WEATHER ALERT
Seismic change in Botswana as party that ruled for 58 years loses power
Read full article: Seismic change in Botswana as party that ruled for 58 years loses powerThe party of Botswana’s opposition candidate Duma Boko has been declared the election winner over incumbent President Mokgweetsi Masisi in a seismic change that ended the ruling party’s 58 years in power since independence from Britain.
Botswana holds an election where the diamond trade has become a central issue
Read full article: Botswana holds an election where the diamond trade has become a central issueBotswana is holding a national election and voters are deciding if one of Africa’s longest-ruling parties stays on for another five-year term.
Zimbabwe and Namibia will kill scores of elephants to feed people facing drought
Read full article: Zimbabwe and Namibia will kill scores of elephants to feed people facing droughtZimbabwe and Namibia plan to slaughter hundreds of wild elephants and other animals to feed hunger-stricken residents amid severe drought conditions in the southern African countries.
Girl, 8, only survivor of bus crash that kills 45 Easter pilgrims on South Africa's deadly roads
Read full article: Girl, 8, only survivor of bus crash that kills 45 Easter pilgrims on South Africa's deadly roadsAn 8-year-old girl was the lone survivor after a bus full of Easter pilgrims from Botswana making their way to a popular church festival in rural South Africa crashed off a bridge on a mountain pass and plunged into a ravine before bursting into flames.
Bus plunges off a bridge in South Africa, killing 45 people. An 8-year-old is the only survivor
Read full article: Bus plunges off a bridge in South Africa, killing 45 people. An 8-year-old is the only survivorAuthorities say a bus carrying worshippers headed to an Easter weekend church gathering plunged off a bridge on a mountain pass and burst into flames in South Africa, killing at least 45 people.
Cheetahs become more nocturnal on hot days. Climate change may trigger fights among predators
Read full article: Cheetahs become more nocturnal on hot days. Climate change may trigger fights among predatorsA new study finds that endangered cheetahs are more likely to hunt at dawn and dusk on hot days, which increases their odds of conflict with other nocturnal predators.
In Africa's Okavango, oil drilling disrupts locals, nature
Read full article: In Africa's Okavango, oil drilling disrupts locals, natureIn Africa's Okavango delta, drilling for oil exploration, as well as human-caused climate change leading to more erratic rainfall patterns and water abstraction and diversion for development and commercial agriculture, has altered the landscape that so many people and wildlife species rely on.
330 elephants in Botswana may have died from toxic algae
Read full article: 330 elephants in Botswana may have died from toxic algaeGABORONE – The sudden deaths of some 330 elephants in northwestern Botswana earlier this year may have occurred because they drank water contaminated by toxic blue-green algae, the government announced Monday. The unexplained deaths ceased after the water pans dried up, said Taolo, in a press conference in Gaborone, the capital. No other wildlife species were affected by the toxic water in the Seronga area, close to Botswana's famed Okavango Delta, said Taolo. The deaths happened mainly near seasonal water pans and did not spread beyond the initially affected region, he said. He, however, could not explain why these toxins did not affect any other animals drinking the affected water.
Loners no more: Male elephants stick together, study finds
Read full article: Loners no more: Male elephants stick together, study findsIn this 2016 photo provided by researcher Connie Allen, male African elephants congregate along hotspots of social activity on the Boteti River in Botswana. Younger male elephants were seen tagging along behind older males as they travel from place to place. They found that younger males seldom traveled alone and older males most often led groups of mixed ages. But their behavior was moderated after six older male elephants were added to the park. Were still learning about how male elephants acquire their cultural understanding of how to act, whom to defer to, and where resources like food and water sources are located.Because of their larger size and longer tusks, mature male elephants are most often targeted by poachers and legal trophy hunters in Africa.
Elephants are dying from mysterious causes in Botswana
Read full article: Elephants are dying from mysterious causes in BotswanaMore than 360 elephants have died in mysterious circumstances in Botswana in the past three months, according to local conservationists. The Botswana government is testing samples from the dead elephants, but is yet to determine a cause of death. Appalling caseThe unusual number of elephant carcasses were first recorded at the start of May, McCann said. Botswana is home to 130,000 African elephants -- more than any other country on the continent. The Okavango Delta, where the carcasses were found, is home to around 10% of the country's elephants, McCann said.