Africa
The Revelator: Giraffes for Peace
In a world that feels increasingly at odds, Kenya’s Baringo giraffes showcase how a common cause can unite communities. BY LAUREL NEME PUBLISHED March 26, 2025– On the shores of Lake Baringo in Kenya’s Rift Valley, an unusual common denominator has helped bring peace to two warring communities after generations of fighting: the love of…
Read MoreNational Geographic: Elephants may call each other by name, a rare trait in nature
African savanna elephants communicate more like humans than previously thought, new research shows—opening up new possibilities for elephant cognition. BY LAUREL NEME PUBLISHED June 10, 2024– Since she started studying African savanna elephants in 1975, biologist Joyce Poolenoticed that sometimes an elephant would call out to their kin. Sometimes, a bunch would answer, and other…
Read MoreNational Geographic: Do elephants bury their dead calves?
Five young Asian elephants were found mostly covered in tea plantation ditches in India’s Bengal region. But some experts question if they’re evidence of true burial practices. BY LAUREL NEME PUBLISHED May 31, 2024– While scientists have long known African savanna elephants likely mourn their dead, little has been reported about such emotions in wild…
Read MoreThe New York Times for Kids Magazine: Give Vampire Bats A Chance
By Laurel Neme The New York Times For Kids Magazine October 29, 2023 NIGHT FALLS. Creatures of the dark awaken. A vampire rises from a crypt, turns into a bat and flies off in search of its next victim. … That’s the classic tale we have been told. Vampires aren’t real, of course. But…
Read MoreNational Geographic: Hundreds of elephants mysteriously died. We may finally know why
A massive die-off of the endangered species has been happening in sub-Saharan Africa since 2020. Until now, the culprit was unknown. BY LAUREL NEME PUBLISHED Dec. 5, 2023– When hundreds of African savanna elephants dropped dead in Botswana’s Okavango Delta in 2020, conservationists were alarmed. As the death toll rose—from dozens in March to more…
Read MoreNational Geographic: Canadian oil company pauses controversial drilling in Namibian wilderness
ReconAfrica has stopped drilling in the Okavango Delta watershed—for now— leaving in its wake lost jobs and environmental concerns BY JEFFREY BARBEE AND LAUREL NEME PUBLISHED June 27, 2023– Standing at the border post between Botswana and Namibia, next to the looping streambed of the Okavango River, Max Muyemburuko waved goodbye. As chairperson of Namibia’s…
Read MoreNational Geographic: They ripped through a protected wilderness to find oil. Instead, they found trouble
Canadian driller ReconAfrica, facing lawsuits and investigations, has left angry communities and fractured landscapes in the wildlife-rich Okavango Delta watershed. BY JEFFREY BARBEE AND LAUREL NEME PUBLISHED March 28, 2023– For the Canadian company hoping for an oil bonanza in the watershed of the wildlife-rich and visually spectacular Okavango Delta, 2022 was another grim year,…
Read MoreMongabay.com: Snares: Low-tech, low-profile killers of rare wildlife the world over
BY LAUREL NEME PUBLISHED Aug. 18, 2022– Snares are simple, low-tech, noose-like traps that can be made from cheap and easily accessible materials such as wire, rope or brake cables. Easy to set, a single person can place thousands, with one report warning that snares “are a terrestrial equivalent to the drift nets that have…
Read MoreNational Geographic: Canadian Oil Company Illegally Bulldozes Protected Land in Africa
Farms, water, and endangered wildlife are threatened as ReconAfrica expands its operations despite violations. BY JEFFREY BARBEE AND LAUREL NEME PUBLISHED February 23, 2022 — 13 MIN READ RUNDU, NAMIBIA Once, the only marks on the ground in remote northeastern Namibia were the round, flat footprints of elephants; the cloven-hoofed spoor of giraffes, elands, sable antelopes, and…
Read MoreNational Geographic: Oil Company Accused of Drilling in African Wildlife Reserve, Offering Jobs for Silence
Canada-based ReconAfrica appears to have flouted Namibian law, legal experts say. BY JEFFREY BARBEE AND LAUREL NEME PUBLISHED December 13, 2021 — 20 MIN READ RUNDU, NAMIBIA Canadian oil and gas exploration company Reconnaissance Energy Africa has bulldozed land for a test oil well inside a protected wildlife area in northeastern Namibia, and two local…
Read MoreNational Geographic: Members of Congress urge investigation into Okavango oil exploration
National Geographic reporting spurs a bipartisan call for “a thorough and coordinated investigation” by federal agencies. BY LAUREL NEME AND JEFFREY BARBEE PUBLISHED JUNE 23, 2021 8 MIN READ Two members of the United States Congress have sent a plea to the secretary of state, the attorney general, and other top officials urging a “thorough…
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