On a serious note...

One of the biggest reasons for this trip to Africa is to care for the magnificent creatures and the land that provides them with safety and security. The folks there, staff and volunteers alike, work hard day in and day out to provide for these animals and their land. Their conservation efforts have inspired me to get involved. 

Many of the wildlife in the sanctuary, and all over the continent, are in serious endangerment. While humans continue to build, they are encroaching on the land all these animals need to survive. Unfortunately, this is a common problem all over the world. Conflicts between local farmers and predators has been a serious an issue. Predators have been known to hunt the livestock of the farmers resulting in these animals being killed for their crimes. This is why efforts are being made to provide a safe haven for predators and prey animals alike. These animals should not be chased out of their homes or killed for acting on their instincts. This problem mixed with the danger of poachers has led many of these animals to the brink of extinction. (See a list of the endangered and critically endangered animals of the world here: https://worldwildlife.org/species/directory?direction=desc&sort=extinction_status) More of them are living in captivity or on reservations/sanctuary lands than are actually living in the wild. It is absolutely heartbreaking. To think that our actions can cause an entire species to cease to exist is overwhelming. That is why we need to make efforts to combat those who are causing their extinction and strive to conserve the land and animals that share this world with us. Too many people see them as a nuisance or as unimportant. And to think in 20 or 50 years, some may never share this earth with us again. Even if it is only bringing attention to these issues, we can all do our part to help. I never feel like the donations I make to operations like the World Wildlife Fund are enough. While they do help greatly, I feel like a more hands-on approach assists more directly. And it just feels good. (Hence my trip!)

Those living at the sanctuary are either being rehabilitated before they can be released back into the wild or there is no chance they can ever be released and will be cared for by the sanctuary possibly for the rest of their lives. While they are taken care of so well there (provided with shelter, food, and love daily), nothing can quite replace living in the wild. Some will never feel that kind of freedom again. Imagine never being able to leave your own property ever again. That's pretty rough. 

But there is an upside to having these resident animals around! All kinds of research can be done to help us provide the best possible care for them and their wild family members. We can even help population numbers from dwindling out completely. Efforts like this are what has helped in part to keep these guys around thus far. 

We all need to keep around the gorillas, tigers, lions and all the other beautiful animals some of us have taken for granted. Let's not leave our children with a world void of God's incredible and unique creatures! Do your part to help. 

Until next time, Dreamers!

-Kristina