The endangered African wild dog was historically distributed throughout much of sub-Saharan Africa, but due to direct persecution and habita...more
A Kruger National Park visitor and Kruger Park Times reader, Lorraine Hofreiter, sent us an image taken on March 13, 2008 at the Eileen Orpe...more
Biodiversity in an area means the multiplicity of various species, the genetic wealth of each species...more
A study of protected areas at 117 sites across seven countries in Africa has revealed a progressive decline in biodiversity. This was unveil...more
A new generation of antibiotics, new treatments for thinning bone disease and kidney failure, and new cancer treatments may all stand to be ...more
The benefits people obtain from biodiversity accrue not only in the present, but in the unknowable future. This is the option value of prese...more
Imagine driving your vehicle with a clear conscience, knowing that the fuel powering the car comes from a renewable source, produces fewer g...more
Sesbania punicea is a South American shrub, 2-3m tall with bright red flowers, slender branches and distinctive winged seed pods...more
Tecoma stans is a Mexican and north eastern Africa evergreen annual shrub, 2-4m tall with dense
leaves and yellow flowers...more
The parliamentary portfolio committee for science and technology was given a presentation on genetically modified crops by the managing dire...more
BirdLife South Africa's Kruger to Canyons Birding Route recently completed the training and assessments of thirteen of its trainee bird guid...more
Bird watchers with a special interest in the small raptors are on standby at various points in the country, hoping to be the first to spot t...more
Birdwatchers around the country will be gearing up for a special Birding Big Day this year – BirdLife South Africa has challenged its best...more
The annual Kruger National Park (KNP) Birding Weekends are celebrating its 15th anniversary this year. What started as a leisure activity fo...more
Joe Grosel and his Zonke Inyoni team spotted a new record 313 species in the Houtbosdorp area, during this year's Birding Big Day. Birding s...more
The West Rand Honorary Rangers hosted the seventh annual Birding Day over the last weekend in January, the traditional time for the event. A...more
A feasibility study conducted by BirdLife South Africa for the development of a Greater Limpopo Birding Route has just been completed...more
Birding and birding-related tourism are growing at an unprecedented rate on a global level. Despite an abundance of natural birding assets...more
With close to 800 bird species to lure the 'twitchers' in, South Africa is prime birding country. The many species that are only found in th...more
The ninth annual Kruger Park Birding Weekend, held by the West Rand Honorary Rangers in conjunction with BirdLife South Africa, will once ag...more
A new BirdLife report, Building Partnerships: Working together for conservation and development, looks at the many different alliances which...more
A national crane census will be carried out on July 29 and 30, 2005. South Africa has three crane species, all of which are threatened with ...more
The European Union has recently contributed R2,1 million towards the Kruger to Canyons (K2C) Birding Route, which forms part of a network of...more
Environmental Affairs and Tourism minister Marthinus van Schalkwyk announced the launch of the Tourism Black Economic Empowerment Charter at...more
The black mamba, one of Africa's most feared and respected snakes, inevitably evokes reactions of fear, respect or awe - often merely by bei...more
The black rhino lives in Africa, primarily in grasslands, savannahs and tropical bushlands. The black rhino is a browser, i.e. it consumes l...more
The proposed hunting of black rhino by Ezemvelo KwaZulu-Natal Wildlife (EKZNW) is not an undertaking that has been rushed into. In 1992, the...more
South African National Parks (SANParks) facilitated the translocation of five black rhino, Diceros Bicornis Michaeli, Tanzania's Grumeti in ...more
With buffalo and elephant successfully re-introduced in the 700 km² Majete Game Reserve in Malawi the focus is now on rhino. Dr Markus Hofm...more
For guide Paulie Viljoen the afternoon game drive along the Ncau loop on Saturday, February 27, started off much the same as any other drive...more
The West African black rhino subspecies has tentatively been declared as extinct by the IUCN's African Rhino Specialist Group, and the north...more
The State Veterinary Services completed their annual tsetse fly surveillance in the Kruger National Park in the last week of April. Accordin...more
The local Blue Swallow, Hirundo atrocaerulea, population is facing the risk of certain extinction if both their breeding and non-breeding ha...more
The world celebrated its migratory birds on May 15 and 16 this year. In South African birders have recorded more than 100 migratory bird spe...more
It was all connected – the GPS, the cellphone and the blue tooth technology – so how did a couple tonnes of elephant lying on its side i...more
Kruger National Park (KNP) rangers and conservation management officials started draining operations at Shilolweni Dam...more
The Drakensberg escarpment that is shared by Limpopo and Mpumalanga is a stunning mountain range which has many unique features and an amazi...more
The Blyde River Canyon park will officially be declared as a national park on Heritage Day, September 24, this year...more
The Board of South African National Parks (SANParks) confirmed on March 31, 2011 at its quarterly meeting held at Groenkloof, that it still ...more
Every October for the last three years the Sabi-Sand Wildtuin (SSW) has released about 600 wildebeest into their 65,000ha reserve...more
Writer Tim Condon is currently researching a book that will cover the history of lions from the early 1800s until the present day, in the...more
The Kruger National Park has been implementing a new policy regarding artificial waterpoints in recent years. Starting in the 1930s, more th...more
There is growing concern about the impact that illegal trade is having on wildlife populations worldwide, while the potential risk posed...more
The Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (Cites) has given Botswana the go-ahead to sell 43.6 tonnes of ivory by the end ...more
In the last month, Botswana police have recorded three cases of illegal possession of elephant tusks, and they have warned the Botswana publ...more
Elephant population appears stable. A recently completed aerial survey of northern Botswana by Elephants Without Borders (EWB), through the ...more
The Botswana Press Association has reported that Botswana plans to appeal to CITES (Convention on Trade in Endangered Species of Flora and F...more
The death of two buffalo from advanced bovine tuberculosis just kilometres from the Kruger National Park's border with Zimbabwe and the deat...more
A branch of an old umbrella thorn tree that died about a year ago in front of their offices broke off and nearly collapsed on the building. ...more
Drivers who disobey the KNP “rules of the road” will also be in for the high jump if they Use un-roadworthy, unregistered or unlicensed ...more
Children at a Lincoln school are planning to wow TV executives in a race to become the faces of an exotic new series...more
Three brown hyenas were introduced into Mountain National Park near Cradock early in December last year, becoming the first of their kind to...more
Residents of northern Botswana prize wild buffalo as their favored bush meat. Now a study led by Kathleen Alexander, associate professor of ...more
From Kruger to Kansas to KwaZulu-Natal, from buffalo to bison, the search is onto find out what makes the world's savannas tick...more
South African National Parks (Sanparks) will be holding a public auction in their boardroom at Groenkloof in Pretoria on September 17, 2005...more
Disease-free buffalo from the Karoo and Camdeboo National Parks fetched top prices at the Kirkwood Wildlife Auction held in the Eastern Cape...more
The Kruger National Park (KNP) is selling a roomful of animal by-products from its Skukuza storehouses, with the bulk of the tender being mo...more
Four hikers were attacked by a buffalo bull on a hiking trail in Mountain Zebra National Park (MZNP) earlier this month (July 2010)...more
Despite their docile demeanour, buffalo are known as one of Africa's most dangerous creatures...more
Sanparks Veterinary Wildlife Services and the state veterinary authority joined forces for 10 days this July to carry out a survey to determ...more
Get out into the first rains of the season, snap a photo of a bullfrog and stand a chance of winning a weekend trip for two, popular frog bo...more
Fire is an integral part of the African savanna. Understanding how it works and the effect it has on
the veld is vital for any management ...more
The 15 elephants rescued from the smoking veld of the Pilanesberg National Park are “progressing unbelievably well” according to JJ van ...more
Lowveld chefs and cuisine connoisseurs have noted September 6 this year as a definite “yes” in their diaries...more
More than 150 rural-based children, aged between five and 17, had an unexpected bonus added to their mid-year holidays...more
Every year the Children's Eco Training (CET), based in the Klaserie Private Nature Reserve (KNPR), rewards learners for the year's work...more
2007 was a very good year for the members of the Bushveld region; it saw them winning the Honorary Rangers' (HR) region of the year award...more
To break the spell of drought, it has to rain. But will there be any butterflies before that? We took some University of Pretoria students o...more
By the time a butterfly has reached maturity in the shape of a stately butterfly, it has survived 80 – 90 percent of its life's onslaughts...more
Butterflies are delicate, aesthetic beings that colour our lives with their presence. Yet some species are stouter and quite die-hard. The m...more
The South African Butterfly Assessment is in the process of gathering data on butterfly species distribution...more
At the last count there were 219 butterflies in the KNP. This was done by the devoted rangers of the KNP and authored in a book by Johan Klo...more
Buzz, a 22-month border collie dog, will soon join his senior bird patrol members at King Shaka International Airport (KSIA) near Durban. No...more
Local artists in the Greater Hoedspruit area are invited to the first of many monthly “Art in the Park” events at the end of January 200...more
The South African Agency for Science and Technology Advancement (SAASTA) has joined forces with the prestigious Cornell University in the Un...more
Grab this chance to stir the public's imagination and win wonderful prizes. The competition gives scientists aged 20 - 35 the opportunity to...more
Camdeboo National Park, which surrounds the town of Graaff-Reinet in the Eastern Cape, opened its Nqweba Campsite on 1 March 2012. “The Ca...more
South African National Parks (SANParks) hopes to open a news bushcamp in the Camdeboo National Park in the Eastern Cape by the end of 2010...more
If you need a place to stay when travelling between South Africa and Mozambique, having used the Giriyondo border post on Kruger's eastern b...more
“Desert soils are unusual because the sand grains at the surface are bound together into a crust by bacteria, reducing wind erosion and ad...more
Lake Fundudzi is a place of worship for the Tshiavha clan in Venda, northern Limpopo. It forms part of a larger network of pools, groves and...more
The Mazinyane pre-school in Lillydale B hosted a function for the villagers and the school's founder, Marianne Schaubeck. The function helpe...more
Every year thousands of people visit facilities in South Africa where they can interact with lion cubs and young cheetah But seldom do peopl...more
The publication of the draft norms and standards for the sustainable use of large predators, intended to regulate canned hunting, has caused...more
New transgenic canola (oilseed rape) plants have been created with genes extracted from scorpions and moths. Genes were taken from two insec...more
The first GPS tracking collar has been fitted to a Cape griffon vulture in the Limpopo
Province. On May 26, 2006 a harness with a 250-gram ...more
Caracals are often killed for suspected predation on small livestock, although this appears to be a pervasive problem only in South Africa a...more
The Endangered Wildlife Trust (EWT) welcomes a ruling by the U.S. Supreme Court in Washington D.C. on 31 May 2011 denying a petition to reco...more
The United Nations Ambassador for the Year of the Gorilla, Ian Redmond, has called for the inclusion of gorillas and elephants, as important...more
The site inspection for the proposed study of the effect that the silt in the Phalaborwa barrage is having on the Olifants River attracted 1...more
A catalogue detailing 1.25 million species of organisms across the world released a special edition to mark the International Year of Biodiv...more
Predatory caterpillars roam the greenery of Hawaii in search of snails to devour alive. An article in the journal Science reveals how tiny c...more
World Migratory Bird Day is celebrated on 8/9 May. By which time all our migratory birds have long since left South Africa for sunnier clime...more
August 9, 2005 – Woman's Day – is almost here. What's the meaning of Woman's Day? On Woman's Day we honour every woman that touches our ...more
During a gala dinner at The Dumbwaiter Restaurant in Hoedspruit, Dr Mike Peel from the Agricultural Research Council...more
In celebration of Mandela Day South African National Parks (SANParks) head office staff spent the morning in Edenvale at Little Eden, a home...more
As children, we used to tell each other that if you squashed a 'Tjongololo' it would cause it to rain. Even if this is not true, I guess the...more
Col Tobias du Toit took over from brigadier general Pierre du Plessis as Officer Commanding of Air Force Base Hoedspruit on 27 January 2004....more
When the Kruger National Park was first established, five major rivers ran through the park all year round, but other than that permanent so...more
During game drives in the Kruger National Park (KNP), it is doubtful if the many people peering out at the trees and grass in the hopes of s...more
Charcoal profits are helping to fuel the conflict in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), where militia groups and some segments of t...more
As much as 12 percent of the world's human-caused greenhouse gas emissions could be sustainably offset by producing biochar, a charcoal-like...more
The Limpopo branch of SATSA will be holding a golf day in aid of the Lekagape Centre for orphaned children...more
The fifth wild dog and third cheetah photographic census in and around the Kruger National Park is underway...more
Cheetah tracking and guided walk activities have been opened to visitors in Mountain Zebra National Park. Visitors will be able to join a gu...more
Moholoholo is currently raising two cheetahs, Juba and Jolly, to act as ambassadors for the cheetah species. The cheetahs are taught to be c...more
Lucas Mashego started his career as a chef at the Mount Sheba Hotel near Lydenburg, where he was born and did most of his schooling. His fir...more
o the plants win? Do the butterflies win? Or is it a win-win situation? Do plants 'call' butterflies? And what do elephants and butterflies ...more
Paulo Origo, chancellor of the South African Chess Academy, challenged 25 opponents simultaneously to a chess game held at the Kamogelo Tour...more
Children's books are no longer featuring creeping crawlies, fierce lions and gentle elephants roaming savannahs or slithering snakes hiding ...more
Chris Payne, 23-year old sous chef at Singita Sweni Lodge in the Kruger National Park (KNP)...more
Christians from neighbouring communities on the Kruger National Park’s north-west border joined in prayer against Rhino poaching at the Sk...more
Chronic stress can cause long-term escape behaviour in elephants, affecting their use of habitat. This according to a study on three African...more
The Cites Standing Committee, which oversees the implementation of Cites, the convention on the international trade in endangered species of...more
The International Convention on Trade in Endangered Species (CITES) has authorised an increase in the number of elephants Mozambique is allo...more
The impact of climate change on cities and towns, as well as the reduction of dependency on fossil fuels are among the foremost challenges t...more
Cairo and Alexandria, some 200 km apart, could merge in the foreseeable future, a spectra that presents a nightmare for urban planners...more
The state of the conservation of the Mapungubwe Cultural Landscape World Heritage Site was under the spotlight as part of the 36TH session ...more
Carl von Linné was a Swedish Biologist who decided to put all plants and animals into different categories. He later also changed his name ...more
South Africa wants to create an awareness amongst all communities residing in the vicinity of its borders, to take care of the environment...more
Climate change has been positively identified as the key reason that Europe has been experiencing severe droughts in recent years. Research ...more
South Africa's department of environmental affairs has set aside R400 million for an “Eco-Towns” programme to be established in 10 munic...more
Almost every day a think-tank or a non-governmental organisation releases a new price tag for mitigating or adapting to the impact of climat...more
The Okavango Delta is a richly diverse ecosystem, it is the world's largest inland delta and sits atop the Kalahari Desert. More than 10 tri...more
Climate change is emerging as a major threat to health and adding pressure on public health systems, especially in Africa, a senior UN offic...more
The Blue Crane has found an unlikely haven on farmlands in the Western Cape, but climate change threatens to put an end to this...more
Climate change is widely expected to disrupt future fire patterns around the world, with some regions, such as the western United States, se...more
The world's biotic diversity, formed from the 'dust of the earth' (geological matter) and powered mainly by solar-derived energy, is strongl...more
The clock is ticking for South Africa's stretched water supply, and in another five years demand will have caught up with supply, according ...more
The Australian company Coal of Africa Limited (CoAL) recently announced that it had been awarded 'unconditional new order mining rights'...more
According to a report on StockMarketWire.com, Coal of Africa has reported steady operational progress in the three months to the end of Sept...more
Colchester Zoo's charity 'Action for the Wild' is supporting 15 worldwide conservation projects in 2011, their contribution amounting to R2....more
On August 7, Nissan North America (NNA) and the WWF jointly presented R700 000 ($100,000) to the South African Wildife College (SAWC)...more
To work in the lowveld, in which one can still find some of Africa's vast open spaces which are mostly roadless, is a privilege...more
A foot and mouth symposium held on August 24 and 25, 2005 will result in the formation of a committee containing all the major role players ...more
The Kruger National Park (KNP)'s managing executive, Abe Sibiya presented tour guides from the local communities with four open safari vehic...more
Members of the Matsulu community on the western border of the Kruger National Park (KNP) caught a suspected rhino poacher who was on the run...more
Climate change will bring higher temperatures to Southern Africa while changing rainfall patterns will affect the amount of water available ...more
The debate over genetic modification (GM) has gathered extra fuel with the finding that herbicide resistance genes from a canola plant have ...more
The Kruger National Park's (KNP) acting managing executive Abe Sibiya officially opened the new, state-of-the-art R5,2-million Mopani Confer...more
South African National Parks (SANParks) and the African Wildlife Foundation (AWF) signed a Memorandum of Agreement in Skukuza, Kruger Nation...more
The Kruger National Park's (KNP) Nxanatseni South regional ranger, Louis Olivier, has been honoured with the lifetime service award...more
The donation of 10 cattle will have significantly brightened the festive season for several residents of the Dumphries village adjoining the...more
The executive director of the Kruger National Park Dr Bandile Mkhize officially received a purpose-
built gas delivery truck from TotalGaz ...more
Oddities of nature have always fascinated man. In Kruger, some of these sightings have been recorded in the ranger's diaries over time...more
In line with the protected areasact, the Kruger National Park has been busy drawing up a park management plan that will guide the park's man...more
Launched in August last year, the Ingwe Leopard Project had the ambitious goal of finding a black leopard said to roam the Lydenburg area. N...more
Current Sea Surface Temperatures over the Central Equatorial Pacific Ocean are slowly dropping, indicating that we are moving from a weak El...more
Environmental campaigners and lawyers are calling on UNESCO to place Everest National Park (Sagarmatha National Park) on the World Heritage ...more
The second annual national blue swallow count which took place on November 13 and 14, 2004 found a total of 134 adult birds. This number is ...more
The role of private landowners in nature conservation is becoming increasingly im- portant, and many owners are uniting their land for the b...more
January 2007 saw the arrival of 20 new conservation diploma students in the Kruger National Park. These are a group of specially selected th...more
Conservation biologists are setting their minimum population size targets too low to prevent extinction...more
Initial findings indicate that oribi numbers in South Africa are still decreasing from previous years. According to land owners who particip...more
Condolences have flooded in from around the world to the family of Anton Rupert, who died in his sleep at the age of 89 on January 19, 2005...more
Visitors to the Kruger National Park (KNP) were treated to a deplorable sighting when a contractor crashed into a herd of impala on his way ...more
Young people aged between 14 and 35 are being encouraged to help create a version of the South African State of the Environment Report that ...more
The vivid colours and designs animals use to interact with their environments have awed and inspired since before people learned to draw on ...more
A strategic task team has been established to try and improve southern Africa's overall tourism product while reducing costs and increasing ...more
Pepper spray for raiding elephants, a guard dog to chase off spotted hyena? These are some of the colourful tips contained in a toolkit prod...more
More than 150 golfers from corporations all over South Africa met in Skukuza to battle it out on the fairways of the Skukuza Golf Course at ...more
Environmental watchdogs call for closer GM scrutiny in SA Biowatch South Africa has called on government to tighten legislation governing th...more
When rangers found a cluster of crocodile carcasses in the Olifants Gorge last year, scientists had more questions than answers...more
South Africa is not taking the attack on its rhino population lightly. Public support for the fight against highly sophisticated syndicates ...more
Princeton University researchers are leading an effort to put to pasture the long-held convention of cattle ranching that wild animals compe...more
Researchers at the Royal Institute of Technology (KTH) in Stockholm have managed to zero in on man's best friend...more
Kerryn Morrison, manager of the Endangered Wildlife Trust's African Cranes, Wetlands and Communities programme (ACWAC) has been awarded the ...more
Who would have expected that a normal swim on a Monday afternoon would turn into one of the most traumatic experiences of one's life...more
Crocodiles may not win the 'sexiest on the planet' category on everyone's list, but they will be hard to beat when it comes to bite-force ch...more
For the second time this year, the Kruger National Park (KNP) has had to close its Crocodile Bridge Entrance Gate as the water of the Crocod...more
At about 11h30 on Friday January 27, the Crocodile River flowed over and submerged the bridge to Crocodile Bridge Rest Camp in the Park. Vis...more
Jenny van der Merwe handed out the promotional prize for the best shop, Crocodile Bridge, in the Power-ade promotion to Chantell van Wyk...more
The mysterious crocodile killer that prowled the Olifants River at the onset of winter last year in the Kruger National Park has returned...more
Last year saw one of the biggest unexplained wildlife disasters to ever hit the Kruger National Park (KNP). Mass crocodile die-offs in the O...more
In the past week rangers and scientists in the Kruger National Park (KNP) have detected a cluster of crocodile mortalities mainly in the eas...more
A weekend where food and friends featured first on the agenda was the hallmark of the Lowveld Chaîne des Rôtisseurs inauguration at the...more
On the eve of Heritage Day, Phalaborwa saw the festive launch of a new tourism route that will celebrate the traditions and culture of the i...more
At least one suspected poacher was shot early on Wednesday morning, December 13, 2006 on the eastern boundary of the Kruger National Park...more
It takes a very special person to dedicate his or her life as a custodian of Africa's wilderness. One such person is Johannes Mkhari. Johann...more
Last week, 12 year old Karen Pienaar, a grade seven student at Skukuza Primary School, in all probability saved the life of six year old Mbo...more
South African National Parks announced a multi-million rand contract for the provision of restaurant services at the Kruger National Park, t...more
Scientists are weird and journalists only want the juicy stuff. These are some of the myths that Marina Joubert of Southern Science aimed to...more
Staff at the Phalaborwa gate let the first clients through the long-awaited revamped Phalaborwa Entrance Gate on Friday, October 5, 2007. Ga...more
Using the toilet in Kruger Park (it could be pretty much any toilet) I sit there in my own thoughts looking at the tiles on the wall showing...more
The SANParks' CyberTracker will be operational in most national parks by the end of 2008. Collective fund raising initiatives throughout 200...more
In South Africa, all cycads are highly protected by law and wild, indigenous species may not be tampered with, collected or kept as a garden...more
Some call them living fossils; others describe them as the most exotically beautiful plants the world has ever seen. Cycads are the link bet...more
Cycads worth hundreds of thousands of Rands have been stolen out of the Blyde Canyon National Park. The latest raid in the Leboeng area on t...more
For four days 105 cyclists enjoyed the open air as they journeyed through the Limpopo National Park during the Tour de Kruger...more
Work has begun on the rehabilitation of the Langtoon Dam, situated in the north-eastern part of the Kruger National Park (KNP)...more
Dr Ian Player and other renowned conservationists again directed attention to the destruction of two of the Kruger National Park's pristine ...more
Forecasters in Mozambique kept a wary eye on Tropical Cyclone Funso as it made its way down an already drenched coast during the last week o...more
During the first week of 2005, Hoedspruit was privileged to host one of the leaders in the Natural History Presentation field – Sir David ...more
The first of June was also a day of firsts for Kruger and a number of its partners in waste management in the Park. Dr Bandile Mkhize, chief...more
This year's festive season is expected to be a busy one for the Kruger National Park, and Dr Bandile Mkhize, executive director, has asked v...more
Perfect weather at a perfect setting, and an explosive performance from local South African band, ddisselblom, greeted 200 guests on Saturda...more
Environmental affairs minister Marthinus van Schalkwyk issued a final go-ahead to the construction of the De Hoop dam and its associated 300...more
South African National Parks (Sanparks) has taken a firm stand against the proposed De Hoop dam, saying they will “vociferously appeal aga...more
If the 81 metre high De Hoop dam is constructed on the Steelpoort River, “there is some risk of losing unknown biodiversity”. The area w...more
It has taken nine months, but the minister of environmental affairs and tourism has finally reached the conclusion that the building of the ...more
Bunches of dead leaves on a group of leadwood trees appeared to indicate that they had been affected by the low water table...more
Poisoning of wild animals in South Africa happens for a variety of reasons – people looking for protein, farmers trying to deal with 'prob...more
The Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) process for a development planned on Kruger National Park's border is entering its final stages. T...more
The relatively good rains of the last season have produced an impression of good ground cover in most areas...more
Eight MECs responsible for environmental affairs signed the Grasslands Declaration committing Government to the conservation of grasslands B...more
Over the past decade, malaria control programmes in Africa have resulted in 200,000 fewer deaths per year, down from 900,000...more
Few people driving through Kruger consulting their Jacana Kruger National Park Visitor's Map will realise that the subtle shadings of the di...more
Mozambique's effort to become the first of the world's major mine-contaminated countries to be declared mine-free is faltering...more
More than 20 tonnes of explosive has been detonated on a single dam by a group of demolition experts trying to help the Kruger National Park...more
For the last 16 years, the world has celebrated International Tourist Guides Day on February 21. This year South Africa had the theme “Fig...more
Coen Espach, director of the Mthimkulu Development Company (Pty) Ltd and developer of the Mthimkulu Wildlife Estate, says he is tired of gov...more
From the diary of Rob Thomson at Pafuri section during December 2001. Saturday 1, Rainfall 7.7mm Complete month-end admin...more
From the diary of Don English, trails ranger on the Olifants Trail – December 1985...more
Giraffes, Giraffa camelopardalis, are the tallest land animals on earth thanks in part to their distinctive necks which alone can reach alm...more
Which constellation is the most visible during our winter months? Orion. One of the most famous constellations and visible from both hemisph...more
Digest of Rangers' Diaries for February 1941 in the Kruger National Park, South Africa...more
On the 4th Ranger went to the gate to see Badenhorst who was laid up with flu, and dosed him with the usual medicine...more
Digital imagery has been around for quite a while and the technology progresses daily. With it has come the popularisation of digital camera...more
Plants that are taken to new environments often thrive and become invasive. This, together with habitat destruction, has been a major cause ...more
The beginning of October has just seen the second visit of Sir David Attenborough in two years to the Hoedspruit region while filming what i...more
A two-acre dig site in Utah, United States of America, has revealed the fossils of hundreds of bird-like dinosaurs of a species new to scien...more
Laws passed in 2001 that made it illegal for 4x4 vehicles to drive on South Africa's beaches have now been amended to allow disabled persons...more
Ever since the Magnificent Seven was first named in the 1970s, Kruger's elephants with large tusks have been a source of awe and inspiration...more
The Kruger National Park is home (either permanently or as a warming summer vacation destination) to over 500 species of birds. Our avian fr...more
If you want to discover the truth about someone, don't ask them because you will get a contrived or evasive answer. Look at their waste disp...more
New research has revealed information about how mosquitoes are able to fight off bacteria and disease-causing organisms such as the malaria ...more
With the recent development of cross-border conservation areas, animal health policies in different countries have to be merged so that dise...more
A deadly disease devastating fish stocks in Africa's Zambezi River basin and threatening the livelihoods and access to food of millions of r...more
Zoonosis is not a word that springs readily into the average person's mind, but one that is increasingly being discussed by wildlife vets an...more
Disney is not just about Mickey Mouse. There is considerably more to this multi-national corporation than meets the eye, especially when it ...more
Water is life – above and below ground! Now researchers are taking a special interest in the water we cannot see, the groundwater. To acce...more
Finding bad guys via DNA is no longer restricted to the world of the FBI, popular novels or television series like CSI. Now the newfound sci...more
The South African National Parks received 1 000 DNA kits to ensure effective prosecution of rhino poachers. According to SanParks, the kits ...more
Frogs are very sensitive to habitat change and if elephants are having an effect on their environment, surveys such as this will be able to ...more
Despite the fact that there might be lush vegetation growing on the slopes of hills, researchers in Kenya have discovered that elephants are...more
This game drive vehicle was sitting parked under a piece of canvas outside a house in the Manzimvula shareblock, located in the Associated P...more
While everyone agrees that elephants eat both grasses and leafy material from shrubs and trees, some debate has been ongoing in scientific c...more
Dr Wolfram Dressler gave a thought-provoking presentation on how conservation areas and their neighbouring populations interact...more
Does size really matter? Regretfully, when it comes to conservation issues, it often does. We all know of the plight of the wild dog and the...more
New research has resulted in the mapping of the genome of the parasite that causes corridor disease, or East Coast fever. Corridor disease c...more
The Minister of Environmental Affairs and Tourism, Marthinus van Schalkwyk, published a draft list of threatened and protected species in th...more
Mpumalanga police have arrested two suspected drug smugglers and confiscated 33kg of dagga in the Kruger National Park...more
The Members of the SKA Organisation today agreed on a dual site solution for the Square Kilometre Array telescope, a crucial step towards bu...more
Duke, the elephant with the largest set of ivory on any elephant presently living in the Kruger National Park has broken his left tusk. It i...more
Most animals face changes in how much food there is for them to eat over the year. During the dry season especially, the situation can look ...more
Many people have commented that we are seeing progressively less insect life recently. This perception, if correct, may be due to insectici...more
For the second year in a row, the grade 12 pupils of Saint Francis College in Durban visited the Kruger National Park, and got the chance to...more
The Kruger to Canyon Biosphere Reserve (K2C for short) was recently 'proclaimed' as the largest biosphere reserve in Africa and the third la...more
Each year the Kruger National Park hosts conservation diploma students from various learning institutions around the country for a year of '...more
Pre-humans living in East Africa 4.4 million years ago inhabited savannas - grassy plains dotted with trees and shrubs - according to a team...more
The 40th Earth Day was celebrated on 22 April 2010. The Endangered Wildlife Trust (EWT), which turns 37 years old this year, reflected on it...more
Two NASA scientists have been studying the earthquake that rocked the world on December 26, 2004 and have calculated that it has moved the N...more
Two years ago, the former premier of Limpopo, Ngoako Ramathlodi, announced his approval of an international licence for Eastgate Airport, wh...more
The Phalaborwa node of the World Wide Fund for Nature – South Africa Eco-Schools celebrated Arbor Day by planting trees in and around Nama...more
An Eco-Tourism Park at the Tshikuyu Village in Limpopo will be completed in January 2010 just in time for the thousands of soccer fans...more
Klaserie Private Nature Reserve's Children Eco Training (CET) walked away with the Kudu for best environmental education organisation...more
Two African countries are amongst the top performers according to a new economic and environmental index developed by University of British ...more
African cities are growing faster than anywhere else in the world. This is having a major impact, but few ecologists are studying the urban ...more
It was a dream come true for Lodrick Manyathele when he and the Ringetani Traditional Dance Group were given the opportunity to provide a wa...more
There are less than 500 wild dogs, Lycaon pictus, in South Africa, with the only viable contiguous population roaming the Kruger National Pa...more
Ekurhuleni drinking water scored highest on the government's Blue Status scale this year, with 98.95 percent. The City of Johannesburg follo...more
Elephant researcher Audrey Delsink has come in for some funny looks recently during the course of her elephant research in the Kruger Nation...more
Seven young elephant bulls spent several days wandering outside of Kruger National Park (KNP) in the vicinity of the Crocodile River in mid ...more
Great excitement was caused on October 26, 2005 at around 14h00 when an elephant bull wandered through the KNP's Corporate and Scientific Se...more
Another elephant has been fitted with a GPS-cellphone collar in the Association of Private Nature Reserves adjoining the Kruger National Par...more
MAKALALI – The elephant immuno-contraception programme that has been in place on the 25,000ha Makalali Private Nature Reserve for the last...more
Elephant dung, vinegar, a freezer, a sieve, some test tubes, and a high-tech biomedical kit have helped form a clearer picture of what peopl...more
The Letaba Elephant Hall was re-opened on March 23, after being shut for six weeks for revamping, and is now even more magnificent than ever...more
The issue of elephant management is currently a hot topic as the minister of environmental affairs and tourism, Marthinus van Schalkwyk, has...more
A man in his fifties was trampled to death by an elephant in the Madimbo area near Masisi in the Kruger National Park...more
The current elephant assessment comprises twelve chapters which includes the history and distribution of elephant in southern Africa; elepha...more
Following the “Big Elephant Debate” in Berg-en-Dal in October last year, some 50 scientists from South Africa, the rest of Africa and ab...more
14 dead elephants have been found in Boubandjida National Park, Cameroon, just a week after the discovery of at least 200 elephants slaughte...more
Elephant movement in response to changes in rainfall patterns can be used to determine biologically relevant boundaries between seasons, as ...more
An emerging tusker has been named after Lance Corporal Wilson Ndlovu who was killed by an elephant while on patrol in Kruger earlier thisyea...more
This year the elephant and buffalo census team, under the leadership of Dr Ian Whyte, who is conducting his 24th census, counted 13 050 elep...more
A 40-year old motorist and three children all sustained minor injuries when an elephant bull overturned their vehicle in the Kruger National...more
An inquisitive elephant bull was ambling along the site roaming an area between one section of the plant and some offices when he was persua...more
In and around Kruger National Park (KNP), the issue of elephant management is highly debated, as some scientists argue that there are too ma...more
On Elephant Numbers in Kruger In this introductory article Ron Thomson will share his views on the subject of elephant numbers in Kruger Nat...more
The Kruger Park Times recently reported on an elephant collaring safari carried out in the Timbavati Private Nature Reserve. The collaring w...more
The department of environmental affairs and tourism has confirmed the line-up of scientists who will take part in the second Elephant Scienc...more
The thirteen scientists at the second Elephant Science Round Table have reached agreement on a set of guidelines that should help government...more
How Many Teeth Does an Elephant Have? In their lifetime, Elephants work their way through six sets of molars. As one set wears out, another...more
An elephant has trampled a woman close to the Mashikhiri windmill in the far north of the Kruger National Park (KNP), breaking her left arm ...more
It was the first time I'd ever seen elephant twins, and I was so captivated by the sight of them that I nearly forgot to pick up my camera t...more
Most protected areas that are large enough to house elephants already have a burgeoning population, thus translocations are no longer viable...more
I wish to comment on the lead article “Is there an elephant overpopulation in Kruger” which appeared in your August 4, 2005, edition...more
What does the management of elephants have to do with abortion, cloning, HIV/Aids, stem cell research and the distribution of medicine durin...more
An icon of the lowveld, the baobab tree is probably one of the most charismatic representatives of the plant kingdom. Popular with humans an...more
In elephant society, nothing is more important than family. From traveling packs of mothers and calves to larger groups that contain aunts a...more
Since the 1980s, people have known that elephants communicate with each other using infrasound – noises pitched too low for the human ear ...more
The soft sound of elephant footfalls will once more echo through the sandy lands of the Karoo. A family group of elephants has been transloc...more
As an experienced guide with a passion for wildlife and the bush, I have spent many years observing the behaviour and habits of elephants. E...more
Elephants are now moving into Mozambique on their own initiative, reports Leon Marshall for Independent Online. Marshall joined South Africa...more
On December 7, 2006 two vets, Dr Danny Govender and Dr Peter Buss from Kruger National Park
Veterinary Wildlife Services, and pilot...more
Ever since the SANParks director-of-theday succumbed to animal rights pressures, and stopped elephant culling in Kruger National Park in 199...more
Riverine forest habitats comprise largely evergreen trees growing in a narrow strip along a riverbank. The trees obtain their water from the...more
An emergency call center has been opened in the Kruger National Park's Protection Services building in Skukuza. The centre can be reached on...more
Tourists to Mpumalanga and Limpopo may soon benefit from an exciting new medical initiative that is getting off the ground. The remoteness a...more
With the drought in several districts of Limpopo starting to assume crisis proportions, the provincial government is considering several eme...more
Stellenbosch wine farmer, Malmsey Rangaka of M'Hudi Wines has been named overall winner of the...more
This beautiful elephant cow is thought to e the biggest female tusker in Kruger. She was first seen and photographed near the Sabie River hi...more
This tusker has not been seen recently and therefore may have died. When last seen he had broken one of his tusks. Like Mashagadzi he lived ...more
Not many visitors to the Kruger National Park (KNP) are aware of the impressive indigenous plant nursery...more
According to The Red Data Book of the Mammals of South Africa: A Conservation Assessment the top ten species identified as critically endang...more
Biodiversity hot spots – the world's biologically richest and most threatened locations on Earth – and high biodiversity wilderness area...more
In a different environment - such as game reserves - an inability to 'spot' things can result from the unfamiliar surroundings or a misunder...more
On the subject of vision - I mentioned that, with sufficient light, mammals, with a few exceptions, have monochrome vision and egg-laying an...more
There are many instances of animals co-operating or associating with other species, presumably to increase their chances of survival. Many i...more
A focus on blister beetles requires some comparison with, sometimes, similar looking longhorn
(borer) beetles and a mention of the...more
Our excellent array of field guides and other reference books record what is known about most aspects of natural history. There is still a h...more
Probably the most important things to understand, in the realm of 'matter', are the unchangeable principles or laws controlling the function...more
At this time of year there are numerous flowers to be seen by the keen observer. Many are long lived, or come out in progression over a long...more
To many townsfolk, the only exposure they will have to grasshoppers are those TV images of some macho bushman eating them in an attempt at '...more
With the uncertain onset of the rains and increasing temperatures many small creatures are becoming active. Many predatory species are takin...more
Driven by a need for solitude and reality, greater numbers of people are flocking to wild areas in a bid to escape from their competitive ex...more
It is the same all over the world - where selfishness and greed prevail, human developments clash directly with, and cause the destruction o...more
While watching a large herd of buffalo crossing the road near Orpen recently, I was impressed
by the relative silence and degree of organis...more
The concept of succession is normally related to physical aspects but it can be used to describe the inter-related processes in animal behav...more
The first two cubs born to a normal tawny female in the Umbabat Private Nature Reserve and the second two white cubs and two tawny cubs born...more
Most people have no difficulty seeing objects in their home environment where they are, possibly
sub-consciously, assisted by familiar move...more
This week Dave lets nature speak for itself, through the eye of his camera lens, and reminds us to take another look at everything, saying t...more
All beetles belong to the order Coleoptera - which is 'the largest and most diverse order in the entire animal kingdom'. Of at least 370,000...more
Africa's rapidly changing environmental landscape, from the disappearance of glaciers in Uganda's Rwenzori Mountains to the loss of Cape Tow...more
Umlani Bushcamp in the Timbavati Private Nature Reserve in South Africa was presented with The Wilderness Foundations sought after Green Lea...more
A new study published in the journal Nature has revealed that the Andes Mountains are the only biodiversity hotspot on the entire planet tha...more
The Phalaborwa-based Ndlovu Node of the South African Environmental Observation Network (Saeon) has recently gained an information manager i...more
Students of green architecture, sustainable design for urban areas, engineering or science focussing on sustainable technologies will benefi...more
Francois Pienaar, representing the NGO, Make a Difference (MAD), donated several Enviropaedias to trainers and others at one of the Klaserie...more
Members of the Bushveld region Honorary Rangers (HR) handed over equipment to the value of R15,500 to the Kruger National Park's...more
South African National Parks (SANParks) announced earlier this months that more poachers have been apprehended in recent weeks due to the in...more
The information retrieved from satellite images taken from space often has to be checked and validated on the ground. This is exactly what t...more
A decade ago water saving in SA did not have the sense of urgency or media profile that it has today...more
The executive director of the Endangered Wildlife Trust (EWT), Dr Nick King, has called on finance minister Trevor Manuel to set aside one b...more
In celebration of the work of the Endangered Wildlife Trust (EWT) to end rhino poaching the organisation hosted two events ahead of World Rh...more
The impending onset of the rainy season means that the Department of Health will once again bring out their pesticides for malaria control....more
The police arrested four Kruger National Park (KNP) staff members, a well-known ex-cop turned criminal and seven Mozambicans in connection w...more
It is interesting that visitors to our region display so little fear of long journeys in speeding automobiles, participation in hazardous ad...more
The year's most exceptional performers in the tourism industry were crowned at INDABA 2011 at the 2011 Welcome Awards held at Durban's...more
On 10 – 12 December 2004 I had the privilege to of experiencing the Bundu Trail. The group was out on an afternoon / night drive and I arr...more
Keeping this valuable long-term experiment running accurately is the responsibility of Scientific Services fire ecologist, Navashni Govender...more
The Phalaborwa Orchid Show is being held on September 2-3, 2005. The event is open to the public from 09h00 on Friday until late afternoon...more
The Machampane Wilderness Camp is nestled on the banks of the Machampane River with the luxurious en-suite tented camp overlooking the river...more
How do you package the essence of the Kruger experience into two days? Could it be spending
five hours at the Nsemani dam near Satara...more
The eyeball of an elephant is similar in size to those of humans and is small for such a large animal. Elephants and wild pigs are the only ...more
The star of several documentaries and the first Siberian tiger to be fitted with a radio collar, Olga, is presumed dead. She is thought to h...more
Citrus and mango farmers are currently battling it out with Rand Merchant Bank (RMB) over the delivery of water for irrigation and household...more
A rare Southeast Asian flower has bloomed in Hoedspruit. This peculiar flower has defied description and has been called the 'devil's flower...more
Butch Smuts worked in the Kruger National Park for many years, performing intensive studies on the lion populations in Kruger National Park....more
Growing at a rate of 20cm per day, a new volcano has been found under the ocean in the Samoan Island chain. Researchers say that the volcano...more
Faced with earlier studies stating that the big predators such as tigers, lions, and lynxes fulfil their dietary needs by eating one or two ...more
Two cultures met in song (and dance) during a joint performance by the Purdue Varsity Glee Club (PVGC) and the Kruger National Park (KNP) ch...more
When the Great Limpopo Transfrontier Park was officially declared in 2002, Valli Moosa ceremonially cut down 20 metres of the fence separati...more
Although more commonly known for his expertise with alien plants, Llewellyn Foxcroft's latest collaboration to keep national parks as havens...more
It is a dilemma that probably bothers the odd tourist to the Kruger National Park, has almost certainly bothered more than one elephant, and...more
Out of 39 currently known southern ground hornbill nests in the Kruger National Park, only seven live chicks were found when the nests were ...more
The Field Guides Association of Southern Africa (FGASA) held its annual general meeting at Southern Cross Schools in Hoedspruit on March 26,...more
After two weeks of gruelling training, 39 very proud field rangers received their certificates from Dr Bandile Mkhize, chief executive offic...more
The sycamore fig (Ficus sycomorus) is a tall, distinctive tree with a yellowish bark and fluted stem that is seen growing along the rivers i...more
The United Nations target of halving the number of people infected with tuberculosis (TB) by 2015 can still be met, despite the fact that th...more
“Taking ownership of the park's wellbeing” trickled through as the fundamental theme of the 2011 Keep Kruger Clean Campaign which took p...more
The 1998 veld and forest fire act places the burden on landowners to control fires on their land, but landowners have access to a variety of...more
Figs and fig wasps have evolved to help each other out: Fig wasps lay eggs inside the fruit where the wasp larvae can safely develop, and in...more
The Kruger National Park has the declared mission of maintaining biodiversity in all its natural facets and fluxes, and it has a truly impre...more
Over 50,000 ants have stumbled into traps in the ground and thus into the hands of Kate Parr, who has been looking at how fire affects biodi...more
In the early hours of Tuesday, September 15, 2009 a fire raged at the rest camp of the Basotho Cultural Village...more
A thatch house in the wildlife estate of Raptor's View was gutted by fire on December 15, 2004. The house was struck by lightning shortly be...more
The first phase of the SavFIRE experiment saw survey teams collect grass data over 80 kilometres at 8 600 points on eight blocks of increasi...more
Fire is an important and crucial driver within savanna ecosystems and is necessary in maintaining ecosystem functioning...more
It's the time of year when smoke plumes set off alarm bells to many visitors in the Kruger National Park (KNP)...more
Are fires more important than rain for the savannah ecosystem. Natural grass fires are evidently more important for the ecology of savannahs...more
Listening to various people talking about wild animal behavior, it is clear that certain jokes and amusing incidents portrayed in some books...more
The endangered black rhino is in the spotlight again. This time it's to find out how many of these elusive and secretive creatures there are...more
Mahlangene Ranger Station under Section Ranger, Reckson Seani, hosted a very successful soccer tournament on Sunday, March 6, 2005. The comm...more
The first successful artificial insemination of a rhinoceros has been accomplished by scientists from the Berlin Leibniz-Institute for Zoo a...more
Wilderness walks or trails are today nothing new. But almost thirty years ago, in 1978, this was a novelty that appealed to every wildlife e...more
Recognising the need to preserve South Africa's wetlands saw the launch of the 'working for wetlands' programme, which is a joint initiative...more
New drugs to fight malaria may well lie at the bottom of the ocean, according to researchers studying over 2,500 samples from marine organis...more
Scientists are warning that the danger of mercury poisoning may be greater than previously thought, especially for children and babies devel...more
The South African National Parks (SANParks) Environmental Crime Investigation (ECI) team and rangers arrested four suspected poachers in the...more
The Kruger National Park's Veterinary Wildlife Service Department started with the final stage of a Bovine Tuberculosis (BTB) research proje...more
If you come across a collared buffalo in the vicinity of Crocodile Bridge or Lower Sabie, chances are it is one of 200 animals...more
The annual fixed wing game census in the Park was completed toward the end of July this year. In 1998, Kruger adopted a distance sampling ...more
My original intention was to talk about a small insect flying around our house since the warmer weather started. On the look out for mosquit...more
Poking their tender tips into the hostile world, matumi seedlings choose the unlikeliest spots to germinate, unfurling their leaves happily ...more
The volume of elephant ivory available for sale in Angola has doubled over the last year or so, with over 1.5 tonnes of worked ivory product...more
The world is a cooler, wetter place because of flowering plants, according to new climate simulation results published in the June 2010 jour...more
Larger trees in full colour are hard to miss. Many trees have already flowered and are bearing new seed pods among the foliage. Most notable...more
A husband and wife team of researchers, Ed and Mary Cupp, at the Auburn University Alabama Agricultural Experiment Station have found a...more
Here you can see daily flight departure and arrival time from Cape Town, Johannesburg and Durban to Kruger Mpumalanga International...more
What must concern us all is that the environment is not an infinite provider of resources. So said Edna Molewa, minister of environmental af...more
Last year SANParks decided to scale down on its land expansion programme, which resulted in only 9 000 hectares being added...more
On a mission to bring clean drinking water to the rural poor, two enthusiastic Americans recently demonstrated the effectiveness of an award...more
Ferdi Heyns is the sector executive chef for Kagiso Khulani Supervision Foods, a subsidiary of Compass South Africa. Garry Hamer is currentl...more
What better way to enjoy your bushveld safari in the Kruger National Park than to share the day's
experience with your loved ones...more
Recipes by Garry Hamer Compass Food Services Manager Lower Sabie. Recipes developed and tested in the Kruger National Park...more
“The provincial department of agriculture wishes to inform all concerned that the Gravelotte area is free of foot and mouth disease as fro...more