poaching and habitat encroachment. Often, elephants are driventowards local villages due to destruction of their natural habitat, and arevery rarely welcomed by the villagers, who view themwith nothing butanimosity. The Great Projects supports an incredible Desert Elephantsvolunteering programme, dedicated to repairing the fractured human –animal relations in parts of the country. Without the continued supportof volunteers, initiatives like this would simply not be possible.One of the newest projects on offer is situated in Zimbabwe, only

minutes from the breathtaking Victoria Falls. The focus of this project isconservation research, particularly with regards to the criticallyendangered black rhino. With less than 5000 individuals left in the wild,the Black Rhino is in desperate need of help. Recognised as an IPZ(Intensive Protection Zone), the reserve where this project is situated,plays an integral role in the preservation and conservation of the rhinosand the ‘big five’. Without the continued efforts of the reserve and itsvolunteers, who can say howmanymore black rhinos would have beenpoached.With a wide range of other programmes in South Africa, Uganda and

Malawi, The Great Projects has already begun to have an impact inAfrica. However, volunteers are always needed to keep up this vitalwork. It is their mission to create a trip that has a lasting and positiveinfluence on both the volunteer and the local communities and wildlife;a true trip with a difference!

EXPLORE.DISCOVER.VOLUNTEER.

19

As the sun rises over the rolling grassland expanses ofsouthern Africa, a majestic pride of cheetah bask in itsgolden rays, an elusive leopard slinks into theundergrowth and a lioness on the hunt spots a herd ofoxen. But, only a fewmetres away, a local farmer aims

his rifle, ready to protect his land against the threat of these so-called‘problem carnivores’.Sadly these scenes are all too common in parts of southern Africa,

and the trend is worsening at a worrying rate, with big cat numbersdwindling in Namibia, Botswana andmany other African nations.Reversing this terrible human – animal conflict is the driving forcebehind the Namibia Wildlife Sanctuary initiative and many othersoffered by The Great Projects.Established to care for wild-cats under threat from human

intervention, this sanctuary has been continually invigorated by TheGreat Project’s volunteers. As a result of their constant dedication andsupport, countless cats have found a safe refuge in which to berehabilitated and released back into the wild. The positive impact ofvolunteers has been so great, that to date the sanctuary has been ableto rescue and subsequently release over 100 carnivores, a successmirrored by a similar project offered in Botswana.But it isn’t only the continent’s carnivores in need of protection.

Elephants are also victims of human actions, mainly in the form of

For more information on the projects here,please visit www.thegreatprojects.comor call them on +44 (0) 208 8854987

Join The Great Projects and help in their mission to conserve Africa’s most iconic wildlife

18

ADVERTORIAL

Clockwise from here: the criticallyendangered black rhino: a focal point of the

Victoria Falls Conservation Project’;thebreathtaking Mosi-oa-Tunya, the location ofthe new Victoria Falls Conservation Project;

an elusive leopard in Botswana; hands onvoluteering at the Namibia Wildlife

Sanctuary; and observing desert elephantsin Namibia; hands-on rhino conservation in

South Africa