WORLD WORLDWIDE AFRICA BOTSWANA - WILDLIFE - ANIMAL SURVIVAL INTERNATIONAL - poachers are killing animals YOU helped save.

 

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You helped us bring water to desperately thirsty animals in Botswana. Now, our animal friends need protection from poachers. Donate now Share Tweet Forward Share Dear friends,  Last year, you helped us provide life-saving water for thousands of wild animals caught in a dreadful drought in Botswana. Now, a new danger is threatening their lives: a recent surge in snaring. This horrifically cruel poaching method leads to brutal death for wildlife – all to feed the insatiable demand for animal parts. Recently, a lioness succumbed to a snare that slowly strangled her to death.  Now, her orphaned cubs are in grave danger. The local lion population is under threat because of a recent increase in poaching for their body parts, which are sold as ‘medicine’ or trinkets. When a lion gets caught in a snare, the animal will often suffer weeks of agony before dying, like this poor animal. The snared mother lioness was spotted by our partner, Camelthorn Farmstead, along the banks of the Boteti River in Botswana’s Makgadikgadi National Park. Credit: Camelthorn Farmstead This lioness had a snare wound tightly around her neck, causing severe injury and hampering her ability to hunt and eat.  We tried to find and de-snare the animal, but tragically she died, leaving two orphaned cubs behind. A drone would have helped save the mother lion’s life. Now, it is urgently needed to protect her surviving cubs. There is a growing demand for lion parts in “traditional Chinese medicine” (TCM) and local “muthi” (traditional African medicine). There have been increasing instances of poached lion carcasses found with their body parts removed – a key indicator of the illegal trade. The snared mother lion was in obvious pain as the wire cut into her neck. She ultimately succumbed to her wounds. Now, without our immediate help, her cubs face the same threat. Credit: Camelthorn Farmstead Had the team had a drone, it would have been able to monitor the area for signs of illegal activity – for example, the laying of snares – before the animal could become another tragic statistic.  Instead, a lioness has been lost, and cubs have been left without their vital protector. Drones have become critical to protecting wildlife in high-risk areas. They allow teams to locate injured animals quickly, identify poachers or hunters, and stop illegal activity fast. As the dead mother’s cubs roam the wilderness, oblivious to the lethal threats all around them, they dearly need our protection. Will you help them? Donate now We have already raised almost half the funds needed for a drone. Please help us raise the outstanding $5,400 (£4,000) to purchase it. The snare caused significant damage to the right side of her jaw through to the back of her neck. Can you imagine the incredible pain she suffered up to her death? Credit: Camelthorn Farmstead Africa’s lions are officially listed as a vulnerable species, meaning that without dedicated protection, they risk becoming extinct in the wild.  The surviving cubs and their pride are crucial to the survival of the species in the Botswana.  Credit: Thomas Retterath/Shutterstock Today, lions are extinct in 26 of 48 African countries. Roughly 3,000 of those who remain live in Botswana, including these cubs – and if we do not protect them, we could lose this population entirely.   Please, donate now. We are almost halfway to our goal – help us get all the way there.  Saving animals and the planet General Manager Animal Survival International P.S. Wild lions have declined by 75% over the last five decades in Africa. Today, two lion cubs who lost their mother to a snare desperately need your protection. They are critical to the survival of the species – donate today. Donate now

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