Red-billed oxpeckers are small, striking birds that are easy to spot on the backs of large herbivores across southern and eastern Africa. Their bright red bills and sharp yellow eyes make them stand out, but their importance goes far beyond their colourful appearance. These birds play a crucial role in maintaining the health of both wildlife and the ecosystems they inhabit. Red-billed oxpeckers are famously associated with large mammals such as buffalo, giraffe, antelope, and

Every so often, someone spots a bright green snake sliding across a wall or sunning itself in a tree and immediately sounds the alarm — “Boomslang!” It’s an understandable reaction, but more often than not, what they’ve actually seen is the spotted bush snake. And despite the confusion, this sleek little reptile couldn’t be more different from its venomous lookalike. The spotted bush snake (Philothamnus semivariegatus) is one of the most commonly seen snakes in southern Afric

Cheetahs are often lumped in with other big cats, but the reality is that they have very little in common with lions, leopards, and...

It’s Monday. I’ve just said goodbye to my friends and family at the airport, and now I’m sitting at the gate watching travellers pass by....