Southern africa News

RSS
317 stories
Diane Sitima at her farm. Image by Charles Mpaka for Mongabay.

In Malawi, one woman’s farm shows what’s possible with land and support

Charles Mpaka 4 Jun 2026
Rhino populations across their ranges in Africa and Asia are threatened by poaching for their horns, which are in demand in China and Vietnam for medicinal uses and as a luxury item.

Rhino-poaching suspect, repeatedly freed on bail, shot dead in South Africa

Spoorthy Raman 23 May 2026
The royal blue pansy butterfly (Junonia rhadama), one of the endemic insect species trapped by the IBA. Image by Andrianiaina Angelo via iNaturalist. (CC BY-NC 4.0)

New survey methods uncover new insights into Madagascar’s biodiversity

Mino Rakotovao 21 May 2026
Elephants (Loxodonta africana) in Malawi in 2006. Image by st georges via Flickr (CC BY-NC-ND 2.0)

Electric fences help farmers and elephants coexist in Zambian borderlands

Ryan Truscott 20 May 2026
Installing an IFAW-supported temporary solar fence in Chikomeni chiefdom, within the Malawi-Zambia Transfrontier Conservation Area, to deter human-elephant conflict. Image courtesy of IFAW.

Radio and satellite alerts help Zambian farmers live with dangerous wildlife

Ryan Truscott 15 May 2026
Aerial view of solar-powered drip irrigation scheme in Tauya village, Zambia. In Zambia, the majority of rural communities depend on rain-fed agriculture. However, erratic weather patterns, including drought, often lead to significant crop damage and livestock losses. Food security remains a pressing issue. Photo by Enoch Kavindele Jr/UNDP Zambia via Flickr (CC BY-NC 2.).

Zambian prodigy draws on theoretical physics to improve weather prediction

Victoria Schneider 15 May 2026
Banner image: Farmers Anna Zimba and her husband Phaniso Zgambo stand in front of a cement granary. Around 30 such granaries have been built within the farming communities that are near to Kasungu National Park, offering greater protection to stored maize from hungry elephants. Image by Ryan Truscott for Mongabay.

As elephants return in eastern Zambia, communities adapt to coexistence

Ryan Truscott 13 May 2026
The golden mantella, an endangered frog species found only in Madagascar. Image by Frank Vassen via Wikimedia Commons (CC BY 2.0).

Africa’s amphibians are overlooked in conservation planning, experts warn

David Brown 12 May 2026
A European roller (Coracias garrulus) at B'stonliq, Uzbekistan. Image by bereskletic via iNaturalist (CC BY-NC 4.0)

From Africa to Central Asia, the European roller’s migration builds relationships

Terna Gyuse 9 May 2026

In Mozambique, four isolated mountains yield four new chameleon species

Naina Rao 8 May 2026
A gemsbok (Oryx gazella), also known as the South African oryx, in a mixed herd of herbivores at Tswalu. Image by John Cannon/Mongabay.

The value of South Africa’s wildlife shouldn’t be in the hands of wealthy foreign hunters (commentary)

Stephanie Klarmann 30 Apr 2026
Moreangels Mbizah tracking lions in Chizarira National Park, Zimbabwe. Image courtesy of the Whitley Foundation.

Conservationist wins top award to protect lions and people in Zimbabwe

Ryan Truscott 30 Apr 2026
The Nkhundye biogas plant under construction. Image courtesy of NACRO.

A village biogas project tests Zambia’s push to improve rural energy access

Sokosi Silvester Banda 29 Apr 2026
Black rhinos are critically endangered.

Chinese court cases reveal most trafficked rhino horns come from Southern Africa

Spoorthy Raman 21 Apr 2026
Excavations at the mine, which has been found to be the source of the pollution in two rivers in Karonga district. Image by Jordan Simeon Phiri for Mongabay.

Malawi government suspends coal miner’s license over river pollution

Charles Mpaka 20 Apr 2026
A lemur eating a strawberry guava. Image courtesy of Natalee Phelps.

An invasive guava is muscling out Madagascar’s forests — and lemurs are helping

Ryan Truscott 31 Mar 2026

Zambia seizes half-ton of ivory in major illegal wildlife crime operation

Charles Mpaka 28 Mar 2026
A gemsbok (Oryx gazella), also known as the South African oryx, in a mixed herd of herbivores at Tswalu. Image by John Cannon/Mongabay.

A South African reserve shows how carbon can catalyze rewilding conservation

John Cannon 27 Mar 2026
The Zanette in the Gqeberha harbour, offloading its catch into a truck belonging to the DSL permit-holder, Fisherman Fresh CC. Image courtesy of Enrico Gennari.

Investigation of permit violations in South Africa’s shark fishery pending

Victoria Schneider 27 Mar 2026
Lilac-breasted roller in Etosha National Park, Namibia. Image courtesy of Giles Laurent via Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0.

How Namibia’s bird conservation projects build community resilience (commentary)

Martha Karas 23 Mar 2026
A maize field cultivated using agroecology concepts.

In Malawi, farmers rebuild soil and livelihoods through agroecology

Kelvin Tembo 9 Mar 2026

Beetle known for ravaging mango trees now killing baobabs, study finds

Charles Mpaka 5 Mar 2026
A pack of lions in Botswana.

DNA fingerprinting convicts Zimbabwe lion poachers in landmark case

Spoorthy Raman 5 Mar 2026
The Thonga people have practiced this fishing method for over 700 years. Image by Leonie Joubert.

Displaced for conservation, South Africa’s Thonga try to keep a fishing tradition alive

Leonie Joubert 2 Mar 2026
A lion in Africa.

Botswana shows how smarter cattle herding can save lions, reopen ancient wildlife pathways

Gloria Dickie 24 Feb 2026
A white-backed vulture in Zimbabwe. Image by Chris Collyer/ Birdlife Zimbabwe.

Africa’s vulture safe zones face tough test across vast landscapes

Sean Mowbray 19 Feb 2026
According to scientists, the enhanced protection for southern elephant seals is likely benefiting other species in their habitat. Image courtesy of Nico de Bruyn.

Southern elephant seals recover in Southern Africa, but global picture is mixed

Charles Mpaka 18 Feb 2026
At work in NatCarbon's spekboom nursery.

UN recognition is latest boost to restoring spekboom across South Africa’s semidesert Karoo

Joe Walsh 17 Feb 2026
Mozambique was the hardest hit by the heavy rains in the last few months, since it’s located downstream of nine international rivers. Image © European Union, 2025 (Peter Biro) via Flickr (CC BY-NC-ND 4.0).

Floods linked to climate change hit nearly 1 million in Southern Africa

Victoria Schneider 17 Feb 2026
One of the specimens of Drepanogynis insciata photographed by Cameron Scott.

Citizen science rediscovers rare South African moth

Ryan Truscott 11 Feb 2026
Black-footed cats (Felis nigripes) in southern Namibia. Image courtesy of Alex Sliwa

Rodent burrows offer unusual sanctuary to Africa’s smallest wildcat

María de los Ángeles Orfila 9 Feb 2026
A file photo of the Wakashio shipwreck from 2020. Image by imo.un via

More than 5 years after Wakashio oil spill, questions linger in Mauritius

Malavika Vyawahare 26 Jan 2026

you're currently offline