Prince William walks nature trails near South Africas Table Mountain to promote conservation

Prince William went on an early-morning nature walk near South Africa’s Table Mountain on Tuesday to promote the work of conservation rangers in a unique urban national park.The Prince of Wales and heir to the British throne met with some of the rangers who guard the Table Mountain National Park, an 85-square-mile area that overlooks Cape Town and spills into the city’s suburbs in some areas.William didn’t go to the top of the famous flat-topped mountain, instead strolling through nature trails on Signal Hill, a foothill that sits by the ocean’s edge.The prince was accompanied on the walk by Megan Taplin, the park manager, and Robert Irwin, an Australian conservationist and the son of the late Steve Irwin, who was known as “The Crocodile Hunter.” William met with rangers, park firefighters and members of a K-9 dog unit.“He got to learn about what they do on a daily basis and what challenges they face,” Taplin said.“We also spoke a lot about ranger wellness and how that’s really important that rangers are supported, that their families are supported, because they are doing quite dangerous work and difficult work.”William is in South Africa to promote his annual Earthshot Prize, which awards $1.2 million in grants to five entrepreneurs or organizations for innovative ideas that help the environment and combat climate change.

William set up the Earthshot Prize in 2020 through his Royal Foundation and the awards ceremony will be held in Cape Town — the first time it’s been in Africa — on Wednesday night.The prince’s four-day visit is a kind of environmental roadshow and is heavily focused on climate and conservation, though he did break away from those issues on his first day in Cape Town on Monday to attend a rugby practice at a local high school and play a little of South Africa’s favorite sport with some of the kids.William also met with South African President Cyril Ramaphosa at the president’s Cape Town residence on Tuesda...