Mount Kenya Wildlife Conservancy | |
---|---|
Location | Nanyuki, Kenya |
Created | 2004 |
Owner | Humphrey Kariuki [1] |
mountkenyawildlifeconservancy |
Mount Kenya Wildlife Conservancy, abbreviated to MKWC is a non-profit trust dedicated to preserving the environment and the wildlife within.
The Conservancy is located in Nanyuki, a UN World Heritage Site, and an important and rich biodiverse area. It is home to 28 different animal species, with a population of roughly 1,200 different animals. [2] Humphrey Kariuki is the owner and principal patron of MKWC. [3]
The Conservancy's three main programmes include a breeding and rewilding project for the critically endangered Mountain Bongo antelope, an animal orphanage, and a conservation education programme.
As poaching increased in the 1950s and 60s, a reserve was setup to protect orphaned animals, which today has evolved into MKWC. [3] It has become essential in the fight to protect and increase the numbers of wild Mountain Bongo, a critically endangered species; [4] Working with the Kenya Government Kenya Wildlife Service National Mountain Bongo Recovery and Action Plan 2019 – 2023.
Mount Kenya Wildlife Conservancy is a member of IUCN International Union for Conservation of Nature – one of only 13 Kenyan conservancies to be granted this status.
Many other animals are also located at the conservancy which allows for the reintroduction of animals. [5] In November 2023, giraffes were reintroduced to Mount Kenya for the first time in 40 years. [6]
The bongo is a large, mostly nocturnal, forest-dwelling antelope, native to sub-Saharan Africa. Bongos are characterised by a striking reddish-brown coat, black and white markings, white-yellow stripes, and long slightly spiralled horns. It is the only tragelaphid in which both sexes have horns. Bongos have a complex social interaction and are found in African dense forest mosaics. They are the third-largest antelope in the world.
Przewalski's horse, also called the takhi, Mongolian wild horse or Dzungarian horse, is a rare and endangered horse originally native to the steppes of Central Asia. It is named after the Russian geographer and explorer Nikolay Przhevalsky. Once extinct in the wild, since the 1990s it has been reintroduced to its native habitat in Mongolia in the Khustain Nuruu National Park, Takhin Tal Nature Reserve, and Khomiin Tal, as well as several other locales in Central Asia and Eastern Europe.
Marwell Zoo is a 140-acre (57 ha) zoo situated in Colden Common near Winchester, in the English county of Hampshire. It is owned and run by the registered charity Marwell Wildlife. The zoo is home to 1,208 animals of 149 species. The charity undertakes a range of educational and conservation activities, with a particular focus on Africa in addition to work from its base.
Species reintroduction is the deliberate release of a species into the wild, from captivity or other areas where the organism is capable of survival. The goal of species reintroduction is to establish a healthy, genetically diverse, self-sustaining population to an area where it has been extirpated, or to augment an existing population. Species that may be eligible for reintroduction are typically threatened or endangered in the wild. However, reintroduction of a species can also be for pest control; for example, wolves being reintroduced to a wild area to curb an overpopulation of deer. Because reintroduction may involve returning native species to localities where they had been extirpated, some prefer the term "reestablishment".
Port Lympne Hotel & Reserve near the town of Hythe in Kent, England is set in 600 acres (2.4 km2) and incorporates the historic Port Lympne Mansion, and landscaped gardens designed by architect Sir Herbert Baker, for Sir Philip Sassoon.
Captive breeding, also known as captive propagation, is the process of keeping plants or animals in controlled environments, such as wildlife reserves, zoos, botanic gardens, and other conservation facilities. It is sometimes employed to help species that are being threatened by the effects of human activities such as climate change, habitat loss, fragmentation, overhunting or fishing, pollution, predation, disease, and parasitism.
The Arabian leopard is the smallest leopard subspecies. It was described in 1830 and is native to the Arabian Peninsula, where it was widely distributed in rugged hilly and montane terrain until the late 1970s. Today, the population is severely fragmented and thought to decline continuously. In 2008, an estimated 45–200 individuals in three isolated subpopulations were restricted to western Saudi Arabia, Oman and Yemen. However, as of 2023, it is estimated that 100–120 in total remain, with 70-84 mature individuals, in Oman and Yemen, and it is possibly extinct in Saudi Arabia. The current population trend is suspected to be decreasing.
Woburn Safari Park is a safari park located in Woburn, Bedfordshire, England. Visitors to the park can drive through exhibits, which contain species such as southern white rhino, elephants, tigers and black bears. It is part of the estates of the Duke of Bedford that also includes Woburn Abbey and its 3,000-acre (1,200 ha) deer park. The Safari Park itself covers 360 acres (150 ha).
The Aspinall Foundation is a British charity that promotes wildlife conservation. It was set up by casino owner John Aspinall in 1984 and runs the two zoos he established, Port Lympne Wild Animal Park and Howletts Wild Animal Park in Kent, England. It also runs conservation projects to protect endangered species and rehome captive animals in the wild. The current chairman is Damian Aspinall, son of the founder, and is likely to be succeeded by his daughter, Freya Aspinall, an Internet celebrity who uses social media to increase exposure for the charity and runs the charity's U.S. based affilate.
Genetic erosion is a process where the limited gene pool of an endangered species diminishes even more when reproductive individuals die off before reproducing with others in their endangered low population. The term is sometimes used in a narrow sense, such as when describing the loss of particular alleles or genes, as well as being used more broadly, as when referring to the loss of a phenotype or whole species.
Fossil Rim Wildlife Center is a 501(c)(3) non-profit conservation center near Glen Rose, Texas. They specialize in the breeding of endangered species, public education, scientific research and natural land management. The facility has over 1,000 animals from 50 species. Guests have access to guided and self-guided tours across the center's 1800 acres of Texas Hill Country, as well as lodging, dining and educational facilities.
Last Chance to See is a wildlife documentary first broadcast on BBC Two in the United Kingdom during September and October 2009. The series is a follow-up of the 1989 radio series, also called Last Chance to See, in which Douglas Adams and Mark Carwardine set out to find endangered animals. In this updated television version, produced for the BBC, Stephen Fry and Carwardine revisit the animals originally featured to see how they're getting on almost 20 years later.
The Kigio Wildlife Conservancy is a protected Conservancy near Gilgil in the Great Rift Valley of Kenya. It is owned and operated by the local community.
The Ol Pejeta Conservancy is a 360 km2 (140 sq mi) not-for-profit wildlife conservancy in Central Kenya's Laikipia County. It is situated on the equator west of Nanyuki, between the foothills of the Aberdares and Mount Kenya. The Ol Pejeta Conservancy works to conserve wildlife, provide a sanctuary for great apes, and generate income through wildlife tourism and complementary enterprises for re-investment in conservation and community development.
The Lionshare Educational Organization (LEO) Zoological Conservation Center was an off-exhibit, nonprofit wildlife reserve and breeding facility in Greenwich and Stamford, Connecticut.
White Oak Conservation, which is part of Walter Conservation, is a 17,000-acre (6,900 ha) conservation center in northeastern Florida. It is dedicated to the conservation of endangered and threatened species, including Indian rhinoceros, southern white rhinoceros, south-central black rhinoceros, Asian elephants, giraffes, okapi, bongo antelope, zebras, dama gazelles, and cheetahs.
The reticulated giraffe is a species/subspecies of giraffe native to the Horn of Africa. It is differentiated from other types of giraffe by its coat, which consists of large, polygonal, block-like spots, which extend onto the lower legs, tail and face. These prominent liver-red spots also show much less white between them, when compared to other giraffe species. With up to 6 meters in height, the reticulated giraffe is the largest subspecies of giraffe and the tallest land animal in general. While the reticulated giraffe may yet still be found in parts of its historic range, such as areas of Somalia and Ethiopia, its population stronghold is primarily within Kenya. There are approximately 8,500 individuals living in the wild. In both captivity and the wild, as of 2024 there are 15,785 individuals across the world.
The southern white rhinoceros or southern white rhino is one of the two subspecies of the white rhinoceros. It is the most common and widespread subspecies of rhinoceros.
Rewilding Europe is a non-profit organization based in Nijmegen, the Netherlands, dedicated to creating rewilded landscapes throughout Europe. The group's efforts have contributed to increasing the stock of previously endangered species such as the European bison and the Iberian lynx.
Iberá National Park is a national park in Argentina located in the northeast province of Corrientes. The national park adjoins the 5,530 km2 Iberá Provincial Park to the southeast. The national park and provincial park are both within the Iberá Provincial Nature Reserve, a conservation area of 13,245 km2 created in 1982. The combined protected area is the largest in Argentina.