"There are an estimated 35,000 elephants being killed in Africa each year. That's 10% of the population every year. There are now just an estimated 20,000 lions left in Africa. That's a 75% drop in the last 20 years. At the current rate, there will be no elephants or lions left in the African wilds within 15 years."
About an hour after we begin collecting data during our first elephant research session, the truck rounds a small corner in the road following a pair of slow-moving juvenile bulls when something else catches my eye. “I swear I just saw a baby rhino,” I tell Kim.
During elephant research in the Mosi-oa-Tunya National Park the team came across a downed elephant being watched over by a companion.
It's our first elephant research session and we're supposed to be gathering census information on them, but it's like searching for the proverbial needle in the haystack. How does 7,000 kilos of pachyderm hide itself so effectively?
As much fun as the BPG crowd are, it's the single male lion inhabiting a nearby enclosure that remains the focus of our attention at most times - for in that enclosure is Dynamite.
"Travel Buzz: Do you feel many people are envious of your lifestyle? Kim + Craig: Yes. And they should be."
A panoramic view of the grounds at Lion Encounter with the White House in the background.
On a nightly basis our room was literally abuzz with activity. Silence the noisy fan from pushing hot, Zambian air in circles over our bodies and you’d hear a lizard scurrying behind the dresser. Turn on the light and one, if not several, rain spiders would freeze in silence on the ceiling, carefully watching us with their many eyes. I was always happy to see our roommates because it meant I knew where they were and so didn't have to worry where they weren't, unlike some of the other creatures that came party crashing into what was called the White House.
About 10 kilometers west of Livingstone, nestled in the Mosi-oa-Tunya National Forest, lies ALERT's headquarters in Zambia. It's here on our first day at Lion Encounter that we took our first walk with Zamfara and Zaria along the banks of the Zambezi river.
Rubbing my eyes and trying to will myself awake while the line slowly creeps forward I look across the people gathered with us in the terminal. That's when I notice the hunting rifle cases. It suddenly dawns on me that we’re about to board a flight on our way to Africa to once again volunteer in the name of lion conservation, alongside a group of men who will be traveling there in the hopes of shooting a lion, if not several.
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