January 05, 2023
Africa: Climate Change Is Leaving African Elephants Desperate for Water
African elephant numbers have dropped from about 26 million in the 1800s to 415,000 today. While this is largely due to European colonisation, poaching and habitat loss, these… Read more »
December 21, 2022
Africa: Biodiversity Treaty - UN Deal Fails to Address the Root Causes of Nature's Destruction
A major biodiversity conference, recently concluded in Montreal, Canada, was billed as the event that will decide the "fate of the entire living world". All well then that the… Read more »
December 16, 2022
Africa: Children Born Today Will See Literally Thousands of Animals Disappear in Their Lifetime, As Global Food Webs Collapse
Climate change is one of the main drivers of species loss globally. We know more plants and animals will die as heatwaves, bushfires, droughts and other natural disasters worsen. Read more »
December 22, 2022
South Africa: Sabretooth Cats Hunted On South Africa's Coast 5 Million Years Ago - This Old One Was in Pain
Over five million years ago, before our ancestors dominated the landscape, southern Africa's west coast was home to a diverse array of prehistoric beasts. Among them were hyenas,… Read more »
December 14, 2022
Tanzania: Why Humans Walk On Two Legs - Some Old Theories Put to the Test
There's no trait that distinguishes humans from all other mammals more clearly than the way we walk. Human habitual bipedalism - obligatory walking on two legs - has long been a… Read more »
December 04, 2022
Africa: A Dangerous Pesticide Isn't Being Monitored in Key Bird of Prey Populations - We're Shedding Light On That Gap
It was once regarded as a miracle chemical to protect against disease and improve global food production. The man who discovered its properties even won a Nobel Prize for medicine.… Read more »
November 24, 2022
Africa: We Discovered a New Species of Owl - but We Already Think It's in Danger
As part of an international team of scientists we have confirmed a new species of owl after decades of speculation that it exists on Príncipe Island, part of the Democratic… Read more »
Kenya: Community Wildlife Conservation Isn't Always a Win-Win Solution - The Case of Kenya's Samburu
Community-based wildlife conservation is often promoted as a win-win solution. The idea behind this approach is that the people who live close to wildlife can be involved in… Read more »
November 17, 2022
Ethiopia: Civet Musk, a Precious Perfume Ingredient, Is Under Threat.
The African civet -- an animal closely related to the mongoose and widely distributed in sub-Saharan Africa -- is among four mammals known to secrete scented compounds. Civets… Read more »
November 14, 2022
South Africa: Mangrove Forests Won't Be Able to Spread Further in South Africa, So Protecting Them Is Crucial #AfricaClimateCrisis
Mangrove forests are a common sight in some tropical and sub-tropical areas of the world like Indonesia, Florida in the US, parts of Brazil and Australia. They can also be found on… Read more »
November 13, 2022
Africa: Climate Change and Wildlife - 3 Studies That Reveal the Devastating Toll On Africa's Animals
Climate change has produced a number of threats to wildlife. Over time, changing rainfall patterns have transformed habitats and forced animals to move. Increasing temperatures are… Read more »
November 08, 2022
Africa: Birds Evolve Different Body Temperatures in Different Climates - New Study of 53 African Species
During the northern hemisphere summer of 2022, yet another round of extreme heat waves roasted Eurasia, North America and northern Africa - a stark reminder that these conditions… Read more »
November 01, 2022
South Africa: Large Tortoises Lived in South Africa Long Ago - How We Recorded Their Fast-Disappearing Traces
In 1835 Charles Darwin, the father of the theory of evolution, was exploring an island in the Galápagos archipelago when he encountered "two large tortoises, each of which… Read more »
October 31, 2022
Congo-Brazzaville: Wild Chimpanzees and Gorillas Can Form Long Friendly Associations That Last Decades - New Research
To survive, animals compete for resources, be it food, mating partners or territory. But a ground breaking recent study shows chimpanzees and gorillas form friendships, some… Read more »
October 26, 2022
Africa: South Africa's Wildlife Ranches Can Offer Solutions to Africa's Growing Conservation Challenges
Designated protected areas for wildlife - such as national parks - are the world's principal conservation strategy. But this model to conserve wildlife in Africa is increasingly… Read more »
October 19, 2022
Africa: How Do Fishes Scratch Their Itches? It Turns Out Sharks Are Involved
Imagine you're a big yellowfin tuna, miles from shore out in the blue, swimming around carefree, until you start to feel a little itch near your eye. Maybe it's just a scratch… Read more »
Africa: 3-D Techniques Shed Light On What Makes a Bird's Lungs So Efficient
Birds are profoundly important animals. As predators, pollinators, seed dispersers, scavengers and ecosystem bioengineers, the world's 11,000 species of birds play critical roles… Read more »
October 12, 2022
Africa: Animal Friendships Are Surprisingly Like Our Own
When you think of friendship, what comes to mind? Is it a phone conversation that lasts late into the night? Watching a movie and sharing a pizza? Enjoying some laughs over a beer?… Read more »
October 16, 2022
Africa: Elephant Conservation May Be Undermined By Twitter Users Who Overlook Main Threats
The African forest elephant (Loxodonta cyclotis), the African savanna elephant (Loxodonta africana) and the Asian elephant (Elephas maximus) are all highly threatened species. The… Read more »
October 09, 2022
Africa: From Coelacanths to Crinoids - These 9 'Living Fossils' Haven't Changed in Millions of Years
We see evolution all around us, constantly, in every living thing. Yet in the deep oceans we find a number of "living fossils" reminiscent of creatures from prehistoric times. Read more »
September 27, 2022
Africa: Sex and Power in the Animal Kingdom - Seven Animals That Will Make You Reconsider What You Think You Know
It's easy to assume all animals have a neat dividing line between the sexes because the differences in appearance between males and females can be so striking. But the more… Read more »
September 23, 2022
Africa: How Money and Technology Are Militarising the Fight Against the Illegal Wildlife Trade
Thousands of animals and plants are bought and sold each year globally as food, medicine, clothing and furniture - even in the form of musical instruments. Wildlife, it seems, is… Read more »
September 19, 2022
Africa: Young Cold-Blooded Animals Are Suffering the Most As Earth Heats Up, Research Finds
Climate change is making heatwaves worse. Many people have already noticed the difference - and so too have other animals. Read more »
September 01, 2022
Africa: Seahorse Fathers Give Birth in a Unique Way, New Research Shows
In seahorses and pipefish, it is the male that gets pregnant and gives birth. Seahorse fathers incubate their developing embryos in a pouch located on their tail. Read more »
September 05, 2022
Africa: The PPE Used Throughout the Covid-19 Pandemic Is Getting Tangled Up in Wildlife
Throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, masking has been one of the key public health measures put in place to combat the disease. Since March 2020, billions of disposable surgical masks… Read more »