African wildlife news Archives - Page 2 of 2

Lake Malawi fish species at risk of extinction

The latest update of the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species has revealed that overfishing is causing fish species in parts of the developing world to decline, with 9% of the 458 fish species assessed in Lake Malawi at high risk of extinction.

Rare conservation win: Mountain gorilla population ticks up

The IUCN has updated the status of mountain gorillas, officially changing them from ‘Critically Endangered’ – the highest level of threat – to ‘Endangered’.

Captive lion breeding and bone trade: MPs call for an end to the practice

The Environmental Affairs Committee has called for a policy and legislative review on captive lion breeding for hunting and lion bone trade.

Botswana’s president addresses the issue of game farms and hunting in Botswana

Botswana’s president addresses the issue of game farms and hunting in Botswana.

China lifts ban and legalises tiger bone and rhino horn for medical purposes

China has revised a law on the ban of rhino horn and tiger bone products that would now allow domestic trade and use of the products for scientific, medical and cultural purposes.

SA rhino film wins top awards at US film festivals

The South African feature documentary STROOP – Journey into the Rhino Horn War has won the coveted Best Documentary award at the prestigious San Diego International Film Festival held this past weekend.

Cannibal cobras

While Cape cobras are known to eat other snake species – up to a third of their diet – recorded instances of Cape cobras eating individuals of the same species has been extremely rare… until now, when researchers investigated and discovered how common and widespread cannibalism in cobras really is.

Social media’s role in advertising illegal wildlife trade, including cheetah trafficking

Cheetah Conservation Fund data analysis confirms social media role in advertising illegal wildlife trade, including trafficking of cheetahs for illegal pet trade.

Elephant hunting: Botswana initiates month-long consultation process

Botswana initiated on Wednesday a month of public hearings to decide whether to lift the 2014 hunting ban, including elephant hunting.

Skye the lion hunting furore: Parliament wants Kruger NP agreement with private reserves revised

Environmental Affairs committee believes agreement between Kruger National Park and private reserves should be revised.

Video: 500 animals journey from Kruger to Zinave

The past two months saw the translocation of zebra, blue wildebeest and impala from Kruger National Park in South Africa to Zinave National Park in Mozambique. The overall goal is to reintroduce 7,500 game animals in Zinave over the next five years and to date over 1,300 animals have been rewilded to the park.

Elephant poaching: Botswana gov provides context, questions irresponsible reporting

The government of Botswana responds to the recent reports alleging that about 90 elephants were killed recently.

Namibian ‘problem’ lion dies during relocation, remaining five are safe in a private reserve

Tragedy as a Namibian desert-adapted lion dies during relocation. This follows two unsuccessful attempts to relocate six ‘problem’ lions to a national park. The five remaining lions are now safe in a private reserve.

Video: 90 African buffalo welcomed into community conservancy in Zambia

Peace Parks Foundation has presented 90 African buffalo to the communities of the Simalaha Community Conservancy, with an additional 110 buffalo still to be brought in over the next month.

Video: Lions return to Malawi’s Liwonde National Park

African Parks has completed a series of lion translocations as part of wider efforts to restore Malawi’s parks; and for the first time in 20 years, a population of the iconic predators has been re-established in Liwonde National Park.

New survey: Lion breeding industry harming South Africa’s reputation

A nationwide survey has revealed that the majority of South Africans believe the captive lion breeding industry is harming the country’s international reputation.

Biologist questions science behind leopard trophy hunting quota

After only two years of no leopard hunting, we now have apparently accumulated enough population data to reinstate a hunting quota and lift the zero quota. I find this very hard to believe for such a cryptic species.

SA reinstates leopard hunting quota – 7 to be shot this year

Leopard hunting: South Africa’s Department of Environmental Affairs has issued a quota of seven leopards for trophy hunting during 2018.

Elephant saved by vets in Kenya after being hit twice with poison arrows

Struck with two poison arrows, an elephant bull faced a slow and painful death, but fortunately he survived thanks to quick intervention.

Update on rhino translocation fiasco: WWF-Kenya admits mistakes were made

WWF-Kenya has admitted that grave mistakes were made in the translocation operation in Kenya which saw 10 out of 11 critically endangered black rhinos die.

The Extinction Business: Lion bone trade threatens world’s big cats

The Extinction Business: South Africa’s ‘Lion’ Bone Trade is an investigative report by EMS Foundation and Ban Animal Trading that reveals startling and alarming factors that have a significant negative impact on worldwide big cat conservation.

Update on rhino translocation fiasco: Tenth black rhino dies, remaining survivor attacked by lions

A tenth endangered black rhino has reportedly died after a botched translocation, according to Kenya’s tourism minister.

200 Elephants to be moved from South Africa to Mozambique

De Beers Group, in partnership with Peace Parks Foundation, has begun to transport 200 elephants across 1,500km from the Venetia Limpopo Nature Reserve in South Africa to Mozambique.

South Africa’s lion bone export quota set at 1,500 skeletons

The DEA has announced that the new lion bone export quota will allow 1,500 lion skeletons from captive-bred lions to be exported annually from South Africa.

8 Endangered black rhinos die after translocation in Kenya

Eight out of 14 critically endangered black rhinos have died after being moved to a reserve in southern Kenya, wildlife officials have revealed.

Elephants with a purpose

Why did 53 elephants travel more than 1,250 km across three different countries this month? Here’s why.

Cheetah cub survival impacted by high-tourism areas

A study has found that high levels of tourism can have a negative impact on the rearing of cheetah cubs to independence.

Investigating South Africa’s wildlife cryptotrade

A casual search of some of South Africa’s biggest online marketplaces shows just how easily endangered wildlife species are reduced to their parts – and how simple it is to sell them online while retaining anonymity.

Video: Lions make a comeback

With wild lions under pressure from so many threats, this is a wonderful story of lions being reintroduced to an area that used to have lions.

Botswana MP proposes lifting elephant hunting ban

Botswana’s parliament has adopted a motion requesting the government to consider lifting the ban on the hunting of elephants in areas that are not designated as game reserves and national parks.

Guarding Limpopo National Park’s carnivores

A new carnivore protection ranger force, the Limpopo Lion Protection Team, has been trained and deployed – specifically assigned to support the Greater Limpopo Carnivore Programme and tasked with securing known lion ranges from targeted lion poaching.

Lions tested for tuberculosis in Greater Kruger

A veterinarian and the ProVet Wildlife team recently darted a pride of five lions in the northern part of Greater Kruger to test for TB.

Kruger lion hunted – what we know

A large male lion was trophy hunted on Thursday morning last week in the Greater Kruger National Park.

Zambia’s hippo cull: Valid concerns and questions from those affected

A showdown is looming between tourism operators in Zambia’s South Luangwa National Park and trophy hunters, in the wake of the Zambian government’s decision to cull up to 2,000 hippos over a 5-year period in Luangwa Valley, across the river from the tourism lodges – and to award the culling contract to a South African trophy hunting outfit Umlilo Safaris (so much for the empowerment of local people and generation of revenue that stays in Zambia).

Zambia hippo cull via trophy hunting not as high as 2,000, says minister

The Zambian government on Tuesday denied reports that it has authorised the culling of 2,000 hippos in the Luangwa Valley.

Forest hornbills being decimated in Ghana

Six out of eight Ghanaian forest hornbill species have shown significant population declines due to uncontrolled hunting, according to a long-term research project.

Elephant cow with calf saved from snare

An elephant cow, with a 2-week-old baby in tow, needed all the help she could get after sustaining a serious injury from a poaching snare.

Tanzania invites bids for logging in Selous to pave way for huge hydropower plant

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.

Kenya to fast-track laws to make wildlife killing capital offence

Kenya will fast-track laws to make wildlife poaching a capital offence as part of the country’s bid to conserve flora and fauna.

Attacks by captive carnivores – the stats revealed in open letter to minister

A formal letter to the Minister of Environmental Affairs from some of the top wildlife NGOs in the country about the captive carnivore interactions in South Africa. Records show that at least 37 incidents of captive carnivore attacks have occurred since 1996, affecting no less than 40 victims.

SA hunters expelled over canned lion hunting

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.

Wild black rhinos to return to Chad after 50-year absence

An unprecedented collaboration between the South African and Chadian Governments, SANParks and African Parks, is enabling the translocation of critically endangered black rhinos from South Africa to a secure park in Chad on the 3rd May, reintroducing the species to the country after almost fifty years of local extinction.