Mar 18th, 2012 at 11:00AM: On Thursday of this week five nations in southern Africa announced plans to form a new international conservation area that will be the largest of its kind once it is complete. This unprecedented move was made to allow the participating nations to combine their conservation efforts and combat illegal poaching in a more efficient manner.
Under the agreement, Namibia, Zambia, Zimbabwe, Angola and ...Click on a label to read posts from that part of the world.
elephants posts
Largest international conservation area formed in southern Africa
Mar 18th, 2012 at 11:00AM: On Thursday of this week five nations in southern Africa announced plans to form a new international conservation area that will be the largest of its kind once it is complete. This unprecedented move was made to allow the participating nations to combine their conservation efforts and combat illegal poaching in a more efficient manner.
Under the agreement, Namibia, Zambia, Zimbabwe, Angola and ...Poachers kill 200 elephants in Cameroon already this year
Feb 19th, 2012 at 8:00AM: Government officials in Cameroon have announced that poachers have already killed more than 200 elephants in 2012, which is a startling number considering we're only about six weeks into the year. A growing demand for ivory in Asia is blamed for the massive rise in poaching, which is having devastating effects on the pachyderm population in central Africa.
On Friday, Gambo Haman, the governor ...Vagabond Tales: Swimming with elephants in Thailand
Feb 9th, 2012 at 10:00AM:
Anyone who has visited Thailand will recognize the word Chang.
The national beer of Thailand, the over sized green bottles are found everywhere from the markets of Chiang Mai to the bars of Bangkok's Khao San Road. In the Thai language, however, Chang does not mean beer. It means elephant. Hence the ornately drawn white elephant placed prominently on the bottle.
Another Thai word you may ...Ivory poaching on the rise thanks to Asian demand and a legal loophole
Jan 2nd, 2012 at 4:00PM: The poaching of elephant tusks is a growing problem due to increased demand from Asian nations, the Kenyan newspaper Business Daily reports.
A loophole in the UN law regulating the ivory trade allows Japan and China to legally purchase some ivory from selected nations under tightly controlled contracts. This has encouraged poachers to smuggle their illegal goods to Asia. Once there, it's much ...African governments doing more to stop poaching of endangered species
Sep 30th, 2011 at 2:30PM: This year in Africa, the fight between law enforcement and poachers of endangered species has flared into a war.
In the first two months of 2011, nine poachers were shot dead in South Africa. Despite this, poaching is up. In that nation alone, 333 rhinos were killed in 2010, and there have been 309 rhinos poached so far this year. It looks like the illegal hunters are set to break a grisly ...Elephants break out of Tsavo West National Park, locals go into hiding
May 6th, 2011 at 10:00AM:
More than 500 elephants strayed out of Tsavo West National Park in Kenya, destroying crops and scaring villagers before being herded back onto park property, the Nairobi Star reports.
The elephants were simply grazing and looking for water, park officials say, but that doesn't reassure villagers who saw their fields trampled. The elephants wandered through five villages and there are reports ...Ethiopia's Somali region: a potential adventure travel destination?
Mar 31st, 2011 at 9:00AM:
As I mentioned yesterday, I've been exploring Ethiopia's Somali region. While my quest for Ahmed Guray's castle was a failure, I did see potential for adventure travel in the region.
Adventure travelers generally are looking for three things: historical sights, interesting cultures, and natural wonders. The Somali region is a bit short of historical sights, although there are a few of interest, ...Luang Prabang - 3 days in Laos
Mar 23rd, 2011 at 10:00AM:
Luang Prabang is lush, quaint, and improbable. This magical town of butterflies and baguettes seems to exist on dreamlike terms - an island of civility in the savage jungle of Laos. Sometimes a pinch is justifiable to confirm the reality of it all. The green hills, gorgeous colonial buildings, and kind villagers all combine to form a thriving UNESCO heritage city that is Southeast Asia with ...On safari in Kruger National Park
Mar 21st, 2011 at 8:30AM: The African safari remains one of the most amazing experiences that any traveler could hope to enjoy. The boundless wildlife that is on display there is one of the greatest natural wonders in the world, and watching those hundreds of different species in their natural habitats is a source of never ending wonder.
There are two classic destinations to experience the African safari, the Serengeti, ...Explorers look to save elephants, end ivory trade
Mar 13th, 2011 at 8:00AM: Two American explorers are heading to Africa today to begin an important expedition that could prove vital to the fight against the illegal ivory trade. Their five week long journey, dubbed the Elephant Ivory Project, may help to save herds of those creatures, which have come increasingly under attack from poachers in recent years.
Former National Geographic Adventurer of the Year Trip Jennings ...Africa has mixed results in fighting poachers
Nov 27th, 2010 at 2:00PM: One of the main reasons adventure travelers head to Africa is for the wildlife. Sadly, that wildlife is in danger of disappearing thanks to illegal poaching. Big game such as rhinos and elephants can bring in large sums of money for their tusks, hide, and meat.
Namibia has been one country that has been successful in the fight against poaching in the face of a continent-wide rise in illegal ...Uganda hotels to charge less for locals
Oct 9th, 2010 at 11:00AM: Uganda's hotels are facing tough times. Despite their country having top attractions such as Nile rafting trips, the Great Rift Valley, and safaris in the many national parks filled with wildlife, the average hotel is running at only 50 percent capacity. Adding to this problem is that wealthy Ugandans don't go for internal tourism, preferring to jet off to more exotic destinations like Europe. ...Photo of the Day (10.14.2010)
Aug 14th, 2010 at 12:01PM:
This shot looks like it could be a still from a sweeping epic. Out of the frame there could be a colonial settler, a rugged man with a breeze blowing through his dark hair.... Maybe he has a lady far away that he's thinking of - perhaps she's back in Europe? Or was she lost to malaria? Yes, I think that's it. Maybe this handsome young man was all set to shoot an elephant, but then he ...India's Kaziranga National Park has world's highest tiger population
May 1st, 2010 at 9:00AM: Zoologists studying at Kaziranga National Park in Assam, India, have declared that it has the greatest density of tigers in the world--32.64 per 100 square kilometers, in fact. By way of comparison, Corbett Tiger Reserve, which is in the number two slot, has "only" 19.6 per 100 square kilometers.
Park officials say there's such a healthy population because of the large amount of tasty wildlife ...Namibia clamps down on poaching in national parks
Apr 13th, 2010 at 9:00AM: There's been a rise in poaching in Southern Africa in recent years. Hunters are killing rare animals and selling their pelts, ivory, and other body parts to a multibillion dollar international network of dealers. The southwestern African nation of Namibia, however, has managed to avoid this trend.
This is due to strong criminal penalties and new measures implemented by the Ministry of ...Mozambique attracting more tourists
Apr 4th, 2010 at 10:00AM: Mozambique is enjoying a tourism boom, but it falls short of what officials in the large southeast African nation hoped for. According to the latest figures, tourism earned the nation $195 million last year, up $10 million from the previous year. This figure only accounts for hotels and other easily tracked income, not money spent in shops or for informal tours. More than 1.5 million people are ...Saving elephants in Chad
Jan 15th, 2010 at 3:30PM: Central Africa is one of the last regions with a sizable population of African elephant, but their numbers are only a fraction of what they used to be. In Zakouma National Park in Chad there are an estimated 600 elephants. Twenty years ago there were 40,000. Zakouma takes up 3,000 square kilometers of savanna in southern Chad and has populations of elephants, giraffes, lions, cranes, and other ...Nepali festival features elephant football
Dec 30th, 2009 at 1:00PM: The annual Chitwan Elephant Festival in Nepal always brings large crowds to honor South Asia's favorite animal. This year, as this funny video shows, visitors were treated to a football match between two teams of elephants. That's football in the Nepali sense, meaning soccer, not American football. Thankfully the elephants weren't tackling each other. The festival has been going on for six years ...Health tourism is big business for Ghana
Nov 6th, 2009 at 8:30AM: Ghana is not a big tourism magnet. Unlike other African countries that offer wild safaris and impressive archaeological remains, this West African nation has relatively few attractions to offer international visitors. But that's changing under a new plan to promote health tourism. As the name implies, health tourism involves more than recharging your batteries on some serene beach. It's a chance ...Seven jobs that may soon disappear: Travel to where they are while you can
Sep 1st, 2009 at 12:30PM: With Labor Day approaching, as we think of work, consider the culturally significant jobs in the world that may not be around in the future. Here is a look at seven that are hallmarks of particular regions.
First up. Traditional Glass Blower. In one of the furnace rooms at Cam Fornace in Murano, Italy, a short water bus hop from Venice, is a black and white photo from the 1920s (or thereabouts). ...
