Bushlife Conservancy

Our goals are to protect and preserve wildlife in its native environment, specifically in the Zambezi River flood plain and adjacent areas of Zimbabwe and Zambia.

We work collaboratively with other nonprofit organizations and NGO's on the ground, such as the Zambezi Society, African Wildlife Foundation, Flying for Wildlife, Zimbabwe Elephant Fund, and the Zambezi Valley Conservation Network. Our funds are used to support and train rangers and trackers who search for wildlife poachers and assist Zimbabwe Parks & Wildlife personnel in locating and detaining poachers, so that arrest can be made, and to hire and supervise laborers who build and maintain infrastructure such as ranger stations and roads into remote areas. We provide funds for the purchase of vehicles, boats, fuel and other equipment that is used in anti-poaching and conservation activities, and for vehicle repair and maintenance. We provide funds for an informer rewards program and hotline. We fund activities that assist with community health, education and welfare, in order to foster goodwill towards the local wildlife and habitat conservation.

The president of our organization is on the ground in Zimbabwe, working closely with Zimbabwe National Parks & Wildlife Authority to conduct anti-poaching and wildlife preservation work. Since 2016 we have been working with Bushlife Support Unit Trust, a Zimbabwean nonprofit organization. We fund maintenance and operation of 7 vehicles and 3 boats used for anti-poaching patrols and investigations. We also provide funds for vehicle drivers, mechanics, road works, rations and other supplies and equipment used directly to support the conservation of the wildlife and habitat in Mana Pools and the surrounding Zambezi Valley.

Since starting our work in 2015, elephant poaching has declined significantly. Elephants had been poached at the rate of one per day in Mana Pools and the surrounding Zambezi Valley.
Results in 2020:
1. Anti-poaching work:
• No elephant poached in Mana Pools National Park 2020.
• One elephant was poached in the Nyakasanga area in 2020. Unfortunately, the poachers made it back to Zambia – but we recovered the tusks.
• We have hired four scouts to supplement the park ranger presence.
• The southern boundary had lots of illegal activity going on, including woodcutting, snaring, and buffalo hunting. This already has stopped with our presence on the boundary.
• 73705 km were covered by Bushlife vehicles on ranger deployment: As we cover a wider area in the valley and have more remote bases with vehicles strategically deployed, we have reduced mileage leading to less wear and tear on vehicles, and less maintenance.
• River Patrols - we carried out 37 days of river patrols, with six canoes confiscated and destroyed, and many kilometers of nets destroyed. We have hired a full-time boat driver and will recommence boat patrols. The rainy season is the main time we get incursions from Zambia as the road that runs adjacent to the river is largely inaccessible by vehicle.
2. Kariba & Chinoyi Investigation Offices: we pay informers for information, and provide fuel and maintenance for two vehicles deployed on investigative work.
• Three arrests - one pangolin recovered.
• One arrest – one pangolin skin recovered.
• Three arrests – python recovered.
3. Gold Panning Mitigation:
We are working at the Angwa River and Secret Valley areas of Chewore and Doma safari areas. A total of 130 arrests have been made on six raids, with equipment confiscated including hundreds of metal detectors, pans, and shovels.
4. Remote bases in Operation:
• Vundu • Nyamepi • Kanga • Zavaru • Mazunga • Chitangazuwa • Marongora
5. Research:
• We have continued our elephant collaring program, now in its fourth year - a total of eleven iconic bulls have been collared for their protection, and three cows are monitored for their movement throughout the valley. (In 2021, we are looking at collaring 5 elephants in Chewore Safari Area. This will require us to use a helicopter, and will be a three-to-four-day exercise.)
• 2020 saw the launch of the Zambezi Valley Carnivore Project, looking at lions, hyenas, leopards, wild dogs, and cheetah. We have collared six lions, six hyenas, and two leopards for this project. (In partnership with ZIMPARKS, we hope to expand on this in 2021.)
6. Support:
In 2020 we paid a monthly stipend of $200usd per wife for the two rangers killed by poachers.