News

Youth and Conservation WIN

June 7, 2021

Following the announcement of the 3-year partnership between Somkhanda Community Game Reserve and Bhejane Nature Training in June 2020, WILDLANDS, a programme of the WILDTRUST is excited to announce the first successful group of youth who have qualified as certified, FGASA (Field Guides Association of South Africa) Nature Guides. As...

WILDTRUST says YES to growing future leaders

May 12, 2021

The WILDTRUST, through the support and commitment of Nedbank is participating in the Youth Employment Services (YES) programme. This programme aims to reduce youth unemployment levels across South Africa by providing one-year quality work-placements aimed at affording practical and meaningful work experiences for unemployed youth between the ages of 18...

Securing our wildlife – New satellite collars for Somkhanda’s Tusker and two White Rhino Orphans

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...

Carbon Capture of Indigenous Tree’s in EPCPD’s Flagship Restoration Project

March 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...

The Soul of a Ranger’ – African Game Rangers, so much more than just wildlife guardians

March 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...

Submissions for the Pierre Neethling Scholarship are open for PhD candidates

March 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...

MSC Certification – Cold Comfort for Sharks

March 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...

BONGANI MOUNTAIN LODGE RHINOS MOVED TO SAFETY IN RESCUE MISSION

February 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...

Somkhanda Community Game Reserve Secures Ranger Livelihoods and New Technology for wildlife and biodiversity protection

February 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,...

Your chance to support the WILD

February 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...

Shark Safety Strategies – feasible or far-fetched?

January 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...

Shark Nets – What’s the catch?

January 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...

Somkhanda steps up to help save the world’s tallest mammal

November 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...

Back to the WILD – A story of orphaned rhino

November 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...

Community owned reserves collaborate to strengthen Elephant Gene Poole

October 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...

WILDLANDS Receives Protected Area Grant Funding For Somkhanda Game Reserve

August 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,...

Somkhanda makes an exciting shift in their Wildlife Economy Model

July 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...

Youth Empowerment and Capacity Building for Conservation

July 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...

Enter the Comrades Race the Legends Virtual Event and Run for Rhino

May 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...

Request for Assistance – a community in need

April 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...