Conservation through education – sustainable & conscious living
With rhino population figures at a crucial level, there has been no better time than now to introduce an innovative new incentive to raise money to protect an animal that has roamed the earth for more than 50 million years. Rhinos are critically endangered, with only around 29,000 left across the entire world, which includes all…
Continue reading ➞ Remembering Rhinos: a kick start in the right direction
An incredibly rare species of woodlouse has just been discovered to have glow in the dark properties. The critically endangered spiky yellow woodlouse can only be found on St Helena in the South Atlantic Ocean. It is one of many endemic and rare species on the remote island. The rare woodlouse is normally incredibly difficult…
Continue reading ➞ Rare species of woodlouse glows in the dark
I always seem to get strange looks when I tell people that I love insects. I have a deep fascination with them and people always question 'why?!'. A friend recently asked me why I like them so much, and my immediate answer was that I find it so fascinating how they are so small and…
Tesco have announced that they will remove all products containing microbeads from all of their stores by the end of 2016. The huge supermarket chain said that it has been listening to its customer concerns about the array of products which contain microbeads, which are essentially tiny pieces of plastic, and therefore had instructed productions…
We've all heard about the horrors of zoos and what once was a practice that we seemed oblivious to and didn't think to question, is now almost common knowledge as those thoughts of the welfare and care of those imprisoned animals creeps into our minds. Highly upsetting…
This week has brought incredible news for the natural world as the population of one of Britain's most iconic birds has reached more than 500 pairs for the first time since records began. The numbers of the golden eagles in Scotland were recorded in a country-wide survey which was carried out last year, although conservationists…
In just 7 days, on the 17th November 2016, conservation organisations and governments from around the world will meet in Vietnam for the Ha Noi Conference on the Illegal Wildlife Trade. This will be our next chance to close the domestic ivory markets. YOUR voice can help stop this terrible trade that is killing one…
Whilst browsing a retail store today I got chatting to the store manager about my adventures in Africa during the past few years. Upon saying that I had been working at a Lion Protection Trust in South Africa, her immediate response was "awwww so you got to play with all the little lions and tigers?!"…
It has been announced that the USA has banned the imports of lion trophies that have come from captive lion populations. Following the Cites results earlier this month, which refused to uplist lions to maximum protection, failing to stop the canned hunting industry, this new decision will mean that American hunters - who make up…
With a heavy heart and tears in my eyes, I am very sad to say that Cites chose to ignore our pleas, as today's vote meant that it has been decided that elephants will unfortunately stay listed as Appendix II, like African lions, meaning that they will not receive the protection that they so desperately need.…
Today's Cites decision brought disappointing news for lions as the call to up-list them to Appendix 1 was not agreed upon. The outcome of the discussions by Cites - the Convention for the International Trade in Endangered Species who decides upon the listings of each animal and plant, and therefore its level of protection worldwide…
This week brought incredible news for the critically endangered, and most illegally traded animal in the world, the elusive pangolin! The majority of people have never even heard of this mammal, and many of those who have think that it is an armadillo. But pangolins are in fact the most illegally traded animal in the entire world,…
The Tree of Life. The Mother Tree. The Listening Tree. It is said that Kai, the bushman creator of all things, gave the seeds of this tree to the hyena, to plant all around Africa. But hyenas are lazy. And in his indolence, he did not take the task upon himself, and this is why…
This week celebrated World Rhino Day, which is all about spreading awareness about the rapidly depleting rhino population! I recently attended a debate in London about the legalisation of the trade of rhino horn. An interesting and very often sensitive and controversial topic, I went in to the debate being firmly against the trade, but…
So what is wildlife conservation and how can we know if our money is going to the right place? With social media being at the forefront of most people's focus these days, it almost seems as if people are doing things with the sole initial intention of being able to upload the proof onto their social media…
Once again i find myself outraged but no more surprised at the carelessness of the human race causing the unnecessary end of a beautiful animal life. I am of course talking about this week's wildlife disaster that has set the internet on fire, and conservationists and animal lovers worldwide into turmoil, about the carelessness of the parents…
As I gazed at the young tawny lioness I saw how innocent she was. I saw that the world had not yet shown her all of its beauty, nor its potential dark side. I was watching her pad through the long, pale grass so carefully and silently, when suddenly a South African quail flew up…
I am extremely excited to announce the launch of a new project that I have been working on with my Producer for while - a new video-on-demand service (like Netflix) purely for natural history documentaries! The new and unique platform offers short films, documentaries and series for rent or purchase, and can be accessed worldwide. With an…
http://www.igobyplane.com/2015/06/19/where-can-i-pet-a-baby-lion-tiger-cheetah-big-cat/ I'm sure it comes as no surprise to you that reading this article got my blood boiling to the highest degrees - so much so that I had to take a walk outside before angrily bashing the keys to write this post. Aside from the fact that this guy is illiterate, he is absolutely the…
This image really speaks a thousand words. This is a collection of all of the snares that have been found on the Mbube reserve of the White Lion Protection Trust, where I am currently situated. Snares, made by looped wire, are used mainly by meat hunters in South Africa, and have been said to be…
It’s currently 16:31 and 32 degrees Celsius in the Timbavati, I haven’t spoken to a real human being in about seven hours, I’ve got a raging cold from being exposed to 20 hours non-stop air-con on my way here, mix all that with having been up and active since 4.45am, and I’m feeling pretty delirious.…
By now you should all know the name Tilikum. Tilikum is the beautiful big orca who has been a resident at SeaWorld, Orlando for the past 24 years. He is the star of the brilliant shows that you have indulged in with awe, whilst thinking how incredibly lucky those killer whale handlers are to work…
I've lost count of the amount of times that friends have sent me photos of people that I know involved in the terrible wildlife tourism trade that is in the media so much these days, and how many times that I have wanted to write ranting long comments on those social media photos, asking them…
Earlier this week I sat with my family to watch Davina McCall's new wildlife documentary 'Life at the Extreme'. Whilst the premiere received mixed reviews about Davina's capability of presenting a wildlife documentary, I thought it was good to see an 'ordinary' person immersing themselves in the wilds of Africa. Near the end of the…
According to Jess 