The most unforgettable moment on an African safari is the first time you spot a magnificent animal in their natural habitat. Often, that animal is often an elephant — simply because their size makes them hard to miss. Elephants are, in fact, the largest land animals in the world, along with being the heaviest. Because […]
Tag: Chobe National Park
Humans are biggest factor defining elephant ranges across Africa, study finds
In an undisturbed ecosystem, elephants move across the landscape in response to the availability of food and water and the type of habitat or competition. But according to a continent-wide study coordinated by Save the Elephants and recently published in Current Biology, elephants’ range is now predominantly defined by human activities and the boundaries of […]
Poachers Are Invading Botswana, Last Refuge of African Elephants
In September, conservationists in Botswana discovered 87 dead elephants, their faces hacked off and tusks missing. Poaching, the researchers warned, was on the rise. The news had international repercussions. Botswana had been one of the last great elephant refuges, largely spared the poaching crisis that has swept through much of Africa over the past decade. […]
Trophy hunting ‘imperial’ and ‘unsustainable’
A colonial attitude remains pervasive among those who defend the trophy hunting of elephants. They argue that ‘the west’ must stop lecturing Africans about how to manage their elephants. But it was Western hunters who shot elephants out to the point where they had to establish reserves, dispossessing and crowding out local communities in the […]
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, […]
The Animalscape
There is a kind of wildlife image that has always spoken to me deeply. If you have been following my photography for more than a month you would have noticed that I often share these kinds of images. I like to call it “The Animalscape”. The animal in the landscape. The landscape with the animal(s) […]
Elephant refugees flee to last stronghold in Africa
Chobe National Park, Botswana – The elephants swim across the river in a straight line, trunks jutting out of the water like snorkels. With low, guttural bellows, they push their bodies together, forming a living raft to bolster a calf too tiny to stay afloat on its own. This pachyderm flotilla has a dangerous destination […]
Graceful Wings
There are few birds in Africa that evoke more in us than the African Fish Eagle. It has been my favourite raptor for years, and their haunting calls along Africa’s waterways are an amazing reminder of the privilege we have to be on safari. One of the best places to see and photograph them is […]