Are you neurotic about all things zoonotic? Perhaps you should be. A new strain of bird flu, H7N9, has recently emerged and has killed more than 30 people in China to date. There are concerns that this flu may mutate into a form that can be transmitted through human-to-human contact, risking its transformation into a […]
Category: Wildlife
17 poachers allegedly enter elephant stronghold in Congo, conservationists fear massacre
Local researchers and wildlife guards say 17 armed elephant poachers have gained access to Dzanga Bai, a famous large clearing and waterfole where up to 200 forest elephants visit daily in the Central African Republic (CAR)’s Dzanga-Ndoki National Park. WWF, which works in the region but has recently evacuated due to rising violence, is calling […]
Red kite showing off
Milvus milvus Accipitriformes – Acciptidae As I was taking ordinary pictures of this magnificent bird, he turned swiftly around and flapped his wings to impress another individual intended on perching on the same branch. Beginning of April 2013
Long-billed Curlew
Long-billed Curlews have to be one of the most fascinating birds around. I mean, just look at these guys–the large size (for a shorebird), the enormously long bill, and the curve of it. It’s shaped just right to get down into sand and mud to grab burrowing shrimp and crabs. Watching them hunt for food […]
Breeding Time!
Summer breeders have mostly all arrived at the mountain pond on Mt Unzen, and the resident species are also busy nesting. The main draw-cards of Narcissus Flycatcher, Blue-and-white Flycatcher and Japanese Thrush are all there now. Meanwhile, down at Oe reclaimed land area dozens of Oriental Reed Warbler are busy establishing territories while Pacific Swift […]
PhotoShare: Mana Dreaming
I can’t believe how time has flown. It’s now almost a year since I made the epic journey up to Mana Pools in Zimbabwe. What excites me is that I’ll be going back in about 8 weeks’ time with Marlon du Toit on the first official WILD EYE MANA POOLS PHOTO SAFARI. After my mind-blowing […]
Emergency: large number of elephants being poached in the Central African Republic (warning: graphic image)
WWF and the Wildlife Conversation Society (WCS) are issuing an immediate call for action as they report that poachers are killing sizable numbers of forest elephants near the Dzanga-Sangha protected areas in the Central African Republic (CAR). The two large conservation groups have evacuated their staff from the area after a government coup, but local […]
Lions for sale: big game hunting combines with lion bone trade to threaten endangered cats
Koos Hermanus would rather not give names to the lions he breeds. So here, behind a 2.4-meter high electric fence, is 1R, a three-and-a-half-year-old male, who consumes 5kg of meat a day and weighs almost 200kg. It will only leave its enclosure once it has been “booked”‘ by a hunter, most of whom are from […]