Tens of thousands of African elephants are under threat from plans for a massive new oilfield in one of the continent’s last great wildernesses, experts have warned. Campaigners and conservationists fear the proposed oilfield stretching across Namibia and Botswana would devastate regional ecosystems and wildlife as well as local communities. The plans are the latest […]
Tag: Okavango Delta
The Secret Footage of the N.R.A. Chief’s Botched Elephant Hunt
Wayne LaPierre has cultivated his image as an exemplar of American gun culture, but video of his clumsy marksmanship—and details regarding his Rodeo Drive shopping trips—tells another story. After the mass shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary School, in 2012, Wayne LaPierre, the head of the National Rifle Association, told Americans agitating for new gun regulations, […]
From safaris to slaughter: Butchered for valuable horns, rhinos are among the tragic victims in a new poaching epidemic – as Africa’s deserted game reserves lose the tourist millions that protected its wildlife wonders
When Prince Harry was seeking to impress Meghan Markle in the early days of their courtship, he took her on a surprise trip to Botswana, the African country he used to call his ‘second home’. There they celebrated her 36th birthday in a $2,000-a-night deluxe tent at the Meno a Kwena safari camp on the […]
Calls for swift action as hundreds of elephants die in Botswana’s Okavango Delta
Nearly 400 elephants have died in Botswana’s Okavango Delta since March, in what wildlife experts say is one of the largest elephant mortality events ever recorded. Conservationists have criticized the government’s handling of the matter and are urging them to speed up investigations. Botwsana’s environment ministry registered the first of these unexplained elephant deaths in […]
‘Filthy bloody business:’ Poachers kill more animals as coronavirus crushes tourism to Africa
Ryan Tate is supposed to be in South Africa right now helping to fight off poachers who hack horns off rhinos and kill elephants for their ivory tusks. But since the country announced a national lockdown in March to slow the spread of the coronavirus, Tate is stuck in the U.S. He can’t join his […]
Botswana condemned for lifting ban on hunting elephants
Conservationists have reacted with outrage and concern to a decision by Botswana to lift its ban on elephant hunting. The southern African country said the move was justified by an increase in population and its impact on farmers’ livelihoods. “The whole world is turning away from hunting. It is increasingly seen as an archaic practice. […]
POLL: Should the culling of elephants in Botswana be allowed?
CHOBE NATIONAL PARK, Botswana — As we travel by jeep through the mainly mopane scrub of northern Botswana, along the Linyanti River, signs of the significant presence of an iconic heavyweight are evident. Knocked-over trees litter the earth, many with the bark stripped off their trunks. This is the work of the African savanna elephant, […]
Nearly 90 Elephants Found Poached in Botswana
Conservationists are mourning the loss of 87 elephants whose bodies were discovered during an aerial survey in Botswana. The elephants were discovered during a months-long aerial census being conducted for the government by Elephants Without Borders, which called the discovery an “unprecedented” level of poaching in the country. “I’m shocked, I’m completely astounded. The scale […]