By Alan Lee The National Biodiversity Assessment 2025 (NBA) was launched on 9 December 2025 by an array of governmental luminaries, including Deputy Minister Bernice Swarts. The NBA marks a major milestone for biodiversity science and conservation in South Africa. Produced by the South African National Biodiversity Institute (SANBI) together with more than a hundred...
By Anton Crone I visited Mauritius some years ago. By then I had already read The Song of the Dodo: Island Biogeography in an Age of Extinctions by David Quammen, an exceptional exploration of how isolation shapes evolution, and how it also makes islands hotspots for extinction. But I wasn’t in Mauritius for its ecology....
Calling all bird-enthusiasts, nature-lovers and friendly competitive teams: this year (on 6 December 2025) the team at BirdLife South Africa are once again calling you to take part in their annual Birding Big Day. It’s simple: register your team, pick your patch (either a 50 km radius or a more relaxed 6 km radius), get...
N’Djamena, Chad, 17 October– The Chadian government and the conservation organisation African Parks have restored their partnership agreements for the management of the country’s protected areas, ending a two-week diplomatic standoff triggered by Chad’s unilateral termination of the accords earlier this month. In a joint statement signed in N’Djamena by Environment Minister Hassan Bakhit Djamous and African Parks’ Chief Executive Officer Peter...
8 October – The government of Chad said it has withdrawn a mandate held by conservation organisation African Parks to manage its wildlife reserves; the NGO has managed some of the country’s most important protected areas for more than a decade. The decision terminates African Parks’ management mandates over the Ennedi Natural and Cultural Reserve and...
The people of South Africa have spoken, and the Black Harrier (Circus maurus) will be BirdLife South Africa’s Bird of the Year for 2026 2 October 2026 – For the past 18 years, BirdLife South Africa has named one South African bird as its Bird of the Year. The 2026 Bird of the Year will,...
The world’s leading wildlife photography competition, Wildlife Photographer of the Year, presents a sneak peek of its sixty-first competition, which will be showcased in an exhibition at the Natural History Museum, London, from Friday 17 October 2025. We are thrilled to see a couple of bird photographers recognised! The exhibition will spotlight 100 inspiring and powerful...
I recently returned from another visit to Malawi, a country I have long loved for its vibrant culture. This time, I paid closer attention to its remarkable birdlife and realised just how much I had been missing. It is that rich blend of nature and culture that makes African travel so invigorating, and this edition...
In a promising leap for endangered vulture species in South Africa, conservation organisation Vulpro has announced the hatching of twenty vulture chicks at Shamwari Private Game Reserve during its second breeding season at the new facility. Described as a “major milestone for vulture conservation in South Africa,” the success is evidence that the translocated birds are thriving following their relocation from...
Ever wondered why flufftails are called ‘flufftails’? It’s somewhat of an odd name for a family group, because not all flufftails have wispy, decomposed, fluffy tail feathers! Admittedly though, as a family group, they do have much softer tail feathers than most non-passerines. Of the four species that occur in South Africa, Red-chested definitely wins...
