Yes! And I assume also some selectivity by discipline

What a ridiculously un-nuanced statement from a former colonial power. Do you know, for example, that King Shaka created a protected area at Hluhluwe-Imfolosi *before* British colonisation? Do your homework on South Africa's Biodiversity Economy and then take a long look in the mirror.

But you work where you live, right? If you were still in RSA you wouldn’t be doing projects on the US NE coast, or only tangentially as a collaborator.

I think there’s also a strong element of colonialism, and colonial legacy. Also resources of course. But hypothetically even if I had loads of funding, Americans would find it strange if I showed up in LA to work on urban cougars, or in Minnesota to catch and track ducks.