By following honeyguides, people in Africa are able to locate bees’ nests to harvest honey. Research now reveals that humans use special calls to solicit the help of honeyguides and that honeyguides actively recruit appropriate human partners. This relationship is a rare example of cooperation between humans and free-living animals.
A female Martial Eagle from the Kruger National Park, who starred in Fierce, a British wildlife television series, has been found dead in a snare set by subsistence hunters in Mozambique. The bird was fitted with an electronic tag under the watchful eye of the British film crew, who were documenting scientists' efforts to stem the decline of these rare predatory birds.
The June 2016 graduation ceremony saw 3 PhD, 1 MSc by dissertation and 11 Conservation Biology MSc by coursework and dissertation students from the FitzPatrick Institute receiving their degrees.
Conservationists worry about the impact of agricultural development on Africa's biodiversity. But a recent study shows it isn't necessarily all doom and gloom. Some species, like eagles, can coexist successfully with agricultural development.
It is with great shock that we have earned of the murder of Emily Stephen Kisamo, one of the 2001/02 cohort of CB students, in Arusha last month. Kisamo was a senior official with Tanapa, Tanzanian National Parks, and was leading the fight against poaching in his country. Our thoughts go out to his family and colleagues.
Applications are open for a post-doctoral research opportunity working with Dr Robert Thomson on the interactions in animal communities associated with the Sociable Weaver (Philetairus socius) nests, with particular focus on the African Pygmy Falcon (Polihierax semitorquatus)
We invite applications for a full-time research PhD scholarship to test the relationship between sociality and climate change vulnerability using a highly social bird (the Southern Pied Babbler, Turdoides bicolor) as a model species.
We invite applications for a full-time research PhD scholarship focusing on understanding the role of farmers in vulture conservation in southern Africa.
Congratulations to Dr Arjun Amar on receiving a UCT College of Fellows Young Researcher Award.
Congratulations are due to Sonja Krüger who won the UCT Science Faculty's Purcell Award for her PhD thesis
For the third consecutive year, researchers from the Percy FitzPatrick Institute at the University of Cape Town marked 500 Swift Terns chicks with metal and individually engraved colour-rings in April 2015.
Fitz stall at the SANAP/SA Agulhas Open Day - 12-13 June 2015.