From Endangered to Empowered: The Inspiring Rise of Tanzania's Kipunji Monkey Population

Conservation efforts in Tanzania have led to a 65% increase in the population of the kipunji monkey, one of the world's most endangered primates. The species was only discovered in 2003, living in the forests of Mt. Rungwe and Livingstone Mountains within Kitulo National Park in Tanzania. The kipunji's population has been threatened by illegal activities, such as timber activity, which has now reduced by 90%, according to a new survey published in the International Journal of Primatology. The increase in the kipunji population is due to holistic conservation efforts that include protected area management, hard science, and local community outreach programs. The Tanzanian government has also established nature reserves in all the areas of the kipunji's habitat that weren't already protected. The Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS) has built up long-term monitoring programs to ensure any positive or negative changes are noticed. Locals have been incentivized away from cutting down trees for charcoal with beekeeping. Beekeeping is becoming an excellent way for rural communities to earn a living that doesn't involve poaching or deforestation. Without the need to sell firewood, lumber, and charcoal for money, locals can leave much more of the forest alone. The kipunji's conservation is an example of how a collaborative effort between governments, conservation organizations, and local communities can save endangered species. The kipunji's population might still be small, but there are "good reasons to be optimistic," says Tim Davenport, the director of the WCS Tanzania Program. The kipunji's conservation shows that a future where wildlife and humans can coexist is possible.

This Marine Gave Up His Job to Fight Poaching

Ryan Tate is a Marine Corps Veteran who had learned some valuable and tough lessons in life at a young age. After serving in the Marine Corps, he worked for the US Department of State, but there was no job satisfaction. Tate realized what he wanted to do in life when he saw a wildlife documentary on CNN. It was about poaching in Africa and how it provides revenue for crime syndicates and violent extremists. The documentary showed images of elephants and rhinos with their faces cut off by poachers to procure tusks and horns. The barbarity of the practice hurt him very badly and he took up the mission to fight poaching. Tate gave up his job in the U.S. Department of State and started his non-profit called Veterans Empowered to Protect African Wildlife( VETPAW). Training Rangers The goal of Tate and his team was to pass along skills to improve the safety of rangers and conservationists and to increase the survival rate of wildlife in Africa. They train the rangers in battlefield medical skills, night operations, leadership skills, and marksmanship. VETPAW also employs techniques like behaviour pattern recognition, which teaches rangers how to think like a criminal or a poacher. After the first training session itself, the rangers were able to recognize and apprehend eight poachers. Missions VETPAW has undertaken several missions like Operation Tanzania which Tanzanian government develop an intelligence-based task force to combat poaching. Then there was Operation Rhino Shield which aimed to repopulate Limpopo province in South Africa which didn’t have black rhinos for the past 200 years. Now, there is a growing population of both black and white rhinos. Thanks to the efforts of Ryan Tate and his team, incidents of poaching has considerably come down and led to the conservation of wildlife in Africa.