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Discover Eden Discover Eden offers specialist experiential courses in South Africa for people passionate Wildlife

A fabulous day in the African bush at for the Big 5 Conservation group today! There were some spectacular sightings whi...
16/07/2025

A fabulous day in the African bush at for the Big 5 Conservation group today! There were some spectacular sightings while out on a herbivore census session.

Our Big 5 Conservation group kicked off their next phase of the course with camera trap training and learning about Anti...
15/07/2025

Our Big 5 Conservation group kicked off their next phase of the course with camera trap training and learning about Anti Poaching Units with the awesome team at today!

Our current Big 5 Conservation Group wrapped up a great weekend in Kruger National Park recently. Apart from some great ...
15/07/2025

Our current Big 5 Conservation Group wrapped up a great weekend in Kruger National Park recently. Apart from some great interactive lectures with key ecology and veterinary staff in the Park, the group had sightings of a wide range is awesome mammal, reptile and bird species. Highlights included a pride of lions, a leopard with a cub, loads of cute hyenas, two honeybadgers, buffalo, elephants, giraffe, sable and so much more! With input from Hannes our expert guide, the students got the full Kruger experience while learning about each animal they saw!

The Big 5 Conservation group finished off their game capture training with a session learning to use a dart gun, and get...
11/07/2025

The Big 5 Conservation group finished off their game capture training with a session learning to use a dart gun, and getting an opportunity to each fire at a moving target from a chopper!

Our Big 5 Conservation students got to put their new game capture knowledge into practice today when they assisted in th...
10/07/2025

Our Big 5 Conservation students got to put their new game capture knowledge into practice today when they assisted in the capture and translocation of a young giraffe between reserves. Well done team!
# LearningExperience

A HUGE congrats to Allula, Casidhe, Grant, JiuQi, Nicole and Spencer for completing our Marine Biology course! What an i...
10/07/2025

A HUGE congrats to Allula, Casidhe, Grant, JiuQi, Nicole and Spencer for completing our Marine Biology course! What an incredible group, we LOVED hosting you all and can’t see what you all get up to next.

Earlier this week, our Discover Eden and Conserve Eden teams were involved in a sad but important scenario - the Plett S...
10/07/2025

Earlier this week, our Discover Eden and Conserve Eden teams were involved in a sad but important scenario - the Plett Stranding Network that we are part of were called to respond to a stranded Pygmy S***m Whale, Kogia breviceps.

Our Director Mark, and current interns Ri, Jeanette and Ashley, responded and assisted on the ground in cold, windy and rainy conditions on Sunday late afternoon, but sadly, the whale could not be rescued.

On Monday, our current Marine Biology student group and our interns joined Dr Greg Hofmeyer and Numfundo from Bayworld Museum, along with Chanel Visser from CapeNature to assist in a necropsy on the animal. The Orca Foundation volunteers assisted with digging a hole deep enough to bury the whale.

Kogia breviceps, commonly known as the pygmy s***m whale, is a small, elusive cetacean found in deep offshore waters of tropical and temperate oceans worldwide. It is typically solitary or found in small groups of two to six individuals. These whales are deep divers, feeding primarily on squid and other deep-sea invertebrates, using suction to capture their prey. They surface infrequently and tend to avoid boats, which contributes to their secretive nature and the limited knowledge about their behavior in the wild.

Pygmy s***m whales are known for their unique defense mechanism — when threatened, they can release a cloud of reddish-brown fluid from a sac near the a**s, possibly to confuse predators and make a quick escape. They spend much of their time submerged and are rarely seen breaching or exhibiting surface activity. Due to their deep-sea lifestyle and low surface visibility, most of what is known about them comes from strandings and necropsy studies rather than direct observation.

The necropsy revealed some interesting results, the animal was an adult male, with an empty stomach, high stomach and jugular vein parasite load, large number of stomach ulcers and a fair number of cysts embedded in the muscle layers.

While a cetacean stranding is always a very sad event, much of what we know about this species has been learnt by necropsies like this performed by Dr Hofmeyer, and it was an incredible opportunity for our staff, students and interns to learn alongside experts in the field. We are proud to be part of the Plett Stranding Network, and commend the authorities and experts for their brilliant approach to this incidence, and the wonderful way they enables students, interns, volunteers and members of the public to learn while they worked.

With Mark Brown Chanel Gemae Visser Discover Eden ORCA Foundation Plett Whale Heritage Area Plett Hope Spot

09/07/2025

A big thanks to the team at for a last trip to sea for the Marine Biology course students today - always awesome to see the Cape Fur seals frolicking around the boat!

Our Big 5 Conservation group spent the day learning all about responsible animal rehabilitation as a valuable conservati...
09/07/2025

Our Big 5 Conservation group spent the day learning all about responsible animal rehabilitation as a valuable conservation tool from the team at - they learnt a lot and managed to see some great animals up close and personal! They ended the day at the vulture restaurant seeing if they could spot some tagged birds from successful releases.

Our Marine Biology Group capped off a great day with a Coastal Conservation session with Mark and the Conserve Eden int...
08/07/2025

Our Marine Biology Group capped off a great day with a Coastal Conservation session with Mark and the Conserve Eden interns .michalopoulou and ._ - learning about managing coastal biodiversity in urban areas in a positive inclusive way. An added bonus was seeing the first two white-fronted plover chicks of the season being ringed!

Our Big 5 Conservation Group had a great day completing a reptile husbandry course at the fabulous today!
08/07/2025

Our Big 5 Conservation Group had a great day completing a reptile husbandry course at the fabulous today!

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