Plains zebra in South Africa (photo)
Herd of plains zebra in a private reserve near Kruger National Park, South Africa. More zebra photos.
Birds of Western Africa – book review
By Gabriel Thoumi The Birds of Western Africa: Second Edition is a fully updated and comprehensive expansion of the first edition, which was the winner of the 2004 Best Bird Book – Africa, Worldtwitch. This revised second edition, which is both compact and lightweight, is a must for any naturalist or scientist working in the region. The Birds of Western Africa: Second Edition is authoritative and easy to use. It is the most...
A Field Guide to the Larger Mammals of Tanzania – book review
By Gabriel Thoumi A Field Guide to the Larger Mammals of Tanzania provides the most up-to-date guidebook for trekking in Tanzania. It includes detailed species accounts and delightful photos of 135 of the larger mammals of Tanzania. It is the first book to include both marine mammals and recently discovered species of Tanzania. While Tanzania has over 340 recorded mammal species, over 200 of these are rodents, bats, and shrews. For...
Birds of Kenya’s Rift Valley – book review
By Gabriel Thoumi Birds of Kenya’s Rift Valley is another Adam Scott Kennedy tour de force! Following up on the Kennedys’ series of bird and mammal books for Kenyan and Tanzanian travelers, previously described here on Mongabay.com. The Birds of Kenya’s Rift Valley is ideal for the traveler on safari visiting the Rift Valley’s national parks, such as Lake Nakuru, Lake Bogoria, Mount Longonot, and Hell’s Gate. The...
Nelson Mandela, elephants and youth
Commentary by Isabel S. Abrams Most people think of Nelson Mandela as a fighter for racial equality in South Africa. To me, he is also a powerful advocate for protecting wilderness and empowering youth. In 2002, I was in the audience at the World Conference on Sustainable Development in Johannesburg, South Africa where I heard Mandela address delegates from more than 100 nations. “Many don’t want (conservation areas) set aside for...
Sunset on the Nile
By Jemma Smith This stunning photograph is of the sun setting over the River Nile, which is said to be the longest river in the world with a staggering 6,670 km (4,160 miles) in length and discharges an average of 3.1 million litres of water per second into the Mediterranean Sea. It is long been disputed where the exact source of the river is, however, many believed it to be Lake Victoria in Tanzania. The River Nile travels through...
The Joint Declaration of Intent on REDD+ in the Congo Basin between Central African and Donor Countries: making history, déjà vu, and which way forward ?
Op-ed by Ngembeni Wa Namasso, special to mongabay.com The Declaration on REDD+ expected as part of ongoing climate talks in Durban, South Africa, by the Central Africa Commission on Forests (COMIFAC) and some donor countries, was released, Wednesday, December 07, 2011. To many observers this declaration is a ritual and therefore, expected after every meeting by ‘high-level’ decision-makers on forests from that part of the World....
Update: interview on toxic pesticide used to kill wildlife (and endangering people) in Kenya
An interview in four parts with Paula Kahumbu, Executive Director of WildlifeDirect, provides detail and context on the use of the neurotoxic pesticide Furadan to kill lions and birds en masse in Kenya. Lions are down to around 2,000 individuals in Kenya. Kahumbu, recently awarded an Emerging Explorer by the National Geographic, and WildlifeDirect are working to pressure the government to estimate the environmental and human cost of...
Wangari Maathai muses on trees, activism, and God (radio)
Nobel Peace Prize winner and founder of the Green Belt movement, Wangari Maathai, started a tree-planting campaign to create a better world for the impoverished and marginalized people of her native country, Kenya. For such views, she faced threats of assassination, violence, and censorship from the government. Now 71, Maathai speaks to Krista Tippett, the host of the radio show On Being, about the importance of trees, how ecology and...
Antelope release! (photos)
Red hartebeest release. Photo courtesy of Colchester Zoo: Action for the Wild. Three antelope species were recently released at the Umphafa Private Nature Reserve in KwaZulu Natal, South Africa in an ongoing effort to restore an over-cultivated area. In all 7 impala, 21 red hartebeest, and 22 blue wildebeest were released. “These recent releases are exciting developments for UmPhafa. The releases of the wildebeest represent the...
Will food dominate 21 century geopolitics? (radio)
One billion people in the world are going hungry–more than any other time in history. Yet food security remains a pretty low concern in most industrialized countries. That may not last long according to renowned environmentalist, Lestor Brown, who says that climate change, population growth, rising consumption of meat and dairy, and water issues could soon make food a flashpoint worldwide. Already, high food prices this year...
Pictures of baby animals with their mothers for Mother’s Day
Mother tarsier and baby on the island of Sulawesi in Indonesia. Photo by: Rhett A. Butler. Mother and baby orangutan in tree in Sumatra. Photo by: Rhett A. Butler. Mother Panamanian golden frog with green baby. Photo by: Rhett A. Butler. Southern Tree Hyrax with baby in Kenya. Photo by: Rhett A. Butler. Baby crowned lemur clinging to its mother in Madagascar. Photo by: Rhett A. Butler. Mother Agouti (Dasyprocta punctata) with babies...
Photo: abused cheetahs returned to the wild
An adult cheetah, which had been smuggled and abused for the illegal pet trade, returns to the wild in Tanzania. Photo by: Annette Simonson. Few people realize that cheetah’s, one of Africa’s great cats, are a target of the global wildlife trade. Yet these speedy predators are sought as exotic ‘pets’, especially in the Middle East. As apart of this illegal pet trade, three adult cheetahs were recently seized at...
Conservation on the ground: how traditional fishermen saved sharks in Madagascar
Malagasy family helping fisherman take his boat out to sea . Photo by Rhett A. Butler. Or, Guitarfish a Go-Go- Bribes and barrages in Belo-sur-Mer By: Brian Jones, Blue Ventures Conservation in Belo-sur-Mer, Menabe, Madagascar. YOU’VE got to admire the mettle of people who, despite the cards being seemingly insurmountably stacked against them, can still stick to their guns and stand up for what they believe in. I didn’t give...
Photos: the end of the radiated tortoise?
Like the American bison or the passenger pigeon the radiated tortoise (Astrochelys radiata) has gone from super-abundant to nearly extinct. The species could be gone by 2030 warn researchers. Photo by Robert Walker. Once one of the world’s most abundant tortoises, numbering in the millions, Madagascar’s radiated tortoise is on the very brink of extinction. Killed for their meat by one of the world’s most impoverished...
Photo: big-eared endangered monkey born at zoo
A three-week old baby white-naped mangabey (Cercocebus atys lunulatus) has been named ‘Hope’ given that her species is vanishing from the wild. Photo by: James Godwin, ZSL. Born at the Zoological Society of London’s (ZSL) London Zoo, this white-naped mangabey (Cercocebus atys lunulatus) represents one of the Africa’s most imperiled monkeys and is apart of the European Endangered species Programme (EEP). The...
Photos: tortoise dwarfed by grape, seriously
No, this is not photoshopped: this month-old Egyptian tortoise (Testudo kleinmanni) is actually dwarfed by a grape. A new resident of the Zoological Society of London’s (ZSL) Whipsnade Zoo, Bedfordshire, the tortoise is the offspring of a group of tortoises seized by customs last year as a sting on the illegal pet trade. The tiny tortoise pictured weighs 0.2 ounces (6 grams), but within a decade will weigh nearly hundred times...
Activism: petition targets Chinese officials regarding African poaching “due to the demand of ivory and rhino horns by Chinese citizens”
Note: mongabay.com does not endorse the action below, but believes its readers may be interested in taking action or discussing the issue in comments. African elephant (Acinonyx jubatus) infant in Kenya. Photo by: Rhett A. Butler. The organization SOS Elephants of Chad has released a petition urging the Chinese government to tackle the illegal ivory and rhino horn trade as a new article in the Global Post reports: “The growing...
Activism: alternatives to the Serengeti road
Note: mongabay.com does not endorse the action below, but believes its readers may be interested in taking action or discussing the issue in comments. Cheetah (Acinonyx jubatus) in Tanzania. Photo by: Rhett A. Butler. The NGO Serengeti Watch has released a petition urging the Tanzanian government to cancel plans to build a road through the northern portion of Serengeti National Park, which scientists say will hugely impact the...