OUR MISSION
Back to Africa is a non-profit organisation dedicated to giving back to African wildlife what it has lost. This is achieved through supporting innovative wildlife restoration projects.
RECENT NEWS: FITTING SATELLITE EAR TAGS IN ANGOLA & MALAWI
In September and October 2024, Dr’s Ben Muller and Joel Alves, in separate operations, fitted six satellite tracking ear tags to various species as an ongoing project of testing new satellite tracking devices in different landscapes and different species.
These tags were generously funded by our donors, Morna Retreats.
RECENT NEWS: SPOTTED HYENA COLLARING OPERATION ODZALA
Dr Ben Muller was recently requested to capture and collar spotted hyenas in the Odzala-Kokoa National Park in the Republic of Congo, on behalf of Back to Africa NPO.
The operation was a success and the conservation team managed to collar and collect data from 4 individuals, 2 males and 2 females. We managed to free-dart one individual and the rest were successfully caught in cage traps.
This is the first collaring operation performed on these enigmatic, forest adapted animals.
RECENT NEWS: IONA NP, ANGOLA - WILDLIFE COLLARING
Back to Africa director, Dr Joel Alves, travelled to Iona NP in Angola for a large-scale collaring project supported by Wild Wonderful World. Iona NP is a unique and phenomenal landscape recently brought under the management of African Parks.
In line with conservation goals and with the idea of better understanding the utilisation of the vast desert landscape by priority species, the focus was to collar springbuck, oryx and Hartmanns mountain zebra. The hope was to locate and collar brown hyena and cheetah opportunistically but unfortunately none were seen during the operation.
RECENT NEWS: HLUHLUWE - IMFOLOZI GAME RESERVE, SOUTH AFRICA - RHINO DEHORNING
Back to Africa Directors Dr Joel Alves & Dr Ben Muller were extremely fortunate to be invited to assist the Ezemvelo KZN Wildlife team with the landmark dehorning of their white and black rhino populations in the Hluhluwe-iMfolozi Game Reserve. Following unprecedented poaching losses and an unwavering tide of poaching pressure on the reserve, one of the strongholds of the critically endangered black rhino, it became apparent that dehorning was the only feasible next step to take in an effort to stem the loss of rhino.
The scale of the project was enormous, involving multiple veterinary and ground teams, two Robinson 44 helicopters and an AS350 B3 helicopter. The funding of the operation and support of EKZN Wildlife was made possible by WWF as well as veterinary support through African Wildlife Vets.
RECENT NEWS: DR TAWAB INTERNSHIP
During August 2024, Dr Abdoul Tawab Motorou, joined Wildscapes Vets for a one month conservation medicine internship.
Tawab is a Beninese veterinarian who qualified from the Inter-State School of Veterinary Medicine and Sciences, in Dakar, Senegal. We have worked with Dr Tawab on certain projects in Benin, Togo and Côte d'Ivoire historically.