His parents were wise, building their nest high under the eaves of the house, where the downspout from the gutter formed a sheltered platform inaccessible to all but the most determined of predators. I noticed them early in the spring, flitting about the back deck, gathering materials for their home construction. Continue reading “The Little Cardinal”
Book Review: The Emperor and the Elephants
Upscale Shack readers will recall my 2014 review of Dr. Richard Carroll’s first book 2000 Miles around the Tree of Life, which recorded the author’s experiences hiking the Appalachian Trail from start to finish in the mid 1970’s. In his latest book, The Emperor and the Elephants (ISBN: 1935925709), Carroll recalls his Peace Corps service in the Central African Empire (today known as the Central African Republic, or CAR), in the late 1970’s, and his subsequent years working as a conservationist in Central Africa .
Continue reading “Book Review: The Emperor and the Elephants”
The Myth of Wild Africa
For nearly 100 years, the land that is today the Bubye Valley Conservancy (BVC) of Zimbabwe was not wilderness. The land was a cattle ranch. Wild animals were intentionally wiped out, for fear of disease transmission, and to eliminate predators that would kill cattle. For nearly a century, the land hosted a cattle monoculture, devoid of wildlife; and elephants, rhinos, leopards and lions were completely wiped out. For a century this land was the furthest thing in the world from wilderness. Continue reading “The Myth of Wild Africa”
10 YEARS, 28 COUNTRIES: 2010. PART 2
NOTE: Click on the pictures for a larger high resolution version.
2010 was a busy year for travel. I documented travel to Kenya, Tanzania and Mozambique in Part 1. I also made two trips to Namibia in 2010. The first, in February, was to participate in a rhino capture operation in Etosha National Park. Those photos are documented here. The second, in July, was a trip with my father to celebrate his 60th birthday, which will be documented in Part 3. Continue reading “10 YEARS, 28 COUNTRIES: 2010. PART 2”
10 YEARS, 28 COUNTRIES: 2010. Part 1
Time for the next installment of the photographic tour of ten years with my job. In 2010 I traveled a lot, visiting Kenya, Tanzania and Mozambique in one trip and then going to Namibia twice, in February and July. I’m going to break this into two segments because I have a lot of pics from those trips. Continue reading “10 YEARS, 28 COUNTRIES: 2010. Part 1”
10 Years, 28 Countries: 2009
Note: You can click on the images to open a full-size high resolution version.
Continuing this photographic reflection of 10 years of work related travel. In 2009 I only made one trip, to Cameroon. I attended a workshop in Yaounde and then took a trip to the southern border region with Equatorial Guinea, to a national park called Campo Ma’an along the Campo River, which forms the border. This was my first trip to Cameroon.
The plight of the northern white
This is from the Al Jazeera broadcast of December 15, 2014. Me talking about the status of the northern white rhino subspecies.
