Wildlife and conservation new, wild travel information and links for booking
Lying in the South West of Bulgaria, the Pirin mountains are stunning
With populations of bears wolves and Jackals, it is a wonderful place to go looking for wild adventures. Boar deer and Chamois can be seen at different times of the day (though in places where predators lurk, expect to see prey less often in Europe), and 159 recorded bird species here, including eagles, hawks, owls, grouse, and woodpeckers (this is around 1/3 of all the birds in Bulgaria
This refuge was established in 1980 to protest the wildlife, both on and off shore. In terms of wildlife, brown bears, reindeer (around 7000 in this herd) wolves, wolverines, foxes, beavers. Moose are locally extinct due to overhunting. Off the coast, there are sea otters, seals, sea lions, and migratory grey whales. There are also over 200 species of bird. There are local native people who have lived within the reserve for 10,500 years and use the lands resources sustainably.
The video below, is all filmed from a cruise ship visiting the islands – just to give you an idea of what there is to see.
This is an island that I am eager to visit one of these days.
The skeleton coast in Namibia, is one of the few people where the desert runs right down to the sea. This desert area in Namibia is quite strange, as many species that do not usually live in desert region, but here they do.
Here freshwater springs permeate the barren sands to create life-sustaining oases for small pockets of wildlife in the middle of the desert. Hartmann’s mountain zebra, gemsbok, desert-adapted elephant, brown hyena, giraffe and – occasionally – cheetah may all be found in this wild and rugged landscape. This part of the coast hosts a several large cape fur seals colonies, which leads to fascinating moments like the above with lions hunting on the beach.
Below is a video, of a hyena deep in the desert, something not likely to be seen elsewhere.
This huge area of wilderness is actually made up of 4 reserves: Skeleton Coast national park, Dorob National Park (which contains Cape cross seal reserve -this is the largest of the 24 cape fur seals breeding colonies, with 80,000 to 100,000Â on site at its height. Fur seals are more closely related to sea lions than to seals), Namib-Naukluft national park and Tsau Khaeb national park. Any links will appear below as this site grows.
Madagascar contains an amazing array of fascinating wildlife. Lemurs make up much of this with 32 different species, but there is also a wide range of reptiles and birds. Over the last 2 centuries since humans settled on Madagascar 90% of the rainforest, and the rest continues to be under threat.
Tourism can help – we can show that the forest has more value standing than cut down.
Located 50 miles west of the coast, the majority of reserve is covered by sharp ridged limestone pinnacles (Meaning of Tsingy in Malagasy). This is the only country where these limestone formations formed – evolved over a long time through acid rain falling on a limestone plateau. This is fantastic for the animals who live there. It is true that this is not easy for anything to live there, but given that humans cannot move into this area, any animals who can have a free field.
There are 8 different lemur species within the reserve which include Golden-crowned sifaka, mongoose lemur, western forest rat, golden-brown mouse lemur, northern rufous mouse lemur, western rufous mouse lemur, and the perrier’s sifaka.
Lake Turkana is a lake with 3 rivers entering it (no rivers leave, it evaporates) . It lies in the eastern part of the great rift valley. The three parks are Sibiloi National Park, the South Island and the Central Island National Parks, covering a total area of 161,485 hectares located within the Lake Turkana basin whose total surface area is 7 million ha. The lake is the most saline in africa which means little can survive in its waters.
This area is not the largest protected zone, as it only covers around 700 square miles. The island parks are the breeding habitats of the Nile crocodile, the hippopotamus amphibious and several snake species. The lake is an important flyway passage and stopover for palaeartic migrant birds. Over the dry grasslands ranges a frail population of grazing mammals and predators. The grazers are chiefly Grevy’s zebra, Burchell’s zebra, the beisa oryx, Grant’s gazelle, the topi and the reticulated giraffe. They are hunted by the lion and the cheetah. Elephants and the black rhinoceroses are no longer seen. Closer to the dust is the cushioned gerbil (Gerbillus pulvinatus)
A fascination reserve with a wide range of wildlife, this is a place well worth a visit. With a variety of habitats, the range of wildlife that can be seen is not usually available in one reserve anywhere else.
 The national park is known for its wildlife. The government of Senegal estimates the park contains 20 species of amphibians, 60 species of fish, 38 species of reptiles (of which four are tortoises). There are some 80 mammal species. These included (as of 2005) an estimated 11000 buffaloes, 6000 hippopotamuses, 400 western giant eland, 50 elephants, 120 lions, 150 chimpanzees (It is inhabited by a banded forest in the park (Lower Rim) and Mount Assirik. (north-western limit line where chimps are distributed.)), 3000 waterbuck (Kobus ellipsiprymnus), 2000 common duiker (Sylvicapra grimmia), an unknown number of red colobus (Colobus badius rufomitratus) and a few rare African leopards and West African wild dogs (Lycaon pictus manguensis), although this canid was thought to be wiped out throughout the rest of the country.[4]
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Other mammals include roan antelope, Guinea baboon, green monkey, patas monkey, warthog.
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Around 330 species of birds have been sighted in the park, notably the Arabian bustard, black crowned crane, Abyssinian ground hornbill (Bucorvus abyssinicus), martial eagle, bateleur (Terathopius ecaudatus), and white-faced duck (Dendrocygna viduata).
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There are also reptiles such as three species of crocodiles, four species of tortoises
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One of natures greatest spectacles, the Victoria falls lie within the national park that takes its name, and in turn is part of the vast Kalahari Zambezi Transfrontier park. The area around the falls contains a wealth of wildlife, Covering a total area of 56 000 hectares, both parks lie on the southern bank of the Zambezi River which forms the border between Zimbabwe and Zambia. There are a number of picnic and fishing sites available. Activities include guided tours, walks, day and sunset cruises, game drives and adventure activities.
The Rainforest – Here visitors can see unique flora and fauna. Bird species and small mammals may be spotted beneath the forest canopy whilst following the paths through the groves of Date Palm, Fig and Mahogany.
The Game Park – Elephant, Lion, Buffalo, Leopard and White Rhino (the Big Five) can be seen in the park as well as herds of Eland, Sable Antelope, Zebra, Giraffe, Waterbuck and Kudu amongst other smaller species. The Zambezi River is known for its Bream and Tiger Fishing. There are two game drive routes, one accessed through the main gate and the other from just outside town on the Bulawayo road.
The Valdes peninsular is a huge axe shaped slab of rock which sticks out 62 miles into the Atlantic from the coast of Argentina. With an area of 1390 square miles, and despite looking barren supports a surprising array of wildlife. Marine mammals include colonies of Southern elephant seals, fur seals, southern sea lions, penguins dolphins and orca congregate on shore and around the coast.
Despite looking barren, the rock does have 130 species of plants growing on it. Guanacos graze here, and live alongside hares, harbour Rheas, Grey foxes, and even wildcats. There are also around 180 species of bird from both marine habitats and further inshore.
Pantanal Biosphere reserve covers 725 square miles of land at the entrance of the Pantanal, and should we wish to continue to protect the Pantanal we also need to protect its head waters.
However, this area also has an essential conservation status of its own, protecting a wide range of wildlife within its borders. mammals found here include troupes of monkeys, giant anteaters, tapirs, Capybaras, Armadillos, wild dogs, maned wolves, foxes, herds of deer, cougar, and ocelots. There are also over 350 bird species which include Aplomado falcons, burrowing owls, Yellow-faced parrots and maccaws.
Termite mounds litter the landscape and stand as much as 2m high. These are used by a variety of other wildlife. In particular, the larve of the Cumpinzeiro which is a luminescent beetle. If you are lucky, at night, you might get to witness the strange site of vast numbers of these beetles, emerging after rains. They light up the mounds transforming them into strange looking christmas trees.
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