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We Should Kill More Lions

10,000 Birds

This Lion should not be shot, as it is a protected reserve that forbids shooting. There are times when acting in the conservation interest of a species or ecosystem means that the welfare of specific animals is compromised, which is a fancy way of saying that conservationists sometimes have to kill animals for the greater good.

Lions 185
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White-backed Vultures are Proper Birds

10,000 Birds

The vultures didn’t kill it, but they’ll clean up the mess. The populations remain stable in Ethiopia, Tanzania and southern Africa, but have collapsed in West Africa and have declined in other parts as well. The cute dead little Wildebeest?

Africa 175
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Birding the Kruger Park (2): Bateleur area

10,000 Birds

Wikipedia also has an interesting paragraph hinting at observation bias in ornithologists: “At the continental scale, saddle-billed storks preferred protected areas that have a higher extent of open water compared to areas without the storks. Medicinal and commercial uses of ostrich products in Tanzania.

Ostriches 147
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The Storks of Africa

10,000 Birds

A Marabou Stork arriving at its roost tree, Serengeti, Tanzania by Adam Riley We’ll start off with the largest and ugliest of them all (measuring up to 60in (152cm) in height, a weight of 20 lb (9 kg) and a wingspan of up to 12ft), the Marabou Stork. They also prey on frogs and crabs. Its range also extends to nearby Madagascar.

Africa 243
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Can we talk about Cecil the Lion?

10,000 Birds

Tell me, what happens if we rip away hunting when hunting protects more wildlife land in Africa than national parks? The killing of Cecil was equated with murder, a moral crime rather than a symptom of a ecological problem. Conservation is concerned about protecting populations, species, habitats, ecosystems. I’m sorry.

Lions 212
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Birding the Kruger Park (4): Letaba area

10,000 Birds

Reportedly, the Water Thick-knee sometimes locates its nest close to the nest of Nile crocodiles as this offers some protection. Others are being killed for use in traditional medicine. A bit like renting an apartment next to a mass murderer in the hope that this will deter other criminals, but as they say, nature knows best.

Zimbabwe 147
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Africa’s endangered species

10,000 Birds

A pair of Hooded Vultures in Selous Game Reserve, Tanzania by Adam Riley. Rueppell’s Vulture scanning for a carcass at Ndutu, Tanzania by Adam Riley. An adult (left) and subadult (right) White-backed Vulture with full crops after feeding on the remains of a Lion kill, Ndutu, Tanzania by Adam Riley.