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Strong feelings bubble up when a conversation turns to poaching, and recently that would involve the poaching of rhino horn. The blatant slaying of rhino’s – be they pregnant cows or single bulls – the desperate will take anything. Southern Africa seems to be gaining a reputation amongst syndicates for the easy pickings, experiencing the [...]

Of the numerous mutualistic relationships found in Africa’s wild places, the honeyguide bird has surely got to be one of the more recognised ones. Many stories abound in folktales about considering this birds guidance to places of honey. Misfortune would surely follow the one who did not leave a piece of honey comb or honey [...]

One could be forgiven for assuming that most plants, and indeed trees are only pollinated by a handful of insects. But dare I say, this is not so. For even where there is no insect, a plant could potentially still reproduce and be pollinated. In todays world where farmers rely heavily on bees for setting [...]

In a land far removed from our ideas of being in Africa on a safari, is a place that lies quietly hidden in the extreme western half of southern Africa. This is a land of dry mountains and rocky plains, with no tar roads or well maintained gravel tracks. It is a place for the [...]

I’m sure this ethical debate will always reveal a new thorn to twist into an old wound. Clearly, this subject will gain greater prominence as more people move towards an environmentally conscious mind. One which considers every facet of nature – it’s well-being and its protection. Both sides of this debate seem equally righteous in [...]

Much like our seasons, the Earth works with cycles of warming and cooling, bringing the associated changes in vegetation and animal distribution. Today there is much hype and speculation surrounding the current warming or cooling event. Some speculate we are in fact not entering a warming period, but a cooling one. Others say computer models [...]

Why is it an animal may be found orphaned. What would cause a parent to abandon a youngster, when seemingly it looks healthy. I suppose these questions have some merit, but my thinking is they are also anthropocentric, or based around a human approach to a situation. Therefore, in some situations where a youngster is [...]

Believe it or not – there are aliens in Africa. And they are many in number. They have travelled from distant places to settle among us, sometimes living unnoticed under our very eyes. They extract the natural resources in order to increase their number, and push existing residents out. These visitors are here to stay, [...]

Thinking of this bird the mind conjures images of some nether-world creature living off the flesh of the newly fallen. But is this really how one should look at this bird. People readily eat crab meat, but seldom stop to think what it does to survive. I suppose the answer lies in the fact we [...]

As a kid I remember growing up with dogs and cats, birds and the odd goldfish. Now at the time it was really nice to come home from school and be bowled over by my friendly dog companion, or to visit the bird cage to greet the love birds or budgy.
And I think to a [...]