Destination Southern Africa - Atlas Obscura
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Destination Southern Africa

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Elephants, such as these in South Africa's Kruger National Park, are highly social—and loud.
earthquakes

Can We Track Elephants With Earthquake Detectors?

Low-cost seismometers could give rural communities an alert system, or begin to decipher elephant communication.
Robin George Andrews February 8, 2021
<em>Circellium bacchus</em>, a rare subspecies of dung beetle, is a scarab like no other.
insects

The Outsize Allure of South Africa's Flightless Dung Beetle

In Addo Elephant National Park, the smallest residents may be the biggest draw.
Sandra MacGregor March 4, 2020
It's an aye-aye surprise! Madagascar's battiest lemur is the only primate with four thumbs.
biodiversity

For the Madagascan Aye-Aye, the Rule of Thumb Comes in Two

The extra digits are yet another of the odd animal's oddities.
Isaac Schultz February 19, 2020
The rocky escarpments of Karoo, South Africa. Roughly 183 million years ago, this area was part of the supercontinent Gondwana.
dinosaurs

When South Africa Was Home to the 'Firewalkers' of Karoo

The reptilian critters may not have survived, but they made sure to sign off feet first.
Isaac Schultz January 29, 2020
During wet periods, a thin sheen of water coats the salty expanse of the Etosha Pan.
deserts

The Transformation of Namibia's Etosha Pan, From Parched to Soaked

Satellite images track the shift from dry to wet at a vast, prehistoric lake bed in southern Africa.
Jessica Leigh Hester January 22, 2020
In gallery forests, sohisika may attain a height of around 60 feet and a diameter of about three feet.
forests

How Four Madagascar Villages Battled a Blaze to Save Their Trees

Two hundred men and women fought to protect the last wild sohisika trees.
Erik Vance January 1, 2020
On December 10, 2019, the waterfall was a trickle, not a cascade.
nature

World-Famous Waterfalls May Slow to a Trickle, But Tourism Doesn't Have To

When climate change comes for attractions like Victoria Falls, visitors can find new ways to appreciate them.
Jessica Leigh Hester December 13, 2019
alcohol

A South African Couple Has Turned Elephant Dung Into Award-Winning Gin

Bottoms up!
Luke Fater November 21, 2019
One fossil depicts a near-perfect circle in the sand, with a point in the center.
art

Are These Markings in South Africa the World's Earliest Sand Sculptures?

It depends on whether a natural process could explain them.
Sabrina Imbler October 11, 2019
Baby loggerhead turtles, newly hatched in South Africa.
turtles

Found: Fossilized Tracks of Baby Sea Turtles in South Africa

Prehistoric squee!
Sabrina Imbler September 4, 2019
A serval, captured by a camera trap, stalks Secunda.
animals

Why a South African Petrochemical Plant Is Like Catnip to Servals

The wildcats are an example of resilience and adaptation.
Sabrina Imbler August 2, 2019
Rova workers preparing to harvest Malagasy caviar.
farms

Africa’s Only Caviar Comes From a Lake in the Highlands of Madagascar

Three French entrepreneurs want to put the island-nation on the luxury food map.
Sabrina Imbler July 8, 2019
So thirsty!
insects

The Thirsty Beetles That Capture the Fog

In the Namib Desert, slaking thirst is a slow process.
Jessica Leigh Hester April 23, 2019
That's one groovy drumlin.
deserts

These Namibian Hills Are Holdovers From an Ice Age

They reveal that ice was once speeding through southern Africa.
Matthew Taub February 6, 2019
The river-based expedition team on the Cubango River.
national parks

In Angola, Conservationists Make the Case for a Massive New National Park

Newly stable countries are hotspots for wilderness protection.
Dan Nosowitz January 15, 2019