Tusk

Last week, after leaving Zimbabwe on my way to Kenya, I stopped off in Johannesburg, SA to visit a very special vulture conservation project. Vultures play an important ecological role by cleaning up dead carcasses and decreasing the spread of disease. However, they face many threats from human activities such as electrocutions and collisions with electrical structures, a decrease in food availability, and poisoning. Established in 2007, Vulpro works across South Africa to protect the endangered Cape Vulture and other species. It approaches vulture conservation in an integrated, multidisciplinary fashion, combining education and good science with networking, capacity building and knowledge generation. VulPro operates a vulture rescue and rehabilitation programme to treat injured, grounded, and disabled vultures, which are released as soon as possible and subsequently monitored. It also runs ‘vulture restaurants’, which provide wild populations with supplemental food in the form of uncontaminated carcasses. Special breeding facilities rear vulture chicks for reintroduction programmes and to supplement existing colonies. Wild populations are monitored with systematic observations, with individuals tracked using tags and GPS devices to learn more about their distribution and ranging behaviour. A research programme studies the effect on the birds of veterinary drugs often found in livestock that they might eat. There is also an outreach and education initiative which gives talks and presentation, conducts workshops and training sessions, and assists with farmer/vulture conflict situations. Since 2009, Tusk has provided annual grants to VulPro, mainly to fund monitoring of the Cape vulture populations, community workshops and development of the Vulture Centre. Specific items supported by Tusk have included a solar water pumping system; updating the vulture restaurant database and developing a database for tagged vultures. Vultures are a critical but undervalued component of African ecosystems. Continuing support for the work of VulPro is essential to raise their profile and combat their ongoing decline.

An amazing few days with the MALILANGWE TRUST in Zimbabwe. Tusk are a proud conservation partner here and over the last few days, I’ve been getting to know the team, learning about the history of the partnership, seeing the impact in the field and planning for the future. Malilangwe Wildlife Reserve is a 50,000 hectare former cattle ranch that was restored as a wildlife area in the 1980s. It's managed by the Malilangwe Trust for the benefit of biodiversity conservation, community development and sustainable ecotourism. Connected to the immense Greater Limpopo Transfrontier Park, it has recovered healthy populations of many key species including elephant, black and white rhino, lion and wild dog. Alongside some of the traditional (and innovative!) conservation work, the Malilangwe Trust also runs an extensive programme of community activities. These are designed to make a lasting contribution the development in the area, whilst raising awareness of the importance of the country’s wildlife. Last week I had the honour of presenting students from the Malilangwe Conservation Education Programme with their graduation certificates. This residential course has run since 2011 and aims to instil an appreciation for wildlife, conservation, sustainability, environmental processes, cultural heritage, as well as to equip students with a range of life skills. It was fantastic to learn that Tusk's education programme (PACE) has helped to shape this course. The trust also supports local schools in a broad variety of ways, from building and equipping an IT lab, to augmenting the basic nutritional and energy requirements for over 20,000 children. I also had the pleasure of visited the Khomonani Women’s Garden, which was set up by the trust and is now managed by a group of 21 women. Lastly, I was honoured (and slightly nervous) to be invited to train with the ranger team (or scouts as they call them here) on the last morning. Along with being hard work, it was a wonderful insight into the camaraderie that exists amongst the team. Talking to them afterwards, it was evident how much pride they have in their job and their deep passion for protecting wildlife. We also talked about Tusk’s Wildlife Ranger Challenge (WRC). This brilliant initiative has raised over $18m in the last 4 years and has been a big help to the team at Malilangwe. The WRC has directly helped fund their quick reaction force and their first K9 unit, with several bloodhounds coming to the reserve shortly and 4 rangers receiving specialist dog handling training. All truly amazing work making a positive difference and striving for the peaceful coexistence of wildlife and communities. Immensely proud that Tusk is a small part of this work!

After months of targeted fieldwork on African Wild Dogs, our partners at Botswana Predator Conservation, an initiative of Wild Entrust, have released a paper 'Experimental modification of African wild dog movement and behavior using translocated conspecific scent'. Delve into the details in our latest Medium blog to learn more: https://brnw.ch/21wKXAh Or read the full paper here: https://brnw.ch/21wKXAg

Could we monitor biodiversity like we do tomorrow’s weather? From mapping wildlife hotspots to key conservation areas, we delve into how satellite imagery can help us monitor habitats that would otherwise be logistically challenging and time-consuming to survey from the ground. Discover how satellite imagery is already assisting wildlife conservation, in our latest blog... https://lnkd.in/ehXcPBy5

We are proud to be protecting over 40 threatened species across Africa! Today on #EndangeredSpeciesDay we want to say THANK YOU to our project partners for the admirable and vital work you do for species across Africa. Tusk support organisations that have increased grey-crowned crane populations, spearheaded the largest-ever vulture relocation, returned rhinos to landscapes where they had been wiped out by poaching and are monitoring endemic species like the okapi and mountain bongo, and so much more. We are proudly supporting and providing funding for over 50 organisations best placed to protect Africa’s biodiversity. Find out more and support them at Tusk.org

It was fantastic to bring together the Tusk Conservation Awards judges last night for a panel discussion at our Patrons' Circle event in London. The Awards, which take place in London each year, shine a much needed spotlight on the incredible men and women working on the frontline of conservation in Africa. The judges touched on a range of subjects including the importance of local leadership and community involvement for sustainable impact and the need to drive greater investment to support biodiversity conservation initiatives across the world. They finished on a note of hope and optimism, recognising that the next generation are doing more to take care of the natural world. A huge thanks to Autonomous Research for generously hosting us, to the Awards judges for their words of wisdom and to our amazing Tusk Patrons' Circle supporters.

During the Tusk Conservation Symposium, we were delighted to have a presentation by the Rwanda Development Board to share how governments can position the environment and conservation as a top priority. Our partners Dr. Anthony Mburu from The Maar Trust, and Beryl Makori from the Pangolin Project explain why the presentation was one of their highlights from the symposium. Read more about the Rwanda Development Board and their conservation culture here: https://brnw.ch/21wJm2W

We are #hiring! Tusk is excited to be growing our UK team, as we look to hire an Executive Assistant to the CEO and the Founder & President! The role will provide broad support for a wide range of activities and all essential administrative functions. This exciting opportunity is perfect for an individual who is passionate about supporting Tusk's mission of accelerating African-driven conservation. Location: Gillingham, Dorset UK Salary: £35,000 according to experience. Deadline: Monday 13th May 2024 Find out more about the role and how to apply here: https://brnw.ch/21wJjOP

Since the inception of the Alert System in 2019 - where notifications are sent to community members when collared lions approach livestock areas - a significant reduction in the number of clashes between humans and wildlife has proven its success, and in 2022 over 20,000 alerts were recorded!   Tusk’s partner, Communities Living Among Wildlife Sustainably (CLAWS) Executive Director, Andrew Stein, shares how his organisation is using technology to advance conservation efforts in Africa in our latest blog: https://lnkd.in/eBfsS9j3   🎙️If you would like to hear more about CLAWS, check out our #TuskTalksPodcast episode with Andrew: https://lnkd.in/eVtrRHpX

Africa's biodiversity rich forests sustain livelihoods and regulate climate, however these vital ecosystems are sadly disappearing... That’s why Tusk has chosen to focus on Africa's Guardians of the Forests in the Big Give #GreenMatchFund. Bewteen 18th – 25th April all donations made through tusk.org/biggive will be matched and the funds rasied will help protect vitial habiats and threatened species, such as the okapi and continue supporting Tusk partners like the Okapi Conservation Project. Please help us unlock the matched funds this #EarthDay by donating. One donation, twice the impact. Thank you.