Greetings,

It’s Day 8 of our our 12 Days of Beautiful Elephant Photos! We are in Zambia in the Kavango Zambezi Transfrontier Conservation Area. Like in many regions, this area is plagued by human-elephant conflict or HEC. Habitat loss from development, droughts, and loss of connectivity cause elephants to venture out of safe regions and towards human settlements, often raiding farms, damaging homes, and causing injuries and deaths. IEF supports research to study and preserve elephant movement corridors, and conflict mitigation efforts to help communities protect their farms. The ultimate goal is peaceful coexistence where both elephants and humans thrive.

The animal partners of Rangers, Eco-Guards, Wildlife Officers, and Wildlife Protection Teams are integral to their effectiveness. Did you know that a dog’s sense of smell is somewhere between 10,000 and 100,000 times more accurate than ours? This is why they are such excellent partners in tracking criminals and detecting illegal wildlife products.

Detection & Tracking Dogs work closely with their handlers to find ivory, bushmeat, pangolin scales, rhino horn, rifles, ammunition, animal pelts and more at various trafficking hotspots. Supporting their handlers allow these dogs to protect wildlife.

For $1500 you can support things like a month’s salary for the Detection Dog Handlers who care for and work alongside conservation dogs. From uniforms to patrol supplies, you can also support Wildlife Protect Teams at many levels, and your support makes a difference at every level.