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 […]

Their names are Lavinia, Lidia, Marin, Tarhon Big and Petrica, and they’ve spent most of their lives “behind iron bars in dirty little cages” in a Romanian zoo – until now. The animals were flown by the rescue organisation Four Paws to South Africa and landed on Friday, and will soon be transferred to their new home at […]

It bears all the markings of another potential social media storm like the one created by Cecil the Lion. Initial reports claimed an elephant – which some said was iconic because of his huge tusks – was reportedly shot when he strayed out of the Kruger National Park into Zimbabwe a week ago. But how much of […]

BEIJING – China has said it is banning the import of ivory obtained through hunting for the next year, according to a statement on Thursday by its forestry agency. The statement comes only days after the Chinese authorities announced the forestry police had seized almost $4 million in trafficked ivory and arrested 16 people, and other news that […]

Sandibe Okavango Safari Lodge in Botswana is one of nine hotels vying for the top hotel award at this year’s World Architecture Festival, to be held in Singapore in November. The 12-suite lodge’s unique shape has been likened to an upturned boat or a big wooden ribcage, although we prefer the allusion to the endangered pangolin. […]

Mozambique was declared clear of landmines only last month, and one of the reasons which made it possible was because of the little-publicised rats that have been trained to sniff out the deadly explosives. Widely known as Hero Rats, they are part of a programme run by the nonprofit organisation APOPO, whose slogan is “we train rats […]

The title of Evan Haussmann’s video says it all: ‘How to film a charging rhino (and not crap yourself).’ Says photographer journalist Haussmann, who took the video in 2012 (although it continues to get circulated for the ‘rush’ it gives): “So I’m minding my own business while working in the greater Kruger area and this […]

It’s not just the purple jacaranda trees that are brightening the roads and pavements of Pretoria. The white jacarandas are pretty spectacular too. RIA VILJOEN captured the photos on this page of the white blossomed trees blooming in Pretoria, otherwise known as Jacaranda City. The trees with pure white flowers instead of purple – about […]

BEIJING – In a sign that China may be taking a harder line on the trade in wildlife products, police there have seized one of the biggest hauls of smuggled ivory and other rare animal parts and have arrested 16 people, it was reported on Monday. Police in Beijing took possession of 804 kilograms of ivory, 11 kilograms of rhino […]

CAPE TOWN – The city of Cape Town has reopened a walkway near Boulders Beach to dogs after temporarily closing it following the death of 22 more penguins north of Seaforth Beach near Simon’s Town, although it says it will increase monitoring of the area. Since the beginning of the year 42 endangered African penguins […]

Two of the most popular wildlife videos on YouTube, watched millions of times already, are of grown men playing with lions as if they were their pet kitties. The scenes of human-animal love are so intoxicating, it makes everyone want to go out and do the same, walk with a lion, pet a cute little cub. […]

DAR ES SALAAM – A Chinese woman known as the ‘Queen of Ivory’ has been arrested in Tanzania, the most important ivory trafficker ever caught in the country, according to a statement released on Thursday. Yang Feng Glan, 66, has been followed by Tanzania’s National and Transnational Serious Crimes Investigation Unit for over a year, and was […]

Mention of the dung beetle might cause some to go ‘Ick’, but the industrious, single-minded gatherers of animal poop have become a favourite of a South African plant species, says a new study from the University of Cape Town that’s getting a lot of international media buzz. According to the paper published on Monday by Jeremy Midgley of the Department […]

Over 130 marches are taking place around the world this weekend to raise awareness about the plight of elephants and rhinos who are currently being poached to extinction in Africa… The poaching, often masterminded by international criminals, is driven largely by a demand for ivory products in China, and by a mistaken belief in the medicinal value of […]

The two lions brought to South Africa after being rescued from a Bulgarian zoo have landed! They have also been released into their new home in the Eastern Cape. Watch the touching video of the release of Jora and Black The lions Jora and Black, seven-year-old brothers, were rescued by the Born Free Foundation, among other conservation […]

SOFIA – Jora and Black, two lions rescued from a Bulgarian circus, are on their way to a private reserve in the Eastern Cape, it was reported by the Born Free Foundation on the weekend. The two seven-year-old brothers were rescued by Born Free in July this year from a cramped metal beast wagon near Bulgaria’s capital, […]

There’s a new challenge on, like the ALS dump ice water over your head, and this one is for rhinos. Dance/boogie/kwaito/shake-it-up to publicise the plight of our endangered friend. The #My40sForRhinos campaign, started on World Rhino Day, is being spearheaded by Rhino Disharmony to create awareness about the increasing and devastating levels of rhino poaching. The 40 seconds, […]

Private rhino owner Nick Tredger bid farwell to the last of his rhino in South Africa yesterday, following his heartfelt letter a fortnight ago after one of his black rhino cows and her calf were killed by poachers. At that time Nick said “I am very tired and very, very angry”. He was angry with the poachers […]

What a wonderful sight – some of South Africa’s most beautiful indigenous flowers are currently blooming at the Witness Garden Show in Pietermaritzburg, KwaZulu-Natal. LORRAINE SCHOLFIELD captured these beautiful photos today… The 4-day Garden Show is the largest horticultural show in the southern hemisphere and features plants, flowers, gardens, entertainment, gourmet food hall, music, events and more. (Note […]

I hope and pray for your safety on this day when the world celebrates you. I’ve been following your footsteps closely for the past 18-months and I’ve had many ups and downs over this period. Last week was particularly difficult for me to once again witness what my species is capable of. One of you […]

Kevin Richardson, the South African also known as the Lion Whisperer because of his close-quarters work with lions, has just released a video pleading for greater awareness of canned lion hunting is. In brief, Richardson says that canned hunting, which is being criticised by more and more conservation organizations around the world, is the hunting of a […]

Several parts of the Cape Peninsula’s parks have reopened to visitors, six months after devastating fires tore across Table Mountain and vast stretches of Constantia and Silvermine, and engulfed the mountainside above Muizenberg and False Bay. All of the Cape Peninsula, including Silvermine (which reopened yesterday), Table Mountain and the beaches as well as Cape Point, fall […]

A week after the controversial #drivenhunt of scores of animals in Limpopo went ahead, drawing media coverage and disdain around the world, the so-called massacre continues to incite debate about the five-day event and the brutal practice of chasing wild animals into a confined area to be shot. On Sunday, the South African TV programme Carte Blanche, […]

Most of South Africa’s national parks – including the world famous Kruger National Park, Addo Elephant Park, Kgalakgadi, the Richtersveld and Golden Gate – will be open for free to any South African citizen for the next five days from Monday 14 September. The annual SA National Parks (SANParks) programme is being funded this year by First National Bank and […]

When we asked Filipa Fraga if we could share her dolphin photos, taken in Angola, she didn’t hesitate: “It would be a pleasure. Good moments of our nature should be shared.” And this is definitely a great moment for any surfer. Actually…for anyone! After capturing these photos, Filipa wrote “feeling blissful…for today is everything!” And […]