Young Honey-Hunters in Eswatini Keep Ancient Bird Partnership Alive
Affiliate Disclosure
Hey fellow impactful ninja ?
You may have noticed that Impactful Ninja is all about providing helpful information to make a positive impact on the world and society. And that we love to link back to where we found all the information for each of our posts.
Most of these links are informational-based for you to check out their primary sources with one click.
But some of these links are so-called "affiliate links" to products that we recommend.
Why do we add these product links?
First and foremost, because we believe that they add value to you. For example, when we wrote a post about the environmental impact of long showers, we came across an EPA recommendation to use WaterSense showerheads. So we linked to where you can find them. Or, for many of our posts, we also link to our favorite books on that topic so that you can get a much more holistic overview than one single blog post could provide.
And when there is an affiliate program for these products, we sign up for it. For example, as Amazon Associates, we earn from qualifying purchases.
What do these affiliate links mean for you?
First, and most importantly, we still only recommend products that we believe add value for you.
When you buy something through one of our affiliate links, we may earn a small commission - but at no additional costs to you.
And when you buy something through a link that is not an affiliate link, we won’t receive any commission but we’ll still be happy to have helped you.
What do these affiliate links mean for us?
When we find products that we believe add value to you and the seller has an affiliate program, we sign up for it.
When you buy something through one of our affiliate links, we may earn a small commission (at no extra costs to you).
And at this point in time, all money is reinvested in sharing the most helpful content with you. This includes all operating costs for running this site and the content creation itself.
What does this mean for me personally?
You may have noticed by the way Impactful Ninja is operated that money is not the driving factor behind it. It is a passion project of mine and I love to share helpful information with you to make a positive impact on the world and society. However, it's a project in that I invest a lot of time and also quite some money.
Eventually, my dream is to one day turn this passion project into my full-time job and provide even more helpful information. But that's still a long time to go.
Stay impactful,
At Impactful Ninja, we curate positive and impactful news for you. Follow us on Google News or sign up for our free newsletter to get these delivered straight to your inbox—just like our expert roundup below!
📰 The quick summary: Young honey-hunters in Eswatini continue the rare tradition of partnering with wild honeyguide birds to locate bees’ nests, preserving an ancient human-wildlife cooperation that benefits both species.
📈 One key stat: Only eight of 80 interviewed honey-hunters sold honey for income, showing the practice persists primarily for cultural rather than economic reasons.
💬 One key quote: “It’s more of a pastime that young boys do while they’re out herding cattle, so most of the time the information transfer, as opposed to it being vertical from adults to children, in Eswatini, it is mostly horizontal, shared between young boys while they’re out there having fun.”
1️⃣ The big picture: In Eswatini, young people maintain a remarkable cooperative relationship with wild honeyguide birds to locate and harvest honey from wild bees’ nests. A recent study interviewed 80 honey-hunters and found that this practice remains widespread, involving specific steps from summoning the birds with whistles to rewarding them with beeswax. Unlike other regions where this practice has vanished, Eswatini’s honey-hunting tradition thrives through both vertical knowledge transfer from elders and horizontal sharing among youth. The recreational nature of honey-hunting sets Swati practitioners apart from other communities where it primarily serves economic purposes.
2️⃣ Why is this good news: The endurance of this mutualistic relationship between humans and honeyguide birds preserves an ancient ecological partnership that benefits both species. Knowledge transmission happens through multiple pathways—both from elders to youth and among peers—creating resilience in the tradition. Young hunters adapt traditional practices to modern contexts, such as using plastic deodorant balls to mimic traditional whistling tools when seasonal fruits aren’t available. The practice continues regardless of economic incentives, showing its deep cultural importance. This cultural persistence demonstrates how traditional ecological knowledge can survive rapid social changes when embedded in recreation and daily activities.
3️⃣ What’s next: Researchers plan to compare Eswatini’s honey-hunting traditions with similar practices in other African regions like northern Ghana. Conservation efforts might focus on maintaining young people’s engagement with this cultural practice. Scientists hope to further study how this human-wildlife cooperation adapts to environmental changes.
Read the full story here: Mongabay – Eswatini’s young honey-hunters sustain a rare bond with wild birds
