Kalahari Diaries
Greetings! I'm Val from the expansive Kalahari Desert in Botswana. For over a decade, I've dedicated myself to conservation and tourism. Among my most cherished experiences is raising Sirga, a lioness I rescued as a mere ten-day-old cub. Through our countless journeys together, she's mastered the art of hunting, and today, we wander freely across the vast stretches of the Kalahari we proudly call home. Join me in this podcast series as I bring the captivating tales of the African bush directly to you!
- Update frequency
- every 50 days
- Average duration
- 49 minutes
- Episodes
- 16
- Years Active
- 2020 - 2023
Is Sirga a free lioness?
Hello Everyone!
We're thrilled to announce that our podcast the "Kalahari Diaries" is making a comeback after a break of over a year. Due to various commitments and priorities, the podcast took a bac…
Can Carbon Offset Save the Kalahari?
Sorry for the long break, we are finally back in track with the Kalahari Diaries!
In this episode I talk to the three Co-founders of the Gazelle, an award-winning team behi…
Walking with Sirga
Sirga and I have been roaming the Kalahari since she was a small cub. Now, ten years later, she's a grown lioness. In this episode, I'll take you wi…
Talking Bushfires with Dr. Thoralf Meyer
We recently had some of the worst bushfires in my time here in Botswana. Millions of hectars of Kalahari burnt down in the last months. Although we we…
Q&A Session
Today I am answering your questions. Recently I asked our followers on social media and our patrons on patreon.com to send in their questions concerning Sirga, my life or any…
The art of tracking
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Tracking wild animals in the bush is a skillset that I have been tr…
Trophy Hunting - conservation or immoral practice?
We all know the shocking images of smiling trophy hunters posing with dead African wildlife. The images spark outrages all over the world on a regular basis. The solution to this …
How to manage a wildlife area
Our 75km2 area is dwarfed by the neighboring Kalahari Transfrontier Park, it's a tiny speck of land that we call home. From a different perspective it's breathtakingly h…
How I became a bush pilot
Hey friends, we had a little bit of winter break. Nevertheless, let's kick off 2021 with a brand-new episode. This time I am telling the story of how I became a bush pilot. We're starting way back in…
Moving a lioness across Botswana
Today, I am telling the story of how we moved Sirga 850km across the country to her new reserve. It was a major challenge, dotted with all kinds of setbacks along the way. M…
Rain dictates life
Links to mentioned resources: How Wolves changes rivers https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ysa5OBhXz-Q&ab_channel=SustainableHuman
Trophic cascade https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/…
Lockdown in the Kalahari
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How africa’s second largest wildebeest migration disappeared
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How raising a lion cub has changed my life forever
Thank you for listening to this episode of the Kalahari Diaries. Did you enjoy this Podcast? Great! You can help me tremendously by subscribing and rating…
Does petting a lion help African wildlife?
Thank you for listening to this episode of the Kalahari Diaries. Did you enjoy this Podcast? Great! You can help me tremendously by subscrib…
How I Changed My World to Dedicate my Life to Conservation
Thank you for listening to this episode of the Kalahari Diaries. Did you enjoy this Podcast? Great! You can help me tremendously by subscribing and rating the Podcast in your favori…