WildlifeDirect
Encyclopedia
WildlifeDirect is a Kenya and US registered charitable organization founded and chaired by African conservationist Richard Leakey
, who is credited with putting an end to the elephant slaughter in Kenya
in the 1980s. Its main office is located in Nairobi
, Kenya
.
WildlifeDirect was established in 2006 to provide support to conservationists in Africa directly on the ground via the use of blogs, which enables anybody, anywhere to play a direct and interactive role in the survival of some of the world’s most precious species.
WildlifeDirect takes no administration fee for the funds that are transferred through their website so that the financial support can go to where it was intended in its entirety. Their core costs are provided for separately through grants, primarily from the European Union http://www.wildlifedirect.org/about/.
s
In January 2007, Congo Rangers in charge of Gorilla Protection from Virunga National Park
reported through their blogs with WildlifeDirect that one solitary male, silverback mountain gorilla
had been killed and butchered. A week later WildlifeDirect reported the death of another male Mountain Gorilla, later identified as Karema, in the same area. His remains, principally his head, had been dumped in a pit latrine. .
WildlifeDirect's intervention in the gorillas deaths led to a deal between Congo Rangers and the rebels on the Democratic Republic of Congo side of Virunga National Park
, where, despite ceasefire agreements, areas are still controlled by rebel fighters loyal to renegade Congolese army general Laurent Nkunda
.
After worldwide publicity about the deaths was generated by WildlifeDirect and the Frankfurt Zoological Society
, which works with the charity in the area, the rebel movement even went so far as to issue a press release denying any involvement .
Hippos
In December 2006, The Advanced Force of the Congo Rangers reported on their WildlifeDirect blog that Mai Mai rebels shot several hundred hippos on the south-western shore of Lake Edward
in Virunga National Park
, halving an already decimated population. Less than two decades ago, conservationists counted 22,875 hippos in the park, most of them in and around the lake. But an aerial count following the massacre showed that what was once the world's most important hippo stock had been reduced to 315 animals .
Only one significant group of Hippos now remains in Virunga National Park
, in Ishango on the Northern shore of Lake Edward
. To help secure the safety of these animals, WildlifeDirect set up a blog for Atamato Madrandele, the Park Ranger responsible for the Ishango Sector http://www.wildlifedirect.org/atamato.
Lion
s
In Kenya for Masaai youth to join the ranks of morans, the initiated young men, they have to kill a lion, either as a group or individually, this is in turn does no justice to the lion populations near where they live. The Lion Guardians project started in 2006 in response to the slaughtering of lions in 2001 and works by getting the Masaai morans to protect these lions instead of killing them. These morans are employed and tasked with tracking, monitoring and conserving the lions.
Since the start of the project, there have very few cases of lion spearing and killings where the project has been rolled out, and the Lion Guardians have been documenting their work on their blog.
Richard Leakey
Richard Erskine Frere Leakey is a politician, paleoanthropologist and conservationist. He is second of the three sons of the archaeologists Louis Leakey and Mary Leakey, and is the younger brother of Colin Leakey...
, who is credited with putting an end to the elephant slaughter in Kenya
Kenya
Kenya , officially known as the Republic of Kenya, is a country in East Africa that lies on the equator, with the Indian Ocean to its south-east...
in the 1980s. Its main office is located in Nairobi
Nairobi
Nairobi is the capital and largest city of Kenya. The city and its surrounding area also forms the Nairobi County. The name "Nairobi" comes from the Maasai phrase Enkare Nyirobi, which translates to "the place of cool waters". However, it is popularly known as the "Green City in the Sun" and is...
, Kenya
Kenya
Kenya , officially known as the Republic of Kenya, is a country in East Africa that lies on the equator, with the Indian Ocean to its south-east...
.
WildlifeDirect was established in 2006 to provide support to conservationists in Africa directly on the ground via the use of blogs, which enables anybody, anywhere to play a direct and interactive role in the survival of some of the world’s most precious species.
WildlifeDirect takes no administration fee for the funds that are transferred through their website so that the financial support can go to where it was intended in its entirety. Their core costs are provided for separately through grants, primarily from the European Union http://www.wildlifedirect.org/about/.
WildlifeDirect's Work
Mountain GorillaMountain Gorilla
The Mountain Gorilla is one of the two subspecies of the Eastern Gorilla. There are two populations. One is found in the Virunga volcanic mountains of Central Africa, within three National Parks: Mgahinga, in south-west Uganda; Volcanoes, in north-west Rwanda; and Virunga in the eastern Democratic...
s
In January 2007, Congo Rangers in charge of Gorilla Protection from Virunga National Park
Virunga National Park
The Virunga National Park , formerly named Albert National Park, is a 7800 square km National Park that stretches from the Virunga Mountains in the South, to the Rwenzori Mountains in the North, in the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo, bordering Volcanoes National Park in Rwanda and Rwenzori...
reported through their blogs with WildlifeDirect that one solitary male, silverback mountain gorilla
Mountain Gorilla
The Mountain Gorilla is one of the two subspecies of the Eastern Gorilla. There are two populations. One is found in the Virunga volcanic mountains of Central Africa, within three National Parks: Mgahinga, in south-west Uganda; Volcanoes, in north-west Rwanda; and Virunga in the eastern Democratic...
had been killed and butchered. A week later WildlifeDirect reported the death of another male Mountain Gorilla, later identified as Karema, in the same area. His remains, principally his head, had been dumped in a pit latrine. .
WildlifeDirect's intervention in the gorillas deaths led to a deal between Congo Rangers and the rebels on the Democratic Republic of Congo side of Virunga National Park
Virunga National Park
The Virunga National Park , formerly named Albert National Park, is a 7800 square km National Park that stretches from the Virunga Mountains in the South, to the Rwenzori Mountains in the North, in the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo, bordering Volcanoes National Park in Rwanda and Rwenzori...
, where, despite ceasefire agreements, areas are still controlled by rebel fighters loyal to renegade Congolese army general Laurent Nkunda
Laurent Nkunda
Laurent Nkunda or Laurent Nkundabatware, or Laurent Nkunda Batware, or as he prefers to be called The Chairman — is a former General in the Armed Forces of the Democratic Republic of Congo and is the former warlord operating in the province of Nord-Kivu, sympathetic to Congolese Tutsis and the...
.
After worldwide publicity about the deaths was generated by WildlifeDirect and the Frankfurt Zoological Society
Frankfurt Zoological Society
The Frankfurt Zoological Society is an independent, non-profit conservation organisation based in Frankfurt am Main, Germany. The society is funded through membership fees, donations, bequests, grants and earnings from its endowment fund.-History:...
, which works with the charity in the area, the rebel movement even went so far as to issue a press release denying any involvement .
Hippos
Hippopotamus
The hippopotamus , or hippo, from the ancient Greek for "river horse" , is a large, mostly herbivorous mammal in sub-Saharan Africa, and one of only two extant species in the family Hippopotamidae After the elephant and rhinoceros, the hippopotamus is the third largest land mammal and the heaviest...
In December 2006, The Advanced Force of the Congo Rangers reported on their WildlifeDirect blog that Mai Mai rebels shot several hundred hippos on the south-western shore of Lake Edward
Lake Edward
Lake Edward or Edward Nyanza is the smallest of the African Great Lakes. It is located in the western Great Rift Valley, on the border between the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Uganda, with its northern shore a few kilometres south of the Equator...
in Virunga National Park
Virunga National Park
The Virunga National Park , formerly named Albert National Park, is a 7800 square km National Park that stretches from the Virunga Mountains in the South, to the Rwenzori Mountains in the North, in the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo, bordering Volcanoes National Park in Rwanda and Rwenzori...
, halving an already decimated population. Less than two decades ago, conservationists counted 22,875 hippos in the park, most of them in and around the lake. But an aerial count following the massacre showed that what was once the world's most important hippo stock had been reduced to 315 animals .
Only one significant group of Hippos now remains in Virunga National Park
Virunga National Park
The Virunga National Park , formerly named Albert National Park, is a 7800 square km National Park that stretches from the Virunga Mountains in the South, to the Rwenzori Mountains in the North, in the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo, bordering Volcanoes National Park in Rwanda and Rwenzori...
, in Ishango on the Northern shore of Lake Edward
Lake Edward
Lake Edward or Edward Nyanza is the smallest of the African Great Lakes. It is located in the western Great Rift Valley, on the border between the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Uganda, with its northern shore a few kilometres south of the Equator...
. To help secure the safety of these animals, WildlifeDirect set up a blog for Atamato Madrandele, the Park Ranger responsible for the Ishango Sector http://www.wildlifedirect.org/atamato.
Lion
Lion
The lion is one of the four big cats in the genus Panthera, and a member of the family Felidae. With some males exceeding 250 kg in weight, it is the second-largest living cat after the tiger...
s
In Kenya for Masaai youth to join the ranks of morans, the initiated young men, they have to kill a lion, either as a group or individually, this is in turn does no justice to the lion populations near where they live. The Lion Guardians project started in 2006 in response to the slaughtering of lions in 2001 and works by getting the Masaai morans to protect these lions instead of killing them. These morans are employed and tasked with tracking, monitoring and conserving the lions.
Since the start of the project, there have very few cases of lion spearing and killings where the project has been rolled out, and the Lion Guardians have been documenting their work on their blog.
WildlifeDirect blogs
- Democratic Republic of Congo:
- Congo Rangers Based in the Mikeno Sector of Virunga National ParkVirunga National ParkThe Virunga National Park , formerly named Albert National Park, is a 7800 square km National Park that stretches from the Virunga Mountains in the South, to the Rwenzori Mountains in the North, in the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo, bordering Volcanoes National Park in Rwanda and Rwenzori...
, these Rangers were picked and trained to form a rapid intervention team capable of handling severe conservation crises. They have protected Virunga throughout the war in DRCDemocratic Republic of the CongoThe Democratic Republic of the Congo is a state located in Central Africa. It is the second largest country in Africa by area and the eleventh largest in the world...
, often without pay and with great danger to their lives. Since the beginning of the war, in 1996, 97 Rangers have been killed on active service . - Gorilla Protection A blog from Paulin Ngobobo, Senior Warden in the South of Virunga National ParkVirunga National ParkThe Virunga National Park , formerly named Albert National Park, is a 7800 square km National Park that stretches from the Virunga Mountains in the South, to the Rwenzori Mountains in the North, in the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo, bordering Volcanoes National Park in Rwanda and Rwenzori...
, and in charge of the Mikeno Sector. - Atamato and the Hippos A blog from Atamato Madrandele, the Senior Ranger who looks after the last significant remaining group of HipposHippopotamusThe hippopotamus , or hippo, from the ancient Greek for "river horse" , is a large, mostly herbivorous mammal in sub-Saharan Africa, and one of only two extant species in the family Hippopotamidae After the elephant and rhinoceros, the hippopotamus is the third largest land mammal and the heaviest...
in Virunga National ParkVirunga National ParkThe Virunga National Park , formerly named Albert National Park, is a 7800 square km National Park that stretches from the Virunga Mountains in the South, to the Rwenzori Mountains in the North, in the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo, bordering Volcanoes National Park in Rwanda and Rwenzori...
. - Congo Rangers based in Mutsora, in the Northern Sector of Virunga National Park:
- Congo Rangers Based in the Mikeno Sector of Virunga National Park
- KenyaKenyaKenya , officially known as the Republic of Kenya, is a country in East Africa that lies on the equator, with the Indian Ocean to its south-east...
:- Mara Mobile Veterinary Unit Integrating Community Development and Wildlife Protection in Masai MaraMasai MaraThe Maasai Mara National Reserve is a large game reserve in south-western Kenya, which is effectively the northern continuation of the Serengeti National Park in Tanzania...
. - Colobus Trust A Conservation Organization dedicated to protecting primates in Coastal KenyaKenyaKenya , officially known as the Republic of Kenya, is a country in East Africa that lies on the equator, with the Indian Ocean to its south-east...
. - Wildlife Musings in Laikipia.
- Mara Mobile Veterinary Unit Integrating Community Development and Wildlife Protection in Masai Mara