Category: Animals
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Is Tracking Gorillas Ethical?
105mm, f/3.2, 1/400s, ISO1600 Questions like this are tricky, mainly because only one of the parties involved — that would be us, the humans — can truly understand what’s happening and why. Let us explain … Mountain gorillas were almost extinct by the early 1980s, and only a concerted conservation effort brought them back from…
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SABA Episode #12 — Gorilla Tracking in a Local Helicopter & Other Questions
It wasn’t our original plan to have the 12th episode of SEE AFRICA BREATHE AFRICA limited to Mgahinga Gorilla National Park. But then we ran into obstacles getting gorilla tracking clients and park officials from Rwanda and Congo to join Tuesday’s Zoom call, and adjusted a bit … To listen to the 26 information-packed minutes…
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Are Rwanda and Uganda Suitable for Travelling with Kids?
Travelling with children anywhere requires a little bit more planning and preparation. A safari with kids is no different, but it is certainly very possible. A trip to the Gorilla Highlands region need not be ruled out or put on hold until kids are older … A visit to Akagera National Park, like many typical…
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SABA Episode #5 — Grauer’s Gorillas, Bonobos & Community Issues
With this fifth episode of SEE AFRICA BREATHE AFRICA we achieved something pretty monumental: we recorded everything but the Voice of Santa Barbara live, at once! Before we would always have to add extra recordings to what we get on the Tuesday Zoom call. That wasn’t easy for me — I’ve been doing studio sessions,…
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Should I Be Cautious of Wildlife?
100mm, f/4, 1/250, ISO640 This is actually a well-worded question. Had it been whether you should be worried about wildlife, my answer would have been no. But cautious? Well, a bit of caution never hurt anyone. Animals come in all shapes and sizes, and people often worry about the wrong ones. Spider and snake bites…
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Why is Akagera National Park So Expensive — And Where Does My Money Go?
OK, let’s talk about money … Safaris are probably not the cheapest holiday option. As well as your flights, accommodation, food and transport, you might also have game drives, park fees, and additional activities to budget for. There is also a whole mixed-bag of options when it comes to planning a safari. Whereas private reserves…
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Avoid Kissing Chimps
I generally manage to stay pretty healthy on my travels through a combination of common sense, a robust immune system and precautions such as wearing long sleeves, washing my hands and avoiding travel in high-risk malarial areas. But just like during the rainy season in tropical Africa: when it rains, it pours. I had been…
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The Many Surprises of Lwiro in Eastern DR Congo
Ladies and gentlemen, Greetings from Lwiro, a village on the edge of Kahuzi-Biega National Park that routinely surprises visitors to eastern Congo. I have been employed here for 30 years, at the enormous colonial-era Centre for Research in Natural Science (or CRSN, a French acronym for Centre de Recherches en Sciences Naturelles) next to the…
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When Lions Ate Letters
Lions used to be common in the lower altitudes of the Virunga volcanoes but are now are locally extinct, along with the leopard. Historically they gained a bad reputation as man-eaters around the Western Rift Valley (our members can learn more about the Rift Valley in the In-Sights). The two lions that infamously attacked railway…
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