Protecting the Big 5 in South Africa

Dear Supporters, 

Thanks for stopping by! This fund will allow direct injection of funds where they are needed most – on the ground, alongside the needs of our partners, to preserve Africa’s natural spaces.

Global Vision International have been actively monitoring the wildlife on Karongwe Private Game Reserve in the Limpopo Province for the past 18 years.

Our intimate data sets have contributed to numerous scientific papers, and have directly influenced the management of the abundant species who call Karongwe home.

Most recently we were fortunate enough to be sponsored a number of camera traps to allow us to kick start a large-scale camera trapping project. Our principal aim, to better understand the prevalence of the illusive spotted and brown hyena. Our sightings of these nocturnal animals have been so few that we have not able to accurately determine their population size.

Monitoring the population trends of predators in a reserve is important for managing ecological balance in small, fenced reserves. Apex predators, such as the spotted hyena (Crocuta crocuta), have the ability to affect the density and composition of herbivores and meso-predators within an ecosystem. Hyenas ensure an ecosystem remains healthy and sustainable, as they prey on sick and weak animals, ensuring the prevention and spread of disease while maintaining a healthy herbivore community.

The up keep of this trapping project, as well as many other smaller projects undertaken by GVI Karongwe, will rely on funds directly from this fund.

As Sir David Attenborough said, ‘Nature once determined how we survive, now we determine how nature survives.’ We look forward to sharing more stories from the field with you as we unite to conserve Africa’s natural spaces, so that her ecosystems may thrive for many generations to come.

Love,

The Karongwe team