six; North West Province – four; KwaZulu-Natal – four, Western Cape – two, and one unknown.
• These incidents occurred in a variety of ways, with the most common attacks occurring while people were inside the camps with the carnivores (24 incidents). Four incidents involved people being attacked through a fence. On three occasions, the animals had escaped, while on another three occasions victims were inside or on a vehicle. Another three incidents involved the victim trespassing, attack by released captive cheetahs and one unknown circumstance.
Members of the conservation sector have been expressing concern about the captive facilities where these interactions take place for more than 10 years because:
• They have no conservation value;
• There are no adequate safety regulations in place to protect tourists and facility staff;
• Welfare standards are often compromised or not regulated or monitored, and are further complicated by unclear mandates on welfare between the Department of Environmental Affairs and the Department of Agriculture Forestry and Fisheries;
• Links to shooting (‘canned hunting’) of captive Lions and the bone trade are negatively impacting on South Africa’s conservation image.
There are clearly significant risks posed by the interactions between humans and captive carnivores, and it is worrying that despite this, the sector remains ineffectively regulated. There are no regulations governing which carnivores may be kept in captivity, or why; by whom and for what purpose; under which conditions and with what activities related to them. As a result, it is highly probable that the incidences of injury or death as a result of interactions with captive carnivores will continue.
With at least 28 injured people and 12 fatalities, the time has clearly come for legislation to be put in place to end all public interactions with carnivores in South Africa. There is no justifiable rationale for the public to be interacting with carnivores in captivity, risking people’s lives.
We further call on the South African government to institute strict regulations for the management of all carnivores held in captivity that ensure that only qualified, experienced people have access to these animals and that no risks are posed to either human or animal life by unrestricted, unregulated access by all people.
Should the South African government continue to turn a blind eye to this issue, more people will be injured or killed. It is clear that the current system is flawed and a failure to react rapidly to protect people would be negligent.
Signed:
Endangered Wildlife Trust,
CEO, Ms Yolan Friedmann, yolanf@ewt.org.za
Senior Trade Officer, Dr Kelly Marnewick, kellym@ewt.org.za
Blood Lions
Producer, Ms Pippa Hankinson, hancobb@iafrica.com
National Association of Conservancies, Stewardship of SA,
Chairman, Mr John Wesson, jjwesson674@gmail.com
Panthera
Senior Director, Lion & Cheetah Programs, Dr Paul Funston, pfunston@panthera.org
Actually, it’s a lot more complicated than you’d think. There aren’t any hard and fast rules to distinguish a venomous snake from a non-venomous snake in southern Africa, and many people get bitten by snakes that they misidentify as ‘harmless’. I like to call this “learning the hard way” once they realise they’ve just picked up a venomous snake.
In our digital age of the internet and social media, we have access to a wealth of information about snakes. However, a large portion of this information is inaccurate, and it’s not governed by any standards. This means that anyone with access to a computer can write about any given topic and publish articles online. So, when it comes to telling the difference between venomous and non-venomous snakes you can’t always trust Google.
Snake eyes
A common piece of misinformation that has gone ‘viral’ online is that you can tell harmless snakes from harmful ones just by looking at the eyes. If the snake’s pupil is round it is said to be harmless, while if the eye is elliptical (like cat eyes) the snake is said to be venomous, which is totally false within southern Africa.
All the shape of the pupil tells you about the snake is whether it is nocturnal (active at night) or diurnal (active during the day).
Let’s debunk this myth by having a look at some of southern Africa’s venomous and non-venomous snakes, and the pupil shapes they have.
In short, if you have to get close enough to see the inner workings of a snake’s eye you are already too close, and well within the strike zone of the snake. So, it’s best to avoid this all together!
Another common misconception that sits in fiction is that all venomous snakes have triangular heads (much like an adder). Many non-venomous and mildly-venomous snakes may imitate adders by flattening their heads and striking out viciously.
The harmless rhombic egg eater and the herald snake are well known for this behaviour.
There are numerous venomous snakes capable of inflicting dangerous, painful bites, such as the infamous stiletto snake. This snake’s head is barely discernible from its body, which makes it easily confused with many harmless snakes such as blind snakes or thread snakes.
When it comes to snakes and their colours, there are typically two variations you’ll encounter: snakes with bright colours and those with dull or cryptic colours. It’s commonly known that animals with bright colours are coloured so as a warning sign to keep away.
There are many brightly coloured snakes found in southern Africa, although many of these simply imitate the dangerous species while being practically harmless.
The old rhyme “Red touch black, safe for Jack. Red touches yellow, kills a fellow” is not applicable to southern African snakes.
Dull or cryptic colours are used by animals as camouflage to blend into their natural habitat and surroundings.
Many snakes rely on their camouflage to hide them while they ambush prey, or to simply help to prevent them from becoming prey to something else. Both highly-venomous and harmless snakes make use of cryptic colours, so don’t let this fool you.
• Do not panic. Contrary to popular belief, snakes won’t simply attack you.
• Do not pick up the snake, especially by the neck or behind the head; this is extremely dangerous and if done incorrectly you could get you bitten.
• Do not attempt to kill the snake. Remember, if you’re close enough to strike the snake with something, you’re close enough to get bitten. Some snakes can spit/spray their venom up to 3 metres.
• Do maintain a safe distance away of at least 3 metres. At this range it is very difficult for a snake to bite you.
• Do keep an eye on the snake at all times and call a local snake catcher (Google is your friend here) to safely relocate it.
• Do take a photo of the snake if possible, and only if it can be done safely. This will help the snake catcher identify the snake should it disappear before they arrive.
The snakes of southern Africa are a complex group of animals, and no single rule applies to all of them. If you’re still concerned about coming across a snake at some point, invest in a good field guide and get to know the venomous snakes in your area; education is the key.
Two South African hunting associations that embrace canned lion hunting have lost an appeal to retain their membership to Europe’s top hunting organisation, and have been thrown out of the International Council for Game and Wildlife Conservation for breach of policy. The decision was taken by the international council’s general assembly in Madrid.
The expulsion of the Professional Hunters’ Association of South Africa (PHASA) and Confederation of Hunting Associations of South Africa (CHASA) is considered the strongest rejection of South Africa’s hunting policies, as well as of bodies that support canned lion or captive-bred lion shooting operations which are widely regarded as unethical and unsportsmanlike.
The expulsion follows a policy reversal by the two hunting bodies in November last year to support the captive lion hunting industry, and permit membership of their organisations by persons who engage in the practice of captive-bred lion shooting. This is despite the fact that in 2015, PHASA members voted unanimously to reject captive lion hunts at the body’s AGM in Polokwane.
Tamás Marghescu, Director General of the International Council said that “both organisations had exercised their rights of appeal in accordance with the statutes, but failed in their bid to be reinstated. At the 65th General Assembly held in Madrid on May 4, an appeal was heard concerning the decision by the executive committee to expel the two organisations. The members decided by 114 votes to 3 that the organisations were in breach of policies and the expulsion was confirmed. There were 9 abstentions.”
In September 2016 the executive committee of the International Council adopted the International Union for Conservation of Nature 13 which called on the South African government to terminate the hunting of captive-bred lions.
Since PHASA’s 2017 AGM in November, the world’s leading hunting institutions have moved to distance themselves from the organisation and the canned lion hunting industry, which continues to tarnish South Africa’s conservation reputation.
The decision to expel the two organisations was widely welcomed by representatives of prominent African hunting bodies and organisations.
Danene van der Westhuyzen chairperson of the Operators and Professional Hunters Associations of Africa and vice president of the Namibian Professional Hunters Association said both organisations supported and applauded the decision. “It shows a movement towards unity, but even more so, that hunters condemn any such unethical practices.”
Several unsuccessful attempts were made to contact Professional Hunters’ Association of South Africa exco members for comment. Meanwhile, the Brandfort lion breeding farm and slaughterhouse discovered by the Free State SPCA last week, belongs to a former SA Predator Association council member Andre Steyn.
The gruesome discovery of at least 54 dead lions and a further 260 plus lions in captive conditions at Steyn’s farm, Wag-’n Bietjie, last week, sparked public rage over lions and tigers that are bred for the bullet and skinned for their bones for export to South East Asia’s widely unregulated medicine markets and wildlife body-parts trade.
Africa Geographic Photographer of the Year 2018 has come to an end.
With the competition closed, the judges now face the incredible task of going through hundreds of photos – featured in the Weekly Selection galleries – to choose the finalists and eventually the winner!
It is now with great pleasure that we present (in no particular order) the top 101 photos from the competition!
The overall winner of the competition will receive a Canon EOS 7D Mark II with a 18-135mm IS USM lens. In addition, the overall winner, first runner-up, and second runner-up (along with their partners), will experience the ultimate photographic safari at Tanda Tula Field Camp, located in the heart of the Timbavati Private Nature Reserve.
The most popular entries on Facebook, Instagram, and our Website will receive our 2018 Yearbook – a stunning selection of the past year’s greatest photography from around Africa. In addition, five commendable finalists will also receive a 2018 Yearbook.
The following gallery showcases the Top 101. To see the other four click here:
• Top 101 Gallery 1
• Top 101 Gallery 2
• Top 101 Gallery 3
• Top 101 Gallery 5
To see the complete collection of 2018’s Weekly Selection galleries click here.
Africa Geographic Photographer of the Year 2018 has come to an end.
With the competition closed, the judges now face the incredible task of going through hundreds of photos – featured in the Weekly Selection galleries – to choose the finalists and eventually the winner!
It is now with great pleasure that we present (in no particular order) the top 101 photos from the competition.
The overall winner of the competition will receive a Canon EOS 7D Mark II with a 18-135mm IS USM lens. In addition, the overall winner, first runner-up, and second runner-up (along with their partners), will experience the ultimate photographic safari at Tanda Tula Field Camp, located in the heart of the Timbavati Private Nature Reserve.
The most popular entries on Facebook, Instagram, and our Website will receive our 2018 Yearbook – a stunning selection of the past year’s greatest photography from around Africa. In addition, five commendable finalists will also receive a 2018 Yearbook.
The following gallery showcases the Top 101. To see the other four click here:
• Top 101 Gallery 1
• Top 101 Gallery 3
• Top 101 Gallery 4
• Top 101 Gallery 5
To see the complete collection of 2018’s Weekly Selection galleries click here.
Africa Geographic Photographer of the Year 2018 has come to an end.
With the competition closed, the judges now face the incredible task of going through hundreds of photos – featured in the Weekly Selection galleries – to choose the finalists and eventually the winner!
It is now with great pleasure that we present (in no particular order) the top 101 photos from the competition!
The overall winner of the competition will receive a Canon EOS 7D Mark II with a 18-135mm IS USM lens. In addition, the overall winner, first runner-up, and second runner-up (along with their partners), will experience the ultimate photographic safari at Tanda Tula Field Camp, located in the heart of the Timbavati Private Nature Reserve.
The most popular entries on Facebook, Instagram, and our Website will receive our 2018 Yearbook – a stunning selection of the past year’s greatest photography from around Africa. In addition, five commendable finalists will also receive a 2018 Yearbook.
The following gallery showcases the Top 101. To see the other four click here:
• Top 101 Gallery 1
• Top 101 Gallery 2
• Top 101 Gallery 3
• Top 101 Gallery 4
To see the complete collection of 2018’s Weekly Selection galleries click here.
Africa Geographic Photographer of the Year 2018 has come to an end.
With the competition closed, the judges now face the incredible task of going through hundreds of photos – featured in the Weekly Selection galleries – to choose the finalists and eventually the winner!
It is now with great pleasure that we present (in no particular order) the top 101 photos from the competition!
The overall winner of the competition will receive a Canon EOS 7D Mark II with a 18-135mm IS USM lens. In addition, the overall winner, first runner-up, and second runner-up (along with their partners), will experience the ultimate photographic safari at Tanda Tula Field Camp, located in the heart of the Timbavati Private Nature Reserve.
The most popular entries on Facebook, Instagram, and our Website will receive our 2018 Yearbook – a stunning selection of the past year’s greatest photography from around Africa. In addition, five commendable finalists will also receive a 2018 Yearbook.
The following gallery showcases the Top 101. To see the other four click here:
• Top 101 Gallery 1
• Top 101 Gallery 2
• Top 101 Gallery 4
• Top 101 Gallery 5
To see the complete collection of 2018’s Weekly Selection galleries click here.
Africa Geographic Photographer of the Year 2018 has come to an end.
With the competition closed, the judges now face the incredible task of going through hundreds of photos – featured in the Weekly Selection galleries – to choose the finalists and eventually the winner!
It is now with great pleasure that we present (in no particular order) the top 101 photos from the competition!
The overall winner of the competition will receive a Canon EOS 7D Mark II with a 18-135mm IS USM lens. In addition, the overall winner, first runner-up, and second runner-up (along with their partners), will experience the ultimate photographic safari at Tanda Tula Field Camp, located in the heart of the Timbavati Private Nature Reserve.
The most popular entries on Facebook, Instagram, and our Website will receive our 2018 Yearbook – a stunning selection of the past year’s greatest photography from around Africa. In addition, five commendable finalists will also receive a 2018 Yearbook.
The following gallery showcases the Top 101. To see the other four click here:
• Top 101 Gallery 2
• Top 101 Gallery 3
• Top 101 Gallery 4
• Top 101 Gallery 5
To see the complete collection of 2018’s Weekly Selection galleries click here.
The African elephant (Loxodonta africana) is the largest land mammal in the world and one of nature’s great ecosystem engineers. For many people, elephants epitomise an African safari. Their big stature, tactical trunks, and human-like qualities make them a point of interest for both avid and novice safari-goers alike. Their beneficial impact on biodiversity in large unfenced ecosystems and their potentially negative impact on same in fenced environments, make them a unique and crucial keystone species in Africa.
In this gallery, Celebrating Africa’s Elephants, we are taking a look at these incredible animals through the lens of some incredibly talented photographers who entered our Photographer of the Year 2017 and 2018 competitions. So sit back, relax, and enjoy this awe-inspiring gallery honouring these majestic pachyderms.
“While this elephant herd was at the waterhole, I noticed that there was only one little calf amongst them. It seemed to be the subject of overprotectiveness with almost every elephant it came into contact with. This image shows more than one adult elephant very carefully and delicately using their trunk to protect and guide this little one.” ~ John Vosloo
“Along the endless plains of Serengeti National Park, a large family of the biggest land mammals on Earth approached. As I captured their magnificence, I wondered to myself what it felt like to be such an incredible creature, to have that power and those strong bonds that they keep within the herd.” ~ Panos Laskarakis
“If there is any ‘Walk of Fame’ in the elephant world, then this must be the one. Two living monuments of natural history in an exquisite display. The young bull in between the patriarchs has just left his maternal family and is looking for role models. The two iconic bulls probably have the same father. For the most part, they are “brothers in tusks”. The one in the background is three years older and has possibly the biggest tusks on any elephant alive.” ~ George Dian Balan
Elephants are the heaviest land mammals, at 4-7 tons, and the second-tallest land mammal (behind the giraffe) at 3.1 to 3.4 metres at the shoulder. The largest elephant on record weighed 10.9 tons and was 3.9 metres at the shoulder.
Elephants communicate in a low-frequency soundwave, the majority of which is below our hearing spectrum. The hungry tummy rumble is the portion of the sound that we can hear. However, it has been suggested that there are over 23 different vocalisms – of which 80% are used exclusively by the cows.
“A lonely elephant bull appeared on the horizon in Etosha, approaching the Newbrownii waterhole. The closer the bull got to the waterhole, the more majestic he towered above the herd of springbok and other game at the waterhole… I knew I had to get to the waterhole’s viewpoint! But there was no time! I suddenly realised that I was in the perfect place to take the shot. The contrast between the white-dusty elephant and clear blue Etosha skies contributed to an awesome shot.” ~Annemarie du Plessis. Editors: Bear in mind that for epic shots like this, October is one of the best months for wildlife viewing.
Elephants are either left or right-handed. They are born not knowing how to use their trunks and learn as they grow. Like humans, they show a preference for grasping objects to the left or right. You can tell which side elephants prefer – tusks are shorter on the preferred side (because they get worn down more on that side).
“For the majority of the year, Lake Amboseli is an immense, flat, arid land. Nothing can grow on it, and under the African sun, the temperature during the day can be unbearable. So many times, while driving along the desert, I dreamt of seeing the elephants that are forced to cross the desert to reach the Amboseli swamp and the freshwater from Mount Kilimanjaro. And one day it happened. Far away, like a mirage, I saw a long line of pachyderms slowly marching through the heat waves. I carefully approached them, and I finally took the shot I was looking for, in the incredible silence of the dusty desert.” ~ Paolo Torchio
There are about 50,000 muscles in an elephant’s trunk, made up of six muscle groups, and no bones. This compares to 639 muscles in the entire human body! The closest thing we have to an elephant’s trunk is our tongue. Elephants use their trunks to breathe, drink, eat, smell, snorkel, wrestle, communicate, touch, feel, hold, grab and pull. We can’t think of any other appendage that is so versatile.
“The plan was to capture this majestic elephant bull in Mana’s golden light before the sun disappeared beyond the Zambian escarpment. There was a flock of cattle egrets feeding on the insects disturbed by the elephant. All of a sudden, they took off and flew right across the elephant. With some quick camera work, I was able to freeze their motion against this unique and beautiful background in magical light. An impala startled by the birds added to the scene.” ~ Vikram Ghanekar
Many tree species rely on elephants to spread their seeds. But that is not all. Many seeds are more likely to germinate after passing through an elephant’s gut. Elephants transport these seeds for many kilometres as they process their food, before depositing them in their dung balls – a vital fertiliser and moisture package for those seeds, and a kick-starter to life.
“A family of elephants were resting in the shade of large riverine trees on the riverbank, approximately 8 to 10 metres from the road. I spotted this very young baby elephant, still unsure on its feet, secure between the elephant cow’s legs. I liked the natural framing of the body and legs of the elephant cow provided and had an image in mind. I had time to take four photos before the baby turned away and disappeared deeper into the herd. It was a privilege to witness how protective the family was of this baby elephant.” ~ Thinus Schoeman
“This photo was taken from a hide next to a waterhole near the lodge where I stayed in Madikwe. I was in the hide when a herd of elephants approached. I wanted to show the size of these gentle giants, so I started taking close-up photos of one of the elephant’s legs. Only after viewing it through the viewfinder, I could see the details (including the broken nail!) which I would not have seen otherwise.” ~ Subi Sridharan
“Out on Lake Amboseli, one gets a sense of colossal space and unobstructed views. On this evening game drive, the angry skies produced a dramatic backdrop to this image of a lone bull elephant as he walked by our vehicle in total silence. Amboseli and its elephants provide an extraordinary window into the world of these majestic creatures like no other place on Earth.” ~ Dana Kennedy
The elephant’s sense of smell is estimated to be four times that of a bloodhound or 160 times that of a human. They can smell water from many kilometres away.
“While travelling from the airport to our photographic safari destination, we took a small detour on a well-known loop when suddenly this massive elephant bull appeared out of nowhere. He was so gracious and not bothered by our presence at all. While he was walking, the perfect side profile shot presented itself for this amazing capture. It was truly amazing to see this tusker in this area just going about his daily routine.” ~ Bernhard Bekker
Elephant herds are led by older cows (matriarchs), with young bulls forming their own smaller herds after leaving the breeding herd. Old bulls often roam on their own, or with a few companions (often referred to as askaris), meeting up with breeding herds as cows come into season.
This giraffe cow, with a noticeably deformed jaw, was spotted last month on the Pretoriuskop road in the Kruger National Park, South Africa. She was with her herd and clearly in very good health – she was even able to eat despite her deformed jaw.
This is not a common sighting in the Kruger National Park, but there are a few of those who have seen this giraffe before. The same giraffe was spotted by someone in back in 2009, and then there was another report of seeing her in 2013.
It is wonderful to see how long this giraffe has been around in the park and that she has been able to adapt to her condition.
Many charismatic species such as elephants, lions, tigers and pandas face the threat of extinction, despite being held up as the poster characters for conservation. The logic of using these species to raise funds and awareness is that they elicit a stronger emotional connection and reaction from potential donors than do say sparrows, plants and beetles.
Proponents claim that many less charismatic species will benefit by association because they live in the same ecosystems. And yet, the charismatic species are not faring well, with many facing steep population declines. Is it time to change the strategy?
A recent report suggests that companies and businesses that use the likeness of these and other species in their logos and marketing efforts should pay a license fee towards conservation efforts. While the legal implications of this suggestion are probably extremely complex, the concept has validity and requires further thought and investigation.
The report suggests that the public is mostly ignorant that these charismatic animal species face extinction, possibly because people think these animals are widespread in real life, as they appear so often in business marketing collateral and online content. And so, there is a lack of strong mainstream public support and monetisation. This ignorance of the actual state of affairs is arguably nurtured by the wide-scale and free use of the images of rare and threatened species in commercial product marketing – with no associated educational campaigns.
The researchers used four different methods to establish the ranking of the ten most charismatic species in the eyes of the public and reviewed their conservation status and level of public knowledge. The results suggest that the conservation status of the ten most charismatic species is grave, while the public is mostly ignorant of the conservation status. This “beloved but ignored” paradox probably stems from a mismatch between the virtual presence and natural presence of these particular species. In other words, public perception reflects virtual rather than real populations.
The report argues that the representations of charismatic species in commercial, artistic, and cultural outlets act as virtual, abundant populations competing against real threatened populations for public attention.
The jeopardised future of the ten most charismatic species:
• Tiger: total abundance estimated at less than 7% of their historic numbers. Three subspecies (Bali tiger, P. tigris balica; Javan tiger, P. t. sondaica; and Caspian tiger, P. t. virgata) are now extinct, and another one (the South China tiger, P. t. amoyensis) is considered as possibly extinct
• Lion: declining almost everywhere in Africa, with populations estimated to be at less than 8% of historic levels. In Eurasia, except for the only remaining population of about 175 individuals of P. leo persica in India, all lions are now extinct.
• Elephant: the African savannah elephant never recovered from the 20th-century massive poaching levels and are believed to remain at less than 10% of their historic numbers; the African forest elephant declined in a mere nine years (2002–2011) by 62%, with about 30% corresponding range contraction; the Asian elephant lost 85% of historic range, and almost half of the remaining 15% is both fragmented and heavily impacted by an ever-increasing human population.
• Giraffe: previously classified as Vulnerable because it was assessed as a single species. Three of the four newly identified species have declined by 52%–97% in the last 35 years and are likely to be uplisted by IUCN.
• Leopard: classified as a Vulnerable species because the nine subspecies are altogether abundant and widely distributed; however, three are Critically Endangered, two are Endangered, two are recommended for uplisting to Critically Endangered and Endangered, and two are Near Threatened. Leopards have already lost as much as 75% of their habitat range, and 6 out of the nine subspecies occupy a mere 3% of the remaining range.
• Panda: with fewer than 2,000 remaining individuals, distributed within 33 subpopulations and scattered on less than 1% of its historical range, its future remains particularly uncertain, especially in light of climate change, predicted to reduce most of its bamboo habitat.
• Cheetah: occupies only 9% of its historic range in Africa, being extirpated from 29 countries on the continent, while the Asiatic subspecies Acinonyx jubatus venaticus, numbering fewer than 100 individuals, is listed as Critically Endangered.
• Polar bear: lack of population abundance and trend estimates; 9 out of the 19 known populations are of unknown status. It is considered severely impacted by climate change and related sea ice decline. The few populations with available data show drastic population declines.
• Wolf: once the world’s most widely distributed large predator, it has now lost about one-third of its original range, becoming extinct in much of Western Europe and the United States and being endangered in several other regions.
• Gorilla: of the four gorilla subspecies, two are limited to a few hundred individuals in small and highly fragmented populations, while the two others have lost most of their numbers in about 20 years
The report concludes by suggesting that a concrete mechanism should be established to ensure financial support from companies that use charismatic, endangered species for their branding. Resultant funds should be directed at innovative interdisciplinary conservation strategies and projects.
Through rare institutional cross-collaboration, an initial consignment of up to six black rhinos are being translocated by air over 3,000 miles from South Africa to Zakouma National Park, a secure park in Chad managed by African Parks in partnership with the government since 2010. The announcement of this unprecedented international conservation initiative happened on Thursday, 3rd May, and is thanks to the collaboration of South Africa’s Department of Environmental Affairs (DEA), the Chadian Government, conservation non-profit African Parks and South African National Parks (SANParks).
The project is being undertaken to aid the long-term survival of the species on the continent and to contribute to restoring biodiversity as a national asset for Chad. While the country’s last black rhino was recorded in 1972, over the past seven years African Parks has implemented extensive measures to practically eliminate poaching in Zakouma, making it possible to reintroduce this critically endangered species after almost half a century of its absence, establishing Chad as a new range state for the species.
The governments of South Africa and Chad signed a memorandum of understanding in October 2017 to enable the translocation of up to six black rhinos to Zakouma National Park in southern Chad with the aim of returning the species to the nation almost fifty years after its local extinction. Following two years of substantial planning to ensure the animals’ safety and well-being, on Thursday six wild black rhinos were moved from a holding facility in South Africa’s Eastern Cape to begin a 3,000-mile translocation by air to Zakouma. Following their arrival in the park, the rhinos will be released into specially built bomas (or enclosures) for a short period of time to enable close monitoring and acclimatisation before being released into a wider, intensively protected sanctuary.
One of the black rhinos in the holding boma @ GovernmentZA/Twitter
The cross-continent translocation culminates in the return of rhinos to a country that is exercising a bold vision in securing its wildlife and natural landscapes, building a future in which biodiversity has a firm place in contributing to socio-economic growth for its people.
“We are resolved to create a secure and prosperous future for wildlife and people, so that generations of Chadians can experience the benefits of healthy and intact natural landscapes. It is a mark of the strength of our partnership with African Parks and the transformation of Zakouma in to a secure sanctuary that we are now able to bring rhinos back to Chad where they will receive enduring protection,” said Chad’s Ambassador to South Africa Sagour Youssouf Mahamat Itno. “Their reintroduction signifies an important advancement in the restoration of the park, furthering its potential as a conservation area to contribute through tourism to local economies and social development”.
Last year the Chadian Government signed an agreement with African Parks to expand their management mandate for Zakouma to include critical peripheral reserves and adjoining wildlife corridors, which was followed soon after by an agreement with African Parks for the management of the 40,000 km² Ennedi Natural and Cultural Reserve, a World Heritage Site in the north-east of the country. The conservation of these important areas is possible because of the significant support of the European Union.
The rhinos ready for their 3,000-mile translocation by air to Zakouma @ GovernmentZA/Twitter
“All too often, headlines on rhinos are about their demise as they teeter on the brink of extinction. However, today we are participating in an historic event and peering into a brighter future for this species which has persisted on this planet for millions of years,” said Peter Fearnhead, CEO of African Parks.
He continues, saying: “Regional cooperation is critical if we are to give these iconic animals a future on this continent. Our collaboration with the Chadian and South African governments and SANParks gives us a unique opportunity to encourage population growth, expand rhino range, and contribute to restoring biodiversity in Chad. The extraordinary gains made in protecting and revitalising Zakouma result from our partnership with the Government of Chad and their commitment to conservation, enabling this profoundly important reintroduction to take place and providing a truly hopeful story for rhinos across Africa”.
Sourced from third-party site: Blood Lions Facebook page – original article published in Beeld (28 Apr 2018), written by environmental journalists Elise Tempelhoff and Marietjie Gericke
Editorial comment: Please be aware that this news relates to captive-bred lions and not wild lions. This does not diminish the seriousness and abhorrence of this situation, but it is an important distinction.
A statement released by Blood Lions claims that there has been a mass lion shooting in the Free State Province, South Africa. The Blood Lions team and other environmentalists reacted with horror to reports that a lion slaughterhouse was established ‘overnight’ on a farm outside Bloemfontein.
The team said in a statement that 19 lions were shot on this farm last week and 80 were allegedly on their way to the Free State, or were already being held on the farm to be shot and their bones to be sent to the East. However, another source said 26 lions were shot on the farm on Tuesday and 28 more were shot on Wednesday. Allegedly the lions were anaesthetised before they got shot.
Their skeletons are then boiled until the meat falls off. After that, the bones are brought to a collecting point at a free-trade branch in the Free State where everything gets prepared for export. Traders in China and Vietnam pay for what is claimed to be as much as R100,000 for a lion skeleton exported from South Africa.
Blood Lions referred to the decision of Environmental Minister Edna Molewa, who announced last year that 800 lion skeletons may be exported to the East every year.
Ian Michler, campaigner for lions and member of the Blood Lions team says that this trend should be very worrying for South Africans because the farmers of the country’s 8,000 captive-held lions will start shooting them all over the country. André Steyn’s farm, Wag-’n Bietjie, outside Bloemfontein is just the first of many to follow, says Michler. “The cruel reality is that South Africa’s iconic lions are traded on an industrial scale, to provide for China’s insatiable demand for their bones.”
Beeld was told on Thursday that lions in crates were brought to the farm from Gauteng, North West and other parts of the Free State. A source who works at a game farm in North West approached Blood Lions and asked for help after two lions were shot on the farm this week, were loaded on a truck and brought to the Free State. No permits were issued for the transport of the lions from North West to the Free State.
According to legislation, a veterinarian should have shot the lions but the driver of the truck shot them himself, he said. According to him (the source), he watched powerlessly how the lions were taken away. Steyn did not respond to inquiries. Complaints about alleged animal abuse on Wag-’n Bietjie have been received. A veterinarian, Dr Hennie Klopper of Bloemfontein, confirmed he was involved in the anaesthesia of the lions at Wag-’n Bietjie. He said he had received permits to anaesthetise the lions.
Reinet Meyer, a senior inspector of the Bloemfontein Animal Protection Association (DBV), confirmed to have been called to the farm on Tuesday. “It was about two lions held in a very small crate for two or three days before being destroyed.” Meyer says the SPCA is investigating the incident.
Adv. Antoinette Ferreira of the National Prosecuting Authority in Bloemfontein says she has no file/info at this stage and does not know whether criminal charges can be filed. She said the big question is if there were legal permits issued for this shooting. She said the National Department of Environmental Affairs issued permits according to a quota system. The other question is if cruelty was committed to the animals when they were shot or before they were shot.
The National Department of Environmental Affairs sent Beeld to the Free State Department of Economic Affairs, Small Business Development, Tourism and Environmental Affairs. This department did not respond to inquiries at any time. According to the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (Cites), export permits must also be obtained because lions are an endangered species.
See this short clip on the lion bone trade from Blood Lions
We all have that friend – the drama queen who goes off at the drop of a hat, and seems to live in a world crowded with danger and stress. Aside from the entertainment value, we tend, after a while, to ignore their theatrics – right?
Well it turns out that impalas are the drama queens of the African bushveld, and other species know it, and don’t take their predator alarm calls too seriously.
Life in the bushveld is indeed tough – full of dangerous predators like lions, leopards and cheetahs that would make a meal of you if they had the chance. Prey species such as impalas, zebras and wildebeest are constantly on the lookout for predators, and will sound the alarm when they see, smell or hear one. And all prey species in the area will recognise and react to the alarm calls – but to various degrees, depending on the species sounding the alarm.
Researchers have published a report in the journal Animal Behaviour, which suggests that all alarm calls do not carry the same degree of credibility. Their study focused on zebras, wildebeests and impalas.
When they played recordings of zebra alarm calls (high-pitched whinnying) all three species went on high alert, whereas when impala (loud snort) and wildebeest (sneeze-like snorts) alarm calls were played, zebras were not so concerned.
“They know what the calls mean, that there’s a predator around,” says Meredith Palmer, an ecologist at the University of Minnesota’s St. Paul campus. “But they also know to temper the degree to which they respond to these calls based on how much of a threat this call is actually signalling to them.”
She and her colleague Abby Gross collected alarm call recordings of the three species by showing them a life-sized photograph of a stalking lion mounted on plywood, and taping the resultant vocalisations. They then played the alarm calls to grazing herds of each species and observed how long each species spent on alert, scanning their surroundings for predators, and how swiftly they sounded the alarm and fled.
For every species, zebra alarm calls provoked strong reactions. But zebras either ignored impala or wildebeest alarm calls or stayed vigilant for only a brief time. This may be because adult zebras weigh in at about 450kg/1,000 pounds and have a lethal kick, and would not be too concerned with smaller predators (such as cheetahs and leopards) that could easily kill impalas that weight up to 75kg/165 pounds.
Impalas, on the other hand, reacted to every animal’s distress call. Interestingly, they also reacted more to alarm calls from zebras and wildebeest than they did to those from other impalas!
“If you’re an impala and you know that other impalas are probably responding to a predator but there’s also a 25 percent chance that they are alarm calling at some waving grass, maybe you would give more weight to an alarm call from something like a zebra which perhaps is a little more discriminatory,” Palmer says.
So it seems that even alarm calls are not all equal, and impalas are seen by other species as the drama queens of the bushveld.
Grey parrots (Psittacus erithacus) are wild-caught from Africa in big numbers, to satisfy the pet trade. The wild populations are plummeting, implying that the trapping industry is not sustainable.
Recent research sheds light on how different capture methods and other aspects of the industry materially affect grey parrot populations. This compares to how CITES determines trapping quotas – based solely on the volume of trade.
The research was undertaken on a closed population of grey parrots on the island of Principe, off the West African coast. Trapping is permitted on Principe, and the island has a relatively stable population of wild grey parrots. Data was input into a model that ran 50-year simulations to predict the impact of different harvest scenarios on wild parrot populations.
The results were startling, and should cause CITES to reconsider the wisdom of their strategy for the determination of quotas.
A few interesting extractions from the research:
1. There is a tipping point for capture volumes, beyond which populations were highly sensitive to changes. A harvest rate of 11% was described as ‘robustly sustainable’ whereas 15% was ‘dramatically unsustainable’ – a fine line indeed;
2. The inclusion of even a small number of adult birds in capture volumes impacted negatively on population sustainability. On the island of Principe, only young birds are harvested, with adults being spared. This is not the case on mainland Africa, where we see indiscriminate mass trapping of individuals of any age class from roosting and feeding sites;
3. High annual variation in capture rate (reflecting poor management) impacted negatively on population sustainability;
4. Destruction of habitat also effects grey parrot population sustainability, a factor not present on Principe, where sufficient habitat and secure nest sites exist.
Concerns about the sustainability of current levels arise not only from the sheer volume of parrots in trade, but also from the birds’ poor resilience to over-harvesting, inadequate enforcement of trade regulations and the absence of reliable population and demographic data to support harvest models.
If trade in parrots is to continue sustainably it will require reliable demographic and harvest data and must eliminate instability in quota observance (exceeded quotas are not compensated by shortfalls in other years) and, especially, the indiscriminate capture of adults.
To read more about these intelligent birds read Shades of Grey.
Conservationists have announced that another collared bull elephant has been shot by a professional hunter in an area adjacent to Gonarezhou National Park in Zimbabwe. This comes in the wake of a similar incident where a collared bull elephant was shot in the same area on March 7.
Gonarezhou National Park’s elephant population is well protected, with a population estimated at over 11,000 individuals. There are currently no fences that limit their movement, or that of other wildlife, out of the park and are free to wander the wider ecosystem. In order to monitor the elephants’ movement, and gather data for conservation purposes, satellite collars were placed on 22 individual elephants in the park by the Gonarezhou Conservation Trust (GCT).
In a statement released by the trust, they said that “whilst it is not illegal for a hunter to shoot a collared elephant, the general position taken by the Zimbabwe Professional Hunters and Guides Association (ZHPGA) is that it is unethical and should be avoided wherever possible”.
They go on to say that “the operator was well aware of the ethical stance and, as a result of previous similar incidences, was aware of the potential for collared individuals to roam into hunting areas outside of the park”.
The ranger assigned to monitor the hunt has been suspended by GCT and the elephant’s ivory confiscated pending the outcome of an investigation.
GCT say that this is a significant blow to their conservation efforts in the greater ecosystem and “incidents such as these threaten to undo much of the progress made and reinforce the need for stricter adherence to the ethical code of conduct for any hunting around the park”.
Seeing animals in the wild is truly special – but, trekking for gorillas is on another level. The close genetic relationship between us makes it more than just another wildlife safari; add golden monkeys to the same trip, and you have hit a double jackpot. This is the ultimate primate experience – created by safari experts, Africa Geographic Travel.
When it comes to gorilla trekking destinations, most people think of Uganda or Rwanda. However, far off the beaten track lies the mighty Virunga Mountains in the Democratic Republic of Congo. Its remote, untouched and pristine rainforest gives it a genuine feel – no large crowds are queuing to get a quick photo of the apes. This is how real gorilla trekking should be done.
The tension and the expectations are as sweltering as the humid rainforest air. Somewhere out there, one of my closest relatives is waiting. This was more than just another wildlife experience; this has to be the ‘family’ reunion of a lifetime. From what I have read, human gene sequences differ by only 1.6% on average from gorilla genes. I’m so curious to discover what they will be like, and what they will think of me – their weird, skinny cousin from out of town.
After a short introduction, we made our way through a thick green wall of plants and vines as the canopy rang with birdsong. After about two hours, the guide freezes like a statue. My heart started pounding – a sudden stop is always a good sign.
“Can you smell it?” he says.
I stick my nose up in the air… an unpleasant smell invades my nostrils. I couldn’t see them, but I’m pretty sure they could see us…
The first thing I saw were two amber eyes belonging to a female gorilla looking back at me curiously. I had disturbed her right in the middle of breakfast, typical me. My body froze, not from fear, but pure joy. Shortly after, she went back to her vegetarian buffet and continued eating like I wasn’t even there.
Instinctively I sat down near her in the lush bed of grass; somehow, it just felt more appropriate. When you visit a church, you bow, and at a concert, you stand. When you visit a gorilla, you should assume the posture of your distant ancestors.
It felt completely unreal. Even though she was just a few metres away, I couldn’t believe that what I was experiencing was real. I studied the distinct wrinkles in her face and those warm, intelligent eyes; I followed her five-fingered hands gently breaking off the bamboo; and admired her soft, black fur that shone in the sunbeams breaking through the foliage.
For a weird moment, I thought this couldn’t be real. These are men in gorilla suits: their hands are too shiny and plump – they look like bad imitations, like extras dressed as outer-space apes in an old episode of Star Trek. But they must be real because a human actor couldn’t imitate those feet.
Then there are the noises: grunts, pants, yodels and sighs. There’s the cracking of roots and twigs, the crunching of fibrous bulbs. Maybe they don’t write poetry or read Dostojevskij, but gorillas have their language.
Suddenly, a young male makes his mark with a loud shout that echoes through the jungle. Did he say, “Good morning”, or “Where’s my breakfast?”.
Only one thing is for sure, a visit to the dentist wouldn’t hurt!
We then spotted a big silverback relaxing in the sun. Just the sheer size of his shoulders and biceps makes a heavyweight boxing champion look anorexic. And me? Compared to this mountain of muscles, I felt like one of those fire ants crawling around on the ground. You could immediately sense who the boss was.
After finishing his meal, the silverback suddenly started to walk straight towards me. I heard the guide’s instructions echo in my head:
“Stay at least 22 feet away and avoid sustained eye contact or finger-pointing. If a gorilla moves toward you, step calmly out of the way. If one charges, follow the guide’s instruction to drop to the ground in submission. And whatever you do, don’t freak out – the gorilla can sense your fear.”
Unfortunately, none of the advice seemed to help. It’s easy to brag or play macho, but when you have a 250 kg silverback passing by – so close you could feel his breath – you turn into a little pimple-faced altar boy.
“In more than 30 years, the guides have never had to shoot a gorilla, and no visitor has ever been harmed in an incident involving one”, the guide explains. “I mean, no incident apart from friendly kicks or slaps,” he added.
I’m pretty sure he says that to help me relax, but for some reason, the words don’t have any effect.
Later, we found the ‘boss’ in a shaded alcove not far from the first group. He was sitting upright with his legs crossed and his great furry mitts draped over his knees – his size, and the sweeping crown of his head distinguished him from the others. Surveying his domain, first left and then right, he could not look more imperial. As two youngsters tussled at his feet, he nudged one away so he could groom the other with his long, nimble fingers.
A little further on, we bumped into a whole group of gorillas who were relaxing in the early morning sun. Some were eating, and some were having a nap or picking fleas. A baby climbed onto his mother and went tumbling as she rolled over onto her side. He staggered to his feet, saw me and started tottering curiously towards me. I held my breath, but the guide hissed and gestured, and I had to back away, not because his parents would mind the contact, but because of our germs. Gorillas can catch the flu from us, and the common cold. We can kill them with our breath. Even in the moments of our greatest vulnerability, the threat is always from us to them.
Throughout our hour with these great apes, the enduring wonder was how close we were able to get. Our telephoto lenses poked through branches to find a new mother suckling her infant; a juvenile twirled its way down a bamboo stalk and scampered past my pant leg, near enough to high-five; a large female, perched just above us in low-hanging branches, methodically stripped bamboo stems as if she were shucking corn.
The longer we spent with them, the more I realised they were not the hairy monsters as portrayed in horror movies. In fact, unlike humans, there’s nothing aggressive about them at all. For millions of years, these gorillas have lived in balance with nature. Never over-populating, never destroying the nature that nurtures them. Maybe we should learn from them.
There are fewer than 900 mountain gorillas on the planet, and here I am surrounded by 12 of them. The privilege is overwhelming, but at the same time so very sad considering the poaching and destruction of habitat that they must endure.
While I was with them, I became overwhelmed with the affection they showed to each other. Kids climbing on moms, siblings tussling, grown males reaching out and touching their brothers just to let them know they’re still there. Only the silverback stayed aloof, but even he came over and brushed against one of his children, or offered himself to be groomed. I wouldn’t call it love – we’re the only primates to evolve fancy-pants ideas like that – but through the touching, reassurance and comfort, you can see from where love grew.
I lived in the moment, watching these critically-endangered creatures experience what I like to believe all of the same emotions we feel each day: hunger, fatigue, boredom, curiosity, love, happiness, wariness, tolerance, respect, trust.
When the time was up, I felt incredibly disappointed, like a kid being forced to stop playing with his friends because it was time for dinner. I didn’t want to leave this place. I wanted to stay with the gorillas and get to know them. In just that short time with them, it felt like I was able to discover their personalities. Adrenaline was pumping through my body, and with a mixed feeling of joy and sadness, I finally forced myself to leave. This was the fastest (and most memorable) hour of my life.
Just when I thought I couldn’t have had a more thrilling experience, it was time for another unique primate encounter. After a few hours on bumpy, practically nonexistent Congolese roads, we entered the beautiful Volcanoes National Park in Rwanda. Now it was time for the golden monkeys and another tick off my bucket list. Golden monkeys are approximately 50 centimetres tall, weigh around 7kg and look like some little creatures from a Star Wars movie.
They are an endangered species, and unique to the Virunga mountain range. Rwanda and Uganda are the only two countries where visitors have the opportunity of trekking to see them up close. I hope the incredible luck that I had with the gorillas would stay with me on this trek.
Trekking for these primates is not as hard when compared to their cousins, the gorillas. The only similarity is the landscape. Though the bamboo forest that we trekked through seemed never-ending, and I found myself wondering how we were ever going to find them in this eternal world of green.
After a 20-minute walk, our trackers told us the monkeys were close. We left our bags and looked up into the trees – within minutes we saw furry faces and inquisitive eyes peeking out from behind the thin bamboo stalks. I don’t think I had ever seen cuter animals in my life!
I discovered that these are some of the least shy monkeys around, as you can get as close as a metre to them. It turns out that these monkeys were real supermodels, taking every opportunity to get their faces in front of the camera lens!
The monkeys were playful and entrancing, their soft, reddish-gold fur creating a blur of colour as they darted and danced through the bamboo. They daintily jumped from one stalk to the next and sucked the sweet juice from bamboo shoots that they dug up from the forest floor.
The other people in the group had the time of their lives filling their memory cards full of images of these little teddy bear-like monkeys. The only problem was that many times the little guys got so close you couldn’t even get them in focus!
At one point, one of the little fellas got so close that he stepped on my arm. They might not be very impressive in size, but in the jungle that doesn’t seem to matter. Here, it is all about attitude.
The rest of the hour passed by remarkably fast, but even so, the character of each monkey came out as we watched on – the mischievous adolescents making daring leaps between the vines; the bored-looking uncle who watches the younger ones playing; the timid curiosity of a two-month-old baby leaving the warmth of his mother. It was easy to see this troop as a family, connected in a myriad of ways, just as the vines and leaves of the bamboo wove together to create a beautiful tapestry of life in the forest.
It was hard when I had to say goodbye to the gorillas; my heart broke once more when we said goodbye to the golden monkeys. The visit was way too short, but the memory of their incredibly cute faces and big, curious eyes will stay with me forever.
Björn Persson is a photographer and travel writer who’s visited over 20 African countries. His favourite destination is Kenya, but the Nyiragongo hike – featured here – was one of his most memorable adventures. Besides being an avid traveller, Björn also has a degree in wildlife conservation and uses his photos as a weapon against poaching. His first wildlife photography book, The Real Owners of the Planet, is being released later this year. A big part of the profit will go to wildlife conservation.
In a monumental initiative driven by the South African Wild Dog Advisory Group (SAWAG), a founding pack of 15 African wild dogs has been translocated from KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa, to Mozambique for reintroduction into Gorongosa National Park, marking the return of this endangered species to the Park after an absence of more than 25 years, and signifying the first ever wild dog introduction into Mozambique.
With only around 6,600 wild dogs left in Africa, this incredible animal is one of the continent’s most at-risk carnivores, and is listed by the IUCN as Endangered. A key conservation strategy is the reintroduction of packs into viable habitats where they once occurred. And now wild dogs will again roam free in Gorongosa, thanks to an innovative and exciting cross border collaboration between wildlife NGOs and government agencies.
This is a landmark occasion, as wild dogs have never before been reintroduced into Mozambique. Wild dogs have disappeared from much of their former range in Mozambique (although there is a healthy population in Niassa National Reserve), and Gorongosa lost all of their wild dogs as a result of the 1977–1992 civil war.
Today, the 400,000 ha Gorongosa is Mozambique’s flagship natural area and lies at the heart of the work being undertaken by the government of Mozambique and the Carr Foundation to bring back to life a vast and diverse natural ecosystem over a 25-year period. Wildlife is now thriving in the park, with numbers of species and animals having made a strong comeback. With the abundance of herbivores, the natural next step is the return of large carnivores.
Nine male wild dogs from uMkhuze Game Reserve in KwaZulu-Natal (KZN) that naturally dispersed from their pack in late 2016, and six free-roaming female wild dogs from the region were earmarked for this reintroduction. The new pack spent bonding time at a boma at uPhongola Nature Reserve in KZN in South Africa before being flown to Gorongosa where they will spend six to eight weeks in a boma before being released. The KZN metapopulation of wild dogs is the largest outside of the Kruger National Park, and a vital resource for redistribution to their former range.
The following entities collaborated to make this innovative relocation happen:
Since 1995, Lewa Wildlife Conservancy in Kenya has been home to hundreds of elephants and offers them a safe refuge during heightened cases of insecurity in other areas. Unfortunately, cases of human-elephant conflict have been on the rise due to diminishing natural resources across the landscape for the elephants, and an increase in human population and settlement.
In some cases, farmers may lose their entire livelihoods because of elephants destroying their crops and the water irrigation systems, which often drives families to bankruptcy. Retaliatory attacks put both human and elephant lives at risk.
After much deliberation and consultation, a translocation exercise to Tsavo was planned, where individual elephants (often involved in conflict cases) would be moved. While translocation is not a silver bullet for human-wildlife conflict, it provides a reasonable compromise. It saves the animals from death through retaliatory attacks and helps maintain the delicate balance between conservation and livelihoods in an ever-changing ecosystem.
The elephants new home, Tsavo, is surrounded by sparsely populated settlements, meaning cases of conflict are more unlikely in that landscape compared to Lewa. It is also considered a favourable habitat for elephants, already hosting thousands of other pachyderms.
The lodges on Lewa have close ties to Lewa Wildlife Conservancy. As a guest, you can visit the conservancy’s headquarters to get a look behind the scenes. Not many guests realise this, but besides patrolling the terrain and monitoring the rhinos, the community plays a big part in conservation and forms the backbone of Lewa.
“Without their direct involvement in conservation, without practising inclusive conservation,” as Geoffrey Chege (Lewa’s Head of Conservation) calls it, “it would not be possible to be free of poaching incidents for over 5 years”. It leaves an impression: this place is much more than a wildlife safe haven. To make conservation even more ‘real’, the Lewa Wildlife Conservancy occasionally allows guests to witness specific exercises.
Nevertheless, I’m stunned when we get an invitation to witness the move of an elephant from Lewa to Tsavo to mitigate the human-elephant conflict.
We gather on a ridge; the elephant is within sight, and he’s happily munching away. I’ve gathered from the stories I’ve heard that this is one clever and notoriously smart elephant! His latest trick is to push over fence poles to avoid having to touch the wires and then walking over that one pole like a prima ballerina.
A helicopter lands among dozens of people and vehicles. It’s here to pick up the veterinarian that will administer the tranquilliser. Looking around I see a host of wildlife professionals, together making up a team of veterinarians, researchers, and coordinators from Lewa Wildlife Conservancy, Borana Conservancy, Kenya Widlife Services and Save the Elephants. The cars transporting these professionals move in a distinct order. The (limited) number of lodge cars are last, naturally.
The truck and trailer are ready to transport the elephant, and the tractor is on stand-by in case a vehicle gets stuck. Nothing in this operation is left to chance, though everyone involved seems relaxed. They’re focused, but still find time to talk to guests, answering their dozens of questions: “Sedating the elephant from the air is quicker and therefore less stressful for the elephant…”; “It will take about 5-10 minutes for the elephant to go down…”; “We have waited for him to be in this area, close to the road…”; “We don’t want to manoeuvre too long…”
Before we know it the elephant has a bright pink tranquilliser dart in his rear. The team moves in – swift but orderly. No running, no shouting.
A small stick is placed in the elephant’s trunk to help keep it open and ensure the elephant is able to breathe properly. One person monitors the breathing, while another monitors the heart rate. The elephant is calm, so measurements and samples of blood and tissue are taken. The truck and trailer park right beside the elephant as a crane connected to the truck carefully lifts the 6-ton animal onto the trailer.
Once secured – and all the while accompanied by vets – the elephant is transported to the edge of the conservancy. There, he is carefully moved into a double cab wildlife container. As he wakes up he gets to his feet and as many of us peek inside, he pees on the floor – a healthy sign of relaxation and muscle control. It’s enough reason for all of us to back off from the container.
Hundreds of bystanders including an entire school have gathered. They’re happy about the relocation, thanking those involved.
And then it dawns on me: we’re in this spot for a reason! The symbolic message of this relocation is much bigger than just moving elephants to avoid conflict. By listening to the communities, Lewa Wildlife Conservancy shows its true colours. It literally says: “We’ve got your back, as you have ours.”
A group of biologists, led by Peter Lindsey of the University of Pretoria in South Africa, has developed an index – the Megafauna Conservation Index – to determine the top megafauna species conservation countries in the world.
The Megafauna Conservation Index (MCI) looked at three main components as part of their study: ecological (the proportion of the country occupied by each mega-fauna species); protected area (percentage of megafauna habitat that is strictly protected); and financial (the financial contributions of countries through funding for domestic and international conservation efforts) components, which were applied to each of the 152 countries assessed.
The top major performers (152 countries in total)
1. Botswana
2. Namibia
3. Tanzania
4. Bhutan
5. Zimbabwe
6. Norway
7. Central African Republic
8. Canada
9. Zambia
10. Rwanda
11. Kenya
12. Costa Rica
13. Thailand
14. Malawi
15. Mozambique
16. Sweden
17. Brunei
18. Estonia
19. USA
20. Finland
The five best-performing countries for the ecological component were Botswana, Tanzania, Zimbabwe, Kenya and Zambia.
The team chose megafauna because they are particularly valuable in economic, ecological and societal terms, and are challenging and expensive to conserve. Also, megafauna tends to require large areas for their conservation and so act as umbrella species for the conservation of other species.
Megafauna is challenging to conserve as many large species require significant blocks of wilderness set aside to accommodate them, and some are dangerous or costly for humans to live with and pose a direct risk to human life, crops, livestock and pets.
Key causes for loss in wildlife populations include habitat destruction, excessive hunting, increasing international trade in wildlife parts, increasing demand for bushmeat and human-wildlife conflict.
The results of the study revealed that poorer countries tend to contribute more to megafauna conservation, and have higher MCIs, whereas richer countries contribute less, with lower MCIs. African countries scored highest, those in Asia and Europe the lowest.
Manyeleti Game Reserve is a bit of an open secret amongst those in the know. But the secret details depend on who you speak to. Jaundiced, local Kruger National Park die-hards have either never heard of it, or write the reserve off as not worthy of their holiday time (most never having been there). Others with more experience, whisper that this gem is poised for stardom.
And so, when a good friend of many years, Michel Girardin, landed the job of managing a rustic bush camp in the remote south of the reserve, I grabbed the opportunity and headed out to see for myself.
I trundled into Pungwe Safari Camp late one afternoon and fell in love with the place. There is something about off-the-grid bush camps that stirs the primal bushman in me. Soon, I had met the six European guests who had already been there for a few days and were enjoying tea and delicious pastries before heading out for another game drive adventure.
Two things hit home immediately. Firstly, their stories of lion, leopard, elephant, rhino, buffalo, wild dog, and cheetah sightings suggested a productive game-viewing area. And secondly, the laid-back charm of this rustic off-the-grid bush camp had seeped into their bones, and they clearly felt like part of the family.
And so, that afternoon Michel and I jumped into a game drive vehicle and headed out. An hour of slow meandering found us near the unfenced Kruger border, watching two cheetah brothers patrolling the open savannah that makes this part of the Greater Kruger so good for wildlife sightings. One of the brothers jumped onto a concrete road sign a few metres from our vehicle to get a better view of the surrounding area.
We sat with these boys for a while before they sauntered casually off into a thick grove of bushwillow shrubs some distance away. Thrilled with my first cheetah sighting in years, the pride of lions slinking across the road in the fading light was a bonus. That night, a leopard rasping his challenge next to my tent and four species of owls hooting kept me awake for a few hours – my urban senses absorbing this beautiful African soundtrack like a sponge.
Two days of bliss later, Michel dropped me off at Tintswalo Safari Lodge, my home for the next two nights. Along the way, we stopped for an hour to watch a baby leopard hiding halfway up a massive weeping boer-bean tree. He had been left there by his mom and was obviously given strict instructions not to move under any circumstances. Michel and I parked in the shade a distance away to see if mom would return. She did not.
Michel and I did not say much during that hour, but he did ask me an important question.
“What does exclusive mean to you, concerning lodges?” he probed.
After some pondering, I ventured that exclusive means expensive, for rich people, not available to ordinary people.
He proffered: “Sadly, that is more a reflection of how marketers have hijacked the word. In fact, exclusive has no association with cost. Exclusive means that the experience is limited to a few people at a time. Remember that when you write about Manyeleti.”
I was greeted at my new home for the next few days by my guide, Christof Schoeman, who led me across a wooden bridge, past a tree hosting a family of bushbabies and through a seriously grand and intriguing lodge entrance. Tintswalo Safari Lodge, in the northern sector of Manyeleti, is inspired by a fusion of the magnificent rock structures of the Monomotapa kingdom (think Great Zimbabwe) and colonial-era explorers, such as Speke, Livingstone, and Burton.
The levels of luxury and superb service are outstanding, and my two days there were remarkable in many ways. I live in Cape Town, where excellent restaurants grow on trees, and well, the meals at Tintswalo were to die for.
Michel had told my guide Christof of my fondness of wild dogs (painted wolves), and despite my assurance that I am not phased about which encounters we enjoy, Christof and his tracker, Ntsako, set out to find wild dogs. Not only did we find wild dogs, but we spent a few happy hours with them as they patrolled the area before finding some shade and parking off. Happy me.
Christof, Ntsako, and I spent many happy hours driving the concession to give me a good idea of the Manyeleti landscape. We watched grumpy, smelly dagga boys (old buffalo males) wallow in mud, a demure female leopard silently and patiently hunt impala in the moonlight, rotund lions sleeping off a meal, and celebrated a rain squall that caught us as we sipped G&Ts and tucked into sundowner snacks.
And that, ladies and gentlemen, is the essence of Africa – you can choose your lodging based on your budget, but the real experience is out there where money means nothing, where exclusivity means enjoying beautiful moments away from the hustle of modern-day life.
I am not a fan of chasing the Big 5, or of ranking a game reserve by the species count. I did see the Big 5 in Manyeleti, and cheetahs, wild dogs, and many other species, but those sightings do not govern my personal ranking system. What excites me about Manyeleti is that the land is owned by the local community, who benefit financially, and is managed by Mpumalanga Tourism and Parks Authority as an integral part of the Greater Kruger.
Manyeleti, meaning ‘the place of stars’ in Shangaan, is a 23,000 ha community-owned private game reserve forming part of the Greater Kruger. Sharing unfenced borders with the private reserves, Timbavati to the north, Sabi Sand to the south, and the massive Kruger National Park to the east; Manyeleti is in prime Big 5 safari country.
For those familiar with the Kruger National Park, Manyeleti is close to the Orpen area and shares the same habitat of open grasslands and marula/acacia woodland. Aside from the Big 5, sightings of cheetah and wild dogs are a regular occurrence. The reserve has no perennial rivers or natural wetland areas, and so animals congregate at the waterholes and man-made dams in the reserve – ensuring excellent sightings.
Manyleti is owned by the local Mnisi tribe, who have lived in the area for many generations and who successfully claimed and won the land in terms of South Africa’s Restitution of Land Rights Act. Lodges in the reserve operate on a concession basis and pay concession fees to the tribe.
At the time of writing, an additional land claim has been lodged against the same land, causing anger and frustration amongst all parties concerned. Before the end of Apartheid in South Africa, Manyeleti was viewed as the game reserve for non-whites, located as it was in the then Gazankulu, a former homeland set aside for black inhabitants. Declared in 1967, the reserve received scant governmental support and few visitors, and even today is relatively undeveloped.
But the wildlife does not care about politics or commerce, and you will find that Manyeleti delivers wildlife sightings to rival its famous neighbours – but with far fewer people to enjoy them. The lack of investment into the reserve compared to the neighbouring private reserves of Timbavati and Sabi Sand has resulted in a far lower lodge and vehicle density – adding to the sense of solitude and exclusivity.
I am certain that more lodges will be constructed once the land tenure situation is resolved, and am hopeful that this will be done in a way that is of most benefit to the people of the area, for the foreseeable future.
Where to stay in Manyeleti
PUNGWE SAFARI CAMP
Pungwe Safari Camp is an intimate, comfortable, and authentic bush camp that brings back the essence of a real safari experience – the enjoyment of the wildlife, sounds and smells of wild Africa. This off-the-grid rustic camp utilises solar and generator power for refrigeration (including ice), lights, and charging your devices and ‘donkey boilers’ (water boiled over a wood fire) for bathroom water.
Tintswalo Safari Lodge shelters under the shade of massive ancient sycamore fig trees on a seasonal riverbank in the northern reaches of the Manyeleti Game Reserve, Greater Kruger. The rather eccentric design offers a fusion of the great rock structures of the Monomotapa kingdom (think Great Zimbabwe) and colonial-era explorers, such as Speke, Livingstone and Burton. The nearby Manor House overlooks a waterhole often frequented by elephants and other large animals.
Simon Espley is an African of the digital tribe, a chartered accountant and CEO of Africa Geographic. His travels in Africa are in search of wilderness, real people with interesting stories and elusive birds. He lives in Hoedspruit with his wife Lizz and two Jack Russells, and when not travelling or working he will be on his mountain bike somewhere out there. His motto is ‘Live for now, have fun, be good, tread lightly and respect others. And embrace change’.
Sketching on the go while out on a safari game drive
Artist Alison Nicholls answers some frequently asked questions regarding the Africa Geographic Travel art safaris that she runs in the Kruger National Park and Madikwe in South Africa.
• What will I learn on my art safari?
You will learn how to sketch wildlife quickly and confidently. Before we set off on our first game drive, I will show how to look at animals, seeing them as a series of simple shapes which makes sketching them easier. I’ll explain why it is better to create several sketches of the same animal in different poses than try to complete one detailed drawing.
I’ll answer any questions you might have and we will set off on our drive. I’ll be seated in the middle row of seats so I can give tips and advice as you sketch.
Providing tips while sketching rhino
• I think I’ll need more practice before we set off
It is natural to feel this way. It can be intimidating to sketch wild, moving animals, so it is important to get over the fear of starting as soon as possible and concentrate on filling the pages of your sketchbook. Remember, everyone else feels the same way too.
Elephant studies by Alison Nicholls
• Can I take photos too?
Of course, you can take as many photos as you wish. If this is your first time on safari in Africa, you may want to schedule your art safari towards the end of your visit. This way you will be more familiar with the wildlife, will have taken a lot of photos already, and will be ready to start sketching.
A discussion in the vehicle about sketching tips
• My drawings are usually very detailed. Can you help me loosen up?
Definitely. One of the best things about sketching wild animals from life is that they won’t stand still for hours to let you capture a lot of detail, so you will usually have to work quickly.
I will teach you techniques to loosen up in both sketching and painting, and you’ll have time to practice them on drives and back at the lodge.
Watching elephants at The Bush House in Madikwe Game Reserve
• I would like to try my hand at watercolour. Will we have time to do this?
Yes. We usually sketch in pencil or pen to start with, just because dry materials are easier when we’re in the vehicle. But if we find some animals who might be stationary for a while, I can show you how to do some simple gestural sketches in watercolour.
Also, during our daytime workshops back at the lodge there will be plenty of time to add watercolour to your sketches and learn new techniques.
‘Wildebeest in Shade’, watercolour sketch by Alison Nicholls
• Does it matter if I haven’t done any life drawing before?
No, it doesn’t matter. Our art safaris are meant for everyone. We always have a mix of skill levels on the safaris. Whatever your level of experience is, you will always find the safari a fun and friendly learning environment.
Example of simple shapes used to create the outline of a cheetah
• What else will I learn from being on an art safari?
So many things! You will learn how to capture movement; how to use an animal’s coat pattern to your advantage in your art; how to sketch using negative shapes; and how to use colour to create atmosphere.
You will also learn about animal behaviour and we can stop to look at tracks and vegetation so you can add a little habitat detail to your sketches too.
A small watercolour sketch created using negative shapes, by Alison Nicholls
But most importantly, you will learn that an art safari is the best way to improve your sketching while enjoying the beauty of the African bush with like-minded travel companions.
Sourced from third-party site: Focus Taiwan, written by Yang Shu-min and Elizabeth Hsu
The Forestry Bureau announced Tuesday that it is working to revise regulations concerning wildlife conservation so that a solid ban can be put into force in 2020 against trade in ivory in Taiwan.
The only exception to the ban is that individuals will be allowed to keep ivory only if they possess documentation that proves the products have been legally acquired, the bureau said in a statement.
Taiwan imposed amendments to the Wildlife Conservation Act in 1994 that prohibit trade and public display of ivory unless in recognised special circumstances, said Hsia Jung-sheng, head of the bureau’s conservation division.
At that time, however, in the light of the fact that there were still many local art dealers and seal makers dependent on ivory and who kept a lot of stock, the government took transitional measures to allow trade in declared ivory with the permission of the supervisory authorities, Hsia noted.
With the passage of the years, however, the demand for ivory has decreased greatly and the concept of wildlife conservation has become more and more widespread in the country. After assessing the current situation, the bureau believes it is now time to put the ban on the ivory trade into solid effect, the official explained.
The latest action was taken in response to the international community’s call for saving the African elephant, after a United Nations report in 2016 indicated that the number of African elephants living in the wild has dropped by some 20 percent, from 508,000 head in 2006 to 415,000 head, Hsia said.
The shoebill (Balaeniceps rex) looks like it belongs in the prehistoric age. Found in the marshes of East Africa, the shoebill is classified as vulnerable and is a bucket-list sighting for any avid birder.
The King Whale-Head (the English translation of Balaeniceps rex) appears from the front like an old university professor, big-nosed, peering over his spectacles. Very serious, very respectable. From almost any other angle though, he’s a total hoot.
In profile, one can see the array of dishevelled tufts of feathers that shoot out at all angles from his crown. His dimensions too are something of an eye-opener. He has massive feet, an enormous beak and is very, very tall for a bird. Despite his prehistoric appearance and the craziness that is his proportions, the shoebill stork is actually quite endearing if you bother to dig a little deeper.
Here are seven reasons to love this big bird:
1. They may be big, but they can fly if they want to. Granted, shoebills don’t fly very far or very often, but flying is no mean feat considering they can grow up to 1.5m tall and weigh up to 7kg!
2. Shoebills eat fish that look almost as prehistoric as they do! Although shoebills have been known to gulp down other birds, baby crocodiles, frogs, terrapins, water snakes and even small mammals, the lungfish is their staple diet.
3. Their distinguishing feature is the enormous shoe-shaped bill, measuring an incredible 20-24 centimetres in length and 10-12 centimetres in width, with a razor-sharp, curved hook at the end. Shoebills use their bills to strike their prey, known as a “collapse”, and its the antitheses of its patient stalking technique. Like a geological fault accumulating kinetic energy, this blue monolith will bolt downwards when triggered loose by the rippling of an incoming fish. Head first, gape open, and wings spread, it smashes through the vegetation in the hopes of coming up with a fish. Then, whilst keeping its head aloft from the water, it will slide its bill sideways so as to severe its prey, while the water and vegetation snatched up in the strike spills out from the edges of the bill.
4. Their large bill comes in very handy to carry large ‘gulps’ of fresh water back to the nest in order to douse eggs or chicks when the sweltering heat of the swamps drives temperatures beyond normality. Other fascinating techniques to cool down involve defecating on their legs (as storks do too), or gular fluttering – the same as dog panting.
5. Shoebills have specially adapted long toes (up to 18cm heel to toe) with no webbing which helps them to balance on the swampy vegetation while stalking prey. They also have a nictitating membrane – a translucent layer that protects their eyes – which is used when hunting and preening.
6. Shoebills have a little bit of an identity crisis. While they may look stork-like, taxonomically speaking they share more traits with the Pelecaniformes (herons and pelicans), and molecular studies have found the hamerkop to be the closest relative of the shoebill.
7. Shoebills will usually have two chicks, but only the one who proves to be the strongest survives – the other is left to die. While attending the nest, adults perform bill-clattering displays, accompanied sometimes by a whiney-mewing muttering that often elicits a ‘hiccupping’ gurgle from their chicks as they beg in anticipation for food. Both the chicks and the adults engage in bill-clattering during the nesting season as a means of communication. Read this story about an orphaned chick that was hand-raised: Seymour the Shoebill
Britain will ban the sale of ivory items regardless of their age in an effort to restrict the illegal ivory trade, tackle poaching and help protect elephants, the government said on Tuesday.
New legislation will create the toughest ban on ivory in Europe and one of the toughest in the world, it said, with a prohibition on the sale of nearly all antiques containing ivory.
International commercial trade in ivory has been illegal since 1990 and the sale of raw African elephant ivory of any age is not authorised in Britain. But currently, worked items produced before 1947 can be traded within Britain or other EU countries, as can items produced after 1947 that have government certificates.
Environment Secretary Michael Gove said the tougher restrictions, which follow a public consultation, would demonstrate Britain’s belief that “the abhorrent ivory trade should become a thing of the past”.
“Ivory should never be seen as a commodity for financial gain or a status symbol, so we will introduce one of the world’s toughest bans on ivory sales to protect elephants for future generations,” he said in a statement.
There will be exemptions for antique items that contain less than 10% ivory by volume, some old musical instruments, and the rarest and most important items of their type, including portrait miniatures painted on slivers of ivory.
The World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) said around 55 African elephants were killed for their ivory a day, with their tusks turned into carvings and trinkets.
“This ban makes the UK a global leader in tackling this bloody trade, and it’s something WWF has been fighting hard for,” chief executive Tanya Steele said.
“But if we want to stop the poaching of this majestic animal, we need global action. We hope the UK will continue to press countries where the biggest ivory markets are, most of which are in Asia, to shut down their trade too.”
Environmental photographer and filmmaker, Sam Cox, explains his passion for teaching the art of macro photography to international volunteers through African Impact’s Wildlife Photography & Conservation programme. The programme offers volunteers the opportunity to gain practical experience in wildlife photography while helping to raise awareness of environmental and conservation issues in South Africa’s Greater Kruger area. Here, he shares with us more about the programme and showcases a selection of photos taken by his students:
“Macro is in a realm of its own when it comes to taking photos of subjects, and most of my photographers gain a huge appreciation for this genre very quickly. One of the first pieces of advice that I give my students is that it’s better to be on foot than in the confines of a game drive vehicle, as you can become more in tune with your surroundings. To be able to take your time while out on foot and notice the tiny lifeforms all around you is truly a marvellous experience!
“Before their first walk, we go through a presentation detailing what macro photography is and, more importantly, the technical aspects of this genre.
“For example, the aperture is generally smaller to achieve maximum focus on the subject – a narrower depth of field often segments the subject due to the close proximity. It’s also key to understand that a low perspective is fundamental because this gives the viewer a feeling that they’ve been thrown into the world of that life form. A drastic and more personal change in perspective is what can easily elevate a simple ant from the ordinary to the extraordinary.
“Beyond teaching new techniques and skills, it’s essential that their photos have an impact in the world in which they’re temporarily living. The more we’re able to photograph and learn about a species, the more we can teach and advise others, such as enthusiasts, trainee guides and even local communities. Every aspect of photography on the programme is aimed at making a big statement, and despite its smaller focus, macro is no different.
“Every month, macro photography wins over a host of new enthusiasts, and it’s beautiful to see photos of dragonflies being mixed with other wildlife for critique sessions. It’s a testament to the open-mindedness of the people who volunteer with us.
“After a volunteer has completed their time in the programme, they can return home and very easily continue to apply macro photography principles to other subjects – it’s a diverse type of photography.
“The teaching of macro photography is one of the main highlights that African Impact offers its volunteers. It continually reinforces my passion for this overlooked form of wildlife photography.”
Shutter speed (1/320, f/2.8, ISO 100)
The shutter is a mechanism on the camera that opens (to let light in) and closes. Shutter speed refers to how long the shutter stays open. This is calibrated in fractions of a second, or seconds. For example 1/200 (one two-hundredth of a second) or 1″ (this denotes a full second).
Aperture (1/320, f/2.8, ISO 100)
Aperture is the size of the opening of the camera’s lens. A wide opening of the aperture lets more light pass through the lens to the camera’s sensor, while a smaller aperture lets in less light.
Aperture is measured in f-stops (focal ratio). The lower the f-stop, the wider the aperture, for example, f/1.8 (wide), f/22 (narrow). For macro photography, a narrow opening (higher f-stop) is usually used.
ISO (1/320, f/2.8, ISO 100)
The ISO determines the camera’s sensitivity to light. A low ISO (for example, ISO 100) means that the camera isn’t very sensitive to light – perfect for taking photos during the day. A high ISO (for example, ISO 3200) increases light sensitivity – this is ideal for taking photos in low light.
Sam Cox originally studied filmmaking, earning a BA Honours degree in filmmaking before moving his sights onto photography. Travelling to Africa since 1999, his passion for wildlife quickly drew him to focus on photographing the diverse wildlife the continent has to offer and has seen his images published online with National Geographic and Africa Geographic, with printed publications in Travel Africa Magazine and BBC Wildlife Magazine.
Wanting to put aside work photographing weddings and events in the UK for a life and career in Africa, he dipped his toes into the water by volunteering with African Impact in Zimbabwe and South Africa – using his camera skills to aid in conservation efforts. Since then, he has joined the team at African Impact in the Greater Kruger National Park as the Photography Coordinator, teaching wildlife photography to international volunteers while also contributing to conservation and local community-based projects.
The pangolin, the world’s most trafficked animal, might have just found a new best friend – the African giant pouched rat (Cricetomys gambianus). Also known as the Gambian pouched rat, there are currently around a dozen of these rodents that are being trained at a research centre in central Tanzania to detect the smell of poached pangolin parts in shipments heading from Africa to Asia.
APOPO’s rats have successfully managed to locate more than 100,000 land mines in former war zones in Africa. In addition, they are also able to detect tuberculosis in sputum samples from patients in Tanzania and Mozambique.
This is why APOPO, with funding from the US Fish and Wildlife Service, decided to start training rats to save pangolins from the brink of extinction, as there is a great demand for these scaly anteaters. Pangolin body parts are sold mainly in China and Vietnam as a delicacy, and are used for their so-called mythical healing properties. However, the hard scales of the pangolin are actually made of keratin, which is the same fibrous protein found in our nails and hair.
In order to begin the training process, the rats are first weaned from their mothers and introduced to their trainers when they are around five to six weeks old. After adapting to the sights, sounds and smells of the human world, the rats are trained using classical conditioning, also known as Pavlovian conditioning.
The rat will hear a clicker (that it has come to associate with receiving a reward), and is then motivated to carry out the trained action, such as searching for a target scent. Once it locates the target scent it is rewarded with a treat – usually bananas or peanuts.
Compared to dogs – that are also used to detect illegal wildlife products – the advantage of using rats is that they can reach parts in shipping containers that dogs cannot. The organisation believes that someday these rats will also be able to detect smuggled elephant ivory and rhino horn products.
Research in Botswana has revealed that fragments of lead from recreational hunter ammunition are finding their way into vulture bloodstreams, and represent a significant threat to these critically endangered scavengers.
Lead toxicity caused by the ingestion of lead ammunition fragments in carcasses and offal, which are a food source for vultures, is a threat to scavenging birds across the globe.
The research focused on the critically endangered white-backed vulture (Gyps africanus) in Botswana. Blood levels of 566 vultures were measured inside and outside of the hunting season, and inside and outside of private hunting areas. Note that the hunting ban in Botswana only covers communal and government land; hunting of some antelope and other species is still permitted on private, fenced land.
At least 30.2% of vultures tested showed elevated lead levels, with higher levels associated with samples taken inside of the hunting season and from within hunting areas. Additionally, lead levels declined more steeply between hunting and non-hunting seasons within hunting areas than outside of them.
The researchers concluded that elevated lead levels in this critically endangered African vulture are associated with recreational hunting. They recommend that toxic lead ammunition in Botswana is phased out as soon as possible, to help protect this rapidly declining group of birds.
The elephant in question. Picture sourced from social media, copyright owner unknown.
Another large-tusked elephant has been removed from the gene pool, this time by a Russian hunter in Zimbabwe. The giant elephant was collared for research purposes, a fact that the entire hunting party of seven people (including a government ranger and two trackers from the community with detailed knowledge of the area) claim not to have noticed at the time. This was “a genuine mistake due to a lack of communication” said the Zimbabwe Professional Hunters and Guides Association.
According to our sources the 14-day hunt was legal, taking place in a community-run conservancy called Naivasha bordering on Gonarezhou National Park in the remote south-east of Zimbabwe. The collared bull elephant made the fatal error of wandering across the unfenced boundary between the two pieces of land in February this year, and had been resident in the Naivasha area since then.
The hunt was managed by professional hunter Martin Pieters of Martin Pieters Safaris, a member of Safari Club International and, according to his website, chairman of the Zimbabwe Professional Hunters and Guides Association (Editor: we have received information that he is no longer chairman).
The Frankfurt Zoological Society, who collared this and other elephants for research purposes, issued a carefully-worded statement about the incident, and noted that “There is no law that protects a collared animal from being hunted in Zimbabwe, but there is general acceptance that the ethical position is that a hunter will avoid shooting an animal with a collar.” They go on to say that “The data from this bull has been captured and will help us with our ongoing efforts to find solutions, together with our local and international partners, to conservation questions in a world where the challenges to find space for wildlife and their habitats are becoming ever more complicated.”
Statement from Zimbabwe Professional Hunters and Guides Association
It was early in the fourth century AD, under the reign of King Ezana, when the ancient Kingdom of Aksum (or Axum) – a major naval and trading nation that spanned a large portion of east Africa, including modern-day northern Ethiopia – embraced the Orthodox tradition of Christianity. The capital city of the empire was Aksum, and at the time was considered to be part of only a handful of Christian states in the world. Research shows that the kingdom used the name “Ethiopia” as early as the fourth century.
However, it was during the seventh century when the empire slowly began to decline as Aksum was faced with the rise of Islam, which was spreading west from the Arabian Peninsula. The Islamic Empire took control of the Red Sea trading routes, forcing Aksum into economic isolation. Even if not threatened directly, Aksum was now cut off from its Christian allies around the Mediterranean. Its power waned. While many northeastern African states were converting to Islam, the Christian kingdom of Aksum maintained its faith. Christianity became the distinguishing feature of the nation – a rallying cry, an emblem of kinship that transcended the importance of any single ruler – and they produced a rich legacy of monasteries and churches that demonstrated the tenets of their faith.
It is these churches, monasteries, the vibrant art and traditions of worship that have been encapsulated in the book Ethiopia: The Living Churches of an Ancient Kingdom, by Mary Anne Fitzgerald and Philip Marsden. The book traces the broad sweep of ecclesiastical history, legend and art, covering sixty-six breathtaking churches that astound with their architecture, colourful decorations, and prominent religious festivals.
Over 800 stunning photos capture the life that is often unseen by visitors and presents these places in all their splendour while also recording the daily observances of the faithful. Join us as we go on a brief visual exploration into Ethiopia’s Christian heritage.
St. Mary of Tsion – the holiest of all the churches
In 340 AD, King Ezana commissioned the construction of the imposing basilica of St. Mary of Tsion in Aksum. It was here, the Ethiopians say, that Menelik, son of King Solomon and the Queen of Sheba, brought the Ark of the Covenant containing the Ten Commandments. This sacred tabot (a consecrated wooden altar slab, made of wood or stone) was placed in the sanctuary, confirming to Ethiopians that they are the chosen people of God. Today, St. Mary of Tsion represents the spiritual heart of Ethiopian Christian Orthodoxy.
Next to the compound of St. Mary of Tsion is the church Arbatu Entsessa. Here you will find exquisite paintings dedicated to the Four Beasts of the Apocalypse.
For visitors and worshippers alike, the paintings in the churches of Ethiopia form an integral and powerful part of the experience. The paintings are not just representations but are believed to be the expressive manifestations of the spirit of their subject. Church authorities are quick to assert that it is not the images that are worshipped, but the figures they embody.
Over the centuries many of the paintings have been destroyed either from destruction due to invasions, or from weather conditions and leaking thatched roofs where many of the wall paintings have corroded. None of the paintings created in the early period of Ethiopian Christianity have survived. The walls and ceiling of Arbatu Entsessa are covered with liturgical pictures done initially in warm earth tones but have since been repainted using a riot of primal colours.
Abba Garima monastery was founded by Abba Garima, one of the Nine Saints – a group of missionaries who were influential in the initial growth of Christianity during the late fifth century – and is home to the illuminated manuscripts of the New Testament Gospels. Not only are these the oldest manuscripts in Ethiopia, but also the earliest illustrated Gospels in the world – recent carbon dating of two pages put the dates between 330 and 650 AD. The story goes that Abba Garmia wrote the five-hundred-page Gospels in one day. However, by sunset, he was not quite finished, so he prayed for intercession – a prayer that pleads with God for your needs and the needs of others. God answered him by providing three extra hours of daylight for him to complete his writing.
The Gospels are bound in two volumes, and the monks are fiercely protective of them and are safeguarded in the monastery.
Debre Damo monastery is dedicated to its founder, Abuna Za-Mikael (also known as Aragawi), one of the Nine Saints. It dates to the sixth century and is considered one of the most important centres of Christianity in Ethiopia. Only men are allowed to enter this almost inaccessible monastery, located at the top of a sheer-sided amba – a steep-sided, flat-topped mountain – that is one kilometre in length. To access the monastery men must pull themselves up with a rope of twined leather – though the monks are there to help haul if need be. The church of Abuna Aregawi, built in the Aksumite style in the tenth or eleventh century, is probably Ethiopia’s oldest intact church.
In the past, the monastery served both as a refuge from invaders due to its remote location, and housed excess male members of the royal family, thus removing possible threats to their reign. Today, an estimated 150 monks live there, who are entirely self-sufficient – growing crops and raising (all male) livestock – and therefore have no need to leave the mountain.
Abuna Yemata Guh Church in Tigray is an incredible example of a triumph of faith and endurance. The monolithic church, founded by Abuna Yemata – of the Nine Saints – is hewn into the side of a rock face at a height of 2,580 metres. After founding a monastic community in Aksum in the sixth century, Abuna Yemata chose to establish a hermitage at the summit because of its needle-like pinnacle, pointing like a finger towards the heavens.
To access the entrance, one has to navigate up a steep and hazardous rock face, culminating in a ledge with a two hundred metre drop! Priests cheerfully tell visitors that pregnant women, babies and old people attend Sunday services and no one has fallen off… yet.
The festival of St. Mary – 30 November
This is one of Ethiopia’s largest festivals and is celebrated once a year to remember St. Mary, the most venerated of all Ethiopian saints. It also honours the believed presence of the Ark of the Covenant in the St. Mary of Tsion church in Aksum. The festival is attended in large numbers by people from all over the world every year, making it one of the most joyous annual pilgrimages in Ethiopia.
Timqat – 19 January
Timqat is the festival celebrating the Christ’s baptism (Epiphany) in the River Jordan. It is the most important of Ethiopia’s nine major Christian feasts and is highly regarded in Addis Abeba, Lalibela and Gondar. In this celebration, tabots (replicas of the Ark of the Covenant that are present on every Ethiopian altar) are taken from various churches the day before the main festival – wrapped in rich cloth and carried high on the heads of priests – to a place of blessing near a large pool or river, to represent the role of the River Jordan in Christ’s baptism. It is only for this festival that the tabots are ever removed from the churches.
Overnight the tabots remain in a tent, attended to by the clergy with church singers, debtaras, singing and chanting throughout the night. At daybreak, the procession continues to the water for the official baptism ceremony where the priests bless the water, dip their crosses in it and then extinguish a consecrated candle. The people then collect the water to take home and, at many sites, they bathe in it. The tabots are then transported back to the churches as the priests walk in solemn procession, accompanied by the joyful crowds and the wild energy of the debtaras singing in celebration.
Mary Anne Fitzgerald has covered eastern Africa for The Economist, the Financial Times, and The Sunday Times of London, and is the author of eleven books on Africa, including the bestselling Nomad: One Woman’s Journey into the Heart of Africa. She lives in Kenya. Philip Marsden is the award-winning author of several books of travel, history, and fiction, including The Chains of Heaven: An Ethiopian Romance and The Barefoot Emperor: An Ethiopian Tragedy. He lives in England. Nigel Pavitt MBE OGW has written five books on Africa illustrated with his photographs. They include Kenya: The First Explorers, Samburu, Turkana: Kenya’s Nomads of the Jade Sea, and Africa’s Great Rift Valley. He lives in Kenya. Frederic Courbet is a Belgian photographer and cameraman whose work has appeared in The Guardian, The New York Times, Der Spiegel, Le Monde, Time magazine, and Newsweek. He lives in Australia. Justus Mulinge is a young Kenyan photographer who lives in Nairobi with his wife and two sons. With his eye for detail, he was an essential member of the photographic team for this book.
Ethiopia: The Living Churches of an Ancient Kingdom(published by The American University in Cairo Press)
The book unveils never-before-seen photographs of various religious sites in Ethiopia. With over 800 colour photographs taken by talented photographs, this magnificent, large format, full-colour volume is the most comprehensive celebration ever published of Ethiopia’s extraordinary Christian heritage.
Sudan, the last male northern white rhino, has sadly passed away at the Ol Pejeta Conservancy in Kenya. Our thoughts are with his keepers and the rest of Ol Pejeta Conservancy staff.
It is with great sadness that Ol Pejeta Conservancy and the Dvůr Králové Zoo announce that Sudan, the world’s last male northern white rhino, age 45, died at Ol Pejeta Conservancy in Kenya on March 19th, 2018 (yesterday). Sudan was being treated for age-related complications that led to degenerative changes in muscles and bones combined with extensive skin wounds. His condition worsened significantly in the last 24 hours; he was unable to stand up and was suffering a great deal. The veterinary team from the Dvůr Králové Zoo, Ol Pejeta and Kenya Wildlife Service made the decision to euthanize him.
Sudan will be remembered for his unusually memorable life. In the 1970s, he escaped extinction of his kind in the wild when he was moved to Dvůr Králové Zoo. Throughout his existence, he significantly contributed to the survival of his species as he sired two females. Additionally, his genetic material was collected yesterday and provides hope for future attempts at reproduction of northern white rhinos through advanced cellular technologies. During his final years, Sudan came back to Africa and stole the heart of many with his dignity and strength.
“We on Ol Pejeta are all saddened by Sudan’s death. He was a great ambassador for his species and will be remembered for the work he did to raise awareness globally of the plight facing not only rhinos but also the many thousands of other species facing extinction as a result of unsustainable human activity. One day, his demise will hopefully be seen as a seminal moment for conservationists worldwide,” said Richard Vigne, Ol Pejeta’s CEO.
Unfortunately, Sudan’s death leaves just two female northern white rhinos on the planet; his daughter Najin and her daughter Fatu, who remain at Ol Pejeta. The only hope for the preservation of this subspecies now lies in developing in vitro fertilisation (IVF) techniques using eggs from the two remaining females, stored northern white rhino semen from males and surrogate southern white rhino females.
Many will know that Africa’s wild dogs (Lycaon pictus) require vast areas to roam, hunt cooperatively to run down their prey and regurgitate food for pups and other pack members. But there are other remarkable facts about these beautiful animals that perhaps you didn’t know.
Here are 5 fascinating facts about African wild dogs:
1. Wild dogs have only four toes on each foot, lacking the fifth (dewclaw) that other dogs have on the front foot (and sometimes also on the back foot).
2. Once wild dogs reach maturity it is the females that leave the pack to seek out other breeding opportunities, while the males stay behind to form the nucleus of the pack.
3. Pups that are old enough to eat solid food are given priority at a kill – even over the dominant pair.
4. Wild dogs have specially adapted teeth, different to other canids, to enable the rapid shredding of carcasses and therefore lessen the chance of having their meals stolen by other predators.
5. Wild dog fur differs from other canids – they have stiff bristle-hairs and no underfur. They lose their fur as they age, with very old dogs being almost naked.
And did you know? Research has revealed that the decision by a group of African wild dogs to get up from rest and hit the road to hunt as a collective pack is a democratic one, albeit with a twist. Votes are cast by way of sneezes. Read more about how wild dogs vote with sneezes here.
For the past few years, the Timbavati Private Nature Reserve – home to both of our Tanda Tula camps – has been facing a dilemma. In the Greater Kruger, poaching has shown no signs of abating, wildlife crime syndicates are becoming increasingly ruthless, and reserve security costs have continued to soar – 850% in the last five years, to be exact. We have become increasingly aware that this situation is not sustainable, and for some years now, we have been exploring leverage points. Where could the much-needed revenue be generated?
Traditionally Timbavati, along with many other private nature reserves within the Greater Kruger, has relied on hunting revenue as a significant contributor to the enormous operational costs of running and securing a private nature reserve (which receives no government subsidies). Hunting is regulated by government conservation agencies and is sanctioned by the Kruger National Parks’ (and the Timbavati’s) strict ethical norms towards sustainable utilisation of wildlife. Since the idea behind sustainable utilisation is for it to be just that – sustainable – increasing hunting quotas to boost income is simply not an option. Using the same logic, increasing revenue by adding too many commercial beds in the Timbavati would also be unsustainable.
Now, I fully appreciate that hunting is still a contentious issue which can polarise opinion and create heated debate. Tanda Tula is a photographic tourism operation and I am not a hunter myself in any way shape or form. However, my work on regional conservation forums has made me appreciate that in the Greater Kruger, hunting continues to play a role in creating revenue for the conservation and maintenance of the wilderness landscape. As a citizen of the Greater Kruger, the Tanda Tula philosophy is that we focus on the big picture – one where multiple land-uses co-exist, but where common ethical norms and standards are playing an increasing role in the regulation of all activities including hunting, tourism, security and conservation. In fact, it is the willingness of the multitudes of stakeholders, within the Greater Kruger, to accept their differences, but work with common principles towards a common goal, that has made the Greater Kruger such an enormous success – one of the only wildlife areas in Africa that continues to expand and grow, despite all of the external pressures on land use.
As one of the members of the Timbavati Exco, my portfolio in the reserve is to look after the commercial lodges and also to assist with financial management and planning for the reserve. Last year, during the Timbavati’s annual budgeting exercise, I analysed the reserve’s historical revenue data, and I made a somewhat startling discovery.
In our most recent year of data, where the Timbavati photographic tourism numbers had peaked, the revenue brought into the reserve by 24,000 photographic tourists was less than one third of the revenue brought in by only 46 hunters for the same year. It’s not hard to imagine that 24,000 tourists have a much larger carbon, and resource use, footprint than 46 hunters, not to mention the amount of activity within the reserve required to support all of those photographic tourists – deliveries, waste management, water use, electricity provision, and staff, to name but a few. My wife (and co-owner of Tanda Tula) Nina and I discussed how we could address this dilemma, and how Tanda Tula could, as a leader in the luxury safari industry, help to solve this untenable equation. The first step was to get all of the lodges of the Timbavati together to establish if the commercial operations could jointly come up with a solution that would help balance the revenue budget and more effectively account for the utilisation of the reserve by photographic tourists.
In the last two years, Tanda Tula has also been a key role-player, together with other tourism experts and the Kruger National Park, in devising common sustainable tourism norms and standards for the Greater Kruger region. Part of this process is to standardise how we structure conservation fees in the area, and what better place to start than at home? In fact, the Timbavati was the perfect place to start, being a much-loved and respected reserve with a healthy photographic tourism support-base. So, the logical next step was to align our Conservation Levies with those of our direct neighbour, the Kruger National Park.
With the above in mind, we called a meeting of all of the lodges in the Timbavati, and together we agreed that a new Conservation Levy model should be proposed to the reserve landowners. It is important to note here that many of the lodges in the Timbavati, including Tanda Tula, are tenant operations with sometimes limited say in the decisions that are made by the landowners, who are the ultimate decision making body of the reserve. The new model was designed to standardise and match the conservation fees charged by the Kruger National Park. It was also designed to increase revenue for the reserve without having to increase the number of tourism beds in the reserve – thus underpinning our joint commitment to truly sustainable tourism in the Timbavati.
What followed was months of robust negotiations to get the Timbavati’s Exco, landowners and all of the lodges on board with a new revenue model. As with all multi-stakeholders initiatives, this was an intense and time-consuming process, and was not without some stumbling points. After what seemed like an endless stream of emails, meetings, negotiations and – well, lobbying! – our joint vision, that had been decided at a meeting of the lodges in April, was finally realised. On 1 September 2017, for the first time in decades, Timbavati had a new revenue model for conservation fees that would change the reserve’s reliance on its traditional revenue streams.
After all of the hard work and discussions with other stakeholders in the Timbavati, the new Conservation Levy model became effective on 1 January 2018. The key change was moving from a “per stay” Conservation Levy model to a “per day” model. Whilst we are only into the third month of the new year, all indications are that the new Conservation Levy model is set to be a resounding success. Just last month (February 2018), thanks to the amazing support from our numerous trade partners and guests, the revenues from Conservation Levies exceeded the budget by more than 41%! If the budget is maintained for the 2018 year, revenues from Conservation Levies will have increased by almost 300%, year-on-year. Even so, in comparison to the rest of Africa, our Conservation Levies remain very affordable, being around $28 per person per day in comparison to $100 per person per day in most other parts of Africa. In keeping with the decisions of the Timbavati landowners, the management of the reserve has responded to this increased revenue, brought in by Conservation Levies, by reducing the budgets and quotas associated with the hunting revenue stream.
Make no mistake, generating revenue for the management of the Timbavati is part of conserving the Greater Kruger landscape. Security costs now represent 50% of Timbavati’s operational budget and the dedication of our field rangers greatly benefits all endangered species in the fenceless, open system. Timbavati is still the reserve with the lowest losses of rhino per hectare in the whole of the Greater Kruger – a testimony to the enormous spend that has been applied to the security of the reserve, thus aiding the overall effort of the security of the Greater Kruger landscape.
I am personally delighted at the outcome of the new Conservation Levy model. I am sure that my fellow lodge owners in the Timbavati share my view that it would be a great achievement for the Conservation Levies to, one day, fully cover the operational expense budget of the Timbavati. The key, of course, is to achieve that goal whilst maintaining our sustainable low volume and high value tourism offering, that makes the Timbavati unique.
As I said before, none of this would be possible without the overwhelming support of the guests and tourism trade partners of all of the lodges of the Timbavati. I’d like to extend a special thank you, from Tanda Tula, to every guest and to every trade partner who chooses to send guests to the Timbavati. You have understood our philosophy that we must find a way to increase our financial contribution to the conservation effort in the Greater Kruger because it is the right thing to do in terms of a sustainable tourism philosophy. Your contributions are now a significant portion of the reserve’s income and your continued support is helping to maintain and even grow the wilderness of the Greater Kruger National Park.
The fascination of Kenya’s Maasai Mara National Reserve and its abundance of wildlife brings fond memories to many seasoned African safari travellers; I am no exception. In January this year, I was invited by some good friends from the USA to join them on a trip to this remarkable reserve.
We departed from Wilson Airport in Nairobi, and upon landing in the Mara, were greeted by a lineup of friendly Maasai guides and their safari game-viewing vehicles parked next to the dirt airstrip.
The open plains of the Mara are known for providing safari-goers with a rolling landscape filled with wildebeest, zebras, lions, large hyena clans and elusive leopards stalking in the riverine forests; this is a healthy ecosystem for prey and predator.
We were privy to several fascinating moments that depicted the reality of the wild, from lion prides successfully catching large prey to cheetahs devouring a steenbok they had caught.
Although the annual migration into the Maasai Mara takes place from July to October every year, the plains were filled with thousands of zebra and wildebeest, grazing on the short, green grasses. On our first game drive, it didn’t take long before we saw a pride of 14 lions, blustering with confidence as they walked towards the hills, oblivious to the many zebras gawking at them from a close but safe distance.
This scene was totally opposite from many other wildlife reserves where contact between predator and prey is not as seemingly nonchalant.
Early the next morning, our attention was drawn to a different lion pride that had killed a large eland. The lions had dragged the carcass into dense bush, protecting it from a clan of about 19 hyenas who stalked the area from all directions, typical behaviour of Africa’s cunning scavengers.
The hungry lions feasted on more than three-quarters of the eland overnight, resulting in full bellies. Afterwards, they lay spread-eagled all over the place. The insolent hyenas that approached, eager to claim the scraps, were instantly chased away by two sub-adult male lions.
Our guides’ knowledge and ability to steer the vehicles across the river tributaries allowed us to explore new areas of the Mara, offering opportunities to take unique photographs on a specialist photographic safari.
I was privileged to share my journey with the formidable marine biologists and NatGeo explorers, Christina Mittermeier and Paul Nicklen, from SeaLegacy fame. This was Paul’s first trip to Africa, and being able almost immediately to capture photos of the abundant wildlife was a stark contrast to his explorations across the Arctic observing polar bears – he’d often walk for days before he had an opportunity to capture images of these endangered bears.
We quickly found common ground through our discussions about the effects of global warming on conservation efforts in marine biology and savannah conservation in Africa.
It’s not often that two cheetah kills are observed within an hour. On one of our morning drives, we came across a male cheetah that had successfully caught a steenbok. We spent nearly 40 minutes with him before we trekked north, only to witness another cheetah that was halfway done with devouring a newborn impala.
Apparently, wildlife vets had treated this particular mange-infested cheetah the day before, as well as a pride of about 17 lions who also suffered from the same disease.
Later, the sight of a huge, wet and muddy male leopard stalking the slippery riverbanks (after a serious confrontation with another young leopard) had guides clambering for position to allow their guests the best visibility of the majestic cat. The leopard was visibly irritated. A territorial fight had left him with puncture wounds to his head and neck.
It was clear that he was not enamoured by the array of vehicles following his escape route.
We also had a memorable viewing of ‘Bahati’, a beautiful female leopard and her young cub who live around the Talek River. According to our guide, she has successfully raised several cubs, and we were fortunate enough to spot her on two occasions; one being with her extremely cautious cub.
At another fantastic sighting, we saw a lion pride of about 17 lions that had taken refuge on a small koppie. The remaining bits of a wildebeest kill were being tossed around and played with by two sub-adults as the others relaxed. Not far away, a hyena clan, hopeful of scavenging some of the wildebeest’s remains, became embroiled in their own territorial dispute. The pecking order left several hyenas attacking one of their kin in a display of irritability, possibly caused by the fact that the lions had left nothing for them to eat.
The next day we came across a beautiful lion called ‘Long Face’. We followed him for nearly two hours as he crossed rivers and eventually entered dense bush where two eland were grazing, oblivious to his presence. I asked our guide to re-position our vehicle, expecting the lion to give chase to the eland.
Exactly three minutes later, two eland (who were each nearly 1,000 kg in body weight) came charging out of the bush. One of them narrowly avoided colliding with a Land Cruiser by way of a mind-boggling, gigantic leap over the vehicle – clearing it by several feet – as can be seen from some astonishing photography by Eric, our host.
The large hippo population in the Mara River, combined with backdrops of idyllic African sunsets, provided the picturesque scene that had everyone reaching for their cameras – with sundowner drinks in hand.
Hippo pods in the river are plentiful, and I was surprised by how many submerged hippo bulls appeared seemingly out of nowhere every few minutes in a splendid display of power, with water gushing around their large legs as they made their appearance known to all the cows.
A highlight was the one evening when Eric invited Jonathan Scott, of BBC Big Cat Diary fame, to join us for dinner and share his experiences of over 30 years in the Mara. A charming and intelligent man, Jonathan delighted us with many captivating tales of his Kenyan adventures after studying Zoology in Britain and settling in Africa; a fantastic artist and wildlife photographer living the dream life in paradise.
On the last day, we enjoyed another hearty breakfast while observing life on the vast savannah plains. We embraced the final game drive with a bit of sadness before departing on a Cessna Caravan plane from the Talek airstrip en-route to Wilson Airport in Nairobi.
Karen Blixen’s paradise provided us with a whirlwind trip that will never be forgotten.
Dex Kotze’s passion for wildlife photojournalism and the bush encouraged him to encompass his business network and marketing expertise to assist in raising funds and global awareness for the plight of Africa’s endangered species, particularly rhinos, elephants and lions. In 2012, he founded Youth 4 African Wildlife, a global initiative that educates youths to become actively involved in conservation, using photography and social media marketing to advocate against wildlife trafficking.
He has researched the Chinese luxury markets extensively and works on strategies through his networks for the reduction of the trading of rhino horn and ivory.
There is only a month and a half to go until our Photographer of the Year 2018 closes for entries, and so far we have received some incredible photos that do more than just show wildlife doing what they do best, but they also tell a story.
Paolo Torchio – a professional wildlife photographer based in Kenya – sent in a photo of a dominant male hippo who was taking his frustration out on the carcasses of wildebeest after a tragic Mara River crossing. He now shares with us this amazing wildlife encounter that he managed to capture on camera.
Every year, from around July through to October, around two million animals migrate from Tanzania to Kenya. During this long journey, they are forced to cross several rivers, some of them infested by crocodiles, which carries a huge risk of loss of life in the water.
The crossing of rivers can be quite tragic as the animals can also die from suffocation by their own herd during the frantic and chaotic effort to climb the steep banks of the rivers.
In addition, crocodiles are not the only dangerous animal that lurks in the river, waiting to prey on these migrating animals. A gigantic and irascible hippo can create the same devastation as that of a crocodile, and despite the fact that they are known to have an aggressive nature and display unexpected behaviour, a cold-blooded kill by a hippo is rarely caught on camera.
Last year in late July, from the banks of Mara River, I was taking pictures of one of the first seasonal crossings. The confusion was immense as hundreds of wildebeest were dying in the stampede and at the end of the mayhem, the carnage was tremendous.
Suddenly, from the carcasses that have piled up against the bank, a lone wildebeest got onto his feet – dirty, shaken, confused, but alive – and went back into the water with the intention to reach the opposite side of the river.
Unfortunately, it was just not his day as one angry male hippo immediately confronted the wildebeest, chased him in the water, and then killed him instantly with his enormous jaws!
It was so sad to see that wildebeest escape death against all the odds, only then to be brutally killed without a practical reason – not for food by an hungry predator, but at the wrath of an angry bull hippo.
We’re just over halfway through our Photographer of the Year 2018 and every day we are receiving fantastic entries of African wildlife, landscapes and culture. Elena Chelysheva, from Mara-Meru Cheetah Project, sent in photos of a unique sighting of mating cheetahs in Kenya. She now shares with us this amazing wildlife encounter that she managed to capture on camera.
Written, and photographs, by Elena Chelysheva – Project Founder and Principal Investigator of Mara-Meru Cheetah Project
In the last days of December 2016, a coalition of five males appeared in the Maasai Mara National Reserve in Kenya from one of the adjacent conservancies. It was the largest cheetah male coalition ever observed in the Mara and they were named the ‘Fast Five’.
Within a few next months, one of the smallest males became not only one of the biggest, but also the decision-maker and ‘first’ leader of the group. There was clearly a hierarchy in the group, and since July 2017 two apparent leaders emerged, with a ‘second’ leader playing more of a peacemaker role – often standing up for bullied males and fighting against the first leader.
It is extremely difficult to witness cheetahs mating in the wild as they shy, and although they display courtship behaviour during the daytime the actual mating takes place at night.
The key to successful mating is avoiding the competition, and in some Mara cheetah male coalitions, brothers split for the time of courtship so that only one gets a chance to mate, or males take turns with the same female. In the case of a big coalition, chances to escape with a female are low.
On 19 December 2017, the four males (without the first leader) encountered the five-year-old female called Nora.
The second leader used his chance with Nora when the other three went hunting, following her when she started moving off. As he approached her, she took the posture for mating – crouching and pulling the tail aside – and he immediately mounted her. While copulation was in process, the three other males returned, and when noticing what was going on rushed to the mating couple to participate.
Unfortunately, soon after that a lioness appeared in the distance, attracted by the cheetahs’ vocalisations. The cheetahs dispersed and the males lost visual contact with Nora, who they tried to locate into the night, calling loudly for her return.
Elephants: the majestic gentle giants of the African savannah. Their enormous intelligence and close family bonds fascinate safari-goers and scientists alike. Whilst strolling through the bush, they shovel masses of grass into their mouths and occasionally bump into the odd tree – effortlessly breaking large branches and even pushing the whole thing over. Elephants are awesome creatures, and even lions keep a respectful distance from these megaherbivores.
All of the unique characteristics that put elephants at the top of the must-see list for many international visitors also serve to create controversy and management headaches among conservationists. These giants need gigantic amounts of space and natural resources – at one point in history, this was not a problem, as all of Africa except the Sahara was available to them. Today’s remnant populations have been constricted to relatively small areas, which are often fenced and managed by humans. Their food requirements, however, have not changed – they need to eat anywhere between 140 and 490 kg of plant matter every single day! Additionally, they are highly dependent on water, and each bull elephant will drink up to 120 litres per day.
In short, the impact of elephants does not go unnoticed in the African savannah. Certainly, the effects of Botswana’s 130,000 pachyderms are easy to see from just a cursory glance at the landscape. Broken and uprooted trees are the most obvious signs of elephants, but they also eat huge amounts of grass and other small plants (called forbs). Whilst elephants mainly eat grass and forbs in the wet summer season, they rely on trees (leaves, bark, roots) to get them through the dry winter season. Trees are therefore most vulnerable to being de-barked and uprooted in the late dry season.
These facts leave us in no doubt about the enormous impacts that elephants have in any ecosystem where they occur. Although Botswana’s elephant population is not overly restricted by fences (as are those in many of southern Africa’s protected areas), they seem to concentrate in northern Botswana. In particular, huge herds of elephants congregate by the Chobe River during the dry season – a spectacular sight for tourists, but a cause for concern among ecologists.
The question that many ask is: Are there too many elephants in Botswana? This question, however, begs another more critical question – how do we know how many is too many? This latter question is subject to enormous debate within southern Africa, which focuses on the ecological carrying capacity of certain National Parks for elephants. Carrying capacity is often seen as a ‘golden number’ of elephants, beyond which they begin to overuse the local ecosystem, thus damaging it and negatively affecting other species. On the other side of the debate, some point out that whilst elephants seem to cause enormous destruction in the immediate vicinity of waterholes, this does not necessarily mean that they are destroying the entire ecosystem.
These debates are far from merely academic. If those warning that there are too many elephants for ecosystems to support are right, then something needs to be done before the damage becomes irreparable. What that ‘something’ entails, however, is often too terrible for most elephant-loving people to consider. The large-scale elephant culling operations suggested by some are not a popular solution, unsurprisingly. Other options, like translocation and contraception are more palatable, but too expensive to be used on large elephant populations. In particular, the sheer size of Botswana’s elephant population means that none of these solutions is currently practical – including culling. However, some commentators warn of catastrophic consequences for all species if nothing is done, and soon.
A local scientific contribution
Avoiding emotionally charged debates based on little more than informed opinion, researchers from Botswana decided to tackle the critical elephant question head-on. Dr. Keoikantse Sianga and Dr. Richard Fynn of the Okavango Research Institute (a specialised department of the University of Botswana) joined forces with three Dutch researchers from Wageningen University in a vegetation study focusing on a large natural area called the Savuti-Mababe-Linyanti Ecosystem. This enormous area of nearly 30,000 square kilometres lies between the Okavango Delta, the Mababe Depression and the Linyanti Swamps, and therefore hosts a healthy proportion of Botswana’s elephants.
They chose this particular area as it is almost untouched by human management efforts, unlike most other locations in southern Africa. Only one pan is artificially pumped to maintain water throughout the dry season in their entire study area, and there are no fences within the area to inhibit elephant movement. They could therefore ask: in the virtual absence of human interference, are there too many elephants for this ecosystem to support? Additionally, this important work reveals how elephants naturally affect their habitat, thus providing a baseline to compare with other areas that are heavily managed. Whilst not resolving the elephant debate, this scientific knowledge can help wildlife managers in southern Africa to better understand the problem and consequently make better decisions to resolve it.
Rather than trying to calculate the ‘golden number’ of elephants that can be supported by the ecosystem, the research team sought to answer the underlying question – is the current elephant population is actually damaging the ecosystem? They viewed ecosystem health as its ‘heterogeneity’, which is an indication of how many different habitats are available for different species (known as ecological niches). A heterogeneous ecosystem has many different species of trees and grass, all growing to different heights. Some grazing herbivores prefer tall grass, whereas others prefer short grass; some bird species prefer dense shrubs to live and nest in, whereas others prefer tall trees. Consequently, to support a large variety of animals, you need a variety of different habitats, which can be measured directly by looking at the plants.
If the plants in the Savuti-Mababe-Linyanti ecosystem were all the same species, or all the same height, it would indicate a serious problem. Something (e.g. elephants) would be ‘homogenising’ the ecosystem; i.e. reducing the number of habitats available for other species. If, however, the system is still heterogeneous (i.e. containing many plant species of different heights), then it can still harbour a good diversity of species.
Understanding elephant behaviour and biology helped the team develop a suitable way to test how elephants are influencing the ecosystem. Although elephants can traverse great distances if they want to, they are highly dependent on water and must drink daily. During the wet season, water dependence is not an issue, as temporary natural pans fill up with water, thus allowing many elephants to move away from permanent water sources and use most of the ecosystem. However, in the dry season these pans dry up, and elephants have to stay close enough to rivers and permanent lakes to return to them on a daily basis. The average distance that bull elephants will stray from water in a day in search of food is around 15 kilometres, whereas herds of females and their young ones will only go as far as 5 kilometres. Consequently, the largest elephant impact will be found less than 5 km from permanent water, with less impact in the 5-15 km zone, and minimal impact over 20 km from water (only accessible to elephants during the wet season).
The research team investigated the species diversity and plant height of trees, grasses, and forbs in each of these three zones on four different routes through their study area. They also counted the dung of elephants and other herbivores to find out how much these places were visited by herbivores. Finally, they obtained fire records for the last 15 years to ensure that the effects of fire could be separated from the effects of elephants and other herbivores.
Their results revealed that, rather than irreparably damaging the ecosystem, elephants actually help maintain heterogeneity by improving grass and forb species richness in the zone closest to permanent water. These grasses were kept short through year-round grazing by elephants and other herbivores. In contrast, the zone furthest from water was dominated by high-quality long grasses, which are preferred by species such as sable and roan antelope. These results were found in the vegetation type known as sandveld, which is especially important for grazers, as it supports a rich diversity of grass species.
Similarly, trees were taller in the zones far from water than in the zone less than 5 km from water. During the dry season, elephants use trees more heavily and it is therefore not surprising that the trees closest to permanent water are frequently broken and thus kept in a shortened state. They found this trend for the two most common tree species in the ecosystem – mopane and Terminalia sericea (silver cluster leaf). Although short, stumpy shrubs look less attractive to us than tall trees, it is important that ecosystems contain both shrubs and trees.
Managing ecosystem health in Botswana – recommendations
The researchers concluded that the large population of elephants in northern Botswana perform a key ecological role by maintaining heterogeneity in the ecosystem. There is, however, one important caveat to this conclusion: this system can continue to sustain large elephant numbers only as long as there are large distances (at least 50 km) between permanent water sources.
The fact that young elephants cannot walk as far as adults between food and water is one of the key natural ways of preventing elephant populations from growing too large. In long dry seasons, adult females are forced to move further away from water to find food, and this may mean that some calves do not survive the dry season. They therefore warn against developing new waterholes in this ecosystem for two reasons. Firstly, the impacts of large elephant herds all year every year would soon turn the whole area into short grass and shrubs with little species diversity, to the detriment of other animals that prefer long grass and trees. Secondly, providing permanent waterholes would remove one of the few natural mechanisms for limiting elephant numbers.
These warnings are not idle, as they build on harsh lessons learned in other places. It is also about more than just elephants. Studies in the Kruger National Park show that when waterholes were developed throughout the park (such that the average distance to water in the dry season was a mere 6 km), the habitat for sable and roan shrank, as water-dependent grazers (e.g. zebra and buffalo) moved into previously waterless regions. The ultimate result was a tragic population crash of both species, and very few can be found in the Kruger today. Predators like lions are also favoured by increasing waterholes, as many of their preferred prey species are water-dependent. Although this sounds great for tourism, larger lion populations may have contributed to the crash of roan and sable, and are likely to reduce the number of African wild dogs. These are just two examples of the unintended negative consequences of artificial waterholes. Northern Botswana currently hosts healthy populations of roan, sable, and African wild dogs. Lessons learned from the Kruger should therefore provide major pause for thought before developing waterholes in this region.
Similarly, the researchers warn that the waterholes in the Chobe region are the primary cause for large-scale elephant damage seen far beyond the Chobe River. However, the tall trees growing along the Chobe River (a vegetation type known as riparian woodland) are a special cause for concern, as elephants gather in high numbers along the riverfront in the dry season. This area lacks the tall grass and sedges that can be found year-round on the floodplains in the Okavango Delta, which means that the elephants along the Chobe River rely almost entirely on trees – to the detriment of riparian woodland. One of the research team, Dr Richard Fynn, suggests: “In areas without extensive tall grass floodplains, the only hope for protecting riparian woodlands is to find ways of preventing elephants from staying too long in riparian vegetation during the dry season, or by protecting specific trees from elephants.”
The researchers point out that fencing that restricts elephant movements during the wet season is also likely to increase pressure on the ecosystem. Rather than allowing the short grasslands near permanent water to rest during the dry season, the megaherbivores (elephants and buffalo) are forced to use these grasses heavily throughout the year, rather than migrating to other areas.
Artificial waterholes and barriers to elephant movement (such as fences) are thus ultimate causes of ecosystem damage, rather than the elephants themselves, which simply respond to the available resources. Simply removing many elephants will not solve the underlying problem, so the population will keep rebounding and there will be an endless battle for the health of the ecosystem.
For the moment, the Savuti-Mababe-Linyanti Ecosystem remains intact. However, the researchers recommend that this area should be carefully monitored and that pumping new waterholes should be tightly regulated. Furthermore, the prevalence of current waterholes in the Chobe Region (east of their study area) and threats to elephants beyond Botswana’s borders that restrict elephants to northern Botswana are key issues that need to be addressed. Allowing elephants to move freely over large, unfenced areas is a regional challenge that needs to be discussed between Botswana and neighbouring countries. Perhaps it is time the debate around elephants evolves from carrying capacity numbers and elephant management to ecosystem health and landscape management.
Sourced from third-party site: The Hill, written by Miranda Green
The Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) announced last week that it will now consider all permits for importing elephant trophies from African nations on a “case-by-case basis”, breaking from President Trump’s earlier promises to maintain an Obama-era ban on the practice.
In a formal memorandum issued on Thursday, FWS said it will withdraw its 2017 Endangered Species Act (ESA) findings for trophies of African elephants from Zimbabwe and Zambia, “effective immediately”. The memo said “the findings are no longer effective for making individual permit determinations for imports of sport-hunted African elephant trophies”.
In its place, FWS will instead “grant or deny permits to import a sport-hunted trophy on a case-by-case basis”.
FWS said it will still consider the information included in the ESA findings, as well as science-based risk assessments of the species’ vulnerability when evaluating each permit request. The service also announced it is withdrawing a number of previous ESA findings, which date back to 1995, related to trophies of African elephants, bontebok and lions from multiple African countries.
The decision to withdraw the FWS findings followed a D.C. Circuit Court decision in December that found fault with the initial Obama-era rule, which banned importing elephant hunting trophies from Zimbabwe.
“In response to a recent D.C. Circuit Court’s opinion, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is revising its procedure for assessing applications to import certain hunted species. We are withdrawing our countrywide enhancement findings for a range of species across several countries,” a spokesperson for FWS said in a statement. “In their place, the Service intends to make findings for trophy imports on an application-by-application basis.”
A federal appeals court ruled at the end of last year that the Obama administration did not follow the right procedures when it drafted its ban on the imports. The court also said the FWS should have gone through the extensive process of proposing a regulation, inviting public comment and making the regulation final when it made determinations in 2014 and 2015 that elephant trophies cannot be brought into the country.
The agency used the same procedures as the Obama administration for its ESA determination in 2017 that led to reopening African elephant imports to the U.S. in November. At the time, a FWS spokesperson said the reversal “will enhance the survival of the species in the wild.”
Following the fall announcement to overturn the ban, the Trump administration faced immense backlash, which played a role in leading the president to denounce elephant hunting and promise to re-establish the ban. Trump in February called the administration’s initial decision to overturn the Obama-era ban “terrible”.
In an interview with British journalist Piers Morgan, Trump said he had decided to officially turn the order around.
“I didn’t want elephants killed and stuffed and have the tusks brought back into this [country] and people can talk all they want about preservation and all of the things that they’re saying where money goes towards ― well, money was going ― in that case, going to a government which was probably taking the money, OK?” Trump said.
Despite the president’s tweets and interviews, however, FWS and the Interior Department remained tight-lipped as to the status of the ban. Numerous requests for information to FWS from The Hill over several months were referred to Interior and left unanswered. (continue reading full story)
We’re just over halfway through our Photographer of the Year 2018 and every day we are receiving fantastic entries. Willem Kruger, a winner from our 2017 competition sent in a photo of a honey badger and black-backed jackals interacting over a giraffe carcass. He now shares with us this amazing wildlife encounter that he managed to capture on camera.
On a trip to the Kgalagadi Transfrontier Park in November 2017, we came across an interesting interaction around a giraffe kill near the Kwang waterhole in the northeastern part of the park. A pride of lions had killed a giraffe next to the road about 300 metres north of the waterhole. When we first arrived at the sighting in the late afternoon a male lion was still feeding on the carcass on the grassy bank next to the road. The black-backed jackals kept a safe distance away from the carcass and the lion. We took a few photos and then left the sighting as we had to still reach Nossob rest camp before the gate closed for the day.
The next morning we drove north along the Nossob River back to the sighting. On arrival we saw that the lion had abandoned the carcass and the black-backed jackals had clearly made use of this opportunity – there were 15 of them around the kill! We parked our vehicle about 30 metres from them to capture the interaction amongst the jackals feeding on the carcass.
While watching the jackals, we heard movement in the grass bank next to our vehicle. To our surprise, a honey badger was moving through the grass very close to our vehicle.
The honey badger passed right underneath our vehicle and approached the carcass. Some of the jackals were disturbed by the approaching badger, while others just kept on eating. The badger approached the carcass very cautiously, and surprisingly the jackals did not back away at all. He took his time to sniff around but did not try to eat anything.
A few of the jackals followed the badger all around the carcass and this seemed to make him nervous. Eventually, the jackals persuaded the badger to leave the carcass without a fight and he made his way over the sandbank on the opposite side of the road.
We thought the badger was not interested in carrion as we believed that they only eat freshly killed animals. We followed him as he made his way towards the Kwang waterhole, followed by a jackal or two.
After drinking, the badger crossed the road again but did not approach the carcass. He gave a quick glance in our direction – just enough time to get an interesting portrait photo and then he disappeared into the grass. We went back to the carcass and spent about an hour there photographing the jackals, tawny eagles and vultures that had descended.
For our afternoon game drive we decided to drive directly to the carcass again to see what had transpired since last we were there – we were hoping for more jackal and possible jackal-vulture interaction like we had that morning. On our arrival, we found that the carcass had been dragged off the road back up to the bank and there was just one jackal sniffing around.
We decided to move off and head north, however, on our way back to Nossob we once again passed the carcass and to our surprise found the same male honey badger now feeding on the carcass!
As is expected, the jackals were not impressed with the presence of the badger. Some of them tried to intimidate the badger but unlike that morning, the badger was unperturbed and even showed aggression towards those that bothered him.
However, most of the jackals kept a safe distance from him. Every now and again one of the jackals would approach the badger from behind, smelling him and one even tried to bite him! The badger’s only reaction to this was to turn around and show his teeth. The jackals would then made hasty retreats to a safe distance.
The occasional jackal that did stand its ground was, however, not attacked by the badger – he just showed his own aggression and went back to looking for more meat on the carcass.
After about half-an-hour, the badger stood up and left the carcass without looking back. We tried to follow him but he disappeared amongst the grass and bushes. We stayed with the carcass for another 20 minutes but the badger did not return.
For us this was a very special sighting for the following reasons. Firstly, to see a honey badger feeding on a carcass killed by lions, and secondly, to find a giraffe (even though it was dead) so far north in the eastern part (Nossob River side) of the park.
We initially though the carcass was an eland because we have never seen giraffes in this area. However, the staff at Africa Geographic immediately identified the carcass as that of a giraffe. The giraffes in this park are usually found along the Auob River bed in the western side of the park from Mata Mata rest camp southwards towards the Gemsbokplein waterhole.
With the lion’s share of international hype seized by flagship species, lesser-known endangered animals seem to succumb to the shadows. Naturally, attention is drawn to more charismatic species and national icons. And while every effort is needed now more than ever to save our rhinos, elephants, and big cats, it is equally important not to forget the little guys.
These five species are among Africa’s most endangered, yet many people don’t even know they exist.
Also known as the bushman hare, this lagomorph is one of the most endangered animals in the world. Endemic to the Karoo region of South Africa, their exact numbers are unknown, but it is estimated that there are less than 250 breeding pairs in the wild. Agricultural development is causing the degradation of their specialised habitat along riverbanks, pushing them precariously close to the brink of extinction.
On a positive note, Cape Nature has discovered a new breeding population in the succulent Karoo.
Frogs are among the least loved animals on the planet. Yet these under-appreciated creatures play a vital role in nature. Other than serving as biological pest control and an important source of food for many animals, frogs are also excellent ecological indicators. This means that they provide us with valuable information about the habitat and overall health of the ecosystem – in part due to their sensitivity to environmental changes.
Pickergill’s reed frogs have very specific habitat requirements and are only found in the wetlands of a small fragmented area along the coast of KwaZulu-Natal in South Africa. Wetland degradation caused by coastal development, mining, invasive species, and agriculture has put this tiny amphibian’s survival at stake.
This rare sea critter is the most endangered seahorse in the world. Captive breeding programs have been underway for the last two decades but major habitat reclamation efforts are imperative or the future is bleak for wild populations.
The Knysna seahorse is only found in three estuaries in South Africa and the quality of their habitat is sharply declining due to the pressures associated with an increasing population. The Knysna estuary is heavily impacted by industrial, domestic and recreational activities. In recent times, poaching and illegal trade have also contributed to their decline.
What does it take for a species to be deemed important enough to conserve? Once protected by the National Environmental Management Act, golden moles are not regarded as an economically important species and are thus no longer protected. Of the 21 species of golden mole, no fewer than 11 are threatened with extinction.
Unfortunately for these guys, they may not last much longer without protection. Impacts from agriculture, mining, urban expansion, and infrastructure development have severely fragmented their range. They now only exist in three geographically separated populations. The isolation of populations leads to inbreeding which results in poor genes – putting the species at risk of extinction.
Awareness campaigns are desperately needed to raise the profile of this highly elusive animal before they completely disappear.
This unfortunate raptor is the poster child for bad press. They are also one of the Ugly 5, and always portrayed as the bad guy in fiction works, but the hard knocks don’t end there. The Cape vulture is the victim of at least sixteen known threats jeopardising its survival. At the top of the list is the contamination of their food supply by means of certain drugs – poisonous to vultures – which are being used to treat livestock. They also inadvertently ingest pest-control poisons intended for other animals. Electrocution by collision with power lines is another critical issue and is a primary cause for the declines of several other bird species. Vultures also fall prey to illegal harvesting for traditional medicine.
An underrated beast, the vulture is crucial to ecosystem functions. Specialised for scavenging, they play a critical role in waste removal and nutrient cycling. Other scavengers depend on vultures to find carcasses. Studies reflect that vulture declines can lead to severe ecosystem imbalances.
Over the last decade, previously underrated animals like the pangolin and African wild dog drew international attention and media hype. Raising the profiles of these species initiated increased conservation efforts across the globe. These five unsung heroes deserve the centre stage for the important ecological roles they play and the threats they face at our hands. We owe it to them give them the pedestal, raise awareness, and increase efforts to keep them off the extinction list.
Travel in Africa is about knowing when and where to go, and with whom. A few weeks too early/late or a few kilometres off course, and you could miss the greatest show on Earth. And wouldn’t that be a pity?
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Björn Persson is a photographer and travel writer who’s visited over 20 African countries. His favourite destination is Kenya, but the Nyiragongo hike – 
Simon Espley is an African of the digital tribe, a chartered accountant and CEO of Africa Geographic. His travels in Africa are in search of wilderness, real people with interesting stories and elusive birds. He lives in Hoedspruit with his wife Lizz and two Jack Russells, and when not travelling or working he will be on his mountain bike somewhere out there. His motto is ‘Live for now, have fun, be good, tread lightly and respect others. And embrace change’.
Sam Cox originally studied filmmaking, earning a BA Honours degree in filmmaking before moving his sights onto photography. Travelling to Africa since 1999, his passion for wildlife quickly drew him to focus on photographing the diverse wildlife the continent has to offer and has seen his images published online with National Geographic and Africa Geographic, with printed publications in Travel Africa Magazine and BBC Wildlife Magazine.
Mary Anne Fitzgerald has covered eastern Africa for The Economist, the Financial Times, and The Sunday Times of London, and is the author of eleven books on Africa, including the bestselling Nomad: One Woman’s Journey into the Heart of Africa. She lives in Kenya. Philip Marsden is the award-winning author of several books of travel, history, and fiction, including The Chains of Heaven: An Ethiopian Romance and The Barefoot Emperor: An Ethiopian Tragedy. He lives in England. Nigel Pavitt MBE OGW has written five books on Africa illustrated with his photographs. They include Kenya: The First Explorers, Samburu, Turkana: Kenya’s Nomads of the Jade Sea, and Africa’s Great Rift Valley. He lives in Kenya. Frederic Courbet is a Belgian photographer and cameraman whose work has appeared in The Guardian, The New York Times, Der Spiegel, Le Monde, Time magazine, and Newsweek. He lives in Australia. Justus Mulinge is a young Kenyan photographer who lives in Nairobi with his wife and two sons. With his eye for detail, he was an essential member of the photographic team for this book.
