By Adam Cruise - Daily Maverick South Africa has published new trophy hunting quotas for elephants, black rhinos and leopards, yet the scientific and administrative record behind those decisions remains largely invisible. After detailed objections were submitted...
By Seretse Khama Ian Khama - Daily Maverick Botswana’s approach to wildlife conservation, integrating the defence force in anti-poaching operations and prioritising community inclusion, provides essential lessons for regional cooperation and protecting natural...
By Adam Cruise - Daily Maverick The renewed Madikwe elephant controversy raises a question extending far beyond culling. When a senior SANParks scientist speaks of economic opportunities arising from elephants selected for killing, we need to examine the philosophy of...
By Don Pinnock - Daily Maverick The North West MEC stayed away, key reports remained hidden and MPs were given no costs or deadlines for a plan that could result in nearly 1,000 elephants being culled in Madikwe. What is the province trying to hide? North West clearly...
By Mary Rice - Mongabay An emerging narrative is that elephant poaching has declined, yet evidence shows that the illegal trade in ivory persists, and that the involvement of organized crime in it keeps growing. Despite big and news-making seizures of illegal ivory...
By Stephanie Klarmann - Daily Maverick Kruger National Park’s centenary prompts an urgent call to balance rhino anti‑poaching, humane elephant management and community livelihoods while protecting biodiversity and animal welfare. Kruger National Park’s centenary has...
By Adam Cruise - Daily Maverick The debate surrounding 951 elephant deaths in the Kruger National Park has largely become a discussion about conservation science. It should instead be a discussion about public accountability, the ethical limits of state authority over...
By Adam Cruise - Daily Maverick The grudging release of previously undisclosed mortality data from the Kruger National Park offers a rare glimpse into how elephants are dying. But the numbers reveal something else: how little the public knows about the decisions made...
By Don Pinnock - Daily Maverick As South Africa wrestles with elephant management, delays and a lack of accountability could push culling from a last resort to an all-too-possible outcome. Deputy Environment Minister Narend Singh told Parliament this week that culling...
By Adam Cruise - Daily Maverick The continued confinement of Lammie, Ramadiba and Mopane rests on an assumption that their needs can be met within the Johannesburg Zoo. The available evidence suggests that this assumption is no longer secure. An alternative exists....