Wildlife Trails

09/11/2024

Queen of Spades ♠️

07/11/2024

Snow and Polar Bears, what more could you want?

04/11/2024

Look who we saw as we drove from Churchill Airport to our accommodation 🐻‍❄️❤️

12/09/2024

I was lucky enough to visit this amazing national park in April this year, so if a Safari in Mozambique 🇲🇿 is on your travel wish list give us a call.

03/09/2024

Pretty special for me to spend 2 months in Maun - gateway to the Okavango Delta, and a special place with beautiful friendly people and a frontier town feel. Also lovely for me to meet our guests personally at the airport and see them off on our incredibly popular Moremi, Khwai, Savuti and Chobe camping and lodge small group safari. Below is a picture of Moses, a wonderful person and guide, as well as our four clients, Gill, Bill, Elaine and Chrissy. Here is some of their feedback below :-)

'Moses, our guide, is a fantastic spotter and amazing person. I am fortunate to have met and traveled with him. The small group of 4 was lovely as well, with great traveling companions. It was nice to always have room to move and photograph in the vehicle. We had very close views of wildlife and Moses knew where to position us for photographic opportunities. The roads are rough, so take care of your back, but if you can make the trip, you won't be disappointed'

29/08/2024

The Pans are an area I have been looking to explore for some time now , so I drove myself from my base in Maun to Planet Baobab along the A3 highway and found myself surrounded by 1000 year old huge Baobab trees and enjoying a stunning African sunset with a cold beer in my hand. A beautiful base to explore the famous Makgadikgadi Salt Pans; which every year, witnesses the longest mass land mammal migration in Africa.

20/08/2024

Imagine waking up to the sight of a Bald Eagle swooping down from its perch to pluck a salmon from the ocean, the sight of a huge male moose grazing in a misty meadow, or the thrill of photography a grizzly bear fishing for salmon in a pristine inland river. Canada, with its vast and varied landscapes, offers some of the best wilderness and wildlife holidays on earth and is where you can easily see all native North American bear species on Wildlife Trails iconic ‘3 bears tour’. This indepth blog is your ultimate guide to the best wildlife holidays in Canada handpicked by our safari experts, who have lived and travelled extensively in the country. https://buff.ly/3YPVuJo

Photo Credit: James Manson

Tailoring the perfect Wildlife Safari for you and your loved ones. We treat you as individuals, not

11/08/2024

06/08/2024

'What was the moment in time which changed your life?'

For Allan Blanchard, the founder of Wildlife Trails, it was watching a wildlife documentary about the wild tigers of Ranthambhore national park while staying with his parents in the Lake District, UK. The following day he changed his round the world flight ticket and embarked on a 3 month trip around India; where he saw his first wild tigress in February 1997 - here is his remarkable story https://buff.ly/4fpylDG

Photo Credit: James Manson

Tailoring the perfect Wildlife Safari for you and your loved ones. We treat you as individuals, not

29/07/2024

‘Who are you looking at?’

If you find yourself relaxing outside your wilderness lodge in Botswana during the day and there is a great commotion; - with lots of smaller birds making alarm calls and trying to mob an intruder - then you might come face to face with the ‘Pearl-spotted Owlet’

A diminutive diurnal hunter which feeds on arthropods, lizards, snakes, rodents and birds. It is ferocious and will attack birds twice its size. Interestingly, it has black false eyes on the back of its head.

03/07/2024

Flooding in the North East of India is an annual event. The only thing that changes is the severity of the event. A lot is spoken about the human cost, but less so about how this affects the resident wildlife. We have a love affair with this part of India and have visited Kaziranga national park multiple times since our first visit in 2002. What happens here during severe floods is a classic example of human/wildlife conflict, which has been exacerbated due to climate change.

All the wildlife in the park, but especially Rhinos and Elephants, need to move to higher ground during the flooding event, but that journey involves passing through many human settlements and tea estates as they head to the hills. They are also not safe in the hills, because they are home to fascinating tribal communities who have hunted elephants in the past. Despite the efforts of the park authorities in building 'Rhino Islands' - raised earth mounds - inside Kaziranga, the volume of water is such that they are still forced to make this annual migration and therefore increase the chance of conflict with the many villages struggling to survive the powerful monsoon rains.

There is no easy solution to this complicated and emotive issue, but here at Wildlife Trails we encourage our clients to visit this relatively tourist free part of India and put valuable money into the local community to help build a better understanding between humans and wildlife.

https://www.wildlifetrails.co.uk/rhinos-and-tigers-of-kaziranga-national-park/

Severe floods in the north-eastern state of Assam have displaced hundreds of thousands of people.

04/06/2024

You might be surprised at my choices for the Top 5 tiger reserves in India https://www.wildlifetrails.co.uk/the-ultimate-guide-to-tiger-safaris-in-india-discover-the-top-5-places-to-spot-tigers/

I always try to use wildlife blogs like this to encourage people to think outside of the box. For many years we have been lucky enough to have clients who wish to see tigers in the wild, but not with the crowds that can sometimes be associated with the most popular destinations. For them, it comes down to the 'quality' of the encounter and not the number of tigers seen. In addition, there are national parks in India which many would never choose for a tiger safari, as they are more famous for other wildlife, such as the majestic one-horned rhino in Kaziranga. I hope this wildlife article shines a light on some magical wildlife destinations, and provides you with real insight into how to maximise your experience there.

Video Credit: Allan Blanchard, Nagerhole national park

04/04/2024

´Let’s get this show on the road - your chariot awaits’

30/03/2024

Imagine yourself staying here in the spectacular Gorongosa national park - my home for the next three nights!

Le Lodge de Muzimu est niché au bord d’un bras de la rivière Muzikazi.Il regroupe 6 tentes de luxe et offre des possibilités uniques pour découvrir la faune et les ambiances du parc national de Gorongosa au centre du Mozambique.

29/03/2024

'The legend that is Gorongosa national park, Mozambique'

On Sunday I will take a small bushplane flight from Beira into the heart of this spectacular park, where I will be staying at Muzimu Lodge for 3 nights. I feel there is so much I can learn from their community/wildlife model which I believe should be implemented in many other areas where local communities are not seeing enough benefit from wildlife tourism.

Gorongosa National Park (GNP) in Mozambique is perhaps Africa’s greatest wildlife restoration story. In 2008, the Government of Mozambique and the Carr Foundation formed the “Gorongosa Project”, a 20-year Public-Private Partnership for the joint management of the Park and for human development in the communities near the Park. On June 7th 2018, the Government of Mozambique signed an extension of the management agreement of Gorongosa National Park for another 25 years.

By adopting a 21st Century conservation model of balancing the needs of wildlife and people, we are protecting and saving this beautiful wilderness, returning it to its rightful place as one of Africa’s greatest parks. We are achieving our mission by working in these four core areas:

Conservation: By protecting Gorongosa’s beautiful animals and landscapes, we ensure future generations have a chance to experience this special place.

Community: By providing educational programs, health care, and agricultural support to families–we improve the well-being of local communities.

Science: By studying how all the parts of Gorongosa’s complex web of life fit together, we can make informed conservation and management decisions.

Sustainable Tourism: By developing sustainable tourism, we create employment for local people and generate sustainable revenue for the Park. Every guest that visits Gorongosa plays a vital role in this amazing conservation effort.

Photo Credit: Miguel Lajas

05/03/2024

Great Indian Hornbill, February 2024.

February is one of the best months to observe and photograph multiple species of hornbills in north east India. We recommend a bespoke safari with expert guide to Kaziranga and Nameri.

03/03/2024

Great view of Spotted Owlet at Sultanpur bird sanctuary, located just an hour north of Delhi. We had some fantastic wildlife sightings on our recently completed Kaziranga and Ranthambhore wildlife holiday. Lots more photos to come.

09/02/2024

There is nothing like a ´near death’ auto rickshaw experience to prepare for business meetings while in Delhi. It’s so good to be back ❤️