Summer is the time many people head to the beach to enjoy a refreshing dip in the sea to wash away the years’ hard work. Being bitten by a shark remains a concern for many beachgoers even though statistically, the chances are extremely low. Last year, worldwide 72 people were bitten in unprovoked incidents with […]

PRETORIA – A North Korean diplomat who used the privileged diplomatic postal bag of his country to illegally smuggle rhino horn out of the country has been expelled from South Africa, according to news reports. The man, Park Chol-jun, apparently left the country on 11 December. According to one report, Park was arrested on 3 May in […]

The carcass of a humpback whale that floated ashore closed Strand Beach near Cape Town on Wednesday at the height of the Christmas holidays, for fears that its blood and blubber would attract sharks. The massive body was moved away with heavy machinery. Soon after the carcass was found, the city closed off the beach, saying […]

WASHINGTON — Barely six months after the killing of Cecil the Lion with a bow and arrow in Zimbabwe by a U.S. hunter caused international outrage, President Barack Obama will on Monday introduce a law that reclassifies the protection status of lions and clamps down on the importation of certain sport-hunted lions, according to news […]

On Tuesday two local tribesmen were charged in the Chief Magistrates Court in Kenya for poisoning an unknown number of lions that belonged to the well-known Marsh Pride made famous on the TV show “Big Cat Diary” and which in turn helped make the Masai Mara famous. This is the first case that has been […]

The gorgeous exhibition of the Natural History Museum’s 51st Wildlife Photographers of the Year (WPY) has reached Cape Town, and includes the works of several South Africans among the winners. Its opening was attended by HRH Prince Harry during his visit to the country. The WPY says it champions ethical photography, where images are chosen for their […]

The iSimangaliso Wetland Park and surrounding KwaZulu-Natal community have reacted with shock and sadness at the heartless butchering of three of the Park’s most beloved rhino…with one local resident – Craig Munro – penning an angry Facebook post that appears to have hit a nerve…and has gone viral. In the latest tragic killing of rhino in […]

Prince Harry posted a collection of his own personal photos today on Instagram to draw attention to the urgent challenges faced by anti-poaching personnel on the ground in southern Africa. The photos (and videos) are from the prince’s last trip to southern Africa, where he worked on front-line conservation projects. He published the photos to coincide with his official trip to […]

Two weeks ago in Kruger National Park clients of Wild Wings Safari came across an elephant calf stuck in a muddy hole. Try as it might, with lots of encouragement from one particular adult, it just couldn’t make it. Finally, however, after a few other elephants had come to check out the scene, the adult got down and […]

Pretoria’s latest burst of sensational colour comes from its Soetdoring or Sweet Thorn (Acacia karoo) which is currently blooming with an abundance of fragrant, yellow flower clusters that resemble pom-poms and appear after good rains. “It is just so marvelous to see wherever it has rained, the yellow pom-poms of the Sweet-thorn trees colour the city […]

PRETORIA – A South African judge on Thursday lifted a domestic trading ban on rhino horn that was imposed by the government in 2009 to try stem poaching of the animals. The decision by Judge Francis Legodi in the Pretoria High Court came after Malelane game farmer John Hume and Limpopo farmer Johan Kruger fought a legal battle to […]

As South African National Parks (SANParks) announced yesterday that it has adopted principles to guide “drought preparedness” across its parks, a wildlife vet has described some of the recent harrowing scenes that have met those travelling through the country’s drought-hit parks. When the rain comes…there is often not enough…leaving weakened animals fighting for their lives to escape […]

Actor and former California governor Arnold Schwarzenegger is in a new anti-poaching video where an elephant’s tusk gets blown up after the “Terminator” says “Let’s get rid of the demand for ivory”. Watch the video of the tusk explosion: “Hey, stop killing 96 elephants every day just because of this ivory,” Schwarzenegger  says, holding up a tusk. […]

It’s not just human teenagers who are moody. Wildlife enthusiast Ida de Beer took the following photos during a recent trip to a safari park in South Africa. “The pictures are un-edited,” she says. “This is how the elephant came closer and closer…” Ida estimates the elephant is a teenager of about 15-years-old (and its ivory tusks are covered by […]

Since the start of the weekend I’ve been hearing reports of the huge gatherings of humpback whales at Noordhoek, Robben Island and Dassen Island. As much as I wanted to document this amazing wildlife event, for five days in a row the wind was unfortunately too strong to fly…until yesterday. I woke to a beautifully calm […]

The anti-poaching wildlife message goes sky-high this week as two Emirates A380 jets take off wearing special livery featuring endangered species…in support of United for Wildlife (a global collaboration of seven of the world’s leading wildlife charities). According to a statement today from Emirates in Dubai, the livery – which features some of the animals threatened by poaching and illegal […]

There have been several amazing stories recently of lions rescued from terrible conditions abroad – including an airlift of 33 cats from South America – but none of them as pull-on-your-heartstrings as the tale of young Lia, who arrived in South Africa from Egypt last week. Watch the video of Lia and Elsa getting to know each other […]

President Jacob Zuma made a public visit to the Kruger National Park on Sunday, not long after news had broken of four lions, 46 vultures and an elephant being killed with poison in the park. Zuma visited Kruger to lead an anti-rhino poaching awareness day and officially launch the Joint Operation Centre in Skukuza to coordinate efforts against poaching, […]

Filmmakers – who are currently making a documentary on the shocking onslaught of poaching on South Africa’s rhino – have asked for feedback on the news that rhino horn items were auctioned in Australia this week. In a message to SAPeople followers, Stroop asked: “WHAT ARE YOUR THOUGHTS? We at Stroop – die film feel that there’s something quite wrong […]

Check out this wild leopard caught on CCTV cameras outside a shop in the Mpumalanga province of South Africa The leopard – filmed in Weir Street, Riverside, in Mbombela (Nelspruit) – appears to have heard the news that there’s a new Weylandts store in town! He made the late night visit at about 4am on Monday morning. The video was uploaded […]

The ecologist and author Craig Packer has spent 30 years researching the overhunting of lions in Africa and is deeply pessimistic about their future. Here he talks about dishonest hunting operators, the urgent need for global money, why he takes issue with animal groups – and what we’ve learned from Cecil. Craig Packer likes sticking […]

Tragically, South Africa’s elephants appear to have become the latest target of poachers, with the Kruger National Park announcing on Friday that at least 19 elephant have been killed there this year after a decade where only two were poached, both only last year. Kruger spokesman William Mabasa said the majority of the elephants were poached in the northern part of the […]

Barely days after six lions were saved from horrendous conditions in zoos in Romania and Italy to spend their lives in a sanctuary in South Africa, Zimbabwe has given two lions captured in Hwange National Park to the Chinese to spend the rest of their lives in a small 2,000-square-metre cage in Shanghai. Two days ago, New China […]

The six rescued lions who arrived “home” in South Africa last week, after being maltreated by their previous owners in Romania and the Netherlands, are settling in well according to their new custodians. The animals landed in South Africa on Friday, after being flown over by the rescue organisation Four Paws. They are now enjoying grass […]

As the Chinese president began a four-day visit to Britain, Prince William has made an impassioned call on China to stop the trafficking and trade in endangered wildlife products and become leaders in conservation. In a three-minute speech broadcast on Chinese television, the prince said poaching was killing off animals in such unprecedented numbers, he […]