- WildlifeDirect
Infobox Non-profit
Non-profit_name = WildlifeDirect Inc
Non-profit_
Non-profit_type =
founded_date = June 1, 2006
founder = DrRichard Leakey
location = Nairobi, Kenya
origins =
key_people = DrRichard Leakey
Harold Wackman
DrEmmanuel de Merode
Dr Paula Kahumbu
area_served = Worldwide
product =
focus =Conservation
method = Awareness, Fund raising, blogging
revenue =
endowment =
num_volunteers =
num_employees =
num_members =
subsid =
owner =
Non-profit_slogan = Saving Endangered Animals
homepage = [http://wildlifedirect.org/index.php WildlifeDirect]
dissolved =
footnotes =WildlifeDirect is a Kenya and US registered charitable organization founded and chaired by African conservationist
Richard Leakey , who is credited with putting an end to the elephant slaughter inKenya in the 1980s. Its main office is located inNairobi , Kenya.WildlifeDirect was established in 2006 to provide support to conservationists in Africa directly on the ground via the use of
blogs , which enables anybody, anywhere to play a direct and interactive role in the survival of some of the world’s most precious species.WildlifeDirect takes no administration fee for the funds that are transferred through their website so that the financial support can go to where it was intended in its entirety. Their core costs are provided for separately through grants, primarily from the European Union [http://www.wildlifedirect.org/about/] .
WildlifeDirect's Work
Mountain Gorilla sIn January 2007,
Congo Rangers in charge of Gorilla Protection fromVirunga National Park reported through their blogs with WildlifeDirect that one solitary male,silverback mountain gorilla had been killed and butchered [ [http://www.wildlifedirect.org/gorillaprotection/?p=16 www.wildlifedirect.org/gorillaprotection] ] . A week later WildlifeDirect reported the death of another male Mountain Gorilla, later identified as Karema, in the same area. His remains, principally his head, had been dumped in a pit latrine. [ [http://www.wildlifedirect.org/gorillaprotection/?p=29 www.wildlifedirect.org/gorillaprotection] ] .WildlifeDirect's intervention in the gorillas deaths led to a deal between Congo Rangers and the rebels on the
Democratic Republic of Congo side ofVirunga National Park , where, despite ceasefire agreements, areas are still controlled by rebel fighters loyal to renegade Congolese army generalLaurent Nkunda .After worldwide publicity about the deaths was generated by WildlifeDirect and the
Frankfurt Zoological Society , which works with the charity in the area, the rebel movement even went so far as to issue a press release denying any involvement [ [http://news.independent.co.uk/environment/article2186517.ece The Independent, 26 January 2007] ] .In December 2006, The
Advanced Force of theCongo Rangers reported on their WildlifeDirect blog thatMai Mai rebels shot several hundred hippos on the south-western shore ofLake Edward inVirunga National Park , halving an already decimated population. Less than two decades ago, conservationists counted 22,875 hippos in the park, most of them in and around the lake. But an aerial count following the massacre showed that what was once the world's most important hippo stock had been reduced to 315 animals [ [http://environment.guardian.co.uk/conservation/story/0,,1977470,00.html The Guardian, 22 December 2006] ] .Only one significant group of Hippos now remains in
Virunga National Park , in Ishango on the Northern shore ofLake Edward . To help secure the safety of these animals, WildlifeDirect set up a blog for Atamato Madrandele, the Park Ranger responsible for the Ishango Sector [http://www.wildlifedirect.org/atamato] .WildlifeDirect Blogs
"In the
Democratic Republic of Congo ":[http://www.wildlifedirect.org/congo-rangers Congo Rangers] Based in the
Mikeno Sector ofVirunga National Park , these Rangers were picked and trained to form a rapid intervention team capable of handling severe conservation crises. They have protected Virunga throughout the war in DRC, often without pay and with great danger to their lives. Since the beginning of the war, in 1996, 97 Rangers have been killed on active service [ [http://www.wildlifedirect.org/congo-rangers/?page_id=2 www.wildlifedirect.congo-rangers] ] .[http://gorilla.wildlifedirect.org/ Gorilla Protection] A blog from Paulin Ngobobo, Senior Warden in the South of
Virunga National Park , and in charge of theMikeno Sector .[http://atamato.wildlifedirect.org/ Atamato and the Hippos] A blog from Atamato Madrandele, the Senior Ranger who looks after the last significant remaining group of
Hippos inVirunga National Park .Congo Rangers based in Mutsora, in the Northern Sector of Virunga National Park: [http://www.wildlifedirect.org/elie Congo Ranger Elie] [http://www.wildlifedirect.org/aloma Congo Ranger Aloma Major] [http://www.wildlifedirect.org/deo Congo Ranger Deo Kakule Sindani] [http://www.wildlifedirect.org/delphin Congo Ranger Delphin Muhini Kipasula] [http://www.wildlifedirect.org/fabien Congo Ranger Fabien Kahindo Matina]
[http://www.wildlifedirect.org/maniocvalley Blog from the WildlifeDirect Team]
"In
Kenya ":[http://www.wildlifedirect.org/asuka Mara Mobile Veterinary Unit] Integrating Community Development and Wildlife Protection in
Masai Mara .[http://www.wildlifedirect.org/colobus Colobus Trust] A Conservation Organization dedicated to protecting
primates in CoastalKenya .[http://www.wildlifedirect.org/tumaren Wildlife Musings in Laikipia.]
References
External links
* [http://www.wildlifedirect.org WildlifeDirect]
* [http://www.csmonitor.com/2007/0309/p01s04-woaf.html Christian Science Monitor: Web Charity Helps Save Congo's Gorillas]
* [http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2006/10/061024-hippo-congo.html National Geographic: Hippos Butchered by the Hundreds in Congo Wildlife Park]
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