African Honeyguides

Research on a remarkable
human-animal relationship

Wiro-Bless Kamboe

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Wiro-Bless Kamboe

Biography

I was born and bred in Navrongo, in the northern part of Ghana, where our livelihoods depend on nature. This allowed me to develop a strong connection to nature at an early age. As children, we enjoyed going on adventures where we hunted birds and small animals. However, every time I came across an injured animal, I felt an overwhelming sense of sorrow and compassion. It was during these experiences I realized my passion for animal welfare and conservation.

As part of my BSc dissertation at BSc at the Department of Biodiversity Conservation and Management of the University for Development Studies in Ghana, I conducted research on bird trade in Navrongo and its surroundings. After graduation, I continued to work with my department at the University, focusing on research and teaching. Through Jessica van der Wal, I conducted pilot studies in Ghana on honey-hunting with honeyguides. I was fascinated by the idea of the mutualistic relationship between humans and honeyguides, which motivated me to gain further knowledge on this topic in Ghana. In 2023, I began my MSc studies in Conservation Biology at the FitzPatrick Institute of African Ornithology at the University of Cape Town.

Research focus

My objective is to investigate and understand the existing honey-hunting societies in Ghana and the impact of beekeeping on them. Specifically, I will examine the prevalence of honey-hunters who utilize honeyguides versus those who do not, and the extent to which honeyguides contribute to their success in identifying beehives in natural habitats.
 

 

Publications:

  • van der Wal, J.E.M., Afan, A.I., Anyawire, M., Begg, C.M., Begg, K.S., Dabo, G.A., Gedi, I.I., Harris, J.A., Isack, H.A., Ibrahim, J.I., Jamie, G.A., Kamboe, W.-B.W., Kilawi, A.O., Kingston, A., Laltaika, E.A., Lloyd-Jones, D.J., M’manga, G.M., Muhammad, N.Z., Ngcamphalala, C.A., Nhlabatsi, S.O., Oleleteyo, T.T., Sanda, M., Tsamkxao, L., Wood, B.M., Spottiswoode, C.N., Cram, D.L. 2023 Do honey badgers and greater honeyguide birds cooperate to access bees’ nests? Ecological evidence and honey-hunter accounts. Journal of Zoology 321: 22-32 https://doi.org/10.1111/jzo.13093  Read abstract in English and Kiswahili here
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News

Tragic attacks in the Niassa Special Reserve, Mozambique

May 7, 2025

On 29 April 2025, armed insurgents attacked the Mariri Environmental Centre in Mozambique’s Niassa Special Reserve, resulting in the tragic loss of two anti-poaching scouts, Domingos Daude and Fernando Paolo Wirsone (please see 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 are at the heart of our work on human-honeyguide cooperation, made possible by the knowledge and partnership of the Mbamba honey-hunting community. 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.

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New paper on honeyguides guiding to snakes (and a mammal) rather than to bees

Apr 27, 2025

In a new study from the Honeyguide Research Project, we are excited to present evidence that honeyguides occasionally guide humans to non-bee animals. Our research – which builds on centuries of reports by a wide variety of human cultures across Africa – shows how the behaviour of honeyguides when guiding humans to wild bees’ nests, is spatially and acoustically similar to when honeyguides guide humans to other kinds of animal. In Niassa Special Reserve, where this research was conducted, we find this to be a rare behaviour (occurring on around 1% of honey-hunting interactions). We suggest that the most likely explanation for such behaviour is not as punishment for not previously rewarding the birds with beeswax, nor as a form of altruistic warning behaviour, but rather, due to cognitive mistakes in the birds’ spatial recall.

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Lailat and Jessica on fieldwork at Niassa

Feb 7, 2025

Lailat Guta and Jessica van der Wal returned to the Niassa Special Reserve, to visit our long-term collaborators in the Mbamba honey-hunting community and at Mariri Environmental Centre. As part of Lailat’s MSc research on the relationship between honey-hunting and the broader ecosystem, Lailat and Jessica are conducting interviews with honey-hunters and other knowledgeable individuals to document the economic and cultural values of trees and crops, and their dependence on bees.

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