On Wednesday 22nd March, we were delighted to be at the wonderful M Threadneedle for our Adoreum Club Breakfast – “Big Tusker Elephants – Saving the Last of Their Kind.”
Many thanks go to our guest speaker, Adoreum member and celebrated wildlife photographer, Graeme Purdy, for sharing some of his breath-taking photographs and leading an insightful discussion on Big Tuskers and the Amboseli conservation project. Graeme told the illuminating story of an elephant and community conservation project in Amboseli, a national park in Kenya which is home to the highest density of elephants on the continent.
We learnt of the hardships facing both the people of Amboseli and the Big Tuskers who inhabit this area. Big agriculture seeks to inhibit the wildlife corridor vital to the seasonal migration of wildlife, particularly the last of the continent’s ‘Big Tusker’ bull elephants.
Whilst our talk was underway, we heard that meanwhile in Amboseli, a large bull elephant had had to be sedated, having a spear removed from his leg. This project aims to release some of this human-wildlife conflict that exists primarily over the vital commodity of water. The project seeks to help both communities and wildlife mutually co-exist in peace and harmony.
The area is at a tipping point, and if you feel passionate about wildlife conservation, Graeme would like to extend the invitation to get involved. Graeme is looking to collaborate with Adoreum members and use the remarkable skills, ideas, and energy that our Adoreum family has in abundance. This specific conservation initiative aims to help protect the Amboseli ecosystem, the heartland for the last of Africa’s Big Tusker elephants.
Graeme is open arms and would love to hear from you with whatever moral support and assistance you may be able to offer. If you’d like to know more, please let us know and we’d be delighted to put you in touch.
