Sometimes, the desire to simply abstain from watching the news is overwhelming. Sometimes, it seems as though every aspect of modern society is drowning in a mire of hopeless negativity- proved by one more act of atrocious violence, one more case of political negligence, one more rhino slaughtered in a game park that was once the pride of the nation. Perhaps the most … [Read more...]
Counting cheetahs in Kruger National Park
Don't you just love wild dogs? Those ears are to die for! Now you can help conserve these threatened guys by indulging your love for photography and spending time in the bush. If counting African wild dogs in the Kruger sounds like a fantastic adventure, then join the Endangered Wildlife Trust (EWT) and South African National Parks Honorary Rangers’s sixth wild dog and … [Read more...]
Magaliesberg Leopard ventures back into the wild
A pregnant leopard named Brandy was snared in Magaliesberg recently. According to a statement released by Johannesburg City Parks, she was released back into the wild after two operations to treat her open wounds. “Since her capture and treatment, the team involved has worked diligently to give her and her three unborn cubs the best possible chance of survival in the … [Read more...]
Calling for exciting environmental project ideas!
“Cape Flats Nature Partners’ Fund” offers small grants for projects that spark community nature conservation action on the Cape Flats. The Fund was launched by the Table Mountain Fund (TMF) in partnership with the South African Biodiversity Institute (SANBI) in the last quarter of 2013. Since then four of the small grant projects on the Cape Flats have been shortlisted, … [Read more...]
Dutch grant helps combat rhino poaching
Since February this year, when the Dutch Postcode Lottery in Holland announced that Peace Parks Foundation was the primary beneficiary of a €14.4 million grant from its Dream Fund, the team behind the Foundation’s Rhino Protection Programme has made notable progress in combatting wildlife crime and protecting the endangered rhinoceros from criminal exploitation. The lottery … [Read more...]
736 down this year - the unforgettable cry of a wounded rhino
“They say that the cry of a wounded rhino never leaves you… It is the sound you hear when a rhino wakes with half its face and struggles to its feet, dazed and confused, into a fate it will never understand.” This is an extract from Courage in the Loss of Hope By Lauren Daisy Flynn referring to a poaching incident in Kariega Game Reserve near where I live in Mpuma Coloni. … [Read more...]
Police pitching in to prevent rhino poaching
Deputy Police Minister Maggie Sotyu told Parliament a dedicated special investigation unit under the command of the SA Police Service’s Detective Services is now concentrating on rhino poaching. “The unit, located within the SAPS Cross-border Unit, operates under the operational agreement between the Southern African Police Chiefs Co-operation Organisation (SARPPCO) member … [Read more...]
World’s largest marine sanctuary on the cards?
U.S. President Barack Obama announced a plan for creating the world's largest marine sanctuary on Tuesday, covering hundreds of thousands of miles of Pacific Ocean, along with new pledges to fight illegal fishing and seafood fraud. Obama's proposal would expand the Pacific Remote Islands Marine National Monument in the central Pacific from around 87,000 square miles to … [Read more...]
Joining forces to protest Arctic seismic testing
Greenpeace and the Inuit have joined forces to protest Arctic seismic testing, warning that plans to gauge oil and gas reserves with high-intensity sound waves in Baffin Bay and the Davis Strait pose grave dangers to marine life. Inuit activists are staging a protest Wednesday in Nunavut's Clyde River, a tiny Baffin Island hamlet just above the Arctic Circle, a week after … [Read more...]
Do you live in a biosphere reserve?
Did you know that you live in a Biosphere Reserve? If you are from Stellenbosch, Pniel, Franschhoek, Paarl, Wellington, Rawsonville or Villiersdorp you live inside the beautiful Cape Winelands Biosphere Reserve (CWBR), while people from Ceres and the Strand live just outside it. The CWBR was designated in 2007 by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural … [Read more...]
New study proves: Livestock is safer from predators with guardian animals
Guardian animals offer far better livestock protection than lethal methods, according to new research. They’re more effective, need less work, and are cheaper. A formal study of eleven South African livestock farms has revealed that lethal methods to combat livestock losses to predators are not only less practical but more costly than non-lethal methods. The report, by … [Read more...]
More than 500 rhino killed by poachers in 2014
Some 558 rhino have been killed in South Africa already this year, setting the country on course for a gruesome new record number of poaching deaths, wildlife officials said on Thursday. Despite stepped-up efforts to curb the scourge, the number of animals killed is around 100 higher than at the same point in 2013, a year which saw a record 1,004 deaths. The vast, … [Read more...]
Hours to save the elephants
Poachers recently shot one of the world’s largest elephants, Satao, then hacked his 100 pound tusks out of his face with a machete. At the current rate of killing, elephants may be extinct in 15 years. This week, if we act now, we have an amazing chance to crack down on the illegal trade that fuels the slaughter. Each day, 50 regal elephants are butchered just to make dinky … [Read more...]
