*A version of this article originally appeared in the May 2024 Bush Telegraph newsletter. You can read our recent newsletters and sign-up to receive these in your inbox on our Bush Telegraph newsletter page.
Last week, Endangered Species Day gave us pause to reflect on what a privilege it is to see such a varied range of wildlife in its natural habitat – and just how important tourism is to conserving wildlife in Africa. Without responsible tourism to national parks and small, remote towns and villages across Africa, many conservation projects and wildlife reserves would simply not exist, and many local communities would lose the vital support that they receive from the income – direct and indirect – generated by overseas visitors.
Rhinos and gorillas may be two of most famous endangered species in Africa, but awareness is steadily growing of the threats faced by other wildlife, from wild dogs to pangolins. Sightings of these rarities are always a thrill, no matter how many times you may have seen one before.
A guided trek to see mountain gorillas is the only way to see these great apes in the wild. To date, all of our Rwanda travellers have seen them on every trek and, for many, their time amongst a troop of gorillas has been a truly seminal wildlife experience.
However, trying to track down rhinos, wild dogs and pangolins is more challenging and serendipitous. That’s why, since March 2018, we’ve taken some of the guesswork out of choosing a safari with particular species in mind.
Through our popular Citizen Science project, many of our travellers have collected wildlife sightings information whilst on safari and shared them with us. So far, we’ve received over 61,000 wildlife reports from across East and Southern Africa in the last 5 years – which is massive! This real-world data means we can predict which camps and lodges offer the best opportunities to see a host of key species. Find out more about how we gather and use this data on our Wildlife Surveys page, and we’ll invite you to take part when you travel with us too.
We’ve aggregated all of these wildlife sightings and mapped them, so that as you plan your trip with us, you can see the track record of sightings at each safari camp we feature – and know which lodges will give you the best chance of seeing the various species.
The data quality is so good that scientific researchers are sharing in our findings too to assist their conservation work. Just click on the images below to find out more:
If you’ve been inspired and want to find out more, give us a call or enquire now to speak to an expert.
