Conservation through education – sustainable & conscious living
During the current wildlife crisis, it is now becoming more common to see rhinos without their horns, due to the need to take extreme precautions during this desperate time, which means that cutting off a rhino's precious horn is seen as a necessary deterrent against poachers. However, are we now entering into a time where elephants…
Whilst browsing a retail store today I got chatting to the store manager about my adventures in Africa during the past few years. Upon saying that I had been working at a Lion Protection Trust in South Africa, her immediate response was "awwww so you got to play with all the little lions and tigers?!"…
It has been announced that the USA has banned the imports of lion trophies that have come from captive lion populations. Following the Cites results earlier this month, which refused to uplist lions to maximum protection, failing to stop the canned hunting industry, this new decision will mean that American hunters - who make up…
This week celebrated World Rhino Day, which is all about spreading awareness about the rapidly depleting rhino population! I recently attended a debate in London about the legalisation of the trade of rhino horn. An interesting and very often sensitive and controversial topic, I went in to the debate being firmly against the trade, but…
So what is wildlife conservation and how can we know if our money is going to the right place? With social media being at the forefront of most people's focus these days, it almost seems as if people are doing things with the sole initial intention of being able to upload the proof onto their social media…
http://www.igobyplane.com/2015/06/19/where-can-i-pet-a-baby-lion-tiger-cheetah-big-cat/ I'm sure it comes as no surprise to you that reading this article got my blood boiling to the highest degrees - so much so that I had to take a walk outside before angrily bashing the keys to write this post. Aside from the fact that this guy is illiterate, he is absolutely the…
This image really speaks a thousand words. This is a collection of all of the snares that have been found on the Mbube reserve of the White Lion Protection Trust, where I am currently situated. Snares, made by looped wire, are used mainly by meat hunters in South Africa, and have been said to be…
It’s currently 16:31 and 32 degrees Celsius in the Timbavati, I haven’t spoken to a real human being in about seven hours, I’ve got a raging cold from being exposed to 20 hours non-stop air-con on my way here, mix all that with having been up and active since 4.45am, and I’m feeling pretty delirious.…
By now you should all know the name Tilikum. Tilikum is the beautiful big orca who has been a resident at SeaWorld, Orlando for the past 24 years. He is the star of the brilliant shows that you have indulged in with awe, whilst thinking how incredibly lucky those killer whale handlers are to work…
I've lost count of the amount of times that friends have sent me photos of people that I know involved in the terrible wildlife tourism trade that is in the media so much these days, and how many times that I have wanted to write ranting long comments on those social media photos, asking them…
Earlier this week I sat with my family to watch Davina McCall's new wildlife documentary 'Life at the Extreme'. Whilst the premiere received mixed reviews about Davina's capability of presenting a wildlife documentary, I thought it was good to see an 'ordinary' person immersing themselves in the wilds of Africa. Near the end of the…
Imagine a world where you drive through the rolling hills of countryside looking for the vibrant colours of the summer-blooming wild flowers, only to find that not a single glimpse of colour can be found for miles around - only brown and green. As you ponder the reason for this you stop at a café…
My name is Jess. And I #jointheherd According to the calendar, this Chinese New Year is the year of the monkey, but we want to make 2016 the first ever #yearoftheelephant. As the human race are responsible for the decline of elephants, from 1.3 million just 40 years ago in Africa to only 400,000 left…
Staring at the TV I can feel the anger rising inside of me as the news report unfolds. This is the story that no doubt many of you have heard about since it was first reported yesterday. A man was killed by an elephant in Thailand whilst his daughter watched. Having studied journalism I know…
Prominent American television network MSNBC is set to premiere previously mentioned canned hunting exposé Blood Lions on the 7th of October. Blood Lions follows the journey of environmental journalist, Ian Michler, and American hunter, Rick Swazey, as they expose the multi-million dollar canned hunting industry. Despite the worldwide outrage following the death of Cecil the lion, I was…
I doubt there is a single person reading this post that hasn’t heard about the unlawful killing of Cecil the lion. As we await the outcome of the trial of the hunters, here are 10 things that you should know about the majestic king. Cecil was 13 years old and Zimbabwe’s most famous lion –…
Continue reading ➞ 10 things you need to know about Cecil the Lion
After revealing the truth behind my lion selfie, I received a fantastic following of over 320,000 people from all around the world. I now want to take this opportunity to set a few things straight from my previous article, and give you more of an insight into my experiences undercover, and what you can do…
As I apprehensively shuffled into the caged box, my gut clenched and my heart stopped…I immediately knew that I was in a bad place, and I desperately wanted to run straight back out and find comfort in my friends hiding out in the car. But something stronger told me to carry on, something told me…
According to Jess 