The Healthy Life Is The Best Life
Marc Richmond
3 Ways to Protect Wildlife in Serengeti National Park
June 26, 2020 0 comment
One of the Best Ways to Protect Wildlife is to Experience the Wilderness in Person, not through a screen.
Experiencing nature in person is one of the best ways to protect wildlife, this is how you can get involved: In nature, there’s a high level of interdependence that makes any ecosystem function, survive, cease or grow.
An example being how an African lion depends on a prey like zebra for food, whereas, a zebra depends on green grass and water for survival, the grass depends on rain, sunshine and decomposition of a dead zebra or lion to grow…everything in nature is connected down to a microscopic virus like novel corona!
The same connectedness applies to how most wildlife conservation projects work within Africa’s wildlife sanctuaries.
3 Best Ways to Protect Wildlife:
- Experience the Wilderness in Person, not through a screen!
- Make a Difference, Go on safari with Wito Africa!
- Donate to Conservation Initiatives
One of the primary ways most national parks in Africa are able to sustainably fund the work of protecting all wildlife from poachers is to use the revenue collected in the form of park entrance and concession fees which are payable by tour operators like Wito Africa Safaris when they send tourists to visit the parks on safari. The more tourists the parks receive, the more revenue collected from the tour operators and visitors which means more funds available for protection of wildlife and overall operations of the national parks.
Here’s a behind the scenes look at animal conservation programs in Serengeti National Park.
Growing up as a young child in Tanzania, I (Abdullie, Founder of Wito Africa Safaris) used to hear of and witness encounters of huge populations of lions, cheetahs, elephants, giraffes, crocodiles, wildebeest, zebras and hyenas – not to mention all the colourful birds!
It is through my recollection of such an unparalleled volume of wildlife roaming freely in vast sanctuaries without borders or fences that really ignited my desire to protect wildlife and my passion to show this raw beauty to the wider world through responsible tourism.
As a tour company, we have seen the positive impact that sustainable tourism has provided to local communities and to wildlife at large. Through direct employment in tourism, we have seen thousands of local people making a living and receiving direct benefits of being involved in safari related activities.
Just to put things in perspective, going into 2020, the tourism sector in Tanzania was contributing approximately 18.3% in GDP and it is said to create over a million jobs which directly employ over half a million Tanzanians (World Travel and Tourism Council).
How Does Serengeti National Park Ensure The Park and Wildlife Remain Protected?
A massive national park like the Serengeti has been running successful conservation and wildlife protection projects with world renowned nonprofit organizations like the Frankfurt Zoological Society (FZS) with the sole purpose of ensuring that this beautiful ecosystem is thriving even during times of uncertainty and that the Serengeti Shall Not Die. You can read more about some of the ongoing research, and amazing conservation work that has been done over the years with the Frankfurt Zoological Society (FZS) here.
The presence of staff (and tourists alike) in most safari camps and lodges that operate inside the national parks and within wildlife corridors also plays a key role in deterring most desperate poachers who are interested in the illegal seizure of bush meat for food.
In most cases, the cost of acquiring bush meat is cheaper than buying other sources of meat (beef, chicken)…etc, and there’s a possibility to sell it to other people and create a source of temporary income. These selfish poacher-wannabes typically use snares that pretty much capture any animal that moves.
The Serengeti De-snaring Program in partnership with tourism stakeholders such as tour operators, collectively work together to eradicate and manage the issue even in the most remote corners of the park. Involving the local communities that border most national parks and wildlife sanctuaries to work in safari camps and lodges seems to have the positive psychological effect of turning some potential poachers to wildlife protectors.
For the local people who work in tourism activities, the direct benefits of their employment are impactful, from the basics of putting food on the table to feed both immediate and extended families, providing shelter and education to investing in small local kiosk-like souvenir businesses.
The benefits of being involved in wildlife protection outweigh the desire to become a poacher for bush meat. Wouldn’t you want to protect the goose that lays the golden eggs?
Be Part of the Solution, Go On An African Safari with Wito Africa and Make a Difference!
There’s a growing desire amongst people from around the world who wish to see an end to global environmental crises such as climate change and deforestation.
Our precious wildlife – big and small – are the most vulnerable now more than ever! We also want you to understand that the future of our wildlife is depending on travellers like you to help protect them and continue the incredible work of conservation across Africa.
Therefore, when it is safe to travel again, we encourage you to explore beyond your backyards and local boundaries.
We ask you to take a journey far and wide into some of the wildest places on Earth where wildlife roam freely, the less known and untouched areas where Mother Nature has created a natural home for hundreds of animal species, endangered birds and plants that need to be protected 365 days a year.
