| Press Information | |
| Colchester Zoo’s Charity, Action for the Wild donates £5,000 towards Elephant Orphanage Project - 15-Jul-10 | |
| PRESS RELEASE For Immediate Release 15th July 2010 Colchester Zoo’s Charity, Action for the Wild donates £5,000 towards Elephant Orphanage Project Colchester Zoo’s charity, Action for the Wild is supporting 15 conservation projects for 2010, including the Elephant Orphanage Project (EOP) in South Kafue Nature Park, Zambia. Established in September 2007 with support from the David Shepherd Wildlife Foundation (DSWF) and the Zambia Wildlife Authority, the project aims to rescue, rehabilitate and release orphaned elephants back into the wild. Adult elephants are often targeted by poachers for their ivory, leaving behind young orphaned elephants with poor survival prospects without the protection of a mother. DSWF and Game Rangers International (GRI) have now started a new Park Protection Programme that aims to stop poaching and minimise its devastating and costly impact on wildlife populations. In July, the names of 9 notorious hunters were given to Zambian Wildlife Authorities (ZAWA). These 9 men voluntarily agreed to hand over their weapons, if they could be offered an alternative source of income. With support from EOP and GRI, it was decided to reform the poachers into village scouts to protect the park within the buffer zone surrounding the release area of the EOP. On the 9th October 2009, these 9 men became Nkala village scouts, and have been highly successful in apprehending more than 8 poachers over the past few months. The project’s keepers look after the orphans around the clock, as young orphans require a lot of attention and milk feeds every three hours. During the day, the elephants are taken on two long walks in the park accompanied by 2 keepers. Walks are a time for feeding in the bush, developing natural instincts, playing and mud-bathing, as well as encountering other animals and getting to know their terrain. At night, the orphans are kept within stables and are provided with grass for sleeping on, as they all sleep (and snore) lying down. More information on the EOP project and other conservation projects supported by Action for the Wild can be found on the Action for the Wild website at www.actionforthewild.org ENDS |
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