Dian Fossey Gorilla Fund - Wildlife Ranger Challenge 2023
Dian Fossey Gorilla Fund is taking on the Wildlife Ranger Challenge to raise awareness of the vital role our 110 rangers play in protecting Democratic Republic of the Congo's Nkuba Conservation Area, and supporting an estimated 10,000 livelihoods.
My story
Rangers are Africa’s unsung heroes. They hold diverse roles as conservationists, teachers, community support workers, leaders and much more.
The Wildlife Ranger Challenge, organised by Tusk, is a celebration of solidarity, connection and camaraderie for the ranger profession. Culminating on 16th September 2023, the campaign raises vital funds for Africa's biodiversity guardians.
WRC supports the Dian Fossey Gorilla Fund - Nkuba Conservation Area Program in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Our DRC trackers come from the communities in the Nkuba Conservation Area - 2400 km2 of pristine forest - located between two National Parks. This forest receives no formal protection by the government; instead, proprietary and resource use of this forest is in the hands of indigenous landowners who have organised themselves into Community Forest Concessions. It is home to critically endangered Grauer’s gorillas and at least 9 other threatened species.
Fossey Fund collaborates with these communities. We offer employment opportunities to protect and study the gorillas alongside us as we invest in the wellbeing of their communities. Trackers perform three types of patrol activities: gorilla group monitoring, surveillance patrols, and biodiversity research. Combined, these 110 trackers cover more than 2,000 km2 a year, removing 2500 snares annually, and collecting vital data on the health, behaviour, and habitat of Grauer’s gorillas and the biodiversity of the forest.
WRC has provided vital support toward salaries and supplies for our trackers, which we have tripled in the past 3 years.
Give today and the Scheinberg Relief Fund will match every dollar donated, amplifying your impact. Join us in speaking up #ForWildlifeRangers
Support a unique conservation initiative empowering and uniting wildlife rangers across Africa.
May 2, 2023, 11:39:55 AMWildlife rangers operate on the very frontline of conservation across Africa, routinely making personal sacrifices to put their lives on the line to protect the continent’s magnificent wildlife and habitats. Yet they are so much more than just law enforcement officers: rangers are teachers, community support workers, mediators, researchers and so much more. Unfortunately, resources are not keeping pace with the scale of the challenges they are trying to tackle. For the fourth year running, the Wildlife Ranger Challenge sets out to redress this, by raising critical funding to cover operating costs, including salaries and equipment, for over 10,000 rangers. This will help them protect threatened wildlife and some of the continent's most vulnerable areas, while also protecting communities and securing coexistence with wildlife, as well as providing for their own families.
