Interview: Africa through my lens – revisiting stories of wildlife, fieldwork, and photography

In March 2026, Andrei Mihalca, our founder & director, was featured in an interview published by Zile și Nopți, following his participation in the 11th edition of Cozerie cu Ruxandra, where the conversation focused on Africa, wildlife photography, field experience, and the many ways in which veterinary parasitology shapes how we look at nature.

The interview explored Andrei Mihalca's long-standing connection with sub-Saharan Africa, built over more than two decades of work in countries such as Kenya, Uganda, Tanzania, the Central African Republic, Zimbabwe, Botswana, Namibia, and South Africa. It also highlighted the relationship between his work as a veterinarian and parasitologist and his parallel interest in wildlife photography, a perspective that often allows the same landscape or animal encounter to be understood in a more complex and meaningful way.

A central part of the discussion was dedicated to the way photography and writing complement each other. The interview also touched on his photo album Africa and his 2024 book Purici, nomazi și supă de șobolan. Povestiri din Africa ecuatorială, and on how images and words capture different layers of the same lived experience. Some things can be shown in a photograph with immediate force; others require memory, reflection, and narrative.

The interview also revisited intense moments from the field, including wildlife encounters in Zimbabwe, and reflected on why Africa continues to remain, for Andrei Mihalca, a place of both scientific fascination and personal depth. We are grateful for opportunities to bring these conversations into a wider public space, beyond strictly academic settings, and to share not only research, but also the wonder, risk, beauty, and human side of field science.