Don Pinnock

Cape Town

Writer and Photographer at Freelance

Freelance writer and photographer. Former editor of Getaway magazine, naturalist and photographer

Articles

Cruelty takes a toll on animals – and the woman who defends them

5 days ago | dailymaverick.co.za | Don Pinnock

GRIM DUTY Wrolien Rabie with a goat at a saleyard.
Minister to remove wrecks from small harbours after fishers’ outcry

1 week ago | dailymaverick.co.za | Don Pinnock

Remove your wrecks or we will and charge you, Dion George tells boat owners. In many small fishing harbours derelict and abandoned vessels clog moorings, pose safety risks and symbolise decades of government inaction. After facing fierce criticism from fishing communities during his recent Fishing for Freedom imbizo, Minister of Forestry, Fisheries and the Environment Dion George has announced urgent action to remove them.
When the elders fall silent - how the loss of elephant matriarchs fractures a society

1 week ago | africanelephantjournal.com | Don Pinnock

By Don Pinnock – Daily MaverickFrom bees to whales, it’s increasingly acknowledged that creatures have cultures within which they live their daily lives. This is particularly true for elephants, and the loss of matriarchs is leading to severe social disruption. It’s a crisis for elephant culture across Africa and Asia. Knowledge among elephants is passed through the footsteps and memories of their elders using vocalisations, vibrations and chemical, tactile and visual signals.
How the loss of matriarchs fractures a society

1 week ago | dailymaverick.co.za | Don Pinnock

From bees to whales, it’s increasingly acknowledged that creatures have cultures within which they live their daily lives. This is particularly true for elephants, and the loss of matriarchs is leading to severe social disruption. It’s a crisis for elephant culture across Africa and Asia. Knowledge among elephants is passed through the footsteps and memories of their elders using vocalisations, vibrations and chemical, tactile and visual signals.
South Africa: Parliament pushes for urgent action on Mawana’s roaming elephant herd

2 weeks ago | africanelephantjournal.com | Don Pinnock

By Don Pinnock – Daily MaverickElephants don’t respect land ownership and without restraints they roam. But with bad fencing and a growing herd, a showdown was inevitable. In a heated and emotionally charged session of the South African Parliament’s Portfolio Committee on Environment this week, a community member from KwaZulu-Natal’s Ulundi region described the ongoing crisis caused by a herd of roaming elephants from the privately owned Mawana Game Reserve.
NSPCA inspector on why she endures the danger, heartbreak

2 weeks ago | dailymaverick.co.za | Don Pinnock

Being an NSPCA inspector is a calling and not for the faint-hearted, as Sparky Moseki can attest, working in a landscape of legal loopholes, cultural clashes and sometimes dangerous confrontations. It’s 6am and Sparky Moseki is somewhere between a city and the dustier edges of South Africa, heading to a property no one wants to see, to deal with something no one wants to face. “You never really know what’s waiting for you when you arrive,” she says.
Parliament pushes for urgent action on Mawana elephant herd

2 weeks ago | dailymaverick.co.za | Don Pinnock

WILDLIFE CONFLICT Elephants don’t respect land ownership and without restraints they roam. But with bad fencing and a growing herd, a showdown was inevitable. In a heated and emotionally charged session of the South African Parliament’s Portfolio Committee on Environment this week, community members from KwaZulu-Natal’s Ulundi region described the ongoing crisis caused by a herd of roaming elephants from the privately owned Mawana Game Reserve.
Fears of a syndicate plot to wipe out all Lowveld vultures after 100 more die from poison

2 weeks ago | dailymaverick.co.za | Don Pinnock

Yet another mass poisoning of vultures has occurred in Mpumalanga. More than 100 critically endangered raptors have been found dead, their carcasses strewn around a poisoned warthog in Lionspruit Game Reserve near Kruger Park.
Millions of pangolins, 193,000 elephants - how crime networks are hollowing out Africa’s wilderness

2 weeks ago | africanelephantjournal.com | Don Pinnock

By Don Pinnock – Daily MaverickA new investigative report has laid bare the scale and complexity of wildlife trafficking across southern Africa, exposing a tangled web of corruption, organised crime and systemic failures that are eroding conservation efforts and fuelling illicit markets.
How crime networks plunder Africa

2 weeks ago | dailymaverick.co.za | Don Pinnock

A new investigative report has laid bare the scale and complexity of wildlife trafficking across southern Africa, exposing a tangled web of corruption, organised crime and systemic failures that are eroding conservation efforts and fuelling illicit markets.