In Botswana’s Okavango delta, deep floodwater can dry to dust in months. Thirsty animals seek out water holes for a much-needed drink – but this brings them into dangerous proximity with others. And in one episode of the BBC TV series Natural World, the film crew follow a group of hippos as they deal with the […]
Tag: elephants
Electric fences help farmers and elephants coexist in Zambian borderlands
LUNDAZI, Zambia — “It’s not possible [to coexist with elephants], because they are animals and we are human beings — they should have their own home,” says Esnart Banda, a Zambian farmer whose maize and tobacco fields lie 5 meters, just 16 feet, from the boundary of Malawi’s Kasungu National Park. Just two thin strands […]
Trade in elephant ‘trophies’ soars during second Trump presidency
The number of permits for importing African elephant hunting trophies has increased dramatically in the United States according to an investigation by the Centre for Biological Diversity (CBD). The charity, which has 1.8 million members and is dedicated to the protection of endangered species and wild places, used the 1967 US Freedom of information Act to […]
In Thailand, burned sugarcane plantations become traps for leopard cat cubs
Nuntita Ruksachat, head veterinarian at the Khon Kaen wildlife rescue center in northeastern Thailand, holds up a feline cub no larger than her hand. Part of a litter rescued just days ago, the cub’s fur is patchy, revealing blistered skin underneath. Its whiskers, clearly singed, are short and stubby. “They were rescued from a burned […]
9 animals that could take on (and probably kill) a saltwater crocodile: Just which creatures are able to take on one of the world’s deadliest animals?
The saltwater crocodile, also known as the estuarine crocodile or saltie, is the largest of all living reptiles. Males can exceed 6m in length and a tonne in weight and are widely touted as producing the strongest bite-force of any animal. Like other crocodilians, they dismantle their prey using a manoeuvre called the ‘death roll’, which […]
‘Black Death’ buffalo shot dead after fatally goring millionaire American trophy hunter in ambush while being stalked
THE “Black Death” buffalo that gored a big game hunter to death has been shot dead. Millionaire ranch trader Asher Watkins, 52, was on Safari in Limpopo, South Africa last Sunday stalking the 3,000lb bull when he was fatally charged at. Without warning, the buffalo – considered Africa’s most dangerous animal – burst from cover […]
Millionaire big-game hunter, 75, is trampled to death by herd of FIVE elephants while stalking antelope with shotgun
Armed with a shotgun and tracking a rare species of antelope, Ernie Dosio, 75, was killed after stumbling across the animals in dense vegetation in Gabon. The carcass collector had been moving through thick undergrowth with a professional hunter when the pair unknowingly walked into the herd. The animals were said to be so well […]
Chinese court cases reveal most trafficked rhino horns come from Southern Africa
Rhinoceroses, one of the largest groups of animals on the planet, are fighting a battle for survival because of a prized body part: their horn, which they use to defend territories, assert dominance and protect their young. But people use this keratinous horn as medicine, adornment and decoration. In traditional Chinese medicine, it’s believed to […]