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1. 3,100 respond to an appeal for Big Cats

   Posted on 9:00pm Saturday 31st Aug 2019

   Do you ever hear of an appeal and wonder how many people sign up to it? Well, National Geographic had a Big Cats Appeal in honour of World Lion Day on 10 August.  They asked people to help protect lions, cheetahs and other Big Cats.  Big Cats are in trouble because of habitat loss, degradation and conflict with humans. 3,100 people responded to an appeal for Big Cats. And they raised an incredible $199,000.   That money will go straight to fund innovative solutions and technology protecting wildlife and wild places. ©National Geographic Society National Geographic has identified 20 populations across 18 countries as priority areas for lions.  These populations encompass almost 1.25 million square kilometres – it’s estimated they have 83% of Africa’s known lion population. And they help communities too, as they create conservation programmes which help protect wonderful Big Cats and employ local people too.  Find out more and support their work here Derek and Beverly Joubert are conservationists and film makers who have been working to help save big cats and other key wildlife species and their habitats for over 30 years.    The Jouberts and National Geographic founded the Big Cats Initiative in 2009 to try to halt the decline of big cats in the wild. The Big Cats Initiative supports scientists and conservationists who are working to save big cats.   They have built over 1,800 livestock enclosures to protect livestock and so save big cats from retaliatory killings.  The Big Cats Initiative takes a three pronged approach to big cat conservation: It assesses It assesses and maps big cat populations, and it analyses the success of measures put in place to help protect them – this knowledge helps guide the protection efforts the Big Cats Initiative chooses to fund. It protects The initiative supports protects designed and implemented by people living in areas where they are big cats, creating ways in which local communities and big cats can co-exist It communicates With Nat Geo WILD, the Big Cats Initiative spreads the word about the big cat decline, thus encouraging the public to find out more through free education initiatives and programming on Nat Geo WILD. Find out more about the Big Cats Initiative here 3 ways to help and get involved: Donate Spread the word Sign up for the newsletter so that you can get updates from the field

    

    

2. Durrell needs help with Himalayas appeal for pygmy hogs in India

   Posted on 9:00pm Sunday 25th Aug 2019

   The Durrell Wildlife Conservation Trust (founded by Gerald Durrell) have an appeal at the moment. Once, the southern foothills of the Himalayas were covered with lush grasslands.  These grasslands were homes to animals such as elephants, rhinos and tigers. Today, thanks to human activity, there’s less than 10% of the original grassland left. And there are less than 250 pygmy hogs left in the wild.  They rely on this ecosystem – and unless action is taken fast, the grasslands will vanish.  Their home will be gone forever. Pygmy hogs and other native wildlife can only thrive if these grasslands recover. And that’s where Durrell and you & I come in. To protect and restore the grasslands in and around the Manas National Park, Durrell need a 4WD vehicle.   They need to monitor wildlife and understand the threats that this ecosystem faces.  And they need to reach communities and reach important sites across 3 protected areas of grasslands – ensuring that the reintroductions of pygmy hogs goes successfully. There are all sorts of ways your donation can help.  Donate and you can help save the wildlife and communities who rely on the grasslands. Pygmy hogs are depending on you and I to help them.  I have made a donation – will you? Donate here and help Durrell rewild India's grasslands

    

3. Rare Wildlife and Plants are Blooming in Welsh Meadows

   Posted on 9:00pm Tuesday 16th Jul 2019

   Thanks to a conservation scheme, rare wildlife and plants are coming back to meadows in Wales! Since the 1930s, meadows have been vanishing from the landscape there.  In fact, 97% of wildflower meadows were lost due to heavy fertiliser use and early hay crops – which also meant that 63% of butterflies disappeared as well. However, the National Trust Wales have been working hard to reverse this disappearance. Last year, the charity created 40 acres of new meadows across the country.   They care for 582.2 acres of meadow.  And good news!   Amongst them was Chirk Castle, where 6 hectares of herb rich meadows were re-established. Wildlife flowers such as the yellow rattle – not seen since World War Two – have been sighted in Chirk, in North Wales.  There’s been a 50% increase in yellow rattle and eyebright plants! Chirk Castle in Wales The idea is to form a basic habitat.   The Trust have already noticed an increase in the numbers of insects and small mammals in the grass on the ground;  and kestrels in the skies above them, hunting them.   Green-winged orchids are also blossoming at Bodnant Garden near Colwyn Bay. Farmers are also benefitting.  Allowing their hay crops to grow wild for longer before they cut them means that they get more minerals and fibre.  A win-win, all round then!

4. Water flow lessens animal-human conflict in Liwonde National Park, Malawi

   Posted on 9:00pm Friday 21st Jun 2019

   Water flow lessens animal-human conflict in Liwonde National Park, Malawi We all need water, humans and animals. So what happens when there is competition between humans and animals for water? Liwonde National Park in Malawi is home to over 10,000 different species.   Black rhinos, elephants, zebras and baboons are among them – the place is a biodiversity hotspot. The Shire River passes through the area, and is a vital life source for all the animals there. Years of poaching, illegal fishing and snaring have devastated the park’s ecosystem.  Competition for resources has rocketed; as well as the animals, people need water to survive.  The people of Chikolongo had to go miles to retrieve water from the Shire River – it was the only major source of water available.  In their trek, the journey often led to death for people and animals – especially as a result of human encounters with crocodiles, elephants and hippos. The IFAW (that’s the International Fund for Animal Welfare) heard about the crisis in Chikolongo and knew they had to help. So in 2013, they created the Chikolongo Livelihood Project – designed to build sustainable solutions to reduce the conflict between villages and wildlife. They completed a water pump and pipeline to bring easily accessible and clean water directly into the heart of the Chikolongo community. Since that pipeline was created, there have been no incidents of human-wildlife conflict.  The villages have what they need to co-exist amongst the animals they had thought were dangerous.  They are happier. Plus, IFAW established a community fish farm and developed an incentive system to encourage the growth of commercial crops which was designed to help reduce poaching.  And the animals of Liwonde National Park are successfully recovering. Find out more about the initiative here

5. New partnership to curb elephant poaching in Kenya

   Posted on 8:00pm Wednesday 20th Feb 2019

   The International Fund for Animal Welfare (IFAW) has partnered with the TUI Care Foundation to prevent the poaching of elephants and stop human-elephant conflict in the Tsavo conservation area in Kenya. TenBoma is IFAW’s innovative wildlife security initiative.  It means that government and community rangers are trained to better predict and respond to threats and protect the animals and local communities. In short, the tenBoma approach combines tradition – taking traditional knowledge from communities – with modernity – incorporating this knowledge into modern methods and technology. The support from the TUI Care Foundation has enabled IFAW to provide urgently needed equipment to community rangers.  This equipment includes items such as mobile devices, cameras and boots.  These items enable the rangers to gather information on potential threats to wildlife and people. Technology, systematic data processing systems and intelligence will enable the two organisations to implement the initiative. Rangers have communications and mobility equipment such as GPS, smartphones and radios so that they can respond more quickly and effectively to intercept poachers.   These also enable the rangers to get to areas where elephants are raiding crops and so coming into conflict with people. The Tsavo Conservation Area is one of Kenya's most visited tourism destinations.  IFAW say about 12,850 elephants live there, and amongst them are at least 11 of the world’s remaining big tuskers.  They are all facing a threat from poachers who want their ivory and from human-elephant conflict. Find out more