“Burning in the Sun” featuring Daniel Dumbele. Note the film-festival awards across the top. My husband loped into the living room while I was watching the DVD, “Burning in the Sun”. He had hoped to turn on a baseball game, but he stopped, watching a scene on the DVD. After a minute, he sat down. “What’s [...]
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South African lion taking a break from his kill, a Cape buffalo. Photo: Sally Kneidel Lions extinct in 10-15 years? That’s the prediction of National Geographic explorers-in-residence Dereck and Beverly Joubert. The couple have studied and filmed Africa’s big cats for more than 25 years. They say that wild lions have declined from 400,000 in [...]
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Posted in Africa, Animal welfare / animal rights, Deforestation, Ecosystems, Endangered species, Overconsumption, Primates, Resources, Wildlife, Wildlife habitat, Wildlife survival on Jan 31st, 2011
African elephants in Kruger National Park. Photo: Sally Kneidel Just saw a distressing news item. In an interview published 1/27/11, scientist Ian Craigie says populations of big mammals in Africa have decreased 59% in 40 years. And those figures are only from protected areas such as national parks. If unprotected areas were included in the [...]
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Posted in Africa, Animal welfare / animal rights, Borneo, Bushmeat, Deforestation, Endangered species, Human behavior, Indonesia, Jakarta, Malaysia, Primates, Southeast Asia, Sumatra, Wildlife, Wildlife survival on Dec 3rd, 2010
Most people are surprised to learn that unlawful traffic in wildlife and wildlife parts is the third biggest criminal activity in the world, after drugs and arms. The illegal hunting of great apes is so pervasive that it may threaten their survival even more than habitat loss does. Habitat loss is rampant these days, due [...]
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Posted in Africa, Agriculture, Climate change, Deforestation, Desertification, Film review, Food, Food, Gardening, Health, Livestock, Southeast Asia, Sustainable Living, Wildlife on Sep 8th, 2010
I was asked to write a review of “Dirt! The Movie,” a documentary about our worldwide destruction of soil versus our absolute dependence on soil for our survival. The movie is an inspiring blend of interviews with scientists, farmers, and activists, as well as footage from around the world of the traditional uses and modern [...]
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Posted in Africa, Health, Swaziland on Oct 24th, 2009
Story and photo by Sally Kneidel, PhD, of http://sallykneidel.com I was intrigued by a story I saw in Science News recently about circumcision and its effect on HIV. Africa has been impacted by HIV more than any other continent. In 2007 and 2009, my husband and I were in South Africa and Swaziland, two of [...]
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Vervet monkeys are regarded as pests in southern Africa, and are often persecuted the same way gray wolves were persecuted to local extinction in the United States. But vervet social behavior is in many ways very similar to our own.
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Posted in Africa, Eco-travel, Energy-efficient housing, Environmental footprint, Food, Going Green (co-authored with Sadie Kneidel), South Africa, Sustainable Living, Wildlife, Wildlife behavior on Aug 31st, 2009
All photos and text by Sally Kneidel, PhD, of sallykneidel.com Children of the Hamakuya community. Community residents find employment at the small “green” resort of Tshulu Camp, bringing needed revenue into the village. My husband Ken consulting his bird guide on our tent’s deck in Tshulu Camp. I’ve written a lot about supporting people in [...]
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African village: we did a homestay in the Venda village of Hamakuya in South Africa, sleeping in a round hut of mud and cow dung, and eating caterpillars. It was one of the best times of my life. We learned that people can live with joy on very very little.
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Female hyenas are all hermaphrodites and dominate the males. They’re also Africa’s 2nd most powerful carnivore. See our photos and story from June.
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