Rhino deaths linked to cattle barons

This headline comes as no surprise. After all, wild animals and wilderness areas have no right to exist unless they serve humans. Right? WRONG! Sadly, this tragically flawed thinking is the opinion of most human animals.

White rhino mother and calf

However, praise must go to investigative eco-journalist Yolandi Groenewald who does a wonderful job ensuring stories about the needs of non-human animals, plants and landscapes do get some coverage in the media.

It seems a gang of "farmers" in Mpumalanga are quietly encroaching on one of South Africa's few remaining wild spaces, the Songimvelo game reserve, which also happens to be a plant biodiversity hot spot.

But who is going to bother protecting plants, if we can't even protect wild rhinos?

I quote from Yolandi's article: Mpumalanga Parks and Tourism Agency spokesperson Kholofelo Nkambule refused to comment on the matter "due to its sensitivity" and because "it is sub judice and subject to litigation". He said the agency's legal team is attending to Songimvelo. But agency sources said they are concerned that Songimvelo could cease to exist and that Mpumalanga Parks is not fighting hard enough for its survival. 

Read the full article in the M&G here ...