The okapi live in the dense jungle of the Democratic Republic of Congo.  

The opaki is under threat

Although it is a respected cultural symbol of the DRC (have had protect status since 1933), the opaki is threatened by human activities: slash-and-burn agriculture, illegal gold mining, logging, encroachment from human settlement and bush-meat poaching.

Enter the Opaki Conservation Project

Enter the Opaki Conservation Project which works to protect the natural habitat of the opaki and indigenous Mbuti who live in the Opaki Wildlife Reserve.  It also looks to promote the species around the world.

The reserve itself is a designated World Heritage Site.  It sits within the Ituri Forest, and it encompasses 13,700 square kilometres. As well as the opaki, it is home to animals such as forest elephants, chimpanzees, 13 species of primates, leopards, bongo antelopes and a huge variety of birds and insects. 

OpakiConservation undertakes wildlife protection, community assistance and conservation education. For instance, it has eco-guards to collect snares, evict miners, pursue and detain poachers, monitor agricultural expansion and biodiversity.  This is all aimed to protect, manage and secure the Opaki Wildlife Reserve  so that future generations can benefit from its vibrant forest ecosystem.

And it provides rations for forest patrols and support, and it helps educate communities so that they are aware of the Reserve's regulations and protects them, too.  The opaki is an important symbol of their national heritage. 

World Opaki Day’s aims

World Opaki Day on 18 October celebrates the opaki – it raises awareness of it as many people have never heard of an opaki.  Lots of zoos who have opakis will be doing something about the day to raise awareness of them, so this could be a good time to visit!   You can find out more about the opaki here. 

And crucially, the opaki acts as a flagship species to protect the forest ecosystem where it resides.   There are activities around the villages in the reserve and they are combined to educate local communities and protect the opaki.

In 2026, World Opaki Day is happening at a time when armed insecurity and the Ebola outbreak are horrendous.  So the Opaki Conservation Project is doing activities in five sites and that reduces everyone's need to travel.   The activities are still dependent on local conditions at the time.  

The theme for World Opaki Day 2026 is:  "Protect Opaki, Protect Forests, Protect Our Future" and the activities will focus on three areas:

Community conservations to bring people together to discuss threats and solutions and commitments to conservation

Opaki on the airwaves - there's a 7 day radio campaign which will help take the Day into areas where travel and gatherings are restricted due to insecurity or Ebola

Youth In Action - students can test their knowledge with interactive presentations, quizzes and discussions.

The idea behind this approach is that it will bring people togethere safely.    And don't forget that many zoos and conservation organisations will be doing events to raise awareness of the opaki and inspire people to act. 

Find out more about World Opaki Day here.

Visit the OpakiConservation's You Tube Channel here

Things we can do on World Okapi Day:

1.  Follow the day on social media and tell people about okapis.  Here are the hashtags and links:

Facebook: @okapiconservationproject

Instagram: @okapiconservation

Twitter: @okapiproject

Hashtags: #WorldOkapiDay #OkapiConservation 

2.   Recycle your own mobile phone.  Did you know that a cell/mobile phones have coltan?  It’s a mineral mined in the DRC forests, so if you recycle your phone it means less mining in the forest.

3.   Put okapi photos on social media, using the hashtags hashtags #OkapiConservation and #WorldOkapiDay

4.  You could also donate to the Okapi Conservation Project – all proceeds go to help protect okapi and its habitat.

5.  Watch okapi videos!   

6.  Read the Annual Report 2025 for Opaki Conservation to show the impact they have had, the challenges they have faced, such as war which escalated dramatically in 2025, and the Ebola epidemic.  Be inspired by the Mothers of the Forest, the MARFO (Mothers and Friends of the Opaki Wildlife Reserve), who discourage the consumption of wild meat from protected species and champion sustainable natural resource use in their communities and homes.   

Protecting wildlife is crucial.   Camera trap monitoring helps track the presence of wilid opaki and help inform protection measures - and ecoguards are vital and are the backbone of day-to-day protection. Anti-poaching education on seasonal hunting and protected species help support this work.

The Mbuti and Efe Indigenous Peoples of the Ituri forest are the Reserve's guardians.  They hold knowledge which goes back over many generations, and helps to shape how the forest is protected.  The project considers with them how they may benefit from the reintroduction of opaki.  For the people here are critical to the future of the opaki;   they collect forage for them and crucially, they guide the relationship their families have with the forest and shape household decisions about the use of resources.   

Much work has been done integrating trees into farmland, thus diversifying production, and restoring forest cover, reducing deforestation and - importantly - generating benefits of a socio-economic nature - for six sites.   618 gardens were established, and theses upported 818 households with better diets, food security and a source of income that wasn't relying on forest resources.  Women dominated involvement in gardening. 

And of course, education is vital to promote conservation.  Radio is the most effective way of reaching the remote landscapes, so the Opaki Conservation Project partners with 8 community stations, producing 80 to 96 broadcasts a quarter.  The broadcasts range from topics such as the ecoguard's profession, and the value of protected species.    

That's where days such as the World Opaki Day really helps with the conservation message, because it can go straight into the hearts and minds of local communities.  Everyone needs to be involved in conservation efforts - it takes whole communities to see and feel the benefits.  In 2025, there were drawing competitions, school activities, a sharing amongst indigenous peoples of songs and dances, there were street processions and discussions about how the opaki could remain part of the natural heritage of the DRC in the future.  World Opaki Day t-shirts and educational stickers helped spread the message that the future of the opaki "is inseparable from the future of its forest home."  Without the forest, there will be no opaki - just as without the right sort of trees, there will be no koalas.

7.  Find out how zoos are helping with opaki conservation:  If you look at the 2025 Annual Report, you will see all the zoos which helped support the Opaki Conservation Project listed on page 22. 

You could also take a look at the Giraffe and Opaki Specialist Group (GOSG) which consists of experts to study giraffe, opaki and the threats these animals face. The group is leading and supporting conservation actions to ensure that giraffe and opaki survive into the future.  The Giraffe Conservation Fund and ZSL (the Zoological Society of London) are co-hosts of the group for giraffe and opaki respectively.  Others involved in working for opaki conservation include the Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS), and Lukuru Foundation who lead the TL2 Project.  The project is seeking to establish a newly protected area - the Lomani National Park - and this area encompasses opaki. 

There are more ideas of how to help here.

Thank you to everyone working to help protect opakis!   

World Ranger Day is on 31st July 

Around the world there are many people who put their lives on the line every day to protect endangered animals and habitats.

The International Ranger Foundation (IRF) is the official body representing rangers around the world.  It was established on 31st July 1992, after a year spent setting up and planning for the establishment and development of the organisation.  The aim now is to drive through this development so that there is a professional body of rangers around the world.  It's based in Australia.  In the UK, take a look at Working for the Wild.  They are a a UK registered charity and they're dedicated "to protecting biodiversity and restoring ecosystems worldwide through grass roots community based conservation and wildlife ranger support".
 

Rangers vs Poachers: The Fight to Save Africa's Elephants
 Guardians, BBC Earth
Please take a look at the other videos about rangers on BBC Earth's You Tube Channel
and see the trailer to the series "Guardians" here.

THANK YOU to rangers, everywhere. 

So the theme for World Ranger Day 2026 is:   

Rangers, Guardians of a Changing Planet

Visit the Thin Green Line Foundation here.

Visit Working for the Wild  (UK) here.

Please support World Ranger Day on social media with hashtags:

• #WorldRangerDay2026
• #WorldRangerDay
• #WildlifeRangers
• #RangersDeserveMore
• #IStandWithRangers
• #IAmARanger
• #Rangers:GuardiansofaChangingPlanet

The International Ranger Federation has a toolkit on online that we can use, sharing with the hashtags above.  There is a lot of information about rangers on their website, so please explore their website.   It works with The Thin Green Line to promote the initiative of World Ranger Day. 

Take a look at the "I am a ranger" video on You Tube here from the IRF
It introduces rangers from different parts of the world.

This video is from the Kenya Wildlife Service

World Ranger Day is a chance for all of us to show our appreciation for the work that wildlife rangers and guardians do and offer our support in whatever way we can and to remember those who have died or been injured doing this vital work and to think of the families they leave behind. 

The Thin Green Line Foundation says that often rangers' families are left behind without any support.  Donations and support give a gift of hope and an urgent lifeline to families left behind.  

And it’s good to know that there is something you can do to help wildlife and locals in their communities at the same time, and we thought we’d do a roundup of charities and organisations working to help in this way.  Sometimes wildlife rangers are called wildlife guardians.

 Celebrating our Rangers 
Kenya Wildlife Conservancies Association

Let us thank the rangers everywhere who are protecting 
wildlife and habitats, and let us thank their families too.

Visit 2026 World Ranger Day's website here.

The Wildlife Ranger Challenge on 19th September 2026

This is a chance to show just how diverse the work rangers do really is!  This 21km half marathon is on 19th September 2026 and it's in its 7th year.  Over 100 ranger teams who span the varied, diverse terrains of the protected areas in Africa, will take part and compete in a 21km race across their respective landscapes.  They will carry the heavy packs that they carry when they are out on patrol.  The event will really raise awreness of why rangers matter, the challenges they face, and to raise funds for frontline conservation efforts.  It also helps unite those taking part across Africa. 

#ForWildlifeRangers

Find out more by watching this short video, and visiting the event's website - please give the event your support! 

African Parks
African Parks have a fundraiser called Back the Ranger, Beat the Snares.   Every snare removed gives wildlife a better chance of survival - $10 covers one snare.  Find out more and please donate here.

Please also visit their It Takes a Ranger page to get an idea of what it is like to be a ranger.   Rangers support, listen, learn, inspire, choose, challenge expectations, conserve and uncover what others cannot see.   Find out more about incredible rangers and their role. 

The Thin Green Line Foundation

The Foundation works with ranger groups, ranger associations and conservation partners in over 60 countries.  They say it’s estimated that over 1,000 park rangers have been killed in the line of duty over the past 10 years. They are dedicated to providing Rangers worldwide with the assistance they deserve and need.  They have a very moving Roll of Honour, with the names of all the rangers who lost their lives between June 2025 and May 2026.  They have a toolkit you can download.  

In the UK, there's Working for the Wild and you can visit their website here.

Other organisations supporting wildlife rangers

Ol Pejeta
Ol Pejeta Conservancy is a 90,000 acre wildlife conservancy in Kenya.  They have 171 rangers who are dedicated to protecting the wildlife there and neighbouring communities.  They also have a K9 unit, whose dogs work hard also to protect wildlife.  You can sponsor a ranger here.

Project Ranger

Project Ranger aims to support those on the front lines of conservation.  It fills vital gaps and supports wildlife monitors, rangers and anti-poaching operations of conservation organisations and NGOs in Africa.  There are plenty of ways to support their work so visit their website to find out more!  If you're an art lover, you could buy some of their amazing art to help raise funds! 

The World Land Trust

The World Land Trust has a Keepers of the Wild initiative.  The rangers are working on the front line of conservation, safeguarding some of the world’s most threatened animals and the crucial habitats in which they live.  They protect reserves from poaching and logging, and importantly, link to local communities, building trust, helping to change attitudes and find practical solutions to problems.  You can support Keepers of the Wild by making a donation. 

Take a look at WLT's video about Jerry,  a ranger with the Trust's partner Environmental Defenders in Uganda. 

David Shepherd Wildlife Foundation

The David Shepherd Wildlife Foundation works to support rangers in both Asia and Africa. You can support wildlife rangers here and help them conserve nature.  Their work includes carrying out anti-poaching and anti-trafficking patrols across national parks, finding and removing wildlife snares and collecting essential data on endangered speices and their habitats.   They also work with communities to raise awareness and mitigate wildlife conflict. 

The Global Conservation Force

This organisation works to save wildlife from extinction through education, anti-poaching and conservation efforts.  It does this by using anti-poaching units, awareness and education and on the ground action, working on wildlife’s problems.  You can adopt a ranger (also there’s a K9 poacher tracking unit) – find out what the options are to adopt a ranger here.

Virunga 

Virunga National Park is located on the eastern edge of the Congo Basin in Africa, and it's home to over 1,000 species of mammal, bird, reptile, and amphibian and a third of the world’s endangered mountain gorillas. It has over 800 male and female rangers, all working hard and putting their lives on the line to protect the park and local communities. There's a canine unit as well.  Find out more

The Gorilla Organisation

The Gorilla Organisation has a supporting rangers scheme in the Democratic Republic of Congo and they act as the eyes, ears and voice of the forest. They cut snaes, save injured gorillas, combat the militias running the blood minerals trade, monitor the gorillas’ health and collect vital conservation data every day.  Find out more here.

Tigers4ever

Tigers4ever have anti-poaching patrols in Bandharvagh, India, to protect tigers.  They equip forest patrols, provide anti-poaching patrols and provide permanent solutions to water scarcity for wildlife.  Find out more here. 

Orangutan Foundation

Become an Orangutan Guardian and help the Orangutan Foundation’s 60 Indonesian staff work on the frontline of conservation in the Lamandau Wildlife Reserve.  Their role is to guard and patrol the forests and rivers, to rescue and monitor the orangutans and to replant and nurture tree saplings.  And crucially, they need to gain the trust and support of local communities.  Become an Orangutan Guardian!

Lewa Wildlife Conservancy

The Lewa Security Team consists of field rangers, radio operators, gatekeepers, baby rhino keepers, anti-poaching rangers and the tracker dog unit.   The Anti-Poaching Rangers and Tracker Dog Unit work day and night to protect wildlife and keep them safe, especially rhinos and elephants.  The tracker dog unit has four dogs and their handlers, the dogs act as efficient trackers, as they can pursue suspects for lengthy distances.

Save the Rhino

Save the Rhino makes sure that ranger teams have the the equipment they need to do their job as safely as possible.  It has expanded canine units across the projects it funds, which in turn helps apprehend criminals.  Find out more from Save the Rhino

Tusk

The charity Tusk give a Wildlife Ranger Award every year to give international recognition to the men and women who face danger every day to protect the wildlife and its ecosystems in Africa.  

Snow Leopard Trust

Back in 2014,  the Snow Leopard Trust and the Kyrgyz government launched the Citizen Ranger Wildlife Protection Programme. It empowers rangers and citizens to step up against poachers.  It also hightens the rangers' profile as defenders of the natural heritage and creates a public forum for discussion. If you're a lover of snow leopards, the Snow Leopard Trust has a fundraiser for World Ranger Day 2026.  At the time of writing, they have hit their target but all additional donations will help rangers strengthen their ability to fight illegal wildlife trade.  Find out more here.

There are also rangers in other countries such as Australia and America and the UK, working for organisations such as national parks and they are also essential to protecting the environment and keeping wildlife safe.

And a very big thank you to each and every wildlife ranger working to care for and protect our wildlife and their habitats.  And thank you to their families too.  

Please everyone show you support them too.  

The WWF Malaysia report that sadly there are only about 150 Malayan tigers left in Malaysia - there used to be 3,000 in the forests there in the 1950s. 

#KeepRoaring for the Malayan tiger.

As WWF Malaysia point, out, we all need healthy forests - and forests need tigers.  The problem is that tigers are threatened by poaching, the illegal wildlife trade, habitat loss (this is because of deforestation and fragmentation) and a lack of food for the tigers as their prey has been over-hunted.

To tackle these challenges, WWF Malaysia has been conducting patrolling in Belum-Temengor.  It monitors poaching hotspots and then sends vital information to enforcement agencies, who can then patrol more ground.  By patrolling more ground, they can discover more threats, remove snares and arrest poachers - these not only helps the tigers, but other animals too. 

#KeepRoaring to save Malayan tigers, save our forests, and save ourselves by taking action and donating if you can.

Donations will help WWF-Malaysia to support wages for field assisstants to patrol and do camera-trapping so that they can see how many tigers are in an area.  It will also give daily rations to those doing the patrolling work, and buy the necessary camping equipment they need to carry out field surveys.  Of course, there are logistics and transport costs.   And successful conservation efforts need the community on board, so donations help support awareness and communication drives. 

Crucially, WWF-Malaysia is working with the Malaysian Government.  To secure a future for all the biodiversity in the Belum-Temengor Forest Complex, there's a need for long-term solutions that are sustainable, if the stunning tigers of Malaysia are to have a future.

Meantime, we can all do our bit.  WWF-Malaysia is asking us all to donate, to learn about tigers, to spread the word, and to pledge to save the Malayan tiger from extinction. 

PLEDGE FOR TIGERS HERE

(and don't forget, it's World Rangers Day on the 31st July). 

 Visit the World Rainforest Day's website

The 22^nd June is World Rainforests Day.  Rainforests are vital for life to survive on Earth.   Their loss  threatens our biodiversity and imperils earth’s health. We ignore this loss at our peril.

World Rainforest Day was founded back in 2017 by the Rainforest Partnership.  It celebrates the importance of healthy, standing rainforests for climate, biodiversity, culture and livelihoods.  Crucially, it convenes a global movement to protect them and restore them.  The Pledge programme mentioned below is launching in 2024 to drive rainforest and climate action across all sectors immediately.  

Natural climate solutions such as protecting and restoring forests could reverse global emissions by a third, according to World Rainforest Day.

This day is held to celebrate rainforests and encourage us all to protect them.  If we can all unite and become a forest of action that rains on earth, then we can make a huge difference.  Wherever you are in the world, rainforests are impacting you.  And there's something all of us can to to help with rainforest protection and appreciation. 

In 2026, the theme is  The Forest Within You

In 2026, World Rainforest Day is aiming "to reignite and amplify global appreciation for rainforests through three key calls to action."

One of these calls is to join the global video campaign reflecting on your connection to rainforests or what this year's theme means to you.  There's a global toolkit to help you, plus a prompts guide.  For instance, you could think about... 

your connection to rainforests, wherever you live

Your wellbeing - you could talk about the role nature plays in your wellbeing

How your daily choices reflect care for the planet

A memory - perhaps there's a moment, palce or tree which represents your "inner forest"

Perhaps there's a story from your local area, or folklore or ancestralknowledge which reflects long and cherished connection to forests

Share your video on social media, using tags #WorldRainforestDay + #WorldRainforestDay2026

There's information about this and legal bits on the World Rainforest Day's website here.  

The website has other ways you can get involved, such as:

• get your hands dirty and volunteer with a rainforest organisation
• go greener with your food - try vegan or vegetarian for one day this week or every week
• Find out more about climate change and nature driven solutions.   Be inspired by the winners and finalists of the Earthshot Prize - there are some amazing things going on to help nature 
• Discover more about those organisations helping rainforests.  You can see the list of partners of World Rainforest Day here - why not see how many you recognise and find out about those you don't?  
  
  

#WorldRainforestDay

Be a Planet Walker - take yourself through a forest or park or trail.  Share your journey on social media.  Why not explain what nature and these forests or parks mean to you and how they benefit your wellbeing? 

The World Rainforest Day website has these things we can all do to make a positive impact on rainforests, today and every day:

Ways to help rainforests

• Volunteer for a rainforest charity!  Many charities need help not just from a practical sense but also in the "back office" with those behind-the-scenes but essential tasks.
• Vote with nature in mind!   Show leaders that you care about our natural world and want to preserve it.
• Choose local products and ask about where items are sourced.   Many rainforests are cut down for agriculture and cattle ranching.  Go meat free one day a week if you can.  
• Find out about the different fauna and flora in rainforests, such as lichen.  The British Lichen Society has this great video about it from one of Dartmoor's temperate rainforests
• Take a look at Global Forest Watch.  It is a fascinating site and it provides tools and data for monitoring forests.  For instance, you can see the alerts for forests fires 
• Discover about temperate rainforests, too!  The Woodland Trust has 8 rainforests to explore in the UK - check them out here.
• Share your discoveries and what is being done to help rainforests on social media.   We need to show people that there is a lot going on - and that people can and do make a difference.
• Visit , Rainforest Rescuewhose mission is to give the rainforest a voice and preserve it in all its splendor.   It has petitions you can sign to give rainforests your voice, and projects it runs to protect them, thanks to donor support.  The petitions expose destructive projects and name the perpetrators, so they are important.
• There are many charities you can donate to to help rainforests such as the  World Land Trust.    £100 is one acre protected, but you don't have to give £100.  Every bit helps! They have an Action Fund which enables them to respond fast when urgent conservation action is needed - find out about that here.  They have a current appeal to help orangutans in Borneo which you could spread the word about (and donate to, if you can).  
• You could read the story I wrote about an orangutan and a tiger called Where has my home gone?  

 Find out more from World Rainforest Day’s website.   

#WorldRainforestDay #WorldRainforestDay2026