What is the Wildlife ACT Fund?

The Wildlife ACT Fund has developed what we believe to be a holistic conservation approach based on the following:

• Deliver time and expertise to provide adequate management, capture, transport and reintroduction of endangered animals.
• Implementation of anti-poaching measures and equipment in the field
• Finding the equipment needed to effectively monitor endangered and threatened species
• Helping rural communities who live alongside protected wildlife areas to develop a love and respect for nature, provide them with reasons to protect it, and advance economic empowerment.

“We have to stop speaking about the Earth being in need of healing. The Earth doesn’t need healing. We do. It is our task to rediscover ourselves in Nature. There is no such thing as human nature. There is only Nature and the very human expression of it. To understand this is to understand the significance of what we need to do if we are to restore the lost balance. Our task is not to get back to Nature but give back to Nature. How about half of our hearts, half of our language and our thoughts? How about half of our land? Nature needs it and Nature will give back. Our survival is in our own hands. We are the masons of the way we think. We can say yes and no. Take care. And be kind … we are all fighting a fierce battle.”
~ Dr Ian McCullam

Life Saving Tracking Collars

To track endangered species like Cheetah, African Wild Dog, Rhino and Leopard, various forms of tracking collars are used. These include radio, GPS and satellite collars. This equipment makes it possible for Wildlife ACT’s monitors to track these animals daily, which means that if they are injured, sick, trapped in a poacher’s snare, or have escaped out of a reserve, help is not far away. Important research can also be conducted including animal movement patterns, population demographics and inter-species interactions, all to help with the future conservation of these species.

The Fund is also helping to develop and test anti-poaching collars with reinforced plates and special rivets to prevent animals like Cheetah, Leopards or Wild Dogs from choking when caught in a poacher’s snare – this means that a collar can literally save an animal’s life!

Anti-poaching Transmitter Technology

Another example of potentially lifesaving equipment is the ‘state of the art’ anti-poaching transmitter technology that the Wildlife ACT Fund has helped to identify and recently implement. These sophisticated transmitters send real-time info to monitors about the movements of the animal and its exact location. When fitted in a rhino horn for example, the movement sensor will trigger an alarm when the rhino is in distress, and can even detect when its horn is being hacked off – this gives us the opportunity catch the perpetrators in the act, and in the case of animals caught in a snare, for the snare to be removed before they die. In January 2011 after months of planning, Wildlife ACT Fund members formed part of a team to implement the very first system, by inserting these transmitters into the horns of all the rhino on a reserve in Zululand, South Africa. With this system now in place, these rhino are significantly safer from poachers.

Camera Traps

Another great way to monitor endangered animals is to use remote activated camera traps. The “shots” provide monitors and researchers with fantastic information, allowing them to assess the status of endangered species on a reserve, and to help develop and monitor management interventions. As an example, here is the first-ever record of the cubs from a very shy female Cheetah (she had not been seen for 6 months!) on a game reserve in South Africa. No one knew that she had cubs or whether she was still alive until these photographs captured her and her cubs at a waterhole at 2am!

Above right is another example of how remote camera trapping can benefit endangered species conservation. By capturing images of the Black Rhino (on an undisclosed reserve), it was possible to establish how many rhino’s there are on the reserve and create accurate identity kits of the individuals. Without this information it is almost impossible to create effective conservation management programs to ensure the continued survival of these species.

Community Conservation Project

All too often, communities that live around reserves are ostracized from conservation areas. Also, when rural communities are not helped to sustain themselves, or given adequate conservation education, we cannot expect these communities to do anything, but look to the protected areas for resources as means of survival. To help address these issues he Wildlife ACT Fund has initiated Community Conservation Projects around four game reserves in Zululand where endangered species need protection. Read more

Make a Difference

• One VHF collar can literally save an animal’s life and it costs only $350! We have many Wild Dog, Cheetah, Lion and Leopard that need collars.
• Wild Dogs are particularly susceptible to getting caught in snares, which is why we try to fit as many Anti-Snare Collars as possible. These do however cost $650 per collar.
• Remote camera traps allow conservation managers to estimate the status of their endangered species and costs only $600, and last over 5 years.
• To host a child on our Kid’s Bush camp is $10 a day. So every little bit helps!
• Join us on Facebook and Twitter, and tell people you know to do the same.
• Join Wildlife ACT monitors in the bush to help track endangered species every day – click here.