A first for large African mammals: DNA used to count Gabon’s endangered forest elephants

Written by Fiona Maisels, Wildlife Conservation Society, African Elephant Specialist Group (IUCN) and Honorary Professor, University of Stirling Gabon holds roughly half of all forest elephants, which occur across almost the entire country’s area (about 250,000km2). It is the principal stronghold of a species that once numbered in the millions. Securing this stronghold is vitally […]
Senegal is decolonising its heritage, and in the process reclaiming its future

Written by Ferdinand de Jong, Associate Professor in Anthropology, University of East Anglia After Faidherbe’s fall, the municipality quickly reinstalled the statue but removed it again in early 2020 claiming they wanted to renovate the square where it once stood. The incident illustrates the long journey Senegal has travelled in coming to terms with […]
Climbing Mt. Kenya: A guide to The Mountain of God

When the chance came along to explore Mt. Kenya for five days, I jumped at it. I had the chance of seeing it through my own eyes and the eyes of my guide (Jacob), the cook (Jose) and the porter (Tesh). These three people were the backbone of my explorations of Mt. Kenya. How to […]