1 00:00:09,740 --> 00:00:12,510 Looking at those shots it's really hard to believe 2 00:00:12,510 --> 00:00:16,350 that this currently thriving area in South Africa 3 00:00:16,350 --> 00:00:20,100 was once dedicated to cattle and pineapple farms, 4 00:00:20,100 --> 00:00:23,630 with almost no biodiversity and wildlife. 5 00:00:25,030 --> 00:00:29,655 Phinda was established in collaboration with the local Zulu tribal community 6 00:00:29,655 --> 00:00:31,790 to rehabilitate the ecosystem, 7 00:00:31,790 --> 00:00:34,510 allowing for the return of the wildlife 8 00:00:34,510 --> 00:00:36,760 that had once flourished in this area. 9 00:00:37,020 --> 00:00:40,200 Phinda is local Zulu word for 'return'. 10 00:00:40,200 --> 00:00:43,330 Animals were brought in from other regions of southern Africa 11 00:00:43,330 --> 00:00:46,275 to establish new populations in the conservancy. 12 00:00:47,100 --> 00:00:52,480 There is a lot of doom-and-gloom stories about biodiversity. 13 00:00:52,480 --> 00:00:55,511 However, this story is a hopeful one. 14 00:00:55,511 --> 00:00:58,900 Phinda is a modern success conservation story 15 00:00:58,900 --> 00:01:02,300 so stick around around to learn how they managed to do it. 16 00:01:03,700 --> 00:01:06,950 I think the key to the success for Phinda 17 00:01:06,950 --> 00:01:10,992 is the fact that they've used this ecotourism model 18 00:01:10,992 --> 00:01:14,715 to benefit not only the reserve itself 19 00:01:14,715 --> 00:01:18,080 but also the local communities surrounding them. 20 00:01:20,500 --> 00:01:24,626 A lot of work goes into managing 30,000 hectares: 21 00:01:24,626 --> 00:01:26,630 making sure that animals are healthy, 22 00:01:26,630 --> 00:01:29,435 that they are reproducing, but not inbreeding, 23 00:01:29,435 --> 00:01:32,400 that herbivores do not overgraze the land, 24 00:01:32,400 --> 00:01:34,820 that territorial animals have enough space 25 00:01:34,820 --> 00:01:36,840 and do not compete between each other, 26 00:01:36,840 --> 00:01:40,270 that invasive species of plants are under control, 27 00:01:40,270 --> 00:01:43,900 that the areas will be protected by anti-poaching units, 28 00:01:43,900 --> 00:01:48,303 and that is all while still running lodges and operating tourism 29 00:01:48,303 --> 00:01:50,148 and voluntourism in the area 30 00:01:50,148 --> 00:01:53,660 that brings much needed funding towards conservation. 31 00:01:54,400 --> 00:01:57,300 With the data collected here by our volunteers 32 00:01:57,300 --> 00:02:00,680 that go out every day with one of our Ecological Monitors 33 00:02:00,680 --> 00:02:03,860 that data feeds live into our data systems, 34 00:02:03,860 --> 00:02:05,854 which we can then analyse. 35 00:02:05,854 --> 00:02:08,630 This helps us to make our management decisions. 36 00:02:09,800 --> 00:02:12,700 Animal populations in Phinda are thriving 37 00:02:12,700 --> 00:02:16,150 from an initial population of just 30 white rhinos, 38 00:02:16,150 --> 00:02:21,368 Phinda now has one of the largest white rhino populations in Africa 39 00:02:21,368 --> 00:02:24,888 and have been relocating and repopulating rhinos 40 00:02:24,888 --> 00:02:29,440 to other reserves and countries, due to their success at protecting them. 41 00:02:31,840 --> 00:02:35,920 This also facilitated what we call Rhinos Without Borders, 42 00:02:35,920 --> 00:02:39,710 so where our white rhinos have been translocated to Botswana 43 00:02:39,710 --> 00:02:41,955 to start up a founding population there. 44 00:02:41,955 --> 00:02:45,590 Phinda is the first private game reserve ever to be a part 45 00:02:45,590 --> 00:02:48,470 of the Black Rhino Range Expansion Project, 46 00:02:48,470 --> 00:02:51,160 so this is a project together with WWF. 47 00:02:53,500 --> 00:02:56,660 The cheetah population here has grown so successfully 48 00:02:56,660 --> 00:03:00,760 that some individuals were relocated to other parts of southern Africa 49 00:03:00,760 --> 00:03:03,806 to establish healthy cheetah populations there. 50 00:03:04,540 --> 00:03:07,690 [inaudible], Phinda and the MunYaWana 51 00:03:07,690 --> 00:03:10,430 is currently seen as one of the most important 52 00:03:10,430 --> 00:03:13,640 cheetah meta populations throughout southern Africa. 53 00:03:16,500 --> 00:03:19,040 Phinda has been chosen as a release site 54 00:03:19,040 --> 00:03:22,650 for pangolins that have been confiscated from poachers 55 00:03:22,650 --> 00:03:25,470 and saved from the illegal wildlife trade. 56 00:03:25,470 --> 00:03:27,110 The pangolin is arguably 57 00:03:27,110 --> 00:03:29,730 the most trafficked animal on Earth 58 00:03:29,730 --> 00:03:32,650 leading to their disappearance in the world. 59 00:03:33,600 --> 00:03:37,970 So pangolins were reintroduced here in June 2019, 60 00:03:37,970 --> 00:03:42,260 before that pangolins have been completely extinct from the reserve. 61 00:03:42,260 --> 00:03:46,970 Over time, these animals have now established home ranges, territories, 62 00:03:46,970 --> 00:03:49,620 and thankfully have even had pups. 63 00:03:49,620 --> 00:03:52,320 It is also an educational ground - 64 00:03:52,320 --> 00:03:54,610 numerous researches occur here 65 00:03:54,610 --> 00:03:55,810 every year. 66 00:03:55,815 --> 00:03:56,815 From the get-go a lot of data has been collected 67 00:03:59,620 --> 00:04:00,630 and that has resulted in numerous PhDs, Master's projects, 68 00:04:03,600 --> 00:04:05,600 also suitable protocols being out there 69 00:04:06,700 --> 00:04:09,900 on what's the right way for soft-releasing lions into new areas. 70 00:04:11,460 --> 00:04:14,083 I have been here a few weeks volunteering 71 00:04:14,083 --> 00:04:15,850 with African Conservation Experience, 72 00:04:15,850 --> 00:04:17,980 participating on all the daily tasks 73 00:04:17,980 --> 00:04:19,820 needed for animal management and conservation like: 74 00:04:21,710 --> 00:04:24,880 monitoring, data collection, 75 00:04:24,880 --> 00:04:27,800 updating ID profiles of animals, 76 00:04:27,800 --> 00:04:30,010 tracking using some of the most modern technologies, 77 00:04:30,010 --> 00:04:31,920 trying to understand. 78 00:04:32,145 --> 00:04:33,455 So what is the reason 79 00:04:33,455 --> 00:04:37,241 of this overwhelming conservation success? 80 00:04:37,241 --> 00:04:39,374 Is it the modern technology 81 00:04:39,374 --> 00:04:40,494 and their ability to use camera traps, telemetry, satellites, 82 00:04:42,700 --> 00:04:44,250 drones, acoustic sensors, 83 00:04:44,250 --> 00:04:45,800 a variety of apps for data collection and analysis? 84 00:04:49,000 --> 00:04:50,967 This project is neat because our cameras are actually tools 85 00:04:52,020 --> 00:04:54,160 and what we're doing is collecting data 86 00:04:54,160 --> 00:04:55,970 that's going to help us identify 87 00:04:55,970 --> 00:04:58,200 these individuals in the wild at a later date. 88 00:04:59,080 --> 00:05:01,270 Is it their ability to utilize conservation tourism 89 00:05:02,840 --> 00:05:05,930 and volunteerism to fund these projects? 90 00:05:05,930 --> 00:05:08,500 Around the world, many protected areas are underfunded. 91 00:05:08,500 --> 00:05:11,200 Allowing visitors to observe exciting and important conservation tasks 92 00:05:13,311 --> 00:05:15,899 provides additional source of funding for necessary management activities, 93 00:05:19,110 --> 00:05:21,392 such as ecosystem monitoring, 94 00:05:21,392 --> 00:05:23,600 anti-poaching patrols, invasive species eradication, 95 00:05:23,600 --> 00:05:25,710 and environmental educational programs. 96 00:05:29,900 --> 00:05:32,700 Tourism potentially has a big role to play in education 97 00:05:34,100 --> 00:05:36,830 when it comes to conservation. 98 00:05:36,830 --> 00:05:38,600 One of the best things 99 00:05:38,600 --> 00:05:39,943 is there's so many people that care 100 00:05:39,943 --> 00:05:41,970 and that's just really lovely to see. 101 00:05:41,970 --> 00:05:43,551 Just spreading the word of, like, 102 00:05:43,551 --> 00:05:45,580 the sort of work that's done here, 103 00:05:45,580 --> 00:05:47,550 trying to get more funding 104 00:05:47,550 --> 00:05:49,661 and letting people know how important this is to preserve, 105 00:05:49,860 --> 00:05:50,980 is really important. 106 00:05:53,500 --> 00:05:55,550 When people connect with nature during their travels, 107 00:05:56,550 --> 00:05:59,200 when they see first-hand how hard it is 108 00:05:59,200 --> 00:06:01,820 to protect our nature and what goes into it, 109 00:06:01,820 --> 00:06:03,920 it can lead them into being more appreciative 110 00:06:04,920 --> 00:06:07,600 and become more invested in protecting it. 111 00:06:08,300 --> 00:06:10,020 I think the fact we don't know what we're gonna see or discover each day... 112 00:06:11,550 --> 00:06:13,040 it's very exciting. 113 00:06:13,040 --> 00:06:14,951 Like every day I've done so far has been really different. 114 00:06:15,990 --> 00:06:17,860 And I've had a really unique experience 115 00:06:17,860 --> 00:06:19,840 seeing loads of animals that are endangered. 116 00:06:20,860 --> 00:06:22,460 So I'd say I'm pretty lucky. 117 00:06:24,150 --> 00:06:26,710 Of course, it is all of the above and more. 118 00:06:26,710 --> 00:06:28,750 This project truly exists due to the exceptional management 119 00:06:30,740 --> 00:06:32,590 and the work of numerous passionate people 120 00:06:33,610 --> 00:06:35,400 that spend hours and days in the bush, 121 00:06:35,400 --> 00:06:36,440 making sure that the 122 00:06:36,440 --> 00:06:39,330 area is thriving while educating tourists 123 00:06:39,330 --> 00:06:41,820 and visitors, and conducting research 124 00:06:41,820 --> 00:06:44,030 that helps other organizations and reserves 125 00:06:45,500 --> 00:06:47,080 to obtain this success as well. 126 00:06:50,900 --> 00:06:53,400 We mainly focus on movement data 127 00:06:53,400 --> 00:06:54,890 and being able to correlate all of that 128 00:06:54,890 --> 00:06:56,160 and expand it over a few years, 129 00:06:56,160 --> 00:06:57,590 and see the movement of different species, 130 00:06:59,428 --> 00:07:01,480 how they react to different weather conditions and habitats 131 00:07:01,480 --> 00:07:03,100 and different influences like that. 132 00:07:03,100 --> 00:07:04,400 Seeing their movement data, 133 00:07:04,400 --> 00:07:05,550 how long it's taken them to settle in this reserve, 134 00:07:06,890 --> 00:07:08,880 will be useful for other reserves who want to do the same thing. 135 00:07:10,800 --> 00:07:12,350 Your time and your effort really help with things like, 136 00:07:14,200 --> 00:07:15,400 hands-on things, if we need help lifting something 137 00:07:17,070 --> 00:07:18,760 or moving things, photos for ID kits, 138 00:07:21,100 --> 00:07:23,230 like lots of different small contributions 139 00:07:23,230 --> 00:07:25,680 that add up to larger contributions. 140 00:07:26,700 --> 00:07:29,400 I hope that this success story 141 00:07:29,400 --> 00:07:32,500 got you inspired and serves as a hopeful reminder. 142 00:07:32,500 --> 00:07:34,290 When people start seeing the benefit of having tourism in the area, 143 00:07:37,420 --> 00:07:38,930 they are more inclined 144 00:07:38,930 --> 00:07:40,470 to wanting to keep the area wild 145 00:07:40,470 --> 00:07:41,490 and they also support these new ventures 146 00:07:41,490 --> 00:07:44,170 that are being undertaken. 147 00:07:47,900 --> 00:07:50,500 We want to use tourism to expand, 148 00:07:50,500 --> 00:07:53,400 you know, conservation areas, 149 00:07:55,123 --> 00:07:56,353 and not just expand but to ensure that it sustains itself.