Wildfile

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...

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...

‘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...

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...

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...

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...

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...

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...

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 –...

OK, so the common eland (Taurotragus oryx) is just an antelope. But it’s a biggie. With bulls standing some 1.6m at the shoulder and weighing up to 900kg, this heavyweight herbivore rivals the buffalo as the largest African member...

Devotees of death; connoisseurs of carnage: vultures are surely the most confirmed carnivores of the bird world. With eyesight that can clock a carcass from two miles away and a meat-hook bill for ripping through its hide, these birds...

Walking on water is not as hard as you might imagine, as long as you have the right feet for the job. The African jacana (Actophilornis africana) has exceptionally long toes, which spread out to distribute its weight, allowing it...

Sometimes, watching African wildlife leaves you conflicted. My first sighting of a freckled nightjar is a case in point. As a birder, the fact that this elusive nocturnal species was at that very moment struggling for its life should have...

As awe-inspiring in reality as in myth, eagles dominate African skies. Mike Unwin focuses on the remarkable adaptations of the continent’s species and suggests the best places to see them for yourself Eagles are undeniably compelling. As predators, they...

Dr Kim Young-Overton, Cheetah Program Director for Panthera, the global wild cat conservation organisation, tells Travel Africa about the world’s fastest animal, the threats it faces and what is being done to address them. Picture credit Paul...

Is it a bird or is it a bin liner? Has somebody lost their umbrella? What is that strange black object flapping about in the shallows? A fishing black heron (Egretta ardesiaca) is a bizarre sight. With its head and legs hidden,...

You know that post-Christmas lunch stupor – slumped in an armchair, feeling as though you’ve swallowed a whole turkey? Well, welcome to the world of the African rock python (Python sebae). This voracious reptile would happily down a turkey in...

Say ‘African mammal’ and most people will immediately envisage elephants, lions and other celebrated beasts on terra firma. But the oceanic waters that wash the continent’s shores are also home to many marine species, including an impressive selection of...

Nick Dall sets out in South Africa’s Mountain Zebra National Park to search for the world’s fastest feline, and learn about its behaviour and interaction with its cousin the lion. Image copyright Mike Dexter. I’m breathless and starting to...

Shock! horror! Giant eagle swoops down and snatches up small child in its talons. This sensational story runs, in one form or another, from ancient legend to YouTube hoax. It has spawned numerous lurid ‘true life’ accounts. But could it...