Anti-Poaching and Human-Wildlife-Conflict Management

Elephant Gin has been supporting Big Life Foundation’s Ranger Club to fund the seemingly never-ending work of anti-poaching rangers. These brave individuals are out in the wild every day, living in Big Life’s remote outposts, undertaking daily foot patrols, tracking and arresting poachers, and providing security for critically important wilderness in the Amboseli-Tsavo-Kilimanjaro ecosystem.

The rangers work tirelessly to protect elephants, rhinos, lions and other animals from poaching and retaliatory killing due to human-wildlife conflict.

Through the funds, Elephant Gin is directly contributing to 35 anti-poaching rangers’ salaries, rations and equipment such as tents, rucksacks, sleeping bags and mosquito nets.

Employment Opportunities and Education Center

Near Lake Jozini in South Africa, unemployment is rife and attractive for poachers to getting information and assistance from local communities. The strategy of Space For Elephants is to get communities involved by creating employment opportunities and make them aware of the value of wildlife by educating and showing them of how to earn a living by working in conservation.

This is why Elephant Gin has been funding an education center focused on elephants. The aim of the program is to teach about the threats elephants face today, i.e. human-wildlife-conflicts and ivory poaching, the important ecological role of elephants, and the demand for conservation. The education center has been built and will be run by members of the Zulu community. The ‘Wildlife Spirit Education Center’ is officially open for locals. Tourists will be able to start visiting the centre and learn bits of the curriculum in 2018.

Caring For and Fostering Orphaned Elephants

With the launch of miniature bottles in December 2017, Elephant Gin was keen to support The David Sheldrick Wildlife Trust and their mission to rescue and rehabilitate orphaned elephants.

15% of the miniature bottle profits is donated to the DSWT’s initiatives, including their pioneering Orphans’ Project, helping to support round-the-clock specialist care of the orphan elephants with proper nutrition, veterinary care, a human family of full-time keepers and well-constructed and maintained stockades for safety and shelter at night.

In addition, Elephant Gin currently fosters 21 orphaned elephants, whose names can be found on the miniature bottles. These elephants have been raised by the DSWT from infancy and are now living wild. Great success stories to tell!