Bushlife Conservancy is the funding partner of our conservation unit, Bushlife Support Unit and Painted Wolf Conservancy. They are tireless in their awareness and fundraising work to raise much-needed funds for anti-poaching, collaring and research projects in Mana Pools. They put out a very informative monthly newsletter if you would like to sign up here, and receive it in full.
Welcome to our new Tusker Ranger Fund members: Michael R., Nick N., Suzanne T., and Mark & Darlene K.
TRF funds are crucial to the support of anti-poaching patrols in Mana Pools National Park. They provide money for food, fuel, and salary for the National Park Ranger drivers. If you want to be a part of TRF it requires a donation of $100 per month and can be made on the Bushlife Conservancy website here. Our ultimate goal is to have 100 TRF members and we are happy to say that we are over 33% of this goal.
From Nkululeko “Freedom” Hlongwane, Bushlife Support Unit Trust Manager, “Mana Pools – merely its name arouses the imagination of the adventurous spirit, haunting beauty of the Zambezi valley and its wild animals. To the conservationist, it is even more, it is the large diamond of biodiversity.
A visit to Mana Pools, for those who are lucky enough to live the dream, can be the experience of a lifetime. These photos were taken at Chitake Spring during the dry season, during part of our anti-poaching patrols.
The African sounds begin faltering, rising and falling like a symphony carried on an uncertain breeze. The sounds of the African Barred Owlet, hyenas howling, and baboons barking are the African lullaby that can also be described as nerve-racking when interrupted by the lions’ calls.
Sleep was tough to come by that first night, listening to the sounds of the African night. Lying down and getting comfortable for a long night’s wait, thoughts begin to race through the mind as the muscles in one’s stomach begin to tighten, a feeling of puzzlement overwhelm as one contemplates the last seconds of life.
We were welcomed by a mixed herd of buffalo drinking with beautiful background light. The herd suddenly exploded, who knows what triggered their sudden urge to flee. Suddenly we were in a dust storm with a runaway train in front of us. They bunched up, over one hundred strong, as they climbed the riverbank on the eastern side. The roar of the pounding hooves was deafening as the dust engulfed us. Trying to see through it was like peeking through the snow in a snowstorm.
Suddenly, a feline appears silhouetted by the cloud of dust, yes, he is looking hungry. With adrenaline filtering into our bloodstream now, knowing there are seventeen in total and only two are visible, we rose an inch at a time from our sitting position, coming erect in one slow but a fluid movement. We got to our land cruiser parked under the shade of fig tree. With the drama of the preceding few minutes behind us, our confidence had returned…”
Thank you to the Bushlife Conservancy team for all of their efforts! Be sure to sign up for their monthly newsletter here.