April 2, 2021
WILDLANDS, a programme of the WILDTRUST working collaboratively with The Aspinall Foundation and the Wildlife Emergency Fund (WEF) recently conducted an extraordinary collaring operation which aims to significantly increase the efficiency and impact of conservation efforts at Somkhanda Community Game Reserve. The operation started off by locating each of the...
Read moreMarch 30, 2021
It is well known that indigenous forests play a major role in mitigating climate change as they sequester greenhouse gases out of the atmosphere. The Buffelsdraai Landfill Site Community Reforestation Project was born in a bid to offset a portion of the Greenhouse gases emitted during the 2010 FIFA World...
Read moreMarch 18, 2021
WILDLANDS, a programme of the WILDTRUST and Somkhanda Community Game Reserve are proud to collaborate with the Ranger Legacy Project – ‘The Soul of a Ranger’, an initiative by the Game Rangers Association of Africa (GRAA), to raise the profile of Africa’s rangers and showcase their critical and diverse roles...
Read moreMarch 12, 2021
The WILDTRUST is proud to announce the opening of submissions for the Pierre Neethling Scholarship for PhD candidates in the environmental and conservation fields. Launched in 2016, the Pierre Neethling Scholarship aims to support PhD studies that will make catalytic contributions to our ability to develop and implement benchmark sustainability...
Read moreMarch 11, 2021
In November 2020, WILDTRUST submitted a formal Objection to the Marine Stewardship Council (MSC) certification of the South African Hake Trawl Fishery. MSC certification is an “eco-label” found on seafood packaging, supposedly confirming the products contained came from a sustainable fishery. In its Objection the WILDTRUST cited concerns about the...
Read moreFebruary 23, 2021
The Aspinall Foundation, in partnership with WILDTRUST and the Wildlife Emergency Fund, collaborated with the Mpumalanga Tourism and Parks Agency (MTPA) in the successful translocation of three rhino from Bongani Mountain Lodge and the Mthethomusha Nature Reserve in Mpumalanga. The lodge was burned down by local communities in arson related...
Read moreFebruary 18, 2021
Somkhanda Game Reserve, a 12000-hectare community owned reserve situated in the heart of Zululand, KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa, is home to lion, black and white rhino, African wild dog and African elephants. These Big 5 animals are sadly on the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species due to poaching, human-wildlife conflict,...
Read moreFebruary 12, 2021
As we approach the tax year end (28 February 2021), we would like to encourage and call on all the friends, fans and family of the Trust to make donations and help us effect positive change in the environment and the communities we support, through the WILDLANDS and WILDOCEANS programmes...
Read moreJanuary 22, 2021
Sharks inhabit all five of the Earth’s oceans and can even be found in some freshwater rivers and lakes too. While this may be alarming to some people, it is important to remember that not all sharks pose a potential threat to people. There is an incredibly diverse range...
Read moreJanuary 7, 2021
Did you know that the shark nets along the KwaZulu-Natal coast do not prevent sharks from reaching the surf zone on swimming beaches? Luckily, it is highly unlikely that you will ever be attacked by a shark. So unlikely, in fact, that the odds of dying from a shark attack...
Read moreNovember 26, 2020
WILDLANDS, a programme of the WILDTRUST and the Emvokweni Community Trust (ECT) working collaboratively with the Giraffe Conservation Foundation (GCF) and Tracy and Du Plessis Game Capture (TDC) recently welcomed 10 giraffes from the Munyawane and Phinda Private Game Reserves to Somkhanda Community Game Reserve. During a recent translocation, eight...
Read moreNovember 25, 2020
Somkhanda Community Game Reserve, co-managed by WILDLANDS – a programme of the WILDTRUST, will for the first-time release two white rhino orphans back into the wild, giving them a second chance at a normal life. Makhosi (4 years old), who was named by the Zulu Royal family and Mpilo (3...
Read moreOctober 14, 2020
In a historic translocation in 2016, Somkhanda Community Game Reserve welcomed a herd of 13 elephants donated by Nambiti Game Reserve. This was hailed as an epic collaboration, as, for the first time, two community owned reserves had successfully worked together to extend elephant range and distribution. This illustrated the...
Read moreAugust 19, 2020
The continental-wide collapse of wildlife tourism caused by the pandemic has eliminated an essential funding stream for wildlife protection. This threatens to undo years of rangers’ conservation gains, compromising decades of development and conservation work across Africa. The Wildlife Ranger Challenge, of which Somkhanda Community Game Reserve is a participant,...
Read moreJuly 9, 2020
The Covid-19 global pandemic has had a massive impact on the income generation models of businesses globally, with local and international Safari tourism being the hardest hit. The Somkhanda Community Game Reserve has not been spared. Fortunately, the reserve does not only depend solely on Safari tourism but has also...
Read moreJuly 7, 2020
With the unemployment of youth in South Africa standing at just over 50%, it is not surprising that the Youth employment sits high on the agenda of our government and the world at large. As we close off the Youth Month theme for 2020, “Youth Power: Growing South Africa together...
Read moreMay 21, 2020
Dear WILD Supporter, WILDLANDS has been a beneficiary of the Comrades Marathon Association (CMA) for a number of years and with their help have raised millions of rands through the support of both local and international runners. With our “new normal” due to Covid-19, we have all been pushed indoors...
Read moreApril 24, 2020
WILDLANDS has been active in the community that borders the Hluhluwe-iMfolozi Game Reserve for many years, working on various projects with the community leadership. This included support to the community to safeguard them from the negative effects of mining and support for livelihoods. Recently we have funded, through the WILDSERIES...
Read moreApril 9, 2020
WILDOCEANS, the marine conservation programme of the WILDTRUST, recently received a funding grant from the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Marine Plastics and Coastal Communities (MARPLASTICCS) initiative to launch a project that aims to explore alternative ways to stop plastic from making its way into the marine environment...
Read moreMarch 24, 2020
A launch in Cape Town earlier this month introduced ‘Shark Attack’ to South Africa, a 3-year shark & ray protection effort led by WILDOCEANS (a programme of the WILDTRUST) and made possible by the Shark Conservation Fund, with the goal to improve the status of threatened sharks and rays in South...
Read moreWILDTRUST (registered as the Wildlands Conservation Trust - IT No: 4329/1991/PMB)