Kampala, Uganda | THE INDEPENDENT | Queen Elizabeth National Park has recorded an increase in the number of wildlife animals at the end of the COVID-19 lockdown which started in March. The park has more than 90 mammal and 600 bird species. The park’s chief warden Pontius Ezuma says that the …
Read More »LCI chairman arrested with pangolin
Kampala, Uganda | THE INDEPENDENT | Kampala police have arrested two suspects accused of trafficking wildlife species. The Kampala Metropolitan Police Spokesperson Patrick Onyango identifies one of the suspects as Bosco Mukasa, a 34-year-old and the LC I chairperson Kiganda village, Nyamarunde sub-county in Kibaale district, Simon Kyakwahurwe. According to …
Read More »Drought ignites human-wildlife conflict in Zimbabwe
Hwange, Zimbabwe | AFP | Zimbabwean villager Dumisani Khumalo appeared to be in pain as he walked gingerly towards a chair under the shade of a tree near his one-room brick shack. The 45-year-old was attacked by a buffalo days earlier, and he was lucky to be on his feet. Wild …
Read More »Increasing deforestation threatening wildlife conservation-UWEC
Kampala, Uganda | THE INDEPENDENT | The Uganda Wildlife Conservation Education Center-UWEC has decried the increased destruction of habitats in several parts of the country which is threatening breeding and livelihood of wildlife and birding. Recent studies by Makerere University indicate that more than 200,000 hectares of forest cover have …
Read More »The ‘Brave Ones’: Zimbabwe’s women-only rangers fighting poaching
Phundundu, Zimbabwe | AFP | Chiyevedzo Mutero was one of dozens competing in the remote Zimbabwean bush to join the all-female anti-poaching Akashinga rangers when she broke her finger. She didn’t consider quitting — she even smiled as her finger was bandaged, before returning to the brutal military-style training. “I’m happy, …
Read More »UWA re-introduces giraffes to Pian Upe Wildlife reserve
Kampala, Uganda | THE INDEPENDENT | Uganda Wildlife Authority (UWA) last night released the first batch of five Rothschild giraffes into Pian Upe Wildlife Reserve as part of the reintroduction exercise that will see a total of 15 giraffes (5 male and 10 females) reintroduced into the reserve. The …
Read More »Development dilemma as eastern Greenland eyes tourism boost
Kulusuk, Denmark | AFP | Kayaking past blue-white icebergs drifting along near a pristine harbour, wandering around colourful houses or trekking in the snow-capped wilderness: July and August are high season for tourists in eastern Greenland. Many of the 85,000 tourists who visit each year head to the west coast, but …
Read More »Back to the wild: how ‘ungardening’ took root in America
Washington, United States | AFP | Retired union organizer Anna Burger lives by a busy road just a minute’s walk from a metro station in the US capital Washington, but every morning she wakes up to a birdsong symphony. Butterflies, squirrels and even the occasional deer also come to visit the …
Read More »‘Wildlife-based tourism can transform African economies’
Doreen Robinson, the head of the Wildlife Unit at the UN Environment Programme was one of the co-organizers of the first ever Africa Wildlife Economy Summit held recently in the Zimbabwean town of Victoria Falls. She spoke to The Independent’s Ronald Musoke about what the conveners hoped to achieve …
Read More »Deforestation + climate change = dead end for wildlife
Paris, France | AFP | Climate change combined with galloping tropical deforestation is cutting off wildlife from life-saving cooler climes, heightening the risk of extinction, researchers said Monday. Less than two-fifths of forests across Latin America, Asia and Africa currently allow for animals and plants to avoid potentially intolerable increases in …
Read More »