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Secret superhero or skulking celebrity?
Seeing is believing: Mike Unwin pursues the African finfoot What is it about the African finfoot that gets birders so excited? Granted, finfoot is a catchy name. To me, at least, it has always suggested a Marvel Comics aquatic...
Bands on the run
Seeing is believing: Mike Unwin admires the collective spirit of the banded mongoose Pandemonium on the savannah. A martial eagle grabs a mongoose. Swooping in from nowhere, the huge raptor snatches up the hapless creature in its talons and...
Pangolins at risk
The pangolin is in grave danger of extinction, in part because people believe the myth that pangolin scales can cure diseases. Megan Berman of African Wildlife Foundation reports The world’s most trafficked mammal may vanish before many people have...
Compare the meerkats
Ann and Steve Toon reveal the top spots to see suricates in southern Africa Whether you’re eight or you’re 80 on holiday in southern Africa nothing quite compares to the experience of going nose to snout with a beady-eyed...
In praise of mothers
To celebrate Mother’s Day, Ann and Steve Toon pay homage to a few of Africa’s marvellous animal mums Protecting, nurturing, teaching, building a close bond, then letting go when the time comes; such skills are not simply the preserve...
Bateleur eagle: born to perform
Always one for a dramatic bird of prey, Mike Unwin casts his binoculars in the direction of this great showman Eagles tend to attract grandiose descriptions: ‘deadly assassin’, ‘master of the skies’, you know the kind of thing. But...
Hamerkop: harbinger of doom?
It’s early evening in a rural Swazi village. A brown bird cruises low overhead in buoyant, unhurried flight. At its sharp kek-kek call, an elderly gent looks up and tuts in disapproval. Thekwane is not welcome here. Birdwatchers might...
10 Strange facts about porcupines
They’re unlikely to be helpful at your next quiz night, but could come handy during campfire chat on your next safari 1. The word ‘porcupine’ means ‘quill pig’ in Latin. However, porcupines have no relation to pigs: they are...
Day of the jackal
Trot, trot, trot. Stop, sniff, spray. Trot, trot, trot… There’s no mistaking a foraging jackal. Restless and relentless, it jogs purposefully through the bush, its canine radar attuned to every rustle in the grass and scent on the breeze....
Crowned crane: the dancing bugler
Tan-tan-tara! It seems fitting that a trumpet fanfare should herald the arrival of this most regal-looking bird. To be honest, the trumpet sounds a little out of tune – more Scooby Doo than Miles Davis. But that deep, honking...
6 of the best primates to spot
1 Mountain gorillas This enormous ape is a high-altitude race of the eastern gorilla. Just over 1000 remain in the wild, according to census figures this year. They are best seen in Rwanda’s Volcanoes National Park or Uganda’s Bwindi...
Understanding elephants
Every visitor to the African bush wants to see an elephant. Alongside their intelligence, intense social ties, vulnerability to emotion and phenomenal memories, they’re physically extraordinary too, as Travel Africa reveals. Size – the secret to survival The elephant’s...
What it’s really like visiting chimpanzees
For many wildlife lovers, seeing wild chimpanzees is a dream. But what is the experience actually like? Kush Patel describes his visit to Mahale, in southern Tanzania. As I flipped through an article on human evolution, I wondered what...
Elephant ancestry? The remarkable case of the rock hyrax
‘Seriously?’ This – or similar – is the standard response when guides inform guests that a rock hyrax’s closest relative is the elephant. Are they even looking at the same animal? Binoculars are raised for a closer scrutiny of the...
Big cat lovers
Seeing a big cat in the wild is top of many people’s bucket list on safari. But why? William Gray explains the abiding appeal of observing lion, leopard and cheetah in the wild and what makes them so captivating...
Treasures of the Namib
The Namib Desert harbours some extraordinary creatures that have developed fascinating adaptations to cope with the challenges of desert life. We give you seven to look out for Desert lion Probably the single biggest difference between the desert lion...
In praise of antelope
Some accelerate to unexpected speeds; others survive months without drinking; all are beautiful to watch. From the elusive hirola (pictured above) to ubiquitous impala, we celebrate the continent’s most elegant mammals. Unbelievable as it may seem, there are around...
Easy riders: the curious life of the oxpecker
A giraffe stands stock still. Tall and statuesque, its long neck and limbs are completely motionless. And yet somehow its skin appears to be on the move. Look closer. Use your binoculars, in fact. The towering mammal is not...
Africa’s second largest migration
From January to June at least half a million antelopes converge on a vast savannah east of the White Nile, an area including the Sudd wetlands of South Sudan and the western Ethiopian swamps of Gambella. This mass movement...
Capturing kaleidoscopes: the lilac-breasted roller
Wow! Look at that! Goooorgeous! If there’s one bird guaranteed to get even the most bird-blind of safari-goers reaching for their binoculars, it’s the lilac-breasted roller (Coracius caudatus). Decked out in vivid blue, purple, rufous, olive, turquoise and –...
