Ecosystem Archives - Nikela: Helping People Saving Wildlife

Why Marnus loves the Nyae-Nyae Conservancy and the Hope for Lions

Feb 6, 2019 · by Wildlife Margrit · In: Ecosystem, lion, Marnus, Nikela Blog, wild animals Tagged: ecosystem, Marnus Roodbol, Namibia, Nyae-Nyae Conservancy, saving lions, walking for lions

Hot, dusty, flies, in the middle of nowhere, yet stunningly beautiful! This is The Nyae Nyae Conservancy in Namibia. A harsh, remote, totally ‘get-yourself-lost’ kind of place. This vast land has provided for the local Ju/’ Hoasi (Bushpeople) and her wildlife for decades and still does her best today. However, during Marnus’ recent spoor tracking survey there is good and bad news. The Bad News: Few lions, leopards and other predators were found. On top of this, its unknown how much wild prey (antelope and smaller mammals) remain in the Nyae-Nyae Conservancy. This is bad news for both the Bushpeople,…

Living off the Grid to Conserve Nature in Zimbabwe

Oct 31, 2018 · by Wildlife Margrit · In: #NikelaAfrica, conservation, Ecosystem, Human Wildlife Conflict, Nikela Blog Tagged: Brent Stapelkamp, conserve nature, Hwange National Park

You might remember Brent Stapelkamp in connection with the sad story of Cecil the Lion a few years back. Today Brent and his wife Laurie are making a much quieter, yet remarkable difference to conserve nature outside Hwange National Park. [Watch the video of our visit below] Could you give up all your creature comforts? Well, at least most of them, especially those modern conveniences we get so used to. Conveniences like running to the shop for bread at 10pm to make school lunches. Brent and Laurie gave it all up to live in a native village bordering Hwange National…

Why Legalizing the Rhino Horn Trade Seems To Be More About Money Than Conservation

Aug 30, 2017 · by Wildlife Margrit · In: Ecosystem, Nikela Blog, rhino, rhino poaching, wildlife conservation Tagged: farming rhino, John Hume, legalized rhino horn trade, Natalie Rogers, Peter Milton, rhino horn, rhino horn trade, rhino poaching

The debate regarding legalizing the rhino horn trade has raged for a while now. It first raised its head as a solution to end the relentless poaching of rhino for their horn. Rhino horn, especially wild rhino horn, is highly prized in some Asian countries. For ages it was used in Traditional Chinese Medicine. Some believed it would cure anything from cancer to the common cold. However, in recent years it has become more of a status symbol for the new rich. Owning a rhino horn is probably not unlike owning a Rolex watch in the western world. However, this…

Illegal bushmeat hunting threatens tourism in Okavango Delta

Jun 13, 2017 · by Nikela Volunteer/Guest blogger · In: conservation, Ecosystem, Nikela Blog, Poaching, Sustainability Tagged: Botswana, bushmeat, Conservation Action Trust, Derreck Joubert, hunting, illegal hunting, Okavango Delta, tourism

With all the focus on syndicate poaching of elephant and rhino these days are we forgetting the impact of illegal bushmeat hunting? The threat posed by illegal bushmeat hunting to the Okavango Delta‘s tourism industry has been exposed in a recent report. Botswana is not normally associated with high levels of poaching, however reportedly illegal bushmeat hunting is occurring at such as significant scale in the Delta that, “the large quantities of bushmeat reported by some hunters suggests the existence of an organised commercial element to the industry, with capacity to harvest, transport and dispose of signiﬁcant volumes.” Approximately 1,800…

Why the praised biodiversity notion is not working in Africa

Mar 8, 2017 · by Wildlife Margrit · In: #NikelaAfrica, Ecosystem, Human Wildlife Conflict, Nikela Blog, Sustainability, wildlife conservation Tagged: biodiversity, human-wildlife conflict, Kenya, Maasai, Malawi, over grazing, pastoralist, Tanzania, unsustainable

This commentary is purely based on what we saw and learned during our months traveling and visiting with people in Malawi, Kenya and Tanzania. Wildlife conservation as a concept has morphed from preserving fauna and flora in natural ecosystems to a biodiversity notion. Phrases like, “sustainable use” and “wildlife management” have made a commodity out of what we once revered as sacred. There was a time when animals, birds and nature were reverenced, respected and deemed as rightful inhabitants of planet earth. Today, the “if it doesn’t pay it doesn’t stay” mentality has become the norm. Trophy hunters, wildlife farmers…