Since my last post my aims have changed back to my true passion of animal protection and conservation, hopefully with the continuation of my education via a zoology degree at university, in order to extend my qualifications in order to allow me to make as big a difference as possible in the conservation industry.
Back to the aim of this post, and my newest inspiration from the BBC's stunning documentary This Wild Life. The programme follows the progress of Saba Douglas-Hamilton who re-homes her family to the Samburu National Reserve in Kenya to take over her mother's Safari camp and eco-lodge. The family makes a large contribution to the local Samburu tribes by employing all local people in their camp and funding local schools, this in turn causes many of the people drawn to poaching for money, to change sides and help protect the animals in Samburu instead. Yet despite this Peter Leimgruber, a conservation biologist at the Smithsonian Conservation Biology Institute has stated that 'elephant populations currently decline by nearly 60 to 70 percent every 10 years, making it likely for the species to go extinct in the near future if poaching and the illegal ivory trade are not stopped'.
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| From left to right, Frank Douglas-Hamilton, 4 year old twins Luna and Mayian, Mporian a warrior who helps out at the camp, Saba Douglas-Hamilton and Selkie (6) |
This story is truly incredible and epitomises the inspiring lengths that a few brilliant people are willing to go to save wild animals, particularly from the seemingly ever-present danger of poaching. Saba’s husband Frank also works for the Save the Elephants Charity on the Reserve, making sure that all the famous elephants are tracked using collars to study their movements for scientific purposes and to prevent them from the horrific poachers that can enter the park. Despite this, ivory still has a high demand in Asia where it is used as 'medicine' and to make ornamental gifts and jewellery particularly in China and Thailand. Today 1 kilogram of ivory is worth between $1,000 and $1,500 in Asia, and with each elephant tusk weighing on average 10 kilograms, the incentive is clear for many desperate locals. However the major problem in current poaching is the huge amount of mother elephants being killed, as they have large tusks in order to protect their calf, with their tusks being worth $80,000 each with the addition of the extra tragedy of the calf being orphaned, poachers are effectively killing both the elephants and if it wasn't for charity organisations creating orphanages to rehabilitate and release the calves, the elephants could easily be extinct in a matter of only a few generations. This further emphasises how key the work of safari camps, such as Saba's, and organisations such as Save the Elephants, WWF and the David Shepard Foundation, to mention a few, are in raising funds for the cause and whilst also raising awareness for these organisations that can help, as we, the human race, are destroying their habitats and forcing them to be critically endangered, therefore I believe it is our duty to fix this problem as best we can, in order to preserve this world for future generations.
Overall this programme is a must watch and is particularly for me, a truly inspiring story exemplifying the type of work I would love to be involved in after university, in order to truly make a difference to these animals and to share not only their beauty but also their vital cause with the world. To book to visit the amazing camp simply visit the Elephant Watch Camp website, http://elephantwatchportfolio.com/elephantwatchcamp/
