The WILD Foundation » Talking WILD

First confirmed wolverine sighting in Colorado in 90 years!

2012-06-01T10:33:06-07:00

In late April, Westminster photographer Cameron Miller was the first person to have a confirmed sighting of a wolverine in Colorado in 90 years. He was taking photos near Mt. Bierstadt (close to Winter Park) when he heard a noise, turned around and saw wolverine M56. He was lucky enough to snap a couple pictures before the lone male ran away.

The last confirmed sighting of a wolverine in Colorado was in 1919 and before that there was not a lot of reliable information on wolverine populations. Numerous survey efforts have occurred since 1979 to confirm the presence of wolverines in the Colorado; however, they did not yield any results.

Although they look like small bears, wolverines are actually a member of the weasel family, Mustelidae. They are solitary omnivores who live in snow-covered areas. Males wander up to 15 miles per day in search of food. Females do not tend to move far from the place they are born which makes it difficult for the species to naturally spread to new habitats. They are thought of as extremely vicious creatures because of their power (they can drive away predators four times their size!) but they typically feed on injured or previously killed animals making them more of a scavenger. Wolverines generally have a bad reputation for their ferocity which is understandable with their powerful jaws and claws made for ripping apart meat and bones. There is no need for humans to fear wolverines since they are very slow and have poor eye sight. This combination makes them poor hunters so they have to rely on their ferocity in keeping other scavengers away from their food. Wolverines are always on the move looking for food and often travel long distances in short periods of time. One radio-collared wolverine around Glacier National Park traveled 120 miles in one week!

Click here to watch this 1 minute BBC video of a wolverine feasting on an adult caribou

In the US, these animals are typically found in the northern Rocky Mountains (Idaho, Montana, Wyoming). The populations reached a low in the early 1900s due to hunting for their fur and poisoning to prevent the raiding of trap lines. These practices where reduced or eliminated by 1930 and the populations largely recovered. Though Colorado’s high country is prime wolverine habitat, extremely low numbers have not represented a viable population.

In 1998 the Colorado Wildlife Commission approved the reintroduction of the lynx and the wolverine, but complications caused the focus to stay on the lynx; the wolverine reintroduction plan was put on the back burner.

The recent sighting has sparked controversy over reintroducing a wolverine population in the high altitude areas of Colorado. It is believed that the high country is perfect for wolverines in the face of Global Climate Change since they require snow cover year round for their dens. Colorado Ski Country USA and ranchers take issue with the idea because the land ideal for the wolverine overlaps with their land. It is anticipated that a decision will be made on the issue after it is decided whether the wolverine should be on the endangered species list or not. The Colorado DOW draft plan hopes to introduce 30-40 individuals by the end of 2012 but, with the current conversations, seems like a very difficult goal to reach.

Wolverine M56 traveled hundreds of miles and made multiple highway crossings to get to Colorado. In doing so he proved two things: 1) Colorado is a viable habitat for wolverine and a good candidate for reintroduction and 2) long interconnected wild lands are extremely important. As wolverine’s snowy habitat begins to disappear due to shorter winters from Global Climate Change, it is important to conserve land—like the high country of Colorado—for the wolverine to migrate to. Nature Needs Half is an initiative to conserve half of both water and land ecosystems in order for them to be protected. The wolverine is a perfect example of why this mission is so important.

Tracks of Giants: Personal Reflection

2012-05-30T11:45:39-07:00

The TRACKS team were due to cross the border into western Botswana today, 27 May, at remote Dobe and to meet PJ Besterlink, old friend and conservation “giant” of Botswana. As the Logistics Manager for the expedition, when I had heard nothing from the team by 6 pm I had to confront just how much I have invested in them being where they should be at the right time!

All six of the core team have had to take a large step outside their comfort zone and are facing both internal and external challenges. Such is the nature of true challenge. But, I have also taken a step into the unknown.

So, here are some reflections on another kind of journey – from the “logistics lady” - hearkening back to the words of Robert Frost that I recently posted on Facebook.

The woods are lovely dark and deep
But I have promises to keep
And miles to go before I sleep……

These lines are more about me than those actually undertaking the expedition. They reflect my sense of where I am personally in coping with the demands of the expedition. The challenges are “24/7”, and my sleep is often disturbed by logistical nightmares (sometimes even good ideas!) that have me sitting up in bed with my notebook and pen so as not to forget in the morning.

I promised (to myself, mostly) that I will look after the logistics of the Tracks project so that it works and, as far as possible, is on time so that plans can made around the schedule. I knew there would be constant challenges and little hiccups – too much/too little food, missed flights, ill-health and accidents, miscommunications and other curve balls. And, when I am on site with the team and Ian asks that I stay as long as possible to make him happy – I have to respond that everything I’m doing is “to make him happy,” and to keep the project working and on time I need to be here in Cape Town at the beck and call of my computer.

Emerging out of the stress is the sweet thought of a place or a time – a refuge – a sanctuary – where no-one can reach me (not even my own obsessive thoughts) and there are no demands, no permissions to seek, no requests for help or logos or pictures or changed flights or transfers or sweets or maps. I have a special memory of the hazelwood forest around my sister’s home in Cornwall, where the woods are lovely………

Three and bit months before I sleep!!!!

However, I do not want to make this sound like I have no-one backing me up. While I am not sleeping — and even when I am — I cannot forget the support that I receive in so many ways. Andrew and Claire of the Wilderness Foundation, PE, Kim (Anton’s mom), Kelly (Elephants without Borders), Craig (Peace Parks) – and many more - thank you for being there and for doing what you can to help whenever I ask, and a big thank you to my understanding family and friends. Thank you all!

At 6.30 pm today, 27 May, Ian called from 8km outside XaiXai to say that they had all arrived (where they should be), all are in good spirits – and all is well!! Perhaps I will sleep tonight…

>Visit the official Tracks of Giants website

Mali: Determination wins through…evidence that our strategy is working!

2012-05-29T10:24:11-07:00

17 May 2012

Providing water in an area of good pasture outside the elephant range for the people living around Lake Banzena has been a top priority for the Mali Elephant Project. This is to enable the local population to move from Lake Banzena and leave this key dry season water for elephant use only (see blogpost “Action at Lake Banzena”).

Sinking three boreholes sounds straightforward but the reality has been an adventure — full of ups and downs — as we have had to grapple with difficult terrain, deep and fractured water tables, match administrative and operational requirements, the resurgence of troubles in the north of Mali and all that goes with that. However determination, persistence and commitment from all concerned – the community, project personnel, the Mali government’s Direction of Water and Forests, and our courageous contractor, Boly — has meant that this week we have reached a watershed. The boreholes have been completed and we have evidence that our strategy is working.

The numbers of cattle have diminished greatly at the lake, and Lake Banzena did not dry this year, despite poor rains last year. Everyone breathes a sigh of relief as the rains have begun to fall. The people have already begun to move, with four out of the eleven clans having relocated to the new site.

The community-forester patrols are now autonomous, and continue to patrol with the camels donated by the project, and the amount of illegal wood cutting, charcoal burning and hunting has diminished markedly. Work is continuing with the adjacent communities who want to join in the process of developing community resource management systems.

Tracks of Giants: The first days of the expedition

2012-05-22T12:05:19-07:00

Home alone after an intense busy stressful intimate people-filled period of the first 12 days of the Tracks of Giants project – it is difficult to settle.

Responsibility for the logistics of the expedition have, for the last year, weighed heavily on my sleep patterns and stress levels and on relationships. However, contrary to my concerns, as of today, 17 May 2012 (17 days into the Tracks of Giants expedition) the cyclists and the back up team are running exactly as set out on my detailed schedule, and are where they are meant to be – arriving at Ongava, a Wilderness Safaris lodge just outside Etosha in Namibia for a day and half well deserved rest.

Reflecting back at my time with the group in the north west of Namibia, large numbers of strangers to cater for before the WLS trail caused anxious moments for our newly formed back up team (BUCS) – but they coped superbly and as they have got to know each other’s strengths (and non-strengths) so the expedition machinery is slowly becoming more well-oiled.

An emotional – but timely – send off of the 11 trailists on 1^st May 2012 from Rocky Point on the desolate but desperately beautiful Skeleton Coast. Whilst the walkers contended with unseasonally hot temperatures and lack of water, BUCS were anxiously treading water (??) at Puros Camp Site waiting for news. All went well and the hike finished on time on the 4^th May.

Stories of sore and stiff joints and blisters and painful body parts were downplayed in comparison to the sense of camaraderie and intimacy that each hiker experienced. James Mukuyu, a sustainability student in the city ofWindhoek, was emotional in expressing his first real experience of being in nature although he is actually studying nature.

Award winning Namibian conservationists, Garth Owen Smith and Margie Jacobsohn, arrived late on the 4^th May and early on 5^th (a rest day for the expedition leaders) many of the hiking participants departed – the group was reduced to a more manageable 10.

May 6^th heralded the start of the cycling through Namibia – on a route recommended by GOS who had brought along his own cycle and sheepskin saddle cover – heading north (and not east) on a rough, rocky, sandy, corrugated track of a road towards Orupembe (place in the middle of nowhere) amongst the breathtaking Etendeka mountain range. We breakfasted, lunched and camped in dry river beds in the shade of glorious Camelthorn canopies for the next 6 nights until I left, with the exception of two luxurious nights spent at Etaambura Conservancy Lodge.

I returned to Cape Townwith Nick Chevallier, the film maker, after an emotional farewell to the team at Onganga Spring – so remote it is not on any map. Johnny Frankiskos drove us the 83 km to Opuwo where Nico Louw, a volunteer pilot for the NGO Bateluers was waiting to fly us back to Windhoek– exactly as planned!

Nick and I chatted about our time together – and we agreed that it is impossible to choose a highlight – there were so many – the unimaginable expanse of a star-studded night sky split by so many shooting stars – the many different people who we met or who joined at different times – the remote routes and variety of road surfaces we travelled – the stories we heard – the discussions we took part in – the unbroken brightness of the cloudless skies and the heat between 2.30 and 4.30 each day – growing intimacy and friendship of all involved – the two leaders (Ian x 2) and BUCS.

What a privilege to have been part of all of this. Wishing the Tracks of Giants team continued good health, safety and much fun!

>View photos from the field team!

>Visit the Tracks of Giants website

Tracks of Giants: The long haul across Namibia

2012-05-21T13:39:21-07:00

18^th May 2012 – Eighteen days and 880 kms later, its rest day at Andersons Camp in the Ongava Concession that lies adjacent to the Okaukuejo Gate of Etosha National Park. Thanks to Mike Wassing, Lious Nortje and all the staff at Wilderness Safaris for providing this sanctuary of comfort.

Since the last rest day at Etaambura Lodge, it’s been 9 days of cycling – mostly extremely pleasant and rewarding, but it has to be said, not without the odd day of agony and humour failure. Leaving the rugged beauty and tricky dirt roads of the highland regions, our route took us down to Opuwa, and shortly thereafter on to the primary arterial roads for the first time. These long open stretches of flat tar have certainly upped our average speed, but there is an element of unease that comes with the odd truck whizzing by inches from your handlebars. Once past Kamanjab and beyond, we reverted to the gravel back roads that link the commercial cattle ranching districts and numerous wildlife conservancies edging Etosha’s western and southern boundaries. While not as scenic as the drier highland regions, the ‘issue-levels’ have again ticked up as we have cycled through areas beset with human-animal conflicts.

Two days back we had a particularly worthwhile interlude when we stopped off for early morning coffee and sandwiches at the farm Vreugde belonging to the Brand family. Danie Brand Jnr got to hear about TRACKS through the local Namibian press and then took the trouble to contact us via the website. Our thanks go to the Brand’s for their generous hospitality and for taking time from farming duties to spend an hour or so discussing the range of attitudes that exist amongst those that ranch cattle and sheep alongside wildlife areas.

Given the value of these exchanges to the TRACKS information database, we would like to encourage others living or working along the route to be in contact. Whether a farmer, conservationist, researcher, ecotourism operator or someone that simply has a story to share, leave a short message on thePress/Media Page with a cell number and precise address, and if time and distance allows, we will endeavour to visit you.

Thanks also to all those wonderful supporters sending good wishes and messages of encouragement – they come from family, friends, sponsors and followers from around the globe. Your inspiration helps keep the focus – TRACKS is primarily a conservation awareness initiative that will hopefully bring greater understanding to corridor and transfrontier projects. It is also our way of collecting the stories of those conservation Giants, and others, that are so actively involved in the challenges of the day.

And then like any tightly-knit unit, spirits within the core team remain high. The daily task roster has been streamlined and tweaked, while everyone is getting time on the bicycles. And this morning’s game-drive into Etosha was a huge success – Mandla came back brimming with joy at his first Namibian lion sightings. For Frank and Anton, “it’s a huge privilege to be involved with TRACKS”, and for Frank, he has been particularly “impressed with the attitude of everyone we have met, especially the hospitality of the lodge owners and farmers.”

Tomorrow, we head due east along the entire southern edge of Etosha, before swinging south through Otavi and on to Grootfontein. With three consecutive 100 kilometre plus rides looming, there are going to be some long and butt-burning days in the saddle. And then at Roy’s Camp, we look forward to welcoming Dr Julian Fennessy and his wife Stephanie to the expedition. Julian is the Director of the Namibia Nature Foundation, a well established and highly regarded NGO dedicated to promoting sustainable conservation and development programmes across Namibia. Established in 1987, the NNF is now involved in over 90 projects on both a local and regional level. Julian will ride with us to Tsumkwe, where and he and the NNF have facilitated various interviews and visits involving the local San community.

It’s then a short hop to the Namibia/Botswana border and another exciting day – if all goes to plan, Tessa van Schaik, my beloved partner, and Liam, our adorable son, will be there to meet us. They will be driving in from Maun with PJ Bestelink, a great friend to both Ian and me, and one of Botswana’s ecotourism pioneers and a “Giant” of the Okavango Delta. PJ has been a mentor, and both Ian and I have been fortunate to have had many incredibly valuable times, as well as much fun, with PJ and his wife, Barney, over the years. He will be our guide through the first stages of the Botswana section – what a true pleasure and privilege to have him along.

>View photos from the field, May 3-9

>Visit the Tracks of Giants website

Tracks of Giants: Hiking the Horuseb Valley

2012-05-19T06:14:30-07:00

Hiking up the Horuseb Valley, across the Skeleton Coast, was a lifetime experience. As we turned inland from the coast we saw our first elephant spoor (tracks), those of a large bull that had walked to the coast, turned, and ambled all the way back up the valley. We started the expedition as promised….in the tracks of giants.

Namibia’s coastline is in continuous protected area status from the northern border with Angola to the southern border with South Africa. Occasional 4 wheel drive vehicles traverse this area. However, we know of only one other person who has (willingly) hiked this 74 km stretch from the Atlantic Ocean to the dusty, desert, inland village of Purros in NW Namibia. That was Chris Bakkes (also with us on this trail) who did it with a back-up vehicle. Our Tracks of Giants team of 11 people — plus one tenacious and remarkable Jack Russell terrier (“Tier”, or Tiger) – was unsupported, and each person toted 23kg (50 lb) backpacks. We had the necessary luxury of just one, pre-arranged cache of water deposited several days earlier along a particularly dry, 16 km segment of the river valley. The fact that the water tasted like detergent from the ample cleansing in base camp of the 60 litre containers was little noticed. A rooibos teabag in my water bottle took care of that.

The cool, delicious Atlantic breeze quickly dissipated after we headed east from the mouth of the river. The “river” is underground, of course, and we hiked along what appeared as a sandy, cracked-silt, dry valley, with awesome sand dunes up to 150m (500 ft) high on the south side and rolling desert to the north. Occasional rose-colored granite outcrops emerged from the sand dunes.

We made 3 night camps on sand bars. We rationed our water carefully until we finally found surface water seeping from the rocks, which we drank un-treated. Each day we walked out of camp in the pre-dawn darkness, until about noon, when we would find a bit of shade to lay in and lunch on dried fruit and crackers. By midday the heat was an unapologetic 44 C (111 F). During these necessary respites the documentation aspect of TRACKS occurred, with the local conservationists interviewed on camera about the nature conservation challenges, issues, and accomplishments in their work and region. When the slanting rays of the sun cooled a bit, we continued hiking until dusk.

Memories and images from the trail:

Blisters on our feet…laughter…muscle pain…avoiding soft sand if possible!
Night watch — The waxing moon, almost full. As always on a Wilderness Leadership School-type trail, there was a prescribed night watch (each person doing an hour or so) around the small campfire. It was a treasure of silence, stars, and feeling. I’ve done the night watch dozens of times in Southern Africa, but this was special. It was deeper, quieter. The stars hissed. A brown hyena howled. A leopard grunted as it lapped the shallow water of a seep in the Horuseb. The last night, after the moon set, I saw 15 meteors in the hour before first light.
Plenty of gemsbok (the striking desert oryx) – one herd was over 30 animals — and the smaller springbok.
A nice, close-encounter with a solitary, young bull elephant feeding in the reeds along the edge of the river. These “desert” elephants are one of only two such desert-adapted populations, the other in central Mali where WILD also works with that herd of +/- 500 animals
Laying on our backs in the sand, under the almost-full moon (an unusually large “supermoon”), with Chris Bakkes reciting from memory “The Man from Snowy River,” word by word…and Ian McCallum reciting Carl Sandberg’s Wilderness ….”there is a wolf in me”…
Bird life was frequent though not plentiful. The ubiquitous call of the Bokmakierie (bush shrike)echoed thru the poorts, or granite-walled canyons; noisy, garrulous Egyptian geese wherever the river seeped to the surface; flocks of chattering, Common waxbills in the reed beds; rock martens wheeling along the cliffs; a solitary Auger buzzard perched atop a rock.
Despite the most recent summer rainy season being very sparse, the previous year had been very wet, so by day three the very shallow surface water was almost continuous, necessitating dozens of splashy crossings.

On day four we began to see a different spoor – cattle. We were approaching Purros. By mid-morning the back up team met us. For part of the last 8 kms we were joined by Tessa and Liam (Ian Michler’s partner and their 4 year old son), Sharon McCallum (Dr Ian’s wife and the core of the logistics effort), and Anton Kuuypar the fabulous “do-everything” gap-year student. It was very hot. We learned later at base camp that they recorded 46 C (115F) in the shade.

We walked thru the midday heat, stopping frequently in the shade of a camel thorn trees (acacia erioloba). Tier, the Jack Russell, was beginning to suffer…imagine how hot it was as close to the heat-reflecting sand as he was! Chris would pick him up frequently, douse him with a splash of water, and he would perch on top of Chris’ backpack for awhile. In great contrast was Robbin — a long-legged, easy–gaited, quiet, 34 year old local Himba who works with IRDNC – who strolled along like it was a walk in a park. I saw him drink once, briefly, during the entire morning and early afternoon. For the rest of us, it was impossible to stay hydrated.

By 1:30p we walked into base camp as we had left Rocky Point four days earlier…to the welcoming, soft sound of Frank Raimondo’s harmonica. The cool water was a treat, as was the cool beer.

That evening we were joined by the remarkable duo of Garth Owen Smith and Margie Jacobsohn, pioneers of community-based natural resource management. Garth joined the core team of Ian and Ian for the next, 3 day sector on mountain bikes, starting after a day of rest.

Before sun-up the next morning I left with Tessa, Liam, and Festus for the 14 hour drive to Windhoek, the first 6 hours of which was through the many communal “conservancies” (initiated by Garth and Margie with local communities) that constitute a major part of Namibia’s remarkable conservation success story. From the Land Rover we saw desert elephant, ostrich, giraffe, gemsbok, springbok, Hartman’s zebra and more.

TRACKS is well-launched….only 4,900 km to go!

>View the Horuseb River Valley photos

Tracks of Giants: Crossing the Desert

2012-05-18T06:05:26-07:00

I have been to the tiny dusty village of Puros a number of times, but never had this collection of drab tin and pre-fab dwellings been such a welcome sight. Lying on the edge of the Hoarusib River that splits the true Namib Desert from the pre-Namib and Escarpment to the east, it is where our trusty back-up team had been camped out for a week or so. And after 4 gruelling days and 85 kilometres hiking through the Namib, as we exited the river canyon, all minds shifted to the rituals and comforts associated with a familiar and well laid out campsite – fresh water, shade, shower, wholesome food and of course, the friends and family awaiting our arrival.

It was at once a truly inspiring and humbling way to start the TRACKS expedition – some of the most spectacular desert wilderness found anywhere on the continent, tempered by the testing environmental conditions. Awe and respectful awareness soon became our travel companions.

After a somewhat emotional send-off from the back-up team and family on 1^st May, we headed south from Rocky Point along the endless beaches that dominate the far northern reaches of the Skeleton Coast National Park. Hours later, the route took us into the mouth of the Hoarusib and away from our last comfort – the cool sea-breeze that sweeps in off the cold Atlantic waters.

Despite the searing 42ºC plus daytime temperatures, the next few days passed in a blur of tremendous rock and dune scenery, thirst, and the ever-present banter of a growing camaraderie. At first sight, these landscapes appear barren and seemingly devoid of life, but time soon unveils the faunal and floral delights, and the intricate balance that defines every plant and creature’s existence.

Highlights on this leg included a close-up elephant sighting, plenty oryx and springbok at the water seeps and the occasional jackal and ostrich. The last evening provided a real thrill when the sounds of a grunting leopard echoed along the canyon walls. And then as we set out in the first light of the last morning, the squeals of two brown hyenas broke the dawn.

Because of the harsh and vast terrain, as well as the intense heat, the first two legs of the TRACKS expedition were always going to be tricky ones. Fortunately, for the Namib crossing we had the vast experience of Chris Bakkes and Festus Mbinga, both from Wilderness Safaris, and Mandla Buthelezi from the Wilderness Leadership School to lead the group. For this leg, we were also joined by Vance Martin from The WILD Foundation in the USA, John Kasaona and Boas Hambo from the Integrated Rural Development and Nature Conservation (IRDNC), Jerome Mukuyu, a university student from Windhoek, and Robin from the Puros Conservancy. Nick Chevallier, the filmmaker and cameraman, walked (and documented) the entire trail.

For the next leg, approximately 110 km on mountain bikes, we were joined by Garth Owen-Smith and Margie Jacobsohn, founders of IRDNC, a hugely influential community-based conservation organization instrumental in the success of northern Namibia’s conservancy policy. Garth cycled with us while Margie assisted the back-up crew.

These last two days in the saddle have been as testing as the Namib walk – no let up yet in the daytime temperatures, and then the extremely demanding task of steering a bicycle through long patches of soft sand and loose gravel, or over nasty corrugations. Despite the incredible mountain scenery and the numerous wildlife sightings, which included elephant, cheetah with cubs, aardwolf, and bat-eared fox, there were times on that first afternoon as we slowly ground our way out of the Khumib River bed and then up and over the rocky Oharondua Nomanga Pass that I questioned the sanity of it all.

But now, as I write this first blog, we are enjoying a comfortable rest day in Etaambura Lodge, the region’s premier self-catering community establishment. Extremely well crafted from local materials, it sits perched up on one of the numerous basaltic outcrops that comprise the Etendeka Range, and with splendid 360º views of the surrounding countryside – all is at ease and there is nothing insane about what TRACKS is about.

Which brings me on to the issues – already we have encountered a number of them and the documentation process is well under way. Land-use competition, tender and stakeholder disputes, the human-animal conflicts, and the vital importance of corridors for both wildlife and the rural nomadic Himba people have all presented themselves. Our most demanding challenge is going to be recording these disputes, challenges and successes as accurately and authentically as possible.

In ending this first blog, an introduction to the Buck-up Crew (BUC’s) is long overdue. Johnny Frankiskos and Frank Raimondo are behind the wheels of the two vehicles, and they are being ably supported by Anton Kruyshaar, who also doubles us our bicycle technician, and Mandla Buthelezi. They have done an incredible job and without them, TRACKS is simply a non-starter. Our sincere thanks and appreciation go to them.

As I mentioned earlier, we’ve been extremely fortunate to have Nick Chevallier, a well-known and highly regarded professional film-maker with us for both these legs. His professionalism has been an example to all.

>Visit the Tracks of Giants website

Tracks of Giants: Hiking the Skeleton Coast

2012-05-17T05:18:39-07:00

1 May 2012 wake-up call at 0500 – it was very dark and damp on the little promontory of Rocky Point, jutting into the Atlantic Ocean on Namibia’s Skeleton Coast. After years of discussion, an announcement of intention during WILD9 (Mexico, 2009), and two years of planning, Tracks of Giants was finally on its way.

There was a palpable sense of anticipation and slight nervousness. Everyone was anxious to get going so packing was quick, and followed by even quicker breakfast of cereal and rusks with some hot tea. Suddenly it was time, and the banner was unfurled in the mist and the bobbing lights of headlamps – cameras whirred and flashed. As the initial hiking team of 11 of us tromped off into the sand to the wonderful, soft sound of Frank Raimondo’s harmonica, there was a faint, rose-colored strip of light across the desert horizon to the east. Tier, Chris Bakkes’ feisty and famous 7 year old Jack Russell, gave a few excited barks and ran off ahead of us. The back-up team stayed behind to pack and do the return journey to the base camp at Purros. The 5000 km journey across Southern Africa had begun.

The hikers moved out, and our wilderness trail started with a 14km trek south to the mouth of the Horuseb River, the largest of Namibia’s west-flowing, seasonal rivers that drain into the Atlantic. We set a fast pace across loose sand, working off the nervousness and settling into our packs.

As the eastern sky lightened, the sun finally started to glint off the rollers and whitecaps to the west, and the mist cleared. The Skeleton Coast of NW Namibia is a fabled and mysterious strip of ancient desert along the Atlantic Ocean. The cold, north flowing Benguella current comes directly from Antarctica and hits the arid western coast of South Africa and Namibia, often generating a thick marine layer of fog and mist that has been the cause of many shipwrecks along its shores…hence, its name. The Benguella is also a nutrient rich current, supporting a significant commercial fishery and numerous, huge colonies of Cape Fur seals along the coast.

It’s one of the most unusual ecosystems in the world, and endlessly fascinating. As we hiked south we saw ample, fresh tracks of the brown hyena, readily identified by the clawed, large front paw print with a smaller, hind paw print right next to it. Often cris-crossing these spoor were lots of smaller tracks of the fox-like, Black-backed jackel. These predators and scavengers exist off the Cape Fur seals, snatching young from the fringes of the huge colonies, and feeding on the many carcasses that wash up on the beach.

Namibia is a remarkable country and unusual country with a commitment to nature conservation. 42% of its land is under some sort of formal protection, with good ecological connectivity, making it a superb, global example of Nature Needs Half. It is also the only country in the world whose entire coastline is under formal conservation protection. Yes, there are still many issues and challenges, but it is rightly a remarkable example of nature conservation and a true, global model.

We first identified the Horuseb mouth by the towering sand dunes along its southern bank, and we finally arrived there by mid-late morning. The weather was clear and the sun warm, but the cool ocean breeze was perfect. Packs off, we sat in a loose circle for our “indaba,” the traditional Zulu gathering where stories are told and issues clarified. This is the way that every Wilderness Leadership Schooltrail begins, with each trailist taking as much time as they need to share who they are and why they are on the trail. This is just one of the many ways that makes a WLS experience more than an adventure hike, with all the normal excitement and banter. It is also and most importantly an inner journey, in which discovery is both around and within each person. In wild nature is the perfect place to better understand your own personal nature.

>View the photos of the team: Hiking the Skeleton Coast

>Visit the Tracks of Giants website

CHIMPANZEE – The Taï chimpanzees are featured in the new Disneynature film

2012-05-16T05:15:40-07:00

Oscar, Freddy and Isha are the stars of the new Disneynature film CHIMPANZEE which opened Friday April 20th! This marks the first time ever that a feature film was shot entirely in the wild, and uses footage from the chimpanzees living in the Taï National Park, Côte d’Ivoire and in the Kibale National Park, Uganda. The 3 main stars, Oscar, Freddy and Isha, belong to the chimpanzee groups that Max Planck Director Christophe Boesch and his team have studied for the last 33 years in Côte d’Ivoire.

The movie is based on one of the remarkable cases of adoption that has been observed in the Taï chimpanzees. After the tragic loss of his mother, a chimpanzee infant was serendipitously adopted by Freddy, one of the most experienced adult males in his group. The story follows the powerful relationship between the two as Freddy cares for the little orphan as if he was his own offspring.

CHIMPANZEE is an amazing and unique opportunity for people to learn about the behavior of our closest living animal relatives and will allow them to understand why research in evolutionary anthropology is so fascinating and important.

The faculty, students and field assistants of the Department of Primatology at the Max Planck Institute of Evolutionary Anthropology in Leipzig were involved in the day-to-day filming of the movie and helped make the movie possible. Christophe Boesch served as the principal scientific advisor for the film and was directly involved in developing the script to make sure it reflected the many facets of chimpanzee life and behavior. Please visit the following webpages to learn more about our research:

MPI EVAN: Department of Primatology: www.eva.mpg.de/primat

The Ngogo Chimpanzee Project: www.ngogochimpanzeeproject.org

Wild chimpanzees are threatened across their natural range in Africa due to illegal hunting deforestation and habitat destruction and this is also true for the chimpanzees of the Taï forest.

“This film will allow the public to see into the lives of wild chimpanzees and learn about the personalities of individual animals. I really hope people will feel connected to the animals they see on screen and will feel moved to support conservation initiatives for the survival of this endangered species” said Christophe Boesch.

Everyone interested in learning more about the wild chimpanzees featured in the movie and supporting chimpanzee conservation is encouraged to get involved and visit the following webpage: Wild Chimpanzee Foundation: www.wildchimps.org

The Wild Chimpanzee Foundation is an official partner of the WILD Foundation. The WCF has been working for many years to save the chimpanzee in its natural habitat. With a motto “Now or Never,” WCF has always set its priorities through grass-root activities where wild chimpanzee populations and their forested habitat is being threatened. >Learn more!

Tracks of Giants: Driving to Rocky Point

2012-05-15T05:05:57-07:00

30 April, at the base camp in Purros, NW Namibia– We packed for the first 5 days which would be a Wilderness Leadership School type wilderness trail, or trek, that would launch TRACKS on the coast of Namibia, headed east for 5 months to the Indian Ocean. Packed and ready to go, at 1000 hours we piled into the back-up vehicles for the drive through the rough, dune-dotted, arid landscape towards the coast. Vehicles were full, so I did the day on top of the land cruiser, jostling and bouncing for the entire 90 km. We stopped along the way for a spot of some local fun…dune-surfing…and to wake up the “roaring dunes,” a phenomenon described by Clive Crook in The Atlantic Magazine:

(The high sand dunes have a precipitous angle)…There is a wonderfully poetic technical term for that limit: the angle of repose. Wind blows sand up a dune and drops it, at the crest, onto the leeward side, until the angle of the leeward surface to the horizontal exceeds the angle of repose; when that critical slope is reached, the sand drops away on the leeward side, leaving a perfectly defined edge, until the angle of repose is restored.

When you disturb the sand on one of those edges, it moves like a viscous liquid, pouring over the surface beneath. …The properties of a dune—including its angle of repose—turn on many different factors: wind, depth of material, size of the grains, shape of the grains, sorting of the grains (one size or many), dryness or dampness of the grains, and so forth.

When conditions are just right, something peculiar can happen: Sand can sing. Perhaps you are thinking I was in the dunes too long. (The grains! The grains!) No doubt some said the same of Marco Polo, after he wrote in The Travels about the singing sands of the Gobi Desert. Nothing but sand, he said, and yet he heard “the sounds of all kinds of musical instruments, and also of drums and the clash of arms.” He put it down to desert spirits. The people who know the Skeleton Coast talk of roaring dunes, not singing sands, but I think they are referring to the same thing.

When the sand has exactly the right characteristics, and when the correctly constituted surface forms part of a bowl with the right acoustic properties, a small flow of disturbed sand can cause a sound that builds almost immediately to a noise like rolling thunder. The phenomenon has been recognized by physicists, but the precise causes are not entirely clear. Indeed, the leading researchers seem to have fallen out over it. An editor of Physics World reports that two of the foremost authorities on the matter, once friends, now “tend to avoid one another.”

We continued on towards the coast, arriving to “Rocky Point” at dusk; it was a cold ocean full of hundreds of Cape Fur seals fishing in the surf, with cormorants wheeling overhead. It was cold after the desert heat (high 40’s F, 8 C) and we spent the evening scrounging for driftwood to cook dinner as we were decked out in woolen caps and fleece. By the next afternoon we’d long for that coolness….

1 May, up and packing in the dark, working to the light of our headlamps. Cold sea mist, everything damp and salty, we were ready for launch.

>View the Driving to Rocky Point photo set

>Learn about the people behind the expedition

Tracks of Giants: Getting Ready

2012-05-14T08:36:26-07:00

After meetings in Washington DC in late April, everything was focused on gathering exit speed in the US to head to NW Namibia to join the team members assembling from all points of the compass to launch the Tracks of Giants expedition. As I departed the US on 25 April, my watch broke. As we approached Johannesburg after the 17 hour flight and lots of work, I powered down my laptop…only to have it fail to re-start during my 8 hour transit. When I landed in Windhoek my local cell phone quit…things were going great (!), clearly telling me that I was overdue for a break-away in the wilderness, sans tech.

In Windhoek, the capital of Namibia, a very helpful (obviously God-sent) computer tech loaned me a laptop for a day so I could re-group and finish critical work. Next morning, early 29 April, I met Sharon McCallum (wife of Tracks co-leader Ian McCallum) and Tessa van Schalk (partner of co-leader Ian Michler), Nick Chevalier (filmmaker/cameraman) and Nico, the pilot of a light aircraft and a volunteer member of the Bateleurs (Flying for Conservation in Africa). Nico ferried us 2 hours NW to the sandy airstrip at Purros in Namibia’s Kunene Region.

Everyone was gathering. The co-leaders and drivers of the back-up vehicles had arrived by land late the day before (including Ian Michler’s 4 year old son, Liam), doing the 13 hour drive after a press conference in Windhoek. That night the 5 local conservationists came in by vehicles from around the region…including “Tier,” Chris Bakkes’ 7 year old Jack Russell Terrier that he takes with him everywhere! Chris is the unusually gifted character who works for Wilderness Safaris and is the “concession-holder” (lease holder) for the vast area of the Skeleton Coast National Park, which we’d soon be traversing. By nightfall, the team was assembled. We had a briefing, a brai (barbeque), and a few beers.

>View the photos leading up to the May 1st launch!

>Learn about the people behind the expedition

2014 as the International Year for Wilderness

2012-05-12T10:58:41-07:00

WILD Foundation president Vance Martin attended via Skype conference the Wild Europe steering committee meeting in Brussels recently. Wild Europe is an NGO-driven process in cooperation with the European Commission in which WILD has been one participant among others such as Toby Aykroyd (Wilderness Foundation, UK), Zoltan Kun (Executive Director of PAN Parks), and many more. It has been coordinating efforts for several years across the continent to develop a wilderness definition for Europe in response to the European Parliament’s resolution on wilderness in February 2009. In the meeting and in a letter afterwards, Zoltan suggested that the civil society sector take on the idea of nominating 2014 as the International Year of Wilderness:

On behalf of PAN Parks Foundation, I am addressing this letter to you in order to ask your support for nominating 2014 as the INTERNATIONAL YEAR OF WILDERNESS!

PAN Parks, the European wilderness protection organisation, represents a network of 20 European protected areas and over 100 entrepreneurs involved in nature-based tourism. But for such a nomination we are small and we need to demonstrate a bigger NGO, academic and probably corporate support as well. I want to mention the wilderness resolution as an example from 2008, which generated over 100 supporting signatures. This resolution was successful as it led to the European Parliament adoption of the special report on wilderness.

There are several reasons supporting the idea of nominating 2014 as the International Year of Wilderness. First of all the UN Decade on Biodiversity between 2011 and 2020 (http://www.cbd.int/2011-2020/) provides an excellent framework to develop a global strategy towards enhancing wilderness protection. Secondly such a nomination will help to get the necessary public attention and support, which wilderness protection deserves! Since the adoption of the special report on wilderness by the European Parliament (3 February 2009), there has been increasing support for wilderness in Europe, and a global campaign can help to further advance this support in our continent (and beyond).

If 2014 is nominated as the International Year of Wilderness, it will provide an excellent opportunity to commemorate two remarkable milestones of the global wilderness movement: the 50^th anniversary of the US Wilderness Act and the 5^th anniversary of the European Parliament’s special report on wilderness, which received an overwhelming support of the Members of the European Parliament. The remaining 1,5 year between May 2012 and January 2014 gives a good run-up to develop a coordinated global strategy for celebrating the International Year of Wilderness.

Therefore I sincerely hope I will be able to secure your support for this nomination. I hope you will be able to promote the International Year of Wilderness at the necessary policy forums. I opened a special email account for collecting supporting signatures! If you like the idea email me to IYW2014@panparks.org. Our online application entitled The One Million Tweets http://onemilliontweets.panparks.org/ will also be used to collect one million tweets for supporting the idea of the International Year of Wilderness. This application will be actively promoted after 1 May 2012.

Sincerely yours,

Zoltan Kun
Executive Director, PAN Parks

Andrew Muir Awarded at World Economic Forum on Africa

2012-05-10T07:02:25-07:00

Five leading innovators were named the Social Entrepreneurs of the Year 2012 Africa by the Schwab Foundation for Social Entrepreneurship at the World Economic Forum on Africa in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. Among the five winners is WILD’s close friend and colleague Andrew Muir, Executive Director of the Wilderness Foundation South Africa!

The Wilderness Foundation, founded in 1972, integrates conservation programmes with social and educational programmes. It has trained thousands of youth to be community leaders and national park rangers. Under the stewardship of the Wilderness Foundation, over 200 000 hectares of African wilderness have been rehabilitated and expanded in the interests of conservation and environmental protection. More than 100 000 disadvantaged/vulnerable youth have benefitted from the Wilderness Foundation through its social intervention and environmental education programmes.

The awards were presented to the winners by Klaus Schwab, Founder and Executive Chairman of the World Economic Forum, on the opening day of the meeting in the presence of President Ali Bongo Ondimba of Gabon, President Goodluck Ebele Jonathan of Nigeria, President Jakaya M. Kikwete of Tanzania, and Prime Minister Meles Zenawi of Ethiopia.

“Africa has seen tremendous growth over the past decade,” said Hilde Schwab, Chairperson and Co-Founder of the Schwab Foundation for Social Entrepreneurship. “Social entrepreneurs use innovative approaches to extend access to healthcare, education, energy and housing to marginalized populations that may not otherwise be included in the traditional markets. They ensure that growth, such as that experienced in Africa, is and will be inclusive.”

>View the press release
>Download the press release

Return of the Lynx

2012-05-09T14:34:59-07:00

In my undergrad ecology class at SUNY at Buffalo we studied predator/prey cycles and a well-studied phenomena of ecology is the predator prey cycle of the Canada lynx and Snowshoe hare. I worked in a struggling record store while in college that also had used books for sale. I would flip through the dusty, dank books to find any gems and came across a wildlife book. When I flipped through it and landed on this photo, my heart stopped and I was mesmerized by the intensity of survival of this moment:

: Lynx catching Snowshoe Hare © Ed Cesar

The Canada lynx (not to be confused with their cousin the Bobcat, which is smaller and has different features) once occupied 16 of the lower 48 states including New York, Pennsylvania, Michigan, and Wisconsin. It was listed as threatened in the contiguous United States under the Endangered Species Act by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service on April 21, 2000.

Can you guess why the lynx is threatened? If you guessed habitat fragmentation and destruction, over-trapping and poisoning, and death by car collisions you’re on the right track.

The Colorado Division of Wildlife reported the last known lynx in Colorado was killed in 1973. The CDOW started a lynx reintroduction program in 1999 and since then, over 200 lynx have been released in the San Juan mountains. The reintroduction has seen great progress but there have been many challenges and lessons. As the lynx survive and reproduce, they travel to establish suitable territory. Traveling long distances means crossing our many roads and highways, and we all know how scary this is for drivers and for wildlife. The worst of these crossings is I-70 that cuts through the Rockies and the heart of National Forest lands in Colorado. Several lynx as well as moose, bear, elk, fox, and people have been killed near Vail on I-70.

But there’s hope! We here at WILD are working with Rocky Mountain Wild, CDOT, ARC, the Federal Highway Administration, the Colorado Division of Parks and Wildlife, the US Forest Service, and the US Fish and Wildlife Service to build an overpass specifically for wildlife to cross over I-70 at West Vail Pass.

: Photo © HNTB + MVVA

The I-70 Wildlife Crossing will show how we can incorporate wildlife crossings into our interstate highway system and will establish Colorado’s leadership in protecting our natural heritage all while reducing collisions with wildlife and connecting vital ecological areas.

We need your help! Stay tuned for more I-70 Wildlife Crossing news and events, and share this blog now!

Tracks of Giants expedition to launch May 1st!

2012-04-27T15:33:07-07:00

May 1st is just around the corner! The Tracks of Giants website has been launched, the intro video is complete, people are following along on Facebook and Twitter, and the team is ready to go. Don’t miss out on this exciting journey–be sure to follow along with this team of dedicated conservationists as they traverse over 5,000 kilometres through six countries, through South Africa as they complete the entire journey on foot, by kayak, and on mountain bikes, without the use of motorized transportation. This expedition will raise global awareness of the importance of human/wildlife issues and transfrontier conservation – nature conservation across political borders–in Southern Africa.

The Tracks of Giants’ route has been carefully selected to follow ancient elephant migration paths and to traverse current elephant habitat, thus highlighting the issues faced by southern African elephant populations (and other megafauna) across their ancestral range. Elephants disperse locally due to seasonal variation in resource availability, and they also undertake long-distance movements in search of territory, resources, and security.

Expedition leaders Ian McCallum and Ian Michler will lead a small multi-generational, multi-racial, and gender diverse team, including two wilderness rangers from the Wilderness Leadership School (South Africa): Lihle Mbokazi, currently the Experiential Education Manager at the Wilderness Foundation (South Africa), and Mandla Mbekezeli Buthelezi, the head Wilderness Guide of the Wilderness Leadership School. As the expedition traverses Southern Africa, from the Atlantic Ocean to the Indian Ocean, it will be joined on specific sectors by “conservation giants”, people working and succeeding at ground level on local and regional conservation challenges.

“We will be travelling on foot, using mountain bikes, mekoro’s (traditional dugout canoes) and kayaks,” says Ian McCallum. This will emphasise the connection and interdependency that man has with nature. “The route that we are taking follows ancient elephant clusters and migration routes through six countries including Namibia, Botswana, Zambia, Zimbabwe, Mozambique and South Africa.”

Tracks of Giants is a project of The Wilderness Foundation and The WILD Foundation, and supported by Avis, Kayaktive, Hans Holstein Trust, and numerous other generous sponsors.

Along the way, the expedition team – including the core team, local giants, and some international conservationist—will document the various successes and challenges relevant to the human-animal interface, interact with local government and conservation agencies, and hold community meetings at villages in each country.

The Tracks of Giants expedition will explore conservation models that include traditional knowledge, and ecological thinking and implementation, to bridge the gap between the needs of wildlife, humans and the changing environment.

National Geographic is a digital media partner and will document the trip via its multiple digital platforms. The trip will also be closely monitored on dedicated social media sites, all drawing from the TRACKS Media Centre (www.tracksofgiants.org).

>Read the full press release

Follow the Tracks of Giants!

Official website: www.tracksofgiants.org

Twitter: www.twitter.com/tracksofgiants

Facebook: www.facebook.com/tracksofgiants

Florida Wildlife Corridor featured on NPR

2012-04-23T10:54:56-07:00

On Earth Day 2012, the Florida Wildlife Corridor team –a partner project of The WILD Foundation– closed their 100 day, 1,000 mile expedition at the Stephen C. Foster State Park in Georgia. The FWC explorers — photographer Carlton Ward Jr, bear biologist Joe Guthrie, conservationist Mallory Lykes Dimmitt and filmmaker Elam Stoltzfus — successfully traveled from the Florida Everglades to the Okefenokee Swamp in Southern Georgia.

For three months, the team hiked, biked, rode horses and paddled kayaks, navigating through the mangroves, sawgrass, cypress, scrubs, pines and across prairies, ponds, lakes and rivers. This may have even been the easy part! Their next goal is to create a continuous corridor for wildlife running the length of the state. By documenting their journey, they hope to draw attention to the shrinking habitats and remind Floridians of their connection to the environment.

Development in Florida is squeezing wildlife into increasingly narrow ribbons of green space. Wildlife corridors, which connect wildlife habitats, have been proposed for states as different as California and New Jersey. There’s even a transnational one planned to stretch from Yukon to Yellowstone.

Back in Ocala National Forest, Ward says half the battle is just educating Floridians on the ranches, swamps and beauty of natural Florida. With almost 19 million people mostly living on the coast, he says a connection with the state’s interior is lost.

“At the same time, most of our water, wildlife and food come from this interior area,” he says. “So it has tremendous importance to everyone living out along the coasts. But in many ways, it’s still terra incognita in their minds.”

Ward says publicizing that “unknown land” in the minds of the state’s movers and shakers is their next mission.

Congratulations to the FWC team: Carlton, Joe, Mallory and Elam! WILD is proud to be a part of this important work–we are anxiously awaiting to see what’s in store for the future!

Florida Wildlife Corridor reporting:

>NPR: Read the full article or Listen to the story

>Tampa Bay Times: Environmentalist goes 100 days & 1,000 miles through wilderness in Florida

Veterans Expeditions to Wilderness

2012-04-17T16:20:36-07:00

Yesterday afternoon, our friend and colleague Stacy Bare paid us a nice visit at the WILD office. Stacy recently wrote an article for our International Journal of Wilderness about his experience with the war in Iraq, where he served as a U.S. Army Captain from 2006-2007 and received the Bronze Star for Meritorious Service.

When Stacy returned home from service, he had difficulty readjusting to the non-war, soft lifestyle of everyday American life. He was not alone in feeling uninspired and bored with chain restaurants, the daily routine, and pop culture…his fellow soldiers felt this too. In his article, Stacy refers to a marine sergeant who questioned why he fought while sitting inside a large chain restaurant two weeks after he returned from deployment. Had he really fought for two-for-one appetizers and gimmicky, cheap cocktails?

While he was living in Colorado, a friend of his got tired of Stacy’s constant threats of suicide or return to war, and turned to him and said, “Well do something about it. Either end it, go back in, or come out rock climbing with me.” In his friends’ offer of wilderness, Stacy found salvation.

Stacy learned from the stillness in the wilderness and went out to the wild for the wild, not necessarily to be healed, that was just a wonderful side effect. He founded Veterans Expeditions with army veteran and former ranger Nick Watson in 2010 to take veterans out into the wilderness…and just let them be. “Early on, hiking up over the Arapahoe Pass in Colorado, the same young marine who questioned in a chain restaurant what he fought for, stared over the pass, turned to Nick and Stacy and said, “This is what I fought for!”

A number of organizations have come to life to get military service members, their families, and their children into the outdoors. They are also discussing more and more about the importance of of protecting and defending the wilderness, and what better defenders than veterans?

Stacy and other veterans believe that the wilderness can, and should be a living monument to the sacrifices of all our troops, their families, and communities. The message of, “You fought for it, now use it, and keep it safe” resonates with many veterans and the military community.

Currently, Stacy works as the representative for the Sierra Club’s National Military Families and Veterans Initiative.

>>Read “Veterans Expeditions to Wilderness and Regaining Health”

Dr Ian Player receives the Anton Rupert Award

2012-04-10T12:24:40-07:00

On 5 April 2012, the inaugural Anton Rupert Award for Lifetime Achievement in Conservation was presented to Dr Ian Player by Mr Werner Myburgh, Peace Parks Foundation CEO, and Dr Frank Raimondo, member of the Peace Parks Foundation Board of Directors. By handing him the Award, Peace Parks Foundation and the Rupert Family gratefully applaud and pay tribute to the exceptional contribution Dr Ian Player has made to conservation and the environment.

The Award consists of a certificate, signed by Peace Parks Foundation chairman, Mr Johann Rupert, and a monetary component donated by the Rupert Family.

WILD has always worked very closely with Peace Parks Foundation, whose mission we endorse fully. Vance G. Martin, WILD’s President, has served as President of Friends of Peace Parks USA for over 10 years, representing PPF in the US.

Dr Ian Player has a distinguished career both in the formal and private conservation sectors. He has always seen that people must be brought into the conservation arena if protected areas, including wilderness areas and wildlife, are to survive. Together with his colleague and mentor, Magqubu Ntombela, he has brought people from all walks of life and parts of the world together to experience how wilderness and conservation of our natural resources are an integral part of living.

Congratulations, Dr Player!

>>Read the press release

Note on the poaching incident at Insegueren, Mali

2012-04-06T12:48:21-07:00

Dr. Susan Canney, Project Leader of the Mali Elephant Project

It is a race against time to ensure the future of the notable remnant population of approximately 550 elephants in the Gourma of Mali. These represent 12% of all West African elephants, and are the northernmost in Africa since the extinction of the Mauritanian elephants in the Assaba mountains in the 1980s. Thanks to work by Save the Elephants we understand how their annual migration circuit enables them to cope with the widely dispersed and variable nature of the Gourma’s resources, finding water in the north during the dry season, abundant good quality forage in the south during the wet season, and avoiding human activity as much as possible. Increasing agriculture, livestock and people on the migration route is increasing conflict, and the Mali Elephant Project is responding to this situation by establishing systems of community-government collaboration to secure the future of these elephants (further information from The WILD Foundation and International Conservation Fund of Canada).

These elephants have lived in relative harmony with the local people, and their tusks are small and fractured, however on the 25^th January there was the first recorded incident of poaching. A motorbike with two turbaned men shot a female elephant (who was suckling an infant) three times, and returned later for the tusks. The Malian Government Direction Nationale des Eau et Forets (DNEF) worked with the local community surveillance brigades established by the Mali Elephant Project to find the community collaborators who enabled this to happen. These are now in prison and investigations are underway to identify the perpetrators.

>Learn more about the Mali Elephant Project

>Read the L’Essor article: LA MARE DE BANZENA EST VITALE (French)

>Read the L’Essor article: LAKE BANZENA IS VITAL (English translation)

Earth Hour 2012

2012-03-30T10:48:20-07:00

Just a few years ago in March 2008, I was in the back seat of a beat up sedan that my world-traveler friends had purchased upon their landing in New Zealand. See, it was cheaper to buy a crappy little car for a couple hundred bucks to use for a month and sell it to the next backpackers before we left the country than it was to rent a car for a month. It was dark and warm outside and it was the tail-end of our trip around the south island. I can’t remember exactly where we were but it was somewhere beautiful and remote, as most places are in New Zealand….but not too remote, as the radio was tuned to the local news. There was a report about something called Earth Hour, happening right then, and we were driving right through it, spewing our car’s emissions everywhere!

Earth Hour began the year before in Sydney, Australia in 2007 by several groups of creative thinkers. In the first Earth Hour event in Australia, more than 2.2 million individuals and over 2,000 businesses turned off their lights for one hour. The next year, they had hoped to expand to even more people and cities in Australia, but then the city of Toronto jumped on board by turning off their city lights and encouraging their residents to turn the switch. It was suddenly global! Word spread quickly and catapulted Earth Hour into a larger participatory audience.

What’s the point?

The point of Earth Hour is less about carbon numbers and more about the power of vision and action. From www.earthhour.org: “Earth Hour does not purport to be an energy/carbon reduction exercise, it is a symbolic event. Earth Hour is a global movement uniting people to protect the planet. On the last Saturday of March every year, Earth Hour brings together communities from across the world celebrating a commitment to the planet by switching off lights for one designated hour.”

However, the social movement statistics of Earth Hour is quite impressive. This Saturday 3.31.12 at 8:30pm, Earth Hour organizers are expecting 135 countries and territories, over 5,000 towns and cities, and over 18 billion people to turn off the lights.

That’s a whole lot of people who want a healthier, cleaner, wildlife-abundant world. Imagine if 18 billion people in just 5 years endorsed WILD’s vision of Nature Needs Half. Wow! 18 billion people endorse and are working together to protect and sustain ourselves and our animals, our water, our wild spaces, our trees, and everything else that supports our lives everyday?! By logging on to www.natureneedshalf.org, you too can become a part of this important conservation movement by signing the pledge. Then be sure to share it with your friends…that’s the important part.

What happens during Earth Hour?

The Earth Hour organizers timed the event to be the last weekend of March, which is around the time of the Spring and Autumn equinoxes in the northern and southern hemispheres respectively. This allows for near coincidental sunset times in both hemispheres, ensuring the greatest visual impact for a global ‘lights out’ event.

However, Earth Hour is not a black out. For many businesses in city skyscrapers or for many government buildings, the lights are turned off at the end of the business day the Friday before Earth Hour. There is usually no instant dramatic difference, but rather a gradual dimming of lights starting the day prior. Many major city icons and neon signs are switched off for the hour and they are extremely noticeable. You may be able to see dramatic changes in large business districts or at iconic landmarks and buildings around the world and in your city. Be sure to keep an eye out to notice the difference in your landscape or cityscape.

60 minutes in the dark

So what the heck do you do in the dark for an hour? Candles will play a major role in your Earth Hour experience so be to sure to have plenty of soy or beeswax candles ready to be lit. These candles are better for your health and for the environment. Here are some fun and creative ideas:

Have a party! Invite some friends over and play a game…sure you can go the Apples to Apples gaming route but Hide and Seek games are fun too!
Take a bath…with a friend
Give a massage
Meditate
Go outside and check out the stars
Take a night hike at your local park or in your neighborhood
Think of three things you can do to change your carbon impact and share with a friend
Turn off the computer and relax
Sit and talk to your partner or roommate or friend
Call your family
Do yoga
Eat some already prepared local and organic foods
If you’re out at a restaurant or business, ask them to participate!

Beyond the Hour

Earth Hour works because turning off the lights for 60 minutes on a Saturday night is something that everybody can do. Earth Hour is positive change. It’s something different in our weekend routines and it opens communication to encourage engagement on ecological resource issues. Doing this one thing, turning off the lights, turns people on to do more things that positively affect the growing global pursuit of a healthier world.

I can do more. I already recycle everything I possibly can (including the remaining cardboard toilet paper rolls, old tv’s, and all my old cell phones), I compost, I buy organic foods and ecologically-sensitive products, I’ve dedicated my life to the earth through my academic studies, my career, and my volunteerism. I need to do more.

I pledge to ride my bike to work at least 4 times a month (it’s a long ride – I’m nervous!)

I pledge to get 5 people signed on to Earth Hour. Earth Hour will be my main focus of conversation on Saturday at a family party in Denver and then at a ladies night in Boulder.

I pledge to get 5 people to endorse Nature Needs Half on Saturday. Can my birth city of Buffalo, NY endorse Nature Needs Half? How about Tucson, AZ or Boulder, CO? Will Nature Needs Half have 18 million supporters in 5 years? We will figure out a way to engage people on supporting Nature Needs Half. It starts with talking to people about it.

Do you have ideas? Contact me Alyson@wild.org.