Our Stories
Wildlife Conservation Stories
TRACKING A PANGOLIN PUP
Researchers from Dedeben, led by Dr Wendy Panaino, tagged a pangolin pup for the first time in 2021 to find out what would happen when it left its natal home range.
VALUE OF MICROCLIMATES IN THE KALAHARI
If plants and animals can find small areas in their environment that provide shelter from harsh radiation, there is hope that they may cope when climate is not in their favour.
SCAVENGING BROWN HYENA
Lucien Beaumont recently spent a few days on the reserve with guests. One of the highlights of their safari was a brown hyena sighting involving a pair of cheetahs and a stolen kill.
STUDYING SMALL MAMMALS
Considering their large impact on ecosystems, small mammals - especially mice, sengis and shrews - are particularly useful indicators of habitat health.
SMALL THINGS AND THE BIG PICTURE
We tend to associate size with importance, both in terms of the role something plays in the world and how impressed we ought to feel in its presence.
WHEN A PANGOLIN SNIFFED MY BOOT
One of the tagged pangolins became a central character in Leonie’s story. On her very first night, after several hours of following the pangolin’s tracks with the researchers through the dunes to its burrow, she had a once-in-a-lifetime experience.
IN CONVERSATION WITH THOMAS PESCHAK
Thomas Peschak’s assignments for National Geographic have taken him all over the world. Several months spent with the Tswalu Foundation led to a story for the iconic magazine about the impact of climate change on biodiversity in an arid savannah.
IN CONVERSATION WITH WENDY PANAINO
PhD candidate Wendy Panaino is Tswalu’s resident ground pangolin expert and project manager for the Kalahari Endangered Ecosystem Project (KEEP), which aims to understand the responses of multiple Kalahari organisms to climate change.
SOCIABLE WEAVER’S NESTS – KALAHARI ICONS
The Kalahari invokes many vivid images, but none more so than a silhouetted camelthorn tree complete with sociable weaver's nest in a red sunset.