#RIPLittleMale. While hundreds of people were preparing to participate in the Global March for Elephants, Rhinos and Lions, a tragedy occurred in Amboseli yesterday morning. One of the last big elephant bulls in Africa was shot and killed by the authorities because it was suspected he had killed a farmer. That bull was 49-year-old Little Male, the brother of Eudora and the son of Emily, who was the sister of Echo of the EB family. We have known him since he was five years old, so we have followed his life for 44 years. We watched him grow, become independent from his family, learn the ways of the world of the males, eventually coming into musth and competing for females. He was in his prime, fathering calves, passing on his good genes for robustness, good health and longevity. That important role he was playing in the Amboseli elephant population ended yesterday. It is times like these that we are tempted to give up but we don’t. It hurts so much, but we have to fight for the other elephants here including Little Male’s sons and daughters. But we must not forget the death of the farmer. It is a massive tragedy for his family. It is not a question of guilt and innocence here. We must strive for peaceful co-existence between humans and wildlife.
Tragedy in Amboseli 8th October 2017
Published by Mbilinyi-Wildlife
Conservation has always been a major part of my life. Growing up I revered leaders like famous oceanographer Jacques Cousteau and conservationist Jane Goodall, and I dreamed of becoming a swayful wildlife conservationist one day. Some of my fondest memories are of exploring the Amani forests with my college's friend, learning about both the awesome power of nature the threats to its well being. I ultimately pursued a career in wildlife management at college of African wildlife management -Mweka and my friends too become a conservationists. Together, we founded Saviours of Wildlife with our slogan that Who pays for wildlife and who benefits?. I recognize there are many conservation organizations doing incredible work on behalf of our planet and the many species who call it home. I wanted to create an organization that complemented and collaborated with these organizations, so we chose to focus on protecting lesser-known endangered species. My speech If there’s one thing we know about life on Earth, it is that all of our diverse animals, plants, soil structures and waterways are interconnected in complex ways, many of which we cannot fully understand. In order to maintain ecological balance, we need to focus on all of the puzzle pieces–and this is becoming harder to do as we lose more and more species to climate change and human activity. Saviors of wildlife focuses on lesser-known species because they are our early-warning signals for larger issues facing the ecosystem. For example, amphibians have a tremendous impact on their environment. They are not the face of environmental conservation in the same way as elephants,rhinoceros or gorillas, but because of their size and genetic makeup, these creatures are much more sensitive to climate change. For example, saviour of wildlife is working to save amphibians, reptiles but also supporting efforts of conserving big wildlife like Rhino, giraffe and elephants through conservation education and capacity building to wildlife practititoners. Saviours of wildlife is also working to save the world’s most endangered marine mammals. Only about 30% are left in the wild due to them becoming entangled in gill nets set for illegal fishing activities.The marine creatures are the most endangered Species. Our planet is facing a biodiversity crisis. Last month , I was fortunate to share comment with Jane Goodall to discuss this critical issue. She reminded the word that she spoke to me 5 years ago “don’t forget, every single one of you makes a difference every single day.” As we sit on the brink of losing thousands of more species, throwing our future into jeopardy, I am now asking you to make smart decisions .Please join us in reversing this crisis and making our collective future more secure contact Brighton Mbilinyi, saviours of wildlife,college of African wildlife management. brightonfrancis91@gmail.com +255756 525739 View all posts by Mbilinyi-Wildlife