Conservation Updates

Mention the word “snake” at any social gathering in South Africa and you will have a topic of conversation to which all the men and a goodly proportion of the women will be able to make a contribution. It would seem from what one hears that South...

Two items on the same page in a recent newspaper caught my eye. The first dealt with rhino poaching. In this a conservationist bemoaned the fact that a great deal of the money given by well-meaning members of the public to combat the poaching of...

My mother-in-law used to tell the story of how, in July 1933, while motoring in what was then Rhodesia, a lion was attracted to the car, a two-seater Chevrolet with a dickie-seat.* Tied to the luggage rack at the back – one doesn’t see either...

I’ve just googled “rubbing-stones” and come up with some surprising results, not at all what I had in mind. Advertised were stones to smooth bricks and tiles, stones for use by sculptors, materials for making stone-rubbings, and ‘lucky’ stones...

For a month or more the plight of the Kariega Park rhinos has been much on my mind. They even cropped up in my thoughts during an early morning walk amongst the rock-pools at the beach.

Some years ago this coastline was plagued by as ruthless a...

Aged 15 I was riding my bicycle through a quiet, leafy Pretoria suburb when a traffic-cop pulled me over: “You didn’t stop at that stop-sign,” he said. I explained that I was travelling slowly and could see and hear without stopping that there was...

It’s that time of the year again when, walking through the coastal bush or forests, one’s nostrils are assailed by a sweetish, fetid waft that results in most visitors inspecting the soles of their shoes. Those of us that live here are of course...

As I write this I can hear coming from the garden the lovely liquid notes of a Coucal’s call. This handsome bird with its striking black, brown and white plumage is a bush-dweller and is seldom seen although often heard. Its food consists of...

The small group made their way with swinging strides up the path. In the lead was Justine, the Kariega Volunteer Co-ordinator, bright-eyed, brown-skinned and blonde-haired. Following in her footsteps were George and Mary Anne from Bainbridge...

The term “brand image” is a comparatively recent concept, although the idea of linking a product to animals for example, is as old as the hills. I have noticed of late advertisements for cement associated with elephants, car tyres with lynx and...