"Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world; indeed, it's the only thing that ever has." Margaret Mead, American anthropologist, 1901-1978
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.
July 2025: Fauna and Flora International have an appeal to raise funds to make sure rangers have everything they need to give rangers the equipment they need to protect wildlife. The appeal focuses on Eastern Lowland Gorillas, but opaki are among the species who live in the Maiko National Park, as do African Forest Elephants, leopards, chimpanzees and many rare birds. Find out more here.
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 pygmies who lives 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 IUCN 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 communiteis so that they are aware of the Reserve's regulations and protects them, too. The opaki is an important symbol of their national heritage.
This video is from the Wildlife Conservation Expo from the Wildlife Conservation Network, back in October 2024. It gives a really good insight into the state of our tropical forests, why the opaki matters - and what efforts are being made to help both the opaki and indigenous people there.
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. 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.
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
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.
The 22nd 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.
In 2025, the theme is #BreatheWithUs,
In 2025, World Rainforest Day is aiming to activate one million Planet Walkers to send a global message of human connection. In the world's seven continents, there will be an immersive livestream of forests walks. These will be led by Planet Walkers such as indigenous leaders, scientists, rangers, and changemakers, and they will be guiding everyone through earth's vital ecosystems. Join the Planet Walkers here.
#PlanetWalkers
#BreatheWithUs
#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
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 Rescue, whose 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 Fundwhich enables them to respond fast when urgent conservation action is needed - find out about that here.
Don't miss it! Although it's a repeat, the programme is very timely, given that these rather amazing animals are at the centre of the coronavirus storm.
Pangolins are the world's most trafficked animal - their scales are wanted in Chinese medicine. Their flesh is eaten as a delicacy.
Sir David Attenborough narrates the storm of the pangolin and gives hope on how we can save them.
It’s not long now before we hit the 21st June – and of course what’s special about that is that it’s the longest day of the year – which means it’s World Giraffe Day, too!
World Giraffe Day gives us all an important chance to raise awareness of the challenges giraffes face in the wild.
Giraffe face a Silent Extinction if we don’t act
Over the past 35 years, giraffe numbers have decreased by nearly 30% and there are only about 117,000 giraffe left in the wild now. The Giraffe Conservation Foundation needs all our help in saving them. It initiated World Giraffe Day both to celebrate The Giraffe and to give us all the opportunity to help raise awareness of what giraffes face in the wild.
The giraffe's decline has been referred to as the Silent Extinction, by Sir David Attenborough in the BBC documentary, “Giraffes: Africa’s Gentle Giants”.
Giraffe have gone extinct in at least 7 African countries
In the last 300 years, we’ve lost 90% of all giraffe habitat
Human population growth across Africa is having a huge impact on giraffe and other wildlife
The Foundation updates State of Giraffe every year, and this highlights the conservation efforts that are being made and also the status of wild giraffe in Africa.
Action is essential.
The Giraffe Conservation Foundation is the only organisation in the world which concentrates solely on the conservation and management of giraffe in the wild throughout Africa. Giraffe are still vulnerable to extinction, according to the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species.
It works in 15 African countries across 45 million acres of giraffe habitat. And it is making a difference to giraffe and I quote:
Over 300 giraffe returned to their historical habitat
18 new giraffe populations established
Over 100 giraffe born in original giraffe habitats
Over 12 million acres of giraffe habitat reclaimed
Over 5 million data points recorded
Impact on over 100 million acres of giraffe habitat
Enter World Giraffe Day!
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Zoos, schools, governments, companies and NGOs are hosting events to help raise awareness, and you can get involved and do your bit. Stick your neck out and raise awareness of giraffes and remind people of their beauty on social media!
Giraffe Translocation
The charity has a translocation programme, moving giraffe. Giraffe are moving to areas where there are very few or no giraffe. They are also caught, and then given satellite tracking units so that they can be tracked which enables conservationists to find out more about their movements. Catching and tracking giraffe provides an excellent opportunity to find out as much as possible about these beautiful animals. You can look at these two videos to get an idea of what's involved...
All the giraffes which have moved thanks to the programme are doing well and thriving. And the great news is that many new calves are being born! The programme is a key part of the Giraffe Conservation Foundation’s programme to ensure that giraffe have a future in Africa.
The Foundation works closely with local communities – many African children have never seen a giraffe so it has taken children into the field for a day to see giraffe.
Show how you #StandTallforGiraffe – literally! Take a photo of yourself standing tall – you could make it a group photo, but please bear social distancing rules in mind! A baby giraffe measures about 2m at birth – whilst the adults reach the giddy heights of over 5m.
Or come up with something that’s giraffe inspired – a cake with a giraffe on it, or paint a picture – just show how giraffes have inspired you and spread the message on social media of World Giraffe Day!
And tag the Giraffe Conservation Foundation on social media - here are the tags…
