Category: Protect wildlife: Rangers and Wildlife Guardians

1. Amazing fundraiser at the David Shepherd Wildlife Foundation's Virtual Wildlife Ball

   Posted on 10:00am Saturday 14th Nov 2020

   Charities are having to move online for a lot of fundraising now, and the David Shepherd Wildlife Foundation (DSWF) is no exception. The Foundation fights wildlife crime, protects species and engages local communities in conservation in Africa and Asia.  It works with conservation partners and you can see a list of them here. They have just held a Virtual Wildlife Ball and wow, was it a success! Their aim was to raise £50,000 – but supporters really rallied, dug deep and showed their true support for the Foundation.  The event raised a staggering £80,000! People tuned in from all over the world and the event lasted an hour.  It raised nearly £50,000 before it even started! Elephants, tigers, rhinos, pangolins, chimpanzees, lions, painted dogs and snow leopards. Amongst the stars involved in the event, is an inspirational 9 year old raising money for pangolin, to a soprano and there’s also a visit to the Elephant Orphanage.   There’s nothing like going to bed knowing you have done something really good today and made a difference. The event was held to celebrate wildlife and to raise funds to support conservation across Africa and Asia.  The bit about with the elephant orphanage starts at 28 minutes if you're short of time. It's not enough to care - we need to ACT Climate change and the biodiversity crises has been forgotten in the times of the coronavirus and charities are suffering particularly badly.  The more we can all do to help, the better off our wildlife will be. The key things for us all to do are to spread the word that there are good things happening and that we can all make a difference to wildlife. We can turn this around if we all pull together and help nature. Visit the DSWF's website here Donate to the DSWF here You can also adopt an animal here as a gift and buy wildlife art as a gift here. And of course you can spread the word on social media!  @dswfwildlife on Twitter @DSWFWildlife on Facebook

    

    

2. Protecting marine sanctuaries on the island of Siquijor in the Philippines

   Posted on 5:00pm Saturday 3rd Oct 2020

   There are some amazing people doing great things for nature and conservation.   On the island of Siquijor in the central Philippines, Women have got together to protect marine sanctuaries from poachers and illegal fishers, even though they only have paddles and kayaks.   They are prepared to risk their lives to protect there are. The waters are full of rich coral reefs and fish diversity – but they are being impacted by both illegal fishing which has impacted on the coral reefs and reduced fish diversity and its abundance, and climate change. This video tells the story of the women.  One woman has been shot at – but she is determined and her efforts resulted in the arrest of the person shooting at her. Watch and be inspired… The video was supported with a grant from the Earth Journalism Network. Source:  Mongabay.com

    

3. Help the Lion Guards at the Namibia Lion Trust on #WorldLionDay

   Posted on 10:00am Sunday 9th Aug 2020

   Namibia Lion Trust is working to protect the large carnivores of Namibia. It believes in conservation through education, aiming to create a peaceful existence between wildlife (especially the large carnivores) and local communities    The Namibia Lion Trust has been through a bit of a journey itself.  It was launched in 2020, having been AfriCatNorth. AfriCat North was primarily the AfriCat Foundation field base for lion research, human-wildlife conflict mitigation and community support.  The Trust’s slogan is For Lions, For Life and For Our Future, and it’s dedicated to lions.  It’s Reg #T298/2019.    For Lions – For Life – For Our Future The Namibia Lion Trust has three programmes: Livestock Protection – creating “bomas”, i.e. enclosures to keep large predators out and livestock safe inside Early Warning and Rapid Response – Lion Guards elected by their own community to help mitigate the lion-human conflict.  They identify hot spots, support with the erectionof bomas, install LionLights, patrol to protect wildlife and encourage greater tolerance of conflict with wildlife.  They also share information about the whereabouts of wildlife with the research team conservancy committees and their communities. Fence Boundary Programme in a human-wildlife conflict hot-spot area.  It’s cattle proof but has fallen into disrepair – it was put up in the 1960s and needs to be reconstructed. Donate to the Lion Guard programme (that link will take you to Virgin Money Giving’s site) You or your company could also sponsor a community school, the Education Programme, a Livestock Protection Boma, Tracking Equipment, a research vehicle or essential salaries.

    

4. On World Lion Day 2020...African Parks works to protect lions

   Posted on 5:00pm Friday 7th Aug 2020

   World Lion Day 2020 is on 10 August 2020! 100 years ago, 200,000 lions lived across the African continent. Today, we are in the sorry position where less than 20,000 remain.  They have been extirpated form 26 countries, owing to habitat loss, conflict with people and poaching. Conservation organisation African Parks rehabiliates and manages 18 national parks and protected areas in 11 countries, covering an enormous 14.1 million hectares, in partnership with governments and local communities.   Lion Conservation with African Parks African Parks is creating safe havens for lions, increasing their range and bringing them back to places where they haven't existed for decades. They have been undertaking monitoring and research and mitigating human-lion conflict.    For lions are found in 8 of the parks they manage.   Creating Safe Havens to Stop Lion Poaching.  Protecting wildlife from poaching and other illegal activities is vital in the parks the organisation manages.  It fenced Liwonde National Park, hired and trained a bigger and better equipped ranger unit and used technoloy to monitor wildlife and defeat poaching.  It works to remove snares, and prevent wildlife-human conflict. Investing in Education and Local Communities - African Parks employs locals and invests in education, and it attracts tourists.  It knows that creating a relationship between people and lions is really important.  Reintroducing Lions to Historic Habitats - They were reintroduced to Akagera, Majete, and Liwonde after poachers had eliminated them from these areas.  The park is assessed first to see how viable it is to bring key species back.  Find out more about their work with lions here. Donate to African Parks direct here or.... you could buy a print for wildlife! Prints For Wildlife But the coronavirus is having a huge and devastating impact on conservation efforts across Africa, as tourism has collapsed and philanthropic giving has dropped. A group of over 60 acclaimed wildlife photographers from around the world have got together to create a fundraising campaign to help protect critical ecosystems and local communities.  It's called Prints for Wildlife.   There are some simply incredible pictures there - do take a look and spread the word.  So far, $300,000 have been raised. Prints for Wildlife runs from 26 July to 26 August 2020. All the funds collected via the print sale go directly to conservation non-profit African Parks.   Buying a print would be a great way to help wildlife, including lions!

    

    

5. An appeal from Avaaz: Stop the Poaching Pandemic!

   Posted on 9:00pm Sunday 2nd Aug 2020

   While the human race is battling against  the coronavirus with 213 countries affected, wildlife are far from immune from it either. Elephants, rhinos, pangolins and gorillas all needed wildlife rangers to protect them.   Wildlife conservation groups are faced with the challenge of continuing to protect wildlife and fight poaching whilst budgets are cut and the income wildlife tourism brings to help is virtually non-existent as there are no tourists. Enter Avaaz, a 60 million person global campaign network, with petitions to change the world and appeals to make a difference to those who need it. And they have an appeal right now. An army of 40,000 rangers once protected elephants, rhinos, pangolins and gorillas – and these are in danger of losing their jobs, leaving wildlife at the mercy of poachers and criminal gangs and syndicates.    A team of undercover investigators are working round the clock to rack and prosecute poaching rings in 9 African countries and they are jailing thousands. Their funding is on the rocks.  Wildlife need us to give them our support, however much that is. This is a chance to help vulnerable wildlife.  We can help lock up more criminals, expose international trafficking networks and accelerate global campaigns to protect nature and save vulnerable species. Please donate what you can now.   If we all donated the cost of a coffee, that would make a big difference.  Avaaz has funded these defenders before from the group EAGLE.  Recently they infiltrated a big illegal trafficking ring.  They uncovered nearly 2 tons of pangolin scales, exposing the kingpins and crippling an international network of criminals.  Crucially, they ensure those who are jailed don’t bribe their way out. Let's stop this Poaching Pandemic image copyright to Avaaz If we all chip in, we could (and I quote from Avaaz): Train and sustain many undercover reporters to crack open some of the world’s most wanted wildlife trafficking networks Scale up the number of anti-poaching investigations in 9 countries Arrest hundreds of wildlife traffickers Expose complicit officials and politicians who enable the trade Push to prosecute corporate and government agents who profit from wildlife trafficking Power hard-hitting Avaaz campaigns to protect the natural world and preserve the delicate web of life LET'S STOP THE POACHING PANDEMIC