Many successful moments in wildlife conservation are worth more than all the gold medals. Still, it would be incredible to see them get their moment in the victor’s spotlight if something like the ‘Conservation Olympics’ were a thing, which is exactly why the Endangered Wildlife Trust is rolling out its own Podium Moments!
Global (08 August 2024) — Not all heroes get to stand on podiums or hear an audience roar in appreciation for their hard work. While there might not be a ‘Conservation Olympics’, that hardly means many efforts for our wildlife don’t deserve gold, silver and bronze if such a thing existed, which is why the Endangered Wildlife Trust is placing success stories on pedestals as part of its own Podium Moments series!
The Endangered Wildlife (EWT) Trust has begun sharing its Podium Moments, set to continue throughout the Olympic Games. Like high-performance squads of athletes, tons of hard work, many sacrifices and years have been poured in to these success stories. Unlike athletes, the awareness of these achievements for endangered species is quieter—until now.
Podium Moments in Conservation
Kicking things off the series is the introduction of vulture safe zones which began changing the game for these animals in 2021. Then, the first official Vulture Safe Zone was introduced in the Karoo.
Initially, the project focused on generating awareness surrounding the plight of vultures, like the Cape Vulture, in the area as well as a way to understand what changes needed to be made to make the area safer.
“The Karoo Vulture Safe Zone Project is an enormously important initiative for the persistence of this endangered species and has the additional benefit of providing a safe area in which immature birds looking for new roosts and breeding sites can thrive,” the EWT team beams.
Thanks to the establishment of the project, experts can keep a close eye on the colony and understand them as a sample of what other vultures might need to better their livelihood in the future!
Another podium moment shared is the Metapopulation Project, which has played a massive role in boosting cheetah populations across the continent.
The project has seen Southern African Cheetah metapopulations recover from 274 cats (2012) to over 400 in 2023!
Additionally, in exciting news for Malawi’s Liwonde National Park, the introduction of cheetahs there has helped the population increase from extinct to the point where the Park was able to give South Africa three male cheetahs in December!
“This was the first time since the start of the project to reintroduce Cheetah populations to neighbouring range states that one of these protected areas has been able to contribute back to the source population in South Africa,” reflects EWT.
You can keep up with more of these incredible stories and Podium Moments to follow, here.
Sources: Endangered Wildlife Trust
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