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1. Durrell needs help with Himalayas appeal for pygmy hogs in India

   Posted on 9:00pm Sunday 25th Aug 2019

   The Durrell Wildlife Conservation Trust (founded by Gerald Durrell) have an appeal at the moment. Once, the southern foothills of the Himalayas were covered with lush grasslands.  These grasslands were homes to animals such as elephants, rhinos and tigers. Today, thanks to human activity, there’s less than 10% of the original grassland left. And there are less than 250 pygmy hogs left in the wild.  They rely on this ecosystem – and unless action is taken fast, the grasslands will vanish.  Their home will be gone forever. Pygmy hogs and other native wildlife can only thrive if these grasslands recover. And that’s where Durrell and you & I come in. To protect and restore the grasslands in and around the Manas National Park, Durrell need a 4WD vehicle.   They need to monitor wildlife and understand the threats that this ecosystem faces.  And they need to reach communities and reach important sites across 3 protected areas of grasslands – ensuring that the reintroductions of pygmy hogs goes successfully. There are all sorts of ways your donation can help.  Donate and you can help save the wildlife and communities who rely on the grasslands. Pygmy hogs are depending on you and I to help them.  I have made a donation – will you? Donate here and help Durrell rewild India's grasslands

    

2. Rare Wildlife and Plants are Blooming in Welsh Meadows

   Posted on 9:00pm Tuesday 16th Jul 2019

   Thanks to a conservation scheme, rare wildlife and plants are coming back to meadows in Wales! Since the 1930s, meadows have been vanishing from the landscape there.  In fact, 97% of wildflower meadows were lost due to heavy fertiliser use and early hay crops – which also meant that 63% of butterflies disappeared as well. However, the National Trust Wales have been working hard to reverse this disappearance. Last year, the charity created 40 acres of new meadows across the country.   They care for 582.2 acres of meadow.  And good news!   Amongst them was Chirk Castle, where 6 hectares of herb rich meadows were re-established. Wildlife flowers such as the yellow rattle – not seen since World War Two – have been sighted in Chirk, in North Wales.  There’s been a 50% increase in yellow rattle and eyebright plants! Chirk Castle in Wales The idea is to form a basic habitat.   The Trust have already noticed an increase in the numbers of insects and small mammals in the grass on the ground;  and kestrels in the skies above them, hunting them.   Green-winged orchids are also blossoming at Bodnant Garden near Colwyn Bay. Farmers are also benefitting.  Allowing their hay crops to grow wild for longer before they cut them means that they get more minerals and fibre.  A win-win, all round then!

3. Water flow lessens animal-human conflict in Liwonde National Park, Malawi

   Posted on 9:00pm Friday 21st Jun 2019

   Water flow lessens animal-human conflict in Liwonde National Park, Malawi We all need water, humans and animals. So what happens when there is competition between humans and animals for water? Liwonde National Park in Malawi is home to over 10,000 different species.   Black rhinos, elephants, zebras and baboons are among them – the place is a biodiversity hotspot. The Shire River passes through the area, and is a vital life source for all the animals there. Years of poaching, illegal fishing and snaring have devastated the park’s ecosystem.  Competition for resources has rocketed; as well as the animals, people need water to survive.  The people of Chikolongo had to go miles to retrieve water from the Shire River – it was the only major source of water available.  In their trek, the journey often led to death for people and animals – especially as a result of human encounters with crocodiles, elephants and hippos. The IFAW (that’s the International Fund for Animal Welfare) heard about the crisis in Chikolongo and knew they had to help. So in 2013, they created the Chikolongo Livelihood Project – designed to build sustainable solutions to reduce the conflict between villages and wildlife. They completed a water pump and pipeline to bring easily accessible and clean water directly into the heart of the Chikolongo community. Since that pipeline was created, there have been no incidents of human-wildlife conflict.  The villages have what they need to co-exist amongst the animals they had thought were dangerous.  They are happier. Plus, IFAW established a community fish farm and developed an incentive system to encourage the growth of commercial crops which was designed to help reduce poaching.  And the animals of Liwonde National Park are successfully recovering. Find out more about the initiative here

4. New partnership to curb elephant poaching in Kenya

   Posted on 8:00pm Wednesday 20th Feb 2019

   The International Fund for Animal Welfare (IFAW) has partnered with the TUI Care Foundation to prevent the poaching of elephants and stop human-elephant conflict in the Tsavo conservation area in Kenya. TenBoma is IFAW’s innovative wildlife security initiative.  It means that government and community rangers are trained to better predict and respond to threats and protect the animals and local communities. In short, the tenBoma approach combines tradition – taking traditional knowledge from communities – with modernity – incorporating this knowledge into modern methods and technology. The support from the TUI Care Foundation has enabled IFAW to provide urgently needed equipment to community rangers.  This equipment includes items such as mobile devices, cameras and boots.  These items enable the rangers to gather information on potential threats to wildlife and people. Technology, systematic data processing systems and intelligence will enable the two organisations to implement the initiative. Rangers have communications and mobility equipment such as GPS, smartphones and radios so that they can respond more quickly and effectively to intercept poachers.   These also enable the rangers to get to areas where elephants are raiding crops and so coming into conflict with people. The Tsavo Conservation Area is one of Kenya's most visited tourism destinations.  IFAW say about 12,850 elephants live there, and amongst them are at least 11 of the world’s remaining big tuskers.  They are all facing a threat from poachers who want their ivory and from human-elephant conflict. Find out more

    

5. Durrell has a film called Conservation Works

   Posted on 5:00pm Saturday 2nd Feb 2019

   The Durrell Wildlife Conservation Trust has moved into 2019 looking forward to its 60th anniversary....It was founded back in 1959 by author and naturalist Gerald Durrell.  The charity is committed to saving some of the most vulnerable animals on the planet from extinction. For instance, a duck thought to be extinct for 15 years has been brought back from the brink and given a new home on a remote lake in Madagascar. The Jersey based charity has a video called Conservation Works, narrated by Alexander Armstrong and here it is from You Tube: Durrell's approach: The charity runs 50 projects in 18 countries, focusing on islands.    The role of the zoo in Jersey and overseas is conservation, managing breeding programmes for release back into the wild. It has 25 years of conservation training and runs courses for conservationists.  And it uses science to help idenfity priorities, design conservation policy and practice and animal husbandry and to evaluate the impact of its work.  In the last 30 years, Durrell has helped move 14 target species in danger of extinction away from the edge.  As a Jersey girl, I'm very proud of Durrell and the work it does, and wish everyone there and associated with it a very Happy 60th Anniversary!   Keep up the wonderful work :-)