USA: Man Sent To Prison For Smuggling Lion And Tiger Parts Worth $150,000

Officers monitoring black markets for wildlife products received intelligence in April 2016 that a man named Arogkron Malasukum, a U.S. citizen from Thailand, was on the hunt for a tiger skull. Malasukum, 42, who goes by Paul, said he’d pay $700 for the item.

Two weeks later Malasukum rapped on the door of a hotel room in the Dallas suburb of Lewisville, where his buyer and an associate, actually two undercover cops with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service were waiting with the merchandise.

Malasukum paid cash. Then he allowed one of them to come along while he packed and shipped the bleached skull to his address in Queens, New York.

Malasukum said he was looking for some straw buyers to purchase tiger and lion parts at an auction house in Fort Worth, Texas.

He couldn’t buy the items because he lived in New York, and if he transported them to another state he’d be committing a felony in violation of the U.S. smuggling law.

The buyers were from Texas, allowing them to appear to be purchasing the skull legally.

The next day the men went to the auction. Communicating by text messages, speaking in hushed phone calls, and holding hurried meetings outside the auction hall, Malasukum orchestrated an agent’s bidding on a variety of wildlife items.

This including some body parts from an endangered African lion, spending more than $1,700 for his purchases.

Arriving back in New York, he yanked the dagger-sharp teeth out of the skull and sorted them and the other parts and claws from the auction into separate packages, a precaution to protect him from losing everything if an intact skull was intercepted by authorities.

He organized claws into different parcels. To disguise the contents, he wrote dog toys and home decorations on the labels.

Then he shipped the packages to a wholesale buyer in Thailand who makes jewelry trinkets and pendant necklaces from the tiny fragments of fierce creatures that once prowled the African savannas, kings and queens of their former domains.

Tiger and lion teeth and claws are highly sought in Asia to be made into pendants, believed to provide protection, and for ingredients in traditional medicines used to treat ailments and disease ranging from insomnia to malaria.

For the next year and a half, the agents maintained their cover as straw buyers, continuing to gather evidence until in October 2017 Malasukum was finally charged for smuggling 68 packages of lion and tiger parts worth $150,000.

In November he pleaded guilty to the charges, and on August 1, 2018, a federal judge in Sherman, Texas sentenced him to nine months in prison followed by one year supervised release for trafficking endangered wildlife.

It took hundreds of hours of undercover work, going through emails and text messages, and executing search warrants to prove the case, said Phillip Land, a Fish and Wildlife special agent who supervised the investigation.

Justice department lead council Gary Donner added, Traffickers like Paul create the market for these animal parts, which results in poachers looking to make money.

Malasukum’s attorney, Denise Benson, advised her client not to comment on this sentencing, because his understanding of English is limited, she said. But she confirmed that the court has directed him to report to jail on September 10.

According to the Justice Department, Malasukum’s case stemmed from an ongoing major Fish and Wildlife Service investigation targeting the illegal trade in rhinoceros horn and elephant ivory in response to international poaching and smuggling syndicates.

Named Operation Crash, the term for a group of rhinos, the multinational covert operation began seven years ago when wildlife law enforcement became aware of an increase in rhino poaching.

To date, dozens of people have been convicted of illegally trafficking rhino horns from Africa, resulting in more than $2.1 million in fines, $5.6 million in restitution, and 438 months in federal prison, according to the Fish and Wildlife Service.

Each case has provided additional intelligence about other traffickers exploiting imperiled wildlife, from rhinos and elephants to tigers, lions, and pangolins.

Shennie Patel is a trial attorney in the Justice Department’s environmental crimes section who specializes in wildlife trafficking cases.

The Malasukum case reminded her of a 2013 Operation Crash conviction involving a father-son team, Vinh Chuong “Jimmy” Kha and Felix Kha, who were buying rhino horns and exporting them to Asia to be intricately carved into libation cups featuring twisting vines, landscapes, animals, and other designs.

Older people use the cups for traditional medicine, but the newly wealthy younger generation in Asia increasingly seek the cups, worth up to half-a-million dollars, as status symbols. Jimmy and Felix Kha made millions tapping into that high-end market.

When the Khas were arrested, in February 2012, agents seized in addition to the rhino parts a million dollars in cash, approximately a million dollars in gold ingots, jewelry, watches, precious stones, and a 2009 BMW.

Like the Khas, Malasukum was in the business of buying and selling, mainly at auctions. Those auctions often present opportunities for nefarious shoppers, Patel said.

The law says the auctions can sell protected species parts, and you can buy them, but you can’t turn around and sell them to someone in another state or another country, Patel explained.

That’s a federal violation. Most auction houses post signs about the law, but how do they keep track of what happens after buyers leave?

The demand for these parts is causing animals like rhinos, elephants, tigers, and lions to be poached at unprecedented rates. And the more rare an animal becomes, the more interest there is for trinkets.

A century ago, a hundred thousand wild tigers roamed Asia, from Turkey in the west to the eastern coast of Russia.

Today fewer than 4,000 remain in only 4 percent of their former range, according to the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN), which keeps a red list of species’ conservation status.

The downward spiral of the tiger population is expected to continue in the face of ongoing habitat loss and poaching for the wildlife trade.

Lions are in serious trouble too. In the span of only a hundred years, lion populations have fallen from 200,000 to 20,000, according to the IUCN.

Killings in defense of people and livestock pose the biggest threat, but the trade in bones and other parts is playing a significant role too.

As tigers become scarcer, poachers are increasingly targeting African lions. They’re even passing lion teeth off as tiger.

This has to stop, Patel said. We’re reaching a point where we are going to lose the tigers in a few years, and lions will be on their way too.

With Malasukum’s conviction, wildlife crime fighters can chalk up another victory, though a small one in the grand scheme of the $20 billion illicit wildlife trade.

The future of the world’s most charismatic species rests heavily on the unssuaged demand for their parts.


Tourism Observer

SOUTH AFRICA: Lions Maul Poachers At Sibuya Game Reserve

At least three suspected poachers who were hunting for rhinos have been mauled to death and eaten by lions on a game reserve in South Africa, the owner said on Thursday.

The men entered the Sibuya Game Reserve on the southeast coast armed with a high-powered rifle and an axe in the early hours of Monday and were found dismembered the following day.

They strayed into a pride of lions it's a big pride so they didn't have too much time, reserve owner Nick Fox said.

We're not sure how many there were, there's not much left of them.

There seems to be clothing for three people. I've not heard of it before in our area.

Police forensics officers were on the scene conducting tests on the remains of the victims, Fox added.

We went in yesterday. I got our vet to dart or anesthetize all the lions, he said.

I think we had a stroke of luck here that the lions got to them before they got to the rhinos.

We lost three rhino in March 2016.

Fewer than 25,000 rhinos remain in the wild in Africa due to a surge in poaching.

Rhinos are targeted to feed booming demand for rhino horn in China, Vietnam and other Asian countries, where it is believed to have medicinal qualities.

Fox said that the reserve was still open to guests despite the incident.

It's still business as usual, it doesn't change anything we do, he said.

The comments on our Facebook are all talking about karma and warnings.


Tourism Observer

DR CONGO: Two British Tourists Kidnapped And A Female Ranger Killed In Virunga National Park

Some tourists were kidnapped and a convoy attacked in the Virunga National Park, the Democratic Republic of Congo's famed haven for gorillas and other endangered species, a park source said.

The source did not specify the nationality of those abducted but said their guard was seriously injured.

A local journalist also tweeted about the kidnapping.

I confirm an attack on our convoy, Joel Wengamulay, the park spokesman said, without specifying if tourists were targetted or had been kidnapped.

On April 9, five rangers and a driver were killed in an ambush in the park, which was established in 1925.

One of the most important conservation sites in the world, it covers 7,800 square kilometres (3,011 miles), or three times the size of Luxembourg, along a swathe of eastern DR Congo abutting the border with Uganda and Rwanda.

Virunga is home to about a quarter of the world's population of critically-endangered mountain gorillas, as well as to eastern lowland gorillas, chimpanzees, okapis, lions, elephants and hippos.

But it is located in DR Congo's North Kivu province, where armed groups are fighting for control of territorial and natural resources, and poaching is a major threat.

It is believed they were visiting the world-famous gorilla sanctuary the Virunga National Park.

The tourists were reportedly taken on a route after a ranger was killed in the park today in North Kivu.

The Foreign Office has confirmed that the two Brits have been kidnapped.

An FCO spokesperson said We are in close contact with the authorities in Democratic Republic of the Congo following an incident involving two British nationals, and our staff are providing support to their families.

Radio Okapi, a local radio station said two British tourists were kidnapped and a female ranger had been killed 10km from Goma, which is a region south of Virunga National Park.

The Congolese Institute for Nature Conservation confirmed that two British tourists and their driver were kidnapped while a park guard was killed this morning.

A park spokesman told CNN that security staff were immediately deployed after there learned of the incident.

The Congo is currently faced with an outbreak of Ebola and the World Health Organisation is planning for the worst case scenario.

The WHO’s Deputy Director-General of Emergency Preparedness and Response Peter Salama is waiting for the country’s government to allow them to deploy a vaccine.

This will be the ninth time the virus has affected Congo and nine countries have been warned to prepare for the “worst case scenario”.

Between 2014 and 2016 Ebola swept across West Africa killing at least 11,000 people.



Tourism Observer

DR CONGO: Virunga National Park Sadly looses Six Rangers To Poachers Or Rebels

Six rangers were killed on Monday in an ambush in the Virunga National Park in the Democratic Republic of Congo.

Virunga National Park is a popular home for the rare mountain gorillas.

“We have sadly lost six rangers,” park spokesman Joel Malembe said, adding that the team was ambushed while driving between the sectors of Lulimba and Ishasha, near the border with Uganda.

A seventh ranger, the team’s leader, was wounded, he said.

The park, established in 1925, describes itself as Africa’s oldest national park.

One of the most important conservation sites in the world, it covers 7,800 square kilometres (3,011 miles), or three times the size of Luxembourg, along a swathe of eastern DR Congo abutting the border with Uganda and Rwanda.

Virunga is home to about a quarter of the world’s population of critically endangered mountain gorillas, as well as to eastern lowland gorillas, chimpanzees, okapis, lions, elephants and hippos.

Virunga National Park is located in North Kivu province, where armed groups are fighting for control of territorial and natural resources, and poaching is a major threat.

The park’s director, Emmanuel de Merode, a Belgian national, was himself wounded in a road ambush between the park and Goma, the capital of North Kivu, in May 2014.


Tourism Observer

KENYA: Food Vendors Want Ban On Game Meat Lifted

Kenya is seeking to reintroduce selling of game meat at restaurants and hotels to boost competitiveness of the facilities on the global culinary landscape.

Tourism secretary for tourism Najib Balala said his ministry will undertake research over the next year on farming of game ahead of the re-introduction.

We must benefit from game resource, my team is working on it and definitely we will encourage the farming of wildlife and then we will have availability of game meat being sold in our restaurants and our hotels, he said during the opening of Tamarind Tree Hotel in Nairobi.

Restaurants, including the Carnivore, have been lobbying the government to allow for the re-introduction since the 2004 ban, which only allows for sale of ostrich and crocodile.

Carnivore had been selling game meat since it was established in the early 1980s, but what it had been associated with for over two decades stopped abruptly, cutting out game meat enthusiasts from its customer base.

It has now become more of an events-hosting entertainment facility rather than the game meat haven it was famed for.

Killing of wildlife for sport was introduced in Kenya in 1910, but was banned in 1977 when the number of certain species fell drastically.

The poaching concern led to the ban on the sale or import of game meat despite constant lobbying by restaurants.

Since then, visitors expecting to sample game meat of antelopes, gazelles, zebras, wildebeests among other wild animals have had to bear with whetting their appetites with ostrich and crocodile.

Wildlife species that have significantly declined and are critically threatened in Kenya include elephants, rhinos, Grevy Zebra, bongos, lions and cheetahs, among others. Some are hunted in conflict, for game meat and trophies.

There are only 30 Sable antelopes in Kenya currently, 3,765 Grevy zebras and less than 2,000 lions, according to KWS data submitted to Parliament.

The numbers are set to keep dropping if these animals are not protected.

Licensed game meat sellers in Kenya are rethinking their business models following a continued sales ban and refusal by the government to allow imports from South Africa.

A restaurant such as the Carnivore which has been selling game meat since the early 1980s has now become more of an events-hosting entertainment facility rather than a game meat haven it has been known for.

Sale of any game meat was banned in Kenya in 2004 because of concerns over poaching, forcing game meat outlets to restrict themselves to selling crocodile and ostrich meat whose sale remains open.

“Our customers have become disappointed over the last few years because the government won’t even allow us to import game meat from South Africa,” said Martin Dunford, the chairman of the Tamarind Group, which owns the Carnivore Restaurant.

Carnivore has been selling game meat since it was established in the early 1980s, but what is has been associated with for over two decades stopped abruptly, cutting out game meat enthusiasts from its customer base.

Since then, visitors expecting to sample game meat of antelopes, gazelles, zebras, wildebeests among other wild animals have to bear with the only two types on offer ; the ostrich and the crocodile.

“We shall continue lobbying the government to lift the ban or allow us to import from South Africa because it is an added advantage to the restaurant and the tourism industry,” said Mr Dunford, whose company also operated a game meat restaurant in South Africa.

“Our business has been under severe attack because we have specialised and associated with the game meat for many years.”

Kenya currently cannot sell game meat as one of the delicacies visitors can find in the country, letting the opportunity slip to South Africa, where game meat industry thrives.

Statistics indicate that South Africa has 11,000 private game ranches that supply to the game meat outlets across the country. Kenya has 17 private and group game ranches.

The ban has also affected ranchers like the Delamare, which supplied game meat outlets.

The trade offered them alternative income stream from culling the animals in their ranches.

Forestry and Wildlife Minister Noah Wekesa said that despite requests from game meat sellers, the ban will stay in place to check on poaching, a crime that has been rising in the country.

“I have said the ban will stay to safeguard the wildlife,” said the minister, without giving indications whether the lifting of the ban for game meaty sellers will be considered.

Game meat sellers urge that allowing controlled sale of the delicacy helps to put more value to animals in an addition to the value derived from tourism, as long as that animal is not classified as an endangered species.

Because more than 50 per cent of wildlife in Kenya live in unprotected areas, it is argued the policy of restricting consumption of game meat by the hosts mostly farmers and pastoralists, worsens the human-wildlife conflict to the detriment of the animals.

Despite the ban on sale of game meat, trends of poaching in Kenya over the last three years have been rising, with the number of elephant deaths in that period growing by five times.

Data from various sources show that while 47 elephants died in 2007 due to poaching, the number rose to 145 in 2008 and to 216 in 2009.

Bonaventure Ebayi, the director of the Lusaka Agreement Task Force (LATF), a regional anti-poaching initiative, said poachers are using technology to increase attacks against food and non-food wildlife.


Tourism Observer

CONSERVATION: The Dik Dik

A dik-dik is the name for any of four species of small antelope in the genus Madoqua that live in the bushlands of eastern and southern Africa.

Dik-diks stand about 30–40 centimetres (12–15.5 in) at the shoulder, are 50–70 cm (19.5–27.5 in) long, weigh 3–6 kilograms (6.6–13.2 lb) and can live for up to 10 years.

Dik-diks are named for the alarm calls of the females. In addition to the females' alarm call, both the male and female make a shrill, whistling sound. These calls may alert other animals to predators.

The name dik-dik comes from an onomatopoeia of the repetitive dik sound female dik-diks whistle through their long, tubular snouts when they feel threatened.

Female dik-diks are somewhat larger than males. The males have horns, which are small, about 7.6 centimetres or 3 in, slanted backwards and longitudinally grooved.

The hair on the crown forms an upright tuft that sometimes partially conceals the short, ribbed horns of the male.

The upper body is gray-brown, while the lower parts of the body, including the legs, belly, crest, and flanks, are tan.

A bare black spot below the inside corner of each eye contains a preorbital gland that produces a dark, sticky secretion. Dik-diks insert grass stems and twigs into the gland to scent-mark their territories.

Apparently to prevent overheating, dik-diks have elongated snouts with bellows-like muscles through which blood is pumped.

Airflow and subsequent evaporation cools this blood before it is recirculated to the body. However, this panting is only implemented in extreme conditions; dik-diks can tolerate air temperatures of up to 40 °C (104 °F).

Dik-diks live in shrublands and savannas of eastern Africa. Dik-diks seek habitats with a plentiful supply of edible plants such as shrubs.

Dik-diks may live in places as varied as dense forest or open plain, but they require good cover and not too much tall grass.

They usually live in pairs in territories of about 5 hectares (12 acres). The territories are often in low, shrubby bushes sometimes along dry, rocky streambeds with plenty of cover.

Dik-diks, with their dusty colored coat, are able to blend in with their surroundings.

Dik-diks have an established series of runways through and around the borders of their territories that are used when they feel threatened.

Dik-diks are herbivores. Their diet mainly consists of foliage, shoots, fruit and berries, but little or no grass. They receive sufficient amounts of water from their food, which makes drinking unnecessary.

Like all even-toed ungulates, they digest their food with the aid of micro-organisms in their four-chambered stomachs.

After initial digestion, the food is repeatedly eructated and rechewed, a process known also as rumination, or chewing the cud.

Dik-diks' tapering heads may help them eat the leaves between the spines on the acacia trees, and feed while still keeping their head high to detect predators.

Dik-diks are monogamous, and conflicts between territorial neighbors are rare. When they occur, the males from each territory dash at each other, stop short, vigorously nod their heads and turn around.

They will repeat this process, increasing the distance each time until one stops. Males mark their territories with dung piles, and cover the females' dung with their own.

Monogamy in dik-diks may be an evolutionary response to predation; surrounded by predators, it is dangerous to explore, looking for new partners.

Pairs spend about 64% of their time together. Males, but not females, will attempt to obtain extra-pair mating when the opportunity arises.

Females are sexually mature at six months and males at 12 months. The female gestates for 169 to 174 days and bears a single offspring.

This happens up to twice a year at the start and finish of the rainy season. Unlike other ruminants, the dik-dik is born with its forelegs laid back alongside its body, instead of them being stretched forward.

Females weigh about 560 to 680 g (1.23 to 1.50 lb) at birth, while males weigh 725 to 795 g (1.598 to 1.753 lb).

The mother lactates for six weeks, feeding her fawn for no longer than a few minutes at a time. The survival rate for young dik-diks is 50%.

The young stay concealed for a time after birth, but grow quickly and reach full size by seven months. At that age, the young are forced to leave their parents' territory.

The fathers run the sons off the territory and the mothers run off the daughters.

Dik-diks are hunted primarily by leopards, caracals, lions, hyenas, wild dogs and humans.

Other predators include monitor lizards, cheetahs, jackals, baboons, eagles, hawks and pythons.

Dik-diks' adaptations to predation include excellent eyesight and the ability to reach speeds up to 42 km/h (26 mph).

People are the dik-diks’ biggest threat and have long hunted them, setting snares along their paths.

Small bones from their legs and feet are used in traditional jewelry. Their skins are often made into suede for gloves.

With the strategic support of African Wildlife Foundation, the Entonet/Elerai Masaai community opened Satao Elerai, a luxury lodge situated on 5,000 acres of land in Southern Kenya.

Revenue from the lodge is reinvested into supporting the community and conserving wildlife such as the dik-dik.

Dikdiks need you.

With your help, AWF can work on projects like supporting conservation businesses in places where dikdiks live as well as helping park rangers and wardens with technology to monitor parks and keep the dikdiks safe from poachers.

Donate for a cause that will help with wildlife conservation and ensure dikdiks never become an endangered species.



Tourism Observer

South Africa Moves To Attract Indian Tourists

South Africa has identified India as a key focus market for boosting tourism and it will shortly launch an aggressive campaign to attract tourists from there.

South Africa has identified India as a key focus market for boosting tourism and it will shortly launch an aggressive campaign to attract tourists from there.

South African Tourism Minister Derek Hanekom announced this at the INDABA tourism fair here. He said that the country had received more than 80,000 Indian tourists last year and his ministry planned to dedicate to India a significant part of its advertising budget of nearly $8 million this year, with the objective of boosting significantly the arrivals from India.

“India has a huge potential and our challenge is to see what is needed in order for this market to grow and for us to get a fair share of the huge pool of Indian travellers,” Hanekom said.

He said Indian travellers felt at home in South Africa as they had a very large population of people of Indian origin, especially in Durban.
“Mahatma Gandhi had also lived here in Durban. Here, just like in India, we have different cultures and different religions living in harmony with one another,” he added.

INDABA, which means gathering in Zulu, has positioned itself as the largest tourism fair in the African continent and attracts participation from all African countries which come to display their new products and services, as tourism is an essential sector for creating employment as well as economic growth in the least developed continent in the world.

“The safari experience is certainly one of the key selling point of Africa. We don’t have the Taj Mahal or some of the incredible sites that you have in India, but here in South Africa, you can be guaranteed to see the Big 5 (Lions, Elephants, Rhinos, Buffaloes and Leopards) in just one, single safari,” Hanekom said.

Tourism to South Africa and other African countries was severely hit by fears arising from the fresh outbreak of Ebola epidemic in West African nations of Liberia, Sierre Leone and Guinea. The market has begun to show signs of recovery, now that the outbreak has subsided.

The minister said that tourists’ fears were misplaced about contracting the virus in South Africa. “In fact, Europeans were much closer to where Ebola was happening than we were in South Africa,” Hanekom said.

Apart from a subsiding Ebola, Hanekom placed his hopes on boosting arrivals from India on the ease of visa regulations for Indians visiting South Africa. Earlier, the visa regulations were strict and it would take up to three weeks for getting permission to travel. In April this year, after Hanekom’s visit to India, the norms have been eased and visas should be easier and quicker to obtain for Indians.

“The problem is that our consulate and embassies were having difficulties in answering and handling the visa demands during the peak travel season in India and it often took up to three weeks for delivering visas. That is simply too long. I am convinced that if we manage to make the visa easier we can double the numbers in a couple of years,” Hanekom explained.

For many Indians, the country is also perceived as an elite and expensive destination just like European countries, but in recent months a weakening Rand has allowed more Indians to visit and spend more.

Another peculiarity of the Indian travellers is that they like to visit several countries on a trip. While in Europe and North America it is simpler due to visa-free travel between nations, it is still a challenge in Africa.

This point was a focus of discussions at the INDABA this year and various African countries have begun looking at how to facilitate such seamless travel in Africa. Hanekom admitted that security and instability issues in some African nations remained an important barrier to visa-free travel within the continent.

The minister also allayed fears of travellers that that some areas in South Africa were unsafe.

Hanneli Slabber, country manager of South Africa Tourism in India, said: “I guess you have to beware of pickpockets anywhere in the world. Indians visiting South Africa enjoy adventure and activities and they buy triple the amount of activities than those from other nations. Indian women are actually leading in terms of numbers and they like the country and feel safe.”

Slabber said that now a lot of vegetarian options, including vegan and Jain food, are available in the country and there were several Indian restaurants. “Our cuisine is influenced by Indian curries as well and a lot of South Africans, not necessarily of Indian origin, can cook good Indian cuisine,” he added.

However, in a blow to tourism from India, the national carrier, South African Airways, facing a shortage of aircraft, has stopped the only direct flights from India (Mumbai) to South Africa, forcing Indian tourists to go for alternatives like Emirates or Qatar with one-stop flights.

TANZANIA: Visit Ngorongoro Crater

LOCATED IN NORTHERN TANZANIA, 80 mi (129 km) west of the city of Arusha is the Ngorongoro Crater.
This crater is a caldera formed by the collapse of a large volcano in the Great RIFT VALLEY.
It is considered to be the largest subsidence crater in the world with a width of over 12.5 mi (20 km).
It is the fifthlargest caldera in the world, and of these, it is the largest inactive, unbroken, unflooded caldera in the world.
The rim varies between 7,480 ft (2,280 m) and 8,005 ft (2,440 m) in elevation, and the floor of the crater has an average depth of 2,000 ft (610 m) below the rim.

The floor area of the crater covers 100 square mi (260 square km).
The crater hosts several thousand tourists per year but has no actual human inhabitants at this time.

No one seems to know the origin of the name Ngorongoro though the Maasia, a nomadic people living in the area, say it means "the great or big hole." Besides the size of the crater itself, the crater floor has some unique features such as the Ngoitokitok springs that are a year-round hippo bath, two patches of woodland-the Lerai forest and the Laiyanai forest- the Munge River, several fresh and brackish ponds, and just west of the center of the crater, Lake Magadi.

This lake is 20 mi (32 km) long and 2 mi (3.2 km) wide and exists thanks to the volcanic springs that feed it.
These volcanic springs produce a large amount of carbonate of soda, creating a crust on the lake that is dredged and processed into soda ash to be used in glassmaking.

Mainly though the crater floor is a wide grassy savanna.
Ngorongoro is located at the center of the Ngorongoro Conservation Area, making up 3 percent of the area covered by the park.
The Ngorongoro Conservation Area was established as a World Heritage site in 1979.

The park is home to approximately 25,000 large mammals, including gazelles, buffaloes, wildebeests, elands, elephants, and the black rhinos.
It is also has the densest populations of predators out of any of the African parks, made up of lions, leopards, hyenas, and jackals.
Lake Magadi and Munge River attract large numbers of greater and lesser flamingos, pelicans, ostriches, grebes, storks, cranes, and more.

The first conservator of Ngorongoro, Henry Fosbrooke, considered the Ngorongoro Crater to be the eighth wonder of the world, and many tourists, after visiting, would agree with him.

The Ngorongoro Crater is a breath taking beautiful setting and the best place in Tanzania to see the Big Five animals. It is` one of the world’s most astonishing and renowned natural wonders.

Any trip to Northern Tanzania has to include the Ngorongoro Crater: it is one of the most beautiful natural wildlife safari sites in the world and an exceptional place to interact with people from the Masaai tribe.

The Ngorongoro Crater and surrounding highlands together form one of Africa’s most beautiful regions. Volcanic craters form stunning backdrops to some of the most fertile and richest grazing grounds in Africa. The most famous such crater is without question the Ngorongoro Crater, the world’s largest intact volcanic caldera and home to the highest density of big game in Africa, including all the big five and plenty of predators. The Ngorongoro is justifiably one of the continent’s most famous safari destinations.

Game Viewing

Big5The Ngorongoro is the best place in Tanzania to see THE BIG FIVE. A healthy population of black rhino and some of the largest tusker elephants left in Africa today are the prize spots, but the Crater is also home to strong populations of lion, leopard and hyena along with good herds of wildebeest, buffalo and zebra. Other game in the Ngorongoro includes serval cat, cheetah, jackal, Grant’s and Thompson’s gazelle, flamingo and bat eared foxes along with approximately 400 species of bird.

Activities
Activities inside the Ngorongoro Crater itself are limited to game driving only. There are also picnic spots in the park. A full range of activities is however on offer in the wider Ngorongoro Conservation Area, including walking, trekking, excursions to Olduvai Gorge and visiting the Masai and other tribes around the crater.

When to go
Since the game stays in the crater all year round, there is really no good or bad time to visit. However given that the crater floor does get busy with vehicles, it can be more pleasant to visit during low season. Higher water levels in Lake Magadi (in the center of the Crater) also result in higher concentrations of flamingoes. Whenever you travel to Ngorongoro, you will be guaranteed excellent game viewing

TANZANIA: Udzungwa Mountains

Safari Itineraries with Mount Kilimanjaro and MountMeru Climb, Oldoinyo Lengai, Usambara and Pare Walking Tours...

Forest wonderland
The park is in iringa and Morogoro regions in south-central Tanzania. It is bordered by Great Ruaha River to the north and the Mikumi-Ifakara road to the East. It covers an area of 1900 square kilometers; its headquarters are at Mang’ula, 60 kilometers from Mikumi.

The major attraction is its biologically diverse and unique forest that harbors plant species found nowhere else in the world, from tiny African violets to giant trees 30 metres and more tall.

Apart from about six species of primates, its plateaus contains populations of Elephants, Buffaloes, Lions, Leopards, Hunting Dogs, and several hundred forest bird species.

Facilities;
There are two modest but comfortable lodges with en-suite rooms near the park entrance. Some camping areas have been established inside the park.

KENYA: 107 Wildlife Face Extinction

Up to 107 of Kenya’s wildlife species are slowly edging towards extinction with their numbers having more than halved in the past three decades, a new report says.

The report, which was compiled by Parliament’s Environment and Natural Resources committee, says wildlife populations of different species have declined by between 30-90 per cent since 1977 and warns that some animals could disappear in the next few decades if the trend is allowed to continue.

“The wildlife species that have significantly declined and are critically threatened include elephants, rhinos, Grevy’s zebra, roan and stable antelopes, hirolas, bongos, lions and cheetahs, among others,” the committee chaired by Nominated MP Amina Abdalla says.

Besides poaching, the committee found that habitat loss due to increasing human settlement and developments, human-wildlife conflict, bush meat hunting, climate change and diseases is also contributing to the dwindling numbers.

“Trade in wildlife bush meat was widespread and went on unabated, reaching a commercial scale where meat is sold openly in markets such as Burma in Nairobi,” the committee said.

The MPs found that although much of the publicity on loss of wildlife has focused on elephants and rhinos, other species are facing similar or even higher levels of threat to their survival.

Kenya has a total of 8,654 known wildlife species, according to the report which further states that the years 2011, 2012 and 2013 witnessed the highest levels of poaching since the crisis began in the 1980s.

UGANDA: Ostriches, Uganda Kobs, Lions And Zebras Poached

A new audit of wildlife populations in game parks shows that the number of animals is on a sharp decline, raising fears of a possible extinction of some rare species.
Last year alone, 25 elephants were killed in Murchison Falls, which is the worst scenario ever reported in a single conservation area, considering that Uganda was previously losing around three elephants only to poaching every year.

“The population of some wild animals is declining,” the Auditor General said.
“Mostly affected are the lions in Queen Elizabeth National Park, whose population has reduced by 81 per cent, followed by ostriches (79 per cent), Zebras (74 per cent) and Uganda Kobs (69 per cent), among others”.

Currently, tourism contributes about 5.7 per cent of the national Gross Domestic Product per annum. The World Travel and Tourism Council figures further show that the total contribution of travel and tourism to Uganda’s GDP, including its wider economic impacts, is forecast to rise by 5.9 per cent per annum from Shs3.3 trillion, which is 7.6 per cent of GDP this year, to Shs5.8 trillion and 7.4 per cent GDP contribution by 2021.

With limited research, Auditor General John Muwanga said it is difficult to fully understand the range of factors that affect wildlife populations and habitats and the relationship between them.
“Catastrophic death and reduction in numbers of animals such as the Uganda Kob in Queen Elizabeth National Park and similar incidences in other parks has occurred without finding the root cause,” Mr Muwanga said.

In attempting to understand why wild animals were declining, the audit found that for the last three years, illegal activities inside the protected areas such as encroachment, especially in East Madi Wildlife Reserve and Mt. Elgon National Park, poaching and illegal harvesting of resources have significantly increased. This in a way affected the natural habitat of wildlife.
“Some species such as the black and white rhino, Derbys and Oryx have since become extinct in Uganda.” Mr Muwanga said.

The Roan and Bridget’s gazelle are some of the animals that are listed as endangered, with low populations from the last count in 1998. “These species, both combined, are less than 110 in number,” he said.

The latest findings contained in the value for money audit by the Auditor General provide further evidence that Uganda Wildlife Authority (UWA), a statutory body mandated to protect flora and fauna across the country, is failing to accomplish the task of preserving the remnant of the country’s endangered species.

UWA derives its mandate from the Uganda Wildlife Act 2000. The Act mandates UWA to manage all the country’s wildlife and wildlife-protected areas, which include 10 national parks and 12 wildlife reserves.

UWA is also responsible for ensuring the coordination, monitoring and supervision of the activities related to wildlife management in the country. In his defence, UWA Executive Director Andrew Sseguya told auditors that there was need for government to increase funding to UWA and create an independent wildlife research body to compliment and support its functions as is the case in other countries.

Protection plans
Currently, UWA requires about 3,300 rangers to adequately cover the entire wildlife estate in the country but at the moment has about 1,200 rangers. “UWA is currently overwhelmed by other wildlife management issues resulting in limited concentration on research as a function of management,” Dr Sseguya said.

“The Wildlife Policy under review has already identified this need and is providing for the creation of a Uganda Wildlife Research and Training Institute to address the wildlife research and training gaps in the sector.”

To ensure wildlife protection, UWA was to develop fire management plans for each protected area, have an effective ranger density to counter threats of game poaching and illegal activities in and around the protected areas, develop and maintain relevant infrastructure within the areas, protect the wildlife habitat, reduce the threat of invasive species, and enlist the support of the communities surrounding the game parks.

However, the audit established that UWA was not effectively protecting the wildlife in and around the protected areas. UWA said the total encroached area in Mt. Elgon is only 6,000 hectares and most of this is under contention with court cases and injunctions that make it difficult for UWA to address.

Once the court process is completed, UWA said all encroached areas will be reclaimed.
Meanwhile, the Auditor General observed that the animals have also become a nuisance to the local populace.

They destroy crops, kill humans and livestock. As a result, this has created conflict between the communities neighbouring the park and wildlife officials, thus hurting UWA’s community conservation initiatives.