Dedicated to the conservation of endangered and threatened
wildlife and wild places, on land or within the sea.

PROJECTS - Ongoing Programs

Fuel, Maintenance and Insurance for Aircraft  |  The Basics Plus Recognition  |  Support Equipment  |  Elephant Relocation  |  Education Center  |  Environmental Curriculum for Children  |  Volunteer Flying Doctor Program

FUEL, MAINTENANCE AND INSURANCE FOR AIRCRAFT: One of the most important aspects of antipoaching and the rendition of humanitarian services is to keep our aircraft operational. The need for funds to provide fuel, maintenance and insurance is basic to that goal. The annual costs approximate $50,000.00.

THE BASICS PLUS RECOGNITION
There is the ongoing need to provide uniforms, boots, boot socks, back packs, rain gear, flashlights, batteries, canteens, ground sheets, mosquito netting, blankets, etc., etc., to game scouts whose governments simply do not have the financial capability of serving these needs (e.g. Zambia, Mozambique). The cost of fresh equipment varies from year to year depending on the degree of hard use and the "wear out" factor, but it has been averaging $10,000.00 per year.

In addition, the awards program is a way to recognize excellence in performance by game scouts in their contacts with poachers. It is a small way of saying "thanks for a job well done" and it goes directly to the individual game scout. To a man who earns only $100.00 per month, a cash award of $100.00 to $300.00 means a lot. The cost of this program is only $2,500.00 per year. Manufacturers such as Mag Instrument Corporation donate Mini-Maglites, and Swiss Army Brands, Ltd., donate the "Swisschamp" Swiss Army knives.

SUPPORT EQUIPMENT FOR AIRCRAFT: In addition to the replacement of game scout equipment, there are always requests for small but important items for our aircraft. Examples include replacement hose for a hand operated fuel pump which had sprung several leaks and was wasting expensive fuel while pumping the fuel into the aircraft wing tanks; a spare tail wheel hub assembly so that a tire could be mounted on it and kept in the aircraft for quick repair of a flat tire which all-too-often happens when operating out of bush strips loaded with acacia thorns; a pilot head set that has virtually melted or come apart from heat and humidity; a hangar roof that had blown off during a severe storm, etc. Items of this nature have average about $5,000.00 per year.

ELEPHANT RELOCATION: Are there too many elephants in e.g. Kruger National Park (KNP)? KNP has the capability of sustaining a population of about 6,000 elephants but each year the size of the population increases by about 500. In the past when this question has been answered with a "yes" and viable alternatives to culling (killing) have been exhausted, the National Parks Board of South Africa has culled the excess by eliminating entire families - babies, youngsters and adults. The painful decision to cull elephants is not an alternative that National Parks exercises without extensive study. It is a "last ditch" resort. When the elephant population of KNP increases beyond the carrying capability of the habitat, the elephants are subject to a slow and painful death by starvation due to the lack of enough food and water. However, WILDCON has, by agreement with the National Parks Board, been allowed to buy elephants and relocate them to Shamwari Game Reserve, about 800 miles south of KNP and near Port Elizabeth. Shamwari has ideal habitat for elephants and can carry about 200. It is also well out of harms way. The cost per elephant approximates $2,500.00 plus 14% VAT (value added tax), for a total of $2,850.00, regardless of age or sex. Shamwari has offered to donate transport. This project is a "GIFT OF LIFE" for elephants and one which will be ongoing for WILDCON. For additional news regarding emergency relocation projects, see "Wildcon Newsletter" on this site.

EDUCATION CENTER: Global conservation begins at home - here in the USA. The principles that apply to African wildlife and wild places apply equally to American wildlife and wild places. It is with this in mind that "The ZOO" in Gulf Breeze, Florida (adjacent to Pensacola), has offered to construct a building for WILDCON which will be the "Wilderness Conservancy Education Center". This facility will house a museum, theater, lecture hall, classrooms, insect zoo, nocturnal wildlife exhibit, aquarium, amphibian exhibit, library, exhibits for the mentally and physically impaired, touch and discover zones, and much more. Imagine - sight impaired children being able to actually touch and discover an elephant and other exotic wildlife! Already the Pensacola Junior College is offering a Zoo Technology course leading to an Associate in Science degree which, when the education center is completed, will be taught on site. Donations of equipment such as audio/visual, library materials, classroom equipment, etc., or the funds with which to provide them, are needed to make the education center a state-of-the-art facility. The estimated cost of the equipment needed approximates $465,000.00.

ENVIRONMENTAL CURRICULUM FOR CHILDREN: Children have a natural affinity for animals. Children are also natural explorers. They are imaginative and their minds are sponges for knowledge. With these attributes in mind, WILDCON has developed a curriculum for children grades Four through Six (expandable for grades One through Three and Seven through Nine). The curriculum embraces the practical application of subjects such as the biological sciences, political and social science, written and oral communication skills to problem solving within a conservation context. Cause-and-effect are explored and specific examples of threats to wildlife and wild places are examined - for example, the threat to wildlife and wild places posed by human populations and/or poachers. Role playing is an important part of the curriculum. A copy of the curriculum's detailed outline is available free of charge to any qualified educational institution or teacher.

VOLUNTEER FLYING DOCTOR PROGRAM: When one of the Wilderness Conservancy aircraft are not scheduled for a conservation mission, their unscheduled time is available for humanitarian use in the furnishing of free health care (medical and dental) to villagers in remote regions who do not have easy access to such care. In addition, they would be available for emergency medical evacuation when game scouts become ill, injured or wounded and for similar use in the case of villagers or tourists. Our antipoaching aircraft have been successfully used in such cases but their carrying capability is cramped while that of our Cessna 206 is excellent. American health care providers have volunteered to render services in South Africa, in addition to South African health care providers. The South African government has offered to issue restricted licenses to American volunteers that would allow them to render services in this program. The University of Natal, Faculty of Medicine, has offered to be a partner in this program.