Patricia Anne MacDonald got a surprise during Lockdown when, at around 2.30am one night in July, she realised that the sound of creaking trees and branches breaking at her home in Cape Vidal, South Africa, was not the wind! It was elephant! “I must admit,” she told SAPeople. “It was quite scary at the time. […]

Thanks to a team of kind and caring human beings in South Africa, two rhinos that were orphaned after losing their mothers to poachers, have been returned to the wild. Award-winning photographer and filmmaker Justin Sullivan filmed the moving journey these two rhino ‘best friends’ were taken on in order to release them into the Greater […]

We have learned so much about nature from David Attenborough’s documentaries over the past seven decades. In a new BBC film he lays bare just how perilous the state of that nature really is, why this matters for everyone who shares this planet, and what needs to change. This film is radical. Surprisingly radical. I […]

CAPE TOWN – For millions of people around the world, lockdown during the global coronavirus pandemic has meant several months of isolation in the interests of protecting public health. But for billions of animals caged and confined in factory farms, laboratories, marine parks, roadside zoos, fur farms and circuses, lockdown lasts a lifetime. Animals can […]

As the world celebrates World Animal Day this weekend, South African current affairs show Carte Blanche investigates why a facility virtually on the doorstep of SA’s famous Kruger National Park has been allowed to open.   You can watch the show on Sunday 4 Oct in South Africa on DStv Now or stream it overseas […]

Hluhluwe-iMfolozi Park (HiP) has built a fantastic new fence, complete with the latest technology, to deter and detect rhino poachers… and in so doing save South Africa’s wildlife as well as keeping the brave rangers, who put their lives on the line for the rhino, safer. This incredible park, situated in KwaZulu-Natal (KZN), is home […]

The mystery of why hundreds of elephants (over 300) have been suddenly dying in Botswana – some literally dropping dead on their faces – has been solved, according to Botswana authorities. The Ministry of Environment, Natural Resources Conservation and Tourism said in a live broadcast on Monday that toxins in the water is to blame […]

On the 21st of July, Wildlife ACT’s Community Conservation Manager and expert rhino tracker, Zama Ncube, and Priority Species Monitor Izzy Rowles, were on a monitoring session in Hluhluwe-iMfolozi Park, when they came across an agitated White Rhino cow. A few seconds later they heard the sound of a White Rhino calf calling. This is […]

Thirty international artists and photographers today launched a campaign to raise awareness and funds for the endangered African Painted Dog, also known as the African Wild Dog and the Painted Wolf, whose numbers have in the last century gone from half a million to under 7,000. The artwork at ‘LYCAON – Artists for Painted Dogs’ […]

South Africa’s Minister of Environment has stressed that International commercial trade of rhino horn and derivatives remains prohibited… in terms of the Convention on the International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES) and the South Africa’s CITES regulations (2010). “International commercial trade in rhino horn is and remains prohibited in terms […]

The High Court of South Africa has dismissed the appeal filed by Zanchieta Wild Cat Farm against the judgment of Honourable Ms Justice Mokgohloa concerning Zanchieta’s inclusion in the award-winning Blood Lions documentary; and instructed Zanchieta to pay Blood Lions’ legal costs. Blood Lions’ documentary feature film – which blows the lid off claims made […]

The Game Rangers Association of Africa (GRAA) says it applauds the decision announced in Zimbabwe yesterday to ban mining in national parks. The Association says it had noted with “great alarm” the reports that Special Mining Grants had been issued to mine coal within Hwange National Park. The decision was announced on Tuesday by Zimbabwe’s […]

On the first Saturday of September every year, International Vulture Awareness Day is celebrated – a time to not only reflect on the importance of vultures and the essential role they play in a healthy ecosystem, but also a time to spread awareness and take action… writes Chris Kelly, Species Director – Wildlife ACT These […]

A childhood memory wherein a friend was attacked by dogs led Zandile Mbonxa to make a pinkie promise to herself that she would never have anything to do with animals. While nobody has a one-way ticket to peek into his or her future, Mbonxa would have probably laughed at the thought that she would one […]

Tragically, at least four, if not 17, dolphins washed up dead on the shores of Mauritius this morning, and another four ailing dolphins were found stranded. This comes one month after Japanese vessel MV Wakashio ran aground, causing an oil spill although local authorities claim there is no link. Greenpeace has called for an urgent […]

A large black mamba has been rescued from the surf at Addington Beach on Durban’s famous beachfront, a destination which is usually more popular with bathing tourists than venomous snakes! According to SAAMBR, the snake was 2.47 metres long! Metro Search and Rescue reached out to SAAMBR (the South African Association for Marine Biological Research) […]

Smooth-drinking wine and hardy indigenous Nguni cattle might seem an unlikely pairing – yet 320-year old Vergelegen Estate in Somerset West is home to one of South Africa’s largest Nguni collections, numbering over 400 prime cattle. The good news is that this renowned estate has welcomed 132 Nguni newborns over the past few weeks – […]

Between July and August 2020, 10 critically endangered African White-Backed Vultures have tragically been discovered dead in four separate incidents in northern KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa. Thanks to special GPS tracking units, these are helping identify what the threats to the species are… which unfortunately appear to be man-made threats. Of the 10 deceased birds, four […]

Tributes have poured in for a young safari field guide, Sheldon Hooper (27) who has tragically been killed by an elephant in a luxury private game reserve adjacent to South Africa’s famous Kruger National Park. The devastating incident took place at Thornybush River Lodge on Tuesday morning. According to local reports Sheldon and a colleague […]

The predation of livestock by carnivores, and the retaliatory killing of carnivores as a result, is a major global conservation challenge. Such human-wildlife conflicts are a key driver of large carnivore declines and the costs of coexistence are often disproportionately borne by rural communities in the global south. While current approaches tend to focus on […]

South Africa is not a good place for lions today, on World Lion Day – and it won’t be tomorrow either, with an estimated 11,000 lions held captive in more than 300 facilities across the country, according to Humane Society International-Africa (HSI-Africa). The captive lion breeding industry is marked by ongoing exposure of poor conditions […]

In a world-first for the endangered Temminck´s Ground Pangolin (Smutsia temminckii), a reintroduction program has been launched to release this species into an area where they became locally extinct decades ago – KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa. Manyoni Private Game Reserve in Zululand, KZN, is working closely with the African Pangolin Working Group, HSI Africa and Johannesburg […]

In another amazing act by the Bloemfontein SPCA, it was able to save a serval that had been hit by a car, apparently while escaping a pack of hunting dogs and was then, critically injured, transported 300 kilometres on the back of a truck. The SPCA said in its newsletter today that it had received […]

Snakes are a diverse lineage of reptiles that are found on every continent except Antarctica. Despite differences in appearance, habitat preference, defence tactics and underlying biology, one thing is common to all 3,800 species of snakes — every last one is a predator. As predators, snakes are likely to fulfil important roles in ecosystems. Knowing […]

South Africa rhino poaching decreased by almost 53 percent in the first six months of 2020, with 166 animals being killed for their horns, according to figures released by the Department of Environment, Forestry and Fisheries. During the first six months of 2019, a total of 316 rhino had been poached in South Africa. Some […]