WILD

The Spirit Bear

(italicized text is an excerpt from the August issue of National Geographic magazine, available on newsstands July 26) Neither albino nor polar bear, the spirit bear (also known as the Kermode bear) is a white variant of the North American black bear, and it's found almost exclusively here in the Great Bear Rainforest. At 25,000 square miles—one and a half times as big as Switzerland—the region runs 250 miles down Canada's western coast and encompasses a vast network of mist-shrouded fjords, densely forested islands, and glacier-capped mountains. Grizzlies, black bears, wolves, wolverines, humpback whales, and orcas thrive along a coast that ... Read More

State of the Ocean Report

On Monday, the International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN), the World Commission on Protected Areas (WCPA) and the International Program on the State of the Oceans (IPSO), released a report warning that the world's oceans are at high risk for a globally significant marine extinction. The resulting preliminary report from the first ever international, interdisciplinary workshop addresses the cumulative impact of various stressors affecting the world's oceans.  This stressors included pollution, acidification, ocean warming, over fishing and hypoxia (deoxygenation). Professor Dan Laffoley, Senior Advisor at the International Union for the Conservation of Nature and contributor to the workshop, emphasises the vital role of ... Read More

In Celebration of Nelson Mandela’s 93rd Birthday

Today, we celebrate Nelson Mandela's 93rd birthday.  It is truly a day of celebration and one that is especially important here at WILD because of our strong roots and continued work in South Africa.  Mandela's introduction to Dr. Ian Player's Zulu Wilderness: Shadow and Soul (special edition) is a fitting way to honor today: "This book is Ian Player's tribute to Makhubu Ntombela and the remarkable friendship which grew in the wild.  Their relationship and their commitment not only to each other but also to the conservation of wilderness is a shining example of the spirit of the people of ... Read More

Forever Wild Rhino Protection

South Africa has achieved unprecedented success over the past four decades with the preservation of rhino, to the point that it is now home to over 90 percent of all rhinos in Africa. Our founder Dr Ian Player is well known as being the initiator and team leader of the innovative and internationally acclaimed project ‘Operation Rhino’ in the late 1960′s. Through relocation, safe breeding groups were established elsewhere in the country and in the world. Operation Rhino successfully saved the southern white rhino from extinction and by 2010 there were over 17,000 white rhino in South Africa. ... Read More

Vance Martin to Speak at Wild Wonders of Europe Event

On 14 July, WILD's President Vance Martin will speak at the Bradford Washburn American Mountaineering Museum Auditorium (Golden, Colorado) as part of a Wild Wonders of Europe event.  Vance will speak about the phenomenal rewildling that is occurring in Europe, the importance of wilderness protection, Nature Needs Half and the planning underway for the next World Wilderness Congress.  This is an incredibly unique opportunity to hear first hand from Vance about the state of wild-nature in Europe, as he has just returned from an intensive series of meetings with our European colleagues. Read More

Volkswagen Amarok drives the Rhino Protection Initiative

Exciting news from our sister organization, The Wilderness Foundation (in South Africa).... Volkswagen Commercial Vehicles today announced the sponsorship of six Volkswagen Amarok bakkies to the Rhino Protection Initiative at a media conference held at the Johannesburg Zoo. The R2-million sponsorship is part of the partnership between Volkswagen Commercial Vehicles and the Wilderness Foundation, the pioneers and administrators of the Forever Wild Rhino Protection Initiative. Internationally Volkswagen has developed strategy around a responsible approach to environmental issues called ‘Think Blue’. It begins with the range of the highly efficient low emission BlueMotion cars, to energy efficient production plants and the support of ... Read More

Understanding the Cultural, Existence, and Bequest Values of Wilderness

Re-posted from the December 2005 International Journal of Wilderness.  By Rudy M. Schuster, H. Ken Cordell, and Brad Phillips. Introduction A deeper understanding of public values regarding the National Wilderness Preservation System (NWPS) is of interest to researchers and managers. Wilderness values were defined in the National Survey on Recreation and the Environment (NSRE) (Cordell, Betz, and Green 2002; Cordell, Tarrant, and Green 2003a; Cordell, Tarrant, and Green 2003b) and it is conducted periodically by the U.S. Forest Service in part to track public attitudes toward the natural environment and public lands (Cordell et al. 2003a). The NSRE has provided a ... Read More

Telluride Photo Fest Offers Conservation Photography Workshop

What is conservation photography and what does it mean to be a conservation photographer?  A few outstanding definitions..... "Being a conservation photographer is not just about visualizing the issues or following interesting story lines. These are important, of course, but make no mistake, the real work of the conservation photographer begins after the last click of the shutter has been made. It is what happens with the images afterwards that matters most. Making wonderful pictures is important; being accomplished story-tellers is a must; following journalistic guidelines should be an automatic part of of our workflow, but what we do with our ... Read More

Ian Player Perspectives – Wilderness, Dreams and the Bible

Text from Ian's February 2011 address to the Game Rangers Association of Africa. Please let me begin by thanking everyone for coming this evening. I am grateful to Harold Thornhill and Drummond Densham and other members of the Committee who have done the organising for tonight. I am also delighted to see Paul Dutton here and to know that he has rejoined our Association. It is also very good to see Sheila Berry who has played a prominent part in organising our Dream Centre events at our farm, Phuzamoya. The Game Ranging fraternity are a unique group ... Read More

EcoSchools at Isandlwana

On of the ongoing programs in the Isandlwana Village (KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa) is Eco-Schools.  This program brings environmental learning and action into the classrooms in a constructive and participatory way.  The Isandlwana primary school is one of the local leaders in the program, having earned a silver certificate for their efforts in their gardening projects. Read More