White lions are rarer than the legendary snow leopard of the Himalayas and they occur naturally in only one place on earth - The Timbavati Reserve in South Africa. But very few white lions have been witnessed in the wild over the past decade. Today, most white lions are born in captivity. Their rarity and beauty has condemned them to a destiny where they have become curiosities and hunting trophies. Their future as a wild species is now questionable. But there are people trying to change this - the local Shangaan tribe has revered white lions for centuries and with the help of Linda Tucker, head of the Global White Lion Protection Trust, a carefully planned release project is underway which will see the first four white lions return to the wilds of Timbavati. Some scientists and conservationists question the merit of such a venture and fear its consequences. Mainstream conservationists maintain that white lions are of little scientific conservation value and that they struggle to survi
In June 2021, Daily Maverick ran a story that pitted 15 of the biggest brands in nature conservation against a giant citrus farming conglomerate. Given that the Limpopo provincial authorities appeared, perhaps illegally, to be on the side of the latter, the future of the Greater Kruger was at s.
A road trip through the lesser-visited wildlife destinations of Greater Kruger and Waterberg reveals a portrait of South Africa’s dynamic safari sector. Amid soaring massifs and rugged bushveld, safari camps and conservation projects across South Africa’s northeast are bouncing back from the pandemic, offering travellers a rare front-row seat to the battle against extinction.