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Tomorrow’s Guardians of Africa’s Great Felines

Angama Mara celebrated World Wildlife Day by doing what we love best – taking community school children on a safari

In 2013 the United Nations proclaimed the 3rd March as World Wildlife Day to raise awareness of our planet’s diminishing fauna and flora, with this year’s theme being Big Cats: Predators under Threat.

Big cats are amongst the best recognised and most admired animals across the globe and are essential to the healthy functioning of the reserve we call home, the Maasai Mara. Sadly these charismatic predators are facing many threats, the majority being from humans. Africa’s lion population has declined by a staggering 40% in just 20 years.

WWD Moses talking

Travellers from across the world visit the Maasai Mara in the hope of photographing lion, leopard and cheetah, all of which call the Mara home. Not only do these cats keep the ecosystem balanced, but visitors who come here in the hope of seeing them also bring much needed opportunities for the establishment of lodges, investment in infrastructure, job creation and capacity building. Simply put, these big cats form the cornerstone to the ongoing protection of the Maasai Mara.

Who best to carry the flag for their survival but the children who neighbour the Reserve?

WWD 4 kids

With this in mind Angama Mara partnered with ‘Friends of Maasai Mara’ to host over 100 school children on a safari last Saturday. These are children who attend schools on the outskirts of the Mara, but are seldom afforded the opportunity to experience the magnificent wildlife that neighbours their communities.

WWD kids in cars

Angama Mara sponsored part of this celebratory day, and I couldn’t resist taking photographs that captured the mood and energy of these youngsters who hold the future of our big cats in their hands.

WWD kids driving

Thank you to all the organisations, government officials and camps that came out in support of this great initiative. Our hope is that the children were inspired to protect the Big Cats of Africa – it simply is not possible without them.

 

Filed under: The Mara

Tagged with:

Angama Mara , Angama Team , Lions of the Mara , Maasai Mara , Mara Triangle , Photography

About: Adam Bannister

A South African-trained biologist, safari guide, author, filmmaker and photographer, Adam is, above all else, a gifted storyteller. After spending the past 10 years working in some of the world’s most beautiful wild places – the Sabi Sand Game Reserve in South Africa, Rajasthan in India, Brazil’s Pantanal, and the rainforests of Manu National Park in Peru – he is delighted to share his stories of one of the loveliest game reserves of them all, the Maasai Mara.

Browse all articles by Adam Bannister Meet the angama team

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