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BioBlitz Mozambique National Parks: Baseline Biodiversity Data

By Dr Darren Pietersen, EWT Biodiversity Survey Project Manager

EWT team conducting a BioBlitz survey in Mozambique National Parks

Limpopo River at Mapai Ferry

When you think of Mozambique, most people immediately think of the beautiful coastal resorts, the exotic foods, and the crystal-clear waters along the coastline.

However, Mozambique has another facet which much fewer people explore—the expansive hinterland. Boasting three inland national parks south of the Save River (and several more north of this river), southern Mozambique really does offer something for every traveller.

As with much of Mozambique, biodiversity data, which is detail on what species occur where, is largely lacking for these three inland national parks—Limpopo, Banhine and the Zinave National Parks. These parks are co-managed by the Peace Parks Foundation (PPF) in partnership Administração Nacional das Áreas de Conservação (ANAC – Mozambique’s National Administration for Conservation Areas).

While the occurrence and numbers of large mammals are well known, and to some extent information about bird distributions, data about the dispersal of reptiles, amphibians, fishes and insects are much less clear.

The Endangered Wildlife Trust (EWT) in collaboration with the PPF recently got an opportunity to start filling these knowledge gaps by undertaking BioBlitzes in and around these national parks. This BioBlitz falls under the Global Affairs Canada funded Restoring African Rangelands Project, implemented by Conservation International and its local affiliate, Conservation South Africa. These surveys are also being undertaken in collaboration with ANAC and the Maputo Natural History Museum.

So what is a BioBlitz? In short, a BioBlitz is a rapid biodiversity survey undertaken by a team of scientists and/or members of the public, and often involve an educational or outreach component.

BioBlitzes aim to document as much of the biodiversity (species) present in a particular area within a relatively short space of time. They are not meant to provide an exhaustive list of species occurring in an area as that would take years of continuous surveys to achieve. Rather, they provide a snapshot of the biodiversity that is present, and provide baseline data. It is generally assumed that most of the common species will be detected during a BioBlitz, and with a bit of luck at least some of the rarer and/or inconspicuous species will also be recorded.

The EWT,-PPF,-ANAC BioBlitzes are multi-taxon biodiversity surveys, meaning that we aim to document as many species at each site across nearly all of the major taxonomic groups; birds, mammals, reptiles, amphibians, plants, fishes and insects. To this end we are using both in-house expertise and external consultants to ensure that we can accurately document as much of the biodiversity that we find as possible.

During August 2025, two EWT team members undertook an initial 12-day trip through all three national parks to plan the BioBlitzes planned for September and December 2025. During this trip the team documented 1,485 occurrences of 419 species. Birds dominated the records (994 records of 211 species), although data were recorded for all the main taxonomic groups, including fungi. The team also documented the first occurrence of the Brandberg Euphorbia (Euphorbia monteiroi) in Mozambique. Also found was a population of Striped Green Spurge (Euphorbia knuthii) which indicates a range extension and partially fills the gap between the two currently known and presumed isolated populations, suggesting that this apparent isolation may be the result of incomplete survey effort rather than true isolation. Of the roughly 200 invertebrate species recorded, two are potentially undescribed: a scuttle fly (Phoridae: Aenigmatistes sp.) and a longhorn beetle in the subfamily Cerambycinae. Other highlights included seeing a raft of more than 300 Great White Pelicans (Pelecanus onocrotalus) and a juvenile Greater Flamingo (Phoenicopterus roseus) in Banhine National Park, and another juvenile Greater Flamingo in Zinave National Park. The team also managed to capture a Mashona Mole-rat (Fukomys darlingi) in Zinave National Park, a species that is not often seen.

The EWT and PPF are planning four BioBlitz expeditions targeting nine sites across the three national parks until December and, if the initial results are anything to go by, there are likely to be several interesting discoveries in store for the team during these upcoming probes.

Soil Sampling in Banhine National Park

Mashona Mole-rat during Mozambique BioBlitz survey

population of Striped Green Spurge (Euphorbia knuthii) which indicates a range extension

first occurrence of the Brandberg Euphorbia (Euphorbia monteiroi) in Mozambique

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Old Salt Trail Soutpansberg: Experience Nature and Biodiversity

By Eleanor Momberg

Diverse ecosystems encountered on the Old Salt Trail

Day 2: Hamasha Gorge

Amazing. Mind-boggling. Beautiful.

These are among the words used by Jo Bert, the Endangered Wildlife Trust’s Senior Graphic Designer, following their five-day hike of the Old Salt Trail in the Soutpansberg.

Jo had joined a group of hikers to experience the Trail that spans the upper reaches of the Soutpansberg Mountains in Limpopo.

“I did not have context of the trail. I had been telling the story for months and all I had to go on was the information that had been supplied and the photos I had seen. A lot of the story so far has been conservation-focused, so going on the trail enables us to tell the story better from a marketing perspective and, through that, get more people to join,” said Jo.

For someone who is largely deskbound at the EWTs Conservation Campus in Midrand, this was an ideal opportunity to get back to nature and to collect photos and video material needed for future projects.

“It was amazing. I honestly love getting out away from my desk. It was so beautiful. I think the best part is that I have looked at those photos so many times, and to actually be in that space, to stand where the photo was shot, puts the whole thing into a different perspective,” they say.

The intrepid team of four hikers were led by the EWT Medike Reserve Rangers Tharollo Mthisi and Khathutshelo Mukhumeni. The Old Salt Trail is a 73km, five-day, four-night slackpacking adventure traversing numerous private properties in an area that now largely comprises the Western Soutpansberg Nature Reserve.

The hike starts at the Medike nature reserve, which is owned and managed by the EWT. On Day One, you climb 11.5km to Leshiba Luvhondo Camp. On the second day, the hikers embark on a 15.5km hike to Sigurwana Lodge, followed on the third day with a trek of about 15km to Lajuma Wilderness Camp. On the fourth day, the hike takes about 19km you back to Leshiba Venda Village Lodge from where you return via an 11km route to Medike on Day Five where the adventure ends.

Before the hikers set off from the bottom of the Sand River Gorge, Tharollo and Khathutshelo give a safety briefing and all luggage is loaded into a vehicle to be taken to the overnight accommodation at Leshiba. All hikers carry with them are a day pack.

“You carry a day pack with you with your lunch in, maybe a spare jersey and your water,” said Jo. “The first day I packed way too much, because I didn’t realise that we had so much food given to us, so I brought a whole bunch of snacks with me, and a whole lot of clothes because I didn’t know how wet we were going to get or if it was going to be super hot. I also had a bird book, but then realised that Therollo and Khathu have all the apps on their phones so we just identified with that. So every single night I was taking things out of my bag and by the last day I only had my lunch and my water and a very light jersey”.

On the first two days of the Old Salt Trail hikers not only have to tend with steep and rocky slopes, but also cross bushveld, forests, grassland and savannah beside enjoying a variety of San and Khoekhoe rock art and ancient artefacts.

“The cultural heritage in that area is so amazing. And there are so many spots where you are in the ruins of an old village where there are bits of clay or you can see the foundations of a house. And the places with the rock paintings are fascinating,” Jo explained.

For paintings that have been damaged by years of weathering, a phone APP was used to highlight the original paintings. “A lot of people thought that the paintings were about daily activities, but they are about special occurrences and a lot of the paintings in that area are about spirits, ancestors and trances; a lot of really spiritual stuff and not just day to day things. And there’s a lot of giants in there that you can’t really see with the naked eye, but when put through the APP you can see them and it is amazing,” said Jo.

On Day Three hikers head straight towards a rocky cliff and a waterfall into a Fever Tree forest before climbing to the top of Mt Lajuma, the highest point of the Soutpansberg at more than 1,727m above sea level.

“It is crazy. When I got to the top of the mountain, I looked around to see everything below and realised I had forgotten that I was actually on top of the Soutpansberg. I actually only remembered we were up on the mountain when I looked out from on top of Mt Lajuma and I saw how far down everything else was,” said Jo.

For this adventure, hikers need to be reasonably fit.

“On Day Four there is a section where you have to climb up The Chimney as they call it. I do rock climbing and I am ashamed to admit that I needed a hand in some places. It’s not the most insane climbing, but it is fairly technical,” said Jo. “I think you have to be fairly fit, but I still managed even though I was a bit ill, so it’s not an impossible thing.

Hikers have to be prepared to walk long distances. Although there is a break for lunch and several short stops in between, it is an all-day walk across sometimes flat areas, traversing unsteady and rocky terrain, rivers and other obstacles, and scrambling up some challenging cliffs.

“You do have to be fairly confident in your ability. If you are reasonably fit, you can do it,” they said.

The main calling card for the Soutpansberg and the Old Salt Trail is the variety of ecosystems. Jo points out that the terrain constantly changes.

“You start on Medike where it is fairly dry … and by the time you get to Leshiba it is marshy on the side of the mountain, and on the fourth day you’re in a Yellowwood forest. Even on the first day you start to get up into the mist belt and by Day Two you’re seeing Old Man’s Beard lichen everywhere. Some days you’re walking through grasslands or marsh and then you’re in Bracken taller than you. It changes within seconds”.

Jo added: “The amount of birds we saw was amazing. We saw and heard birds I had never seen or heard in my life. There are so many mushrooms and there are tiny little frogs and flowers and we saw so many beautiful beetles… So many amazing things that I have never seen before, and I have seen a fair amount, but this was just blowing my mind – the amount of nature and biodiversity that I have never even seen before and it is such a small area”.

The Soutpansberg is a unique refuge. “If you go to the Kruger National Park, you can drive for hours in the same kind of veld. Go to Soutpansberg and walk around for two hours and you have seen six different biomes, you’ve climbed a mountain, you have walked across marshy flats and it is a complete variety every five minutes. We saw zebra and quite a couple bushbuck, klispringers, and we found several snake skins,” they said.

Jo said they did not even take much note of the iconic waterfall because there were so many butterflies and River Fever Trees.

“I was just looking at the trees and the mosses and large butterflies and the one lady that was with us knew all the species of butterfly. I learnt quite a lot.”

Colourful beetle crawling on vegetation along the Old Salt Trail Soutpansberg

Native orchid flowering in the Soutpansberg on the Old Salt Trail

Wildflowers blooming along the Old Salt Trail Soutpansberg

Small frog perched near marshy area on the Old Salt Trail Soutpansberg

Accommodation

Jo has nothing but praise for the accommodation at Leshiba Luvhondo Camp and Venda Village and Sigurwana Lodge describing them as beautiful and luxurious. Although the Lajuma Wilderness Camp was more rustic, it was comfortable, they said.

After a day of hiking, the warm facecloth at Leshiba handed to hikers and drinks and snacks served are a blessing. Moreso the food, the comfortable huts, rondawels and tented camps with their welcoming beds—with hot water bottles—and bathrooms at the end of a day-long slog through the bush.

Jo recommends booking accommodation at Medike for the night before the start of the hike, and the last night – if you are not from nearby. This is because of the time it takes to travel there. The hike starts in the morning and ends in the afternoon.

“We stayed at the Stone Cottage at Medike, which was really nice. If someone is coming from Joburg it is worth staying over because it is a long hike”.

Two weeks after completing the hike Jo said they were still trying to process everything seen and experienced.

“It was difficult to process in the moment and the more I think about it, I still can’t appreciate the amount we actually saw. It was mind boggling,” they said.

Sunset view from the Old Salt Trail Soutpansberg

Day 3: Mt. Lajuma

Hike the Old Salt trail

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EWT USA: Supporting African Conservation and Tax-Deductible Giving

Tax-deductible donations to the EWT USA help protect endangered wildlife

Founded in 1973, the Endangered Wildlife Trust has championed the fight for survival of dozens of African wildlife species for more than five decades. Through its strategic pillars of saving species, conserving habitats and benefitting people, the EWT is charting a bold new path to 2050 through the implementation of a Future Fit Strategy to secure wildlife, ecosystems and work with the local communities within them.

Alongside the development of the Strategy has been the registration of the EWT USA as a 501(c)(3) non-profit conservation organisation in the United Statement with a focus on supporting conservation and community development in East and southern Africa.

The EWT USA was registered on 4 December 2024.

As a Section 501(c)(3) organisation registered in terms of the United States Internal Revenue Code, the EWT USA is tax exempt. This means that donors are able to deduct any contributions made to the EWT USA under IRS Section 170. This is an incentive to individuals and business because all contributions are tax deductable. This makes it the most tangible way to support the EWT USA.

The EWT USA is led by:

Mr Ewan Macaulay – President
Ms Yolan Friedmann – Vice President
Mr Dirk Ackerman — Director
Mr David McCullough – Secretary and Treasurer

In South Africa, the EWT is registered as a Trust in accordance with the Trust Property Control Act No. 57 of 1988, with registration number IT 6247 under the Master of the High Court.

As a Section 18A Tax Exemption Institution in South Africa, individual or corporate donors are able to claim a tax deduction for their contributions to the EWT. In order to do this, the EWT will issue a Section 18A tax deductible receipt to a donor. By receiving a tax deductible receipt donors are potentially able to reduce their taxable income. This incentivises charitable giving and encourages greater support for a conservation body such as the EWT.

Learn more about tax-deductable donations

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Blue Crane Conservation: Protecting South Africa’s National Bird

By Dr Christie Craig, Conservation Scientist

Blue Cranes in Western Cape farmlands as part of conservation efforts

Image Credit: Pieter Botha

September is Heritage Month in South Africa, a time when we focus not only on our cultural, but also natural heritage, most notably our National Bird, the Blue Crane.

To ensure the continued survival of this species, and its growth in areas where it has shown decline in recent years, the Endangered Wildlife Trust (EWT), through our partnership with the International Crane Foundation (ICF), has increased its efforts to conserve the Blue Crane, with a strong focus on the Western Cape and Karoo.

Decades of successful conservation interventions have yielded positive results in KwaZulu-Natal and the Northern Cape, and attention is now being directed to populations in the Western Cape, with the same positive outcomes being targeted.

Blue Cranes are endemic to South Africa, with a small population found in Namibia, making these the world’s most range-restricted crane. There are less than 30,000 of these birds left in the world.

As part of our Heritage Month celebrations, and to mark Heritage Day on 24 September, the EWT/International Crane Foundation partnership is expanding its existing activities to safeguard the future of Blue Crane populations in the Western Cape, by intensifying our focus on habitat restoration with communities and farmers, and addressing threats posed by energy infrastructure.

The Blue Crane (Anthropoides paradiseus) is an important element of South Africa’s natural heritage, serving as a flagship for conservation in agricultural landscapes, from the rolling grasslands of KwaZulu-Natal to the expansive plains of the Karoo, to the patchwork of crops and renosterveld in the Western Cape.

Since 1994, the EWT/International Crane Foundation partnership has been committed to Blue Crane conservation in South Africa, running projects in the grasslands, Karoo and Western Cape. Over the last 10 years, the majority of our applied crane conservation work has focused on the Drakensberg region, where Blue Cranes have historically faced steep declines. With consistent conservation action, including natural habitat protection, powerline impact mitigation and community projects, Blue Crane numbers are now slowly increasing, testimony to the success of our conservation activities.

Until 2010, Blue Crane numbers were increasing and healthy in the Karoo and Western Cape. However, a recent PhD study supported by the EWT/ICF Partnership reveals that numbers have subsequently been declining in these areas, especially in the Overberg ,where counts have dropped by 44% between 2011 and 2025. For more info on the reasons for this decline, see our June press release.

This has sparked the need for renewed conservation effort underpinned by a multi-stakeholder conservation plan, which was developed with the help of the Conservation Planning Specialist Group, gathering inputs from NGO, industry, landowners, communities and government.

The conservation plan comprises four parts:

1: Habitat protection.

The partnership will continue its commitment to Blue Crane conservation in the Drakensberg through ongoing habitat protection and will expand this work from the Western Cape into the Karoo.

2: Addressing energy infrastructure impacts.

Because Blue Cranes are particularly susceptible to colliding with energy infrastructure, the relationship with energy suppliers is being expanded to address this issue through powerline mitigation and improved infrastructure routing.

3: Crane Friendly Agriculture

Engagement with the agricultural industry is increasing to co-create solutions that allow Blue Cranes and other species using the agricultural matrix to thrive alongside agricultural production. Blue Cranes are especially dependent on agriculture in the Western Cape, but also use agricultural habitats in the Karoo and grasslands. Work in the agricultural sector will focus on addressing threats such as poisoning and breeding disturbance, as well as helping farmers address crop damage issues.

4: Research and Monitoring:

This is an essential underpinning of any good evidence-driven conservation project. Through monitoring Crane numbers and breeding success, we will be able to gauge our impact. Without research, we wouldn’t have known that Blue Cranes’ numbers were declining or why. Through continued research, we will keep abreast of changes in the Blue Crane population and in the landscapes that they depend on.

The implementation of this four-pronged approach creates certainty for the EWT/ICF that we can reverse the decline in the Blue Cranes populations in the Karoo and Western Cape, as we have done in the Drakensberg region.

The EWT remains committed through the implementation of its Future Fit Strategy to working with partners throughout Africa to ensure the survival of crane species, particularly the Blue Crane. Grey Crowned Crane and Wattled Cranes.

** The EWT/ICF projects are generously supported by the Leiden Conservation Foundation, Eskom, Hall Johnson Foundation, Indwe Risk services, Jacksonville Zoo and Gardens Zoo Neuwied, Safari West, Nashville Zoo and the Paul King Foundation

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IVAD 2025: Protecting Vultures, Nature’s Clean-Up Crew

By John Davies, manager of the Birds of Prey Unit

Vulture in flight over African savannah

The protection of vultures is critical for the role they play in our environment, as well as the irreplaceable ecosystem services they provide for all species.

Without vultures, Africa faces a silent crisis. These birds are nature’s most efficient clean-up crew, preventing the spread of deadly diseases that threaten wildlife, livestock, and people. Yet across the continent, vulture populations are collapsing at unprecedented rates, mainly as a result of intentional and unintentional poisoning, as well as the impacts of energy infrastructure. Species that are often thought of as widespread, such as the White-backed Vulture, have undergone population declines of between 63 – 89% over the last three generations, with much of this change having gone mostly unnoticed.

Earlier this month, the Endangered Wildlife Trust (EWT) joined organisations across the globe to mark International Vulture Awareness Day (IVAD); a day initiated by the EWT in South Africa and the United Kingdom, and which has now grown into a global movement, shining a spotlight on these critically important, yet often misunderstood, birds. The purpose of IVAD is to raise crucial awareness about the plight of vultures and the urgent need to conserve them.

As nature’s clean-up crew, they consume carcasses quickly and efficiently, reducing the spread of deadly diseases to both wildlife and people. The Asian Vulture Crisis, spanning the 1980s and 1990s, saw declines of over 99% in the population of vultures in this landscape. Subsequent research has shown that the loss of these birds resulted in a four percent increase in total human mortality rates. Today, it serves as a warning of what may happen should Africa follow a similar path. Protecting vultures is, therefore, a matter of protecting biodiversity, ecosystems, and people.

The threats vultures face

Vultures are among the most threatened groups of birds in the world. Across Africa, their numbers are declining at alarming rates, driven largely by a range of threats. Although the impact of each of these is variable, wildlife poisoning consistently stands out as the most significant. Beyond the impacts of wildlife poisoning and energy infrastructure, additional contributing factors include:

Vultures are also threatened by:

Persecution due to negative perceptions and belief-based use.
Loss of habitat as natural landscapes shrink under pressure from human expansion.
Disturbance of nest sites because of increased activity in protected areas.
Drowning in unsafe water points such as farm reservoirs.

Without urgent intervention, Africa risks losing these vital species within our lifetimes.

What the EWT is doing

The EWT is at the forefront of efforts to secure the future of vultures and other birds of prey in southern Africa. Our work spans a variety of focal areas, and during the last year has included:

Rapid response to poisoning incidents, where, with the assistance of our partner organisation, Moholoholo Wildlife Rehabilitation Centre, we have saved 104 vultures from near-certain death.
Through the application of technology, we have detected 20 significant wildlife poisoning incidents that otherwise may have gone unnoticed, as well as 11 poisoned bait sources that were found early enough to not result in further mortality of wildlife.
We’ve investigated and mitigated over 80 incidents on energy infrastructure, working towards these sites not remaining a threat within the landscape.
Monitoring and research to better understand vulture movements, breeding, and survival.
Proactively working towards improved policy and guidelines for vulture conservation, including the development of standard operating procedures for poisoning response, the treatment protocols of poisoned wildlife, and contributing to national implementation of conservation action through the National Vulture Task Force.

In the Karoo and Kalahari, we have worked with farmers to create what is known as Vulture Safe Zones. The Karoo Vulture Safe Zone, which came into being in 2016 and includes three national parks and a protected environment, presently spans more than 700,000 ha, while the Kalahari Vulture Safe Zone now spans more than 271 204 ha.

However, the conservation of these birds is not something that should be looked at as something done by organisations in isolation. Everyone has a role to play in protecting vultures.

To join the EWT in ensuring a secure future for all vultures, one of the steps members of the public can take is to report any suspected poisoning incidents, injured birds, or wildlife crime to local authorities such as South African National Parks (SANParks), provincial nature conservation authorities or the EWT immediately.

By embarking on small but meaningful actions, members of the public can help ensure that vultures are celebrated, protected, and given the chance to thrive for generations to come.

The EWT calls on the global community to stand with us in celebrating and protecting vultures. Together, we can ensure that these remarkable birds continue to soar across our skies for generations to come.

** The EWT would like to that the Briandez Legacy Trust, Plum Foundation, Charl van der Merwe Charitable Trust, Blue Sky Society, Investec, Mohamed bin Zayed Species Conservation Fund and Global Affairs Canada for your ongoing support of our Vulture projects.

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Hooded Vulture Conservation in Benin: New Study on Local Perceptions

By Dr Lindy Thompson, Birds of Prey Unit

Hooded Vulture perched on a branch in Benin, West Africa

All across Africa, vulture populations are struggling because of various threats caused by people. One of Africa’s most widely distributed vulture species is the Hooded Vulture. This species is found in many countries in South, East and West Africa, although its stronghold is in West Africa.

Sadly, numbers of these birds are declining, mainly because of habitat loss, and because people poison them to get body parts for use in African traditional medicine. We wanted to better understand people’s cultural values and practices relating to Hooded Vultures, and we chose to do this in Benin, a small country in West Africa, where not much is known about people’s attitudes towards Hooded Vultures.

We were especially interested in people living in areas surrounding national parks, where they would presumably have more frequent interactions with vultures, and easier access to the birds. Our hope was that by learning about people’s perceptions, we can better understand their behaviour, which in turn can help to inform conservation policies.

Fidèle Ezechiel Hounnouvi interviewed 450 people living near three protected areas in Benin. He asked them questions about whether they get any benefits from having vultures around, and what are their beliefs about vultures. He also asked questions about why vulture body parts are used, and what might be causing the drop in numbers of vultures.

Fidèle worked with a translator, so the interviews could be done in the local language (Bariba). His results showed that most people (80%) had seen vultures recently, and the most commonly seen vulture species was the Hooded Vultures (with 48% of all vulture sightings), although people also saw White-backed, Lappet-faced and Ruppell’s Vultures. There was a big difference in how men and women viewed vultures; men were more aware of vultures, and more positive about vultures’ roles in carcass disposal and locating missing livestock. Most people (60%) associated vultures with superstition and witchcraft, and 70% had used vulture body parts for medicinal and spiritual purposes. Intentional poisoning was reported as the main cause of vulture population declines. Most people said vultures were valuable, because they remove carcasses from the environment, and they assist farmers with finding lost livestock.

When Fidèle asked people in Benin about conservation measures, they suggested various ways of protecting Hooded Vultures. These included protecting and restoring nesting habitat, raising awareness about threats to vultures, having ‘eco-guards’ to safeguard vulture nests, captive-breeding vultures, and enforcing strict penalties on people who poison them. Younger adults (aged 18–30) were much more supportive of conservation efforts than older adults (over 30), and this gives us hope for the future.

This study was funded by a Rufford Foundation Small Grant, and it was published in the Journal of Ethnobiology and Ethnomedicine. If you would like to read the full article, you can access it here.

** Fidèle Ezechiel Hounnouvi (Naben NGO naben.org), Stanislas Mahussi Gandaho and Jémima Lydie Obandza-Ayessa also contributed to this article.