Giant Sable Conservation Efforts
Found only in central Angola, the giant sable is one of the most impressive but also one of the most critically endangered African antelopes. It was unprotected during the civil war that began in 1975 and only ended in 2002. Government and rebel armies alternately occupied the 8,280 sq km Luando Integral Reserve of the Giant Sable and the 630 sq km Cangandala National Park, 50 km from Malange, the provincial capital. Without a giant sable bull, the sable in Cangandala were doomed to extinction, hybrids or no hybrids.
To read his article further and see the slide show of the operation,  go here.

Breaking News - Giraffe kills Impala
Fresh scarlet brain-blood had flowed from the baby impala's nostrils to pool thickly in the footprint of a bull giraffe Read further...

How can we help you!
With holidays, career breaks or future employment opportunities taking a back-seat, many people are looking towards doing something constructive, affordable and above all for themselves. EcoTraining offers a wide variety of courses to suit many individual needs for now and the future!

Why Choose EcoTraining?
•We’ve been training since 1993 - one of the first organisations to conduct formal training.
•We train in great wilderness areas including the Kruger National Park.
•Our students train while living in the middle of the African wilderness, with wild animals potentially right outside their tents as our canvas tented camps are unfenced.
•We have trained Field Guides for top tourism operators such as Wilderness Safaris, Tanzania Wildlife Safaris, KZN Wildlife, Heritage Group and various privately-owned game lodges in southern Africa.
•and more reasons to choose us…

Join the Butterfly Survey at Makuleke
Let us know if you encounter these butterflies at Makuleke in the Kruger National Park. 79 species were recorded during the last survey, a couple of species that were of interest eluded the team. We need your help in documenting the species below.
It would be great if the presence of the following species can be confirmed for the area, as the current records are either very old, doubtful or based on single records only, which could indicate that the specimens recorded were onlymigrants into the area. The species that would be really great to record again are:
Acraea acrita (Fiery Acraea)
Charaxes bohemani (Large Blue Emperor)
Euxanthe wakefieldi (Forest Queen)
Cyrestis camillus (African Map Butterfly)
Dixeia doxo (Black‐veined white)
Andronymus caesar philander (White Dart)
Andronymus neander (Common dart or Nomad Dart) 

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Field Guide Level 1

Dear Mark. …this is something that I have wanted to do for some time and my expectations were surpassed! You guys really do a great job. Thank you personally for your input and the way you communicated your passion about the bush in so many ways. I appreciated not only your knowledge, but your obvious skill as a trainer and your rapport with all of us – quite an achievement. I have been greatly enriched and am determined to continue to learn more and therefore enjoy the varied aspects of nature. I am fortunate enough to be out in the wild regularly with my work and have already found what I learnt has stimulated me to learn wherever I am. - Peter Twycross; Selati; June 2008

A profound experience that taught me to see nature instead of only looking at it. I now have a better understanding of all interacting parts that form an ecosystem and how they are connected. An exciting new world has opened up! Jaap van Dijk; Selati; 19 Feb 2008

I wanted to write and let you know just how wonderful the course is at Selati. Jason and I had a really amazing month and believe that the course is extremely valuable for our future in the industry. We had no idea when applying for the course just how intensive it is, but the knowledge that we gained was not only interesting but will be applicable in our everyday life at Chiawa. The instructors were fantastic, Mark especially amazed me everyday with his enthusiasm and knowledge of the bush. It takes special people to do the same thing over and over but with such passion. We really cannot thank them enough. I now look at the bush with a new perspective!!! I hope that you pass on this positive feed back to Mark and Lance because I think it is important for them to know that their work is valued and appreciated by Jason and I. We made some wonderful friends, who I know we will keep in touch with, and we had an amazing month. Thank you for helping to organise the course for us at such short notice. It was really wonderful to receive such prompt and friendly advise. Warm Regards Michaela and Jason Johnstone; Selati; February 2008

4 weeks is too short!  I have learnt so much, thank you for opening my senses!  I am really satisfied, I loved it and I will recommend EcoTraining.  You have made my life richer.  I know and understand so much more now about this beautiful place.  I will be back!  Diana Wild, Karongwe, January 2011

Excellent.  Cliffy has a lot of experience and we benefitted from it tremendously.  Thank you very much for a great course.  I had a great time and learnt a great deal.  All the best with your endeavours!  Raymond Schoonraad, Mashatu, November 2010

Excellent, we had a great month. And will probably come back for the Level 2 course. - Patrick Lempereur & Marianne Bret; Karongwe, September 2007.

Above all expectations. It was really one of the best and most memorable experiences in my life. - Alejandra Garcia; Karongwe, September 2007.

Thanks for expertly sharing a slice of bush lore with a cross-section og humanity. Great blend of knowledge, professionalism and conservation ethics.  All played out in one of the last wilderness areas of South Africa….Clive Thompson, Makuleke, 2009

It has been a sucessful and excellent course.  The camp site was amazing and beautiful wildlife.  I would love to pass my feelings to our instructor, Cliffy, that it was indeed happy days. - Bongani Mbatha, Mashatu Camp, 2011

Thank you for the 28 days in that great environment.  It felt good to be that close to nature.  The sleep out was an unpayable experience.  Patrick Kaufmann, Karongwe, November 2010   

I had a wonderful time here. Lovely surrounding, fantastic instructors, good accommodation. It feels a great deal like home now to me. Four weeks flew by and I wish I could stay for another 4 weeks! - Marjan van der Bijl; Karongwe, 17 September 2007

We just want to say thank you again for the wonderful time we had.  A really special experience, one we will carry with us for the rest of our lives.  Joeri and Stefan, Karongwe, October 2010

It's been an amazing once in a lifetime course, I would suggest it to anybody! Gwylm Humphreys, Selati; 6 September 2006

It was a great time, I enjoyed it so much.  I learnt more in a month at Selati than I did in 8 months at College.  This was a great experience that I will never ever forget.  Brad Knight, Selati, August 2010

"The best experience of my life, I got to see things that many people only dream about. Where else can you actually drive a landrover full of tourists on a game drive and lead your own foot safari amongst elephants and lion (with the instructor beside you of course)." - Doug Williamson, Selati; 2002

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