The Elephant Crisis Fund (ECF), a joint initiative between Save the Elephants and the Wildlife Conservation Network, has approved the largest single grant in its 13-year history – US$1.2 million over three years – to help save Angola’s forest elephants, the southernmost population of forest elephants left in Africa.

It is estimated that no more than 200 of these elephants remain – hidden in the biodiverse forested escarpments east and northeast of Luanda, the capital city. They live entirely outside protected areas, leaving them dangerously exposed to deforestation, poaching, road accidents and rising conflict with farmers. Supported by the ECF since 2019, Project Nzau has made significant progress in improving understanding of these elephants and raising awareness of their plight. However, effectiveness has been limited by the team’s small size and the huge scale of work needed.

This significant new commitment builds directly on the generosity of ECF supporters. Last year they responded to an urgent appeal, raising more than $390,000. A small part of this was used for ECF partner, Mozambique Wildlife Alliance, to visit Project Nzau in early 2026 and share ideas from their established HEC program, to help identify coexistence priorities. That groundwork has paved the way for an ambitious next phase, on which the remaining appeal funds will be used.

Project Nzau is led by the Kissama Foundation, a highly capable and motivated local NGO, supported by an internationally respected academic partner, BIOPOLIS. The new USD1.2M three-year grant will allow implementation of a potentially transformative series of activities. This ambitious project is led by Pedro Vaz Pinto – the Angolan conservationist – and project coordinator, Ninda Baptista, an Angolan biologist. Together with an expanded team, they plan to scale work from three provinces to all eight Angolan provinces where forest elephants may still survive. This will include working with different provincial governments and in close collaboration with the National Institute for Biodiversity and Conservation Areas (INBAC).

Funds will support a new human–elephant coexistence field centre, implementation of a coexistence programme to help communities to deter elephants from raiding crops, expansion of the elephant guardian initiative, GPS collaring of elephants to map movement and conflict hotspots, genetic analysis to produce the first robust population baseline, and national awareness campaigns to shift attitudes toward elephants. Many people living alongside them simply don’t yet know that killing elephants is illegal – a gap that targeted outreach can change.

“The Kissama team is exceptional,” says ECF Director Chris Thouless, who visited the project in 2025. “This is a high-risk, high-reward project. If it succeeds, it will be a turning point for Angola’s forest elephants – bringing them back from the brink.”

“We would like to sincerely thank ECF supporters for believing in our work,” says Ninda Baptista of Kissama Foundation. “Their continued support is essential for the protection of forest elephants.”

Saving these little-known elephants is a bold undertaking in a difficult landscape – but with the right partners on the ground and the support of donors, they finally have a real fighting chance.

Interested in supporting this project?

Donate to the ECF

To find out more about the project and the elephants of Angola, read Chris Thouless’ report

Holding the line for Angola’s elephants

See the project in action in this film about Project Nzau

The post A Lifeline for Angola’s Forest Elephants appeared first on Wildlife Conservation Network.

The team at Niassa Carnivore Project is on the road to recovery, showcasing the steadfastness and resilience of conservationists in Mozambique and beyond. Following is a candid update from Agostinho Jorge, Director of Conservation at the Niassa Carnivore Project (first published in the Newsletter of the GRAA – Game Rangers Association of Africa).  

From Agostinho Jorge, Director of Conservation at the Niassa Carnivore Project:

It has been one year since the terrorist attacks on the Mariri Environmental Centre on 29 April 2025 in Niassa Special Reserve (NSR), northern Mozambique. This is our reflection (based on rangers’ perspectives) on what happened, how the team has changed, and what we have learned.

The Fear After the Attack

This was the most violent and deadly attack by ISIS-Mozambique ever recorded in Niassa province after the first attack in November 2021. One ranger who survived the ambush on the Mariri vehicle said recently, “I still don’t feel completely safe. I often worry that the terrorists will attack the camp or Mbamba village again. When I am at home, I think about my colleagues working at Mariri. But when I am on patrol, I think about the possibility of being attacked by terrorists. You never know when they might come back.”

How the Job of Rangers Has Changed

Before the attacks, rangers focused mainly on stopping poaching (for meat, ivory, and carnivore parts) and illegal mining, and supporting the Mbamba community–our partner village of 2,000 people–with human wildlife conflict. At that time, rangers had the advantage as poachers were often in small groups, mostly unarmed or with few guns (not more than two). The main risks were confrontations with armed poachers or attacks by dangerous animals like elephants and buffalo.

The insurgency changed everything. This armed group was much larger (20 or more people) carrying heavy weapons to “hunt” rangers and other people. In some cases, they use drones as well. The threat is constant and rangers feel pressure both on patrol and at camp, because an attack can happen anywhere, anytime.

At the same time, while recovering from the trauma of the attacks, rangers are facing increased levels of illegal gold mining due to the recent insurgent attack and very high gold prices in the international market (from USD 1,800 in 2022 to USD 5,000 in 2026 per ounce) and on the local black market (from USD 23 in 2023 to USD 150 per gram). In NSR, rangers are facing more danger. These include arrests (based on false accusations by miners), threats and physical violence by miners.

The Losses and the Slow Recovery

We lost four rangers (Carlitos Cuteiua, Pires Tahane, Fernando Wirson, and Domingos Daude) and five soldiers during the attack. Additionally, we also lost more than USD 125,000 worth of equipment destroyed and stolen during the attacks, and more than USD 200,000 in medical costs.

Despite these heavy losses, the Mariri rangers are slowly recovering. Most rangers say they feel safer now than they did right after the attacks, but fear and trauma remain. The pain is especially strong when rangers remember the good times with their colleagues (who were like brothers) and when they see the widows and children of those colleagues who were brutally killed and think about what could happen to their own families.

What is Helping the Recovery

Families and friends have played a critical role in helping rangers recover. Some rangers admit they thought about quitting their jobs because of fear. But regular counselling sessions with psychologists hired by Mariri have helped reduce the trauma.

One psychologist reported, “I watched the recovery process of a group of professionals exposed to violence at Mariri. Despite the initial impact (intense fear, high anxiety, worry about work and family income) the group showed a gradual ability to reorganize. Over time, they strengthened their collective coping strategies, returned to work routines, and rebuilt a basic sense of safety. This experience showed the resilience of these professionals in extreme circumstances, even while carrying painful memories.”

Ranger Mário Cristovão has been a great source of encouragement after surviving for four days in the bush after being seriously wounded by terrorists. He has now had more than nine complex surgeries, and he is learning to walk again with the Mariri support through GRAA and other donor funding. Seeing how the company has helped Mário and his positive outlook gives other rangers motivation. The support provided to the families of deceased team members (Carlitos, Pires, Fernando, and Domingos) was also greatly appreciated by the whole team.

The Duty to Stay

Even though they are traumatised, the rangers say that they feel a moral duty to stay and protect the Niassa Reserve, which is also their home. One ranger said, “We have no other home. Giving up is not an option. If Mariri gives up, Mbamba village will also give up. Right after the attacks, animals disappeared from the camp. In the first days after getting back, it was hard to see monkeys or even squirrels (that are usually very common). It felt like bad spirits were in the air. Life returned to normal when the Mariri team came back to camp. Slowly, the animals returned. The people of Mbamba, who had also left the village after the attacks, came back when they saw the Mariri team was at camp again. If we had stayed away longer, the decline of natural resources would have been much worse, like what happened when a huge wave of illegal miners entered the L5S block from different parts of NSR.”

Niassa Rangers Share Some of the Valuable Lessons Learnt

What We Did Well Before the Attack

• Invested in technology, including Garmin InReach devices. 
• Joined the Game Rangers Association of Africa, which helped cover important costs related to ranger welfare. 
• Invested in good training programmes for rangers. Some skills learned during training helped Mário survive after the attack. 
• Developed an escape and evacuation plan for the organization.
• Built strong collaboration with partners inside and outside the Niassa Special Reserve area (including the reserve administration, tourism operators, and conservation partners). They shared critical information and resources before, during, and after the attacks.
• Invested in good relationships with local communities and respect for human rights. Many community members helped with monitoring the presence of suspicious people in the area, contributing to safety in the block.

What the Team Did Well Immediately After the Attacks

• Everyone worked together as a team from the first minute we heard the camp was attacked. People did not sleep on evacuating families from Mbamba village to a safer location. Others were tracking the movement of colleagues who had just been attacked. 
• Provided support to rangers directly affected by the crisis.
• Gave loans to help families move to safer locations inside and outside NSR.
• Continued supporting the Mbamba community and other communities, ensuring the programs were running there even in the most difficult moments. 
• Senior staff made the decision to go back to the camp right after the attack, together with the military and a small team, to recover the bodies of colleagues killed by terrorists and found Mário. 
• Worked closely with the army through the NSR warden Administrator Terencio Tamele, who provided support and on-the-ground leadership throughout this period.
• Provided regular psychological support right after the incident.

What Has Changed in the Team Since the Attack

• The team is traumatised.
• Increased resilience, a sense of overcoming hardship, and the awareness that death cannot be avoided. 
• Higher alert level during patrols and at camp.
• Increased sense of responsibility towards protecting colleagues (especially non‑paramilitary staff) and the village of Mbamba. This does not mean confronting insurgents.

Recovery is a long journey for us and our rangers, but we remain committed. As one ranger said, “Every year on the Lugenda River, people are killed or hurt by crocodiles and hippos. But people do not give up fishing.” Because Niassa is so important for both communities and wildlife, we will continue to invest in psychological support, family care, and teamwork, walking the load of recovery together. 

The post Reflections from Niassa: One Year after the Insurgent Attacks appeared first on Wildlife Conservation Network.

In April 2026, the Ewaso Lions team, including Dr. Shivani Bhalla, Jeneria Lekilelei, and Toby Otieno, stepped outside their familiar landscapes to embark on a six-day field visit to Sabah, Malaysian Borneo.  Meeting in the village of Sukau along the Kinabatangan River, Ewaso Lions’ goal was to exchange knowledge, explore new conservation models, and collaborate with two local WCN Partner organizations: Seratu Aatai and Hutan. What followed was a profound reminder that local, community-led conservation speaks a universal language.

Connecting Conservationists Across Landscapes

This exchange was made possible by WCN’s Conservation Acceleration Fund, which provides catalytic financial interventions aimed at the strategic growth of our Partner Network. This funding can go beyond programmatic work, allowing Partners to seize opportunities to level-up their impact in protecting threatened species. One way to do that is through international exchanges like these, in which conservationists from different backgrounds and landscapes can work together to advance solutions for wildlife and people to coexist and thrive.

The journey began alongside Dr. Farina Othman and her passionate, young team at Seratu Aatai, an organization dedicated to protecting a vulnerable population of about 150 Bornean elephants. The teams held candid discussions about the realities of human-elephant conflict, a challenge that closely mirrors Ewaso Lions’ experiences with large carnivores in Kenya. Seratu Aatai guided the Ewaso Lions team into the oil palm plantations flanking the Kinabatangan River, offering a firsthand look at how habitat fragmentation disrupts ancient elephant migratory paths. The team learned about the innovative strategies Seratu Aatai uses to mitigate conflict, from maintaining vital wildlife corridors to using GPS collaring, behavioral monitoring, and analyzing elephant dung for genetic tracking. The absolute highlight of the day was catching a glimpse of a collared elephant named Max wading in the river, followed by a breathtaking encounter with an entire elephant family group, a profound reminder of the wild legacy these teams are fighting to protect.

At the heart of the visit was a two-day community-led conservation workshop hosted at the Hutan headquarters. Over the past three years, Ewaso Lions has been building a comprehensive community-led conservation framework. This workshop offered the perfect arena to present their approach, sparking a dialogue with both the Hutan and Seratu Aatai teams. By reflecting on what community-led conservation looks like in different global contexts, both sides walked away with invaluable insights. Ewaso Lions is already using the feedback gathered in Borneo to adapt and refine their framework, ensuring it can empower local communities back home.

Lessons from the Tree Nursery

The final leg of the trip was spent in the field with Dr. Marc Ancrenaz and the Hutan team, exploring their approach to ecosystem rehabilitation. The team traveled by boat to Hutan’s research site to monitor wild orangutans and trekked through active ecological restoration areas where native trees are being painstakingly replanted to heal degraded landscapes.

A particularly inspiring highlight was touring Hutan’s entirely women-led tree nursery. Hutan buys wild seedlings directly from local communities and nurtures them at the nursery before planting them out in wildlife corridors. Because Ewaso Lions is in the process of establishing its own tree nursery back in Kenya, seeing this highly structured, community-empowering model provided an incredibly  timely blueprint for their next steps. The field learning concluded with a night river cruise to spot nocturnal wildlife, and a visit to the Gomantong Caves, home to wild orangutans and an astonishing two million bats.

Bringing Home Inspiration, and Solidarity

As the Ewaso Lions team packed their bags—carrying home ideas, inspiration, and unforgettable memories—the true impact of the exchange settled in. “I was amazed by how different the Borneo communities are and yet so similar and familiar back in Kenya,” reflected Toby. “The works Hutan and Seratu Aatai are doing are so inspiring, and it was really great interacting with them. I was more so inspired by how the younger generation from these organisations/communities are so enthusiastic in promoting conservation, not just for themselves but for the future.” 

For Shivani, the trip provided a beautiful moment of solidarity among women in conservation. “This trip was a real eye-opener for me. It has been a long time since I stepped out of the Samburu bubble and it was incredibly valuable for me to see what community conservation looks like in other contexts,” she shared. “I loved the energy from the young conservationists and the wisdom from the older ones. One thing is for sure: No matter where you are in the world, women working in conservation have something in common. I listened to the women from Sukau village along the Kinabatangan River and felt like I was sitting with the Mama Simba in Sasaab village along the Ewaso Nyiro River. What a moment.”

Moving forward, Ewaso Lions plans to explore landscape-scale coexistence models and drone-based monitoring tools inspired by their Bornean counterparts. This cross-continental exchange proves that no matter how far apart we are, when local communities are empowered to lead, wildlife can thrive.

The post What in the World Could Conservationists from the Rainforest and the Savannah Learn from Each Other? A Lot, It Turns Out. appeared first on Wildlife Conservation Network.

The Nsumbu Project was one of the Lion Recovery Fund’s earliest investments, and in some ways was a bold decision starting out, as Nsumbu had no lions and had never been considered a lion stronghold. However, kickstarting effective management in neglected landscapes is a huge part of what the LRF is about. Using lions as flagships to protect savannah landscapes and thus benefit savannah biodiversity writ large. LRF’s willingness to support this project helped give Frankfurt Zoological Society (FZS) the courage to take on the Nsumbu Project. Support from Disney also played a key role in making this possible, as it enabled the LRF to issue a series of grants.

In the years prior to working with Wildlife Conservation Network to manage the LRF, I worked with the NGO Panthera as a research scientist. I was working on an assessment of the performance of protected areas for lions and their prey. The study showed, starkly, how poorly lions were doing, even in protected areas.

One interview I had during that study was especially memorable. Craig Zytkow, who owns a lodge on the shores of Lake Tanganyika inside Nsumbu National Park in northern Zambia, was lamenting the fact that the park was being hammered by poaching and that lions were on the edge of disappearing. Craig was spending a fortune of his own funds protecting a bubble around his lodge, but it was a losing battle. The last lions of Nsumbu disappeared shortly after and Nsumbu joined the long list of parks that had lost their lions.

But then something changed. In 2017, FZS made the decision to partner with the Zambian wildlife authorities to support management of the park. They hired Craig as their project lead and things took a sudden, dramatic turn for the better.

Big-Screen Connection

To celebrate the 2019 reimagining of “The Lion King,” Disney launched the global PROTECT THE PRIDE campaign in collaboration with WCN’s Lion Recovery Fund (LRF) to raise awareness of the crisis facing lions. The birth of the lion cubs in Zambia’s Nsumbu National Park is a great example of the types of efforts Protect the Pride has allowed the LRF to do.

• The Protect the Pride campaign raised more than $4.8 million for the LRF.
• The campaign was reprised for 2024’s release of “Mufasa: The Lion King,” celebrating the successes to date and looking toward a future when lions and people thrive.
• Protect the Pride spotlights the stories of the people on the frontlines of lion recovery, aiming to increase awareness of the plight of the species, and invite meaningful conservation solutions that protect lion habitats, strengthen local communities, and secure a future for these majestic creatures.

A Striking Difference

FZS and the Zambian authorities tackled the rampant poaching that had resulted in lions disappearing and wildlife populations having cratered. They brought poaching under control and wildlife started to recover. With LRF support, zebra and buffalo—key lion prey species—were reintroduced.

I visited Nsumbu in 2017 and then again in 2023, and the difference was striking—wildlife populations were much larger and more widely distributed. Then in 2024, with support from the LRF, lions were reintroduced to the park. Starting conservatively, two females and one male were reintroduced. The two females have now had two cubs each, and the population is well on the road to recovery. More lions will be introduced in the future to ensure genetic diversity, but the initial reintroduction was a roaring success!

The post How Four Tiny Cubs Marked One Giant Win for Lion Conservation appeared first on Wildlife Conservation Network.

We were so relieved to hear from our Partners that their team in Ituri is safe. But the OCP needs your help to make sure that their staff, and the local communities that they work with every day, remain so.

The strain of Ebola currently present in Ituri Province is caused by the Bundibugyo virus, which is both rare and difficult to identify. There is currently no approved vaccine or treatment for this strain of Ebola, which makes prevention incredibly important. It is the only tool that the OCP and others in Ituri Province have.

To respond to the outbreak, the OCP is urgently working to raise $25,000—funds that will help ensure that essential information is communicated across communities, and secure essential protective supplies, including:

• Face masks
• Medical-grade disinfectant and chlorine solution for foot baths
• Latex gloves
• Personal Protective Equipment such as coveralls and shoe covers
• Handwashing stations, soap
• Hand sanitizer and re-fillable bottles

The Okapi Conservation Project team is already implementing biosecurity measures across their work areas. Given the nature of this virus they are not only protecting their own staff, but the communities they serve throughout the region.

Quote

“The okapi, the forest, and the people of Ituri are deeply intertwined, and the health of this ecosystem depends on the health of the communities within it. We have been here through difficult seasons before, and we will see this through, with your support.” —The Okapi Conservation Project

We are proud of the entire team at the Okapi Conservation Project, and echo their calls for support. If you are able to make an emergency gift today, please know that it will go directly to protecting their team and community partners.

The post An Urgent Appeal from the Okapi Conservation Project, in Ituri Province appeared first on Wildlife Conservation Network.

Bringing Back our Ecosystem Engineers

Sea otters are joy made visible—floating on their backs, using rocks as tools to crack open urchins, gathering in tight-knit rafts that bob on the waves. For too long, that joy has been absent from many of the shores that sea otters used to call home. Once abundant from Baja California across the Pacific to Japan, sea otters were hunted to near extinction for their fur, dwindling to only 2,000 survivors at the turn of the 20th century. Their absence has had dire consequences.

As ecosystem engineers, sea otters protect kelp forests by eating the sea urchins and other invertebrates that graze on them. Without otters, those forests, which act as nurseries for many of the fish that coastal communities depend on, have been decimated. Today, coastal communities are living with the long-term consequences of an ecosystem out of balance—from increased coastal erosion, to less productive fisheries. It is those very communities that have ignited a spark to bring back our sea otters, and WCN’s Sea Otter Fund (SOF) is helping sustain and increase that momentum through the projects we support.

A Rare Opportunity

Our approach is founded on the knowledge that sea otter reintroduction—the translocation of animals from surviving populations back to areas where they have gone locally extinct—has worked in the past. One- third of all sea otters alive today are the result of successful reintroductions. Reintroducing sea otters is about far more than simply moving otters: it’s a multi-stage, multi-year process involving aligning partners, planning logistics, implementing reintroduction and managing people and otter populations. This World Otter Day, we are closer than ever to our goal of bringing otters home.

This report focuses on the rare opportunity of this moment, when community-driven momentum, strong science primed partnerships converge. WCN’s SOF is catalyzing further momentum by supporting partners along the sea otter’s historical range to reverse the course of 120 years of local extinction. With grants supporting management and planning, research, ecosystem restoration, economic and cultural development, and community engagement, the SOF is putting hope into motion.

Read the Report

Read the full Sea Otter Fund annual report here. And from all of us at WCN, happy World Otter Day!

The post A Day for Otters. A Year Working to Save Them. appeared first on Wildlife Conservation Network.

For over 30 years, the Okapi Conservation Project has been working to answer these questions and to save the incredible okapi. Also known as the “forest giraffe,” the okapi is found only in the rainforests of the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). Striking and elusive all at once, the okapi was the last large African mammal to be documented by Western science. And while it is a source of pride in the DRC, designated as their national animal and even appearing on bills and coins, few Congolese have ever seen one.

But thanks in part to the efforts of the Okapi Conservation Project–a WCN Conservation Partner–that is set to change.

The arrival of “Forest” and “Thank You”

Last month, our friends at the Okapi Conservation Project shared some exciting news with us about two male okapis named Pori (“Forest”) and Ekpangi (“Thank You”). Both animals were successfully brought into care at the Okapi Conservation and Education Center in Epulu, and have adapted well to their new environment. This was a delicate operation that required months of careful preparation, including camera trap studies to identify suitable areas with stable okapi populations, and traditional ceremonies with the local communities that share the forest with these animals. It was accomplished in partnership with Institut Congolais pour la Conservation de la Nature (ICCN) and Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS).

A long-awaited return

Pori and Ekpangi join a beautiful third okapi, Tundana, a healthy female who was brought to Epulu Station in 2025. But this is about more than just the movement of three individual animals–it is a change more than a decade in the making. For 13 years there were no okapis at the Okapi Conservation and Education Center, which had been the only place where Congolese citizens could come to learn about their national animal and see it in its natural habitat. 

Today, thanks to Tundana, Pori, and Ekpangi, the station has been restored to its historic role in conservation and education. For local communities, government officials, and visitors alike, the presence of okapi at Epulu Station serves as a powerful reminder of the importance of protecting the country’s unique biodiversity. John Lukas, the President of the Okapi Conservation Project, says, “It is critical that the people of DRC can learn about their national animal, the ghost of the forest, surrounded by the flora and fauna of their habitat, if they are expected to protect the ecosystem okapi call home.”

Ambassadors for a species and an entire ecosystem

Okapi education and conservation are about far more than a single species. They are a flagship species of the Ituri Forest, which they share with numerous other threatened animals, including eastern chimpanzees and forest elephants. By strengthening national pride and public engagement around okapi conservation, the project also supports broader efforts to safeguard one of Africa’s most important tropical forests.

That work has never been more important than it is today. As the country moves through a period of ongoing instability, both the Okapi Conservation Project and their partners on the ground are doing essential work to protect wildlife and to ensure a future for okapi and the forests they depend on. At WCN, we celebrate the return of okapi to Epulu Station and the incredible efforts of these dedicated conservationists.

The post After 13 Years, a Return for the Okapi appeared first on Wildlife Conservation Network.

The Kinabatangan floodplain is a critical ecological corridor and one of Southeast Asia’s last remaining lowland forest passages. Yet this river corridor faces serious challenges. Decades of logging and agricultural expansion have degraded and fragmented the landscape, squeezing wildlife into isolated forest patches and bringing them into conflict with nearby communities. WCN’s Conservation Partners Hutan and Seratu Aatai work alongside these communities to protect the Kinabatangan’s wildlife—Hutan focusing on orangutans, Seratu Aatai on Bornean elephants. 

In late 2025, Hutan was appointed by the state government to work with Seratu Aatai, other NGOs, local communities, state agencies, and private-sector actors to secure international recognition for the Kinabatangan as one of 26 new UNESCO Biosphere Reserves. 

Unlike strict nature preserves, biosphere reserves are places where people and nature coexist, models for how communities can live alongside wildlife while protecting ecosystems. The Kinabatangan floodplain exemplifies this; it’s a biodiversity hotspot where coexistence is both critical and challenging.

Both Hutan and Seratu Aatai have supported this region through years of conservation, habitat restoration, and community engagement. This designation provides the platform to bring together regional partners to develop and implement a holistic Biosphere Reserve Management Plan supporting habitat connectivity, human–wildlife coexistence, community-based conservation, and sustainable livelihoods.

The biosphere designation is more than a title. It is a renewed commitment to partnership and local leadership, ensuring the river, its wildlife, and its communities continue to thrive together for generations to come.

WCN Impact: As members of WCN’s Partner Network, Hutan and Seratu Aatai receive essential resources for the sustainable growth of their grassroots organizations. When affected by US federal funding freezes in 2025, WCN’s Emergency Relief Fund was instrumental in filling the gap, with donor support increasing by more than 50% from 2024.

The post Securing a Future for the Kinabatangan River appeared first on Wildlife Conservation Network.

In communities surrounding Matusadona, lions and other carnivores can prey on livestock, placing strain on families who rely on goats and cattle for their livelihood. When losses occur, frustration can turn into retaliation. At the same time, conservationists face their own pressures. The cost of travel, equipment, and basic expenses often makes it difficult to remain in conservation. Not long ago, Simba was unsure whether he could afford to continue. 

Fortunately, Simba found WCN’s Rising Wildlife Leaders career program, which helps conservationists build long-term careers through flexible support, targeted training, peer learning, and mentorship. That investment reduced Simba’s financial stress and gave him room to grow as a leader.  “If I had not received this opportunity when I did, I would not be working in conservation right now,” Simba shared. 

Quote

WCN's Rising Wildlife Leaders career program offers personalized career support, enabling participants like Simba to remain working in conservation and helping them advance their careers at critical moments.

In his three years as a Rising Wildlife Leader, Simba built up his practical skills, strengthened his confidence, and emerged as a more effective conservationist. Today, he has been promoted to Senior Programs Officer with Wildlife Conservation Action (WCA), where his team uses practical coexistence strategies, such as elevated livestock enclosures. Their efforts are paying off. Lion conflict incidents with farmers in WCA’s project area have dropped by more than 65% over the last three years.

Simba reflects on his own journey too. “I went from barely clinging to work to being seen as a leading conservationist.” Looking ahead, he adds, “When WCN looks at our careers in ten years, they should be proud, because they helped shape what is possible for me and the rest of the participants.”

The post Simba’s Rise to Conservation Leadership appeared first on Wildlife Conservation Network.

My journey began in the shadow of Machu Picchu. While millions of tourists visit to learn of the rich cultural history of the Inca Empire, Spectacled Bear Conservation (SBC), a member of WCN’s Partner Network since 2016, focuses their conservation efforts there to understand the health of the bear population that roam the surrounding peaks. Machu Picchu’s natural setting sits on the eastern slopes of the Andes encompassing the upper Amazon basin with its rich diversity of flora and fauna, including the spectacled bear. For the first time ever, SBC has deployed GPS collars on spectacled bears here to identify critical breeding and feeding grounds in Machu Picchu’s Historic Sanctuary. Their network of 200 camera traps has already revealed a thriving population—detecting at least 43 individual bears—alongside species never before recorded in the area, like the kinkajou and the rare northern tiger cat. This was not easy work. Imagine putting a camera every half mile over an area the size of San Francisco while navigating challenging terrain with a heavy backpack—scrambling up and down steep cliffs, fording streams, and adapting to dramatic changes in elevation and climate. SBC’s efforts are ensuring that the growth of tourism doesn’t come at the expense of the bears’ last remaining habitat.

From Cusco, I traveled north to the Amazonas region to meet Fanny Cornejo and the Yunkawasi team. Their mission is centered on one of the rarest primates on Earth: the yellow-tailed woolly monkey. With its mahogany fur and striking yellow tail tufts, this monkey is more than just a species; it is an “engine of ecological recovery”. As it moves across the ridges, it disperses seeds that grow into the canopy of tomorrow, sustaining the water and soil that local communities depend on. 

What makes Yunkawasi’s approach so inspiring is their commitment to local autonomy. In the village of Beirut, Corosha, Yunkawasi helped establish the Oso Dorado Association—a legally registered community group that now manages its own conservation funds and programs. Today, the people who live in these forests are the ones who monitor the wildlife, lead eco-tourism efforts, and serve as the stewards of their ancestral land. Yunkawasi has turned this rare primate into a national symbol of pride through their national campaign, “Achórate por el mono choro de cola amarilla” (“Stand up for the yellow-tailed woolly monkey!”), even landing its likeness on a commemorative Peruvian coin.

After also joining the Yunkawasi team for their all-staff retreat outside of Lima, I felt a deep sense of hope. Their energy and professionalism are world-class. As WCN continues to vet Yunkawasi for our Partner Network, I am reminded of why we do this work—to back the visionary leaders who are ensuring that Peru’s wild frontiers remain wild for generations to come.

Whether it’s a bear navigating the cliffs of Machu Picchu or a monkey swinging through the canopy of Amazonas, the story is the same: conservation is most successful when local communities lead efforts in their own landscapes, drawing on traditional knowledge, cultural connections to wildlife, and deep understanding of local contexts. By incorporating diverse perspectives and building collaborative relationships, we strengthen our collective ability to protect wildlife and ecosystems.

The post Beyond the Mist: Protecting the Spectacled Bears and Woolly Monkeys of Peru appeared first on Wildlife Conservation Network.