We sent the second and third instalments of $4,000 from the Scott and Jessica McClintock Foundation to cover ongoing maintenance costs and other occasional costs in Hluhluwe-iMfolozi Park in South Africa, for which there is no allocated departmental budget.

$355,000 from an anonymous donor, together with another $10,000 from March to the Top, was sent to the ForRangers initiative managed by Save the Rhino International. These grants were used to pay for the following: $101,666.40 for the renewal (13 June 2024-12 June 2025) of the VIVA 365 Group Life Insurance Policy and Medical Evacuation through AMREF for nearly 5,000 rangers working in sub-Saharan Africa; and $242,000 for a comprehensive annual training programme, during the period June 2024-May 2026, for 80-100 rangers working at Sosian Ranch, Suyian Ranch, Ol Maisor, Mugie Conservancy, Lolldaiga and Ole Naishu Conservancy. Training will cover: basic fitness, human rights, weapons safety, rules of engagement, basic First Aid, reactive operations and observation / surveillance. The balance is being held on account pending future funding requests.

We sent $4,000 from the Scott and Jessica McClintock Foundation and $3,333 from The Bernard F. and Alva B. Gimbel Foundation to cover ongoing maintenance costs and other occasional costs in Hluhluwe-iMfolozi Park in South Africa, for which there is no allocated departmental budget. Typical emergency requirements include: Equipment repairs and maintenance (e.g. boreholes, pumps, generators, geysers and water filters); repairs to vehicles that get damaged, as departmental budgets are severely constrained; perimeter fence repairs (whether due to flooding or vandalism); replacement of small items of equipment needed to keep Park operations functional (e.g. camera-trap batteries, cables); repairs to the repeaters in the Park, and cement to patch potholes; transport costs to obtain routine services, quotes, callouts; and fixing emergency electrical issues.

We sent another $3,333 from The Bernard F. and Alva B. Gimbel Foundation (the other half of its grant) to cover the replacement and repair of equipment items in uMkhuze Game Reserve in South Africa.

$2,550 was sent to Save the Rhino International, which had provided a London Marathon charity Gold Bond place for 2024 runner Kimberley Siane Snyder.

From SRI Inc.’s own core funds, we awarded $50,000 for the next in a series of workshops for people working in canine units. These workshops involve participants from a wide range of conservation programs across southern and eastern Africa, and Asia, and expert speakers from all over the world. This next workshop will include practical training, detection, and tracking sessions, veterinary care, welfare, husbandry, conditioning and fitness and law-enforcement

And also from SRI Inc.’s own core funds, we were delighted to send $45,600 towards the Y1 costs of the rhino monitoring and security project in Hluhluwe-iMfolozi Park, being run in partnership between SRI, Ezemvelo KwaZulu-Natal Wildlife (EKZNW) and Wildlife ACT. Specifically, this grant will cover the refurbishment of accommodation to be dedicated to the expanded rhino monitoring unit, and for Wildlife ACT’s costs incurred in administrating and reporting on this project.

The second of three instalments of $4,000 from the Scott and Jessica McClintock Foundation was sent to help pay for 64 pairs of Altberg boots, and shipping, for rangers working at Ol Jogi Conservancy.

$3,000 from the Reid Burns Foundation was sent to Save the Rhino Trust in Namibia to help pay for water provision in the rhino range. As the drought worsens, it is useful to have some funds available for pump replacements, hydrological assessments etc.

$3,850 was sent to Save the Rhino International, which had provided a London Marathon charity Gold Bond place for 2024 runner Noah Barney.

$4,000 from Kevin and Laura Francis was sent to the Borana Education Support Program, which aims to provide holistic conservation education and awareness to schools and communities in Borana’s immediate neighborhood. During 2023, the BESP continued to provide bursaries to 59 students and support the salaries of 13 teachers, whilst also continuing to support infrastructure at the 10 BESP supported schools within Borana’s neighborhood. Most recently, the BESP has been supporting these schools with the construction of ablution blocks; classrooms; canteens; boarding facilities; boreholes; water storage methods; playground equipment and electric fences. During 2023, two interns who had been part of the BESP completed internships with the Mazingira Yetu team.

$4,000 from the Scott and Jessica McClintock Foundation was sent to help pay for 64 pairs of Altberg boots, & shipping, for rangers working at Ol Jogi Conservancy. Boots are an essential item for working rangers, helping them to carry out their duties efficiently but in comfort. The Conservancy recently acquired the next set of uniforms for its rangers, except for boots. The team has tried several suppliers in the past but many of their products scarcely last more than a year. The desired Altberg boots usually last up to four years – even in these difficult conditions – compared to other brands, which often barely last one year.

$120 was sent to Save the Rhino International, which had provided a London Marathon charity Gold Bond place for 2024 runner Jennifer Tesdahl.

The Wildcat Foundation’s 2-year grant for the North Luangwa Conservation Programme in Zambia enabled us to send $527,160 for law-enforcement activities in North Luangwa National Park: salaries for Village Game Scouts and the Strategic Law-Enforcement Technical Advisor; training; incentives for excellent performance; vehicle fuel maintenance; and aerial surveillance (Cessna fixed-wing aircraft and helicopter).

We sent $75,000 for law-enforcement upgrades in Hluhluwe-iMfolozi Park in KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa, thanks to a new grant from Ardea Cares. Specifically, the grant will pay for Automatic Number Plate Recognition (ANPR) cameras, including data, license fee and access by six users, and ~90 security cameras (camera traps plus solar-powered battery packs) to be positioned in poaching hotspots in the Park.

Another grant of $50,000 from Ardea Cares was allocated to KPMG in South Africa, for its work on Project Blood Orange, the follow-the-money investigation into a South African rhino horn poaching and trafficking syndicate.

And finally, another $25,000 from Ardea Cares was sent to help cover the costs of Y3 of the “Changing China” project. This aims to strengthen the legal regime in China pertaining to wildlife protection, through support of local actors, direct advocacy and provision of expertise, with the eventual aim of stopping all trade in rhino and tiger parts in China. Its objectives are: to advocate for the adoption of a new State Council order and/or amendments to China’s wildlife laws; to encourage and amplify diverse voices calling for an end to trade in threatened wildlife; and to undertake research and produce analysis to support policy recommendations.

A $1,500 donation from Alex Beard was sent to the ForRangers initiative, set up by Sam Taylor and Pete Newland. By improving rangers’ welfare, they will feel invested in their work; with their families looked after and better equipment to do their job, they will be safer, happier, more effective and ultimately less likely to help poaching syndicates out of desperation. ForRangers’ grants support the following areas: Medical (including clinic or hospital cover, life insurance); Uniforms and wellbeing (e.g. gym equipment, entertainment, motivational trips); Equipment (law enforcement and wildlife monitoring); Living standards (accommodation, ablutions blocks, solar power, mess and kitchen or canteen); Training (e.g. law enforcement, First Aid, fitness, financial literacy); and Other (e.g. one-off emergency funding).

The second installment of $4,000 (see January 2024) from the Scott and Jessica McClintock Foundation was sent to uMkhuze Game Reserve in KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa, to help cover the salary of the Rhino Monitor.

A first (of three) installments from the Scott and Jessica McClintock Foundation was sent to Ol Jogi Conservancy in Kenya, where the funds will pay for 64 pairs of Altberg boots, and shipping, for rangers working at the Conservancy. Boots are an essential item for working rangers, helping them to carry out their duties efficiently but in comfort. The Conservancy recently acquired the next set of uniforms for its rangers, except for boots. The team has tried several suppliers in the past but many of their products scarcely last more than a year. The desired Altberg boots usually last up to four years – even in these difficult conditions – compared to other brands, which often barely last one year. The Conservancy has managed to obtain a sizeable discount from the supplier.

We sent $37,000 from the Woodtiger Fund for Y2 of the 3-year $97,000 project entitled: “Increasing the effectiveness of Hluhluwe-iMfolozi Park’s K9 Unit”. These funds will be used to pay for: the salary of the K9 Unit Coordinator; ongoing training of dogs and handlers; maintaining the K9 unit vehicle; replacing vehicle tires as necessary; maintaining the K9 unit’s camp; purchasing veterinary supplies as needed; providing and replacing equipment; and administering and reporting on the project.

The second installment of $50,000, from a 3-year grant from Conservation Nation, was awarded for Y2 of the project entitled “Breaking barriers to create female participation in natural resource management”, which will run from Jan-Dec 2024. Specifically, this project seeks to increase female representation in the wildlife protection sector in North Luangwa by focusing on: Salaries of Community Conservation Educators ($2,400); Travel for meetings, spousal visits into the Park etc. ($23,820); Training – train-the-trainer fitness instruction, girls’ clubs, gender-based violence training, and menstrual hygiene management ($5,000); Supplies – office and admin supplies, design and printing of awareness materials and Ufulu period pads ($11,130); and fitness clothing for trainers, staff, spouses’ fitness groups and vulnerable groups ($7,650).

send $4,000 – part of a total grant of $12,000 – to uMkhuze Game Reserve in KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa, to help cover the salary of the Rhino Monitor, who monitors the Reserve’s black and white rhino populations, which are then used to inform management, e.g. which animals to translocate to other areas as part of the WWF-Black Rhino Range Expansion Project.

We sent $4,000 from The Scott and Jessica McClintock Foundation to uMkhuze Game Reserve in South Africa, the first of three instalments to help cover the salary costs of uMkhuze’s Rhino Monitor, Joshua Rogers. Understanding the population dynamics of a protected area’s rhino population is key to making management decisions, for example, which animals to select for translocation to a new rhino area.

$100 received in miscellaneous donations was sent to Save the Rhino Trust in Namibia, for its ongoing core costs.

We sent $25,000 from the Springhouse Foundation, for projects at Lokusero Primary School, a boarding and day government school located in the Mukogodo Forest, which neighbors Borana Conservancy. The School is home to 370 students and 10 teachers, current enrolment is from PP1 to Grade 8. Borana Conservancy has been supporting the school with the construction of classrooms, teachers’ salaries and student scholarships. The Foundation’s grant will be allocated as follows: $3,500 to create a playground for the children; $500 to buy equipment including soccer balls; $5,000 to convert the borehole from diesel- to solar-powered; and $16,000 to use for priority needs, e.g. solar-power upgrades, new toilets etc.

We sent a final $4,000 from The Scott and Jessica McClintock Foundation for the work of the IUCN SSC African Rhino Specialist Group’s Scientific Officer, Dr Sam Ferreira.

We sent $4,000 from The Scott and Jessica McClintock Foundation, the second of three instalments, for the work of the IUCN SSC African Rhino Specialist Group’s Scientific Officer, Dr Sam Ferreira.

We forwarded $506,860 from Y2 of the Wildcat Foundation’s 2-year grant towards law-enforcement activities in North Luangwa National Park: salaries for Village Game Scouts and the Strategic Law-Enforcement Technical Advisor; training; incentives for excellent performance; vehicle fuel maintenance; and aerial surveillance (Cessna fixed-wing aircraft and helicopter).

Another $20,300 from the Wildcat Foundation was ring-fenced for our sister non-profit, Save the Rhino International, which manages the performance and financial reporting on the grant.

A final $4,000 from the Scott and Jessica McClintock Foundation was sent to help cover the remaining unfunded needs of habitat maintenance work in Manas NP in Assam, India; any remaining funds will be allocated to Wildlife Crime Training Courses.

We also sent $4,000 from The Scott and Jessica McClintock Foundation, the first of three instalments, for the work of the IUCN SSC African Rhino Specialist Group’s Scientific Officer, Dr Sam Ferreira.

We sent a couple of donations for the Borana Education Support Program in Kenya, made in honor of Ralph Winter’s birthday: $1,000 from Mark and Carrie Sisson; and another $1,000 from Raphael and Katherine Sidelsky.

$200,000 from an anonymous donor was awarded to the ForRangers initiative: ForRangers’ grants support the following areas: Medical (including clinic or hospital cover, life insurance); Uniforms and wellbeing (e.g. gym equipment, entertainment, motivational trips); Equipment (law enforcement and wildlife monitoring); Living standards (accommodation, ablutions blocks, solar power, mess and kitchen or canteen); Training (e.g. law enforcement, First Aid, fitness, financial literacy); and, very occasionally, other aspects (e.g. one-off emergency funding during the COVID19 crisis).

$4,000 from the Scott and Jessica McClintock Foundation, the second of three instalments, was sent to help cover the remaining unfunded needs of habitat maintenance work in Manas NP in Assam, India; any remaining funds will be allocated to Wildlife Crime Training Courses.

$75,000, the first of two, equal instalments, from The Woodtiger Fund , was sent to pay KPMG for its work on Project Blood Orange, a follow-the-money investigation into a South African rhino horn poaching and trafficking syndicate.

$4,000, the last of three such instalments from the Scott and Jessica McClintock Foundation, was sent to Lowveld Rhino Trust in Zimbabwe to help cover its rhino monitoring costs. LRT monitors the Key 1 (i.e. 100+) populations of black and of white rhinos hosted on Bubye Valley Conservancy.

$4,000 from the Scott and Jessica McClintock Foundation, the first of three instalments, was sent to help cover the remaining unfunded needs of habitat maintenance work in Manas NP in Assam, India; any remaining funds will be allocated to Wildlife Crime Training Courses. Manas NP, in common with many other protected areas, suffers from invasive species of flora, which are not palatable to rhinos (and other wildlife). By clearing tracts of land from such invasive species, park managers are effectively increasing the size of the land available, thus providing the right conditions for the natural expansion of the Park’s Greater one-horned rhino population.

$150,000 from an anonymous donor was sent to pay KPMG for its work on Project Blood Orange, a follow-the-money investigation into a South African rhino horn poaching and trafficking syndicate.

We sent $50,000 from Ardea Cares, to improve responses to poaching incidents in Hluhluwe-iMfolozi Park in South Africa: $44,342 will be used to renovate and upgrade twin safari tents for SAPS officers based at the TACJOC; $44,63 to buy landing beacons and power units for helicopter landing spots in the Park; $1,303 to buy a new laptop for a data analyst; and the remaining $1,359 is for Wildlife ACT’s administration costs in managing the implementation of this project. Having a fully operational Tactical Joint Operations Command (TACJOC, staffed by SAPS) adjacent to Nerve Centre (staffed by EKZNW), in HiP will facilitate the effective integration of responses to wildlife-crime incidents specifically in HiP and for 10 other rhino reserves in KZN

A further $75,000 from Ardea Cares was awarded to Borana Conservancy in Kenya: : $27,000 will help pay for a new Landcruiser for Borana’s team of National Police Reservists; $3,500 for 10 x pairs of binoculars for the monitors; $34,285 for uniforms (NPR armed rangers @ $10,112; and Rhino Monitors @ $24,173); and $10,215 towards the Y2 (calendar year 2023) costs of Mazingira Yetu, the conservation education program.

A grant of $19,200 from our core funds was also awarded to Borana Conservancy in Kenya, to pay for the construction of 5,300m of pipeline and four additional waterpoints in several locations across Borana. This will expand the habitat available for wildlife across the Conservancy, and improve resilience in times of drought.

$75,000 from Ardea Cares was sent to pay KPMG for its work on Project Blood Orange, a follow-the-money investigation into a South African rhino horn poaching and trafficking syndicate.

We sent $5,000 from the Reid Burns Foundation to Save the Rhino Trust in Namibia, to increase the number of water sources available to the Kunene Region’s black rhino. SRT had originally considered digging a new borehole, but in the event, the Ministry advised that it did not want to go ahead with artificial boreholes, but rather to dig out natural springs that had become clogged up, to allow the water to flow again. For example, one area used to have several rhinos moving through it but, since its main spring dried up, they have moved out. The water is very close to the surface, so SRT will need to use a jack-hammer (which it already possesses), some cement, and lots of manpower; eventually it will install a solar-powered pump.

We sent $49,944 from our core funds to the Ministry of Environment, Forestry and Tourism in Namibia, to pay for an intelligence and informants operation in the Kunene and Erongo Regions during the period 1 July 2023 to 31 December 2024.

$1,000 from the Bernard F. and Alva B. Gimbel Foundation was sent to support anti-poaching efforts in Hluhluwe-iMfolozi Park in South Africa. HiP has been hit hard by poaching in recent years, particularly as protection in Kruger National Park has improved.

Another $1,000 from the Bernard F. and Alva B. Gimbel Foundation was sent to support anti-poaching efforts in uMkhuze Game Reserve in KZN, South Africa, which fortunately has not suffered any rhino-poaching losses since September 2019, when one white rhino bull was killed.

A repeat of March to the Top’s annual donation was sent to the ForRangers initiative. By improving rangers’ welfare, they will feel invested in their work; with their families looked after and better equipment to do their job, they will be safer, happier, more effective and ultimately less likely to help poaching syndicates out of desperation. ForRangers’ grants support the following areas: Medical (including clinic or hospital cover, life insurance); Uniforms and wellbeing (e.g. gym equipment, entertainment, motivational trips); Equipment (law enforcement and wildlife monitoring); Living standards (accommodation, ablutions blocks, solar power, mess and kitchen or canteen); Training (e.g. law enforcement, First Aid, fitness, financial literacy); and, very occasionally, other aspects (e.g. one-off emergency funding during the COVID19 crisis).

$25,000 from the Donald and Maureen Green Foundation was sent to the Association of Prviate and community Land Rhino Sanctuaries, for the Laikipia Rhino Range Expansion Program. A number of private and community conservancies in Laikipia have expressed an interest in becoming rhino guardians. In order to get “rhino ready”, they will need to undertake a series of assessments and build / expand where necessary, e.g. infrastructure, law-enforcement provision etc. The precise use for this grant has not yet been agreed, but will be defined during the coming months.

$1,155 raised by Gina Savastano and another $692.98 raised by Stacey Lai was sent to Save the Rhino International, which had provided Gina and Stacey with the much-sought-after charity places in the April 2023 London Marathon.

The second of three instalments of $4,000 from the Scott and Jessica McClintock Foundation was sent to the Lowveld Rhino Trust in Zimbabwe (see March).

$125,000, received from an anonymous donor, was sent to Lolldaiga Conservancy in Kenya, to cover the cost of the new mounted patrol unit: $59,500 for the horses and tack, and $12,000 for a stables manager to oversee ranger-rider training and the procurement of new horses. Another $33,500 from the same donor paid for Y1 operating expenditure. The remaining $20,000 is being used to build a camp for the unit. Lolldaiga has applied to become a guardian for some of Kenya’s rhinos; becoming ‘rhino-ready’ includes increasing its security patrols. With a large area and hilly terrain, vehicle and/or foot patrols would be difficult. Horseback patrols will be both cheaper and more effective, with the added bonus of generating income via horse-safari-based tourism.

$4,000, the first of three such instalments from the Scott and Jessica McClintock Foundation, was sent to Lowveld Rhino Trust in Zimbabwe to help cover its rhino monitoring costs. LRT monitors the Key 1 (i.e. 100+) populations of black and of white rhinos hosted on Bubye Valley Conservancy.

$12,756, donated by Chris Richardson’s family and great friends, was sent to Borana Conservancy in Kenya to build a ranger outpost at Arijiju in Chris’s memory.

The second instalment of the Wildcat Foundation’s 2-year grant, worth, $674,575, was sent to the North Luangwa Conservation Program in Zambia. These funds are helping to cover the cost of law-enforcement activities in North Luangwa National Park: salaries for Village Game Scouts and the Strategic Law-Enforcement Technical Advisor; training; incentives for excellent performance; vehicle fuel maintenance; and aerial surveillance (Cessna fixed-wing aircraft and helicopter).

We sent $293.54 (originally $300, but charges had been deducted en route to us) received from Francis and Sandi Blake, in memory of Tony and Rose Dyer, to Borana Conservancy in Kenya for its Mobile Health Clinic (BMC). The BMC, fashioned out of an old Land Rover and staffed by two nurses, an invaluable pharmacist and a kiMaasai and kiTurkana translator, is, simply put, “All For Conservation”. Its goal is to provide the opportunity to access family planning, health lectures to school children and the community at large, HIV Aids awareness and testing, antenatal advice, child immunization programs and basic health care to all members of the local community, particularly those who do not otherwise have access to adequate healthcare services.

We sent $31,186 received from Wild Philanthropy to pay for the elephant fence round Lokusero Primary School. Given the location of the School within the forest, there is a pressing need for an electric fence in order to keep elephants and other wildlife out of the School compound, and thus keep the students and teachers safe. The beneficiary community around the School are Maasai pastoralists, with an average population of approximately 230 households. The fence length will be approximately 1.6km, and the total project will cost $33,836. The works will take place in the period January to May 2023. Once this fence has been built, Borana would like to establish a permaculture project at the School, providing fresh fruit and vegetables to the School kitchens: this will be phase 3 and is an extremely exciting project. However, in order for this to happen, the water storage systems and most importantly electric fence must be put in place first.

We sent the final instalment of $4,000 from the Scott and Jessica McClintock Foundation for John Gitonga’s Master’s degree (see January).

The Board of Directors awarded $65,000 from its core funds for the organization and facilitation of a fourth canine workshop, to be held later this year. The workshop will involve participants from a wide range of rhino programs across southern and eastern Africa and expert speakers from all over the world. This workshop would include practical training, detection, and tracking sessions, veterinary care, welfare, husbandry, conditioning and fitness and law-enforcement. The proven effectiveness of both detection and tracking dogs in the fight against the illegal wildlife trade (IWT) has led to a marked increase in canine units in a number of countries across Africa. However, many of these units continue to operate in isolation, with little or no communication or cooperation with other units. The need for networking was identified in a report entitled ‘Assessment of detection and tracking dog programs in Africa’ produced by Dr. Megan Parker (from Working Dogs for Conservation) following two workshops held in 2015. Save the Rhino has previously been involved in the organization and facilitation of three successful canine workshops, at which canine handlers were able to upskill and share valuable information and expertise.

We sent $8,000 from the Scott and Jessica McClintock Foundation for the APLRS’s Administrator, John Gitonga, to study for a 2-year part-time Master’s of Science in Data Science and Analytics (MSc DSA) at Strathmore University in Nairobi. This will not only be a critical step in sharpening John’s skills to undertake his work but will also make a great contribution in the conservation and management of Kenyan rhino. The funds will cover tuition fees, various documents / licenses, and data collection, analysis and fieldwork expenses.

A $50,000 grant from Conservation Nation was sent to the North Luangwa Conservation Program for the project entitled “Breaking barriers to create female participation in natural resource management”, which will run from Dec 2022 to Nov 2023 inc. Specifically, this project seeks to increase female representation in the wildlife protection sector in North Luangwa by focusing on: Training for female staff and spouses ($20,000); Training for male staff and, where applicable, spouses ($20,000); Spousal visits to field program to increase understanding of spouses’ work ($2,000); and buy essential female-related equipment, kit and resources to cater to women’s needs in the field ($8,000)

$20,000 from the Woodtiger Fund (the Y1 instalment of 3-year grant totaling $97,000) was sent for a project entitled: “Increasing the effectiveness of Hluhluwe-iMfolozi Park’s K9 Unit”. These funds will be used to pay for: recruiting K9 Unit Coordinator and helping to pay the salary; recruit an additional handler and paying their salary; provide ongoing training of dogs and handlers; maintaining the K9 unit vehicle; replace vehicle tires as necessary; maintaining the K9 unit’s camp; purchasing veterinary supplies as needed; providing and replacing equipment; and administering and reporting on the project.

A grant of $4,000 was made to SRI Inc.’s sister organization, Save the Rhino International, from funds donated by Indasa, with a request that they be directed to the charity for its ongoing rhino conservation work.