News

Rhino and Mr BRRRRR The Rhino Sanctuary has benefitted enormously from the recent rains, with lush vegetation providing optimum nutrition for the rhinos. The orphaned elephant is now 15 months old and is browsing well.  Thomas and Zacharia, his keepers, spend many hours with him out in the bush every day as his appetite for browse continues to increase. [link]

Vocational Training College We are moving forwards on the plans to build a vocational training college in a village close to the border of Mkomazi National Park.  Local formal meetings have been held on this with a Dutch foundation and the RC Diocese of Same who are involved in this project.   We are excited about this VTC as providing the young men of that area with a technical skill will give them a chance of employment after their education is finished.  Suzuki Rhino Club have been greatly involved in this project since inception and wish to put in and equip a mechanics' training workshop, which is wonderful. TANAPA continue to work closely with us and recently the GAWPT personnel and TANAPA staff have undertaken joint patrols in the area. [link]

Wild dog Reports in from Tsavo West National Park that a pack of 'at least 20 wild dogs' has been seen, one of which is wearing a collar.  As we are the only people in the region collaring wild dogs (one wild dog is collared per released pack) and as the collar colour is distinctive, this is a pack of wild dogs from our breeding and reintroduction programme. [link]

Mugie announcement The George Adamson Wildlife Trusts greatly regret having to report that Mugie, the young sub-adult lion being reared at Kora was attacked on Thursday 11th April at around 8pm by a pack of at least eight hyenas, probably more. [more]

Supporters and infrastructure

Mkomazi camp headquarters

The past year has seen many fundraising trips abroad, Trust board meetings internationally and visits to the project by trustees and treasurers. Events have been held in the UK, Holland and the USA to raise the critical funds to keep the whole project in operation and we are grateful to everyone who has given their time to this massive undertaking.

In Tanzania, we were honored to welcome Rose Lugembe as a board member. A new Memorandum of Understanding was signed between the Trust, the Ministry of Natural Resources & Tourism and the Ministry of Finance. The Chairman, Trustees and Tony held meetings with the Director of Wildlife, Wildlife Division personnel and the Director General of National Parks to begin to establish the Trust’s position under the new bureaucracy.

Tony was awarded an OBE in the Queen’s Birthday Honours for services to wildlife in East Africa and we attended the investiture by HRH Prince Charles with Brigadier General Hashim Mbita, Bob Marshall Andrews and Andrew Mortimer. HRH Princess Michael of Kent, as Patron of GAWPT, kindly continues to give her support.

Representatives from the Board of Tanapa visited the project, as did the Regional Commissioner Kilimanjaro, Mohamedi Babu, and the District Commissioner Same, Ibrahimu Marwa.

Through TUSK, we were visited by the keepers from Longleat Safari Park and a film crew for the series Animal Park.

As always we would like to thank Mazao / Neumanns Coffee Group and Indigo Telecoms for sponsoring communications, as well as Bill Savoy, Ed and Liberty Zwick, Moritz and Hilla Borman, Mark Shanker, Pete Wakeham and Tim Peet for general funding.

None of our work would be possible without the extraordinary commitment and loyalty of our Tanzanian staff, under Elisaria Nnko. Their reputation as one of the most hard-working and professional teams in wildlife conservation is fully deserved. They carry the mantle and responsibility of this project with integrity and determination and we are privileged to work alongside them:

• Elisaria Nnko – Operations Manager
• Wilfred Ayo – Workshop / Technical Manager
• Semu Pallangyo – Rhino Sanctuary Manager
• Philbert Shindano – i/c Rhino Sanctuary Security
• Simeon Tumbo – Rhino Sanctuary Fence Maintenance Manager
• Penieli Elia and Evans Goodlack – Rhino Sanctuary Tracking Team Managers
• Sangito Lema – Wild Dog Head Keeper

The next few years will bring with them serious challenges. The Trust has a wide range of disciplines to carry out encompassing habitat restoration, infrastructural development, the expansion of the rhino sanctuary both in terms of rhino numbers and area, breeding and reintroduction of wild dogs and the continuation of outreach work.

Needless to say, the project will always need increasing financial support so we look forward to maintaining close contacts with all those individuals and organizations who believe in the project as well as developing new funding sources.