wild animals | Nikela: Helping People Saving Wildlife

How is the Covid-19 Pandemic impacting Africa’s wildlife?

Apr 15, 2020 · by Wildlife Margrit · In: Animal Poaching, Nikela Blog, wild animals Tagged: Coronavirus, Covid-19, pandemic, tourism

Shut down! How does this Covid-19 Pandemic closure of game reserves and nature parks impact the wildlife it is protecting? A few weeks ago tourism in Africa came to a screeching halt due to the Covid-19 Pandemic. Long awaited African Safaris were canceled and visitors and volunteers fled the continent. How is the Covid-19 Pandemic impacting Africa’s wildlife? For some wildlife the break from the endless gawking of tourists may be very welcome. Cheetah, lions, elephants and leopards frequently deal with hoards of tourists crowding them. Excited onlookers in safari vehicles press in for that unique chance to capture that…

Why these farmers are celebrating this harvest season in Tanzania

Mar 10, 2020 · by Wildlife Margrit · In: elephant, Human Wildlife Conflict, Nikela Blog, wild animals, wildlife conservation Tagged: farmer crops, human-wildlife conflict, Moses Ryakitimbo, saving elephants, win-win

Where wild animals and people live close together human wildlife conflicts are inevitable. Then why are these farmers celebrating? Well, it all started when one man had the notion that with a bunch of beehives the elephants would stay away. Moses took a risk. He approached us here at Nikela to sponsor 10 beehives to keep elephants from destroying farm crops. Families were losing their livelihood, their food and at times their lives. Elephants were crushing their maize. Lone bulls were scaring old and young alike as they tramped through crop fields. Some farmers were grabbing spears and snares to…

How the Baby Elephant Lost His Trunk to Animal Poaching

Mar 4, 2020 · by Wildlife Margrit · In: Animal Poaching, elephant, Nikela Blog, wild animals, wildlife conservation, Wildlife Trafficking Tagged: elephant poaching, Lynn Clifford, Malawi, ranger scout

Animal poaching is never pretty. Wildlife of all sizes can fall prey to being brutally killed for its meat or other valued body parts. Rhino get poached for their horn. Elephants for their tusks. Pangolin for their scales. Lions for their paws. And the list goes on. The poacher frequently uses primitive means to bring down his prey. Some have told us they use spears while others prefer laying snares. Both are cruel. Both generally deadly. Snares are made out of wire. The wire is carefully bent into a series of loops that constrict when the animal steps into it,…

What If There Was A Better Way To Help Save Wildlife?

Sep 11, 2019 · by Wildlife Margrit · In: Animal Poaching, Illegal trade, Moses, Nikela Blog, wild animals, wildlife conservation, Wildlife Trafficking Tagged: alternative livelihood, Moses Arineitwe, reformed poachers, stop poaching, Uganda, wildlife trafficking

“I want to help save wildlife, but…” About once a month I get an email vibrating with enthusiasm. Another individual anxious to get involved, but… Not sure how, not sure who and not sure where. When you think of a way to help save wildlife what comes to mind first? For most of us making a donation jumps out. But frequently right behind that comes the, BUT… How do I find a reputable wildlife conservation organization in Africa? Who can I trust to make the best use of my donation? Where do I begin to look? And before we know…

Why Trophy Hunting isn’t Wildlife Conservation: The most convincing argument yet?

May 29, 2019 · by Wildlife Margrit · In: Animal Welfare, Human Wildlife Conflict, Nikela Blog, wild animals, wildlife conservation Tagged: Beverly Joubert, Botswana, trophy hunting, wildlife conservation

Beverly Joubert one of wildlife’s longstanding champions recently shared on Instagram, a most personal reason, why trophy hunting isn’t wildlife conservation. And, it may be the most convincing argument yet! During our travels with our Land Rover we’ve made some interesting discoveries. While in the Namibian desert east of Wallis Bay we found the wildlife extremely skittish. Zebra herds would start running as soon as they herd the growl of the Landy. Rarely did they stop to look when we did. Contrast to this to Chobe in Botswana, where elephant mothers, even with small calves, barely noticed us as we…