South African National Parks (SANParks) announced today – Friday 24 Feb – that they are closely monitoring the path of cyclone Freddy and relying on updates from the South African Weather Service (SAWS), which has warned that parts of Limpopo and Mpumalanga might be affected. All camps in the Kruger National Park (KNP) – with […]

The Cape of Good Hope SPCA has announced with “deep sadness” the passing of beloved baboon, Van Damme… after the adult male sustained severe injuries in a fight with another baboon. The SPCA said it “deeply regrets to announce the euthanasia of the adult male baboon WF8, better known to locals and his fans as […]

The sight of Fish Hoek’s colourful trek fishermen (whose language is sometimes just as colourful!) has become as synonymous as Table Mountain and the Muizenberg Beach Huts as icons of the Western Cape, South Africa. Noula Maclean Photography captured these wonderful photos on Tuesday (14 Feb) of the hard-working fishermen with their Valentine’s Day catch […]

South Africa’s controversial and privately owned Platinum Rhino breeding and conservation project, the largest of its kind in the world, has announced it is putting itself up for auction in mid-April. Despite project founder John Hume’s best intentions, and the success the project has had at helping save the species from extinction, it’s an “expensive […]

If you gaze up to the skies over the Western Cape coastline, there’s an excellent chance you’ll spot marine conservation photographer Jean Tresfon flying overhead. PICTURES | Is this the BIGGEST great white shark ever spotted in SA waters? Tresfon has been taking to the air for several years now, bringing those followers of his Facebook page award-winning photographs […]

Various parts of the Kruger National Park (KNP) are expected to receive more rain in the coming week (13 -17 February 2023). This has led to park management temporarily closing some of the remote camps and evacuate staff members to nearer safer camps until the situation improves. KNP Managing Executive, Oscar Mthimkhulu, said in a […]

Disaster management teams in South Africa’s famous Kruger National Park, as well as external role players, are on alert and monitoring the impact of rainfall that is expected over the next few days until Friday 17 February, as forecast by the SA Weather Services Evacuation underway in Kruger National Park SANParks said in a statement […]

An estimated FIVE TONS of rock lobster have walked out of the sea on the West Coast in the Western Cape since Tuesday, 7 February 2023, due to a red tide (harmful alga bloom). RED ALERT OUT FOR ROCK LOBSTER The Department of Forestry, Fisheries and the Environment (DAF) has activated the West Coast Rock Lobster Contingency […]

It’s been seven months since the South African National Biodiversity Institute (SANBI) announced it would be retiring Charley, the elephant held captive at Pretoria National Zoological Gardens (NZG). Charley has become a household name in SA with many conservationists urging authorities to let him retire and spend his final years, finally, with some level of […]

If you gaze up to the skies over the Western Cape coastline, there’s an excellent chance you’d spot marine conservation photographer Jean Tresfon flying overhead. PICTURES | Is this the BIGGEST great white shark ever spotted in SA waters? Tresfon has been taking to the air for several years now, bringing those followers of his Facebook page award-winning photographs […]

A badly decomposed whale carcass recently washed ashore in Mossel Bay in the Western Cape. According to reports, the carcass was first spotted in the water near The Point in Mossel Bay. Spokesperson for the Stranded Marine Animal Rescue Team (S.M.A.R.T.), Val Marsh, said the team has been keeping an eye on the carcass and […]

South Africa’s relentless fight against rhino poaching in the Kruger National Park and other national parks has seen a slight decline in poaching numbers across the country. Last year, 124 rhinos were poached at the South African National Parks (SANParks) compared to 209 in 2021. This represents a 40% decrease compared with those killed for their horns. […]

Wildlife sightings in South Africa are not exactly rare, but when one spots a LEOPARD on a school campus, it’s BIG news! This is what happened when a student at Hilton College Estate in the KwaZulu-Natal Midlands saw a leopard basking in the sun at school. Leopards have always been prowling around the Midlands, although […]

Only in Africa will you find a lion on your stoep next to your braai, a cheetah casually strolling into a safari lodge in Blyde River Canyon and a hippo paying regular visits to a Limpopo high school. Then there is the gutsy leopard that attempted to “take down” a minibus taxi… ALSO READ: WATCH: Hippo […]

World Wetlands Day is an international day that raises awareness about the significance of wetlands for water security and biodiversity. Through a generous donation, WWF took ownership of the Vissersdrift property for incorporation into the Agulhas National Park last year. This move has secured 90% of the Soetendalsvlei wetland and added a further 2 345 […]

It’s been yet another crazy week animal-wise in South Africa and around the world! From pigeons to tigers, here are six stories you may have missed. ICYMI | ANIMALS GONE WILD! IT’S BEEN A CRAZY WILDLIFE WEEK From a sea turtle that was released back into the ocean after eight years, to a pigeon making its nest out of cable […]

South Africa and India have signed a Memorandum of Understanding on Cooperation in the re-introduction of Cheetah to the Asian country. “In terms of the agreement, an initial batch of 12 cheetahs are scheduled to be flown from South Africa to India in February 2023. The cats will join the eight cheetahs introduced to India […]

Following the sad news of the euthanasia of Sheba, the 8-year-old female tiger that escaped from Walkerville – injuring a human and killing several domestic animals – Johannesburg Wildlife Veterinary Hospital (JWVH) has once again warned of the dangers of keeping wild, rather than domesticated, animals as pets. The recent case of Sheba the tiger […]

South African National Parks today welcomed the sentences handed down by the Skukuza Regional Court, to two Mozambican nationals convicted for rhino poaching in the Kruger National Park (KNP), after they had killed a rhino and were found in possession of its fresh horns four months ago. Lucky Shihlangu (33) and Sergio Mathebula (32) were […]

South African Minister of Forestry, Fisheries and the Environment, Ms. Barbara Creecy, today paid a hospital visit to Joe Nkuna, the SANParks ranger who was injured by an elephant at the Kruger National Park (KNP). Nkuna, a ranger with 32 years of experience, was hospitalised on 20 December 2022 after being charged by an elephant […]

As South Africans grapple with the tragic ending to the hunt for the escaped tiger known as Sheba, this exquisitely written piece by Facebook Author RALPH SIBANDE has us all in tears. Grab a tissue and read to the end… AN INTERVIEW WITH SHEBA AKA SASHA By Ralph Sibande (republished on SAPeople with Ralph’s kind […]

Following the tragic killing of captive tiger, Sheba, that escaped from a private farm near Johannesburg in South Africa over the weekend, World Animal Protection (WAP) has reiterated that « wild animals are not pets and should not be kept as such ». Edith Kabesiime, Wildlife Campaigns Manager at World Animal Protection says: “Sheba the […]

South Africans have woken up to the sombre news that Sheba, the tiger that escaped from its Walkerville enclosure in Gauteng, has been shot and killed. So many across the nation had been watching and praying for a positive outcome, as search teams worked tirelessly during the past few days to try and ensure a […]

An escaped tiger in Gauteng, South Africa – which has attacked and wounded a man in his 30s, and killed a dog – is still on the loose. However a footprint has been found and hopes are high that the tiger, named Sheebah, will be safely caught. Several other animals have reportedly also fallen victim […]

The Pongola Lake in KwaZulu-Natal (KZN), South Africa, has erupted into an elephant poaching ‘slaughterhouse’, says the DA, as it calls again for national intervention. Heinz de Boer – DA KZN Spokesperson on EDTEA – said in a statement on Wednesday: “Armed groups of poachers have now completely laid siege to the eastern shores of […]