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Nikela Connects to WESSA

Today is the beginning of a great collaborative effort. A step forward in NIKELA's contribution to helping people and saving wildlife in South Africa.

We connected with one of wildlife’s greatest and longstanding allies, the Wildlife Society of Southern Africa (WESSA). Now that’s exciting wouldn’t you agree?

“I’m not sure about this social media marketing!” was Russ’ response when I first introduced him to the work of Michael from M3NewMedia.

Now six months later Russ is a believer!

This connection all started with Michael sending out a tweet with a request for a contact in conservation academia. Craig, a senior lecturer at the University of Kwazulu Natal, KZN South Africa responded and introduced us via cyberspace to Dr Jim Taylor.

Imagine how surprised we were to find Dr. Taylor’s comment about the Celebrate Wildlife curriculum, “What you’re doing sounds brilliant”, in our inbox.

Dr Taylor is a world expert on environmental education (EE), curriculum development and development of environmental educational materials. He works for WESSA, and heads up ShareNet.

This joint effort will greatly enhance the efforts of the Celebrate Wildlife curriculum to be piloted in Imbali. The goal of Celebrate Wildlife is to save wildlife by inspiring high schoolers to pursue careers in wildlife conservation, eco tourism and other related and wildlife friendly careers.

Visit our website, and please post your comments on the blog there, www.Nikela.org/blog

Nikela: Looking Back - Looking Forward

LOOKING BACK at 2010

NIKELA was born in April 2010 after I asked myself the question, “What would I regret most if I died tomorrow?” And the surprising answer was not having done anything for the wildlife of South Africa. It wasn’t long after getting started that Russ also joined NIKELA’s ranks fulltime. He couldn't resist developing the "educating kids" part of our mission. 

NIKELA’s Mission:

To find and qualify experts, certifying their wildlife conservation and education projects.

To invite donors to choose and give monthly to the projects that appeal to them most.

To fund the experts who protect the wildlife and educate the children to find their place in wildlife conservation or ecotourism .

2010 was a blur of getting organized and rolling: 

From deciding on a unique name to filing as a nonprofit

From researching what’s happening to the wildlife to outlining our vision and mission

From setting aside initial funding to identifying a business model

The highlight of NIKELA’s first year:

Our wildlife conservation tour in South Africa to meet with amazing, dedicated and tenacious people like: 

• Ian and Michelle who run a bush school worth duplicating
• Will and his team of leopard research specialists
• Karin absolutely immersed in the expert on human primate conflict resolution
• Ben and Shannon who operate Africa’s primary raptor rescue and sanctuary.
• Tony a unique combination of conservationist and businessman
• Rodger and Natasha zealous aboutt setting aside wilderness areas in South Africa
• And the list goes on.

All in all we chatted with close to 100 people in the conservation, education and ordinary citizen community. We learned about wildlife conservation from so many different points of view: rescue, rehab, research, habitat and sanctuary.

We learned that two primary things are needed:

1. Funding so people like the experts we met can expand their reach to protect the wildlife
2. Funding to formalize the ideas and experience into effective education programs nationwide to inspire the next generation to take their place in wildlife conservation

On coming home in late October we faced more than expected challenges with the website and IRS tax exempt filing. After hiring a new web guy things got rolling and we got some projects posted a few days before Christmas. We ended the year financially disappointed, but not dissuaded.

A small success is snow balling:

One excellent academic contact led to an entire Enviro Club experiencing Shannon’s Raptor Flight demonstration and tour of the Sanctuary. This small project led to the Superintendent of the Imbali schools inviting us to present a proposal to introduce our Celebrate Wildlife curriculum in the schools.

Though skeptical at first, we are now believers in Social Media Marketing:

We ended the year with a very satisfactory social media presence, especially on Twitter, reaching 3,000 followers on December 24th.

  

      Via social media we:

• Found Frank our photographer from the Netherlands
• Got introduced to two professors in KZN (South Africa) willing to help with our educational efforts
• Made a direct connection to a large retailer in the USA,
• Got invited to participate in a huge across Africa expedition, “In the Tracks of Giants”.

As you can see NIKELA is a real team effort, growing towards the community of people who care we envision it to be.

For 2010 special thanks must go to our partners who donate their time or reduce their fees because they believe in NIKELA:

• Michael with M3NewMedia is our social media marketing wizard
• Jim with Blue Dove Designs is our WordPress expert driving the website
• Sand with Capture Ur Life Photography creates our eye catching videos
• Frank from Frank Van Egmond Photography gets great shots at some of our projects
• Noah with DonationPay provides our donation solution so your gift is processed securely
• Mihai is our online fundraising consultant whose expertise we’re just starting to tap into
• Liz Williams is our trusty CPA
• Robert Harris our IT expert with Austin Digital
• Joi with Zappy Springs Photography donated our headshots used for the web and promotions

LOOKING AHEAD at 2011

Based on the ups and downs of our first few months we are calibrating and scheming. Here are our plans thus far:

• Stay the course with our social media marketing
• Get an on the ground fundraiser and grant writer involved
• Step up our online fundraising with the help of an online fundraising expert
• Limit our project offerings for the first half of the year to 5 or 6 so that we can go into much greater depth to promote each one...  

They include: 

• Leopard research
• Rescue / rehab
• Bush school sponsorship
• Celebrate Wildlife pilot
• Community outreach
• Anti-Poaching (rhino in particular)

• Focus heavily on getting the Celebrate Wildlife curriculum in place with the help of the rapidly expanding team on the ground in KZN. Funding the pilot will be a crucial focus (more details of this coming soon)
• Find academia experts to endorse our work
• Find celebrity who can get excited about our cause
• Increase number of “Stories from Africa” presentations to groups, clubs, associations (feel free to refer us to friends or colleagues in the Central Texas area)
• Plan our ‘annual’ SA wildlife conservation sites tour for later this year or early 2012
• Invite people like you to Get Involved via donating time, expertise, money and in any creative way you’d like to help the African wildlife and the kids learn to do their part.

visit http://www.nikela.org/ our official website 



Photo by Frank http://www.fvemedia.com/





New Year’s Resolutions… Revolutions?

Have you set your New Years resolutions yet? Or have they fallen by the wayside before January is over as mine so often do?

In my experience when making real changes in my own life it requires a REVOLUTION not merely a resolution. What? A “resolution” is a degree, declaration, promise, or pledge to do something. While a “revolution” is a rebellion, revolt, mutiny, or riot.

While going to grad school I learned that social change happens in several ways, it can happen fast or gradually. In the western world change is general quite gradual as it is brought about by peaceful, mostly democratic means using resolutions. Radical or almost immediate change on the other hand requires a revolution.

For most of us the word “revolution” has real negative implications. It’s associated with conflict, war, bloodshed and misery. On a personal level it may imply a cleansing of the body, a 360 change in attitude or behavior, or a dramatic spiritual renewal.

This year I’ve made New Year’s Revolutions. For I have found this to be essential if I am to be the person NIKELA needs to assure her success, and failure is not an option.

Please visit our website at http://www.nikela.org/

Where Exactly Does Your Donation Go?

"So how do you get paid?" asked a new friend this last weekend.
With 100% of your donation going to the project and expert of your choice that is a very valid question.  As a public charity we're not a private foundation with a huge pile of money from some money tree.

A public charity is a community effort and relies primarily on the support of people like you.  However, as this image of our DONATION page shows it clearly indicates that 100% of your donation goes to your project.

Of course, it gives you the option to donate separately to the Nikela Operations Fund if you want to assist with administrative costs, website maintenance, not to mention keep gas in our old Explorer.

If you haven't already found a project to support visit the website today at http://www.nikela.org/
Giving what you can to the Nikela Operations Fund will also be greatly appreciated.

308 Rhino Lost… What Nikela’s Doing About It

2010 turned out to be the deadliest year for the rhino’s living in South Africa. Only a couple of weeks before we met with Will and Carol in early October one of their four rhino was savagely dehorned and left to die.

According to, Robin, my young anti-poaching friend in South Africa the final death toll for 2010 stands at 308. A staggering loss, almost triple of the number from the previous year, and that’s not counting the orphaned calves that died from personal injuries, starvation or trauma.

Amongst all this tragedy there are glimmers of hope for the rhino’s survival as locals band together to ward of poachers and trained anti-poaching professionals are brought in.

Les, is one such anti-poaching professional. This coming February he is travelling to the USA to strategize with us. Together we plan to launch an awareness and fund raising campaign to assist anti-poaching efforts to do our part to make 2011 a much safer year for the rhino.

One way you can help right now is put me in touch with the person who can introduce me to Marc Ecko. Marc is the founder of the Ecko clothing retail stores head quartered in New York. What does Marc have to do with rhinos? The rhino is the clothier’s mascot or logo. Why? Because, according to the young store clerk I spoke to at Grapevine Mills in Dallas, the rhino is the only animal that runs only forward. Marc sees only one direction for his company… forward.

So, if you know someone who knows someone who knows Marc, please email me as I’d love to invite Marc to meet with Les while he is here.

Animal and Human Behavior

"It's the IRS!" I whisper to Russ as I almost drop my cell phone with excitement.

Here we are with our daughter and husband walking along a brushy creek looking for another blue heron when my almost out of battery phone rings.

Now, not too many people get excited by a call from the IRS, neither do I, normally, but this was about our pending 501 (c)(3) tax exempt status. It was mid July when we sent off our huge application packet to the IRS. It was two months later that we got an acknowledgement of receipt letter. Since late October Russ has called twice for an update. "It's waiting to be assigned an agent" was the reply both times. Just before Christmas they had gotten to the June submittals... we were getting closer!

The herons are forgotten and I literally skipped along the path like a young school girl. Only four relatively simple matters needed to be addressed, all to be clearly outlined in Karen's communiqué due to be mailed right away. That coveted letter is almost within our grasp! Whoooopeeeee!

What's that bird doing in the zebra's ear?

Then, later that same day Frank emailed me that a CD with the great photos he took at the Bird of Prey Sanctuary were on their way. Now Frank lives in the Netherlands, we connected via LinkedIn. We both love wildlife and are dedicated to its protection and conservation, so he totally donated his time and expertise to Nikela, for which we are very grateful.

Soon we'll have a slideshow of his fabulous photos depicting Shannon at work, her amazing birds of prey, and the kids who are privileged to visit the sanctuary. In the meantime please take a look at this short animal behavior slide show of Frank's.

Oh and do visit our new website at http://www.nikela.org/

Report: First Holiday Giving 2010

Small, but off to a hopeful start. $1,135 was raised in six days for 4 projects. 100% of which goes directly to the requested projects.

Saving the Leopard.

This beautiful solitary cat's very survival is at stake. It is our privilege to connect people like you with wildlife conservation projects that make a difference.

Two of these projects help Will and his team capture the movements and behaviors of four free roaming leopards. The data they collect is crucial to determine the endangered species status of the African leopard.

One of the projects helps fund the tracking collars that pin points where Grace, Bo, Lucky and Nhovti hunt, sleep and roam. The other helps buy camera "traps", batteries and supplies to capture photographs of the free roaming leopards in specific locations in the study area.

Raising Up Wildlife Advocates.

The wildlife's future lies in the hands of the rising generation. Ian and Michele believe so totally in this that they invested their retirement into developing a bush school that changes lives. Enough funds were raised to send .... more kids to a week long camp. With your help we'd like to sponsor ... more as soon as possible.

Kids Learn to Save Raptors


As a reward the students in the Enviro Club from an impoverished school visit Africa's largest bird of prey sanctuary. Noone experiences Shannon's flight demonstration without gaining a huge respect for the raptors and a love for this petite woman of passion. Even more importantly myths about owls and vultures are broken to prevent their senseless killing.
>>>Stay tuned: A pilot project is in the works to instruct the entire high school to their vital role in wildlife conservation.

Thank you for your support and we look forward to growing the Nikela community in 2011. With a little from a lot we can make a difference for the leopards, children and all the South African wildlife

Thank You to All Humans who...

Rose just grabbed on and made it happen!

The last couple of days I've read many a heart breaking story about poaching, gas chambers and other animal abuses.  However, in the midst of all this there are people standing up, signing petitions, challenging politicians, even go to to toe with poachers... and I felt grateful.

This brief video is a small attempt to be the voice of those you work hard to protect.  Enjoy!  Oh yes, and do share it with others who work as hard as you at saving the animals... the wild and the domestic.

For the love of wildlife and wild animals.

Give a Gift and Save a Leopard

If you're like me, you enjoy giving a gift that lasts longer than till the batteries wear out!

This year you'll be remembered for giving a most unusual gift...

...access to track one of the few remaining free roaming leopards of Africa.

Today virtual games and animated movies throw us into a surreal world, not this.  You and your friend can see the daily movements of Grace, Bo or Lucky, as they hunt and where they sleep.  Not only that you'll get photo updates and stories from the researches.

Yes, I haven't told you, this leopard tracking is all part of a landmark wildlife conservation study to determine the true status of the African leopard.  Some think they're on the brink of the endangered species list and need special protection.  This research will help us know for sure.  How tragic it would be if we allowed the existence of this beautiful animal to slip thru our fingers!

If you're the least bit intriqued read more about the project and how for as little as $25 (or less if you must) you can participate and help.

"It's a Website!"

Years ago, arriving home with my brand new baby, I was greeted by a big sign in our front yard, it read:

"It's a Boy!"

I walked into our little basement apartment in a daze. Everything looked the same, but after nine months of pregnancy, hours of labor I now stepped into a new world called parenthood.

It's a Website! After months of "pregnancy" and weeks upon weeks of "labor" today I again stepped in to a new world as the Nikela website entered cyberspace and began it's mission ~ to grow a global community of people who care to help experts in South Africa protect the wildlife and prepare the rising generation to take their turn.

Come celebrate with us! Browse thru the website and get to know the amazing people we've come to call friends and the vital work they are engaged in. As you do so please let us know what you think. Nikela has already grown into a community based project and thus is becoming the product of many minds and hearts.

In the future please bookmark the New Nikela Blog
www.Nikela.org/Blog

A Sensless Hunt - A Hippo?

This just in from my friend Toni:

"It is with great sadness we must report that the Hippo that BWC hoped to purchase from a farmer, and relocate him to a place of safety, has already been shot and killed.


An advert was sent out offering a Hippo shoot, as it seems he was 'a problem animal'. We know there is no such thing as a problem animal, only intolerant, impatient, overbearing and greedy humans who will kill anyone in their way deemed to have 'no value'. De Hoek advertised the 'hunt' although they did not have anything to do with the final actions.

Email: dehoeksafari@mtnloaded.co.za
Tel.: 083 549 9096 / 082 627 5011.
Contact Hansie Minnaar / Rina.

To hunt a hippo is probably as challenging as beating a fly to death with a rolled up piece of newspaper. A bull is chosen and one simply walks up to the bank of the river or pond, takes aim, waits for the hippo to present a good head shot and bang, ‘hunt’ over.

Immediately the situation came to light, telephone calls were made and e-mails sent to rescue the Hippo, but we have been notified that the hippo died yesterday."

If this makes your heart boil as it does mine please let your voice be heard by:

• Telling the "hunt" organizers (email address noted above)
• Sharing this post on Face Book and Twitter (share buttons below)

Thank you.  The surviving wildlife thanks you.

Time to Scream? Maybe not...

AAAAAArrrrrrrrrgggggggggg! There! Now I feel better.

Talk about frustrations!  If it's not my software crashing it's internet access slowing.  If it's not hold ups with the website it's merchant services glitches.  And all I want to do is help people like Michele and Ian, Will and his dedicated team, Shannon and Ben, Karin, and... so they can do their small part in saving and protecting the wildlife we all love.

In the meantime I hear that more rhinos have been lost to horn slashing poachers.  That the the king of beasts, the lion is on a fast track toward extinction.  Ironic, just as the new Narnia movie with posters of Aslan are seen everywhere, while most of us are oblivious to the real lion's plight.

Okay... I got a grip!

"Start Where You Are... Use What You Have... Do What You Can."

This advice from Pat Williams and Jay Strack in their book "Shamgar" has saved my life many a time.  Life is good.

Start where you are:  Have great wildlife experts with amazing projects to support.  Have people like you sending us good vibes (and money.)  Got the website almost finished.  Got Noah from DonationPay getting our donation system in place.  Have Russ working feverishly along side of me.  Have Michael shooting our Twitter following way past 2,500.  Have Sand creating the best videos. Got my cat Weasel at my feet. 

There... I'm off to 'use what I have' to 'do what I can' and write up some more PROJECTS to include on the website.

Happy Thanksgiving... No Matter Where in the World You Are

In the mid '70s when I moved to the USA I was introduced to Thanksgiving.  Although it took me years to like yams smoothered with melted marshmellows I quickly embraced taking time out to give thanks.

Now as I pause I'm so grateful for:

• A God in Heaven (helps me make sense of things when nothing makes sense at all.)
• The beauties of creation (look at that bird and the giraffe she's de-bugging!)
• Fresh air to breathe (spent time in Manilla, Philippines where I nearly died.)
• A loyal companion (been together over 35 years... and counting.)
• Three amazing kids (that's really six now... those they love have become "mine" too.)
• Five ever-changing and growing grandkids (love being Lola... enjoy 'em, then give 'em back.)
• The dedicated wildlife conservationists (many I'm privileged to call friends.)
• The many who in small and big ways are helping Nikela emerge (I'll forget someone if I start naming.)

The list goes on... and my heart keeps expanding with gratitude.
God bless and thank you for your part in making this world a better place for all.

NikelaWildlife Videos are Happening

Thousands of photos!  Hundreds of videos!  Sifting thru music clips, sorting, shifting and editing and voila Sand has created a NikelaWildlife video.

Here is a sampling of many more to come:

"Keep 'em Barking?" Who's barking?

Like it? Share it.

The Starfish and the Iphone

The sun starting it's daily journey as the boy and his grandfather head for the beach.  Instead of finding the usual fragments of sea worn shells, hundreds of starfish lie beached on the cool sand.

As they move down the beach Grandfather randomly picks up a starfish, looks at it gently and with a flick of his arm tosses it out into the waves.  He stoops down to pick up another and the boy asks, "Grandfather, what are you doing?  Throwing one or two back isn't going to do anything."

Now in the traditional telling of this story the Grandfather respondes, "Ah, but to those it makes all the difference in the world!"

Today the story has a totally new ending...
Grandfather stops to look at the boy and says, "You're right my Boy."  Then he reaches into his pocket, pulls out his Iphone and startes texting.  Within a matter of minutes he has 37 friends reply and 15 show up on the beach ready to toss starfish.  By midday the beach is empty.

This is NIKELA's role.  Watch for the announcement of our website launch... real soon.

When the website goes live the URL for this blog
will change to http://www.nikelawildlife.org/

Not Quite as Exciting... or is it?

Who am I?

Write, edit, format, redo, crop, cut, rewrite... that's what our team is doing this week.  Not as exciting as visiting with great people like Tony from Birds of Eden, or Karin from the Darwin Project, but...

My respect for writers and web designers, not to mention video producers, has grown ten fold as we get the official Nikela website ready to go live.  In a few days the URL http://www.nikela.org/ will no longer point to this BLOG, but rather to our website that will house the blog and oh so much more, including photos from our South African wildlife conservation tour and how you can support folks like Michele and Ian who run the amazing bush school tucked way out there in northern South Africa.  Not to forget Shannon and her flying raptors and getting more kids to enjoy that great experience of the soaring birds.

Did you guess who the eyes of the first photo belong to?  Now the one at the end is a little harder.  They belong to a predator that is highly at risk to disappearing from the wild altogether.

Back to sorting through my photos to include in our photo gallery...

Who am I?

First Sponsored Project a Big Success!



Students and Teachers from the Meholokazulu High School, Imbali, KZN, South Africa.
Photo courtesy of www.frankvanegmond.nl

 Its early afternoon on Saturday October 30th and Russ and I are on the road once again, this time headed for Salt Lake City via Cheyenne. Shannon’s flight demonstration in Pietermaritzburg has to be over. How did it all go? Russ’s phone bleeps. A text message from Thoko (Meholokazulu High School science teacher):

“…we are just back from the trip it was so so awesome kids learnt a lot and got more interested (in wildlife). The principal asked for a proposal to participate in pilot…”

Dispelling myths about owls at the Raptor flight demonstration
Photo courtesy of www.frankvanegmond.nl

Whoo! Hoo! As my son would say… we are so thrilled.  Not only did the students from the Environmental Club have the experience we hoped for, the principal is on board to conduct our wildlife conservation education pilot project in his school!  Wonderful news!

"Owls are bad luck."  "If you see an owl someone you love will die." 

Getting up close and personal with owls helps dispel these myths that get these beautiful birds killed and increasingly at risk for becoming endangered. 



Shannon dispels myths about sniffing vulture brains
Photo courtesy of www.frankvanegmond.nl



"No, sniffing the dried brains of a vulture doesn't help you win the lotto!"  The false understanding that vulture brains can make humans clairvoyant costs thousands of vultures their lives every year.  These students now know better.

This trip to visit the Raptor Sanctuary and experience Shannon’s interactive flight show is NIKELA’S very first sponsored project. Frank van Egmond (my photographer friend from the Netherlands) took the photos. He kindly donated his time and expertise to capture the moment.

Thanks to all of you who made it happen. If you didn’t get a chance to contribute your donation is welcome to assist with funding the pilot wildlife conservation education project at the Meholokazulu High School. More about this forth coming.

PS: Watch for comments from the students who were there in future postings.


Photo courtesy of http://www.frankvanegmond.nl/



Send Checks or Money Orders to:

NIKELA

100 Commons Rd Ste 7-417

Dripping Springs, TX 78620

30 Poor Students Experience Shannon's Raptors With Your Help

30 disadvantaged high school students from the Imbali settlement outside of Pietermaritzburg have the opportunity of a lifetime. As a reward for excellent performance Nikela is sponsoring the Meholokazulu's environmental club on a field trip to experience Shannon's free flying raptors this Saturday (10/30/10).

Join the fun if you like by contributing $9.75 for one child or $292.50 for the whole group. This includes transportation, reduced entry fees and lunch. Oh yes, Shannon let's the two teachers in free. 

Here's the amazing story behind this...

"A short while ago we had a bus donated to us," Boyd says almost in passing. Russ and I look at each other as I feel that tingling that comes when I know things are miraculously lining up. Boyd is a scientist with Ezemvelo, the KZN board over wildlife, biodiversity and tourism. Russ was referred to Boyd by a fella at Church.

A few days earlier at the Bird of Prey Sanctuary we'd been listening to Shannon talk about the need to reach more of the rural, lower income kids with her flight shows. They are the ones caught up in old myths that jeopardize the raptors. For example: Sniffing the powered brains of a vulture makes you clairvoyant and able to predict winning lotto numbers and such! Shannon sees how children's hearts are touched as they witness a Kite catch food in mid air or even more so when the Goshawk seeks out pieces of food strategically placed near their feet. So what is Shannon's first obstacle: Access to the kids in the settlements. Finding those teachers and officials that are interested in environmental/wildlife education.

On Sunday I'm sitting together with a group of women. A few take a minute to share a moment of success. "Passed my exam!" A women behind me states boldly. After a gently nudge from her neighbor a modestly dressed woman says, "My students placed 3rd in Sweden." I really take notice! I need to talk to this woman, she must be a marvelous teacher.

Thoko, a teacher of 17 years has taken her best science students past local, even regional level, on to National competition three times, and this last time two of them went to Sweden and took third place internationally. Yes, I'm impressed. A huge accomplishment for a low income school. Thoko is thrilled about what we're doing and wants to help. We set a time to meet with her at the school.

In a small cubby hole next to the library we chat with Thoko and her colleague Nomti. They tell us about their curriculum restraints which led to the creation of an environmental club to provide more in depth learning for those interested. They'd love to take field trips. Most of these children have never been far outside Imbali (the settlement where they live). Both Thoko and Nomti's eyes twinkle like kids at the thought of experiencing something like Shannon's raptor flight show. They too have not seen much of any wildlife themselves. So what's the biggest obstacle? Transportation. How in the world do they get 30 learners the few kilometers down the N3 to the Sanctuary? If there are school buses there's no budget and parents don't have cars.

Now you can understand why Boyd telling us about the bus was so spine tingling. All we need to do is get these three parties talking and set a date. Oh yes, and to top it all my photographer friend from the Netherlands will be in the country to capture it for us.

Now the stories not over yet?! After getting things all set up the bus falls through! Now what? Well, Thoko, ever the resourceful woman jumps into action to organize two kombis, there's no way she's going to let this opportunity slip through her fingers!

I can just see these kids sitting mesmerised in those bleachers listening to Shannon tell her stories and watching the raptors do their magic. I can see those kids going back to their community armed with truth and knowledge about raptors and how they can make a difference by their actions and words, and with ideas for careers in conservation and tourism giving them hope for the future.

You too can take part in this wonderful aligning of the stars to provide these teachers and students with a once in a life time experience. If you'd like to participate consider sponsoring a student.

For the cost of transportation, the flight show and lunch it comes to $9.75 per person (or $292.50 for the entire club).

Send Checks or Money Orders to:

NIKELA

100 Commons Rd Ste 7-417

Dripping Springs, TX 78620

Seven Minutes of Terror That Lasts Forever

"It's a pleasant day. Two rhino mothers graze peacefully along the edge of the trees. A half grown calf wallows in the mud hole. Her small beady eyes the only part of her leathery body not caked. She's just pulling herself away, bits of mud splattering when the helicopter flies over.

Not the actual baby... a photo I took

There's a commotion and she runs toward her mother. Her mother turns gives a mournful bellow and drops awkwardly. Her wild eyed calf lumbers for the bushes as four men, two with chainsaws attack the downed rhino. After a frightening few minutes all is quiet. The terrified calf moves toward her bleeding, dying mother."

[A story based on what has happened]

Just got word from my photographer friend, Frank who is in South Africa right now, that two more rhino were poached this weekend.  Will, with the Leopard Project who had one of his rhino brutalized a week before our visit, told us that it takes these savages only 7 minutes to "harvest" a rhino horn.  Seven minutes to fly in with a helicopter, dart the animal, lop off the horn with a chain saw, grab it and run while the rhino is left in pain to bleed to death.

According to the media coordinator at KZN Wildlife both these most recent poachings were again, in reserves. This brings the total this year to over 200!  An all time high!  Les with True Ways Anti-poaching says the true number is probably way past 300!  Alarming as there are only around 3,000 rhino left. So we have to hustle.  Here's what you and I can do right now...

Please pass this along... we're in the process of gathering support for Anti-poaching units likes Les'.

Case in point: On the flight home I sat next to an interior designer just back from a week long safari. She had no idea of the extent of the problem. She was horrified and asked what she could do.

Please use your favorite media below to pass the word.