News

Celebrating World Rhino Day – A Somkhanda Success Journey

September 27, 2021

World Rhino Day is celebrated annually on the 22nd of September as a way for cause related organisations to highlight the plight and celebrate the gains made by specific Non-Profit Organisations in the protection and conservation of this iconic species. WILDLANDS, a programme of the WILDTRUST celebrates this auspicious...

The WILDSERIES Three Cranes Challenge – a Win for Biodiversity

September 10, 2021

WILDLANDS, a programme for the WILDTRUST, together with the Karkloof Conservancy have brought the trail running community, the Three Cranes Challenge for over a decade, raising funds for the protection of the Cranes (Blue, Crowned and Wattled Crane) and its habitat in the Karkloof Valley. While Covid-19 halted the staging...

Africa’s first-ever Marine Protected Areas (MPA) Day ignites global movement to protect the oceans

August 10, 2021

Sunday, 1 August marked the first annual MPA Day celebration with a series of well-coordinated events reaching more than a million people across the globe. Organised by an alliance of ocean-conservation partners, MPA Day highlighted the value of these unique areas, not only to the ecosystem, but to the surrounding...

Somkhanda Community Game Reserve continues to create a safe environment for wildlife and ranger livelihoods

August 2, 2021

WILDLANDS, a programme of the WILDTRUST announced, 6 months ago, that they had secured a Rapid Action Grant through the IUCN Save Our Species African Wildlife initiative, co-funded by the European Union (EU) EU website. Through this funding, the reserve was set off on a journey to rapidly transform the...

End of an era – A new chapter for Somkhanda Community Game Reserve Tourism

July 30, 2021

After nearly three years of operating on Somkhanda Community Game Reserve, Wild Connection, an adventure tourism operator, will hand over tourism operations to the local community. During their time at Somkhanda, Wild Connection did an incredible job of building the reserve into a premier community-based tourism destination, and in training...

Shining a spotlight on funds raised for community upliftment and conservation projects

July 26, 2021

The Comrades Marathon Centenary Hope Challenge virtual event took place on the 13th of June 2021 following the cancellation of the road race due to the Covid-19 pandemic. Bearing the campaign theme of Ithemba or Hope, thousands of runners from across the globe took to the streets in the hope...

A WILD ride for conservation at Africa’s Oldest Game Reserve

July 22, 2021

This year’s STIHL iMfolozi MTB Challenge marked its 17th cycle ride after a one-year sabbatical due to Covid-19 pandemic. Although staged under very strict Covid-19 protocols, the WILDTRUST was honoured and excited to host over 300 riders at the Hluhluwe-Imfolozi Park, on the 26th of June 2021. Instrumental to the...

African Youth Unifying for Ocean protection: African Youth Summit

July 20, 2021

African Youth Unifying for Ocean protection: African Youth Summit Our Africa, Our Ocean, Our Future. In the first-ever virtual event of its kind on the continent, a youth driven marine group called Youth4MPAs in partnership with WILDOCEANS, and supported by World Surf League PURE, The Pew Charitable Trusts and Oceans5...

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...