OPCS

20/10/2023

A spider trapped in amber 99 million years ago guarded her eggs and may have helped raise her young.

20/10/2023

The lack of obvious chewing mouthparts may have made casual observers think that adult cicadas don’t need to feed. But that’s not the case.

20/10/2023

😍🤩our trees have fruits on them. So excited to enjoy these delicious guavas.
Here is a fun fact -

⭐️Did you know that Guava is often labeled as the “super fruit” because it contains 4 times more vitamin C than oranges, 3 times more proteins, 4 times more fiber than pineapples, 2 times more lycopene than tomatoes, and slightly more potassium than bananas?

11/06/2023

Free Book

https://suco-sa.org.za/wildlife-betrayed/

Eugene LaPointe

11/06/2023

11/06/2023

📸 Credit Bee-Friendly Gardening

11/06/2023

𝗘𝘅𝘁𝗿𝗮𝗰𝘁 from the Executive Summary
• The Hunting Trophies (Import Prohibition) Bill, currently before the Lords, is intended to ban the import of hunting trophies from a list of around 6000 species (as listed in a European Council Regulation now referred to in the Bill as the Principal Wildlife Trade Regulation), although the vast majority of species on this list are not subject to trophy hunting (many are corals and jellyfish).
• Over the last 22 years, the UK has imported hunting trophies from only 73 animal species covered by the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES) – and thus covered by the Principal Regulation. Trophy hunting does not pose a major threat to any of these species.
• The Bill is problematic for a number of reasons. Key amongst these problems – given that the Bill is intended to support conservation – is that it is likely to undermine conservation success in many countries across Africa and elsewhere.• Trophy hunting is not a key threat to ANY species, according to the International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN) “Red List of Threatened Species” (the globally recognised authority on the conservation status of the world’s wild species).•

For multiple hunted species, even threatened ones, trophy hunting has proven conservation benefits (by reducing far greater threats such as habitat loss and poaching).
• Land on which hunting takes place not only provides habitat for the hunted species, but also for countless animals and plants not subject to hunting. In fact, in Africa there is more land on which trophy hunting is used as a conservation tool than there is for National Parks.
• Undermining the viability of the hunting industry through an import ban, reduces the incentives for Governments, landowners and local communities to:
1. keep land as wildlife habitat rather than converting it to uses such as agriculture;
2. invest in anti-poaching activities;
3. tolerate dangerous wildlife.•
There are currently no feasible alternative wildlife-based land uses for most trophy hunting areas.
Photo-tourism is only viable in select ‘scenic’ areas, where good transport and infrastructure links support a high volume of visitors.
The majority of hunting areas will never be viable for photo-tourism. However, hunting can and does in many places coexist with photo-tourism by providing an additional revenue stream.
𝗥𝗲𝗮𝗱 𝗺𝗼𝗿𝗲 𝗵𝗲𝗿𝗲:
https://suco-sa.org.za/the-hunting-trophies-bill-risks/

11/06/2023

Botswana
Brief update on Discussions in Germany and the European Parliament on Banning the Import of Legally Harvested Wildlife
https://suco-sa.org.za/brief-update-on-discussions-in-germany-and-the-european-parliament-on-banning-the-import-of-legally-harvested-wildlife/

01/06/2023

We originally published this video of a giant, abandoned ant hill being excavated by scientists way back in 2013. Every so often it goes viral again, and with good reason! It’s fascinating.

26/05/2023

All the SUCo-SA members attending the 2023 AGM at Mabalingwe



www.suco-sa.org.za

17/05/2023

South Africa's citrus industry has been a major contributor to the country's agricultural sector, and its overall GDP for many years.