karoolatest news & developments
South Africa’s national bird, the blue crane, is struggling to raise chicks in parts of the Western Cape

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

  • Sheree Bega
4 min read
This meteorite fall in the Eastern Cape sparked a collaborative scientific investigation that involved researchers from the University of the Witwatersrand, Nelson Mandela University and Rhodes University. (Supplied)

Rare meteorite fragment found in Eastern Cape provisionally named the ‘Nqweba’

The meteorite streaked across the sky on 25 August

  • Sheree Bega
4 min read
Few people are aware that the country holds the title of the tortoise capital of the world and is home to 13 species, most of which are endemic. Photo supplied

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

  • Des Erasmus
9 min read
The Nqweba Dam near Graaff-Reinet has recharged after dropping to 4.98%. (Murat Ozgur Guvendik/Getty Images)

It’s dangerous to forget Cape Town’s Day Zero

Water scarcity in dry places has long shaped how people have used the resource

  • Eyaaz
5 min read
File photo: An ostrich looks at a woman wearing a hat decorated with plumes during the first Ukrainian Ostriches Festival some 50 km from Kiev on September 4, 2010. (SERGEI SUPINSKY/AFP via Getty Images)

The return of ostrich plumes

From bags to outfits, most ostrich products are, once again, from South Africa

  • Des Erasmus
4 min read