Elephant

Elephant

Beehive fences: Sustainable solution to human-wildlife conflict in Tsavo

To raise awareness of the global importance of bees as pollinators, the threats they face, and their contribution to sustainable development, the United Nations designated May 20 as World Bee Day. In Kenya’s Tsavo landscape, the African Wildlife Foundation (AWF) celebrates the critical role of these black and yellow, fuzzy, honey-making insects in naturally mitigating human-wildlife conflict.

Why we need to conserve African elephants

The International Union for the Conservation of Nature recently reclassified the two African subspecies of elephants separately, putting the savanna elephants in the endangered category and forest elephants in the critically endangered category. This World Elephant Day, African Wildlife Foundation ecologist Julien Nkono explains what this reclassification means and highlights AWF efforts to conserve the remaining herds.

Building better ranger forces for wildlife conservation

Consider the African wildlife ranger’s job — the long periods away from family and home, low pay, challenging physical conditions, and significant risk of armed confrontations. In 2018, more than 50 African rangers died in the line of duty, killed by poachers, elephant attacks, snakebites, and a myriad of other causes. The International Ranger Federation’s annually released roster of fatalities paints only a sliver of the picture, omitting the many rangers who suffered severe injuries during the year.

Turning to conservation as severe droughts, food insecurity spike

By the time the rains had failed yet again in October 2019, more than 100 elephants had already succumbed to the southern drought in Zimbabwe alone. One of the harshest dry periods experienced in the region in the last four decades, the extended drought disappeared water sources across shrinking grazing areas. Wildlife mortalities continued to rise in Zimbabwe’s iconic protected areas, most notably in Hwange and Mana Pools National Parks.

Stolen, lost, and broken: mismanaged evidence sets wildlife criminals free

The illegal trafficking of protected African wildlife species can take various gory forms across the continent. Wildlife management authorities and investigators often discover concealed elephant tusks still dripping with blood or even pieces of flesh and hides, but they are also likely to find crocodile eggs or pangolin scales. The contraband counts as evidence, as do the tools and weapons found at the crime scene, which can range from handmade bows and arrows to AK47s.

Wildlife Conservation

Protecting an astounding diversity of species. (Humans included.)

Africa is home to some of the world's most endangered species, including the mountain gorilla, Grevy’s zebra, and Ethiopian wolf. To protect populations from further decline, our on-the-ground safeguards involve training rangers and using sniffer dogs to stop wildlife traffickers. Wildlife must survive in their natural habitats, so we empower local communities through conservation-friendly development and work with international agencies to protect Africa’s natural resources.

Critical to protecting these vital ecosystems are people. Sharing land across the continent, local communities and wildlife often live alongside each other, leading to struggles for space and water. If people and wildlife learn to live together — inside and outside of protected areas — the future for all will thrive.

The survival of Africa’s endangered species and other wildlife depends on its relationship with people.

Whether it is humans poaching wildlife or wildlife attacking people’s livestock, the problem cuts both ways: the needs of people and wildlife are not in harmony. As human populations grow with the development of industry and infrastructure, our programs balance multiple priorities to mitigate the threats facing endangered species and historic wildlife habitats.

The illegal wildlife trade grows increasingly sophisticated.

Anti-poaching initiatives to stop the slaughter of wildlife within Africa’s protected areas have saved some species from further decline. However, to destabilize the international trade that has decimated populations over the last few decades, we need to combat wildlife trafficking and strengthen the prosecution of wildlife crimes in strategic wildlife crime hotspots. Meanwhile, in demand centers where ivory is carved while rhino horn and pangolin scales are wanted as traditional medicine, many consumers are unaware that the products are ineffective and in fact destroying Africa’s valuable ecosystems.

Photo of traditional ivory carvings before historic ivory burn to stop illegal trade in wildlife products

Threats
Equipping wildlife rangers, deploying sniffer dogs, and training law enforcement officers to stop wildlife crime.

Providing wildlife rangers with anti-poaching equipment and training prevents the killing of wildlife in protected areas, but to disrupt illegal wildlife trade we deploy trained Canine Detection Units along trafficking channels to intercept wildlife contraband. Located at major seaports and airports in Kenya, Uganda, Tanzania, and Mozambique, the robust sniffer dog and handler teams stop illegal wildlife products such as ivory, rhino horn, pangolin scales — as well as the smugglers and poachers behind the killing. With additional training in the enforcement of wildlife laws, national agencies ensure these criminals are prosecuted without slipping through legal loopholes.

Community Empowerment
Enabling wildlife conservation-friendly community empowerment.

We understand specific community needs and work closely with members to make sure they get direct benefits from conserving wildlife and protecting natural habitat. While our education outreach programs help locals to reduce human-wildlife conflict, we also implement projects that create a positive impact for the entire community. AWF has helped communities lease their land to develop conservancies or wildlife management areas. We also help farming communities explore sustainable agriculture, growing their income and reducing pressure on living and natural resources.

Strategy
Building conservation partnerships and spreading awareness across the continent — and the world.

Not only do we nurture relationships with rural community leaders, but we also represent Africa’s wildlife and wild lands as the continent strives to meet sustainable development goals. We are working closely with the African Union to ensure that wildlife conservation and biodiversity is central to progress over the next few decades. Outside the continent, we have launched successful public awareness campaigns in China and Vietnam informing consumers about the brutal truths behind the global wildlife trade. We also advocate for governments and protection agencies to ban international trade in wildlife parts like ivory and introduce stiffer penalties for criminals.

Research
Applying research to our wildlife conservation strategies.

We match our decades worth of experience on the ground with pioneering scientific research to add a new dimension to our work across the continent. GPS collars on priority populations of elephants help us identify which land must be conserved while radio collars on lions allow us to track population trends, seasonal movement patterns, and mortality. Incisive geographical information systems and mapping inform our conservation strategies so even remote landscapes are protected.

Reason #24 to get involved

The African wild dog population numbers less than 5,000 individuals and continues to decline due to habitat fragmentation, human conflict, and widespread disease. Your support allows for wild dog scouts to monitor and protect this species. 

Landing Page Type
Overview

Nigeria

Nigeria is home to a wealth of biodiversity within its seven national parks.

Nigeria lies on the western part of Africa on the Gulf of Guinea. It contains several large urban centers like the capital city Abuja and is one of sub-Saharan Africa’s largest economies, relying heavily on oil as its main source of foreign exchange earnings.

South Africa

South Africa is one of the world’s most diverse countries.

The Republic of South Africa is in the southernmost region of the continent. Its long coastline stretches along the South Atlantic Ocean and the Indian Ocean for more than 2,400 kilometers (1,500 miles). While its coastline is lush, the rest of its geography is vast, flat, sparsely populated, and dry. More than 1,600 kilometers (1,000 miles) south of the mainland lie the Prince Edward Islands, a small sub-Antarctic archipelago.

Rwanda

The rebound of the world's precious mountain gorilla population from only a few hundred at the lowest point to over 1,000 today is one of conservation's most celebrated victories and a testament to the value of decades of investment in conservation leadership. Although the iconic great apes’ conservation status remains fragile, African Wildlife Foundation’s role in this success story — intricately linked to our vision for African leadership — represents one of our proudest chapters.