This was an amazing opportunity to visit Ethiopia’s most important biodiversity hotspot and see some of the rarest creatures in the world.
Category Archives:
Hyena cub births: the good, the bad & the gory
Imagine the excitement when guests at Nsefu camp in South Luangwa, Zambia, were able to watch a spotted hyena giving birth.
Kruger- lodges vs self drive
Which Kruger safari option is better – luxury of the private lodges in the Greater Kruger or the self-catering options in the national park?
Let’s boycott African tourism. Not
Some keyboard warriors regularly call for the boycott of an entire country’s tourism industry in reaction to the death of animals that could conceivably have been prevented.
Madikwe safari – exciting predator encounters
Plenty of predator action and large herds of elephants in this Africa Geographic photographic safari to Madikwe in South Africa
R.I.P Tullamore – the last lion of the 5 Musketeers
Tullamore, the last of the famous ‘5 musketeers’ desert-adapted lions of northern Namibia, has been killed in the Okongue area, along with a lioness and two cubs, in the ongoing battle between rural cattle farmers and free-roaming lions. The lions were poisoned. Tullamore was the last surviving member of a group of 5 desert-adapted lions …
Continue reading “R.I.P Tullamore – the last lion of the 5 Musketeers”
Niassa: splendour in peril
Niassa in north Mozambique is one of Africa’s last true wilderness areas. This superb photo gallery is a testament to this vast treasure
Jurassic Niassa
“Are we seriously landing there?” The Cessna Caravan was heading towards a massive rocky dome, and what appeared to be a short dirt track in a dense sea of woodland. But, as we skimmed over a wide sandy riverbed, the track morphed into a landing strip. We bumped down and taxied to a halt. Paradise …
ET the aardvark goes home
ET was found and brought to me at ZURI Orphanage in Namibia in August 2015. Small and alien-like in appearance, ET settled in quickly with life on the farm. We have a house full of cats and dogs but settling in an aardvark was a completely different experience. There is very little written about aardvark so we had to learn as we went along.
Titanic battle between squirrel and parrot
On the morning of the 30th May, I witnessed a tussle between one of the current occupants of the nest, a brown-headed parrot pair, and a tree squirrel which dared to venture too close to the nest.
Hiking Réunion’s Cirque de Mafate
We stood on the rim of the caldera, the immense volcanic amphitheatre of the Cirque de Mafate, on the French island of Réunion. As far as the eye could see sheer walls of lush green vegetation encircled the seemingly endless and mythical world before us.
Rhino horn trade: A considered justification
Rhinos throughout South Africa are being brutally killed for their horns. In this article I would like to focus on some of the positive contributions by the private sector and the trials and tribulations that they face in trying to keep rhinos safe.
Photographer of the Year: Commendable finalists
The judges had a tough time this year choosing our wildlife category winner in the Photographer of the Year competition as there were so many amazing finalists. It got to a point where they had whittled it down to five wildlife photographs. However, it was clear that all five were perfect contenders for first place! A tough decision had to be made…
Photographer of the Year 2017 Winners
Africa Geographic Photographer of the Year 2017 Top 101 Finalists – images that will have you grabbing your camera and booking your next safari
Hunting body president resigns over canned lion dispute
The president of the Professional Hunting Association of South Africa [Phasa], Stan Burger, unexpectedly announced his resignation on Tuesday with immediate effect.
Private game reserves are vital for conservation
Without detracting from the wonderful and critical role that our national parks play in conservation we would like to take an opportunity to focus on the positive achievements of the private sector in this regard.
Photographer of the Year 2017 Finalists
Africa Geographic Photographer of the Year 2017 Top 101 Finalists – images that will have you grabbing your camera and booking your next safari
Baby elephants to be exported to Dubai zoo
A game farm in Namibia has been issued permits to sell five baby elephants to a zoo in Dubai. The elephants range in age from four to eight years old. The sale, at an undisclosed price, will be finalised later this year when the elephants are exported.
Photographer of the Year 2017 Semi-finalists Part 2
Africa Geographic Photographer of the Year 2017 Top 101 Finalists – images that will have you grabbing your camera and booking your next safari
Photographer of the Year 2017 Semi-finalists Part 1
Africa Geographic Photographer of the Year 2017 Top 101 Finalists – images that will have you grabbing your camera and booking your next safari
Réunion Island: Trekking to the ‘Peak of the Furnace’
Located within the Réunion National Park (a UNESCO World Heritage Site), Piton de la Fournaise, also known as ‘The Peak of the Furnace’ or le Volcan (the Volcano) by the locals, has had more than 150 recorded eruptions since the 17th century, with the most recent eruption beginning on 31 January 2017. At 2,631 metres in height and about 530,000 years old, this volcano is one of Réunion Island’s most popular tourist attraction.
Mabamba Swamp: A bird-lovers paradise!
Mabamba Swamp is a bird-lovers dream destination. It is home to 260 bird species, including the massive shoebill – Uganda’s most sought-after bird!
Rhinos to Australia: is this conservation?
There are plans afoot to move rhinos from Africa to Australia as an ‘insurance policy’ and for ‘safekeeping’ in large grass paddocks amongst the gum trees. Is this a valid conservation project (as claimed) or a misdirection of energy and resources by a well-meaning Western society intent on privatising African conservation into their own backyard?
Photographer of the Year 2017 Top 101 Finalists Part 1
Africa Geographic Photographer of the Year 2017 Top 101 Finalists – images that will have you booking your next safari
Photographer of the Year 2017 Top 101 Finalists Part 4
Africa Geographic Photographer of the Year 2017 Top 101 Finalists – images that will have you booking your next safari
Photographer of the Year 2017 Top 101 Finalists Part 3
Africa Geographic Photographer of the Year 2017 Top 101 Finalists – images that will have you booking your next safari
Photographer of the Year 2017 Top 101 Finalists Part 2
Africa Geographic Photographer of the Year 2017 Top 101 Finalists – images that will have you booking your next safari
The link between hunting & tourism in Namibia
I am not a hunter. Nor have I ever been. I am a vegetarian (since the age of about 11), I am part of the environmental NGO sector and I have interests in the tourism industry in Namibia. So, it might surprise you that I am a strong supporter of the hunting industry in Namibia, and indeed, throughout Africa.
6 Tips to sketch a cheetah hunt
Wildlife artist and art safari host Alison Nicholls shares tips for sketching a hunting cheetah hunt – including field sketches and photos
Human-wildlife conflict in East Africa
Human-wildlife conflict is one of the biggest causes of reduction in wildlife populations across Africa – we unpack various solutions
South Luangwa: dog detection unit hounds poaching
In eastern Zambia, Conservation South Luangwa, in partnership with Working Dogs for Conservation and Zambia’s Department of National Parks and Wildlife has launched a fantastic initiative: Zambia’s first ever canine wildlife detection unit.
Opinion: Rhino horn trade = extinction in the wild
It is now legal in South Africa to trade domestically in rhino horn, after this country’s Constitutional Court recently overturned an eight-year ban on domestic trade, based on a technicality.
Namibia’s desert-adapted lions
Namibia’s desert-adapted lions are hardy survivors that eke out a living in the inhospitable arid west of this beautiful country
No Timbavati ‘100 Pounder’ elephant hunt
The last few weeks have witnessed some pretty vicious social media attacks on lodges within Timbavati Private Nature Reserve in the Greater Kruger National Park
In the Footsteps of Giants
Award-winning photographer Greg du Toit shares with us his favourite elephant images, and explains why each image impacted on him
Baby elephant tragedy leads to appeal for help
Eric Sagwe of Wildlife Works received an early morning phone call that a baby elephant had been hit by a large truck in Tsavo, Kenya.
Elephant Ignite Expedition
Elephant Ignite embarked on a 16 000km, 100-day journey across 10 African countries to cast the spotlight on the elephant poaching crisis
Love for elephants on the Elephant Ignite Expedition
The Elephant Ignite Expedition travelled to 10 different countries, to visit projects that work tirelessly to save elephants
R.I.P SATAO 2
SATAO 2 has died, at the hands of ivory poachers. We pay tribute to this giant elephant by quoting several people who met him
Spending time on safari at a Maasai village
Safari report-back: Spice up your Kenyan safari with a fascinating visit to a Maasai village. By Giada and Gianluca Ventura
Satao 2 poached in Tsavo – 6 super tuskers left
SATAO 2 is dead, and another of the last super tuskers left in Africa has been poached, leaving only 6 of these giants in the Tsavo Conservation Area in southern Kenya.
18% crash in Kruger white rhino population
Drought & poaching have reduced estimated white rhino numbers in South Africa’s Kruger National Park by 18% during the past year
Trophy hunting: leopard update
Earlier this year, South African Environmental Affairs minister Edna Molewa announced a ZERO quota for leopard hunts in 2017, a continuation of the 2016 ruling.
Of leatherbacks and loggerheads
As our guide brought the open game vehicle coasting to a halt, the only sound was of waves breaking gently on the sand. That morning, Sodwana Bay had been clamorous with tractors and trailers, speedboats and scuba divers. But now, late at night, the beach was utterly empty. And out there, somewhere, an ancient and …
Protecting pangolins with the Tikki Hywood Trust
The Tikki Hywood Trust is doing great things to protect the remaining wild populations of pangolins – the most trafficked animal in the world
Rhino orphans released into iSimangaliso
On Monday, three white rhino orphans were peacefully released into their new home within the iSimangaliso Wetland Park.
New species of dwarf lemur discovered in Madagascar
Scientists have discovered a new species of dwarf lemur In the forests of northern Madagascar – weighing in just 100 grams
Rhino Bombshell: SA Minister plans to permit trade in horn
South African Environmental Affairs Minister Edna Molewa has declared that she plans to permit the trade in rhino horn domestically and, in what looks like a loophole big enough to drive a tractor through, the export internationally of horn for ‘personal purposes’.
Why conservation is failing
There is a war going on in African conservation, and the other side is winning hands down – why is that? Op-ed by Simon Espley
Finding Africa’s rarest parrot – Cape Parrots in Magoebaskloof
A birding trip into the Magoesbaskloof in Limpopo, South Africa to find the Cape parrot – Africa’s rarest parrot
