The Guardian

On the trail with the hunters who believe shooting big game can save Africa’s wildlife

Cal Flyn — Tue, 21 Apr 2026 04:00:14 GMT

One way to pay for wildlife conservation is to allow the rich to bag a few animals for high prices. But critics see this approach as an exercise in neocolonialism

You can kill almost anything if you’re willing to pay. Big or small. Land, water or air. Ten a penny or one of the last of its kind. There’s nearly always a way, though it might not make you popular. The Niassa special reserve, a vast reservation larger than Switzerland, stretches for 190 miles along the northern rim of Mozambique, taking in 4.2m hectares of woodland and rivers. The reserve, one of the world’s largest protected areas, is home to elephants, leopards, hyenas, zebras and about 1,000 wild lions.

That word, however: protected. It applies to some, but not all, of its animal inhabitants. Each year, a specific number are set aside for sacrifice, for the greater good. Not long ago, I joined an expedition in Niassa, with one of Africa’s top game-hunting companies.

The Guardian

On the trail with the hunters who believe shooting big game can save Africa’s wildlife

Why is the Maga project teetering? Because not even Trump supporters voted for this dysfunction | Moira Donegan

Ghost Stories by Siri Hustvedt review – life after Paul Auster

AI job scams are booming – and I was fooled by one. Here is how to avoid them

‘I’m not the boss’: Lando Norris is articulate, open and intelligent – when he’s allowed to be

Picasso’s Guernica is the ultimate emblem of the horrors of war. It has no place in Spain's partisan squabbles | María Ramírez

Middle East crisis live: Iran claims it has ‘new cards for battlefield’, and weighs talks in Pakistan

Israeli soldiers using sexual assault to force Palestinians out of West Bank, report says

Trump’s Federal Reserve chair pick to face lawmakers at key confirmation hearing – US politics live

Trump labor secretary Lori Chavez-DeRemer resigns amid misconduct investigation

Palantir manifesto described as ‘ramblings of a supervillain’ amid UK contract fears

Minnesota boy fighting for life after rescuing younger brother from creek

Canadian woman killed after gunman opens fire at Mexico’s Teotihuacán pyramids

Fitness influencer drowns during swimming portion of Ironman Texas

The Onion plans to lease Alex Jones’s Infowars after judge blocks purchase

Kash Patel sues the Atlantic over article alleging excessive drinking

Trump news at a glance: another Trump cabinet member out – but not Kash Patel

Trump administration begins refunding more than $166bn in tariffs

What’s next in the Jeffrey Epstein saga? Trump’s justice department sends mixed messages

Another victim of Cesar Chavez breaks their silence: ​​‘My body remembers’

We asked what repairing the harm of enslavement would look like. This is what we found

‘They come right past the house’: learning to live with rhinos as numbers soar in Nepal

‘Will they kill us too?’ Murder of leading feminist has chilling effect on Iraq’s activists

Tory Lanez sues California officials for $100m over prison stabbing

‘Beloved daughter, sister, cousin, friend’: will D4vd’s arrest for murder bring justice for Celeste Rivas Hernandez?

How a fiery attack on Sam Altman’s home unfolded

Two US army soldiers injured by brown bear during training exercise in Alaska

See You on the Other Side by Jay McInerney review – the clumsy finale of a classic New York series

Why are respected film-makers suddenly embracing AI?

Vibrating crotches, anal beads and suspicious minds: the long, strange history of chess cheats | Sean Ingle

‘Muslim kids are really underrepresented’: the animated movie where medieval maths meets eager young minds

Unchosen review – Asa Butterfield’s creepy cult show is a total waste of all this talent

Hope, love and trumpets: young Venezuelans – in pictures

The hill I will die on: Put that bucket list in the bin | Rose Rouse

Trump’s presidency is what evil looks like: absurd, frightening, cruel | Nesrine Malik

How can you tell if your boss has a big ego? Their email habits are a definite tell | Emma Beddington

I have seen how afraid Jews in Britain have become. We need our allies now more than ever | David Davidi-Brown

The Guardian view on the EU and Israel: moving beyond mere exhortation | Editorial

Victor Wembanyama becomes first unanimous NBA defensive player of the year at age of 22

LeBron James is 41. And he’s somehow still carrying his team in the playoffs

FIA confirms F1 rule changes in reaction to driver unhappiness and safety fears

US goalkeeper Jonathan Klinsmann breaks neck playing for Cesena

West Ham earn point at Crystal Palace to relegate Wolves and widen gap to Spurs

Arsenal are despondent, but the Premier League race is far from over | Jonathan Wilson

Liam Rosenior admits ‘I need results now’ as pressure mounts at Chelsea

John Korir breaks Boston Marathon course record as Kenyans retain titles

Tim Cook to step down as Apple chief as John Ternus named replacement

EU optimistic over approval of €90bn loan for Ukraine following Orbán defeat – Europe live

Federal agents detain wife of another US army member: ‘ICE is out of control’

Embattled New Zealand prime minister survives leadership vote and blames media for ‘soap opera’

Music executive behind K-pop group BTS faces arrest in South Korea

Pennsylvania court strikes down ban on use of Medicaid funds for abortions

Almost half of EU’s busiest flight routes are ‘hard or impossible’ to book on trains – report

Cattle breed whose ancestors lived with Celts added to priority at-risk list

Clean energy generation exceeded rise in global electricity demand in 2025

Trump signs memos to boost US fossil-fuel production for ‘defense readiness’

Climate groups sue US government over approval of new BP project in Gulf of Mexico

Singer D4vd pleads not guilty to murder of 14-year-old girl found in his car

Emails show Amazon colluding with other firms to raise prices, California authorities allege

Louisiana authorities identify eight children killed in ‘domestic incident’

Rebel Wilson labelled ‘nuts’ by PR team she allegedly hired to attack colleague, court hears

King Charles pays tribute to late mother on 100th anniversary of her birth

Starmer orders inquiry into any security concerns over Mandelson’s tenure in US

Gut microbiome can reveal risk of Parkinson’s, scientists say

‘People still remember it 40 years later’: the making of Chuckie Egg

‘The witches are back’: first look at Practical Magic 2 as Sandra Bullock and Nicole Kidman return for spooky sequel

Wardriver review – bank scammer Dane DeHaan goes for the triple cross in venal neo-noir

Scarborn (Kos) review – rumbustuous period epic stirs up trouble in 18th-century Poland

‘It’s about finding light in the dark’: why Harold and Maude is my feelgood movie

‘We did a seance for Beethoven, to see what he thought’: the playful, pioneering life of field-recording maestro Annea Lockwood

Madonna: I Feel So Free review – album teaser offers hypnotic glimpse of a return to her club scene roots

‘I became a New Order groupie’: Tim Burgess’s honest playlist

Olivia Rodrigo: Drop Dead review – a maximalist rush of infatuation that’s just a bauble short of festive

‘Deliciously dark’: how Freida McFadden’s twisty thrillers gripped millions of readers

From Manifesto to Mr Loverman: Bernardine Evaristo’s best books – ranked!

The Illuminated Man by Christopher Priest and Nina Allan review – an unconventional portrait of JG Ballard

Son of Nobody by Yann Martel review – Life of Pi author discovers a long-lost poem from Troy

Clair Obscur and Dispatch share top honours at Bafta games awards

Replaced review – nostalgic cyberpunk tribute has few ideas of its own

Another victim of Cesar Chavez breaks their silence: ‘My body remembers’