In 2022, we began discussing the possibilities of travelling to Ellesmere Island with our good friend Ben Cranke. Photographing the Arctic wolves was a childhood dream of his, making it an easy decision. From this point on, we had 14 months to prepare, not only the equipment that we would need but also get mentally ready to embark on an expedition. This wasn’t just another routine safari trip; temperatures could drop to -50 and the area is so isolated, any emergency would take time and effort to manage. We were planning to travel in March when the sun would hug the horizon for about eight hou ..read more

Text: Malini, Photos: Patrick, Malini It can only be described as one of the most exhilarating wilderness experiences in the world- watching a lion from a vehicle that you are driving yourself and making the decisions that lead to meeting this lion. The Kalahari is one of the magical places one could ever visit and the place where you can make this dream come true. But before creating this unique face-to-face encounter with the biggest land predator in Africa, there is a great deal of organisation. After all, you are about to embark on a journey in the Kgalagadi Transfrontier Park: a protecte ..read more

When the very existence of lynx, wolves, golden jackals, eagles, and Eurasian eagle-owls comes into question Introduction On the 28th of November 2021, the people of the Canton of Valais in Switzerland will vote for or against a popular initiative titled “For a canton of Valais without large predators”. The initiative was submitted to the State Chancellery on 16 January 2017, along with 9545 signatures. The initiative claims three aims: - improved protection of livestock from large predators (wolves, lynx, bears and golden jackals) - to limit and regulate the number of large predators - to pr ..read more

All photos by Malini Pittet. “Did you really go on safari during the pandemic”? This was a common reaction when I returned from a trip to Kenya and Tanzania in January 2021. Around the time that we left on our trip, Switzerland went into a full lockdown with only essential shops open and home office encouraged for all employees who could do so. Like many Western “First-world” countries, Switzerland has struggled with finding effective measures to curb the pandemic. The freedom of its people is of great concern and most measures aim to protect this freedom at the cost of the spread of the viru ..read more

It sounds like an unlikely set of words with little to do with one another. And yet, over the past few days, a story has emerged which links them in the most appalling way. The last news item I read before going to bed a few months ago, was about a wild female elephant in India which had wandered out of a forest, in search of food. Pineapples filled with explosives were laid out by local people in a bid to deter wild boars from damaging crops. The elephant ate one or some of these pineapples and the firecrackers exploded in the animal’s mouth. Although veterinarians were on hand to try to tra ..read more

It all started in June 1952 when a celebrated physician decided to introduce the myxomatosis virus into rabbits with the intention of eradicating the individuals on his estate. He had a great success with this project as 98% of the rabbits on his property died over the next two months. Regrettably, his actions were to have consequences over a vast distance and an unspeakable ecological impact. The virus spread rapidly within the wild population of rabbits making its way across the European countryside. Over 1500 km away, an endemic wild felid which was already facing multiple threats began to ..read more

Humanity is closely linked to the natural world; we depend on the natural world for our livelihood, protection shelter and nourishment. At times, these lines become blurred. Tens of thousands of people will lose their lives because of Covid-19. Millions more will become seriously ill and many of them will lose their livelihoods. As the global economy is abruptly slowed down and stock markets tumble, large corporations all over the world reduce their workforce. Smaller organisations use up any reserves they have, but many a business will be forced to give up. When the outbreak and spread of th ..read more

My love affair with Canon is slowly waning as I become infatuated with Nikon gear. As a wildlife photographer, finding the right camera that fits your photography style can be challenging. Canon has always been my go-to brand ever since I switched to digital photography. Over the years, I have had the chance to use camera bodies and lenses that have progressively improved in quality and delivering results. As my own photography genre developed, the types of cameras I needed to produce the images I was aiming for became more sophisticated. The Canon EF 100-400mm L IS II was my favourite lens f ..read more

The five lionesses were fast asleep, the skin on their bellies taunt having gorged on the oryx they had just killed. A large number of jackals were in the vicinity of the lionesses, some sleeping, some tentatively approaching the kill hoping for a bite to eat. We were travelling in two cars, communicating with radios and after watching the sleeping lionesses we decided to move on. Just as we turned on the engines, a strange noise filled the air. It was the eerie wail of several jackals, almost sounding like they were frightened. The lionesses whipped up and began dashing in different directio ..read more

Sunrise over the ger camp in the Jargalant range Autumn in western and central Mongolia is a bright palette of yellows, browns, oranges and cream, set in vast horizons and endless mountain ranges. Red deer begin their rut and as they exhale in the chilly mornings, they look like they are breathing fire. Ibex and Argali congregate in herds ready to face winter, while the marmots and smaller rodents are already in hibernation. Little owls glide silently over yellowed grasslands in search of prey. Snow-covered peaks tower over our ger camp at the base of the Tsagan Shuvuut range. I chose to tra ..read more