Decoding science Archives - Africa Geographic

The boudoir of beetles – how this orchid sexually deceives its pollinator

How this longhorn beetle has been deceived into copulating with a rare orchid, Disa forficaria, in order to act as its pollinator

Towering intellect? How scientists discovered that giraffe can use statistical reasoning

Giraffe are an endless source of fascination for scientists. A new study reveals that giraffes are capable of statistical inference

Missing the point: new study suggests that dehorning can negatively impact black rhino social behaviours

Dehorning rhinos is a vital anti-poaching strategy. But a new study suggests dehorning can negatively impact black rhino social behaviours

Spot the difference – do leopards inherit their patterns from their mothers?

Research shows that leopards inherit their patterns of rosettes and whisker spots from their mothers – an exciting finding in leopard genetics

A wounded rhino or a parasitic worm? Filariasis explained

Ever noticed wounds on the skin of a rhino? These lesions have an interesting source. We examine Filariasis, caused by a parasitic worm

Measured in millions – the years needed to restore the lost biodiversity of Madagascar

It would take millions of years to reverse the damage done to Madagascar and its unique and precious biodiversity, according to a new study

Private rhino – the importance of private sector rhino conservation

More than half of Africa’s rhino are in private hands. With rising protection costs, what will it take to build a resilient private industry?

A passage to India – how the journey of southern Africa’s cheetah divided the experts

The reintroduction of cheetah to India is dividing conservationists. Is this an ecologically unsound vanity project or a conservation win?

Putting elephants on the map – exploring connectivity in southern Africa

How do elephants move across southern Africa through protected areas and beyond? New research explores the value of habitat connectivity

Seven safari myths – busted

Can you separate fact from fiction when it comes to the tall tales told about Africa’s wildlife? Our experts bust common safari myths

Population growth, exploitation and climate change: safeguarding Africa’s wildlife into the 22nd century

A study on population growth, resource exploitation & climate change highlights the necessary steps for preventing loss of wild habitats & species in Africa

Hippos to be uplisted? CITES CoP19

Ten African states have proposed the transfer of the hippo from CITES Appendix II to Appendix I ahead of the 19th Conference of the Parties. What does this entail?

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

Africa’s lions are disappearing. New research shows that lion populations across the continent have declined by 75% in just five decades

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

Social media impacts conservation. Research shows that the attention elephants receive on Twitter fails to address urgent conservation issues

The state of Africa’s rhino

Here’s our analysis of the IUCN report containing the most recent rhino numbers, trends, poaching incidents, conservation measures & trade updates

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

Scientists can now detect injuries from snares & shotguns on trophy-hunted lions & leopards – quantifying the extent of previously unreported human-wildlife conflict

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

Chobe elephants have learnt how to change their activity patterns to reduce risk of human encounters – new research

Lions target particular types of cows – research

Understanding how predators select cattle for prey could help in protecting livestock from lions, mitigating human-wildlife conflict

Five years until the Kalahari’s hornbills start to vanish

Scientists have predicted that the Kalahari’s hornbills will start to vanish in five years – and climate change is to blame

Hawaii’s conspicuous African chameleons

How did chameleons come to evolve their kaleidoscopic capacity? Escapees from the 1970s Hawaiian pet trade may hold the answer

Kids eat first: research on wild dog feeding habits

New research shows that there is order in wild dog hunts. Painted wolf pups are the first to eat at a carcass.

Giraffe evolution – pieces of the puzzle

Under pressure – genetic research on giraffes reveals evolutionary secrets of how they cope with high blood pressure and maintain bone density.

Making Hippocrates proud: How animals self-medicate

Scientists have observed chimpanzees medicating the injuries of their peers – a behaviour never before witnessed in the animal kingdom

Kalahari’s overlapping cheetah litters

A cheetah mother has been observed simultaneously raising two cheetah cubs of different age classes – behaviour never witnessed in the wild

Elephant bulls – breeding and trophy hunting

Does the hunting of elephant bulls with large tusks lead to the decline of Africa’s tuskers? We examine the science

Keeping count – wildlife populations in Kruger’s private nature reserves

Associated Private Nature Reserves (APNR), part of Greater Kruger, completed their 2021 wildlife census. We analyse the ebb & flow of results

Counting animals – the technology helping conservationists

Counting wild animals can be a complicated process, particularly when estimating populations in some of Africa’s massive protected wild areas

Caracals of Cape Town – navigating a landscape of fear

Caracals navigate the dangers of the urban Cape, attracted to the edge of urban spaces at a significant potential risk – new research.

Wildebeest sleep and the mysteries of slumber

Wildebeest sleep for just four and a half hours in a 24 hour period – most deeply in the dead of night – says new research

How the Kilimanjaro glaciers left truth in the cold

Kilimanjaro’s disappearing glaciers have been a symbol of climate change for more than than 15 years. Science says it is much more complicated.

Do tracking collars impact animals negatively?

New research indicates that animals fitted with tracking collars, experience no long-term, negative effects. Further research is needed however.

African grey parrots in traditional medicine

African grey parrots are targeted for medicinal and spiritual practices in West Africa. The trade is a significant threat to grey parrots – new research

Translocating lions does not reduce conflict – research

New research from Botswana shows that translocating lions in conflict with livestock owners is expensive and results in high lion mortality, repeat offences and very little reduction in human-lion conflict.

Does the farming and legal trade of wildlife do more harm than good? New study

Farming and legal trade of wildlife could increase demand for wildlife products and so be negative from a conservation perspective – research

Did fences cause the elephant deaths in Botswana?

New study examines whether fences could have impacted the elephant deaths in the Seronga region of Botswana in mid-2020.

Unravelling the elaborate sex lives of spotted hyenas

High-ranked male spotted hyenas are more reproductively successful than their low-ranked rivals – hormone and behaviour analysis reveals why.

Of ivory, elephants, shipwrecks and slaughter

Ivory recovered from 500-year-old shipwreck reveals details of the ivory trade and how it has devastated forest elephant populations.

Spotting elephants from space

Artificial intelligence and satellite images can help conservationists count elephants from space, says new research.

The extinction business – South Africa’s cold-blooded reptile trade

South Africa’s amphibian & reptile trade is a growing industry that is unregulated, unsustainable, and unethical – says report

Arch-enemies? New research on lions vs hyenas

Lions vs hyenas is the ultimate African drama. New research has shed light on the dynamics between these two apex predators

Female banded mongooses incite violence for better mating opportunities

Female banded mongooses lead their groups into deliberate conflict with rival groups to increase their chances of mating – research

Forest elephants going hungry as climate change stops trees from fruiting

Forest elephants are losing body condition – most probably due to climate impacts on forest tree fruit production – say researchers

COVID-19 ‘perfect storm’ threatens conservation in Africa

A new report examines just how bad COVID-19 is for Africa’s wildlife and protected areas and what needs to be done to save our wild spaces

Saving rodents, losing primates – we need tailored strategies to manage bushmeat trade

Viewing all bushmeat trade through one lens over-simplifies the complex situation and could lead to accelerated disappearance of some species

Trophy hunting – how do African people feel?

Trophy hunting: How do African people perceive and react to trophy hunting compared to those from the Western public – research

How much water should lodges be using?

How much water should safari lodges be using? The lowering of groundwater levels could compromise the ecosystem and wildlife.

Elephants & cattle – restoring soil nutrient levels

Research shows that elephants can assist farmers by restoring soil nutrient levels when cattle have depleted those nutrients

Cyanobacteria to blame for elephant deaths – Botswana officials

Elephant deaths: The sudden deaths of over 300 elephants in Botswana were caused by cyanotoxins produced by blue-green algae, say officials

The importance of adult male elephants

The selective harvesting of old bull elephants damages broader elephant society because of the important role played by the bulls – research

Why are elephants dying in Zimbabwe and Botswana?

Elephants dying: Professor Keith Somerville investigates the mysterious deaths of more than 300 elephants in Zimbabwe and Botswana

“Lost” species of elephant shrew alive and well

Researchers have rediscovered the Somali Sengi (an elephant shrew) – which was thought to be extinct and was last seen nearly 50 years ago

Domestic cat predation on wild animals in Cape Town

The domestic cat is a honed killing machine whose impact on biodiversity in South Africa is only now being fully revealed

Counting lions: new study shows the importance of good counts for lion conservation

Counting lions using correct techniques is vital to understand how many lions there are. Historical surveys have not resulted in good data

Keeping an eye on predators

Attacks on livestock by wild predators is a common problem in Africa – and scientists say that painting eyes on cattle backsides could help

“Living dead” – elephants in Kruger NP are sterilizing palm trees, says research

Elephants feeding on fan palm trees are preventing the palms from reaching full size & reproductive potential in Kruger NP, says new study

Tiny primate: new species of mouse lemur discovered

Scientists have discovered a new species of mouse lemur in Madagascar – which is already threatened by habitat loss & climate change

Roan antelope conservation challenges

Roan antelope populations have dropped to perilously low levels, and there is every chance they could disappear from the areas such as Kruger National Park

Will legal international rhino horn trade save wild rhino populations?

Will legal international rhino horn trade save the wild rhino population? Find out here in this thought-provoking opinion post

It’s not about the worm

Mopane worms are a popular source of protein and delicious snack for rural people in Limpopo – read about a sustainable Kruger harvest program

Aardvarks and climate change

Aardvarks are being severely impacted by climate change, says research being conducted in arid areas where temperatures are expected to rise

Human impact results in leopard inbreeding – research

Human activity is affecting negatively on leopard populations – via changes in age, sex & social structure of leopard populations – research

Trophy hunting ban could harm conservation on private fenced farms in South Africa – says study

Trophy hunting on many private fenced farms in South Africa – this study examines the impact that a ban could have on biodiversity

The real economic value of Greater Kruger National Park

A 2020 study has revealed the considerable economic, social and political contributions of the Greater Kruger National Park

The rat with a deadly secret

Deadly secret: the crested rat transfers poison from the bark & leaves of a highly toxic tree to its fur as a predator-evasion strategy

Lion evolution according to genome sequencing

Scientists have used genome sequencing of lions to reveal the evolutionary history of living & extinct lion species.

20mm pygmy seahorse discovered in South Africa

A divemaster has discovered a new species of pygmy seahorse in a sandy coral reef in Sodwana Bay, South Africa, that is only 20 mm long.

Wildlife trade between South Africa and China exposed – legal and illegal

The vast scale of legal and illegal trade in wildlife species between South Africa and China – many of them CITES 1 species – has been revealed by an extensive report.

Forest elephant populations smaller than previously thought

Africa’s forest elephant populations are smaller than was previously thought, say researchers. This realisation has a significant impact on future priorities and conservation strategies.

What’s in a (scientific) name?

The weird meanings behind animal scientific names – for example, the black rhino scientific name means ‘double horn double horn’

Which African countries have the highest percentage of protected land?

We compare the proportion of each African country’s land that falls under some form of protected status – to assess their conservation ranking

Secretive forest species such as giant ground pangolins and Congo peafowl revealed by camera traps in DR Congo

Secretive forest species such as giant ground pangolin, Congo peafowl and cusimanse revealed by camera traps in DR Congo.

Elephant Warriors

Elephant collaring in the Greater Kruger by Elephants Alive and Blue Sky Society Trust – a process driven by science and the need for data

What exactly is CITES and how does it work?

CITES was established to regulate the international trade of animals & plants, to avoid the over-exploitation of endangered species

CITES processes are corrupt, says report

A report from TRAFFIC explains how corruption undermines the CITES-authorised trade in wildlife and offers suggestions as to how to mitigate its effects.

Newly discovered Taita Mountain dwarf galago (bushbaby) could already be on the brink of extinction

Newly-discovered species of bushbaby (galago) in Kenya’s Taita Hills is already on the verge of extinction due to habitat loss, say scientists

Spotted hyena

The spotted hyena (Crocuta crocuta) is one of the world’s most misunderstood animals. Public perception often tends towards scorn and even outright hate – they are reviled as cowardly, thieving, dirty, ugly, lazy…the list goes on. These impressions are embedded in human history and public consciousness then reinforced by mainstream media and films. Fortunately, though, …

Continue reading “Spotted hyena”

Leopard raids ground-hornbill nest

Video: a leopard raids a ground-hornbill nest in the Greater Kruger – yet another threat facing this threatened species

Elephant body language 101 – a guide for beginners

Elephant body language is a complex topic, yet there are a few simple clues and signals that explain elephant emotions and intentions

There’s a cheetah on the roof – when wildlife viewing crosses the line

How close is too close? Cheetahs regularly climb onto safari vehicles. Here is why this practice is unethical, dangerous and invasive.

Painted wolf (African wild dog) release with Africa Geographic

Painted wolves (African wild dogs) released after rescue

Ten wild dogs have been released into a private game reserve near Kruger National Park after being rescued from intolerant landowners

Black honey badgers spotted in Gabon

4 Melanistic (black) honey badgers captured on a camera trap in Gabon.

Humans not always to blame for genetic diversity loss in wildlife

People are not always to blame for loss of genetic diversity in wildlife, says new study.

Understanding Malaria

Malaria is a parasitic disease that is usually spread by the female Anopheles mosquito. Prevention is better than cure, and we provide tips

Wildebeest migration routes under threat – researchers

Migratory routes of wildebeest in East Africa are under threat as human populations expand, say scientists.

Who is who? Elephant identification tips and tricks

This is how researchers in Greater Kruger identify individual elephants.

Saving the Northern White Rhino: Third Embryo Successfully Created

International scientists and Kenyan conservation authorities have successfully created the third viable embryo of the near-extinct northern white rhino. The global initiative has taken yet another step in the long journey to pull this subspecies back from the brink.

Killifish – suspended animation & shortest lifespan of any animal with a backbone

The killifish is a survivor that scientists are desperate to learn from. Using suspended animation to survive being entombed in dry mud, combined with the shortest lifespan of any animal with a backbone, killifish could unlock secrets to human ageing.