Wilderness Safaris has compiled a Travel With Purpose itinerary that will enable six guests to track desert lions in Namibia's Damaraland and engage with the communities that live alongside them to explore the human/wildlife conflict first-hand. Travelers will be hosted by lion researcher and founder of the Desert Lion Conservation Project Philip Stander as well as Emsie Verwey from the Brown Hyena Project.
"While a healthy number of lions was recorded living in the Namib Desert in 1934, the numbers dropped over the decades to 150, with the animals restricted to northwestern Namibia. Due to habitat loss and conflict with the local communities [as lions were killing livestock regularly], the number of lions has further reduced to only a handful in recent years. The impact of Dr. Stander's project has been significant in monitoring the lion population and addressing human-lion conflict", said Wilderness Safaris Namibia managing director Alexandra Margull.
In addition to interacting with researchers, guests will actively engage with rural communities to understand local culture and human/wildlife conflict as well as learn about the area's brown hyena population and a number of other arid-adapted species found in the region. Other experienced experts who will lead this journey include Wilderness Safaris Namibia community liaison manager Jermain Ketji and seasoned guide Gerhard Thirion, who runs Wilderness Safaris' popular Guided Explorations in Namibia.
The Addressing Human-Wildlife Conflict itinerary is set for Nov. 26 to Dec. 1. For more info, visit http://images.wilderness.co.za/Purpose2018/TravelwithPurpose-HumanWildlifeConflict_Nov2018.pdf.