News

During his four years of research in the Naye Naye communal conservancy the predator expert and researcher Flip Stander found over 240 prey animals of leopards. On only two occasions these were cheetahs. With the help of the Ju/Hoansi, who can read spoors like an open book, Stander was able to reconstruct one of the hunts of one of the spotted cats.

In the middle of July a nine-ton block of white marble was offloaded at the Franco-Namibian Cultural Centre (FNCC) in Windhoek. The block had been selected by well-known French artist and sculptor Gé Pellini from a quarry near Karibib. In the midst of fine white dust and chunks of marble Pellini created a white rhino, which is to be auctioned on 31 August. The aim of the project is to raise urgently needed funds for the protection of rhinos and elephants in Namibia.

The Wild Horses of the Namib are threatened by extinction. Following five years without any substantial rainfall, they barely find pasture in their habitat near Aus, and their survival depends on additional feeding. The Namibia Wild Horses Foundation would like to thank Mr Josef Vitus Schubert, Austrian Honorary Consul in Namibia, for the latest generous donation of 800 bales of hay, which will help the horses through the coming weeks. 

Africa’s population of giraffe has decreased at a startling rate. Scientists are sounding the alarm bell. The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) now lists giraffe, as a single species, as vulnerable to extinction. What is more, the common belief – still upheld internationally – that there is only one species of giraffe with several subspecies was recently refuted. 

The new-born Burchell´s zebra stands next his mother on wobbly, thin legs. Slowly a stallion approaches. Suddenly he tries to bite the new-born. The mother attacks the stallion, an uneven fight begins. Two hours later, the mare stands alone with her dead foal. So far, no scientist has been able to interpret the behaviour. Few people have ever seen such an attack.

Birds do not have penises like mammals do, most birds can only enact erectile processes at the cloaca (reproductive opening). Flightless birds, such as ostriches, waterfowl (Anatidae) and tinamou, have a retractable penis which serves as a mating organ in the cloaca.

Years after the mystery of the bare circles in the grassy plains on the edge of the Namib has been lifted, biologists are still captivated. Not only can the circles grow as old as the hills but their creators now hold the world record in "ecosystem engineering". Much to the chagrin of beavers... 

The Blue Crane, critically endangered in Namibia, occurs exclusively in the Etosha National Park and the Omadhiya lakes, a series of oshanas (seasonally flooded lakes) to the north of the park. To see this rare bird, tourists often visit areas near the Chudop waterhole in the Namutoni area, Salvadora in the Halali area, and recently at Nebrownii, east of Okaukuejo in Namibia’s most famous park.

When you see workers removing cacti from riverbeds in Windhoek or undeveloped, open land, know that they are providing an invaluable service. The workers are part of the voluntary ‘Cactus Clean Up’ campaign, which is now supported by the Gondwana Collection. 

Over the years I have visited Bushmanland many times but never spotted an African wild dog, although every now and then I heard about other people who had seen the multi-coloured canids. This time I am fortunate enough to encounter some of these fascinating animals in the wild. I can hardly believe my eyes: three African wild dogs are chasing a young springbok less than 100 metres away from us!