WHY IT RATES: The award-winning tour operator is furthering its support of wild elephant conservation efforts by adding more a new small-group adventure itineraries that take travelers to Kenya, Tanzania, Namibia, Botswana and more; along with a 2024 trip in which Patricia Sims, founder of World Elephant Day, will participate. — Laurie Baratti, TravelPulse Associate Writer
The award-winning adventure tour operator, Exodus Travels today announced its expanded support of elephant conservation efforts and an upcoming trip with Patricia Sims, founder of World Elephant Day.
Exodus Travels' 'Free to Roam' elephant conservation project is based in Tsavo National Park in Kenya, a major wilderness area that is home to the country's largest population of elephants.
Working together with on-the-ground conservation experts Tsavo Trust and the Tofauti Foundation, the project is designed to reduce human-wildlife conflict and educate local people on the benefits of wildlife conservation through the introduction of the innovative 10% Fence Plan, which was designed to prevent crop raiding and livestock predation and, in turn, increase food security for the people that call this area home.
Last year, the 'Free to Roam' project implemented the plan in the Kamungi Conservancy in Kenya's Tsavo West National Park, and this year, thanks to the success of the initial roll-out, the Exodus Travels Foundation will support the construction of two additional fences in the nearby Shirango Conservancy in Tsavo East National Park.
"The Exodus Travels 'Free to Roam' project in Tsavo demonstrates that positive results are possible when companies, conservation organizations, and local communities work together to achieve a peaceful and sustainable co-existence between elephants, wildlife, and people, where everyone wins," says Patricia Sims, founder of World Elephant Day, an annual event on August 12 that is dedicated to the preservation and protection of the world's elephants.
The goal of the 'Free to Roam' project is to allow elephants and other wildlife to thrive, with more space to roam, by empowering the local Tsavo communities to give 90 percent of land back to nature, while increasing food security by delivering permaculture training for locals who own the remaining 10 percent. This buffer zone aims to help form a peaceful co-existence between local wildlife and members of the surrounding communities, who benefit through improved farming techniques that help them become self-sufficient through sustainable means.
"With the new Kamungi Conservancy in place, we've seen the wildlife population increase and community lives have steadily improved," says Kyalo Ndeto, a Kamungi Conservancy member who shares her experience as a beneficiary of the project. "In the past, community members used to poach for bushmeat and have negative attitudes towards wildlife, especially elephants, but because of the increased awareness of the benefits that wildlife conservation can bring, wildlife is not just tolerated on community land, there's a sense of harmony, with locals and wildlife living together."
In related news, Exodus Travels has also announced an adventure trip to Kenya with Patricia Sims that coincides with World Elephant Day 2024, as part of its Royal Canadian Geographic Society (RCGS) Quests collection. Details about this and other notable RCGS trips will be introduced next month.
In honor of World Elephant Day, Exodus Travels offers additional expert-led, small-group tours where individuals can see these magnificent creatures up close, safely and sustainably. Examples include: Kenya and Tanzania Adventure, Namibia and Botswana: Dunes & Delta, Wildlife and Wilderness of Botswana, and Zambezi Canoe Safari .
SOURCE: Exodus Travels press release.
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