South Africa has been voted the top destination by members of the world's largest travel and lifestyle social network, Where Are You Now? (WAYN), in the site's recent "dream destination competition".
The country beat Brazil, India, Dubai, Fiji, Turkey and Indonesia with 15 300 votes from members around the world.
A total 78 000 votes were counted for all seven of the destinations. The nominated countries and cities were selected through market research and tracking user engagement on WAYN.
Durban - Forty white rhino have been sold for about R10m at the Ezemvelo Wildlife annual game auction in Durban, its spokesperson said on Thursday.
The average price of each rhino increased to R247 000, from R243 000 last year, said spokesperson Musa Mntambo.
He said the rhino were among 1563 animals sold for R13 605 650 at the auction, which was held at Sibaya Casino on Wednesday.
The animals included black wildebeest, blue wildebeest, giraffe, dassies, red hartebeest, impala, kudu, nyala, warthog, zebra, blesbuck and springbuck.
Cape Town - Mother Nature celebrated Mother's Day in true style at Sanbona Wildlife Reserve, just outside Cape Town and part of Shamwari Group, with the birth of a healthy elephant calf, which became the sixth elephant calf born at the reserve.
At this point rangers are keeping their distance to ensure Mother and calf have sufficient time to bond and as yet the sex of the calf is unknown.
The herd is very protective of the youngster and have truly welcomed it into the herd, which roam free on the 54, 000 hectares of pristine wilderness.
British billionaire Richard Branson said Monday that rocket-powered space tourism flights by his firm Virgin Galactic would have only a minor impact on climate change.
More than 500 people have already reserved seats -- and paid deposits on the $200,000 ticket price -- for a minutes-long suborbital flight on the SpaceShipTwo (SS2) set to begin by the end of this year.
&Beyond Phinda Private Game Reserve in KwaZulu Natal has announced that five specially selected dogs and their handlers will undergo an intensive 10-week training course as a means to combat poaching in the area.
The dogs, which arrived at the reserve on May 1, are part of the Rhino Dogs Project established by Mechem Denel and StopRhinoPoaching.com. They will be trained as human tracking and apprehension dogs and used in anti-poaching efforts.
The species has been named Auron Zhaoi. Auron was the dragon king in Journey to the West while Zhaoi comes from Zhao Xijin, a Chinese paleontologist.
Conservationists warned that Hong Kong may lose its rare Chinese white dolphins, also known as pink dolphins for their unique colour, unless it takes urgent action against pollution and other threats.
Their numbers in Hong Kong waters have fallen from an estimated 158 in 2003 to just 78 in 2011, with a further decline expected when figures for 2012 are released next month, said the Hong Kong Dolphin Conservation Society.
Eight suspected poachers were arrested on May 1 in two separate incidents, according to SANParks spokesman, Paul Daphne.
In the first incident, five suspected poachers who were en route to the Timbavati Private Game Reserve were arrested. This was a joint operation with members of the SA Police Service, Mpumalanga Tourism and Parks Board rangers.
Daphne said the five were found in possession of a high-calibre hunting rifle, ammunition and poaching equipment.
The International Fund for Animal Welfare (IFAW) has announced that it will partner with the International Criminal Police Organization (Interpol) to provide training for customs and wildlife law enforcement officers in Mozambique.
Cape Town - Thandora, the elephant recently re-introduced into the wild at Gondwana Game Reserve after being held in captivity for 23 years, is slowly acclimatising to her new home.
The team watching over her on Monday continued to move her closer to the two elephants they hope she will form a small herd with, according to Greg Vogt from Conservation Global.
The idea is that she will eventually want to be with the other elephants more than the team and their Land Rover.
