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Questionable desert-adapted lion hunt + wild pigs
The most frustrating part of our mission to tell Africa’s stories warts-and-all is trying to unearth the facts when members of the wildlife industries appear to have behaved badly. Our story below about the latest trophy hunting of a livestock-killing Namibian desert-adapted lion is a case in point.
The lack of transparency; in fact let’s call this what it is – a blanket of secrecy – is not conducive to finding solutions to the many problems that beset our wild places as humans and wildlife vie for territory. During our attempts to determine two critical issues – how the trophy hunters found this lion in that vast desert and where he was killed – we were stonewalled by those who have the info and the mandate to communicate and validate the facts so that there is no speculation. Both issues go to the core of whether this was a legal hunt. Legality is important in the quest for sustainable solutions, right?
Based on the facts at hand, we stand by our deductive reasoning as detailed in the article, but I have assured the Namibian powers-that-be that we will amend the article and issue a public statement if any requested contradictory evidence comes to light – via official or other channels.
Keep the passion
Simon Espley – CEO, Africa Geographic
From our Editor – Taryn van Jaarsveld
The dead walk among us. Or, at least, zombie ants do. Did you know that Ophiocordyceps unilateralis (cordyceps for short) – the zombie-making fungus featured in The Last of Us – is real?
The parasitic fungus infects carpenter ants, where its spores are picked up by the ant on the rainforest floor (check out this zombie ant in Sapo National Park, Liberia). In an extraordinary feat of mind control, the fungus forces the ant to leave the safety of its nest, climb to a height and lock its mouth around a leaf, before growing and then feeding off the ant’s vital organs. Luckily, this parasitic fungi cannot infect humans (for now…).
This week, don’t miss our incredibly important story on the questionable hunting of a desert-adapted lion, and our comprehensive guide to the many wild pigs of Africa – both below.
Story 1
https://africageographic.com/stories/trophy-hunted-namibian-desert-adapted-lion-here-are-the-facts/
TROPHY HUNT
A male desert-adapted lion has been hunted amidst suspicious circumstances in Namibia – we ask questions of MEFT
Story 2
https://africageographic.com/stories/the-wild-pigs-of-africa/
WILD PIGS
Our guide to the six species of wild pigs in Africa: from warthogs, to bushpigs, hogs and boars
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