Karoo
latest news & developments
SA’s national bird faces “ecological trap” in Western Cape wheatlands
A new study has warned of a sharp drop in blue crane chicks in Overberg and Swartland
To render mining valuable, time horizons must shift
The annual Mining Indaba in Cape Town this week again shines a spotlight on the importance of institutions and incentives if mining is to yield broad-based development across…
Rare meteorite fragment found in Eastern Cape provisionally named the ‘Nqweba’
The meteorite streaked across the sky on 25 August
Predators in the sky: Crows see tortoises as tasty snacks
South Africa’s dwarf tortoises, and other species, are being wiped out because they are easy prey for pied crows
It’s dangerous to forget Cape Town’s Day Zero
Water scarcity in dry places has long shaped how people have used the resource
The return of ostrich plumes
From bags to outfits, most ostrich products are, once again, from South Africa
‘DJ Fantastic’ loses his mayoral chain as moral outrage grips Kannaland
‘Who in their right mind would allow a grown man who started a relationship with a 15-year-old [to become] the mayor of your municipality?!’
Karoo dust, diet & diabetes: Why ‘lifestyle disease’ is an unfair label
Diabetes is different from other non-communicable diseases, this author says. It can’t be spread in a literal sense and is instead often forced upon people by factors beyond…
Locust fighters in a losing battle in the Nama Karoo
Expert calls for a radical rethink of how South Africa manages brown locust outbreaks.
Locust swarms loom in the wake of wetter weather
Unreported locust swarms in unoccupied farms, game and environmental parks can grow, cover large distances and destroy entire crops
Predators: Beauties or beasts?
How farmers perceive jackal and caracal — as ‘beautiful’ or ‘thieves’ — determines whether they will tolerate them on their livestock farms
Powerships ‘a climate threat’
The decision to use Turkey’s floating power plants locks the country into fossil fuels for 20 years
Northern Cape farmers battle ‘horrific’ brown locust outbreak
But Agricultural Research Council says outbreak is normal, and only a medium-sized outbreak
Small towns not ready for level 3
Officials in Beaufort West, which is on a route that links the Cape with the rest of the country, are worried relaxed lockdown regulations mean residents are now at risk of…
Seven lean years in the Northern Cape
As the Karoo hopes for an end to its worst drought in a generation, the region’s history may hold important lessons for its future