If you have had the chance to visit some of our camps and witness the abundant elephant and lion populations (habitat specific of course), you may be forgiven for thinking that these iconic species are under threat at all.
Sadly however, they are most definitely under threat. Global populations of elephant and lion are in decline due to human induced factors such as habitat loss, habitat fragmentation, human-wildlife conflict, and the illegal wildlife trade. Elephants and lions are classified as endangered and vulnerable respectively by the IUCN[i].
It is a sobering thought that the future of these globally recognised, keystones species – and in the case of the elephant the world’s largest living land animal – are in peril. If we cannot find a workable and sustainable solution for their future, then what hope do we have to protect less iconic or glamorous species that are also under threat?
All is not lost of course, and initiatives such World Lion Day (10 August) and World Elephant Day (12 August) were created to draw urgent attention to the plight of these animals, and in the process make a date with conversation with global advocacy in mind.
At Natural Selection we support a variety of projects that we believe are making a significant, long lasting and sustainable impact on the future of these species. These projects include the Elephant Express, The Desert Lion Early Warning Conflict Mitigation System, Mmogo Coexistence programme Citizen-Science and Large Carnivore Monitoring, Moreomaoto Village Living with Wildlife Strategy Workshops, and Communal Herding for Wildlife and Wildlife Protection. For a full list of the projects we support please visit https://naturalselection.travel/conservation/
[i] International Union for Conservation of Nature’s Red List of Threatened Species
