Ian Michler, a top wildlife guide, photojournalist and naturalist, has spent the last decade documenting the major conservation challenges facing Africa. An author of 6 travel books on various African countries, his work is well known to readers of the award winning magazines, Africa Geographic and Africa Birds and Birding. Michler will be co-leading one of WILD’s latest field projects, In the Tracks of Giants; a 6 month east-to-west journey connecting major conservation nodes to promote a greater awareness of conservation, human community and leadership issues specifically relevant to southern Africa.

The WILD foundation is granted the rights to publish the attached article in any format (digital or print), free of charge, provided the credit lines are used.

Text & photographs by Ian Michler

First published by Africa Geographic www.africageographic.com

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This exciting project, led by Carlton Ward Jr.– photographer and friend of WILD– is now on its 17th day in the field. The team has made it through some of Florida’s wildest areas, biking, hiking and kayaking roughly 10-30 miles a day. The goals of the Florida Wildlife Corridor are to:

• Protect and restore habitat and migration corridors essential for the survival of Florida’s diverse wildlife, including wide-ranging panthers, black bears and other native species
• Restore water flow to the Everglades and sustain water supply to southern Florida
• Continue to safeguard the St. Johns River and water supply for central and north Florida
• Sustain the food production, economies and cultural legacies of working ranches and farms within the corridor
• Bolster local economies through increased opportunities such as hunting, fishing, birdwatching and other forms of eco-tourism
• Give wildlife and plants room to adapt to a changing climate and sea level rise

Stay up-to-date with the expedition!

>>Follow the story on National Geographic’s Explorer’s Journal

>>Read the Florida Wildlife Corridor Expedition Blog

Around this time last year, my friend Joanna Nasar, and I decided to dream big on a conservation project. We also dreamed a bit silly.

“Let’s pick a species that needs help and takes us to a faraway land,” we thought. How about fishing cats? Their name is their occupation. They bark like a dog. They’re found in Thailand. And believe me this cat needs all the help it can get. Less than 10,000 remain in the world, and that’s a sketchy estimate at best.

Practicality was clearly in the back seat tied up with duct tape when we set out. We don’t have any money. Um, have you heard of this thing called Kickstarter? We don’t speak Thai. Pah! We’re good at charades. The country is flooding, and we have to go undercover as tourists to avoid constant scrutiny. Brilliant! I’ve never camera-trapped before, but we can figure that out. “We can handle this,” we thought. We’ll be working with the world expert on fishing cats, Passanan “Namfon” Cutter. Yes Namfon, we just officially gave you that title.

In some ways, our naivety was both our downfall and saving grace. Everything that could fall apart did. Namfon, who we hoped to work with for a few weeks, returned to the states after four days together because of visa issues. We had more than a month left in Thailand to work with her assistant Ruj, (who didn’t speak English), trying to document everything we could about this cat.

Equipment failed almost daily, habitat was destroyed, fishing cats killed, and we got to know the Thai healthcare system on more than one occasion. (Thailand proved to be an effective, though not fun diet program. Note for all those pending travelers to Thailand, Thai healthcare rocks!) Six weeks into the trip, signs of the fishing cat were everywhere, except in front of the camera trap.

As everything fell apart, the story also started to come together.  Our clumsiness held a certain fascination and charm with the Thai people. I think they wanted to save us from ourselves. Everyday we learned a little bit (nit noy) of Thai and Ruj learned a little English. The Thai people welcomed us into their community. We ate dinner with their families, visited kids in their schools, worked together to fix the things that were broken and continued the search for a fishing cat that seemed to move like a ghost throughout these people’s lives.

Amidst the fishing cat’s crumbling world, we heard tell of a glimmer of hope. We learned that you could rent fishing cat land for less money a year than I spend on coffee in a month. For 80 bucks you could either destroy or save a parcel of fishing cat habitat. Namfon told us that just US $1,700, could rent all the known fishing cat hotspots for a year. “Wow!” we thought. Such goals seemed attainable even for two girls who had just rationed their last packet of Oreos.

We sent this message and a few photos to The WILD Foundation, our main project sponsor, and before we’d even left Thailand, people had reached into their pockets and given enough money to rent land for the fishing cat. The purchase won’t be a permanent fix, but it buys the cats and our researcher friends some time. It shows the communities there that the rest of the world cares about the fishing cat.

Our work is far from over. Jo and I returned from Thailand with more than two terabytes of footage about the fishing cat. In the last week and half of our trip, persistence paid off and we received not one, but three, visits from a fishing cat named Rip Ear to our trap. The photos are top secret while we try to publish them in a major magazine. But we’ve got an early, almost-successful shot we can share with you now. It’s of a newly observed male in the area, and has yet to be named.

We are now editing together a film about our girlventure to a foreign land in search of this strange, endangered cat, including all the characters we met along the way who helped/saved us. We will use the film to raise money for fishing cat conservation and to build local support for the cat’s protection.

Right now, Jo and I are doing this purely out of passion. We work on other projects during the day, so we can edit the film together at night. We dream of working on this full-time, so that we can produce a film at a pace that will actually be able to help the fishing cat.

As I write this now though I can tell you that throughout CAT in WATER, the biggest lesson we learned is that saving the fishing cat depends on community, in Thailand and abroad. That’s what we want to help foster.

So we have a message for you. You’ve got the link to CAT in WATER. “The fishing cat wants to swim.”  Pass it on, tweet it, retweet it, facebook and digg it. Then pass it on again and again and again.

Like the CAT in WATER facebook page!
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WILD has worked for almost 40 years to protect and sustain wilderness and wild places around the world. An important aspect of our work has always been a commitment to partnerships with native peoples. Over many years, we’ve worked in numerous countries and situations to strengthen the links between indigenous and non-indigenous partners in order to create a network of people working to protect and sustain the global treasure we call wilderness–it is both our collective heritage and the key to a healthy and prosperous future for all people.

The NLWC began at the 8th World Wilderness Council (2005, Anchorage Alaska – 8WWC) and since that time has provided a critical platform for the meeting of indigenous and conservation agendas, highlighting conservation approaches and providing opportunities for dialogue and information exchanges.  Following 8WWC, WILD published and distributed the first-ever volume of indigenous authored case studies on native approaches to stewarding wild nature: Protecting Wild Nature on Native Lands: Case Studies by Native Peoples from around the World (Volume I).

>>View the E-book

>>Download the PDF

>>Purchase the hard copy

Location: Vail Mountain School: 3000 Booth Falls Road, Vail, CO 81657
Time: 6:30 pm Reception, 7:00 pm Lecture
Tickets: $35, or $25 for VS donors

Wildlife, like people, must move in order to meet their daily needs. Yet oftentimes our transportation systems stand in the way of wildlife. Colorado’s Interstate 70 (I-70) between
Golden and Glenwood Springs presents the biggest obstacle to wildlife movement in our region.

For over a decade, the Colorado Department of Transportation has been working on plans to relieve congestion along I-70. This planning effort has provided a unique opportunity to find ways to restore connections between wildlife habitat on the north and south side of the highway. One innovative tool to move wildlife safely throughout their territory is an elevated wildlife bridge over the interstate. In this panel discussion, Theodore P. Zoli, Nina-Marie Lister and Harvey Locke will share their respective expertise on the importance of wildlife movement to ecosystem health and innovations that can affordably and beautifully redesign public infrastructure to accommodate both wildlife and growing human communities.

Theodore P. Zoli is a structural engineer who is leading the design of elegant and enduring bridges around the world and making major technological advances to protect transportation infrastructure in the event of natural and man-made disasters.

Nina-Marie Lister is Visiting Associate Professor of Landscape Architecture & Urban Planning at Harvard University’s Graduate School of Design. She was the Professional Advisor to the ARC International Design Competition, which developed innovative designs for a wildlife crossing structure in Colorado.

Harvey Locke is a conservationist, writer and photographer. He is a recognized global leader in the field of parks, wilderness and large landscape conservation and has extensive experience with the development and effectiveness of wildlife crossing structures over highways.

>>Visit the official Vail Symposium event page

>>See what one of our Directors had to say about the event!

Where 24 hours ago had been a swaying green sea of tall grass and rough-edged fishponds now lies a raw, muddy pit. This land has gone to the shrimp farm. It’s hard to believe that just a few days ago, we used a machete to break a line through the wetlands of Sam Roi Yod.

Above the pit we look to what was once a shaded tree-lined ridge where Morgan captured our first glimpse of the fishing cat with her camera trap.  His cameo took only four days to appear. In the photo, he pauses, large-pupiled and paw-raised, staring down the camera as if he owns the joint. A small pink tongue licks the end of his nose.

Now, the ridge lies bared to the sun.  The trees chopped and tall grasses plowed, then burned away. Everything is caked in a rotten-smelling muck.

But that is not all that has changed.

The sound is all of a sudden deafening to the point that you feel the earth shaking. It is the rumble of a tractor widening a road, the putter of a pump sucking the pond dry . . . the fishing cat surely hears all these noises and runs … but we wonder to where? When change happens in days, it’s got to be hard to pick a new home, and there are only so many homes to choose from.

Namfon, our friend, biologist and number one fishing cat crusader, tells us that this land sells for cheap. Just U.S. $80 can rent one pond for a year, and $1,700 could rent all known fishing cat hotspots in the area for the same amount of time.

How frustrating and inspiring to know that such a small sum of money can potentially help “buy time” for the fishing cat as we endeavor for more sustainable solutions.

Seeing new tracks in the area, even as a land of fish changes to a land of shrimp, makes us hope that the fishing cat can make it. We hear fishing cats even like the freshly-drained ponds and the fish they leave behind, but we know this is a temporary advantage.

We need your help to save the elusive fishing cat! Just $80 USD can rent one pond for a year, and $1,700 could rent all known fishing cat hotspots in the area for the same amount of time!! Imagine what one whole year of research could do for this species…

>>Donate to CAT in WATER today! (specify in the note field that you’d like your donation to go to the fishing cat ponds)

>>Learn more about the CAT project

“CAT in WATER” – our multimedia initiative focused on the shy and threatened fishing cat — is literally coping with too much water!  The CAT team, Morgan and Joanna,  arrived in Thailand last week in the midst of the worst flooding in a century.  A simple two day journey to the field site in Khao Sam Roi Yot National Park —  where they will join field biologist Namfon Cutter and her Fishing Cat Research and Conservation Project – turned into a week of detours around flooded areas, plus a trip to the hospital for Morgan.  Her GI tract is back on track, and they continue tracking the fishing cat!  They receive supernatural  assistance (of course) from Ganesha, the Hindu elephant god that protects travelers, removes obstacles…check out this cool little video!

Join the tracking!  Sign up for their blog by placing your email in the box called Tracking the Fishing Cat …on the left side of the home page you’ll see the box to subscribe.

>>Visit WILD’s project page for CAT in WATER

To promote the preservation of the species and provide a moving, educational polar bear experience online, explore.org, a philanthropic media organization, Polar Bears International, a leading organization focused on preservation and education surrounding the threatened species, and adventure company Frontiers North will be delivering live video feeds via the Web. To bring the bears to life online and in real-time, the groups have affixed high-definition cameras onto a roving Tundra Buggy® and along the edges of the Tundra Buggy® Lodge situated directly in the path of the age-old migration.

Charles Annenberg Weingarten, filmmaker and founder of explore.org, said in a press release, “The polar bears are among the most magical of our planet’s endangered species, and much like the lions of Africa, have come to represent the many consequences of global warming and industrialization.” He added, “By providing a window into their worlds, we are giving people a chance to come together to cherish the bears and an opportunity to share their plight in a compelling way.”

The bears travel through the small town each October and November and then wait for the Hudson Bay freeze-up, when they can get out on the ice and hunt for seals. Krista Wright, executive vice president of Polar Bears International, says it is “unseasonably warm” in Manitoba for this time of year. This means there’s a good chance that the ice may not start forming until later, and the bears are basically fasting because the time they are spending on land is longer. Last year’s freeze came a month late, in the middle of December.

This change of climate is damaging the bears’ habitat. Like many other species, the lives of these megafauna depend on large interconnected lands and seas–without the formation of the ice, the bears have little to no food to eat. This specific effort to help protect the polar bear is one among many great examples of WILD’s commitment to Nature Needs Half.

>>Read the full press release

>>Watch the Tundra Buggy Cam

Yellowstone – Driving from Bozeman (Montana) to West Yellowstone to chair a meeting on the World Heritage Status of Yellowstone National Park, I was a bit early so I took a detour through the Park — I knew I would not be back before winter closed in.  Halfway thru the Park, the not-unusual experience occurred  — traffic slowed to a crawl, so I looked for wildlife. A great cloud of dust enveloped a small hill to my right, and as the sun’s low rays reflected through the cloud of dust, I saw the partial outlines of bison rolling around in a dust bath.  It was early morning, cool, and they were moving quickly, rolling, snorting, and running…a herd of about 30-40.

They slowed as they approached the road and, voilá, my car was stopped and then surrounded  by bison faces,  moist noses, shaggy coats, and steamy breath.  For 10-15 minutes I was tete-a-tete through my window with the iconic, large, North American mammal, and I had time to reflect on a well known but always amazing story.  By the late 19^th century the “American buffalo” was almost extinct, their tens of millions decimated in decades.  In just one period, between 1871 and 1874, four million were killed in the Southern Great Plains alone, and their hides shipped East.  By 1889 the remaining remnant was some 1000 animals total (both plains and wood bison) throughout all of North America!

As is often the case, the “scarcity reaction” thankfully took hold, and people started to respond…just in time.  Through a concerted series of public/private initiatives, in North America today there are some 30,000 wild and free roaming bison, and over 400,000 bison in commercial herds.  This recovery is remarkable and is ongoing.  The American bison, listed today as Near Threatened on the IUCN Red List, remains at the center of “the most ambitious and complex undertakings in species conservation efforts in North America.”

Haarlem (Netherlands) – Two days later I was in the Netherlands, co-chairing an Executive Committee meeting for WILD10, the 10^th World Wilderness Congress (Spain, 2013).  What a contrast…from the wide open spaces of the American west to the most densely populated nation in Europe.  My meeting in Yellowstone was on the border of the 900,000 ha (2.2 million acre) park, and our meeting in the Netherlands was inside the delightful  Zuid-Kennemerland National Park, of some 3800 ha (9400 acres).  This postage stamp-sized coastal park protects a fabulous area of wild sand dunes.

I discovered with interest that even though this special National Park is less than 1% the size of Yellowstone, it receives almost the same amount of visitors…two million annually! Despite this immense pressure, there is wildness there.  What’s more, there is also dynamic and exciting re-wilding, and a contemporary equivalent to that which started with the American bison over 100 years ago.

Our local partner, Rewilding Europe, arranged for us to go into the private access section of the park, guided by Yvonne Kemp (of ARK Natuurontwikkeling)  that is home to a herd of almost 20 wisent, or European bison.  We walked for 30 minutes or so until we suddenly saw the herd, slowly grazing/browsing its way through a forested dune system…an awesome sight.   We watched for over an hour, gradually coming to within 50 meters, as the diversely-aged herd moved through the brush and sand.

The European bison (the largest European mammal, of which there are two subspecies) was hammered even worse than its American cousin.  By 1923 there were only some 54 survivors, all in zoos and private collections…none in the wild. Today, thanks to the concerted efforts of committed conservation visionaries, there are more than 2,700 free-roaming bison in numerous parks and reserves, the most well-known of which is, of course, Poland’s Białowieża Forest.  Even more, there are captive breeding centers in about 30 countries around Europe, and a united agreement to re-locate animals to parks and other protected areas throughout the continent.

In addition to the wisent, Zuid-Kennemerland has also reintroduced the Konik horses, descendents of the original wild horses that roamed freely over Europe and Asia.  We also watched the Koniks for a long time, where they always had one “sentry” atop a dune while the others grazed below.  The Koniks and wisent were the original mega-grazers and browsers that helped shape the mosaic landscape of the ancient European wilderness…and they are returning.

It is not only possible for wild nature and human society to integrate, interact, and support each other…it is necessary.  We are approaching seven billion people on Planet Earth and on a trajectory to nine billion, at least, until the population curve levels off.  As the vision Nature Needs Half defines for us, it is essential that we maintain large, interconnected wild areas in order to assure that nature can continue to provide the life-support services for humans and all life. In addition, it is also essential that we implement re-wilding, and regenerate wildness through intensive programs that restore flora and fauna into areas that once supported them.

Rewilding is not new, but it is gaining force, expertise, and urgency.  It is a core paradigm and practice of  the 21^st century, one that brings hope, health, sustainability, and sanity to our lives.

In the press announcement about the stamp, Kelly Sigmon (VP of Channel Access) commented: “This stamp marks the fourth semipostal issued by the Postal Service. These types of stamps provide an extremely convenient way for the American public to contribute to help protect threatened and vanishing species. We look forward to working with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and the Multinational Species Coalition to make this stamp a success.”

The Multinational Species Coalition, a coalition created to advocate for the Multinational Species Conservation Funds, is committed to bringing greater attention to this stamp and the funds it was designed to support.  WILD is a member of the coalition and receives support from the African Elephant Conservation Fund  - one of the five funds supported by the proceeds of the stamp.  The other funds are: the Asian Elephant Conservation Fund, Great Ape Conservation Fund, Rhinoceros and Tiger Conservation Fund and Marine Turtle Conservation Fund.  11 cents from each stamp (which costs 11 cents more than regular postage), will be donated to the fund.

Other members of the coalition are:

• African Wildlife Foundation
• International Elephant Foundation
• American Bird Conservancy
• International Rhino Foundation
• American Veterinary Medical Association
• Jane Goodall Institute
• Association of Zoos and Aquariums
• National Audubon Society
• Bonobo Conservation Initiative
• National Wildlife Federation
• Born Free USA
• The Nature Conservancy
• Cheetah Conservation Fund
• Ocean Conservancy
• Chelonian Research Foundation
• Safari Club International Foundation
• Conservation International
• Sea Turtle Conservancy
• Dian Fossey Gorilla Fund International
• Sierra Club
• Defenders of Wildlife
• The WILD Foundation
• Fauna & Flora International
• Wildlife Alliance
• Feld Entertainment, Inc.
• Wildlife Conservation Society
• Humane Society of the United States / International
• Wildlife Management Institute
• International Crane Foundation
• World Wildlife Fund
• International Fund for Animal Welfare

Purchase stamps >

Serengeti: The Eternal Beginning; new book trailer from Boyd Norton on Vimeo.

Mary Rice, executive director of the Environmental Investigation Agency, opposes these one time, experimental sales because she and the EIA believe they do not curb the ivory market at all. “In fact, the opposite has been observed in that the experimental sales may have in fact stimulated demand and consequently contributed to an increase in illegal ivory flows and the poaching of elephants”, a briefing from EIA states. “This failure should be recognised and not repeated”. (read the full article)

Just prior to CITES’ scheduled meeting to address the illegal trade in elephants and ivory, they announced that civil society – non-profit and non-governmental organizations – would not be allowed to participate. This caused uproar from wildlife focused organization and the World Wildlife Fund issued a press release stating: “This is a major step backwards for CITES,” said Colman O’Criodain, WWF’s Wildlife Trade Policy Analyst. “Civil society organizations have a right to be present in these discussions, not least of all because some of them, including WWF, are donors to the work of CITES on elephants.”  (read the full press release)

Shortly after, CITES withdrew this exclusion and welcomed civil society representatives. This was an important milestone because “Conservation organizations have played an active role in helping CITES achieve meaningful and positive results for species that are threatened by international trade,” as stated in the press release that followed the announcement. “NGOs work on the ground wherever elephants are found to try and save them from poaching and habitat loss,” said Peter Pueschel, program director for the International Fund for Animal Welfare, who was among those asked to leave the meeting.

“We know the threats they face, we work with range states to end those threats, but I cannot think of a bigger threat right now than a secret, closed-door meeting between countries where demand for ivory is the driver,” said Pueschel. (read more)

One of the exciting results of the meeting was the establishment of African Elephant Fund, a multi-donor technical trust targeted at enhancing law enforcement capacity and securing the long-term survival of African elephant populations. The Netherlands, Germany and France have already contributed to the new fund through the African Elephant Action Plan.

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 has been home to First Nations like the Gitga’at for hundreds of generations.

Researchers have recently proved that the spirit bear’s white coat gives it an advantage when fishing. Although white and black bears tend to have the same success rate after dark—when bears do a lot of their fishing—scientists Reimchen and Dan Klinka from the University of Victoria noticed a difference during the daytime. White bears catch salmon in one-third of their attempts. Black individuals are successful only one-quarter of the time. “The salmon are less concerned about a white object as seen from below the surface,” Reimchen speculates.

These bears have made some headlines lately.  Last September, WILD’s close affiliates at the International League of Conservation Photographers embarked on a Rapid Assessment Visual Expedition (RAVE) in the Great Bear Rainforest.  The 14-day expedition called upon 7 world-renowned photographers and 3 videographers to thoroughly document the region’s landscapes, wildlife, and culture. The RAVE provided media support to the First Nations and environmental groups seeking to stop the proposed Enbridge Gateway pipeline project (and thus expansion of the tar sands) and to expose the plan to lift the oil tanker ship moratorium.

Our colleague Simon Jackson has dedicated his early career to the protection of the spirit bear.  Through the Spirit Bear Youth Coalition, the largest youth-lead environmental organization in the world, Simon has brought together young leaders from around the world around this charismatic and highly threatened bear.

And, Bruce Barcott and Paul Nicklen recently wrote and photographed (respectively) a feature article on the spirit bear for this month’s National Geographic magazine.  The beautiful written text gives life to the bears and the photographs leave any wanderlust traveler with a desire to see one in person.   Read about the Spirit Bear in National Geographic >

Among those trying to stem the rising tide of poaching in Africa is David Hubbard, a resident agent in charge for the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service who recently returned from teaching a course on wildlife criminal investigations at the State Department’s International Law Enforcement Academy (ILEA) in Gaborone, Botswana. Now in its 10th year, the two-week FWS program provides training for African law enforcement and wildlife officers on everything from endangered species law to investigative skills and evidence handling procedures.

Hubbard explained that the participants are taught how to work with informants, how to use different sources of information, how to conduct surveillance, how to conduct undercover operations and raids, etc. The FWS course was first offered at the ILEA Botswana campus in 2002 and has been completed by more than 300 students from 14 sub-Saharan African countries and is in heavy demand, according to J.O. Smith, ILEA Botswana academy director.

Recent estimates blame illegal hunting for a nearly 10 percent decrease in the sub-Saharan elephant population each year. One of the hardest things to teach academy participants is that the best way to stem the tide isn’t necessarily by stopping the poacher from pulling the trigger. Hubbard says the big problem is the market. To find out where the money is going and how the product is moved, the poacher needs to be followed.

The black market trail most often leads to organized crime in China and Southwest Asia where rhino horns are valued in traditional medicines. In terms of total dollars spent around the globe, the wildlife black market is the 2nd largest black market next to the drug trade. Presently, an average-sized rhino horn will eventually collect about a quarter of a million dollars on the black market. But the poacher who originally killed a rhino for its horn may only make about $100 in the deal. “We’re not telling [our ILEA students] not to catch the poacher, but you need to work it from that point on,” Hubbard said. “You need to see what border it’s crossing. That involves working with your neighbors, working with INTERPOL and all their international partners to work this case to an end.”

Read the full story

“Through the disposal of contraband ivory, we seek to formally demonstrate to the world our determination to eliminate all forms of illegal trade in ivory,” Kibaki told several hundred people at a rural Kenya Wildlife Service training facility in southeastern Kenya. “We must all appreciate the negative effects of illegal trade to our national economies. We cannot afford to sit back and allow criminal networks to destroy our common future.”

Wednesday’s burning, though hosted by Kenya, was actually carried out by the Lusaka Agreement Task Force, a group of seven African countries that work to protect flora and fauna. A member of the group, Ephraim Kamuntu, Uganda’s minister of tourism, said Wednesday’s burning sent the signal that “the days of poachers are numbered.”

The burned ivory was confiscated by officials in Singapore in 2002. It was then sent to Kenya, where DNA analysis determined that the tusks originated in Zambia and Malawi. Read the full article

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 appropriate environmental projects such as the Forever Wild Rhino Protection Initiative.

Jaco Steenekamp, General Manager: Sales & Marketing at the Volkswagen Commercial Vehicles handing over the keys of the Amarok bakkie to Elvis Nageng, a member of the rhino protection unit at one of the North West Parks & Tourism Board’s game reserves.

“Volkswagen is in the process of rolling out ‘Think Blue’ strategy in South Africa. Our current model range includes BlueMotion Touaregs, Tiguans, Golfs and Polos. Similarly, we have ground breaking initiatives at our production plant in Uitenhage and the Forever Wild Rhino Protection Initiative is the first of four environment projects we will be announcing in the next few months,” said Matt Gennrich, General Manager: Communications at Volkswagen Group South Africa.

The Amaroks were handed over to the conservation agencies in high priority areas of Mpumalanga, North West, Eastern Cape and KwaZulu Natal. The conservation agencies that will benefit from the partnership are SANPARKS, North West Parks & Tourism Board, Eastern Cape Parks & Tourism Agency, KZN Wildlife and Eastern Cape Private Game Reserves Association (Indalo). The vehicles will be primarily used in proactive rhino protection and anti-poaching activities.

Jaco Steenekamp, General Manager: Sales and Marketing at Volkswagen Commercial Vehicles, said: “Our sponsorship of the Forever Wild campaign is Volkswagen’s contribution towards the fight against the poaching and preservation of the rhino population. We are confident that the smart but tough Amarok bakkie will be an ideal partner to the conservation agencies in combating poaching activities.”

He added: “Our partnership with the Wilderness Foundation supports Volkswagen’s ‘Think Blue’ philosophy which promotes cooperation with organisations that are environmentally conscious and work towards the sustainability of endangered species.”

The latest reports show that one rhino is poached every day in South Africa. To date over 170 rhinos have been poached. To put the scale of the problem into perspective; in 2007 only 13 rhinos were poached, in 2009 the number increased to 124 and in 2010 it rocketed to 335.

In the past 40 years, South Africa has achieved unprecedented success with the preservation of the rhino population. As a result, South Africa is now home to over 90 percent of all rhinos in the world.

Dr Ian Player, the founder of the Wilderness Foundation said: “I have always been an optimist but realistic one and in the depth of my being I believe we shall succeed in saving the rhino. But do not let us be deluded, we are up against terrible dark forces that threaten to overwhelm us. In the world of wildlife conservation the White and Black rhino have been spiritual beacons of hope. All our children now look to us in our generation to ensure that the prehistoric remnants of the dinosaur age continue to exist on our Planet.”

Dr Player added: “Our first priority must be to give all the possible support to the conservation agencies and private land owners in their protection of the rhino. There is no doubt that a war is being waged and information is of critical importance, so that conservation agencies can be forewarned of where poaching is likely to occur. We have also got to look at every other alternative for the rhino survival.”

The Wilderness Foundation’s Forever Wild Initiative is concerned with maintaining populations of free ranging rhino within state and privately managed conservation areas.

The campaign supports conservation agencies and organised private game reserves to protect their rhino populations as part of functioning natural ecosystems. The campaign also aims to focus the attention of politicians and decision makers and to encourage them to apply pressure both nationally and abroad to address the issue of the illegal trade in rhino horn and other wildlife products.

“The belief by millions of people in China and Vietnam that the horn has medical properties is very deep seated and has been for thousands of years. This belief will not be changed by rational arguments. We now need to debate in all possible forums the merit and demerits of legalising the sale of rhino horn. This debate is necessary so that the Minister of the Environment can make an informed decision,” concluded Dr Player.

From May 17-19, 2011, the Ivory and Rhinoceros Enforcement Task Force of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES) met in Gigiri, Kenya to discuss urgent actions against crimes targeting these two animals.

The smuggling of elephant ivory continues to occur at significant levels, and the people behind the illegal trade do not appear to be deterred by the regular losses they are suffering at the hands of border control agencies. As recently as last week, officials in Kenya seized over 1 ton of ivory about to be smuggled out of the country.

The level of rhinoceros poaching is putting South Africa’s rhino population under high pressure. 13 rhinos were poached in 2007, 83 in 2008, 122 in 2009, 330 in 2010. And in just the first four months of 2011, 159 rhinos were illegally killed.

The CITES Task Force learned more about the possible demands for rhino horn and elephant tusks. The rhino horn is primarily in high demand for its traditional medicinal uses and is newly rumored to be an effective treatment for cancer. Elephants are poached for their ivory tusks that are carved into decorative items that consumers are willing to pay high prices for. The Task Force participants agreed that greater communication, collaboration and coordination are needed at national and international levels. Data will need to be regularly exchanged regarding persons who travel to countries (such as South Africa) to engage in purportedly legal hunting, but whose actual intention is to obtain animal body parts to be sold on the black market.

David Higgens, INTERPOL’s Environmental Crime Manager, spoke about how the illegal trade in wildlife can significantly affect a nation’s economy and security. In the case of illegal ivory and rhino horn trafficking, heavily armed poaching gangs can reduce tourism revenue and possibly place the tourist in danger. To read the whole article, please visit the CITES website.

Additionally, the Wilderness Foundation in South Africa – WILD’s sister organization – is currently working on anti-poaching campaigns.

“Between the Harvest” is the story of Ostional, a small coastal town that relies on a legal harvest of olive ridley sea turtle eggs. Told through the eyes of these two fragile species, this short documentary delves into one of the biggest controversies in the marine world: is this harvest an exemplary conservation project? The aim of the film is to create a discussion about conservation, think about the legality of such a project, and to expose the threats that exist to the Olive Ridley Sea Turtle.

If a closer investigation is needed of the harvest, perhaps this particular arribada and this community will help bring attention to the needs of the species in costa rica: people are still trashing the ocean, poaching eggs throughout the country, and illegally fishing off the shores of arribada beaches. Along with the threats of warming waters, we need to be more aware of how we are treating the ocean and its inhabitants, and truly think about what is best for all species.

Follow this link for a summary of many of the issues as well as an explanation of the arribada and harvesting practices at this beach. We cited one of the top books on the olive ridley sea turtle, Pamela Plotkin’s Biology and Conservation of Ridley Sea Turtles, particularly the report from Lisa Campbell entitled Understanding Human Use of Olive Ridleys.

More information about Ostional and the harvesting practice is also available on the “Between the Harvest” website >

“I realized then that tourists and turtles both have a virtually identical impact on the community of ostional; they arrive out of the blue, bestow untold riches upon the town, and then return to their glorious lives in other parts of the world, thereby leaving the people of ostional no choice but to wishfully burn the days until their beneficiaries return.” -Adam Beals, former ICADS student

To Africa’s eco-tourists, hyenas are one of the least understood and under-appreciated predators. No wonder, with the insane-sounding laugh, bone-crunching jaws with the strength of a hydraulic press, and an unforgettable odor. Unusually, both sexes also have external genitalia, giving rise to all sorts of weird stories about “hermaphrodites.”

Though wild dogs are always my favorite African predator, it’s too bad that hyenas get such a bad rap because they are much more interesting and ecologically “useful” than lions. Living in female –led clans of up 15 or more, they are both top-class predators as well as scavengers par excellence. The spotted hyena is much more common than its shaggy-haired cousin, the brown hyena.

I had the immense pleasure of enjoying the first few days of 2011 hanging out at a spotted hyena den in the Okavango Delta of northern Botswana, watching a mixed batch of little dudes from just a week old (dark brown), to 4-5 months (first spots), to juveniles. What a wonderful experience to see the alpha female wander in from the bush and stand over a hole in the ground – -the entrance to the den – and emit a very low moan, calling the young ones. Within seconds they start tumbling out, and it’s a bit like “how many people can you stuff into a telephone booth?”—because they just keep popping out.

Many years ago Ian Player told of one of his game rangers in the 1960s who hand-reared an orphaned hyena. He kept her as a house pet for several years before giving her to a zoo so she could live with others of her kind. This ranger was adamant that this hyena was far smarter, mentally agile, and emotionally responsive than any of the other wildlife and very many dogs he had reared in his life.

Its time for us to create a worldwide movement — “Hyena Appreciation Day!”

The completion of an elephant corridor to the north of Mt Kenya is set to end frequent human-wildlife conflict. The 28-kilometre elephant corridor has an electrified game-proof fence that aims at providing a safe passageway for elephants in the northern part of Mount Kenya National Park.

This being the first of its kind in Kenya, efforts to reduce human-wildlife conflict that has characterised the area for long may soon bear fruit.

According to Virgin Atlantic country manager David Rose, the initiative aims at ensuring long-term survival of the elephant population in the Mt Kenya region.

“Around 2,000 elephants will benefit from this corridor since we need to protect them, along with the villages, farms and people around them,” Mr Rose said.

The project was created to link the Mount Kenya National Park to Ngare Ndare Forest Reserve to enable elephants benefit from the diverse resources offered by each habitat.

The initiative will also help severed migration routes and create conservation areas in Mt Kenya, Ngare Ndare, Borana Ranch, Lewa Conservancy and numerous protected areas in the northern rangelands.

A completed underpass beneath the Nanyuki-Meru highway is also a major part of the corridor and will allow elephants to walk through rather than cross the busy highway.

Mr Michael Dyer, the owner of Borana Lodge, said that elephants would pass through a corridor that is about 4m wide.

“This corridor will mitigate illegal trade activities such as poaching,” Mr Dyer said.

Farming communities

The Mount Kenya Trust and the Kenya Wildlife Service have been erecting a fence on the Mt Kenya boundary to reduce conflict between the farming communities and elephants.

However, according to Mt Kenya Trust executive officer Susie Weeks, fencing may be an effective tool for conflict alleviation, but it severs migration routes previously used by elephants. Continue reading …

Re-posted from “Daily Nation,” by Ashley Lime.