Mail & Guardian
Mail & Guardian

Critically Endangered

latest news & developments
African penguins, endemic to Southern Africa, are one of the most threatened seabird species globally and they face the risk of extinction in the wild by 2035. Populations have shrunk by 90% in the past 70 years, dwindling to about 8 500 breeding pairs today.
AFRICAN PENGUIN

Africa’s only penguin moves closer to extinction

The seabirds were recently moved to critically endangered status, meaning drastic action has to be taken to save them from being wiped out

  • Sheree Bega
6 min read
African penguins on Boulders beach, Simon’s Town. File photo
AFRICAN PENGUIN BREEDING COLONIES

High court will hear urgent case to save critically endangered African penguins

Outgoing minister accused of placing fishing industry interests above the survival of penguins

  • John Yeld
4 min read
Of the planet’s rarest species, the Himalayan brown bear. Picture: Supplied.
CRITICALLY ENDANGERED

SA team helps safeguard Himalayan brown bear

Himalayan Brown Bears, Critically Endangered, University of the Free State, Pakistan, Francois Deacon, Willem Daffue, Saving the Survivors

  • Sheree Bega
7 min read
Drones are being used to help save the critically endangered Clanwilliam cedar in the Western Cape
AIRSEED
Video

Drones are being used to help save the critically endangered Clanwilliam cedar in the Western Cape

AirSeed Cedar project allows targeted seed distribution by air to inaccessible or dangerous terrain

  • Sheree Bega
7 min read
The Mutavhatsindi tree is described as “the most wanted medicinal tree” in the Vhembe district and is intensely exploited for its medicinal bark and roots. (Brita Lomba, CC BY-SA 3.0)
CRITICALLY ENDANGERED

Race to save Limpopo’s magical Mutavhatsindi tree

For the first time, conservation team have now successfully propagated critically endangered species

  • Sheree Bega
6 min read
Protected: The Berg River Estuary on South Africa’s West Coast. (Dewald Kirsten)
2022 WORLD WETLANDS DAY

Western Cape wetland gets new environmental protection

The Berg River Estuary has been declared South Africa’s 28th Ramsar site, yet 79% of the country’s wetlands remain threatened and 48% are critically endangered

  • Tunicia Phillips
3 min read
Evidence: This aerial view shows the removal of renosterveld vegetation that has been replaced by farmland in the area between Albertinia and Riversdale. Photo: Homebrew Films Company
ARABLE LAND

New app detects illegal ploughing of endangered renosterveld

If habitat loss is detected, this information is immediately passed on to law enforcement for further investigation

  • Marcia Zali
3 min read
Thumbnail: The micro frog, also called the Cape Flats frog, is endemic to a small area in the Western Cape
CLIMATE CHANGE

Endangered ‘Cape Flats’ micro frog finds a ‘sign of healthy ecosystem’

Only four populations of the micro frog, endemic to the wetlands near Bredasdorp, were known before this discovery

  • Marcia Zali
5 min read
Balance: Elephants are found in 37 African countries, including Kenya. But the herds and their habitats are threatened and people remain divided over how to protect them. (Goran Tomasevic/Reuters)
AFRICAN ELEPHANT SPECIALIST GROUP

Poaching is wiping out Africa’s elephants

Forest elephants are on the brink of extinction and savanna elephants are now classified as endangered

  • Sheree Bega
5 min read
BYCATCH

Hake fishing gets eco-label for fourth time

But endangered sharks and rays are falling through the net, and other imperilled species are being scooped up as bycatch, conservation groups warn

  • Sheree Bega
6 min read
BISON

Nearly half of South Africa’s Protea species on the brink of extinction

Loss of habitat to agriculture, the spread of invasive species and changes to natural fire cycles are biggest culprits

  • Sheree Bega
5 min read