On the black market it is reputedly worth more than its weight in gold or cocaine, and this week the lure of rhino horn brought the bloody business of poaching to a zoo near Paris. There, in the dead of night, criminals broke in, shot a white rhino called Vince three times in the head […]
Tag: southern africa
Birders flock to see exotic bee-eaters
Exotic bee-eaters have had their best ever breeding attempt in the UK with eight chicks fledging from two nests, conservationists said. Two pairs of the brightly-coloured birds, which are normally found in the Mediterranean, have nested on the Isle of Wight this year. Three chicks fledged from one nest on National Trust land, in a […]
Ghostly Duo
A moment of magic in the bush as a Black Rhino cow and her calf approach the nearby waterhole. A storm is brewing and the day is drawing to a close. Every step is weary, and every sound is carefully tuned into with their amazing hearing. We sat very still in our vehicle and watched […]
Elusive Kingfisher
I haven’t shown you a bird in quite a while – so I’ll remedy that situation right here and now! Southern Africa is blessed with a lovely variety of Kingfishers, a species that is a firm favourite with avid bird-watchers and photographers in most parts of the world, for sure. I’ve had good opportunities in […]
Sharpe’s Grysbok
I thought it apt to share a cute little antelope found in Southern Africa called the Sharpe’s Grysbok (Raphicerus sharpei). The name “Grysbok” translates directly from Afrikaans as “grey buck”, and though they’re not primarily grey of colour you can see the grey stubble coming through in its coat, as if it’s sporting the beard […]
Call of the Spurfowl
There are very few things that affirm to you that you are in the bush and you need to wake up to go on a game drive as pleasantly as the morning call of the Swainson’s Spurfowl. This call evokes endless memories of trips to the Kruger National Park and surrounds in me, and I’m […]
More than 1,000 rhinos killed in South Africa in 2013
More than 1,000 rhinos were killed in South Africa last year at a record-breaking rate that marked a jump of 50% on the year before. The environment ministry said 1,004 animals were killed in 2013, up from 668 in 2012 and just 13 in 2007, as the poaching crisis escalated. Most of the killing was […]
Stop poisoning endangered white vultures in South Africa!
37 white-backed vultures were found dead after it was established they had been poisoned. It all happened in Hluhluwe-iMfolozi Park, KwaZulu Natal in South Africa. It is not the first case of vulture poisoning – the birds now face a declining population and may soon become extinct! The vulture died after feeding from on an […]