The Selous Rhino Project's new 4 x 4 vehicle. © Tusk Trust
The Maasailand Preservation Trust's new Super Cub. © Tusk Trust
The Rufford Maurice Laing Foundation provided a grant of £50,000 in 2007/08 in support of Tusk Trust’s ongoing conservation work in Africa. The charity has used the grant to support two field projects with a further element applied to fund essential core overheads.
Thanks in part to The Rufford Maurice Laing Foundation, the Maasailand Preservation Trust in the Chyulu Hills in Kenya, is now the proud operator of a two-seater Super Cub surveillance aircraft. The Super Cub has been provided by Tusk at a time when this Maasai community driven conservation project has expanded its operations beyond the 300,000-acre Mbirikani Group Ranch to include areas as far away as the Tanzanian border where game scouts undertake cross-border operations with their Tanzanian counterparts. The plane will be used to support anti-poaching operations, surveillance of Kenya’s only remaining wild population of black rhino, tracking radio-collared lions, conducting game counts and facilitating essential liaison between the Kenyan Wildlife Service and the local communities.
The balance of The Rufford Maurice Laing Foundation grant was earmarked for the Selous Game Reserve - one of the last great wildernesses in Africa. At over 8,000km² it is the second largest World Heritage site - larger than Denmark! Tusk has used the funds to purchase a new UAZ 4 X 4 patrol vehicle for the Selous Rhino Project. Without decent transport the rangers cannot patrol the rhino ranges or protect this remnant rhino population effectively. The project has concentrated their work in the northern sector of this huge reserve, but with time and the continued backing of organisations like Tusk and The Rufford Maurice Laing Foundation, they soon hope to be able to expand the protection across the equally large southern section.
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