Leopards May Go Extinct Thanks To Religion


One of Africa’s iconic animals may be hunted to extinction by an emerging religion that honors them, CNN reports.

The Church elders of the Nazareth Baptist Church, also known as the Shembe, wear leopard skins as part of their rituals. A mixture of Christianity and traditional Zulu practice, the church has attracted some five million followers in South Africa and is growing quickly.

Thousands of leopard skins are sold openly at Shembe gatherings each year, despite it being a protected species. Leopards are already designated as “near threatened,” meaning they could be threatened with extinction in the near future.

The leopard is also hunted by people seeking trophies or wanting to use its body parts for traditional medicine.

Now conservationists are trying to get the Shembe devout to wear fake leopard skin imported from China rather than killing the animal they admire as a symbol of pride and status. While the church elders see how their faith’s growing popularity is threatening the leopard, so far they have not been convinced to make the switch to fake fur.

[Photo courtesy Wikimedia Commons]

Mozambique attracting more tourists

Mozambique is enjoying a tourism boom, but it falls short of what officials in the large southeast African nation hoped for. According to the latest figures, tourism earned the nation $195 million last year, up $10 million from the previous year. This figure only accounts for hotels and other easily tracked income, not money spent in shops or for informal tours. More than 1.5 million people are visiting the country annually.

It’s easy to see why. There are long stretches of beautiful beaches and several national parks and reserves rich in wildlife. Gorongosa National Park, for example, has everything from warthogs to zebras. Other parks have large populations of buffalo, elephants, wildebeests, and leopards.

Tourism officials aren’t entirely happy, though, because they had hoped to get many more hotel reservations for this year because of the World Cup in South Africa. This extra influx of visitors isn’t happening, although they have noted that they’re getting some South Africans who are fleeing the football madness and going to a quieter country!

Have you visited Mozambique? Tell us about your trip in the comments section.