News & Whatnot

Zoo-ing Out: A First in the Travel Industry

In April 2017, Responsible Travel became the first travel company to stop promoting any holidays that included a visit to a zoo. Their reasons are centered around the education value of zoos, how much is spent on conservation efforts and ...

Captive Breeding Programs: Which Shade of Grey?

Increasingly zoo experts are questioning the effectiveness of isolated ex situ breeding for conservation. Some have argued along these lines that “there are far too many endangered species and not nearly enough space to breed them all in captivity and, ...

Wearing a Face Mask when Visiting Great Apes

I am going to visit great apes in the wild (chimpanzees, orangutans or gorillas). Should I wear a face mask? Yes, you should. According to the recommendations of experts at the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN), it is advised ...

Eating Less Meat? It Matters & It’s Easy

If every person stopped eating meat and dairy for just one day a week, it would be the equivalent of removing 7.6 million cars from the road, or not driving 91 billion miles. That is incredible. Seems simple, right? Well ...

My Profits from Trading Elephant Ivory

With 96 elephants killed by poachers every day for ivory and parts, the world needs to support Africa in curbing and eradicating the demand. It’s a slow process but a campaign of more stringent penalties for poachers and enforcing those ...

When Ignorance Isn’t Bliss

Recently, when interviewing a young EwAnaut friend about her volunteer experience, I was reminded of how harmful not knowing can be. Our friend had just returned from volunteering at an accredited African wildlife conservation rescue organization. This was a good ...

Volunteering with Captive Wild Animals?

Is volunteering in a wildlife rescue center or sanctuary a bad idea? Not at all! It all depends on the species you will work with and on the legitimacy of the organization itself. But first, it requires the volunteer to do ...

Volunteering with or for Big Wild Cats?

Often volunteers look for and ask us about missions where they can interact with wild cats. And more than often we hear that the motivation for joining projects allowing these types of interactions is a way for them of affirming their love for these cats. But by ...

About Conservation Ethics

The Handbook of Conservation & Sustainability Ethics by John A. Vucetich My rating: ✮✮✮✮ of 5 stars We shouldn’t be dissuaded from engaging in a conservation ethical discourse for fear that it might not be adequately effective. We should rather ...

What Nature Gives Us

"There is no question that Earth has been a giving planet. Everything humans have needed to survive, and thrive, was provided by the natural world around us: food, water, medicine, materials for shelter, and even natural cycles such as climate ...

Notes from the Field

The Bats of Lubee

It took only mere minutes and I was in love, these perfect creatures were an incredible part of nature and it became clear to me how gravely misunderstood they are... Early in November, I set out to Gainesville, Florida to ...

Orangutan Health Field Research in Sumatra

Back in the field at the end of this month! Sharan was in Malaysia helping the establishment of a wildlife corridor earlier in October. This time, Claire is leaving for Sumatra to join a veterinary science program, with Orangutan Health Project (OHP), that researches ...

EwA Field Work: Reporting from The Corridor of Life

Live Reporting from the Field We are currently in Borneo, supporting reforestation efforts in the Kinabatangan area. The volunteer project, managed by Ape Malaysia, focuses on collaborating with the local Orang Sungai villagers to promote conservation and restore the original ...

EwA Field Work: The Corridor of Life

We'll be in the field this month! We're excited to announce that our Associate (Sharan) will be in Borneo on a 2 week program from 21st September supporting reforestation in the Kinabatangan area. The volunteer project is run by Ape ...

My Journey to Becoming an Ethical Wildlife Volunteer

I am so happy to have gained a better understanding of what it takes to be an ethical wildlife volunteer. This has been and still is an ongoing journey into realizing that our actions are not always ethical –not because ...

A Visit to a Rwandan Gorilla Family

In 'the moment', and when too excited by the experience, it's very easy to forget the proper rule of conduct. Keeping a respectful distance is not just for your safety but is also about theirs (including their health). By not ...

The Travelling Giraffe – Protecting a Species

Did you know that there are 9 subspecies of giraffes existing in Africa? Did you know that giraffes have become extinct in 7 African countries? Whilst traveling in January 2016 in Uganda, I had the privilege of meeting some of ...

A Herd of Elephants and a Gaggle of People

Elephants… Don’t you just love them? What’s not to love? They are beautiful, majestic, intelligent, awe inspiring. They are a lot of people’s favourite animals. We want to get to know them better, get up close and personal with them ...

A Sea Turtle Love Story

All sea turtles are endangered and deserve our respect and protection. This was the morning after we caught her off Pelican island somewhere in a lost lagoon in Baja California Sur. We caught a few so that we could measure, ...

Kindness for a Lost Soul…

Hard rule to follow: Always keep a safe distance between yourself and a wild animal. Always be on your guard. Respect their needed space. Don't move fast. And please be quiet - the human species is so loud and does ...

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