50|50 Episode 26 Season 7: 11 August 2016

Angola expedition part 2:

An epic expedition sees the remote rivers of southern Africa probed for their natural secrets by determined scientists in a bid to save the wildest place in Africa and the so-called pulse of the planet.A few weeks ago we began the story of the Cuito expedition under the leadership of Dr Boyes. Bertus joined him and his team of multidisciplinary emerging explorers in the Angolan headlands, on a mission to collect baseline data on the wildlife there… Their goal? To turn the river and the adjacent forests and floodplains into Africa’s largest wildlife reserve. We continue our coverage of the Okavango source to sea expedition, and get more acquainted with the natural history of the largely unexplored upper reaches of the Cuito River in Angola. As usual Bertus is not afraid to get his hands dirty.

Wilde bure: leopards

Leopards are best described as opportunists. They make use of many different kinds of habitats and will eat whatever prey is most available in an area. In this way, and because they tend to live solitary lives, these exquisite cats often escape our attention although they live closer to urban areas than we may think.

World Elephant day:

On the eve of World Elephant Day – ironically falling in the same week as National Women’s Day – we take a few moments to enjoy these amazing animals. Elephants have a matriarchal society, essentially a cooperative family structure of related moms, daughters, aunts, grandmothers and cousins. But that’s not enough to keep them from extinction and we currently balance on the brink of seeing the last of this magnificent creature on our continent or in Asia.

VeldFokus:

Genetic continuation is the theme of tonight’s VF! While some animals compete for breeding rights, others have their hands full with raising their young. Rhino bulls go head to head in a fight for territory, while lionesses must up the hunting stakes to feed a growing family.