About WildlifeDirect

WildlifeDirect is a Kenya and US registered charitable organization founded and chaired by African conservationist Dr Richard Leakey, who is credited with putting an end to the elephant slaughter in Kenya in the 1980s. Its main office is located in Nairobi, Kenya.

 WildlifeDirect was established in 2006 to provide support to conservationists in Africa directly on the ground via the use of blogs, which enables anybody, anywhere to play a direct and interactive role in the survival of some of the world’s most precious species.

 WildlifeDirect takes no administration fee for the funds that are transferred through their website so that the financial support can go to where it was intended in its entirety. WildlifeDirect however asks donors to add an optional 15% over their intended donation amount as their contribution to help run the organization.

 Word from Richard Leakey

Chronic under-funding is the greatest challenge to wildlife conservation in developing countries where most of the world’s biodiversity resides, but where government funding for environment is understandably limited. In many African and developing countries elsewhere, wildlife and habitats are being destroyed at unprecedented rates…more

 How we Began

 In 2004, a group of committed conservationists, led by Dr Richard Leakey, became convinced that the current developments on the internet provided the best opportunity for securing a future for wildlife: an approach that could harness the collective energy of countless good conservationists and combine it with millions of individuals around the world who have a genuine concern for the future of the planets wildlife and unique habitats…

 In 2004, a group of committed conservationists, led by Dr Richard Leakey, became convinced that the current developments on the internet provided the best opportunity for securing a future for wildlife: an approach that could harness the collective energy of countless good conservationists and combine it with millions of individuals around the world who have a genuine concern for the future of the planets wildlife and unique habitats. These people would connect through the internet to create a movement powerful enough to produce a virtual endowment capable of reversing the catastrophic loss of habitats and species.

 WildlifeDirect was conceived as a non-profit conservation organization based in Kenya along the lines of an internet startup company. The organization was built to secure efficient conservation management in parks, reserves and other conservation areas throughout the world.

 In the few years that WildlifeDirect has existed, we have been at the frontline in bringing attention to otherwise ignored conservation areas. In 2007, WildlifeDirect brought to world attention the brutal massacre of a gorilla family in the Virunga National Park In the Democratic Republic of Congo. This led to a lot of funds raised to support the protection of gorillas in this unique ecosystem.

At the beginning of 2008, Kenya plunged into it’s worst political turmoil since independence resulting in what is now referred to as Post-election Violence (PEV) following the disputed December 2007 presidential elections results. Foreign tourists stayed away and the Mara Conservancy, which depended 100% on tourism revenue, was in a dire situation. WildlifeDirect stepped in raising more than $150,000 to tide the conservancy through the tough no-tourist period.

These are just examples of the success of WildlifeDirect. There are others such as the high profile now accorded the hitherto unknown Lion Guardians Project and the high profile petition to ban carbofurans in Kenya and around Africa. This last campaign is ongoing and it has received support from far and wide including exclusive airing by the American broadcaster CBS in their TV program, 60 Minutes

WildlifeDirect continues to grow from strength to strength. We have continued to support our bloggers even in these difficult financial times. All this has been possible through your support. Stay with us, and lets save our last surviving wildlife.

 WildlifeDirect’s mission is to connect conservationists in the frontline with those who care about wildlife worldwide. To enable them interact and help each other, allowing anyone in the world to support the work of these conservationists. WildlifeDirect allows anyone to give any amount of money to support conservation of endangered wildlife in Africa, Asia and South America. Donors can track the impact of their donation in near real-time.

 Our Mission Statement is twofold: 

• To give those who care about wildlife the opportunity to follow day-to-day activities on the ground, to provide support to initiatives of their choice and to read about the actual results that their donations have enabled.

 

• To give a voice to frontline conservationists through wildlifedirect.org.