The Serengeti ecosystem is a world-renowned natural landscape. The Great Migration of the wildebeest, zebras and Thomson’s gazelles is the largest ungulate migration on earth. With resilient populations of predators and iconic wildlife such as elephants, giraffes and rhinos, the Serengeti National Park is listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
Bernhard and Michael Grzimek’s academy award-winning 1959 documentary, ‘Serengeti shall not die’ continues to inspire conservation work in Africa. Today, the Frankfurt Zoological Society’s close collaboration with Tanzania National Parks provides critical financial and logistical support and know-how for resource protection, ecological and threat monitoring and park management to the Serengeti National Park. To help ensure effective long-term protection of the wildlife, the Society support the Park authorities in coordinating anti-poaching and monitoring activities and in improving intelligence gathering capability to counter wildlife crime.
Whilst poaching remains a major challenge to conservation in Tanzania, tour operators are now supporting Tanzania National Parks through Frankfurt Zoological Society, by funding the Serengeti De-Snaring Programme. A Memorandum of Understanding with the objective of initiating a de-snaring programme has been agreed among Tanzania National Parks (TANAPA), Frankfurt Zoological Society and Serengeti National Park operators from the private sector.
And with initial stakeholder funding, two anti-snaring teams have been set up and are already operating in Serengeti National Park. The teams consist of a retired TANAPA ranger as team leader. An active TANAPA ranger is with each group to provide security. The team members have been recruited from villages in the Serengeti ecosystem, in an effort to target ex-poachers and use their experience to fight snaring. The teams cooperate closely with the Serengeti National Park authorities and go out to the field to collect snares before they do harm.
*NB Shaw Safaris are delighted to announce their participation in this brilliant scheme, with a donation being made to it for every guest they have stay. So when you plan an adventure with them, not only will you be embarking on something amazing but the wildlife will benefit directly from your visit too!
Source: Frankfurt Zoological Society (fzs.org)