African Wildlife Foundation (AWF)
African Wildlife Foundation works to protect Africa’s most threatened wildlife species, including rhinos, elephants, and giraffes. They train wildlife rangers, enforce wildlife protection laws, and engage community members in wildlife conservation.
AWF works in Botswana, Cameroon, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Ethiopia, Kenya, Mozambique, Niger, Nigeria, Rwanda, South Africa, Tanzania, Uganda, Zambia, and Zimbabwe.
The AWF Conservation Centre is located at Ngong Road, Karen in Nairobi, Kenya.
Key Takeaways
* AWF conserves African wildlife (including rhinos, elephants, and giraffes) and their habitats.
* They work in 14 African countries.
Poaching
Poaching and wildlife trafficking have decimated Africa’s wildlife species by millions. More elephants and rhinos die from poaching than from natural causes. Moreover, their body parts are illegally traded as trophies, traditional medicine, or trinkets on the black market.
Big cats – such as lions and cheetahs – are killed for their bones. The African wild dog and other large carnivores are killed by villagers to protect their livestock.
Great apes in Central and West Africa (for example, chimpanzees) are killed for bushmeat, and their babies are traded as pets. Pangolins are the world’s most trafficked animal. Furthermore, people capture them for their meat and scales, falsely believing that these have medicinal properties.
Want to learn more about elephants? Check out my Top 39 Amazing Elephant Facts blog!
AWF Anti-Poaching Campaign
International trade in illicit wildlife products – such as ivory and rhino horn – is a high-tech, multibillion-dollar industry.
African Wildlife Foundation uses sniffer dogs to impede the movement of smuggled wildlife and catch wildlife criminals. Also, they help law enforcement investigate and adjudicate wildlife cases.
In addition, they lobby governments, business leaders, and social influencers in both Africa and Asia.
Canine Units on the Front Lines
Since 2013, AWF’s canine teams have been deployed at airports, cargo hubs, and wildlife areas to sniff out ivory, rhino horn, and pangolin scales, and to track poachers on the ground. AWF also helps build and support local canine facilities, strengthening long-term anti-poaching capacity.
Tracker dogs also patrol wildlife-rich landscapes, like Tanzania’s Mkomazi, Manyara, and Serengeti, locating snares, apprehending suspects, and uncovering illegal hunting gear. Between June 2021 and June 2022, these teams:
- Searched 12,794 flights, 5 million cargo shipments, and 52 million pieces of luggage
- Arrested 78 wildlife crime offenders
- Seized 632 kg of ivory and 15 kg of rhino horn
Want to learn more about rhinos? Check out my Top 20 Amazing Rhino Facts blog!
AWF Animal Campaigns
African Wildlife Foundation works to protect 80 animal species. Their goal is to reduce major threats while ensuring that wildlife can continue to play their natural roles in the environment.
Their main focal species fall into five groups:
- Elephants: both forest and savanna species
- Large carnivores: lions, cheetahs, Ethiopian wolves, and wild dogs
- Great apes: chimpanzees and gorillas
- Giraffes: all species
- Rhinos: white and black
Where They Work
African Wildlife Foundation works in 14 African countries. Moreover, their team of environmentalists, lawyers, scientists, and policymakers are at work on the ground to help conserve at risk wildlife habitats.
Click on a country to learn about the AWF campaign to preserve its wildlife. Botswana, Cameroon, Democratic Republic of Congo, Ethiopia, Kenya, Mozambique, Niger, Nigeria, Rwanda, South Africa, Tanzania, Uganda, Zambia, Zimbabwe.
Some of the priority landscapes include:
- Bili-Uele (DRC): Protecting forest elephants and great apes.
- Campo Ma’an (Cameroon): Safeguarding gorillas, chimpanzees, and forest habitats.
- Dja (Cameroon): Conserving biodiversity hotspots and working with local communities.
- Faro (Cameroon): Protecting endangered species and ecosystems.
- Kidepo (Uganda): Supporting large carnivores and human-wildlife coexistence.
- Kilombero (Tanzania): Securing elephant corridors and wetlands.
- Maasai Steppe & Mara-Serengeti (Kenya/Tanzania): Conserving elephants, lions, and migratory wildlife.
- Maringa-Lopori-Wamba (DRC): Protecting bonobos and tropical forest habitats.
- Mid-Zambezi & Southeast Lowveld (Zimbabwe): Elephant and rhino conservation in key reserves.
- Murchison Falls & Simien Mountains (Uganda & Ethiopia): Safeguarding iconic species and highland ecosystems.
- Tsavo-Mkomazi (Kenya/Tanzania): Strengthening anti-poaching and landscape connectivity.
- Virungas (DRC/Rwanda/Uganda): Protecting critically endangered mountain gorillas and volcanic ecosystems.
Check out my Save The Rhino International blog!
African Wildlife Foundation Conservation Safaris
AWF offers Wildlife Conservation Safaris of Africa’s most spectacular and awe-inspiring wildlife and landscapes. In addition to wildlife viewing, participants learn about AWF’s projects and critical conservation issues.
AWF Wildlife Safaris include
- Tanzania Migration
- Zimbabwe, the Wild Zambezi, & Victoria Falls
- Uganda: Great Apes & Wild Savannas and
- Ethiopia Highlands.
Want to learn more about gorillas? Check out my Top 29 Amazing Gorilla Facts blog!
Follow the African Wildlife Foundation on Social Media
Website: https://www.awf.org/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/AfricanWildlifeFoundation
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/africanwildlifefoundation/?hl=en
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/c/AfricanWildlifeFoundation
$ Donate: https://www.awf.org/donate-now
