BBC Wildlife feature by Zimbabwe-born Anton Crone is the editor of African Birdlife magazine

Posted on Wed June 5, 2024.

I was at Khoisan Karoo Conservancy in South Africa’s Northern Cape to see the Shy Five, a pentad of extraordinary creatures on the opposite end of the spectrum to the safari industry’s Big Five (leopard, lion, elephant, buffalo and rhino).

Safari operators deliver truckloads of tourists to within mobile-phonephoto distance of all five within a week. But ask for an aardvark, bat-eared fox, porcupine, aardwolf or black-footed cat, and your guide will ask nervously: “How long have you got?” I had three days – two nights to be precise, for that is when the critters typically appear. My expectations were not high; it is notoriously difficult to see any of them, never mind all five on one trip. Read the full article on Page 76.

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ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Zimbabwe-born Anton Crone is the editor of African Birdlife magazine. He visited the Karoo courtesy of the Khoisan Karoo Conservancy: khoisankaroo.co.za.

Further Reading

Sunset at New Holme Nature Lodge
Khoisan Karoo Conservancy featured in The Daily Maverick Mon October 17, 2022

Angus Begg writes "Piet Cronje ‘PC’ Ferreira says that, after 28 years, his own transformation from farming only to a sustainable farming, conservation and tourism enterprise is complete. Now he’s working with some of the central Karoo’s most troubled municipalities and conservation organisations on an ambitious plan that goes way beyond re-establishing the area’s wildlife and fragile biodiversity."

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Diversity in Light – The Karoo Tue September 22, 2020

If you are in love with the outdoors and nature but can’t always get to places like the Greater Kruger, Kgalagadi, Botswana etc you need to find an affordable alternative to keep your photography skills fresh. Recently I was invited by P.C Ferreira to visit him on the Karoo Gariep Private Nature Reserve to see and learn more about his conservation and tourism initiatives. The Karoo is a semi-desert natural region of...

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New Holme Karoo by Clive Prior Tue September 22, 2020

Cassia picked up on a 3 night package being offered by PC Ferreira’s New Holme Guest Farm in the Karoo Gariep Nature Reserve near Hanover in the Karoo as a great opportunity to kick off an early celebration of Rob Kemp’s 80th birthday. The party consisted of Rob & Margs, Deon & Gill, Jean, Cassia and I. Rob and Margs had been in Johannesburg and would meet us there on the way...

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