UPDATE: Tragic attacks on Niassa Special Reserve, Mozambique - May 2025

On 29 April 2025, Mariri Environmental Centre in the Niassa Special Reserve, Mozambique, was attacked by armed insurgents, resulting in the tragic loss of at least two anti-poaching scouts, Domingos Daude and Fernando Paolo Wirsone (please see this statement from the Niassa Carnivore Project). This followed a prior tragic attack at Kambako Safari camp on 19 April.
 
Mariri and the nearby village of Mbamba hold deep significance for the FitzPatrick Institute as the field base of our long-standing research on human–honeyguide cooperation, led by Professor Claire Spottiswoode and colleagues, including the honey-hunters of Mbamba (Africanhoneyguides.com).
 
We grieve alongside the people of Mariri, Mbamba, and the wider Niassa community, and stand in solidarity with the enduring spirit of conservation and unity.

Update, 19 June: The insurgents have been expelled from Niassa and our friends and collaborators have been able to return to Mariri Environmental Centre and Mbamba village. Please see the Niassa Lion Project page for updates: https://www.facebook.com/niassalionproject. We send strength and support to all at Mariri and Mbamba as Niassa recovers from this terrible time.

Further context: This National Geographic article places the recent attacks in context and shows images of Niassa’s landscape and people. (Note that you have to enter an email address and sign up for their newsletter in order to read it.)