The WF believes in the power of the wilderness to dissolve ethnic and economic inequalities and forge one path toward social and environmental sustainability.
Art in the heart of Langebaan - The Bay
Gallery will be hosting a "save the rhino" wildlife exhibition
opening on Tuesday, 20 March from 6-8pm. The gallery is located in Marra Square,
Bree Street, Langebaan.
The exhibition runs until the end of April
and a portion of funds raised will be donated to the Wilderness Foundation's
Forever Wild Rhino Protection Initiative.
Two Pride outreach trails took place in Groendal
in February this year headed up by our Experiential Education manager, Lihle
Mbokazi. Each trail experienced extremes of weather, with blistering heat on
Saturday, 11 February and hard rain on Saturday, 18 February.
“It was amazing to see the learners’
reaction on both dates,” says Lihle. “When I collected the group on the 11th
they were there waiting for me with their teacher. Despite the heat, they had
fun walking and showed a lot of interest in what the guides taught them.”
Although it drizzled during the trail on the
18th, Lihle managed to ensure that the kids had an enjoyable outing.
“I explained how amazing the Groendal area is, and how much fun we were going
to have, and everyone cheered up. When we turned back for lunch, the kids all
said that they didn’t want to go home.”
Comments from trailists:
“The guide’s were excellent, they were very
professional and I would say they know what they are doing and are good at it.
What I like most about the
Pride Outreach is the games we played and some new
stuff that we leaned. Two things I’ve learned from
Pride is that it’s more a
battle out in Nature than in the City. And that you can do and achieve whatever
you like if you have ambition for it. It was a nice long walk but I enjoyed
it.” L.R.
“For me February has been the best month in class because I loved every minute of being in class. I feel comfortable, and in terms of books it has been interesting, I have learnt a lot in terms of how to be a good manager one day, and for practical’s I loved it. It’s a pleasure for me to say thanks to our hospitality lecturers for giving out their time to teach us more things and not giving up on us. THANKS.”
“For me February was a best month at Umzi Wethu especially in class because now I am learning how to use the computer and my teacher is good and understanding and she is trying very hard to help us in everything. The coffee shop is also good and exciting we are learning more every day.”
“Operation Crash,” is a multi-agency effort to investigate and prosecute those involved in the black market trade of endangered rhinoceros horn according to the US department of Fish and Wildlife.
Seven people have been arrested on charges of trafficking in endangered black rhinoceros horn over the past week in Los Angeles, Newark, N.J., and New York, the Department of Justice and Department of the Interior announced today (Feb 23, 2012).
Special agents of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) and U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) made the arrests and have executed search warrants in five different states as part of “Operation Crash,” a multi-agency effort to investigate and prosecute those involved in the black market trade of endangered rhinoceros horn.
Below is an interview with USFWS Director Dan Ashe and USFWS Law Enforcement Chief William C. Woody about recent rhino law enforcement investigation and arrests.
In South Africa, home to three quarters of the last remaining rhinos on the planet, conservationists, private game reserve owners and security forces are waging a desperate battle against poachers intent on killing the country’s rhinos for their lucrative horns.
“It is an epidemic. It’s a war that right now we’re losing,” Graeme Rushmere said. “It’s not a South African issue as such, it’s really a global issue.”
Rushmere owns Kariega Game Reserve, a nearly 25,000 acre private reserve. The reserve is home to critically endangered black rhinos and white rhinos.
Rhinos have roamed the Earth for millions of years, but at the turn of the twentieth century there were only about 50 white rhinos left in the world. All were in South Africa. Over the course of several decades, South Africans brought the white rhino back from the brink of extinction. Through incredible conservation work, there are almost 20,000 white rhinos today. The recent spike in poaching has South Africans worried that all of their hard work to save the rhino will be reversed.
Just a decade ago, only about a dozen rhinos were poached each year. Last year, poachers killed more than 400 rhinos.
